Since I first wrote these incidents, Ed passed on. He was an interesting long time friend who I miss very much. I know, where ever he is, his knees work and he is hiking and exploring. Ed was a staunch Roman Catholic of the old school who was very tolerant of my beliefs as long as I was tolerant of his. I was raised Roman Catholic so this presented no problem.
I was visiting Ed. He had a sore shoulder I treated with Reiki. He found my ability to relieve a pain with a few moments of hands-on healing, a pain doctors couldn't relieve with pain killers, interesting. That night we discussed Reiki, healing, and especially where the "power" came from for quite a while.
I explained my belief this energy comes to me through special healing angels. These angels chose to work through me or with me after I took some healing training. As long as I called them angels and didn't mention spirit animals and pagan gods and goddesses and light beings he was comfortable. I know he felt there were things I wasn't telling him and he didn't want to know more.
The following day we went for a ride and ended up at the local museum in Clifton.
Ed said, "There's something special I want to show you later." After I looked around the museum for a while, he brought me to the postcards and gave me a card with Teresita's picture and a few words about her. We looked for a book about her, but none was available.
I took the card home with me and, for a few nights before sending distant healing, I looked at the picture and asked her to join me, to heal through me, if she would like. One night, I asked if she was there and saw her beautiful smiling face.
On a later visit to Ed we took a trip to the museum again. This time we talked to the curator who gave instructions to find what he felt was her grave.
Ed and I, following the directions given by the curator, located what we felt was Teresa's grave site. I'd like to relate a great spiritual experience that happened to me at this site. Nothing happened. Maybe the next time. But this time, she was out and about and not taking visitors.
Sometimes I feel her presence and some clairvoyant friends saw her attending healings since then. Someone saw her attending one of my Reiki classes.
Don Tomas Urrea married his cousin, Loreto Eseeberri, and settled down to responsibility. Although he was a model citizen, respected, honest, and sober, he still had a roving eye and an attraction to young women. Thus Teresa and some other offspring.
Teresa was born the natural daughter of Don Tomas, a grandee of distinguished lineage, and Cayentana Chavez, a fifteen year old Tehueco Indian girl. As she grew, it became obvious from her appearance that Teresita was different from the offspring of the ranch hands. She grew up with her mother in the ramada of her aunt, often the object of her aunt's hostility and scorn.
As she grew, she was a tom-boy and participated in many of the rough and tumble games of the boys. She was also a favorite of several of the vaqueros who often took her riding.
During the political upheaval of 1880, Don Tomas backed the wrong side and found it politically expedient to move from his home in the state of Sinaola. He chose to go to Cabora, Sonora, to work a ranch he owned there and manage an uncle's ranches. With him, he took several retainers, including several of his ex-mistresses and their families. Included in this move was Teresita.
The ranch was destroyed by Yaqui Indians shortly before the arrival of Don Tomas and his train. He then took Dona Loreto and her children and installed them in a separate home and returned to rebuild the ranch at Cabora. He also made peace with the surrounding Indian tribes.
During the reconstruction of the ranch, he faithfully visited Dona Loreto and fathered several children. He, however, continued his amorous adventures with the local women. He eventually built a ranch supporting more than 400 people. He created a diversified and self-sustaining ranch.
Finally Don Tomas moved a beautiful native woman, Gabriela, into the house at Cabora. Although aware of the situation and not at all happy with it, Dona Loreto accepted the situation. She stayed at her home in Alamos. During the time, Don Tomas fathered several children of both Dona Loreto and Gabriela.
When she reached the age of 15, in 1888, Don Tomas invited Teresa to move into the main house at Cabora. By then she was an accomplished rider, singer, and guitarist. At this time, she and Gabriela were almost the same age.
Don Tomas was away when Teresa arrived at the ranch. The first person Teresita met at the ranch house was Huila, an old woman, a distant mestizo relative of Don Tomas and head housekeeper. Huila was a woman of great wisdom possessing a knowledge of herbs and much experience as a midwife. She supervised the daily running of the house and attended the sick of the ranch.
When Don Tomas returned, he was totally taken by his new daughter who Hulia and Gabriel had transformed from a simple peasant girl to a beautiful lady. Teresita learned to dress and act like a lady but still retained some of her wildness and freedom loving traits; un-lady-like actions such as riding wildly across the land astride her mount and not side-saddle.
At one of the family gatherings, Buenaventura, Teresita's illegitimate half brother who disliked her intensely was teasing her. While he was teasing her rather spitefully, she rose to her feet and confronted him without a word. She stared intently into his eyes and he froze, paralyzed in position. When she realized what she had done, she put her hand on his cheek and apologized. Slowly he relaxed and regained his composure. He never badgered Teresita again.
Although the event was unusual and a little mysterious, none present including Teresita placed any real significance to the event. They had all seen similar reactions when a rider was thrown form a horse and momentarily stunned and assumed this event was in the same category.
Teresita became friends with Apolonaria, one of Don Tomas' daughters. Both girls were of the same age. One day Teresita casually predicted the date and the man that Apolonaria would marry. On that date, Apolonaria married Senor Gutierrez, the man Teresita predicted.
Teresita received a rudimentary education during the time at Don Tomas' ranch, the equivalent of about today's fifth grade education. She learned quickly. She was generally bored with the life at the ranch as, before moving there, she was always busy with some task or another. Now all she had to occupy her idle time was needlework, which bored her, and playing with Gabriela's children, which she enjoyed but couldn't do all of the time.
One day, Hulia invited Teresita to accompany her on her rounds. Teresita's affinity for the calling was immediate and intense. Teresita observed Hulia's diagnostic techniques. She began accompanying Hulia on her rounds and developed an intense interest in the herbs Hulia used. She spent much of her time with Hulia studying these herbs and their uses.
Hulia was quick to notice Teresita's healing powers. Although she stood at a respectful distance behind Hulia, Teresita's presence was felt by the patients. After Hulia treated a patient, Teresita would kneel by the patient and touch the patient's forehead or cheek, often offering some calming words. Hulia was quick to notice the calming effect this had. Eventually she reported this to Don Tomas.
Teresita also found that she could control other things. If she didn't want to be lifted, not even the strongest ranch hand could lift her. If she decided that the strongest of the men could not move her arm in arm wrestling, they could not.
Josefina, her best friend and one of people other than Hulia who recognized Teresita's powers, stated in an interview, " I do not believe that anyone could have resisted Teresita's eyes in the dark. They had such an irresistible brilliance that people could not gaze at them. But I could, because that is the way she wanted it to be. If someone were to see her eyes open in the dark, it would be very bad for them. For that reason, whenever she made an appearance at night, she did it with her eyes closed. With her eyes open, she illuminated the entire room."
In 1889, due to some psychological shock, reportedly an attempted rape, Teresita lapsed into a seizure. Her breathing became slow and scarcely audible; her pulse was so weak that only the most skilled could feel it; her jaws were clamped tight. Even Hulia, with all of her experience could do nothing.
Her seizure had an effect on everyone at the ranch. Although accustomed to life and death, Teresita was a special case. She had brought comfort and gaiety to so many. As days passed, she became more ashen and pale. She became more pale and wrinkled and dehydrated. On the twelvth day, Don Tomas ordered a coffin made. That evening, he ordered a wake. Teresita's mortal remains were placed on a table with lighted candles at the head and foot. That evening the wake began.
Later in the night one of the woman praying over the body saw movement in the girl's eyelids. Her eyes opened. She came to a sitting position. All of the women ran from the room except Hulia.
"What does this mean?" asked Teresita.
"You were dead," said Hulia.
"Dead?"
"I prayed to the Blessed Virgin to give you back to us."
"The Blessed Virgin? She was here. She told me many things I must do." Teresita then noticed the empty coffin. " Tell Papa I will not need that, but save it. In three days there will be a use for it."
On the third day following Teresita's recovery, Hulia was found dead in her room.
As the days passed, she grew more and more abstracted. She showed no interest in the activities around her. The only interest she showed was in the visitation she had during the trance. Her total pre-occupation was with curing the sick, consoling the incurable, and comforting the grieving. This, she said, was the message of the visitation. She need someone to help her feed and dress herself.
Despite her lack of interest in most of the things happening around her, Teresita still asked about the ill around the ranch. One day she was told about the wife of a vaquero suffering from fever. She decided to visit the woman, accompanied by a maid.
When she arrived at the ramada, the ill woman was surrounded by a group of solicitous people. The people stood back at a respectful distance. To them, the presence of Teresita was a miracle.
Teresita knelt beside the sick woman who grew fearful. When the girl took her hand, the sick woman trembled. Her jaw stiffened as if she felt a mild shock. Teresita's calm voice soon reassured the patient. Gradually she responded to the hypnotic force of Teresita's eyes. Her fears vanished; she became oblivious to everything except the presence of the girl. Teresita sent the maid back to the herb Hulia used to cure fevers. With the herb, she made a potion which the woman drank. Then Teresita and her maid departed. By the next day, the fever was gone. The incident inspired a great deal of talk. Her subdued personality, her abstraction, and her newly acquired powers made her seem strange and inexplicable. Some thought her demented; others that she possessed supernatural powers. She began making sick calls and became Hulia's successor.
One day, Simon Salcedo, a vaquero crippled by a kick in the head by a horse, came to her. His right side was crippled and the right side of his face drawn and distorted and he walked supporting himself with a staff. Teresita knew his condition couldn't be cured by herbs or Hulia would have helped him long ago. She didn't know what to do, but in her compassion, she held his crippled hand and turned her eyes on him. She picked up some dust, and mixing it with her saliva, rubbed it on his leg, arm, and face. She took his stick and told him to walk, which he did. She told him to raise his right arm, which he did. She told him to smile, which he did. Within a few days, his face returned to normal, and, gradually, he began to do all of the normal duties he hadn't performed for years.
During this time, she is also reported to have cured a woman's hemorrhaging lungs. She also cured an Indian woman's paralyzed leg.
During the next several months, she continued in her abstract condition. During this time, she had to be cared for, fed, clothed, and bathed. She seemed preoccupied by her inner voice, only rising and leaving the house when prompted to care for the sick.
One morning Teresita awoke, her brain fog cured. She arose, brushed her hair, and dressed with no help. Then she began talking to Gabriela as normal. She remembered nothing of the past several months. When told of the cures she performed, she was overcome with humility. As she heard more of what transpired during her illness, she wondered if she still had this power. If so, she felt it was a gift from God to be used with humility and without material reward.
Don Tomas wanted no part of revealing what had happened during Teresita's illness. As far as he was concerned, the results might be inexplicable, but not supernatural. He was much relieved when Teresita began to take an active part in the normal life of the ranch. Although she was often thoughtful and serious, she was more like her old self, playing the guitar, singing, joking, and joining the merry-making.
One day at lunch, Teresita went into a brief trance and predicted the arrival of a neighbor rushing to their home. Shortly after, the neighbor arrived asking for help with an accident. Don Tomas accompanied Teresita to treat the injured vaquero. Teresita set the bones, applied the splints, and administered herbs, just as Hulia would have done. The only difference was that she used her eyes to hypnotize the injured man and take away the pain.
During a party, she went into a trance and predicted a tornado striking a nearby ranch in a few days. Although not quite believing the prediction, Don Tomas finally alerted the habitants of the ranch and evacuated them. As predicted, the tornado struck.
Teresita also predicted the arrival of Don Aguirre, a close friend of Don Tomas. As Don Aguirre was both a religious man and a learned man, Don Tomas felt he would be the man to discuss the recent happenings with. Don Aguirre was able to present examples and information of the studies of psychic phenomenon as well as religious evidence. After thediscussions, Don Tomas was much more willing to accept the happenings. He did not, however discuss this evidence with Teresita, who would not have been interested anyway. To her the most important thing to do was use the powers granted her.
The word of Teresita's healing miracles spread. By 1891, the number of visitors had grown to several hundred, even thousands per day. As the number of visitors grew, so did Don Tomas' misgivings. He tried to convince his daughter to quit seeing people, but her heart went out to the believers and the instructions of the voice far outweighed the pleas of her father.
Teresita would quickly determine the nature of each illness and follow the general pattern of treatment as learned from Hulia, but with special healing powers beyond the old healer. If the ailment was only physical, she used herbs. If it problem was in the person's mind or from a nervous disorder, she would apply the dust and saliva. If the illness were beyond her powers, she would offer no false hopes. Most effective for all was her presence, both physically and spiritually. Especially noticable was a soothing fragrance eminating from her pores when she was healing.
Several of her cures were quite spectacular, especially those dealing with paralysis. People would arrive in litters and carts, only to walk away under her own power. People would call her "Santa Teresa", a title that she rejected.
One of the arrivals was Fortunato Avendano, with his crippled wife. Teresita anticipated their arrival, and when the came, she called them forth. When Teresita cured her paralysis, Mariana Avendano and her husband became her servants.
The crowds became so great that Don Tomas began feeding them. He had to remove quantities of his livestock to protect it from poachers and to provide grazing for the numerous head of stock now occupying his land. He tried to convince Teresita to go to go away to school, to marry, to go on a tour of Europe, but each attempt fell on deaf ears. Eventually, he accepted the inevitible. From that day forth, his fate was linked to that of his daughter. Once this change came over Don Tomas, he supported her wholeheartedly. Teresita and her mission took priority over all other events at the ranch. By careful management of the resources of his ranches and by charging those who could afford supplies, Don Tomas kept his property on a break-even basis.
Though some thought she was a highly religious person, Teresita had a simple religious philosophy. The essence of religion for her was simple: Love of God and Love of fellow man. No priest, no organization, no authority was necessary to intervene between God and man. She felt that prayer was a personal and vibrant thing. She said, "I perform no miracles. Only God can do that."
She had several visitors who came to study her healing techniques from around the world. She willingly co-operated with anyone with serious intent.
Profirio Diaz was the President of Mexico, in reality a dictator. Part of his new plan for Mexico was a land grab, Ley Lerdo, taking the untitled land away from the native inhabitants and redistributing it to his henchmen and powerful foreign interests. Spokesmen of the Yaqui and the Mayo tribes, two of the many tribes disposessed, came to Teresita for council as they considered her a holy person. Other villages, also threatened by Ley Lerdo, sent groups to Cabora where they met with others of like mind. Don Tomas was aware of the undercurrent of rebellion among the visitors at Cabora as was the government. Teresita advised all who consulted her to be patient and tolerant and to trust in God.
Because of the growing Teresita cult spreading through the back country, the priests were becoming alarmed. To them she was no longer a simple healer but a threat to the Church. They denounced her from the pulpit as a heretic. These and other circumstances caused the government to place her under arrest for encouraging revolution but she was soon released.
Many of the Indians and villagers fought against the government and their policies. The battle cry was "Viva la Santa de Cabora." The government decision was made that she be exiled to the United States. To return to Mexico would mean her death.
The military arrived to escort her to Nogales, Don Tomas, and he alone, was allowed to accompany her on her journey. That night, Don Tomas and Teresita hastily packed. Don Tomas made plans with his sons to operate the ranch in his absence. He also made plans to have Gabriela, the children, and the servants brought to the United States at a later date.
They were taken to Guaymas by carriage under a heavy military escort. From there, the went by train, under heavy guard, to Nogales. All along the route, the military feared that the people might recognize Teresita and attempt a rescue. Especially feared were the Yaqui. But, without incident, the train safely arrived at Nogales. Officials on both sides of the border were alerted and the crossing was completed without a hitch. They were met by their old friend, Don Aguirre, who had been expelled from Mexico earlier.
Don Aguirre wanted to work on the revolutionary movement. He asked Teresita to join him, to lend her name. She felt this was against all she stood for. He asked Don Tomas who also refused because his family and property were still in Mexico.
The Mexican government suddenly decided they wanted Don Aguirre, Don Tomas, and Teresita returned to them. They decided that they had made a mistake by letting them go where they had no control over them. Don Aguirre sought and gained political assylm. Don Tomas went to Tucson and applied for and obtained United States citizenship. Teresita, only 19 at the time was too young to obtain United States citizenship and would have to wait 2 years.
An attempt was made to kidnap Teresita shortly after their return to Nogales. Don Tomas moved to a ranch about 20 miles north of Nogales. He hoped that the added distance from the border would make kidnapping more difficult. In November, Gabriela, her children, and the retainers arrived from Mexico. The party was guided to the border by 60 armed Yaqui.
In Mexico, the government of Diaz decided to capture or destroy the "rebels", led by Cruz Chavez, at the village of Tomochic. The first attack with over 400 federal soldiers against 100 villagers ended in defeat for the government. The second attack, 15,000 troops against 68 defenders lasted for 10 days. Finally, after the defenders ran out of ammunition and water, federal troops were able to burn the defenders' stronghold and execute the survivors.
In the ruins of the Chavez house, letters from Teresita were found. The government tried to accuse Teresita of causing the rebellion, but Captain Francisco Castro, who found the letters had miraculously survived the burning of the the Chavez house stated, "She recommended tolerance and love for one's neighbors, aid for the destitute, mercy by the victors, and succor for the dying. She said charity is the best road to God. At no place in the infamous letters did she recommend rebellion." The defense of Tomochic had a deep effect on the federal soldiers who, almost to the man, later joined the rebellion against the Diaz government. The name of 19 year old Teresita, La Santa de Cabora was on the lips of every man at Tomochic to their death.
The tragedy of Tomochic stunned Teresita. The family feared another seizure, but the need of the sick and suffering gradually aroused her. Don Agguire tried again to enlist Teresita in the revolutionary cause, but she held to her position of non-violence and love. Don Agguire had pictures made of Teresita and distributed them among the Mexicans crossing the border to the United States.
During this time, Don Tomas was worried about the situation in Mexico. He was still on probation to have his citizenship approved.
He was also cautious because the Diaz government could confiscate his property, leaving his family with no support. He did not wish to become involved in Don Agguire's schemes for practical reasons. He decided to move his family farther away from the border and lessen the chances of any involvment.
One day a delegation from San Jose on the Gila River, about 200 miles from the border. A citizen of San Jose had been cured by Teresita and the delegation offered a house and a caravan to move the family. Don Tomas accepted the offer. At San Jose, the distance from the border reduced the number of Mexican patients. However, the number of Spanish speaking patients from around Arizona and New Mexico took up the slack.
When Don Tomas moved away from the border, Don Agguire moved to El Paso, Texas. He invited Don Tomas, whose United States citizenship was now approved, to move there. Don Tomas moved his family to El Paso and the residence, in a fashionable neighborhood, was soon surrounded by the sick from both sides of the border. In El Paso, Teresita treated about 200 patients a day. The El Paso and other newspapers carried numerous stories and photographs about her good works. The businessmen of the city discovered that Teresita was good for business and erected a large tent nearby to provide shelter for the numerous patients and pilgrims.
Don Agguire convinced Teresita to lend her name to a series of articles about Tomochic under the condition that the articles concentrate on the faith and courage of Cruz Chavez and the brave Tomochitecos. Don Agguire agreed to the stipulation under the hope that keeping the memory of Tomochic alive would aid the revolution. Don Agguire managed to encourage invasion from along the border, the revolutionaries calling themselves the "Teresitas." They attacked several customs houses but were unable to hold their positions for more than a short while. Don Agguire blamed Teresita for the failure because she did not sanction the revoltion. He felt that, if she had given her blessing, or even better, mounted a horse and led a column, the revolution would have been a success.
The Diaz government blamed Teresita for the trouble and asked the United States government to extradite her to Mexico for trial. Failing in this attempt, the Mexican government asked that she be removed from the border. Attempts were made on Teresita's life and Don Tomas mounted an armed guard. A US marshal visited Don Tomas and suggested that the United States Department of State would be saved a lot of embarassment if he would move from the border area.
Don Tomas chose Clifton, Arizona, for its natural beauty and the mining activity there. He aquired a piece of property in the lower part of town. He felt the area was sufficiently remote from agents of the Mexican government and religious fanatics with designs on Teresita's life. He also saw the opportunity to start a wood business and a dairy.
The time in Clifton was different from usual for Teresita. Because of the remoteness, there were fewer visitors for treatment. Dr. Burtch, the local physician, noticed that, although he didn't know how she did it, Teresita was able to obtain results with some of the people that he couldn't help, mostly chronic and traumatic patients. He began referring patients to her and probably through his influence, she was taken up by the wealthy members of the community: bankers, lawyers, and the American and British mine owners. One of the bankers had a 6 year old son who was allicted with what Dr. Burtch thought was polio. The doctor could do nothing with the boy and convinced the doctor to allow Teresita to treat the boy. In three weeks, the boy showed marked improvement, impressing the Anglo community.
A worker at the mines fell in love with Teresita, a not unusual ocurrance. This time what was unusual is that Teresita fell in love with him. She had long affirmed that she intended to marry. Before leaving Cabora, she predicted that man that she would marry would be cruel to her, indeed would attempt to kill her.
Guadalupe Rodriguez was tall, fair, and handsome. Don Tomas did not approve of him and forbade Rodriguez to set foot on his property. In June, 1900, Rodreguez appeared at Don Tomas' property, carbine in hand, demanding permission to marry Teresita. Had this event ocurred in Cabora, Don Tomas would have either shot or horsewhipped the young man, but in Arizona there was considerable anti-Mexican sentiment and Don Tomas decided to strictly abide by local law. Rodriguez left and shortly returned with a justice of the peace, demanding to marry Teresita then and there.
Teresita emerged and agreed to marry the man. The ceremony was held immediately with the angry Don Tomas looking helplessly on. Teresita packed quickly and went with her new spouse to his home accompanied by several friends. There the guests reveled all night. The marriage, according to Teresita, was not consumated.
The next morning, the groom, bundled up some of Teresita's things and ordered Teresita to follow him.
He said, "We are going to Mexico."
She protested, "I dare not. I will be killed."
He started to drag her to the station. She followed along, amid the protests of friends, but he quickly out distanced her. As she chased him along the road, he turned and shot, barely missing her. He turned and ran off into the hills. A posse captured him later in the day and carried him off to the Clifton jail, an old mine adit with bars over the entrance.
That evening Teresita went to visit him.
"You would not have acted so if you truly loved me," she said sadly.
"I don't love you. I hate you," he shouted angrily. "When I get out of here, I will hunt you down and kill you."
Rodreguez was tried and found insane and confined to an asylum. Four years later Teresita obtained a divorce in Califronia. In her statement, she said that the evidence indicated Rodriguez was an agent of the Diaz government, hired to return her to Mexico, or failing, to provide evidence of her death.
When Teresita returned home, she realized how deeply her sudden marriage hurt Don Tomas. She found it difficult to look at him. A few days later one of the ladies of Clifton invited Teresita to go to California with her to treat a sick child of a friend. From the trauma of the marriage and the rift with her father, Teresita was convinced that this trip was best.
In San Jose, California, the child responded to Teresita's care and was quickly much better. The newspapers quickly seized on the story and took Teresita to their hearts. The publicity lead to the formation of a "medical company" to sponsor Teresita's travels around the country to heal. The officers of the company promised that the organization was philanthropic and no patient would ever be charged for her services. The $2,000 they offered her was, they said to compensate for her expenses and not as a salary. On her own for the first time, she signed the contract.
In her travels, she was handicapped by her inability to speak English. She wrote to a friend, Mrs. Juana Van Order, who sent her older son, John, to act as an interperter. A few months later Teresita and John were married, although whether to satisfy social convention or out of genuine feeling is not clear.
In New York City, Teresita treated several wealthy patients and was given expensive gifts which she, to the consternation of her husband, gave to the poor. In 1902, she gave birth to a daughter. At this time, she also received news of her father's death from typhoid. Don Tomas was buried in the Shannon Hill cemetery in Clifton.
The death of Don Tomas was traumatic for her and may have been responsible for her move to Los Angeles. She became interested and active in the plight of the poor Mexicans. This, of course, caused some problem and aprehension in the Anglo controlled economy. She was also disillusioned with the medical company. Her home burned and she moved in with friends nearby. A few months later, she found she was pregnant.
Teresita contacted her mother-in-law, telling her she wanted to move back to Arizona to have her child. Juana Van Order invited her to her home immediately and had two rooms added. Her second daughter was born shortly after her arrival.
With some of the money she saved from her work with the medical company, she was able to buy a lot and build a house in Clifton. Her husband seems to have lost interest in Teresita's activities at this time. While waiting for the house to be completed, she moved in with Gabriela at the ranch. Gabriela was having a hard time as the support from the Mexican ranches was withdrawn. The two women easily returned to their friendship of old.
When she moved into her new house, she dedicated one room as a "flower room." Here, in her new home, she hoped to nurse the the sick and heal the injured.
Gabriela and other of her friends noticed a change in her when she moved back to Clifton. She seemed to have lost some of her healing powers. She still grieved for don Tomas. Her present moods were also, probably in part, due to her unwillingness to adjust to the conditions of working with the medical company. She was a person who needed the love and support of those around her; with the medical company, the climate was cold and unsympathetic. She was never able to adjust to these surroundings.
Her health began to fail. Her old friend, Dr. Burtch examined her and found lung trouble.
"Truly nature plays ironic tricks," he said at length. "It is not fair that you who have cured thousands should fall victim to this maladay."
"It does not matter," she said. "If it were not this sickness, it would be another. The savior cured thousands but, in the end, did not save himself."
Hesitantly Dr. Burtch informed her, "This lung problem is contagious. You should not treat others."
"I undertand. I feel that my commitment to the Holy Mother is fulfilled. She does not expect more of me," Teresita said calmly. Then she added, "Please do not tell anyone of my condition."
Dr. Burtch continued to visit her but no further mention was made of her illness. He also sent out word that Santa Teresita was ill and in need of rest. Gabriela's children would visit her daily. Mariana, her friend and servant since the day Teresita healed her, cared for her and was her companion. Teresita did not discuss the years she spent with the medical company. No one other than Marianna thought that she was seriously ill. Everyone felt she was just overworked and run down, that rest and good food would soon have her restored to health soon. During her time of confinement, one of her favorite pass times was growing her flowers.
One day, she finally made a trip to visit the grave of Don Tomas. The next day, physically weakened from the trip, she was unable to get out of bed. Soon after, her mother found her and came to visit. A few days later, on January 11, 1906, Teresa Urrea, La Santa of Cabola, died. She was 33 years old.
So there it is, the story of Santa Teresita de Cabora. As history points out, she was instrumental in the later Mexican Revolution, willingly or not. Could she have mounted a horse and been another Joan of Arc? Who can say.
And if she was truly a saint or not is still open to question. She was a healer, the documentation is there for that. It seems to me that she was a person who just wanted to make the world a better place and use her gift for good. She was swept up in the politics of power and greed and fear and made her best effort to do what she thought was right, to follow the path God laid out for her.
I don't know if she is really a healing guide for me or not. But I feel that reading and studying about her and visiting the some of the area that worked in has had an effect on me. If, through me, she has chosen to continue helping others, that is great. If not, she still has left her imprint.