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"That's what Mothers are for!"
Often mothers are the inspiration and guardian angels of priests. I know a Lebanese priest, Father Labaky, whose story is rather unusual: When he celebrated his first Mass, his mother gave him the most beautiful host you can imagine. It was delicately handmade, of a beautiful golden color like fields of wheat, and huge. He exclaimed, "Mom, where did you find such a host?" The mother then explained the origin of the host: As a child, her son had confided in his family that he felt the call of Jesus and wanted to become a priest. She was very happy and decided to support this growing vocation by offering to God small and large sacrifices. She prayed to God to make her son a holy priest in His church.To solidify her maternal and spiritual help, she took a vase and decided to throw a grain of wheat into it each time she offered a sacrifice to God. Shortly before he celebrated his first Mass, she told herself, 'I will grind these grains of wheat, and with the flour I will make a large flat cake that will be his first host.' And so it was done. When the priest heard his mother's story, he was deeply moved! Each parcel of the Body of Christ that he would hold in his priestly hands would come from an offering of his mother! Wow! She had kept this precious secret for so many years, sacrificing herself silently for the priestly vocation of her son! Father Labaky is now 70. His life has been so fruitful thus far! He has saved so many lost children and now, he sees to the training of priests. His books are pure marvels. May this story inspire many moms, and awaken vocations of "spiritual motherhood" for priests. Holy priests would then multiply in our world!
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