The Catholic Ritual: A Personal Reflection

Catholics, as a group, rely on and typically enjoy rituals. Whether it be the sign of the cross on our foreheads with ashes on Ash Wednesday, the waving of our palm's on Palm Sunday, or the beautiful Easter vigil; complete with fire, water, and the fragrant oil of chrism. These rituals connect us to our past, consecrate our present, and lead us into our future. As a lifelong and proud Catholic, I derive great comfort, strength, and support from these rituals. Recently however, something that is becoming a ritual in my personal life struck to my core, also connecting past, present, and future. The ritual involves a trip to the "dollar store".

As a proud father of 5 children, it has recently become a ritual to swing by the dollar store after work to purchase balloons for special occasions such as birthdays. In the past six weeks, I have been to the same store 3 times. First of which, was for a bushel of "get well" balloons for my 7-year-old, who broke her foot playing in the backyard the night before the first day of school. The two subsequent trips were for happier occasions, birthdays of my 5-year-old girl, and today 3-year-old boy. I found this most recent trip to the dollar store particularly worthy of celebration because of the connection between my 3-year-old son and my only brother, who I never had the opportunity to meet.

My brother, Edward Morgan Campbell, was born strong & healthy, just over 11 pounds for that matter! He was the firstborn son and 9th child overall to my proud parents, Ed and Rose. He was of course the center of attention and the source of unparalleled joy for his 7 older sisters. Eddie was strong, good-natured, and had a very loving heart. Unfortunately, around the time of his second birthday, my brother was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which in 1973, very little could be done medically. My parents, hoping for a miracle, traveled to Lourdes, France to bathe Eddie in the cool & sacred waters, praying for healing and an end to the suffering of their only son. The physical healing, sadly, did not occur, and a few months later in May 1973 my brother drifted off to sleep and no doubt eternal joy at the age of 2. Ten short months later, God blessed the Campbell family again, with another child, baby number 10, the second boy, yours truly.

I grew up in a very loving, very Catholic household, hearing stories about my brother always brought me closer to him, but still, I have always missed him very deeply. God has blessed my wife and I with 5 healthy & beautiful children, the 4th of which being the 2nd boy, my wife and I decided to honor my brother as well as my father, who passed away in 1998 from a sudden heart attack, by naming our newborn son after each of them, Edward Campbell. I have to admit, that it was somewhat difficult at first referring to my new born son as "Eddie", a name that was previously reserved for my brother only, and brought about feelings of sadness and loss. However, as God so beautifully does, through the power of the Holy Spirit, new life was breathed into this name; as sadness was turned to joy, as loss was turned to new life.

So now, today I walk into a dollar store to purchase balloons for my son, Eddie Campbell, to celebrate his 3rd birthday, the magnitude and poignancy of the moment was not lost. My own brother, who never made it to his 3rd birthday, is no doubt with us through the communion of Saints every day, but in a particularly close and tangible way today as we celebrate this beautiful and joyous milestone. As I drove home, I marveled at the beautiful majestic sky with stark visible sunrays beaming down through the clouds very much in the direction of my own home. Consolation for the past, consecration of the present, and hope and promise of tomorrow through new and eternal life. The miracle of Lourdes lives on. We chose to baptize our Eddie, almost 3 years ago, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the beautiful name revealed to St. Bernadette at Lourdes so many years ago. Forever connecting my son, Eddie, to our past, as well as entrusting him to the care & grace of our most holy, faithful, and Blessed Mother.
For my family, I pray that my brother Eddie, my two sisters Mary Theresa and Colleen, as well as my dad, "big Ed" pray for us always, and lead us all, one day, back home. Amen.