Two weeping cherry trees stand opposite each other on the grounds of my church. One has been there for nearly twenty years. It was a gift from the town, part of a Holocaust memorial project that plants a tree at a school or place of worship each year. The other tree is much younger. It’s there for Charlotte—a little girl who six years ago received the Eucharist for th (...)
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Suffer the Children, Even When They Cry
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Fr. Nonomen, thanks for this reflection.
We had a wonderful pastor in our parish who, when an infant or toddler would call out or howl at an inopportune moment---say, during the prayers of the faithful or at a pause in the homily---would say, "From the mouths of babes, He has fashioned perfect praise". It was a lovely way of relieving any tension and of transforming a potentially awkward moment into a communal moment of prayer and inclusion.
Even before that pastor arrived (and since his departure), it is still a parish in which it is common for parishioners to help parents of young children by soothing a baby to sleep so that the parents can go to communion, or taking a fidgety young child into their pew to calm down.
The (tired, frazzled, anxious) young parents can relax and get a few minutes of prayer. The children get the attention they're looking for. And all learn, once again, that this truly is a "house of prayer for all people"---even babies and young children.