The usual question--"How was church today?"--from my mother this afternoon, followed by the usual murmured "Oh, fine...good..." and change of subject by either me or her...
Please don't misunderstand...I'd much rather have this than what my mother and I did to each other when I first became Orthodox. My mother has shown that she can be a very big person regarding something she so clearly and strongly opposes; her resisting the temptation to badmouth my Faith is noticed and appreciated, but...still...
It's difficult to avoid the elephant in the room...how can I really justify saying anything but "I stood in the courts of the King of Glory today, Ma...I sang with the cherubim and glorified God at the empty Tomb...I chanted "Holy, Holy, Holy" with the angels and elders of the faith...I saw the Queen of Heaven sitted at the right hand of her Lord...I saw the Lamb and Word of God on the Holy Altar, and He spoke to me and gave Himself to me as food...the flesh and blood of He who loves me--who loves mankind--mingled with my own, for the forgiveness of my sins and the healing of my soul and body--I kissed the Tree of Life and ate of the Fruit thereof...I met my God in heaven today..."
In other words...you know...oh, fine...good... (sigh)
5 comments:
I almost left a comment on this post, but I didn't. ;-)
LOL... yeah, its kinda like the old teenage thing: Where'd you go? Noplace.
What'd you do? Nuthin... parent child communication pretty much stays the same even into middle age. :)
I agree, what a reminder of the gift that we particpate in. Lord have Mercy.
My mother is dead. I talk to her right after the liturgy when, as the old Celts would have said, the veil between here and there is thin. Communication is what matters. You get to talk to your mother for real even if the conversations are kinda teenage was was suggested above. You never know where they will lead :-)
Dear David,
I know that you light candles for your parents because I do, we all do. I know you pray for them for the same reasons, but do you tell your mom, it was beautiful today and I prayed for you? The other stuff is too much for her because she has been told that you won't be with her in heaven, you are too Catholic now, and an idol worshiper etc. (sigh) Just the thought that she won't see you on the other side of Glory is a tough one on a mother, even though it isn't true, just Protestant propaganda, we only know what we have been taught.
I *think* it was Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon who had this on his program, someone he was talking to, was raised Presbyterian, said that it wasn't until he became Orthodox that he could truly say with his whole heart that Jesus (God) loved him.
I would just tell her that you love her and that you prayed for her. God works miracles!
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