“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Mathew 19:14

Recently my husband and I had the pleasure of being joined at our first Friday latin mass by my parents, my sister and her family and of course our own baby girl. My focus at this mass was admittedly at an all time low as our daughter was nursing for the first half and later required a diaper change and much soothing. My one year old niece was also a little fussy, climbing over her parents in the pews and being a bit chatty. My sister and I stood together at the back of the church bouncing our babies as the host was consecrated. By the time we rejoined our husbands in the communion line the little girls had settled. My daughter slept in my arms as I knelt at the communion rail and the priest blessed her with the sign of the cross. 

As I rocked our sleeping baby in the communion line I was struck by the perfection of yet another answered prayer even if it wasn’t one that I myself had ever put into words. “We were that family,” my mom gleefully declared later that evening. We were that big, traditional, Catholic family all participating in their Sunday best. My mom, my sister and I veiled that evening as we do at every mass. Our husbands ushered us forward to receive communion first and our babies played and slept in our arms. Before there were any little ones to speak of, these were always the families I longed to emulate at mass. I believe life is about the people in it. God and family are the most important things. They say fairy tale endings only happen in the movies but loving and nurturing such a devout Catholic family is my ultimate dream come true and there’s still so much life left! As perfect as it is, I don’t doubt that the best is still to come.