God So Loved the World...

Our big boys seem to have a strong and often insightful understanding of their Catholic faith. We are trying to teach Zachary, too, that God loves him beyond measure and how important it is to develop a loving relationship with his Creator. Sunday mass usually starts out calm enough, with Zachary cuddling in my arms or speeding his Matchbox tractors around the pews. Sometimes he calls the priest "God", sometimes he points to the crucifix above the altar and says "Jesus", and sometimes he asks me to hold him high so he can "see!" what's going on up there (we sit towards the back because, well, we have five antsy boys...) But Zachary ALWAYS starts whining, or rather, demanding "Doughnut! DOUGHNUT!" as we near the end of the liturgy. Zachy and his brothers alike learned at an early age that our church family loves to gather in the cafeteria after mass and visit over coffee and doughnuts. Sometimes the bribe promise of a doughnut is absolutely all we have to get them to sit reverently through mass.

Fast forward to last night.  The family was gathered in our bedroom settling in for the night, and very tired as usual after a long day in the summer sun.  The boys were going bonkers bouncing up and down on my bed, crazy with that last bit of energy that kicks in with extreme fatigue.  Zachy simply wanted to cuddle up beside me and drift off into dreamland, and was not at all excited that I demanded he participate in our evening prayers.  "No, Mommy, I'nna go sweep!" Zachy repeated over and over again when I asked him to sit up and fold his hands.  Frustrated, I tried to explain why it is so important to talk to God in prayer.  After all, He so loved the world that He sent his only Son...

"Zachary," I began very firmly.  "You need to sit patiently and say your prayers with us.  See Jesus up there on the cross?" I asked, pointing to the crucifix of our Lord hanging over our headboard.  "Do you know what Jesus did for you?"  "Yeah," replied my little guy, very matter-of-factly.  Well, I knew my baby boy was smart, but I didn't realize he had this level of understanding!  "Do you?!" I asked, "What did Jesus do for you?"

And in a very convincing tone, he replied:

"GET DOUGHNUTS."

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