In a week, our son Christopher will complete his first year of seminary for our diocese. He loves what he is doing, and can't wait to be ordained, but that is still 4 years away. Now that we have direct knowledge of what it takes to be ordained in this day and time, I have new found apprecitation for today's priests.
He will be home in 10 days, for a 2 week vacation, before reporting to his summer assignment at a parish in the southern portion of the state. He says the Archbishop and Vocations director prefer seminarians work outside of their home parish for the experience. Younger seminarians, with little life experience, are encouraged to find work in the private sector during the summer, while remaining active in their home parish. Christopher already holds a business degree, and worked 8 years in a Fortune 500 company before answering his calling, and as such the diocese is not going to send him back home to flip burgers, thus a summer assignment. He'll be detailed out to a large, affluent parish on the coast, that will pay him a monthly stipend. That's good, because at this stage of the discernment, the office does not want seminarians to be working on the outside. Before entering school, he sold his car, (noway to pay for it) and most of his belongings. All he buys are black shirts and pants, and his cell phone. His tution, room and board, all paid by the diocese, that I can add is very expensive.
So Debbie and I were eating a quiet lunch at home today when she asked,
"hear anything from Chris today?"
"yeah, couple of text messages," as I cut my grilled chicken.
"well, what did he say?"
"nuttin much," I knew what she was hinting at, if he remembered Mother's Day.
"He didn't say anything?"
"Not really, he had just left morning prayer and was walking back to his room, said he was goin fishin (the campus has several large ponds) after daily Mass and lunch." I knew for a fact he had already sent his mother a card, it came in yesterday, but I put it away, planning to give it to her in the morning. A few days ago, while looking for some old pics for a project, I came across a home made Mother's Day card, he had created in about 3rd grade. It was tied with ribbons, and had a nice message with pictures of a braclet, necklace, and himself on the inside cut from a magazine, it said, "if I had lots of money I would buy you stuff like this, but since I don't have a job, all I have is my love."
I thought that was pretty neat, so secured it someplace safe, to give to her this year, along with his current card.
We were sitting around watching TV that evening, and once again she asked, "anything from Chris?"
"Yeah he said they were cooking out down on the Wharf (a sports bar thing on the campus where they congregate to watch sports and eat hamburgers and hots dogs when they want something different from the catered food in the cafeteria).
"That's all?"
"No, he said to give you this, hold a minute." I came back with his childhood Mother's Day card, and his present card.
She placed her hand over her heart, and didn't say a word for a long time, but I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I remember this card, I knew he was special even then."
"Yeah, but he belongs to the Church now, and wherever they send him will be his family, he is no longer just our son."
"I know but I will always be his mother, I was worried he had forgot me"
"you know he would never do that, I hear from the Archbishop he gives you credit for where he is at every chance he gets."
"really?"
"Yes, he told me that when we saw him at Easter Mass at the Cathedral"
He has not been home since Christmas, the longest span in his 30 yeas of existence, although we did see him Easter when we visited him at school. I could sense she was kind of sad, so I lightened the moment up with, "hey you wanna ride out east and get something good at Sonic?"
"matter of fact I do"
"ok lemme get my shoes on"
And we left and split a strawberry sundae on the tables outside on a beautiful evening.
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