To say we struggled with the services over Easter this year is something of an understatement.
And Good Friday proved to be too much altogether.
To begin with, the cathedral was packed and our family of seven ended up being divided into two pews one behind the other which of course, Masters 3 and 1 loved because they love climbing so going forwards and backwards ad nauseum was exciting.
And of course, because we ended up seated in the back left hand corner meant that none of our five children could see anything. To be honest I couldn’t see anything either but I’m only 5”2’ so that’s hardly surprising.
In my head, amongst the chaos of my climbing sons, and my fidgety children, I started to pray: “Jesus we are here and we love you.” Because we were there and it was a struggle, so much more than normal, but we were there because we love Him.
By the time the congregation came to venerate the cross we’d already lost the gentlemen who was sitting in my pew with Misses 5 and 7 and alternatively Masters 3 and 1, who scampered off to another seat in the body of the Church.
At this stage I was repeating my simple prayer with a frightening urgency.
About halfway through the veneration of the cross (some twenty minutes later) I was heading out of the cathedral into the foyer with Masters 3 and 1 so that at least hubby and the older kids could get something from the liturgy. Not long after this the gentleman who’d been sitting in the same pew as my husband and Master 8, slunk out through the foyer and went on his way.
Yep, we managed to vacate both pews. To say I was mortified is an understatement.
And there I remained until the service was over, though hubby relieved me briefly so that I could receive Our Lord at Communion, keeping company with the other parents who’d brought their small children out to the foyer in a bid to calm their behaviour and be respectful of the others in the congregation.
We made our way home and hubby and I expressed our disbelief that our children, who are generally reasonably well behaved with a few minor exceptions, were so fidgety and noisy.
We could only hope that somehow our suffering through the Good Friday service was united with Jesus’ on the cross and had some salvific purpose – because truly, our children have never been that disruptive at Mass. It was so out of character, so surprising that I still shake my head.
Jesus, we were there and we love you.
And I really hope that counted for something this Easter.
Because as parents who are open to life, with five under nine, we have never been so humbled in public before. But then again, we were never nailed naked to the cross in order to die and save the whole world from sin.
So maybe we don’t really have anything to complain about.
Originally posted 2017-08-02 11:53:01.