I volunteer at a retirement home operated by an order of caring, dedicated nuns. The facility is immaculate, bright, and colorful. The staff and volunteers are obviously full of spirit and joy, and committed to their work and ministry — you can see it in their faces, hear it in their voices.

Every morning mass is celebrated in the chapel. Today I was making my volunteer rounds, in between visitations, and at the urging of a resident, I stopped in for mass. How glad I am that I did.

As I entered the chapel, one of the sisters had just begun the reading of the Rosary. I sank to my knees and was soon immersed in the graceful ebb and flow of the familiar words. As I always am in my veneration of the Holy Mother, I was moved out of my immediate surroundings and into a place of joy and peace. Until my knees began to hurt. And then my back. And then my arms where they had been propped on the hard seat back in front of me. I straightened my back. Then I bent my back. I shifted this way, then another. In shifting, I looked up at my companions, the residents of the retirement home.

There they were, people old enough to be my parents, the aging faithful, also on their knees. They didn’t bend, they didn’t shift, they didn’t squirm. They remained steadfast in their worship of our Lord and His mother. It was a humbling moment for me, and also a moment of gratitude. How grateful I am that these faithful are in the care of other faithful servants who dedicate their lives to giving dignity and hope to our seniors.

Wishing you a space for grace in your life today,
Kate