Our Mary, Who Art in Heaven

Our mother who died in 2009, holy momma of us all, blessed be your name.

Since the future needs to be female, may your worldview come.  May your dear ways show up on earth, as I’m sure you’re still practicing them in heaven or wherever it is you are.

Thank you for walking us to school, until we were old enough to go by ourselves and take each little brother and sister along as needed.

Thank you supervising our homework, “hearing” us our spelling words and catechism questions.

We are grateful for the hundreds (thousands?) of uniform shirts you ironed. Yes, you said you loved to iron, but still ….

Give us this day memories of and gratitude for your daily food (including the stewed prunes), your lullabies when we were babies, your tender care when we were sick  - everything done with as much love as you could muster at the time. How exhausted you must have been.

Forgive us for taking you for granted, for our lack of deep appreciation, for our ignorance about just how difficult it is to be a parent  - to even one child, let alone seven. Egads! As you used to say.

As you forgive us, may we forgive each other.

Assist us with our temptations. Steer us away from stupid mistakes and selfish decisions so that even though we may at times flirt with iniquity, we will never . absolutely . succumb.

Remind us to love and care for each other. And regarding the two of us who have already departed this earth, may they be with you or somewhere nearby where you can all keep an eye on each other.

Amen

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