Sherry Antonetti on the Witness of a Good Father

"He came to Mass every Sunday at nine o'clock.

"He and his 20-something-year-old son sat in the pew in front of us, and somehow we always wound up behind them.

"His son had severe autism and sometimes wore headphones to help deal with the crowd and the noise.

"On Thanksgiving weekend I shook hands with him at the sign of peace and told him how grateful I was for his weekly witness, how it heartened my husband and me as we dealt with our children (the 10-, eight-, seven- and four-year-old always seemed to turn into talkative squirrels at Mass). He had never complained and always beamed a great smile at the sign of peace. 'See you next week,' I said. He nodded.

"Owing to schedules, we didn't make it to our normal Mass time for four weeks in a row; when we finally did get back to our usual schedule, Father gave a homily about the silent witness of a father having brought his 25-year-old son to Mass every Sunday."

In a recent commentary, write Sherry Antonetti reflected on the effects of the witness this father gave before he passed away.

To access Ms. Antonetti's complete post, please visit:

Aleteia: The Good Shepherd One Pew Up (2 JAN 16)