My Wife's Tears During Our Son's Altar Server Commissioning

My wife cried at my son's commissioning as an altar boy. 

I saw the tears in her eyes as the priest said, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," at the beginning of Mass today.

* * *

 

Here were some moments from the day:

Before Mass, as my son, John Paul, stood in line with the other servers to be commissioned, my wife told me to remove some lint on JP's pants.  So I did.



L to R: EJ, Tove Ann pregnant w/Therese Maria Hope, and Faith Marie



Then, the procession began to the hymn of "Here I Am, Lord."  Here's a 3-second clip.



Then we found a spot in the corner.  A friend of ours, Jane, told us of a place for us to sit, but I told her we were fine.  That was quite thoughtful of her.

Jane was in this clip:





We later gave up our seat for another family and ended up sitting on the floor.  Actually, I had offered the spot to the wife (and her daughter) only, motioned them to sit, and said to her husband, "The guys will stand." 

But he must not have heard me because he ended up sitting down himself.  :/ 

I told my wife that she was pregnant and I didn't want her to sit on the floor.  She told me that as a deacon family (with a son that is about to be commissioned an altar server) she wanted to offer our spot to another family. 

It was a way for us to honor the day: To be a family that serves another family.

It wasn't just me serving, or my son serving, or he and I serving, but rather it was our family serving together.

For my wife, it was a little act of love.



I took some pictures and recorded some of the moments.  John Paul was seated with the other servers across the way.  This was our view.  JP is seated on the corner in the front pew.

So.....I think the best part of the day was seeing my wife cry with tears in her eyes over our son.  This reminded me of my own mom who cried when I was off to school at kindergarten.  I remembered how, back then, I looked at my mom from behind a fence and how I didn't know why she was crying.  My mom cried tears of joy.

My wife, too, cried out of tears of joy.  I don't think I, as a man, will fully understand this.  Ain't that right, mamas out there?


Here's a video of the commissioning:

Part One (presented to community)

 

Part Two (prayer over new altar servers)

Here are some other pictures.

 

 

Fr. Gerome gives altar servers a holy card.

 

One of my proudest moments JP and the group was how Fr. Glen, the pastor, instructed the kids to bow before the altar before returning to their pews.  They did it together--- the way servers synchronize their bows together.

 

I said under my breath watching them, "That's how you do it!"  The young kids showed their first public act of reverence as altar servers.

 

I'm sure the other kids present at Mass saw the reverence.  And hopefully they too will learn from it and imitate it.

Recession.  This was the end of Mass.  JP is pictured between the 2 kid servers in his pew.

Ite, missa est.*

*Go forth, the Mass is ended.


After Mass, I took the kids bike-riding at the park while their mom had some time to herself.  Taking the kids to the park encouraged me to get a new bike for my daughter Mariana.

 

As I think of my wife's tearful eyes, it moves me as I write this.  In fact, as I write this, I have 4 of 5 kids in the room with me, so I have to go soon and get them ready for bed.

For now, her tears of joy are forever etched in my mind.

Group Photo (JP in front right)



 





EPILOGUE

Note for John Paul:

Some of these photos and videos are ordinary.  But when you are older as a man, hopefully you will appreciate these moments.  And you will know how much your mom and I love you!