what a blessing

Today is Holy Thursday. Throughout Lent, especially this week, I have not focused on Christ the way I should. I read in our bulletin that there would be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. I thought this would be great for the kids and I to spend a few minutes with Christ to prepare ourselves for the Triduum. I hurried all morning and rushed the kids to do this lesson and that chore before we left. As the morning wore on I felt less and less eager to go. Going would take up too much time, the kids would just be cranky, we'd be at church this evening anyways. Well, we finally left around 10:30. On the drive to IHM I explained to the kids what I wanted from them, mostly silence and reverent behavior. We talked about kneeling in front of Christ and promising to stay with Him through His suffering and resurection. We also talked about listening to what Christ is saying to us and of course being able to ask Christ anything. I think the kids went in with the right mindset. There were a handful of others enjoying the peaceful time with Christ. We slid right in and assumed the prayerful kneeling position. It was nice to see others look at my family and smile and wave. Many of the regulars have gotten to know our crew b/c we are always there for some reason. As we rose to leave, a gentleman approached us. It was Fr. Tony, a friend of our pastor's. He explained that he was the baby of 6 kids and told my older ones to be sure and take care of Peter. We chatted for a while and talked briefly about his travels and his recent trip through the Mobile area. He was lovely and the kids were so polite and responsive. He ended our chat with a blessing on our family, touching each of us. It was such a wonderful feeling and confirmed my initial intentions of spending a little time with our Lord today. We were all so full of the spirit that we volunteered to sort music and polish the church bells. The kids were wonderfully behaved and are all now resting before the long Mass tonight. I hope that spirit stays with us this evening, especially while we all participate in washing of the feet. A five year old with extremely ticklish feet might take a little extra spirit.