I've been distracted, to say the least, so our Father's Day celebration was not as elaborate as I would have wanted, especially given that I can't imagine a better father than Chris leading our particular family through these turbulent waters right now.
I'm glad I ordered him a little gift many weeks in advance (unusual of me), which happened to be before Thomas's diagnosis, and that I had a card in my collection, and that the children could make their own cards. Mary (11) baked an apple pie for Chris' special day--entirely by herself as I was upstairs taking care of Thomas at the time.
However, the best gift was yet to come: On Father's Day itself (quite by coincidence), Thomas was permitted to receive his First Holy Communion early because of his cancer diagnosis.
June 21, 2020, Part 2: Thomas's First Holy Communion
We arrived at church early so our pastor could interview Thomas about his understanding of the Eucharist. Thomas clearly had sufficient understanding and met the requirements for an early reception, so, having broached the subject only the day prior, and now with only an hour's notice, he would be receiving this most nourishing and grace-filled sacrament!
"Prescinding from the usual catechetical requirements for the reception of the Eucharist by children (see Canons 913 § 1, 914), for any child in danger of death, regardless of age, the Eucharist can be administered if he or she is simply able to distinguish the Body of Christ from ordinary food and can be received reverently (Canon 913 § 2)."
His sister Mary had sewed him that very morning a white banner, just as all the children at our parish create when receiving First Holy Communion under the regular circumstances. (Yes, I got teary.)
You can watch a 16-second video of his reception [just fixed the link]:
https://youtu.be/_hi_mgY-59s
Thomas was beaming with joy and we thought he handled the suddenness of such a big sacrament with grace and equanimity.
Why didn't we have him receive his First Holy Communion last weekend with his emergency Confirmation? It hadn't occurred to us! We're operating in a blur right now, so we did know enough to request the Confirmation, but we did not know enough to request Communion until a priest-friend said it really would be appropriate and we should ask. The request took no begging or demanding, as our pastor agreed wholeheartedly.
Of course, it was entirely poignant for Mom and Dad to watch him receiving as we understand the greater implications that he does not.
Thomas did whisper to me after receiving Holy Communion and while still in Mass, "Mama? Why did I get to receive Holy Communion? Daddy told me it was going to be a very long time away" (meaning, back when Joseph (7) received his First Holy Communion just a few weeks ago). I really had to put on my thinking cap, so I answered in a whisper, "Receiving Jesus in the host will give you many blessings to heal your lump and graces for your soul, so we all want you to have those graces right now instead of waiting."
June 21, 2020, Part 3: Celebrating Father's Day and Thomas's First Holy Communion
On the drive home from Mass, Thomas had inquired, "When kids have their First Holy Communion, they get presents, so am I going to get a present?" With no anticipation of this sacrament occurring, I was certainly not prepared in that way!
However, the Holy Spirit worked through the Q family, who showed up today of all days at Mass with a giant, very heavy bag full of toys for Thomas and all the children (and gifts for us parents, too!). Thomas screamed with giddiness when he saw Daddy walking to us waiting in the car, laden with gifts.
Also, back at home, I whisked upstairs and grabbed a couple of gifts I had not given him and wrapped those in a bag. Thomas really liked the children's Bible from the S family and he had me read him numerous chapters at bedtime. He has declared that we are going to read it a lot.
After dinner (thank you A family: your meal fed us twice!) and rosary, we enjoyed Mary's apple pie and leftover eclair cake from the G family.
We ended the day with a Family Water Gun Fight, which has a back story about how God can turn all things to good. Last week, Joseph (7) was tromping through the woods when he found a really good water pistol. I remarked that it was the best we've owned in all our years of cheap water pistols: fit well in the hand, squirted really far and straight, easy to fill, few parts to break. Well, unfortunately, certain children who shall remain anonymous got into a fight and, in a thoughtless act, the water gun was broken (note the passive tense to hide blame?). Mama, the Judge behind the bench in this particular case, made the person assigned the majority of the blame to make financial remuneration by replacing the water gun, and, indeed, to make an effort to buy the same kind of water gun.
It turned out that the water gun was found, and on Amazon, too--but only in a pack of 12. I decided then and there that 12 water guns would probably be good for us right now. When the guns arrived on our doorstep this afternoon, I put aside my normally stuffy and rigid self and announced that we would be having a Family Water Gun Fight.
Some people were skeptical.
Cruise Director Mama insisted and marched us outside, all of us still in our Mass clothing at that time (who is this lady?) and the fun began. Later, enthusiastic kiddos switched into bathing suits. It was good for us to laugh and run around and even for Mom and Dad to get into the game till we were quite wet in our church clothes.
Tonight is another night to try to sleep through, but mostly not. I have been reading James Herriot's veterinary tales at night because they seem to be the perfect blend of pleasant stories that are calm and distracting without stirring strong emotions of any kind: they are a sedative for me.
Tomorrow is another day closer to our learning the biology of Thomas's cancer.
On the drive home from Mass, Thomas had inquired, "When kids have their First Holy Communion, they get presents, so am I going to get a present?" With no anticipation of this sacrament occurring, I was certainly not prepared in that way!
However, the Holy Spirit worked through the Q family, who showed up today of all days at Mass with a giant, very heavy bag full of toys for Thomas and all the children (and gifts for us parents, too!). Thomas screamed with giddiness when he saw Daddy walking to us waiting in the car, laden with gifts.
Also, back at home, I whisked upstairs and grabbed a couple of gifts I had not given him and wrapped those in a bag. Thomas really liked the children's Bible from the S family and he had me read him numerous chapters at bedtime. He has declared that we are going to read it a lot.
After dinner (thank you A family: your meal fed us twice!) and rosary, we enjoyed Mary's apple pie and leftover eclair cake from the G family.
We ended the day with a Family Water Gun Fight, which has a back story about how God can turn all things to good. Last week, Joseph (7) was tromping through the woods when he found a really good water pistol. I remarked that it was the best we've owned in all our years of cheap water pistols: fit well in the hand, squirted really far and straight, easy to fill, few parts to break. Well, unfortunately, certain children who shall remain anonymous got into a fight and, in a thoughtless act, the water gun was broken (note the passive tense to hide blame?). Mama, the Judge behind the bench in this particular case, made the person assigned the majority of the blame to make financial remuneration by replacing the water gun, and, indeed, to make an effort to buy the same kind of water gun.
It turned out that the water gun was found, and on Amazon, too--but only in a pack of 12. I decided then and there that 12 water guns would probably be good for us right now. When the guns arrived on our doorstep this afternoon, I put aside my normally stuffy and rigid self and announced that we would be having a Family Water Gun Fight.
Some people were skeptical.
Cruise Director Mama insisted and marched us outside, all of us still in our Mass clothing at that time (who is this lady?) and the fun began. Later, enthusiastic kiddos switched into bathing suits. It was good for us to laugh and run around and even for Mom and Dad to get into the game till we were quite wet in our church clothes.
Tonight is another night to try to sleep through, but mostly not. I have been reading James Herriot's veterinary tales at night because they seem to be the perfect blend of pleasant stories that are calm and distracting without stirring strong emotions of any kind: they are a sedative for me.
Tomorrow is another day closer to our learning the biology of Thomas's cancer.
No comments:
Post a Comment