In 1902, Marie Rose Ferron, called the Little Rose, was born in Quebec. Her mother gave birth to her in a manger, just like Jesus, after feeling birthing pains while working in the fields. Her mother dedicated each of her fifteen children to the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary: as the youngest, Little Rose was dedicated to the Crucifixion. At age 3, as her family prepared to move to Massachusetts, she had a special devotion to St. Anthony, the patron of lost items. Her father, wanting to teach her a lesson, placed his boots on the other side of the railway tracks near their house. At dinner, her father asked her for his boots. Little did he expect his daughter to run outside and retrieve them! He never questioned again her special relationship with St. Anthony. At age 6, she saw a sorrowful Child Jesus carrying a cross. As an adolescent, she wanted to be a nun, but was confined to bed because of sickness. One day, aged 17, she heard her sisters and friends going happily to church. A priest taught her to offer her sufferings to God. She accepted reality: her vocation was to suffer with Jesus. In the 1920s, the bishop of Providence was forced to tearfully excommunicate a group of recalcitrant laity. He asked Little Rose, “My girl, are you willing to suffer for the diocese, for the priests, for those excommunicated?” She was, and her prayers were efficacious – every single one of the 56 excommunicated repented and returned to the Church.
Spiritual Talk – Fr Ho talks about Marie Rose Ferron
