Praying for a miracle on Palm Sunday

Posted in Mom Stuff
by Melissa Linebrink

Palm Sunday is one of my favorite Masses to attend as a Catholic. For me, it’s the start of the holiest week for Catholics and it reminds me of what special event will be taking place on Easter Sunday – the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

(And in my opinion, Jesus rising from the dead is a miracle.)

When I married Seth, who is Protestant, we agreed that all of the children we have would be raised in the Catholic faith. He didn’t object and thus, all of our children were baptized into the Catholic faith.

Yet, the person, or persons, most objecting to being Catholic are our children.

Perhaps it’s because Ethan is a boy, but whatever the case, Ethan cannot stand sitting in church for 55 minutes every Sunday. The boy has ants in his pants from the moment he sets foot inside St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Wellington until he makes the final Sign of the Cross over himself at the end of Mass.

A typical 55 minutes with Ethan in church goes something like this:

Ethan – “When can we leave?”

Me – “Not until Mass is over.”

Ethan – “How much longer is that?”

Me – “Pretty soon.”

Ethan – “Can we leave NOW?”

Me – by this point, I have stopped talking to him.

As for Katie and Derek, they really aren’t fond of church either. There are too many sacred objects to touch or destroy if we let them down (Meaning with two of them, they are twice as fast when they experience any sort of freedom.). Granted, behind the altar there is a room that is somewhat of a “cry room” only it also has an altar and flowers and other Holy objects that my 20-month-old children would love to get their tiny hands on.

Alas, since as of Palm Sunday of this year, it had been at least five months since we last went to church as a family (Yes, for Christmas I took Ethan by myself as he had a speaking part in the nativity play.), and I decided that between Seth and I we would be able to manage the babies.

I was wrong.

Dead wrong.

We arrived at Mass, found an empty pew and plopped down five people, five coats, one diaper bag and one purse. The diaper bag was fully stocked for the hour we would spend in church. Snacks, toys and pacifiers were all on stand-by, ready to be used. What I didn’t account for was the fact that Katie and Derek would have no interest in any of those items.

Teddy Gram snacks – plucked one out of the container, tossed it on the floor.

Raisins – just tossed the box onto the floor.

Cars and horses – played with momentarily before tossing them aside.

Pacifiers – didn’t even give them a second thought.

Church began at 11 a.m.

The Linebrink family left at 11:15 a.m.

God gave us the twins, so I pray that He had SOME idea that taking them to church would be a bad idea, even if it was Palm Sunday. God performed miracles and for Seth and me on Sunday, the miracle was leaving church before the twins made their way to the altar and cause mass chaos. (Which by the way, was something Ethan did at St. Patrick’s when he was 3-years-old, but that is another blog!)