Tribute to Elena Dabdoub

Elena, a name signifying “Shining Light”.

A ‘shining light’ brilliantly rose from the skies of the Middle East, 
traversing and navigating Atlantic Ocean waves,
resting briefly on the twin landmass of the Dominican Republic and Haiti,
finding rest, respite, and residence in the Land of Wood and Water, Jamaica.

Elena, the ‘shining light’, willingly embraced and adopted the name “Dabdoub”,
Arabic for ‘teddy bear’, 
Becoming the Shining Light Teddy Bear,
whose warmth embraced, enveloped and enfolded those whom she encountered on the journey of life.

Like the warmth of a teddy bear,
Elena, the shining light,
Embraced the poor, the unskilled, and the children,
Gifting them with the power of schooling, skills, and spirituality.

Elena, 
Your shining light,
incarnated in acts of compassion, La Pieta.
You were the La Pieta of the Holy Cross Community.
You modelled Mary, your mother,
welcoming and embracing the poor in your motherly, skilled arms,
finding a space on your warm lap for the unskilled and uneducated,
Gently holding them until empowered to empower self and others.

This shining light – La Pieta of Holy Cross.
Not a philanthropist,
Not a social worker,
Not a humanitarian worker,
Not an aid worker.

This shining light – La Pieta of Holy Cross
A woman of faith.
A stern woman of faith.
A forthright woman of faith,
who sourced strength,
not in receiving but giving,
not in being understood but in understanding,
not in being consoled but in consoling,
not in being loved but in loving,
not in being pardoned, but in pardoning,
not in saving her own life but in dying for others. 

This shining light, La Pieta of Holy Cross,
rising in the Middle East,
dying in Jamaica, but
rising to Eternal life.

May you, the shining light, the teddy Bear, and the La Pieta of Holy Cross,
rest from your long and weary sojourn of suffering, sacrificing, and selflessness.

May Mary, your mother, take you from the crucified cross of this dark and earthly life,
and lay you in her “Teddy bear-like arms and lap,
and offer you trustingly to the Father, saying,
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25: 23).

Rest well, Elena – the shining light, the teddy bear, the La Pieta of the world!