Listen to your Mother

On Sunday we had a visiting priest from northern Louisiana. Although his purpose was to ask parishioners to give generously to the second collection to support their seminary, he preceded his quick plea with an excellent homily. And it was exactly what I needed to hear. In light of the gospel about Martha and Mary it was all about how we order ourselves, noting that when we concern ourselves first with Christ, we find we worry so much less about everything else. Not that we don't care, just that we know all those things are in His hands.

Even so, I was annoyed. And God have mercy, it seems so trivial when I see how the Lord and His Mother blessed me. I was was annoyed because the hymns were just atrocious. I won't go into detail, but let's just say the first Communion hymn makes my children laugh with its insipid stupidity. So there I was grumbling (after having received Our Lord no less!), trying hard to ignore the song. And then...the second hymn. Holy is His Name by John Michael Talbot. It is simply the words of the Magnificat. I LOVE that prayer and that song.

As I began to sing and now truly pray, allowing God's grace to pour into me, saying those Spirit filled words of my Mother, I was overcome. And for the briefest moment I felt myself utterly alone with God, caught in a moment of true worship and adoration. It was exquisite and an undeserved grace for such a whiny daughter.