Saint Scooter, Pray for Us (Or: The Vatican and the Infield Fly Rule)

"Daddy, can I ask you a question?"

My favorite time of day is "Question Time."  In our house, Question Time is bedtime, when the kids are tucked in, and I make my final rounds. 

Saint FrancisOf our three children, our eldest--who is now 10--has owned Question Time, with gems that I've written on before like this:

• "Daddy, what's a question." 
• "But why, Daddy? 

After a barrage of "Whys," one night, I resorted to honesty: "I don't know, son."  His reply:

• "But what do you think?"

One Saturday night, after a day that had ended with going to 4:15 mass, my son had eternity on his mind.  And the question came to saints... not the Saints of the Big Easy and beignets, but the "communion of saints" of Patrick, Teresa the Little Flower, and Francis of Assisi (my personal fave.)

"I always thought that Joseph was as big a deal as Mary," he said, after asking me the difference between the Faith of my Fathers (Catholic) and that of his Mom (Epiccopalian.)  So I touched on the similarities first, skipped the difference of the fact that Episcopalian priests get to marry, and on the Catholic church's devotion to Mary, the Mother of God.  [This is NOT becoming a Baltimore Catechism post, I promise.]

"So what is Joseph, then?" 

"Well, he's a saint... the patron saint of the family, in fact.  He was the only man that God trusted to help raise Jesus on earth."  [My mother was devoted to him, although I found that her way of showing that devotion, by burying his statue upside-down in her garden to help get our house sold, was a bit odd.  Thankfully, she found other ways to show her love for my siblings and me.] 

"Oh.  Well, how does a saint get to become a saint?"

"Well, honey, I don't know exactly, but saints are very, very holy people who lived lives devoted to God and bringing Him to other people.  In fact, some people say that Pope John Paul should become a saint." 

"Who gets to decide?"

"Well, the Vatican, which is the headquarters of the church.  They examine the person's life to see whether the person measures up."

Saint Scooter"Do you have to be dead to be a saint?"

"Yes, I think so.  They pretty much wait until you've finished."

**<SNAP!>**  An epiphany.

"Oh!" he says, eyes suddenly wide open.  "Like the Baseball Hall of Fame!"

[This lad's going to be just fine.]

Comments

[Leezer]

Wry:
Kids are so profound. We have question time at our house, too. Always before bedtime. My daughter's favorite line is now, "but what if it does?" For example, "Mom, what if the sun falls out of the sky?" Me: "The sun isn't going to fall out of the sky." Daughter, "but what if it does?" Me: "It won't" Daughter: "but what if it does?" (repeat these last two lines of dialogue for about two more minutes). Finally, me: "then I guess it will be dark."

I love your son's answer to how to become a saint. Perfect.