Sometimes you get inspiration from some unusual places.
This week it comes from my 91-year-old Auntie Gwen who lives in England.
Gwen was brought up as a Protestant in England but over the years had yearned to be part of the Catholic faith.
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Decades ago she approached the church about becoming a Catholic and started on her way to becoming part of the church when the priest who was working with her got transferred to another church. Nobody bothered to contact her and her quest to becoming a Catholic fell by the wayside until this year. When she was here a few years ago she came with me to my church - St. Thomas the Apostle here in town and loved the country feeling of the church and how friendly everyone was to her and told me then that she still wanted to be part of the church.
But let's go back to 2006. Her son Barry (my cousin) was viciously murdered. They captured the man who did it, and he is now serving a lengthy sentence in jail. Barry had become a Catholic and my Aunt would visit a nearby Catholic church in her hometown of Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, England, and would light a candle in his memory. The people at the church became friendly with her and this past winter she fell and injured her leg and when they did not see her come to light a candle members of the church came by to check on her and even bought her a brand new footstool so she could rest her leg. She's really sharp mentally and still lives on her own and is mended from her injury.
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In recent weeks she decided that she wanted to go through with becoming a Catholic. So on June 8, her wish will come true: she will be blessed into the Catholic faith in England and they will have a small reception for her after the service.
She asked me if I thought she was being silly. "Imagine at my age I'm doing this,'' she said this week. I told her not at all. You're never too young or too old to do anything and as they say, "you're only as old as you think."
I think it's wonderful that she has found something so special in her life at her age. Most of us grow up in our churches with first communion, reconciliation, confirmation and the other sacraments and don't bat an eyelash. It's almost like we take it for granted, but I am grateful I found what I was looking for at an early age and don't have to wait until I'm 91.
