Testimony of How I Received a Rose while doing the Novena of Roses of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, by César Augusto Simões

Many people have already received roses by performing the famous Novena of Roses of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. I have also received one and here I leave the testimony that is in the Ebook I released: Guide on How to Pray the Novena of Roses of the Child Jesus.

The testimony follows:

My name is César Augusto Simões, I'm brazilian and I have a testimony to share about the Novena of Roses. Perhaps this testimony does not have the outcome that many expect. Summing up the situation, my wife, Edilene Rosa Ferreira Simões, had a cancer in her head for nine years, long before we met, and had been fighting it all this time. It was a benign glomus tumor in the jugular, a technical term used by doctors. Although it was benign, it was not possible to completely remove it because it was in a very risky place. It was only possible to remove pieces of it, never completely.

In the beginning, in 2011, the first surgery was performed, a very risky and large surgery. It was a success, but it left sequels: paralysis of half of the face, some difficulty swallowing, hoarse voice, among other minor complications. It was necessary to monitor this tumor to see if it did not grow back. As long as it was inactive, there were no problems. Edilene and I met and started dating in 2013. In 2015, the tumor started to grow again, but a new surgery was performed and, thanks to God, it was a success. There were no more sequels, only the ones that already existed.

We got married in March 2017 and until then, the tumor was inactive. About four months later, we were surprised with the news of my wife Edilene's pregnancy. Our little Laura was born on March 29, 2018, the day of the institution of the Holy Eucharist. At the end of the same year, we found out that unfortunately, the tumor had started growing again. Many people prayed for her healing, especially with a relic of Father Kentenich from the Schoenstatt Movement.

We needed to undergo a new surgery, which was scheduled for early March 2019 and would be done the following week, but we were surprised again: my wife had become pregnant. It was God who held us up to keep our feet firm during this discovery. It was the most inconvenient time for a pregnancy.

The doctor decided to wait until the end of the pregnancy to proceed with the surgery and requested more frequent MRI scans to monitor the tumor during the gestation. To the glory of God and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our mother, the tumor stopped growing during the pregnancy. Unfortunately, a new sequelae emerged and progressively worsened: the left side of her body became numb and on June 23, 2019, she was unable to walk alone. It was a very difficult pregnancy, as she vomited frequently and became weak, needing to receive IV fluids and being hospitalized. She became increasingly bedridden. There were no problems with the baby, only with the mother.

Due to these issues, the delivery was advanced by 1 month. He was born on August 30, 2019. We were frequently going to the hospital due to the strong weakness caused by frequent vomiting. My wife was hospitalized for 12 days before undergoing a C-section. Before that, MRI scans were performed indicating that the tumor was stagnant, large, but stagnant, only the sequel worsening. The baby was born healthy, by the grace of God, weighing 4.4 pounds and measuring 16.9 inches, premature at 8 months, but not seeming premature, just small.

With the baby born, it was necessary to proceed with the surgery procedures. Now, she couldn't walk even with our support, only with a wheelchair. Her arm could hardly move, and it was necessary to pull it with the other. In addition, she couldn't swallow anymore and her voice practically disappeared, having to use tubes and geriatric diapers. She also felt very short of breath, couldn't sit for long periods, and felt a lot of discomfort on the paralyzed side, needing frequent massages to relieve it. She was very angry with God. However, with a lot of prayer, from me and many others, on the early morning of October 13th, she received her spiritual healing, asked God for forgiveness for her anger, and decided that it would be a new life from that moment on.

It seems like God was only waiting for this, on October 16th, she was struggling with shortness of breath and was admitted to the hospital. While in the room, she had a respiratory arrest, was taken to the ICU, and intubated. She remained like this for about 4 days and received the Anointing of the Sick during this time. This arrest occurred due to cerebral edema, which means that her brain had swollen and compressed the area that controlled her breathing. The new surgery had already been scheduled for November 6th and could not be advanced because it was not possible to perform surgery in her condition, as well as the schedules of various doctors who came from afar and also of equipment that came from São Paulo to Campinas, where the surgery would take place.

Returning from the induced coma, she always said that God's will be done. During the night visit to the ICU on October 25th, she was very peaceful and even making plans for after she got better.

On the next day, in the morning, she seemed like a completely different person, very confused and not very lucid. She had a crisis during the night and ended up removing the tubes, needing to be tied to the bed. Gradually, talking to her, she regained her lucidity, but there were moments when she lost it again. On the same day, she was transferred to the room where she would stay until Sunday, November 3rd, when she would be taken to PUC in Campinas. Because she was in the room, she was able to receive visits from our children, including little Samuel who was only 2 months old. I mobilized Twitter and Instagram, which I use to promote our publications, to ask for prayers for her. In addition to the people who were already praying, many others from both social networks joined in prayer.

It was then that I started the Novena of Roses on Tuesday, October 29th, along with several other prayers and intercessions to God's saintly friends. On Wednesday, October 30th, I visited her in the hospital at night and found her very weak, unable to sleep even after taking many tranquilizers. The doctor explained that the insomnia was due to the cerebral edema, which had compressed the area responsible for sleep. And so, on the early morning of October 31st, 2019, God took her to Himself, at only 32 years old. Therefore, I affirm that this testimony is not what many expected, with a miraculous cure, but God continued to take care of us, and we could see His action in our lives.

On this day, amidst the rush and sadness, someone approached me and said that a friend of Edilene had asked her to buy a vase of roses and deliver it to me. It was the third day of the Novena and the rose had arrived. This means that God heard our prayers and answered them, not in the way we expected, but according to His most holy will, which is better than that of men. Now, Edilene no longer felt pain, was not stuck in a bed, but was free alongside God, Our Lady, and all of paradise. In addition, from heaven, she can take care of us and intercede to God for us.

Of course, we wanted her to be healed, it was what we prayed for the most, but we also prayed for God's will to be done, not ours. It's hard to deal with the longing, we have many challenges ahead, but God fulfilled His will. If God did not heal her, it was because it would have been harmful to her, either for her physical integrity or, especially, for her spiritual integrity, the most important. It would have been pointless for her to be healed only to lose her salvation later. God was always present, and we could see His hand acting upon us, heavy as an iron glove, but always providing for everything. We can be sure that God did not want the third surgery, for He intervened twice, once with life and once with death.

My daughter Laura doesn't ask for her mother or cry, but she remembers her and whenever she sees her photo, she says "Mommy". I believe that this happened due to the gradual separation between them, with my wife becoming more and more bedridden and maternal, paternal grandparents and uncles taking care of her more and more. Of course, Laura is very young and doesn't fully understand what death is, but somehow she realizes that her mother will no longer take care of her. This was a great providence from God.

I prayed the rosary for her and for those who helped and prayed for us every day. I received the call when I was already on my way to work, and we went to the hospital to proceed with the funeral arrangements. As I reached into my pocket, I found the rosary that I had prayed with so much for her. This was the rosary that I placed in her hands at the wake and that was buried with her.

A great miracle was that the tumor stopped growing during the surgery, although its consequences remained. This stagnation allowed little Samuel to be born healthy and safe. If the cancelled surgery had been performed, perhaps my wife would have been left in a vegetative state or even could have died. We don't know what God spared us from in that moment. With the cancellation of the surgery, we lived about three months without thinking about illness, enjoying life to the fullest. We fulfilled many of her wishes, not knowing that they would be her last months of life: we celebrated our daughter's first birthday, went on trips, prayed, had fun, among other things.

By divine providence, I ended up inheriting a maternity leave from my wife, even though she had already been away from the company for 7 years. I didn't even know this was possible, and neither did my employer, because it's not a situation that occurs frequently. Two colleagues mentioned it to the guy who was replacing me, and he passed on the information to our boss, who in turn informed HR. HR was not aware of this right and consulted the company's lawyer, who confirmed its existence. So, I was able to take two months of leave, until Samuel turned 4 months old, and I returned to work now, at the beginning of January 2020.

I had the idea for this ebook while at Mass, I had already done something similar with the holy rosary, and so I hope to help many people to obtain, through this great saint, many blessings and graces from God. I also ask the readers not to stop with this novena, but to seek to know the works of St. Therese and her life. If you like this ebook, please leave a review on the purchase page so that more people can have access and learn how to pray this powerful Novena.

I also ask God that with the help of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and Our Lady, we may fulfill and accept God's will. Thank you very much to all of you.

So ends the testimony. If you want to purchase the ebook, there is a demonstration of how it works just below. From time to time, this ebook becomes #free, so stay tuned to our social media channels so you don't miss the opportunity.