Truly I say to you,
unless you turn and
become like children,
you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3
From the time Scotty was a very young child he loved to go to church. In the last few years our church going little guy has turned his love of church into a full time occupation/obsession. If this child got paid a dollar each time he asked to go to church, listened to the church playlist on his Ipad, watched mass on television, looked at his church books, or actually went to church he would be a billionaire.
His sweet Aunt Jo made him his
very own vestments for his birthday,
and when he wears them
he is reverent...he is holy...he is saintly.
Alleluia
As soon as we open his door in the morning (or the middle of the night) his first communication of the day is always to ask if we are going bye-bye? The second...is it a church day? More often than not he is still half asleep and if he doesn't get the answer he is looking for he slams his door and dramatically flops back down on his bed.
The last few years have been challenging and there have been many weekends that Scotty's behavior was so unstable we weren't able to go to church. Slowly, as he has become calmer and more predictable we have worked our way back. The last year was spent in a glassed in section behind the church... the room they have designated for all the fussy babies...the cry room, but we were there and that was a huge step.
In the past few months we have made our way through the glass doors to the back of the sanctuary. Progress!
In the past two weeks we have crossed the final barrier towards "normal" for us. For the first time in several years Scotty was able to receive communion. The three of us sitting together at mass and receiving communion together is something I was certain was out of our reach forever.
This boy of ours is fully present in every part of the mass. He sits, stands and kneels before everyone else, he follows along in his church book that he holds upside down and will never be able to read, he sings the Amens and Alleluias and his face radiates sheer joy.
This boy of ours is fully present in every part of the mass. He sits, stands and kneels before everyone else, he follows along in his church book that he holds upside down and will never be able to read, he sings the Amens and Alleluias and his face radiates sheer joy.
I watched him in awe last week as he sat so peacefully and so quietly during the mass. His face literally glowing with joy in anticipation of receiving the blessed sacrament. I saw that same glow of joy on his face when we celebrated his First Holy Communion so long ago.
Our beloved Father B was the kindest
and gentlest man I have ever met.
To be in his presence was to be in the presence of God.
Scotty's faith is simple and pure...it is perfect.
I envy him.
We had the pleasure last week of celebrating the mass with a newly ordained priest who was on fire for God. He led us through his journey to finding his vocation, but he told us that being a priest is not his vocation. He reminded us that our vocation is not to be a pilot or teacher, a son or daughter, or a mother or father. Our vocation is to be a disciple of Christ.
This boy of simple and childlike faith, without realizing it, is a perfect example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Without even trying he is the most Christ-like person I will ever know.
He is joy. He is light. He is love.
And he is a blessing to everyone he meets.
This boy of simple and childlike faith, without realizing it, is a perfect example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Without even trying he is the most Christ-like person I will ever know.
He is joy. He is light. He is love.
And he is a blessing to everyone he meets.
For it is written,
"Be Holy for I am Holy"
1Peter 1:16
