In The Name Of The Father (2)

In The Name Of The Father (2)

By Clifford Oluoch.

“Is there a problem with him?” Sr. Mary asked Esther the moment John Paul had left the room. Sr. Mary knew the youngsters love for each other. These two were kids who had grown up in Church, graduating from the Sunday School programme to the teens and finally the Youth. Sr. Mary knew them too well.
Esther did not reply.
“You have been crying,” Sr. Mary commented more than asked the girl whose eyes were puffy and red. The question had hardly left her lips than Esther started sobbing again.
“Yes,” she whispered as she fished out a white handkerchief from her black skirt. She wiped her tears and noisily blew her nose.
“Why?” asked Sr.Mary, though she could already guess what the problem was.
“He has gone and I guess I will never have him. I have lost him forever,” the chocking sobs came out hard again. Sr. Mary felt the pain that she could easily identify with. This happened to her almost twenty years back when she decided to join the Order.
Esther listened to part of a story that she knew. It is a story that Sr. Mary never tired of telling, especially to the youth.
“I was born and brought up at the doorsteps of the convent because my mother – a single parent – worked as a gardener at the Convent for many years.
“I was a constant companion to the nuns’ right from the moment I learnt how to walk and talk. I would accompany my mother to the convent where the nuns immediately fell in love with me and me with them. The nuns’ angelic singing, immaculate robes made a lifelong impression on me.
“I want to be a nun when I grow up,” was a constant song in the house.
“I grew up in a strict Catholic upbringing, attended Catholic schools, spent my holidays and free time working in the Convent. When I completed my secondary schooling, I shunned a college offer to join the Order as a novitiate. My mother and the nuns were ecstatic. My boyfriend was not.”

THE SECOND READING:
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ONE CORINTHIANS 13 VERSES 4 TO 13.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Thanks be to God.

There was silence as Sr. Mary tried her best to console the heartbroken girl.
“I am pregnant,” Esther whispered, the burden finally thrusting itself at the door steps of the Church that had taught her the virtue of chastity.
Sr. Mary heard her right and her outward shock was a mask to her inner happiness. “Who is the father?” Sr. Mary asked, well aware of the obvious answer.
“It is not John Paul,” Esther whispered, her emphasis being on the word not, all the disappointment being shown by the continuous crying.
Sr. Mary gasped and Esther looked up to see the Sister masking her disappointment with a quick removal of her hand from her mouth.
“I thought that I would trap him with this pregnancy and hence stop him from joining the Seminary but it did not work.
He refused to touch me.” Again the disappointment followed by tears.
“You mean he has never touched you?”
“No. Not even a kiss. Just holding of hands and brief hugs.”
There was a brief stint of silence before Esther resumed. “That is why he was late for Mass today. I wanted him to sleep with me but he refused.” She gazed at the glazed Church windows that depicted some of the early history of the Church. At a different time, she would have marveled at the pure ingenuity of passing down the history of the church through window paintings. But not today.

GOSPEL READING.
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF JOHN 15 VERSES 12 TO 15

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Fr. Joseph wanted to preach about the gospel but he decided instead to tell his story. Today was his last day and he wanted to leave having told his real story. A sort of justification to his disappearance. But before that, he had the small issue of John Paul to deal with.
“Today we bid goodbye to one of our very own, a real son of the Church. Today, John Paul ‘Pope’ makes his first step towards priesthood. I call upon him to share his feelings with us.
John Paul walked to the pulpit. He was in the glowing white robe, interlaced with a purple covering. He looked at the congregation and his heart swelled out for them. They had seen him grow from a young boy of three years old who used to be a nuisance in Church, driving everyone around crazy with his running around and demands. They had seen him become an altar boy at the age of 7 and the rich spiritualism in him grow in leaps and bounds. The congregation loved him because he was their own.
John Paul looked at them and smiled, his eyes welling with tears. “You all are my family and I am extremely proud to be a product of this parish,” he started. Fr. Joseph smiled.
“I understand that it is a tough road ahead but with your prayers I know that I will not falter on the way nor will I abandon my vocation as many others have done.” Fr. Joseph flinched.
“The number of priests is decreasing by the day because fewer and fewer men are joining the seminary while more and more are leaving the priesthood.” Fr. Joseph’s heart skipped a bit. Did this boy know about him leaving the priesthood? Was he personally talking to him?
John Paul’s voice lowered a bit and he went ahead to tell the congregation about his struggles in life ever since his parents’ demise some ten years back. He numerated the Church’s help in bringing up his family and taking care of his daily needs. He particularly thanked Fr. Joseph, Sr. Mary and the Young Christian Community of Muthurwa for their endless help. Fr. Joseph was now a broken a man. This kid was cracking him up.
“Finally, there is always a sacrifice to pay when man leaves his family and belongings to join the Lord’s army. Where is Esther?” John Paul asked.
Esther and Sr. Mary appeared from the choir side. John Paul motioned her to come next to him which she did. “Esther here, just like in the old testament, has been a fortress of strength to me. But as our Lord says in the good book, man shall leave his family and follow me. Esther has been my family and it is painful that where I am going, she cannot come.” Esther was literally in tears. Fr. Joseph removed a white handkerchief and wiped his tears. Sr. Mary stood stoically waiting for John Paul to complete his ‘homily’
“Mary, mother of God, is our guide through these difficult times. Please join me in saying three hail Marys, one for the clergy, another for the laity, and a final one for all the vocations.” With that, John Paul led the congregation in fervently reciting the prayer. Fr. Joseph felt the boy’s presence as John Paul stepped down from the pulpit. He went ahead to join his altar team.
Ten year old Chichi, the only girl in the altar, could not contain herself. She ran towards John Paul and gave him a long hug while crying uncontrollably. Fr. Joseph waited for the girl to recover before proceeding with the rest of the mass. He was shaken. That boy had awakened some fire in him.

…….to be continued.