Hail Mary after
Francis was born (16th December 2012)
Following closely from my previous post; Sam underwent an
emergency caeserian for which she needed a general anaesthetic (her temperature
was too high for the local anaesthetic).
This meant that I was unable to go into theatre with her, so I was left
in the delivery room on my own. After
she left I paced the room for a short time, wondering, as I suppose anyone
would, whether there was anything we could have done to make the labour easier.
After a minute or two I sat down with my head in my hands and prayed; perhaps
more intently than I have ever prayed – I used no words, I just felt that at
that moment I was close to God, or rather, God was close to me. I thought back
to that Rosary from the night before, particularly the Nativity Mystery and
began saying a Hail Mary for the well-being of Sam and our child. My heart,
mind and soul were despairing (this may be a strong word, but it is the most
appropriate word I have). As I came to the traditional split in that first
prayer (…of thy womb, Jesus) the door opened and the Consultant who had been
looking after Sam came in and told me that we had a son, and that they were
both OK. I thanked her and as she left I continued my prayer. For anyone who
does not have children I cannot think of a comparison to the feelings washing
over me; intense joy, happiness and a thousand other synonymous words, but all
permeated by an immense relief that Sam and the baby were both OK. Within one
short prayer I had gone from perhaps the lowest point emotionally of my life to
one of the highest. I have always found the idea of asking for and/or being
granted intercessions by our Blessed Mother or the saints a difficult thing to
believe in, but in that moment I truly had no doubt that Mary was with us and
praying for us to Christ.
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