On Priests, Family and Responsibilities

My mother's older brother, Rev. D. S. Pathak, died last week. I imagine there is a lot of rejoicing in heaven right now, even though his immediate family is missing him very much. Of his generation, only two out of seven siblings are still alive.

Below you can see a picture of my mother's family. My uncle is the young deacon on the left. My mother is next to him, pregnant with my brother. My grandmother is next, holding my mother's first-born son (who died when he was five). The remaining are other brothers and sisters, except for the man seated at the very right. That is my father. 

I wouldn't have these old pictures if it weren't for my uncle. He embraced the new technology and after retiring from the day-to-day responsibilities of a parish priest, took upon himself to make family trees. He scanned some of these old pictures and emailed them. I treasure them.

This is a close-knit family. Alas, I never knew my cousins very well because we lived too far away even when we were in India. Money was tight (my mother was alone raising us while my father pursued his studies in the US) and travelling to visit family was a rarity. Later, we emigrated to the US, and money was still scarce when my parents got divorced. My mother did get to go back a couple of years before she died and she had such a good time visiting her brothers and sisters. She brought back many happy memories.

I look at these young faces and see how beautifully their lives have unfolded. They have faced many trials, each and every one of them, but they never lost their faith in God. They trusted Him and His great providence. I hope to walk in their footsteps and meet them in heaven. It is one of my greatest joys that my uncle got to know that I returned to our Christian faith before his death.

Sadly, I do not know all our family history. They were Brahmin priests for generations until one of them converted to Christianity. My mother told me there was always a priest in the family. I do not know if it's true (she also told me that Elvis Presley was Indian and that babies came from belly-buttons). But here is her father -- he became a bishop in the Episcopal church.

What a great responsibility it is to be a bishop or a priest. I am overwhelmed at times at the responsibility I have as a mother. I will have to answer to God how I raised my children. But priests and bishops will have to answer whether they shepherded their flock to Christ. All those souls!

So let us pray for our priests and bishops, and for our dearly departed, that they may rest in peace with our Savior. And let us pray for more vocations to consecrated religious life.

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