Have a Little Faith

The most important thing in my Grandma's life was her faith. She was a very devout Catholic and never strayed from her convictions. While I learned almost everything about my faith from her during her life, it was her death that taught me the most.

It was the peace that she had during the Last Rites. The look of pure joy as she accepted her last Holy Communion. Her grace. Her kindness. Her selflessness. She was a living example of what being Christ-like means.

She didn't just touch me with her faith, but also my husband. It was with some of her guidance (as well as a fabulous Priest) that my husband became a convert in 2004. I can't recall if she is was his Godmother but she was both there for his Baptism as well as both his and my Confirmation (and I do recall that she was my sponsor). Her love of the Latin Mass is what brought my husband to the Church, as we started to attend those masses and that is what lead us to that fabulous Priest. Even after moving to another town we continued to travel to the Latin masses, though in the last year stopped going as frequently. As a matter of fact, my husband stopped going to church altogether, except on special holidays. Her death, along with her beautiful funeral, has brought him back to the faith. For that I will be forever eternally grateful.

I have to admit that I had become a fairly lukewarm Catholic these past few years. Neither hot nor cold but rather just going through the motions. My Grandma would always speak to me about religion when I visited and said several things that made me think, but that I never really got until she was gone. While watching her receive her Last Rites last Sunday I finally got it.

My Grandma's life's work reminds me of the quote by St. Francis: "Preach the Gospel Always; When Necessary, Use Words." She preached by example and taught by her actions. Don't get me wrong, she was a strong willed woman and would speak about her religion whenever she got a chance, but she lived by her words. There was never an attitude of 'Do as I say, not as I do' which you see all too often in the Christian community.

Let me just say that I have learned more in this past week about my true faith than I have the rest of my 28 years of life. And I can thank my dear Grandma for that.