Nana

Anna Marie was born on June 4, 1908. God called her home on June 4, 2005, her 97th birthday. Everyone called Anna Marie "Nana". Nana has ten children, twenty one grandchildren and twenty three great grand children. When I walked into Holy Redeemer Church in Maplewood, MN where the wake and funeral were being held, the first thing I noticed was that nearly everyone there was wearing a big button. Some of them said "Mom liked me best". Most of them said "Nana liked me best" or "I was Nana's Favorite."

I thought it was a little odd, but as I found out, this was a woman who treated everyone like they were her favorite. She made everyone she came in contact with feel special. Even the priest was wearing a button. As I thought about it, I realized that even though I had only met Nana a few times, I thought she liked ME best.

Which brings me to today's Gospel. I've always had a hard time with it. Jesus tells the Apostles that "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Is He really telling us what I think He is?

I love my family more than anything in this world. I would lay down my life for Jan, Mike,Tim, Patrick or Megan. That's about as much as I can do. What else is there? How can I love Jesus more than that? Didn't He say “greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend"? What about "Honor thy father and thy mother"? Isn't Jesus all about love?

Then I realized that you have to be very careful when you read the Scriptures so you don't misinterpret what they say. Jesus didn't say I have to love Him more than I love my family. He says that I can't love my family more than I love Him. Big difference! Which is what made me think of Nana.

Here was a woman who had unconditional love for each of her children (and their spouses. The son and daughter-in-laws were wearing the "Mom liked me best" buttons too.) She also had an unconditional love for God and His church.

I have to tell you this woman was a sports fanatic! Nothing kept her from watching her beloved Twins and Golden Gophers. Nana was such a sports fan that we sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the end of mass. (It's a good thing Sister isn't here today to hear that!)

She was such a sports fan that one of the petitions at mass was for the Twins to win the World Series. I did not respond “Lord, hear our prayer.” You have to draw the line somewhere. Besides, there's no point in praying for something that can't happen. Everybody knows that the Cardinals are going to win the World Series.

Actually, there was one thing that would take her away from sports. That was 4:00 Saturday mass at Holy Redeemer Church. She never missed and she always sat in the front row. As much as she loved her teams, one of her grandsons told me that she would get up and leave during the bottom of the ninth inning or late in the fourth quarter if it was time to go to mass.

It was her love of God and His Church that was reflected in the way she treated people. If anyone ever followed Jesus' instructions to "love your neighbor as yourself" it was her.

“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet becaues he is a prophet,
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.”

We know these things are true, because Jesus said so. But, how do we learn to trust Jesus? How do we learn to love Jesus? I think the first and most important way we learn these things is from our parents. It's our parents' love that teaches us about God's love.

Jesus tells us that anyone who “loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” But, by loving our children and one another just as we love Jesus, we teach them what love is really all about. By setting that example, our love is magnified in our kids and can reach places that we've never even thought about. That's really the love of God. Nana lived in St. Paul, Minnesota. Yet, here we are, using her as an example of what the Gospel is all about, in St. Louis,MO, nearly 700 miles away.

As my friend Chris said to me, “She was my mom, but she was also my best friend.” I spoke to Chris just this past Wednesday. He still can't understand why I came all the way to Minnesota for his mom's funeral. See, Chris started out as a customer. In fact, at one time he was my biggest customer. But, I'm not in sales anymore.

Over the years, even though he was still my customer, he also became my friend. Now that he's not my customer anymore, he's still my friend. He's done things for me that no ordinary business contact would do. He's his mother's son. I would have walked to Minnesota to be there for him. But like his mother, he does things for people just because it's the right thing to do. By the way, his daughters are just like him. Every time I see his daughter, Allie, she asks about my daughter, Megan.

As we continue on with our mass, I hope you'll remember Nana. You don't meet a lot of people like her in a lifetime. It's a great gift to make so many people think that you liked them best. What a great legacy. Pray that each of us may be remembered that same way.