It must have been half-way through my last year of seminary that I realized that within my first year of priesthood my parents would be celebrating their 40 years of marriage. From that time my siblings and I started to plan for this momentous occasion. We were thinking renting a hall, inviting all their friends, and having a big party for their marriage. When it came down to it, all my parents wanted was us to be together. This not the easiest task.
The Anniversary mass and dinner would take place in Clearwater, FL where my parents live. My older brother Luke, his wife Mary, and their two daughters Amy and Isabelle live in Loveland, Colorado. My older sister was living in Glendale, California. My younger brother Philip, who lives the closest, lives in Orlando, FL. By the grace of God we all arrived safe and in good humor.
It was a Saturday that we were going to celebrate a mass for my parents. The first thought was to have it just before dinner, and celebrate the Sunday's liturgy as a vigil. However, we decided to celebrate it earlier. I had planned on it being the Sunday's liturgy so I scrambled and picked out the ritual mass for anniversaries, and some readings that are given for anniversaries. I had my parents read the first reading and the responsorial psalm. My Dad read the words from Psalm 128, "May you see your children's children," he looked to his left and right at his two granddaughters. It was such a graceful moment.
As I said a prayer of blessing over my parents after the homily and blessed their rings with holy water, my Mom's eyes watered with tears of joy. I ask her afterwards what had struck her so powerfully. She said that when they got married she could not have imagined that 40 years later that she would receive a blessing from her own son on her anniversary.
As I left my family and returned to my parish family, I felt and still do feel recharged by the experience. It was because of my parents' radical living of their vocation in marriage that gave birth to my vocation as a priest. It is their love that they shared with me that allowed me to experience God's love and to give God's love daily to those who I encounter every day.
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Thanks for sharing that absolutely beautiful story, Fr Paul! God bless you and your family! :)
ReplyDeleteI have just read through the last three blogs from the "new" priests. Each of the men write about a form of celebration or meal. How wonderfully Catholic! The relationships are fed, nutured and cemented at table - whether those relationships are with family as was Fr. Paul's, or with the larger parish family as with Fr. Bob, or in a working group as with Fr. Will.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing these expereinces with your diocesan family! We do all come together at the table of the Lord!