17 May 2021 · 2021-05 newsletter
“Not unbelieving but believing be”
In April, our Mother’s Group met for our meeting starting as it always does with “Our Mother’s Ten Minutes” at the Shrine. While waiting for three of the mothers to turn up, standing outside the Shrine, I turned to the sound of child laughter to see two children, a little boy and girl running around Father’s Statue having a lovely time with each other. I walked up to meet the four parents and asked them if the little ones were brother and sister, and they replied “Friends”.
As the rest of our group turned up we chatted to them about where they were from, and I asked the children’s names. This one they replied is “Joseph” and this one is “Amelia”. I broke out into laughter and explained to them that ‘Joseph’ was the Founder of the place and movement they were at, and that Amelia was the name of the woman who started the Sisters.
A Providential ‘nudge’ pushed me to ask if they would mind if I took their photo and they happily replied ‘Yes’, and after getting the mother of Joseph’s phone number I took it and sent it to her. I heard them laughing with surprise in their voices, and I asked them ‘Why’. The mother looked up at me and said: “While you were taking the photo, Joseph said, ‘I love Mary and Jesus’” and he promptly looked at me and repeated it. I will carry the look of love on that child’s face to my grave. I can only wish that more parents would, like these four parents, teach their children those poignant and meaningful words. I was ‘nudged’ again to think about putting this encounter into the newsletter.
This story did not complete itself until during Mass in the Evening at our own church I realized that the ‘Gospel’ reading was St John’s writing about Thomas and his doubtful understanding of Christ’s wounds and way. By way of explanation of the connection – if you look closely, there is a third child, ‘a baby’ in the photo held by his Dad, and his name is ‘Thomas’.
What a wonderful Providential start to our meeting and we sincerely pray that we may see more little people and their parents as they visit our Schoenstatt Mother who is Model and Mother.
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