Emmaus women deliver ‘love’ to nursing home patients

By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Maria Meneses could have easily lost it when logistical problems delayed the arrival of 450 long-stem roses that were to be delivered to women confined to nursing homes for Mother’s Day.

But in the spirit of “the show must go on,” and through God’s providence, Meneses and her Emmaus group found another wholesaler that same morning � and wound up blessing even more women than originally planned when the original shipment arrived a few days later.

“This was the first year we had any logistical problems with delayed flights out of Colombia,” said Meneses, who now works as a chaplain at Waterford Center, one of the nursing homes she and her Emmaus women visited as part of her annual Flowers for Moms project. “At first I thought everything was falling apart but things happened just the way they were supposed to happen.”

Meneses began the tradition 10 years ago as a tribute to her mother, Eneyda Meneses, who cared for a sick aunt in a nursing home. Thanks to the generosity of Vicky Campos of Spring Always Flowers, who has been donating over 400 roses for the past eight years, it has evolved into an annual project organized by St. Patrick’s Women’s Emmaus group.

Campos, who is also an Emmaus "sister," as the women call themselves, got inspired after reading about the project in aFlorida Catholic article eight years ago. Even though she has relocated twice and is now living in Texas, she continues to sponsor the event on behalf of the Emmaus women.

The multicolored roses are brought to Miami via refrigerator air-cargo from Colombia the night before they are to be delivered. The Emmaus women then split up and visit the nursing homes, usually the Saturday before Mother’s Day.  

All the women who participated in the project this year had made their Emmaus retreat in October.

“These are new recruits who, six months after making their Emmaus retreat, were on fire with the Holy Spirit. It also gave them the opportunity to witness the corporal works of mercy first hand, in this Year of Mercy,” said Meneses, who co-led the event with her new Emmaus sister, Adrianna Davis.

Davis helped the women overcome another logistical hurdle: The room in the church where the women usually gather to prepare the flowers was unavailable. She volunteered her home and even had breakfast waiting for the volunteers. The preparation involves removing the thorns, trimming the leaves and tying a Mother’s Day greeting and ribbon to each rose.

“This is so hard for me,” said Davis, who lost her mother in March 2014 and is now battling cancer.

“This year it is real,” she added, emphasizing that participating in the Mother’s Day event helped her deal with her mom’s passing. “Tomorrow, I can’t call her and I can’t afford to feel bad. But it’s been a beautiful experience to be a part of this.”

“I know how nice it is to feel loved,” said Andrea Giron, an Emmaus sister from St. Patrick, reflecting on the example set by her parents, who had “great hearts.”

“Faith without works is dead,” she added.

Stealing the show was 6 year-old Ian Devoto, who accompanied his mom. “I’m so proud of him. At first he was shy, but then he got into it,” said Laura Devoto.

Serenading the women in the nursing home is another component of the day. This is the third year that Mirtha de la Torre, who attends Mother of Christ Parish in Miami and has a classical music background, has entertained the rose recipients.

She noted that, after losing her mom, Mother’s Day was always a sad day. “Now I share that day with other moms and make them happy and feel they have other daughters in Christ and they are not alone.” 

The group of women from St. Patrick usually go to the nursing homes around Miami Beach: South Point Plaza Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and Treasure Isle Care Center in North Bay Village. However, due to the logistical problems, this year they visited Waterford Center in Hialeah and South Point Plaza.

Although Campos’ original shipment did not make it before Mother’s Day, when it finally arrived a few days later Meneses prepared and delivered the roses to St. Catherine’s West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah Gardens and Villa Maria Nursing Center in North Miami. Both are operated by Catholic Health Services.

“I met with my friend Deacon Vicente (Moreno) and he was happy to be receiving them on behalf of the St. Patrick Women’s Emmaus,” said Meneses, adding that the staff put a rose on each patient’s lunch tray.

Yet another delivery was made May 14 to Heartland Manor in Miami Lakes, where Meneses’ great aunt is a patient.

Approximately 650 roses were delivered among the five nursing homes this year.

“I was pleased with the outcome. The ladies enjoyed it and the patients were thrilled. That’s what’s most important,” Meneses said. “I am so pleased that what started as simple idea 10 years ago became an annual project where love continues to keep revealing itself wrapped in mercy, delivered by some amazing Emmaus women.”