Mary Jo Nocero , my mother, the mystical saint.
Where mysticism is the pursuit of communion with divinity or the conscious awareness of a God through direct experience, my mother was a modern day practicing mystic. Where sainthood has been granted to those individuals who live a life of virtue and whose actions have been recognized for having an exceptional degree of sanctity, while she walked this earth, when you were in her presence, you could imagine that you were in the presence of a living saint. God creates and releases many messengers who come to Earth to guide all of us on the path of love. I truly believe that Mary Jo was one of those very special messengers who had the gift of divine light as she shone upon the many individuals who were fortunate to cross her path. While regarded by most as a great teacher of spiritual wisdom and one who challenged those around her to question the foundation of their journey of faith in this life, Mary Jo was above all a great student of life. She had an intense need for enlightenment through reading the great works of literature and studying the actions of the great spiritual leaders of the past and present time. She had an avid desire to nurture her relationship with Jesus Christ and introduce him and his beautiful message to others so that many would know that we were not alone in this present experience. She became an exemplary model for those that wanted to imitate a life guided by Christ, she was an extraordinary teacher for those who wanted to grow and move forward on their spiritual journey, she was a healer as she listened to others and held them as they worked through the pains of life, she was an intercessor of God’s love as she held you in her prayers always, she lived a modest lifestyle unattached to excessive material comforts of this world, and when you were in her presence you clearly felt that you must be in the presence of God. While Mary Jo has accomplished her mission in the physical world and has crossed over to continue in the spiritual one, she leaves behind a legacy with those individuals who were touched by her incredible soul. Those who knew Mary Jo well and those who only had a glimpse into her beauty, will forever be transformed.
There is a poster board in my home that I made the week Mary Jo, my mother passed away. There are words of inspirations and butterflies placed all over the board with a beautiful angel in the middle. Above the angel’s halo reads the following quote by Flavia Weedn : “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” This is a quote that describes the ongoing impact that Mary Jo has on all of our lives. She was a person who brought a wealth of synergetic wisdom to our world and that wisdom continues to assist and to affect the lives of many people. She had a special connection with the divine that allowed her to teach many to dance to the beat of life’s beautiful drum, to understand life through the wisdom of their different experiences, or to see the world in a new and wonderful light that allows us to identify the magic that is there. She is the kind of mystical saint who left her mark on the hearts and souls of her fellow seekers. With this knowledge, I stand in utter awe at how magical it was to have had the opportunity to be in her presence and learn God’s message of love. I stand in utter awe that I was a witness to the experience of divine healing through her. For through her, anyone could experience the mystical, anyone could learn and realize their own conscious awareness of a direct experience with God. And, truly that is the calling of a mystical saint, that was the life mission of Mary Jo.
