Prayers for the soul of a wonderful girl, A short life with great meaning

You know, we often miss that there is beauty in the world. That there are people who give and give. I was reading this story and it touched my heart:

EAST WINDSOR -- Mary Rose Gabriel saved every dollar she ever received as a birthday or Christmas gift and, when she was 16 years old and had saved $7,000, decided that others needed it more than she did.

"She said, 'I'm not doing anything with it, I might as well give it to the church,'" her sister Sarah Gabriel recalled yesterday at her family's home in the township's Twin Rivers section.

Mary Gabriel, 18, gave everything she could during her life, which was cut short Sunday night when her car hit a utility pole on Old Trenton Road.

Her mother Suzan Gabriel said officials at St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in East Brunswick were surprised by the teen's generosity.

"They couldn't believe it," Suzan Gabriel said.

From the biggest sacrifice to the smallest gesture, Mary Gabriel always thought of how she could help others, her mother and sister said.

She had dropped off Mark Ibrahim, whom she called her "soon-to-be fiance," at his house in Hamilton at 11:30 p.m. Sunday and was driving home when her car spun off the road and struck the pole, family members and police said. She was ejected from the car and died by the time police arrived.

West Windsor police said there was no indication, other than skid marks, of what led her car to split a utility pole in half.

She lived a life grounded in her faith, giving away some of her favorite clothes to the needy and visiting inmates in prison, her mother said.

"She would do anything just to make other people happy," Suzan Gabriel said.

A small example happened on Thursday, when Mary, Sarah and two cousins went to the Thanksgiving parade in New York City. Mary asked the other three, who were cold and wet from the rain, if she could get them soup, Sarah said. All three said no. A few minutes later, "she came back with four soups," said Sarah, who is 17.

Mary Gabriel was a student at Mercer County Community College, having graduated from Hightstown High School in three years. She planned on transferring to Rutgers University and wanted to be a nurse practitioner

"She would talk a lot about the future," Sarah said. "She said how she wanted to be a strict parent."

Mary wanted to live in West Windsor one day, because she thought it would be a good place to raise children. Suzan Gabriel said her daughter and Ibrahim were planning to become engaged next summer.

Mary Gabriel was also interested in her Coptic background. She was preparing to go with her family next summer to Egypt for the first time in 10 years.

Her 19th birthday would have been Friday.
Source

We all get a life. The time of that life is known only to the Lord. Some in eighty years do not manage to be the loving example of this young girl.

Look at what Christ says:

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?'
And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

Matthew 25:34-40

For Mary Rose Gabriel who, as the article says:

A small example happened on Thursday, when Mary, Sarah and two cousins went to the Thanksgiving parade in New York City. Mary asked the other three, who were cold and wet from the rain, if she could get them soup, Sarah said. All three said no. A few minutes later, "she came back with four soups,"

And:

She lived a life grounded in her faith, giving away some of her favorite clothes to the needy and visiting inmates in prison.

And:

Mary Rose Gabriel saved every dollar she ever received as a birthday or Christmas gift and, when she was 16 years old and had saved $7,000, decided that others needed it more than she did.

"She said, 'I'm not doing anything with it, I might as well give it to the church"

Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.

May she rest in the arms of her Lord. And may we see that in a world so often comsumed in pain and strife that there are examples of love and beauty in the simple acts of loving each other as our Lord told us to.