Children

Children
"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
(1 Jn 4:16)

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Humility of Pregnancy

My children and I are trying our best to go to daily Mass. When we are able to do so, I feel that I have given my children "the best". However, giving my children the best sometimes comes with a price when I am pregnant and have a toddler who feels that the church is a great place to be noisy.

Shortly before the great Amen on Thursday, my toddler decided to run and giggle, so I picked him up and stood holding him in the vestibule, pointing out pictures of Jesus, St. Gertrude the Great and Pope Benedict XVI, and listening to my little boy quietly and sweetly sing, "Holy God" over and over. I was so focused on my youngest that I failed to go up and receive Communion. When I realized that I had missed Communion, I started to cry, as only a pregnant mother can. Trying to compose myself made the tears roll down even more. However, God in His goodness sent two people to console me. The first was Pat, the mother of ten children, who expressed her approval of my coming to Mass with all of my children and said, "I know just what you are going through." The second was my toddler's godmother and her daughters who spoke with me and my children about gardening, etc. until I calmed down. I know that one day, I will probably look back on my pregnancies and laugh at how emotional I became at times, but for now I thank God for continuing to teach me humility.

6 comments:

  1. Ohhhh. Don't be so hard on yourself. God knows and understands. Try introducing the toddler to some Bible stories at home with quiet time. It may help. That is what I did. I started with this book called "This Bible Talks" by Pamela Fischer. Narrated by Michael David McGuire. (here is the website if you want it http://www.thisbibletalks.com )

    All the best and good luck with your pregnancy!

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  2. Thank you, Rachael, for the encouragement and advice. I will look at the link that you recommended.

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  3. Good for you for making all the effort to go to daily Mass, that is WONDERFUL! I use to go every morning, but with the distance and gas, we had to cut back to just one extra day per week. In the fall we will have Mass in our little town 2 days a week, which will be nice.

    I too get very emotional when I am pregnant! How great that you had good friends there to cheer you up!

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  4. Anonymous4:10 PM

    Hello!! I came over from Catholic Mothers Online to say hi!! You have a beautiful family =)

    Pregnancy and taking little kids to church gives us plenty of opportunities to learn humility, I have found!! I am happy just to get all 5 of them into the pew, some days. Not too long ago a man shooshed us a few minutes before the start of mass, and THAT was enough to start my tears that lasted all through mass!!! Thankfully, the Lord sent me some consolation, too... two elderly ladies sitting behind us who gave me tissue and told me after church I had a lovely family. God is so good, He never leaves us hanging, does he? =)

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  5. We too have been trying to attend daily Mass and experiencing all kinds of ups and downs intrinsic to 8 children under the age of 12.

    Last Monday was an especially difficult day, and I found myself asking Our Lord if He really wanted us to attend. He, of course, answered in the affirmative through a couple of different inspirations including some helpful advice from my husband on how to handle the baby.

    It is so good to see others such as yourself making the sacrifices to attend. It is especially difficult, I know, when you are pregnant for a whole variety of reasons. Thank you for the inspiration!

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