I am an only child. That’s unfortunately common now, but was rare when I was born in 1963. I was also ahead of my time in that I was born to older parents. Mom was 44 when I was born. That’s much more common now than it was then. Wasn’t that my folks didn’t want to have more children, just that it didn’t work out until me. Mom especially was very interested in children. She was a perpetual fixture at those protestant mainstays: Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.

She died a year ago tomorrow. I wanted to have a Mass said for her tomorrow, but that date was taken so it ended up being today. When I got to the church, I saw that Totus Tuus -- a children’s program akin to Vacation Bible School, but firmly rooted in Catholicism -- was going on so there would be a passel of children there.

The other thing I’d forgotten about the date for this Mass was that it’s the commemoration of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The homily was quite fitting in how it spoke to the children and pointed us all to our Blessed Mother.

All very fitting for the Mass for Mom. Lux perpetua luceat eis, Domine.