A blending of two faiths.

As all of you know, our son is going to school at a private Catholic grade school. As you all know also, we are not Catholic, we are Lutheran. Believe it or not, we are not the first non-Catholic set of parents to send their kid to Catholic school! Tonight, I attended a meeting for parents regarding our kids' "First Reconciliation", otherwise known as, "First Confession". We discussed this day with the Superintendent of Schools, his teacher, and the Priest prior to this meeting. They know we aren't Lutheran, and they respect this. They do however, know that kids are very observant and know when someone is being singled out. We all agreed to allow E to participate fully in all of the instruction and he will even attend the special Mass for the children. E will go to the confession chamber and recite a prayer asking for a blessing from the priest. This way he is not left out, of left to feel different. Overall, E has really grown in his faith and Christian knowledge. He has embraced both the Lutheran and Catholic liturgy and he knows the prayers and dialogue better than us. It was funny though, when his teacher told me tonight that E pointed out that "There is more to that you know", when referring to "The Lord's Prayer". If you recall, Catholics stop it at "but deliver us from evil". E told his teacher and us "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen" is the best part!

Tonight we recited this prayer as a group:

Dear God, I thank You for the gift of this child to raise,
this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture.

Let me never betray this child's trust,
dampen this child's hope,
or discourage this child's dreams.

Help me, dear God, to help this precious child
become all You mean him to be.

Let Your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes
and give him inner strength and peace and patience
for the journey ahead.