Florida woman honors forgotten mothers in nursing homes with roses

Published: 2008-04-28

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (CNS) -- Maria Meneses has a vision, but in order to see it through, she needs help. The vision: to deliver a rose to all female patients in nursing homes on Mother's Day. Her inspiration came from a desire to pay tribute to her late mother, Eneyda Meneses, who cared for a sick aunt in a nursing home for many years. "I don't have a mom. How else can I celebrate?" said Meneses, a parishioner of St. Patrick's on Miami Beach who made an Emmaus retreat eight years ago. One of the central themes of Emmaus is service to others, and Meneses said that after she made her retreat she yearned to give something back to Jesus as a small token of thanks. Like her favorite saint, St. Therese, the Little Flower of Lisieux, "We change the world a little bit at a time," Meneses said. "A little flower makes a big difference because it touches somebody's life." Meneses has been delivering flowers to a nursing home near her home for the past three years. She hopes to inspire others to join the bandwagon, especially people like herself who have made an Emmaus retreat.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .