THE STORY OF THE BIRDS
"The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land."
Song of Songs 2:11
A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SAINT LUKE
After Jesus had said this, He proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.’” So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” They answered, “The Master has need of it.” So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount.
As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He said in reply, “I tell you, if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out.”
THE STORY OF THE BIRDS
I’d like to share a true story with you. This true story isn’t told in any book or video because this true story is something that happened to me. I’ve never told it before but I would like to share it with you, my CK101 friends. When you are finished hearing my story, think about the wonderful ways that God has worked and is working in your life! You have a story to tell too! Remember that CK101 kids are "kids telling kids about Jesus!" From your CK101 friend, Mrs. P (creator of "Catholic Kids 101")
In the Spring of 2014, two of my children and myself took a trip. Our car trip started from Minnesota, where we lived at the time, with our destination being the sunshine state, Florida. It is about 1,600 miles from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Tampa, Florida. We estimated our trip would take about 3 ½ days of driving from beginning to end. We would leave on a Saturday.
Our plan unfolded without a hitch. We spent that first night near a small Illinois town that had a very old but very beautiful Catholic Church in the center of town where we could attend Sunday Mass.
On Sunday morning, we arrived about 20 minutes before Mass began. The Church was filling up quickly. I took a good look around. There were beautiful statues above the tabernacle and on each side of the sanctuary. The sun beamed through the colorful stained-glass windows. The choir members were rehearsing and the altar boys were busy preparing the altar. Then Mass began.
Now I’m not sure if it was the fact that the Church was somewhat small and there were so many people pressed together in the pews. Or the fact that very old Churches can sometimes have a musty, moldy smell and that was bothering me. Or it may just have been because I wasn’t feeling well that morning and now I began feeling much worse! For whatever the reason, I knew I needed to go outside and breathe in some cool, refreshing springtime air.
I left right after the reading of the Gospel and made my way to the back, which is the outside front where the entrance Church doors are. I went outside and sat down on the very top step, in front of the entrance doors. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. I eventually looked around, admiring the beautiful Church grounds and the large lovely trees surrounding the block.
Through the doors, I could hear the somewhat muffled voice of the priest preaching his homily. I then attempted to turn all my attention towards what was going on inside the Church.
A little more time passed and I heard the choir singing, “Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus!" "Holy! Holy! Holy!" This is sung before the Eucharistic Prayer, when the priest will consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus! This is called: tran-sub-stan-ti-a-tion. Transubstantiation is the miracle of the changing of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus by a Catholic priest!
Since I knew the order of the Mass, I could hear enough of the muffled words to know that the priest was just about to consecrate the little white hosts of bread and the wine in the golden chalice into the Body and Blood of Jesus. And when I heard the faint tinkle of the bell that one of the altar boys was ringing, I knew that the consecration had just happened! Jesus was there, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, truly present on the altar!
However, I then heard something that I never expected. Never, not in a million years! I was so surprised! Because at that moment, the peaceful, tranquil, quiet surroundings suddenly came to life! At that moment every bird in every tree, every bird sitting on every electrical wire, every bird on every housetop, EVERY BIRD IN THAT LITTLE TOWN BEGAN TO SING!
For nearly 25 seconds from every side was the very loud and very beautiful sound of singing birds! There were trills and peeps and calls and bird songs! As it began to subside, I could hear the distant sounds of “Cah! Cah!” from the birds furthest away. Then all was quiet.
Soon the faint sound of the altar server’s bell began ringing again, signaling the 2nd part of the consecration. The priest would now be holding up the golden chalice containing the Precious Blood of Jesus - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity!
And, YES! It happened AGAIN! The quiet was broken by the loud and joyful sound of the singing birds! There were wonderful trills and peeps and calls and bird songs! I could hear the birds singing all around me, near and far, and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Click the music note on the bottom right corner of the video to hear a singing bird!
Then the singing of the birds began to die down. As it came to an end, I heard the lingering distant sounds of “Cah! Cah!” Then all was quiet and peaceful again.
Praise God in His sanctuary!
Praise Him in His mighty heavens!
Praise Him for His acts of power!
Praise Him for His excellent greatness...
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
I love You, my Jesus! I praise You!
My God! My Savior! My dearest Friend!
He said in reply, “I tell you, if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out.”