Mother, grandmother and great-grandmother shares pearls of wisdom for staying active in faith
As the mother of four adult daughters, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Brenda Vanderford has passed on a lot of wisdom over the years.
The member of St. Peter Claver Parish in St. Louis encourages her family to stay active and engaged in faith through example and these insights:
Don’t be a benchwarmer: The key to staying active in the faith is to do more than just sit in the pew at Mass on Sundays, Brenda said. Participate in the choir, become an altar server, join a Bible study or get involved in other parish ministries. “You cannot be a benchwarmer — you have to be involved in church activities,” she said.
Make Sunday a day for the Lord: Brenda grew up in a southern Baptist household until she became Catholic as an adult in the 1960s. “On Sundays, we didn’t cook, iron or go to the store,” she said. “My mom cooked on Saturdays so we had Sunday available to do church. Our parents emphasized that you should be grateful for what you’ve done and had all week. It’s a time for gratitude. Now (people) do so much on Sundays and church is not a priority. I am still rooted in the fact that my day is not completed until I have gone to Mass.”
Get familiar with the Bible: Brenda still has her late mother’s well-worn Bible, which serves as a reminder of prioritizing Scripture. “She read the Bible all of the time and put dates of birthdays and marriages in it,” she said. Her mother also could recite Scripture passages from memory. “I tell them, get you a Bible and read it. It’s important, because these are to be our guidelines for living our lives. Reading Scripture is so important.”
Communicate prayerfully: Family gatherings at the holidays always start with prayer, Brenda stressed. “We spend all of them together, and they look forward to coming together as family time,” she said. With busy lives both here and out of town, Brenda and her family keep in touch by phone call and text. “We like being prayerful with texts, especially when there is something (happening in their lives) that is joyful or exciting,” she said. “They know that God was in charge of it or helped them get what they need.”
This is the fifth in a six-part series on keeping prayer alive in the home. Read the first part, as well as subsequent parts when they are published, at www.stlouisreview.com/story/prayer-alive-in-the-home/
