Welcome to the first "Why I love Gerard" post, where I tell stories about my lovable yet troublesome 3 year-old little brother!
This post is called:
A Time-Out in the Middle of Mass
My 11 year-old brother Joseph had an out-of-town hockey tournament. My Dad (who takes hockey very seriously) offered to take him, and he decided to take Gerard with him to give Mom a break for the weekend. Gerard had a blast. He swam in the pool at the hotel, ate pizza with the team, and won over all the moms in the stands with his considerable charms. He even took a nap on the lap of one of the moms during a game. When we go to Joseph's local games now, everyone stops to talk with Gerard. He's like the mayor.
My 11 year-old brother Joseph had an out-of-town hockey tournament. My Dad (who takes hockey very seriously) offered to take him, and he decided to take Gerard with him to give Mom a break for the weekend. Gerard had a blast. He swam in the pool at the hotel, ate pizza with the team, and won over all the moms in the stands with his considerable charms. He even took a nap on the lap of one of the moms during a game. When we go to Joseph's local games now, everyone stops to talk with Gerard. He's like the mayor.
Anyhow, back to the out-of-town tournament story. After the Sunday morning game, they jumped in the truck and headed over to the local Catholic Church, where Mass was just underway. They sat in the very last pew because they were late. The gifts of wine and bread were on a table right behind the last pew, waiting for the time where they would be brought to the altar. While Dad and Joesph were listening to the homily, Gerard leaned over the back of the pew and picked up the big host - the one that the priest usually breaks during the Eucharistic Prayers. Gerard beat him to it.
He wasn't trying to be bad. He was just trying to be a priest. He wanted to know what it felt like to snap the host in two, and I think he was quite satisfied with the whole experience right up until the point where the sound of the 'snap' made Joseph turn his head. Joseph looked at Gerard, looked at the host, and then tugged on Dad's sleeve. "Dad," he whispered "I think we have a problem."
And that's how Gerard ended up in a time-out in the middle of Mass.
In case you were wondering, when they did bring the gifts up to the altar, the priest just used one of the smaller hosts to say the Eucharistic Prayers. He didn't miss a beat. Maybe Gerard wasn't the first kid in the last row to end up in a time-out in the middle of Mass.
I love Gerard!
If you have something to say about this post or have any ideas of what I can blog about next please tell me! God Bless,
Angele
Seems your brother keep the family on you all toes. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI love Gerard! He's such a monkey.
ReplyDeleteYou should tell the story of when he traveled a mile or so down river!
Hi Angele,
ReplyDeleteI love your Blog, Was just thinking that maybe you would write on how frustrating it can be to make fudge (if its appropriate on your blog) ,love you aunt Joan