Faith in the Family

I drove out to Pontyclun in glorious weather again this morning to give the fourth of my Lenten addresses on Exodus. After this Clare and I went to St Mary's Bute Street to attend the funeral of Pegi Roberts, the mother of Eleri, wife of Fr Graham Francis, both friend since college days. Graham celebrated the requiem Mass, and Archbishop Barry was there to offer the Commendation prayer at the end. He had been her diocesan Bishop in Bangor. She lived on Anglesey all her life until she came to Cardiff to spend her last years with Eleri and Graham in St Mary's Vicarage.

All the lessons at the Mass were beautifully read in Welsh, by her grand-daughter, grandson's wife and family friend Canon Geoffrey Gaynor, as befitted the obsequies of a first language Welsh speaker. Graham preached an excellent homily, respectful of his mother in law's wishes that there should be no eulogy at her funeral. I admired his determination to lead the mourning from the front, so to speak - something I could not have done for any close member of my family. He was very fond of her and she of him.

One day I stood in at Mass for Fr Mark at St Luke's, and Pegi was in the congregation, having been brought there from the care home where she was staying temporarily while Graham and Eleri were on holiday. It wasn't long before I realised who she was because she spoke so proudly and affectionately of Graham and rejoiced in the faith they shared. That's such a blessing in the family for a priest. My three devout aunts gave me that kind of encouragement, but my parents, uncles and grandfathers had more reservations about my faith conviction, and this reservation has been reproduced in our children, despite our efforts to raise them in church life and Christian faith.

I keep reminding myself that we cannot impose, only share our faith as part of our free self offering to those whom we love, without regard for the consequences. Who can control the way in which seeds sown will grow to fruition?