Yes, HH, too much! I remember the "disaster" that happened when we brought our third-born, Patrick, to Holy Mass for one of the first times. This basically freed up our number 1, Benjamin. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish had pews that left certain small people an opportunity to crawl under the pew in front and keep on going! By the time I even noticed, Benjamin was four pews ahead! Unfortunately, we didn't have a prearranged response for that situation and I blew a casket! Ah, the joys of parenthood! At least I can laugh about it now! Who knows? Maybe one day they'll find a pew-escaping gene! And I wonder why all my hair has gone grey! But, amazingly, Benjamin did become a priest. Maybe back then he wasn't trying to escape, but was actually hoping to reach the altar! Safe in the age of retirement!
Haha! I have a story that beats that. My little brother, Joseph, was 2 at the time, and we were on an Air Force base with my veteran grandpa for Mass in the chapel. This was a generic chapel used for many different religious services, and shaped kind of strange and round, with a long hallway wrapping around the back of the wall behind the altar. I, being the oldest, was in charge of my unruly little brother and had to take him out of the Mass to let him get some energy out. Well, at one point, he just took off running down that hall, and before I could catch him, he veered toward the wall and vanished before my eyes. When I arrived, I gasped in horror to see that Joseph had run straight out into the sanctuary, and was standing frozen beside the altar, right during the Eucharistic prayers! The congregation was chuckling, and the priest turned to have a good look at him, saying, "Well, what have we here? Perhaps a future priest?" I had been quietly calling in vain for Joseph to come back, being well-trained by my mother not to step foot in the sanctuary, but I could only imagine what my mother was thinking, seeing Joseph up next to the altar, with me nowhere in sight. So, when the priest beckoned for me to come, I, greatly mortified, walked out to Joseph, apologized to the priest, and led him back out. It was with great relief that I later found my mother to be amused by the situation, instead of getting the punishment I thought I'd get, lol. Perhaps it was because Joseph was the son she'd prayed for, to give a priest to God, and this was a good sign, haha. He's 24 now and leaving the Air Force in a couple months, and I'm praying if he has a vocation, he'll find it soon. When I took him to Medjugorje when he was 12, he felt the call to the priesthood there, but a young adulthood spent among godless peers has pulled him away from Mass attendance for many years now. He did go to confession and Mass for the first time in a long time when he was visiting us for Christmas, so I'm hopeful!
Funny, I hate talking in Church, especially at Mass like crazy. But the sound of children ,even crying is like music. I love it so much that they are there.
This talk is worth listening to, to help you prepare. Also this series which is aimed at priests but gives a really detailed explanation of what everything means in the TLM. As for the holier than thous, yes unfortunately they exist and are attracted to traditional parishes for obvious reasons. They can do a lot of damage. God will make sure they are outnumbered by good and humble souls though. That's why you and your family have been called .
Yes, I bet it's easy to recapture that feeling of horror! I'm glad the priest took it in stride! Safe in the Father's Arms!
I notice in my Traditional Church, by today's standards very large families indeed and so young too!I come from a family of ten children and I truly love this. I don't know how my parents managed but I am so grateful to them for it. All that generation had big families, I had cousins a few streets away and there were twelve of them. I even recall a child at school and there were 18 children (believe it or not and all living). I often watched the mother walking up and down the road and she looked as spry and fit as a two year old.
Well today was the big day. We attended a 2+ hour sung Mass and absolutely fell in love. We have found our new church home! My littlest kids, who usually are crazy during Mass, fell asleep! My 7-year-old son was so quiet and reverent and still! But what amazed me the most was every single pew was filled with children. The church was completely filled (no social distancing), and we almost filled the overflow seating in the parish hall. There were even more people watching from various places like the community center, with screens and speakers. And this was for 1 Mass! There are 5 Sunday Masses. People wait in a line for 45 minutes to be able to get into the church for Mass. I saw only 3 people wearing masks. Everyone was reverent, joyful, peaceful, just beautiful. There were 10 altar boys serving with Father, and the Mass was so mysterious and beautiful and holy. The homily was filled with quotes from saints like Padre Pio and great Catholics like G.K. Chesterton... He said that every year Latin Mass attendees DOUBLE in number, while the Novus Ordo Mass is seeing closing churches. He says every 4 days a Catholic school closes in the U.S. But the truly faithful are growing exponentially. The kids at this Mass were so joyful and innocent and reverent. I had teenage girls fawning over my baby when I took him to the bathroom, haha. Needless to say, we are hooked and this is where we will stay.
Wonderful, a true blessing. Deo gratias, and all the best for your amazing journey ahead! May I ask, was this a diocesan Church or was it FSSP or SSPX or a religious order? God bless you and your family!
