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"Oh, I found Father Jerry's prayer book last night when I went to get more ice," I said trying to sound causal and not guilty of reading a priest's prayer book.
"Where was it? I looked for it and I didn't see it anywhere," said Mom as she placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.
"It was on top of the fridge. He got me some ice when we first came inside."
"Well I never would have looked there. We should definitely call him this morning and let him know we found it. I don't want to be the one responsible for a priest not saying his prayers."
"I'm sure he doesn't say all of them every day."
"How would you know?"
"Because the book is filled with tons of prayers and quotes and prayer cards," I said without thinking.
"Eric did you read it?" Mom asked horrified.
"I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. Don't you want to know what's inside?"
"Eric, I know how to control myself and respect someone else's privacy. That was none of your business."
"Ya, I know, but I'm suffering from a concussion. I think I'm having lapses in good judgement."
"Nice try, Eric, but I'm your mother and you better come up with a better excuse than that if you want me to buy it."
"Ok, I was wrong. It was really interesting though. I thought it was going to be some secret Latin prayers that only priests get to know about, but it was just a lot of prayers and quotes that made some really good sense. It's like a collection of all the best quotes and prayers and none of the boring ones. As I was reading it, I actually wanted to pray along. Isn't that weird?"
"Why would that be weird?"
"Because I don't really like praying. I think it's useless, but there were some lines in there that made me think differently."
"Eric, I don't know if I should be happy or mad right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well it was definitely wrong for you to read Father Jerry's book without his permission, but do you know how long I've been praying that your faith would become more important to you? I've been dreaming of the day we would be talking about prayer together," Mom said half laughing trying to contain her joy.
"Relax, Mom. Don't get too excited about me saying I found a couple of prayers interesting. I'm still the same person who doesn't really care one way or the other."
"That's a shame. I was beginning to think your accident might have been a blessing in disguise."
"Mom you're the only person I know who could think getting hit in the head is a blessing."
"Maybe God wanted to find a way to knock some sense into you," Mom said with playful sarcasm.
"Very funny, Mom. Wow you're a real comedian in the morning."
"I was just kidding. Maybe you're the one who needs to relax now. Anyway, we need to let Father Jerry know his book is here. Do you want to call him or do you want me to?"
"You can call him. That way he can't ask me if I read it." I said with a smile. "By the way, thanks for breakfast it tasted great!"
"You are welcome. Now why don't you go take a shower and I'll clean up and call Father Jerry."
"Sounds like a plan. Hey don't you have to go into work today?"
"I called my boss yesterday and told her I needed to be with you today. She completely understood and agreed. Everyone knew I was pretty upset yesterday when I said I had to leave to take you to the hospital. I'm going to work from home today. I just have to answer some e-mails and call in for a conference meeting later this afternoon. "
As I headed for the shower I heard my mom exchanging pleasantries with Mrs. Decker and asking for Father Jerry. A nice hot shower was going to feel good right now. I glanced in the mirror before getting in and noticed the goose egg on my head had some nice shades of blue and purple around it and it seemed to match the coloring around the scrapes my arms. My knees looked pretty banged up too. "With the way I look and feel I am not going to even feel guilty for laying on the couch all day" I thought to myself.
Shortly after I took my shower and got dressed, Mom let me know that Father Jerry would come by sometime in the afternoon to pick up his book. He had already left the house to take Mr. Decker to a doctor's appointment and some testing. He wasn't expected back for a few hours. As I laid on the couch to watch tv, Scruffy jumped up and laid next to me. I guess the idea of laying around and doing nothing appealed to both of us. We watched a couple of shows together before I started to get bored. Nothing seemed to catch my interest and Scruffy kept trying to take my spot. I noticed Mom carrying the boxes of lights and ornaments and placing them near the tree.
"Want some help?" I asked.
"Sure, if you're feeling up to it."
I started pulling out the strands of lights and testing them. I couldn't help but think about Father Jerry's comment about the lights being like small moments in our life when we let the light of Christ shine through us. I tried to think about different things I had done this past year to brighten the world. Obviously I'm not a saint, but I do have my moments. I did my best to help my mom with all the yard work this summer. I finished a couple of projects around the house before I left for school. I listened to my friend Erin cry about her boyfriend dumping her. I helped Mark study for finals so he could pass his exams. And I did talk the guys out of that binge drinking idea they had-nothing good could have come from that. And I remember when-
"Hey you're pretty quiet over there. Are you feeling okay?" Mom inquired. "How's your head?"
"I'm alright Mom, don't worry. I'm going to start hanging the lights and then I'll let you do the garland."
"I've almost unpacked all the ornaments. Eric do you remember when you made this one?"
It was a cut out green Christmas tree with a giant picture of my face. It was the typical grin of a seven year old with missing teeth. "Even without teeth, I was ruggedly handsome." I said jokingly.
We spent the next hour talking and putting up the ornaments. It's funny how many memories of past Christmas' are connected to the ornaments. When we were done I rested on the couch some more while Mom made some soup and sandwiches for lunch. Surprisingly, it was nice just spending time with Mom. I could tell she really missed me while I was away at school. I think it was hard for her to be by herself at the house. It had been just the two of us for a long time. I felt bad that I didn't notice that before. I decided when I went back to school I would call her more often and fill her in on my life. I think that would make her happy.
After lunch Mom went to the den to work on some e-mails and get ready for her conference call. I went to grab a couple of cookies off the counter when I noticed the red leather book again. I looked to make sure Mom was busy. I grabbed the book along with the cookies and headed for the couch. I just wanted to read a little more before Father Jerry came to pick it up. I figured I could read for a good half hour and then put it back before Mom would notice. I had no idea why I found this book so interesting.
As I leafed through the pages, I tried to find the spot where I had left off. He must have done some traveling because there were some really cool sunset pictures of the ocean and pictures from Rome and Assisi. There was a hand drawn picture of Jesus laughing with a personal note by the artist thanking Father Jerry for his prayers. There was a quote by Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan that said, "The greatest mistake is in not being aware that others are Christ. There are very many people who will not discover it until their last day." Next to that Father Jerry wrote: "Christ is as close as the person next to you." I thought about that before I turned the page. I always think of Jesus as just being in heaven. How do you see Christ in other people? I closed my eyes and try to imagine seeing Christ in people I knew and as I did this I never realized I had drifted off to sleep.....and I never heard the knock at the front door.
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