The Irish standard., 1913-06-28
THE MOTHER
OF A PRIEST
Her Letter to Friend Following Her
Sons Ordination.

oon 8 OrOIndtlONs
The following beautiful letter was
written to a friend by mother on
the day following the ordination of
her son:
Dear Friend-Bless, bless God, II
am the mother of a priest. 1t was to
you l wrote, twenty-five years ago,
when the child was given me. l re-
call it; l was foolish with joy: felt
him living by my side; l stretched
out my hand toward him. l touched
him as he lay in his cradle as if to
assure myself that really possessed
him.
All, what a distance between the
joy of then and the events of today,
which lift up my soul and fill it with
sentiments it has never known before
Today. I am the mother of priest!
Those hands that, when they were
SO small, kissed with warmest love,
those hands are consecrated; those
fingers have touched God. The I'M
derstanding that received enlighten-
ment from me, and to which taught
life's aim, has developed, it is flooded
with great truths; study and grace
have made 1t surpass my own intelli-
gence, and now, behold it is conse-
Grated to God. That body which I
cared for and protected, which made
me fear lest sickness would rob me
of my treasure-that body has be-
come large and strong; behold, 1t is
consecrated to God!
That body has become the servant
Of priests soul: it will fatigue It,
self in order to uplift the sinner, to
instruct the ignorant, to give to each
and every creature who asks and
seeks of him, their God.
That heart. ah! heart so holy and
SO good, so true to me through all
these years-that heart which trem-
bled in contact with aught that was
OF earth; behold IL is the heart of the
Lords anointed! The only love that
heart doth know we call by the sweet
name of Charity.
My son! my son! 1t is who know
/ his nature, and what priceless treas
ures are concentrated in in his char
acter; they will be his safeguard
against the world and against him.
self. When in the secrecy of his
priestly work God may put in his path
some faltering soul, he will know
how to find words to lift up that soul
and make it trust in the goodness of
God.
Oh. yes! my child will do good, he
will be according to Gods heart, he
will be all charity. Yes, yes! l am
the mother Of priest, of a true
priest!
What shall I tell you Of yesterdays
ceremonies? l was there, but l saw
nothing save only him; when he knelt,
when he stood upright, when he lay
PROSTATE, when he arose, when he
passed away so recollected from be-
meath the hand of the Bishop - a
priest forever!
And this morning he said his first
Mass. in the little chapel OF hum
Bile convent. where pure and loving
hands adorned the altar with lilies
and roses, white and red: no pomp
was there save the silent flowers and
the modest love-lit candles his server.
a child. his congregation, seemed
alone-I, his mother. and a few dear
friends
All! when they wish to paint the
happiness of heaven should they not
try to picture the happiness of a
mother who sees God descend at the
voice of her son, to mother lost In
alteration so deep that she has for.
gotten the world. forgotten that she
lives, and who gazes upon but two OBJ.
jects-God and her own son.
At a certain moment I heard him
move as he bent down before the
sacred host, prayed no longer, or at
least know not what to call my emo.
tons. Yes! 1t was the ecstacy of a
Christian mother was saying
thanks. my God. forevermore. This
priest was mine; it was who formed
him; his soul was lit up by mine. He
Is mine no longer; he belongs to Thee
o my God. Protect him from even the
shadow Of evil; he is the salt of the
: earth; keep him from being contami