Last night, I went to our parish’s reconciliation service for advent with my wife and two children.  Importantly, our two children are 5 and 2 years old.  Needless to say, it’s always a challenge keeping them relatively quiet during a service (emphasis on the “relatively” part, since they are never truly quiet).  This time, however, was a special challenge since we had to stand in line for the sacrament, and the service was packed since it was also serving as the First Reconciliation service for the second graders.  Yet, that challenge turned out to be a grace-filled gift. Continue reading →