st cuthbert's

I should begin by saying that I like St Cuthbert's. A lot, actually. It is quite different from our old parish in Atlanta (how could it be otherwise?), particularly in the total absence of a nursery. Of course this means that the children, who (with the exception of Thomas) are not used to being in Mass, have had to learn how to behave (lol!) in church.

A priest I hadn't seen before appeared a couple of weeks ago to fill in for our own, who was away. One never knows quite what to expect. But I almost burst out laughing as he intoned, 'Let us pray, with our minds fixed on Eternal Truth.' As I wrestled (as discreetly as possible) with Thomas to keep still, I couldn't help but think that I wasn't really the sort of parishoner the priest had in mind. My own thoughts were not exactly 'fixed' on the prayer, and the main truth I was grasping was far more earthly than eternal: the difficulty of keeping the children quiet during the Liturgy of the Word. The Eucharist is much easier: there is always something for Thomas to watch, and Iain falls asleep sometime between the gloria and the end of the homily. (Usually he drops off during the homily.) If we can keep Anna from climbing onto the pew in front, or exploring the contents of someone else's purse, it doesn't go too badly. I usually nudge Thomas during the Lord's prayer, so he joins in at about 'hallowed be thy name', and I have to remind him when we say the Hail Mary, whispering, 'you know this one.' So, no, I have to admit, I do not do very much contemplation of eternal Truth during the Mass.

Still, it has its moments. Last week, Thomas turned his face up to me as we sang the gloria, and said (in slightly too loud a whisper), 'I know this one almost by heart.' And when Anna stopped to kneel before turning to leave the church, it all seemed worth it.