Whisper in Church

As a wife of a permanent deacon and a mom of five children, I have grown accustomed to expecting the unexpected. However, I never can anticipate what will happen concerning my family, even in Church. A few years ago my husband was in full-time ministry in a Colorado mountain parish. It was a unique experience living in a parish house next door to the Church. Our five children knew their way through every crack and crevice of the Church and parish hall. While my husband was working in the parish office or out ministering to the parishioners, one of our sons took care of mowing the churchyard grass or shoveling and snow blowing the overnight snowfall for the early daily Mass attendees. We were definitely a visible presence in the small town and parish.

One Sunday at Mass I was very surprised when during the homily the pastor pulled out my son’s T-shirt with a message on it. Unknown to me he had borrowed it after seeing my son wearing it. Our pastor thought it would be a great prop for his homily that day.

Another time while one son and his friend were holding tall candle sticks during the Stations of the Cross, they got the hysterical giggles. The candles they were holding bounced around and I could only think of hot wax dripping everywhere.  The other mother and I tried to signal our boys to settle down but it was a lost cause. What’s a mother to do when such laughter is contagious?

With everyday being a new experience, I shouldn't have been surprised one particular Mass. It was a lovely spring Sunday and the doors of the Church were wide open. The blooming spring air was a welcome relief after a long, snowy winter. Mass was well underway when suddenly our Pastor stopped and started walking down the center aisle of the church. To my embarrassment, he stooped over and picked up our sweet, quiet, precious dog, Whisper (we named her that because she rarely barked). Unknown to us, Whisper had her secret ways of getting out of the little parish house and on this particular day, she came straight over to attend Mass with us. Our pastor welcomed her with open arms and greeted her as one of God’s little creatures. Our family still remembers this interruption at Mass and laughs over the mixed embarrassment and delight of seeing our dog in church. This faithful little pal isn't with us anymore, but she is a part of our Catholic family history whose memory continues to bring laughter into our lives.