The Catholic Defender A Letter From Mom
I was digging into an old issue of "The Mirror" dated October 16, 2009.
There was a Letter to the Editor that gained my interest. It was the headliner, "Much the same, 31 years later" that caught my eye.
The writer states, "I recently came across a copy of "The Mirror" dated April 16, 1978.
I particularly enjoyed a letter to the editor therein by Mary Ann McKinney of St. Catherine Parish, Humansville, MO. The subject was her parish priest and it follows here:
"Dear Editor: I was having a conversation with someone about parish priests. I was asked about ours. Who he is, to what order he belongs, what he looks like, ect. To all questions except his name, I could only reply: 'I don't know'.
'I doubt if I'd recognize him on the street without his collar'. 'We call him 'the road runner' because he has to hit three churches on the run'. 'He spends little time with us socially'. 'He's just 'Father'. Then I realized what I was doing. Without this 'He's just 'Father' I would still be fallen away, alone, and wretched.
I remembered my old Maryknoll Missal, victim of flood damage years ago, with pages all stuck together, pictures faded and colors run together. Where was it? When I crawled behind his chair to grope among my old books, my husband looked at me as if I had finally gone over the top! But it was still there, okay.
The pages came apart and there were all the litanies, prayers, and that great old forgotten friend, the Regina Caeli for Eastertime. And the prayer for missioners to which I added, sincerely, 'O Divine Wayfarer, thank you for our road runner and may his tires not go flat, his transmission not fall out, or he suffer a misadventure on the road before he can get to us, who like pouting children whose parent has to work to do and cannot come out to play, complain that we don't get enough attention!
May the strong winds be at his back as he brings me my life, my hope, my strength, and my salvation in the Body of Christ. Amen".
As I read this I felt how much this reminded me of my Mother. She had a lot of great wit about her.
My Mother's faith is what I was able to see and then experience and I thank God for my Mother.
Everything I do for the Lord, for every person that I help bring to the Lord, I do all of it in honor of my Mother.
I would not be who I am if it wasn't for my Mother. She is in the hands of Our Good Lord, and I know that Our Heavenly Mother is with my Mother.
Lord Jesus, You alone are holy and compassionate; Thank you for giving the Catholic Faith to my Mother and for forgiving her sins. By dying You opened the gates of life for those who believe in You; do not let Mom be parted from You, but by Your glorious power give Mom light, joy, and peace in heaven where You live for ever and ever.
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