Maria: “When I started to work and help people, I saw that by helping others, I was making them happy and joyful.”
Her weakness was transformed into strength.
Father Marco: “I have discovered that she is silent, but ready for sacrifice…obedient and ready to do whatever she needs to do. She's been working now for twenty-five years. And in all that time, she has never complained and never asked for any payment.”
Over the years, Maria has become well known in the local parish for her selfless and cheerful volunteer work. The love of life she's found has literally given life to others…as with the families whom she has counseled against abortion!
She can often be found at Father Marco's retreat house, cooking some of her delicious pancakes or scooping out homemade ice cream cones for the altar boys from Holy Spirit Parish. Father Marco doesn't know where he'd be without her typing skills!
Maria's life has not been easy, but she has discovered a life-changing secret that has brought meaning and purpose to the pain and suffering she's known. It's a secret that she found in a deep and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Maria: “If God had not allowed Christ to suffer, we would not be saved. So if He could suffer, I can, too. And I know that my suffering has meaning. I'm always offering my suffering for people who do not go to church and who don't believe in God.”
This God is someone Maria joyfully serves and freely recommends to everyone…no matter what their handicap!
Maria: “God….God is greatness! He is love and light. And He's the only meaning of my life. He's the purpose of my life…and my goal.”
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Maria: “My father brought me to Sarajevo because we lived in Bosnia, but they didn't take me in because there were too many wounded soldiers who were dying. So we went home and I didn't get any professional help.”
Maria fell from a tree… and broke her spine.
By the grace of God, the spine healed and Maria recovered from the physical pain, but she was left with a disfigurement that isolated her from other children her age.
Maria: “They used to tease me when I would walk down the street. They would shout 'hunchback' at me. And it hurts. As a child, I could not understand all of this.”
As Maria grew older, the loneliness became even worse.
Maria: “I suffered a lot. When I would go to the city, I had no one to go with because all of my girlfriends got married. And whenever I got home, I would close myself into my room and cry secretly; because I didn't want my family to see me. During the night, I cried a lot, too. And I was telling myself, 'Maria, you're crazy.'”
Childhood memories fill many of us with delight. Recalling those days when the world was our playground….full of fun and laughter and free of worries. Maria Smorhaj's life began the same way. Her family was poor, she says, but happy in the farmlands of Yugoslavia after the Second World War. But at the age of 8, Maria's life changed suddenly and permanently…the result of a tragic accident. Maria fell from a tree she'd been climbing and broke her spine.
When a person reaches this point, he or she can go one of two ways: toward bitterness and defeat…or toward acceptance and victory! Maria's faith in God led her up the higher road. She began attending Mass every day and found that in the Sacraments, she was infused with a new power that transformed her weakness into strength. As she realized God's love for her, she found she was less concerned with her own troubles…and more involved in the lives of others.
