Peace

This morning, my family and I attended a later mass than we normally do (late night - 11 PM!). Ordinarily, we sit in the church narthex. My kids are rambunctious, to say the least. Sitting away from the large crowd during our usual earlier mass makes our lives less stressful. However, the later mass is not as populated, so we figured we could manage sitting in the pews.

We chose a pew that was occupied by just one other person, an older (70's?) man. When my crew first piled into the pew, the man looked a bit inconvenienced by our presence. As the mass continued, the man seemed to become more connected to us - as if we were his family. He would glance at my tw0-year-old and smile, seemingly in spite of himself.

When the congregation recites the Our Father, many people hold hands throughout the prayer. I'm not known for hand-holding or "campy" behavior. But, today I reached out my hand to this man. He took it and did not let go until long after all other hands were released and it was time to give each other the sign of peace. When he finally did let go, he turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, "Thank you."

Throughout the rest of mass, I felt a rush of bittersweet emotions. I could feel this man's pain. I don't know what it is, but I could physically feel it. And, I think he could feel mine. But, I also knew that we had given each other a gift. We, strangers, held each other and supported the other without words. I hope he finds peace.