A Glorious Day: Daddy's First Eucharist & Confirmation!

It was a true blessing to have so many very special family and friends attend this very special Mass today where Brian received two very precious Sacraments. In attendance were Brian, Noelle, Leia, Annie, Oma, Papa, Auntie April, Karin Faulkner, Steve Faulkner, and Kevin Faulkner. In reference to the Compares, it must be said that they took time out of the busy open house season to come to this special event even when certain mitigating factors begged to keep them away. In reference to the Faulkners, it must be said that they had never been to a Mass before and felt such a strong bond in friendship to us that they wanted to attend (even though they worried a bit about what to expect). I think it is safe to say that each and every person was inspired in their own way, . . . and we thank you all so much for coming. Your presence added an extra special blessing to one of the most miraculous moments of our lives.

Luckily, it was only Mamma who was worried this morning. : ) I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to manage Annie, take pictures, and enjoy the Sacraments all at the same time. My worry was unfounded, however. Everything went beautifully! And one sure sign that someone was helping us from above was that when I finally decided on the best place to sit (which ended up being our usual spot, ha!), . . . Brian's name was already on the side of that exact pew to reserve it for us!!! How did God know?!? Here is a bit of the chaos before Mass.
Early in the Mass, Brian's sponsor (Jim) was asked to come and stand by Brian for the announcement of Confirmation and Eucharist.

[Just a little side note here, just as Brian was private about his first Reconciliation, he was also quite private about choosing his sponsor, . . . wanting him to be someone who Brian hadn't met before and who is deeply involved in the church, yet going to our usual 7:30 mass. Not a friend. Not a wife. Not an extended family member. Someone to lead him through this path of Faith without those extra burdens.]
Then it was time! Father John offered a special blessing over the Chrism and the Horn of Oil first blessed on the Easter Vigil and then we all began to sing, "Come Lord Jesus, send us Your Spirit! Renew the face of the Earth!"

Brian was the last of 18 to be Confirmed today. And, yes, Father John was "quite liberal with the Chrism oil" in that he refilled the horn before Brian, poured it all over Brian's head and caressed his face with it as well, . . . as Brian received the Holy Spirit. Brian would tell me later that he was blessed with a very special good feeling at that exact moment, . . . a blessing that not everyone receives. ; ) If you enlarge the picture and see my face, my tears prove that it wasn't just Brian who was incredibly overwhelmed with emotion!!!
Leia Rose could feel that this was a special day as well! As for Annie, . . . she had one of her better days at Mass. The large amount of instruments & choir singers helped keep her attention. Generally, I would laugh later, that she was good except when a Sacrament was about to be performed, . . . then I seemed to have to pull out all the stops. Ha!
Brian was one of the few invited to bring up the gifts at Mass. He brought the wine, soon to be turned to Jesus' blood that he would receive!!!
Here is the Consecration, the exact moment when the bread was turned into Jesus' Body, . . . and the very first Eucharist that Brian would receive!

Here is the second half of the Consecration, the exact moment when the wine was turned into Jesus' Blood, . . . and the very first Eucharist that Brian would receive!
"Through Him. With Him. In Him. In the unity of the Holy Spirit . . ." And now for Brian's first Eucharist! Praise God!

And just like that, it was all just beginning, Brian Dean had become one with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and was an adult member of the Roman Catholic Church, . . . a hope of mine since we were first dating. Let me say here that I have always had such respect for Brian for NOT becoming Catholic when we were Engaged. There are so many who do, . . . and it's so obvious why they do. I knew long ago that, to marry Brian, I had to be satisfied with my wonderful (and Methodist) husband for life. I was. Brian had always said, "I will never become Catholic unless I truly believe, and I will never truly believe until I know that the bread and wine has truly turned into Jesus' Body and Blood." And then, not in one single moment of revelation, but through slow nurturing of spirituality and love within the observation of the Consecration at Mass week after week, . . . Jesus revealed the fullness of the Truth to Brian. Praise God!!!

And as they said after the ceremony in Father of the Bride, "Then it was time to party!"
And on the way out of church, we noticed that Leia & Annie & I were decorating the hallway in our Easter Bonnets! Ha!

Little Kevin, going to his first Mass ever, was as good as gold! I was so proud of his behavior! And look at how nurturing he is with Annie!!! Such a wonderful little boy!!! He pushed her in the stroller as far as the parking lot!
And here, finally Annie is getting her first whiff and feel of Chrism oil since her own baptism. : ) (It was still dripping onto Brian's shirt on the ride home in the car.) ; )
And here we all gathered for a special breakfast of sausage casserole and blueberry cobbler to celebrate Brian's special day.
Oh yeah, and I made a cake, too. ; )
Brian received many wonderful mementos, like this First Communion remembrance box from Oma & Papa (to hold all of his cards and gifts). Oma and Papa also gave him lots of information on St. Cosmas, the patron saint of Chemists (who Brian chose as his Confirmation namesake) as well as a special, hardbound First Eucharist keepsake book. And Papa chose an extra special devotional called Uplifting Thoughts for Every Day, and painstakingly wrote a beautiful dedication at the beginning of the book. It was this explanation of this gift that sparked my first tears in regards to Brian's conversion.
And this Confirmation cross from me that we have hung in our room, right above the light switch as a constant remembrance. I also had a special gift that he opened before Mass: a Confirmation Rosary, . . . and the very same Confirmation pin that I wore at my Confirmation! (As for the Confirmation Rosary, though, Brian never really got to hold it, . . . because it went right into Annie's mouth.) ; )

Great Grandma Betty gave Brian a beautiful antique Scapular, as well as a membership into the Spiritual Society of Our Lady of Victory (with all of the spiritual benefits included). Our good friends (and Annie's Godparents) Laurie and Eric gave Brian a book called Why Do Catholics Do That which is an easy & fun read with good explanation. Uncle Alan and Aunt Cassie gave Brian two beautifully illuminated books about the lives of the saints. Jim, Brian's sponsor, gave Brian a very special St. Joseph Confirmation Book. And something tells me that Leia's Godparents, Natalie and Greg, are retrieving some holy water from Lourdes in France as a gift for Brian. (They were in Lourdes when Brian was Confirmed.) And of course, many other friends and family members gave Brian heartfelt sentiments in cards. Speaking of which, I would like to record my thoughts and sentiments here. (And mine are not the only special sentiments, of course, there are many other more meaningful, . . . but I figure that at least some of those people would like their thoughts kept between themselves and Brian, so I'll just share my own writings in Brian's card here:

The card reads: "Congratulations! Happy news like this doesn't happen every day--It took persistence and God's assistance to make it turn out this way!" And my words are, "Dearest Brian, This holy act, . . . this holy decision you have made and that we celebrate today means more to me than any other (since perhaps our engagement). I always said, even far before we were married, that I would be fine if you never converted to Catholicism. And I always respected you greatly for saving this glorious experience until you were truly ready, . . . until you truly believed. And yet I always held out hope that this day would come. Today it did! I have shed tears of joy for you in regards to this day even before it came. And I think it's safe to say there will be tears of joy today as well. I am SO proud of you! I love you SO much! And I'm so thrilled and blessed to be able to welcome my very dearest husband into the Roman Catholic family! I love you! Love, Noelle" [It was a great sacrifice for the whole family to lose Brian to Faith Development every single Sunday until noon or so. I'm celebrating the end of those times without him, as well!]

The gift & blessing that surprised us the MOST was we got a call from ROME from Father David Koonce!!! David was Brian's roomate for many years at Furman as well as my dear friend from the Furman Newman Club. Recently, David became a priest in the order of the Legionaries of Christ!!! I know that David has kept Brian in his prayers all these years, . . . and it was just extra special to hear David's voice, wanting to be spiritually present on Brian's very special day.

But perhaps it was Leia's gift that takes the cake:

Leia was enjoying just watching Daddy open her gift, which she worked on for days and days . . .
It was a framed picture of all the Star Wars characters, . . . that she drew herself!!! Brian's reaction here is priceless!!!

Then it was time for Leia Rose and Kevin to get wild, . . . wrestling each other to the floor with hugs and throwing wrapping paper up in the air like snow. : ) And it all went well until Leia Rose got over stimulated and perfectionistic, . . . and wanted Kevin to put her "build-a-saurus" together a certain way. Needless to say, it was one of those times when she said, "Mamma, I need to be alone for a little while." Ha! Kevin SO enjoys pushing Leia's buttons. It's really fun to watch! (I always tell Karin, "I wonder if Kevin will STILL be pushing her buttons when he is 15?!? Ha!)
And one last Leia present: a freshly drawn raptor with a bow. ; )
Later that day, it was off to Andrew Casad's house (he's the director of the Catechumenate). He lives far west of town on a teeny tiny farm. The girls were immediately out with Daddy checking out all of the goats & bunnies, etc.

Annie's favorite was the chickens. She was spellbound. (But doesn't this forced perspective look like a tiny chicken is about to peck Annie in the eye? Ha!)
When Father John arrived, he gave a very special blessing to the newest members of the Roman Cathoic Church!

[Just a side note here, though, THIS is the kind of situation where we really needed one of those Faulkner Family Doggie Leashes. ; ) It was impossible to keep Annie from roaming around, tripping over people's feet, trying to touch baubles that weren't babyproofed, picking up bits of yuck tracked in from outside, licking her goat/chicken poopy shoes while refusing to eat the macaroni & cheese dish I brought, etc. It was VERY hard for me, and I wasn't even the only one helping! I found myself being GLAD that Annie took a long nap while the macaroni & cheese was cooking, which made Annie & I a bit later than the rest of the family. I couldn't have handled any more time with Annie in that environment. Karin, if you're reading this, please e-mail me the brand of that cool contraption. We need to buy one for situations like this, . . . if only to save my sanity! And, um, do you notice my five-year-old scaling the furniture in the above picture?!? Gosh, people, I can't do everything!] ; )
It wasn't long before Leia Rose spied the piano and began to play, . . . and Annie followed. : ) Is this a little sister picture, or what!?!

Then was another girl there (perhaps she was 12 or so?) that played some beautiful piano for us, Here she is playing "My Place in This World" by Michael W. Smith. She played and I sang. Leia Rose was riveted. I was expecting her to run to me and say, "Mamma, I changed my mind, I want to play the piano!!!" But, nope, she's sticking with the piccolo. ; ) (This surprised me, actually, . . . there's something about that first time she was shown a real piccolo that she will never forget.) Then we all decided to dance to this beautiful music:

And when we got home, Oma just couldn't resist another bit of love from Annie. (And I think the love was coupled with Annie sharing a pretend bit of food from a play spoon.) ; )
And here is how exhausting it is to make your First Communion & Confirmation on the same day! Brian ended the day by snuggling with little Annie, . . . both of them still smelling of Chrism oil: a beautiful & pungent fragrance that will forever remind me of Annie's baptism and Brian's Confirmation.