A Lenten Devotion by Frank Carney
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
My dad, Francis J. Carney, died back in 1983. It was a long time ago but at times, it seemed just like yesterday. Good memories and sadness have a way of doing that.
He wasn’t a person who verbally expressed his feelings. He did so however through the ambiences of his presence. You knew he was glad to see you and loved you.
My first memories of him were in our story reading sessions. He had “his” chair that no one shared unless they were invited onto his lap. He taught me the importance of reading as a means of learning and enjoyment.
My two older sisters felt the same quiet expression of his love. When they were 9 and 11 we lived within walking distance of the Charles River in Cambridge. During an extremely cold day, my mother, before leaving for work, told them not to go ice skating on the river. This wouldn’t be the first time. Regardless, they went anyway. As fate would have it, my older sister went through the ice. Fortunately she came back up through the same hole. When dad came home they told him what happened. While they took a warm shower he made them hot chocolate and told them not to upset their mother by telling her what happen.
During my adolescent years, dad and I would take long historic walks (we didn’t own a car) around Boston and Cambridge. Not much was being said about feelings but I could feel them in his presence. Those experiences help me to appreciate a smile and the affirmations of others.
Teach us, O God, to appreciate a smile and a walk. Amen.