I am so sorry to hear this Alan! Please be assured of my prayers for you and your family.
Once, I was a nanny/houskeeper for a French family of 10. I have a few bright stories to share!
The children genuinely loved their traditional Catholic Faith, it was everything to them. The boys had a mini children's altar and their own little vestments. The 3 year-old would lead his procession all vested with his 4 year-old older sister playing her mini guitar, and the vested 2 year old was in it as well. The boys solemnly imitated chant to the best of their ability.
They would have their hands folded going up to the altar, and the 3 year-old would begin his prayers for Mass. The young 2 year old actually beat his breast at the confiteor THREE TIMES! I was stunned to see that he was aware enough to observe and imitate that!
The 6 year old brother would sometimes be the one leading the procession, and would give his sermon along with the times for Confession during the week, pretending it was Sunday Mass as I folded laundry in the corner. He began to sing a hymn, and I sung a little bit with him, and he implored me to keep singing for him, for his little ceremony! I also saw him hearing his 4 year old sister's "confession".
The 4 year old little girl would kneel beside me during the family Rosary, and would sometimes pray it holding my physical Rosary with me. She was very devout, once was even praying for 4 hours in her bedroom, with her veil on and little lamp lit while it was dark all around. Her mother sent me a picture so I could see proof for it, and that is what she told me.
During the Angelus or Regina Caeli sung before meals, the youngest would even chime in with his childish "awwww" and folded hands.
THIS is hilarious and was a salutary, minor humiliation to me, I could not help but laugh, it was too funny.
I was once crouching done so that I was partially sitting on my heels, and I was not completely balanced. The 3 year old was for some reason upset with me and decided to push me over. Since I was a little off balance he succeeded in pushing me over, and the 4 year old girl ran to her Papa proclaiming that her brother hurt me. It was crazy to think a toddler literally made me fall!
The father made him kiss me on the cheek in reparation, and he did so with great repugnance. That was atoned for though on a feast day, when he smiled at me at the table and willingly kissed me on the cheek not once, but twice with great pleasure, and without being asked! I do not know what prompted it.
Sometimes I would take the youngest 3 apart from the rest, so the older children could do their homework. I would go into a living room that had a door, and would play upbeat classical music, to their great enjoyment. They would start bouncing around, running around in circles, etc. One of the songs I played was this one:
The 4 year old girl was my favourite and I was hers. She would often sit on my lap while I sang Adoro Te Devote by St. Thomas Aquinas, or showed her holy pictures. Despite her being quite young she was very charitable and had the tact of an adult in some situations.
Topic: Children (Read 215 times)