a simple and beautiful day to be a mother

''Ever-living God
help us to celebrate our joy
in the resurrection of the Lord
and to express
in our lives
the love we celebrate''
todays opening prayer...

our day began at a special mass at the monastery 'steift'
I don't think I could would have survived
the usual mass setting today
feeling the familiar surroundings
of church and sanctuary, song and liturgy
yet not being surrounded by who usually surrounds me
my family...

but celebrating outside on a rainy cold morning


with moments of sun bursting through
with our breath in front of our faces as we sang
along with the birds and a rooster and some far off bells

was a perfect and simple background for the celebration of the Eucharist

simple gifts...bread, wine, music

a simple altar

to me the perfect gift
from my Lord and from my son

to be blessed by being 'present'...where he 'is'
where he lives and works and loves and moves and breathes and has his being...

to see him doing what he does
now
living in Germany
speaking the language
being a husband
being a dad
yet still himself
making his 'music'
the universal language
praising the Lord with his life....with his love

I held him in my arms
and then held his hand
but he walks on his own now
'they' walk together...
continuing on 'their' journey
I can worry about 'them'
while I'm here
and then from afar
or I can continue to trust the Lord
with 'His very own child'...
as I have done all my life
Domenick: ''belonging to...the Lord''

and I will continue to thank God for sharing His gift of life
in the form of the children He gives us
and I pray they have many happy years together loving and serving
being Christ to each other
giving their lives to each other
to their marriage
to the child they share between them