Share the Story!

Honor Your Mother

Our mom was an only child, a faithful Catholic, and worked on our family tree as a hobby. When she passed away prematurely in 2015, we eight children inherited her genealogical papers. As a way to honor her faith and her interests, it is our intention to continue her research and share what we find for present and future generations. In researching the stories of our ancestors we often find ourselves saying, “I wish I had asked grandma about this!” or “What was that story grandpa once told us about his grandfather?” So many of our family stories have been lost because we didn’t ask the questions about our heritage, and we didn’t pass down our stories as a legacy for our children.

“Why is this night different from all other nights?”

More than a retelling – a participation!

“Why is this night different from all other nights?” So asks a young child at the Passover Seder after observing that the meal rituals are different than those of ordinary sabbaths. The story of the First Passover is then told: How the the Jews living under the yoke of slavery in Egypt were saved from death by hiding behind the blood of an unblemished lamb. Observant Jews believe that it is more than a mere retelling, but an actual participation in that first Passover and the ensuing exodus to the promised land.

The Last Supper was a Passover Seder, and Christians believe that Jesus – the perfect Lamb of God – was the fulfillment of that first Passover. Through the shedding of His blood we are saved from death, freed from the yoke of slavery to sin, and given access to Heaven. As Catholics, we believe that every celebration of the Eucharist is a re-presentation of Jesus’s sacrificial passion and death and, more than that, it is an actual participation in the Last Supper at which Jesus commanded us to “do this” as an ever-lasting memorial. And even more than THAT, every Eucharistic celebration is a participation in the heavenly banquet that transcends time. We are there joined by all the saints that preceded us, including our ancestors in the faith.

“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly”

G.K. Chesterton

Ask the questions. Share the story.

“I’m not a good story-teller,” you might say. Maybe not. Neither are we, necessarily. Nevertheless, as G.K. Chesterton wrote in What’s Wrong With the World, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” If YOU don’t tell your family’s stories, then who will? So let this be your challenge too: Ask the questions. Share the story. Life is an epic adventure story. The story can be simple, and it can be sublime. It’s a story of love and laughter, of pain and sorrow. The story lies in the shadows of the everyday and shines brightly in its unexpected moments. It’s a story of faith and family, of yesterday and today. Our stories are more than just a dry re-telling, but a participation in and a joining in with the trials and tribulations of those that came before us. So come on along. Let’s see where our stories take us…