Marion Carroll grew up in a very different Ireland, where the arrival of the Far East magazine every month was a highlight, providing a glimpse into the world and peoples far away from her hometown of Athlone. Marion travelled to Knock in 1989 at death’s door after 17 years of life with multiple sclerosis. Then her life changed forever.
“When we got to Knock they brought me into the nurse and she settled all the things you do with an invalid. I was too sick to be brought to the Basilica immediately, so I was taken to the rest and care center. Eventually, just before Mass, we went over to the Basilica and they put me under the statue of Our Lady of Knock and when I looked up at the statue, that’s the statue they carry in the procession, I thought she was the most beautiful and friendliest statue I had ever seen in my life.”
“I wanted another housewife, another woman to talk to me who would understand what was within me and I looked back up at the statue of Our Lady and I said to her, ‘You are a mother too, you know how I feel about leaving my husband and children.’
It wasn’t a prayer, it wasn’t a statement, it was just one woman chatting to another. I then prayed to her to look after my husband and children and to give them the grace to accept my death as the will of God.”
During the Blessing of the Sick, Marion experienced a new sensation. “I got this magnificent feeling — a wonderful sensation like a whispering breeze telling me that I was cured. A nurse opened the stretcher and my two legs swung out and I stood up straight. It was the first time in three years I had been able to do so. I am absolutely convinced it was a miracle. My speech was perfect and my hands and arms were perfect. I was standing unaided on my own two feet.”
“Standing there that moment I saw my own heart right in front of me. And it was so full of joy and peace and a love without end. It was shining, looking directly into the sun. Then the rays came towards me and I got all these gifts of joy and peace and love and a lot of other things.”
In September 2019, thirty years after that experience the Catholic Church officially recognized her cure. In her book My Miracle Cure Marion shares her story for the first time. Over 30 years on she continues to enjoy good health.
Marion is convinced that her cure is a gift from God so that she can help congregations like the Columban missionaries in their work. “I am enthralled by the compassion of God and Jesus to people. There are days when I’m very far away from this, but I’m always inspired by the image of Jesus in the Gospels. He was someone who brought the compassion of God to people, someone who didn’t judge or condemn. He was someone who was with people wherever they were, especially those who found themselves on the margins of society. That is why I really admire people like the Columban Fathers because of the work they do with people who are unable to help themselves.”
“Unlike the Columbans I am not called to be a missionary. However, I can help them. Prayer is an important component in my life. When I pray I do so for groups like the Columbans. Since I was a young girl, I have been very familiar with the work they do through reading the Far East. I draw strength from my God who is compassionate, supportive and understanding. He is hard to shock.”
“I feel it is a privilege to use my very limited talents to pray for people like the Columbans who are playing their part in alleviating the suffering of this world and who strive to bring about change for those who are poor and oppressed. The Columbans bear witness to a Christianity which has a vital, personal quality rather than being something worn ostentatiously like a religious emblem and a spirituality that is deep, mysterious and beautiful, a religion that gives sympathy to our hearts and understanding to our minds. They are particularly conscious of the wisdom of Brendan Kennelly’s incisive words, ‘Self knows that self is not enough.’ As a community where everyone’s needs are met through the caring and sharing of each one in the community, where everyone feels loved, valued and respected, would surely be the Kingdom of God on earth. If Jesus Christ today is to offer hope to those who are struggling, who live on the edge, who feel unwanted, that hope is in people like the Columbans. I will keep praying for them to help them build the kingdom on earth as in heaven.”