This story is entirely true, as told to me by the great pro-life activist Myrna Shaneyfelt, of Grants Pass, Oregon;

 
Sometimes it seems that all the great Saints of the Church lived in faraway and exotic lands centuries ago. And sometimes it seems that their high moral and ethical standards just don't exist anymore in this cynical, utilitarian world. So many people believe that, if something can be done, they can go ahead and cheat or steal to do it. If something else (like an preborn baby) gets in the way, they can dispose of it in the quickest manner possible, all the time shouting about their "rights."

Bad as the situation may seem at times, we can take heart; there are still Saints all around us today. They simply aren't well‑known or famous. I personally know a 94‑year old Sister praying hours a day for the intentions of the pro-life movement, the 100-year old man who faithfully trudges out to the abortion mill every single day, the young child who never misses daily Mass, the quiet priest who joyfully and quietly holds to his vows and tirelessly ministers to the faithful, and the working father who always provides for his family and spends time with them. Yes, there are Saints all around us. We just don't always see them.

This is a story of a Saint who died in Oregon not too long ago. The papers didn't carry the news of her death, and the Pope made no solemn pronouncement on the occasion. She didn't receive the Nobel Prize or write great theological works. But her deeds are known to God, and surely she is enjoying Paradise with Him now.
 
A Native American girl named Carroll Ann lived with her mother and three younger sisters and brothers outside a Southern Oregon tavern in a rusted, broken‑down car. They didn't have a father; they had watched in terror as he shot himself in the head three years earlier. When Carroll Ann began suffering severe headaches at the age of twelve, her constant moans of pain became a nuisance. Her mother simply dropped her off at a city park on a freezing February night to survive on her own.

Police found her days later, half-naked and foraging in a garbage can for food, and took her to a local hospital. A physical exam showed that she had been abused, and that her headaches were being caused by a fatal brain cancer. An oncologist gave her just three months to live.

She was transferred to an advanced medical facility and underwent an intensive program of chemotherapy and surgery. This treatment arrested the cancer, but caused her to gain an enormous amount of weight. Her long, black hair grew brittle and fell out.During these trials, her only friend visited her faithfully and they read from the Bible every day. Eventually, she was transferred to a foster group home. Her friend said that Jesus' mother, Mary, would help grant her fondest wish of spending her last few months in a home with parents who loved her.

Ronald and Diane Johnson, parents of five children, heard that Carroll Ann's three younger siblings were available for adoption. The agency people didn't mention Carroll Ann, because they assumed that the Johnsons would not want to adopt a child in such poor condition. But the sight of the sick, bald little girl touched them deeply, and the Johnsons decided to adopt all four children.

Despite earlier predictions, Carroll Ann lived one more year, then two. She had to endure the pain of more surgery, and her headaches became sharper and sharper. Her growing circle of friends, in response to her fondness for roses, sent her dozens of the beautiful flowers every day. One day, Diane Johnson expressed amazement at the number of roses in her room. Carroll Ann replied that her death was imminent, but that she would send back a rose from Heaven to those who prayed for her.

After she returned home from the hospital the second time, she found an article about abortion in the local newspaper, and could not believe that something so evil and selfish could exist. She thought that it was impossible that people could mercilessly kill their own babies just because they were inconvenient or handicapped -- like her. From that point on, she prayed fervently for the babies, their mothers, and even for the abortionists.

Despite almost continuous agony, Carroll Ann's devotion to Jesus and Mary was radiant and powerful. This devotion was evident in all her actions. For instance, whenever someone would curse in her presence, she would kneel in front of them and ask God for forgiveness.

Carroll Ann continued to read from the Bible and books of the Saints daily, and became especially devoted to St. Therese. Beginning in May of 1978, she insisted upon being taken to the pickets of the local abortion clinic. Eventually, the cancer made her too weak to even stand, and she would sit in the car or in a wheelchair in front of the clinic and pray for the souls of the unborn babies being murdered that day. She asked Diane if Jesus would let her hold the suffering babies in Heaven after she died, and promised to let her friends remaining on earth see one of them.

In early August, an artist visited Carroll Ann. She was completely bald by this time, but he was kind enough to portray her with the long, dark hair that she had once possessed. She loved this drawing because it was a reminder of the beautiful long hair that would never grow back in this life.

A few days before she died, she said that she would like to take the name of her favorite saint, Therese. Her caseworker found a judge who changed her name to Therese Marie on August 28, 1978.

The next day, at the age of only fourteen, Therese Marie Johnson suffered her final agony. She was gently laid to rest in Grants Pass, Oregon, in her first Communion dress, a crown of seven red roses on her head. There were five roses in her veil, in honor of the five wounds of Our Lord, and she held a crucifix in one hand and a Rosary in the other. Strangely, her face, which had been twisted with pain so often, was unblemished. As her friends filed past, they plucked petals from the roses to help remember the faithful little Saint that Jesus had taken home.

But this is not by any means the end of Therese Marie's story on this earth.

In September, the fostering agency asked if Ronald and Diane Johnson would like to keep a beautiful newborn baby girl at home for a few days, until adoptive parents could be found. On the first day of October, the Johnsons took the infant into their home and baptized her Therese Marie, in remembrance of the daughter they had lost just one month earlier. The next day, the baby appeared to be in pain, so the Johnsons had her examined. The two‑day old baby, who looked so healthy and peaceful, had at least three fatal and inoperable internal birth defects, including an open heart valve. It was a genuine miracle that she could have even survived birth in this condition. Despite the exceptional efforts of the skilled medical staff, her situation was hopeless. The tiny baby joined Therese Marie in Paradise later that day.

The infant was laid to rest on the second day of October. The scent of roses was strong in the air, even though none of the flowers were present. Those attending remembered the promise that Therese Marie had made: That she would send a little baby and a rose back from heaven for her friends to see after she met Jesus in person.
 
Therese Marie serves as a shining example to all of us. How many times have we decided not to journey to a nearby abortion mill just because we didn't feel like it? How many unborn babies have died just because there was no‑one outside the mill to speak to a woman who might have been undecided, but who killed her child just because there seemed to be no alternative?

Therese Marie was out at an abortion clinic, in the rain, just four days before she died. She was too weak to even stand. She had to be carried on a litter, yet she prayed the Rosary that day. Surely we can find it in our hearts to follow her example.