Blessings For Old Rags
It was a tradition in our family, that we all go to Midnight Mass on Christmas eve. My younger brother Bob was usually bored stiff. This year my mother beamed at him, as he really seemed to be listening to the entire service. Later at home, cookies and milk put out for Santa, hot chocolate for us and then bed. Bob was still unusually quiet. We all thought he was just tired. He called old Rags, our black-brownish mutt dog, together they gave everyone goodnight kisses then headed for bed.
The next morning it was bedlam as it should be with small ones in the house. Rags preformed his usual duty of having all the bows stuck on his head, so easy to find later mom said. It was later in the afternoon, when my grandma looked out the living room window. She watched my brother for the longest time, finally calling me over to see. I thought he was weird at the best of times but his actions had me mystified. He was going to all the farm animals, with one hand was using the same motion a priest uses to bless people.
When he came to our dog Rags, he stood in front of him blessing that poor dog over and over. Every time the old codger would get up to leave, Bob would haul him back and continue. I yelled out the front door to come in. Once inside grandma asked him what he was doing.
He was so very solemn. “Well, Rags has been a bad dog this year. He’s chased cars, made the cat sit in a tree for two days, took mom’s good shoe’s and buried them. He begs at the table, pees on Dad’s tires, he eats underwear and he’s always rolling in the pig pen.” I was trying to interrupt but he kept talking.
“No one knows but me, but he bit that vacuum cleaner salesman in October, he’s chewed a big hole in the back of the couch, the cat hides in there now. He ate a library book and this morning he chewed the thumbs off my new mitts, I’m afraid to tell mom.” He looked at grandma with big blue eyes. “Mom is going to be so mad when she finds out he chased the chickens, he was the one who knocked over the cookie jar, and he barfed on my bed this morning.”
I asked him why he was so worried about Rags. He looked at me with the distain only younger brothers can show their older sisters. “At midnight mass the priest said to bless all the sinners and they would be forgiven. When mom and dad find out everything Rags has done, he’s gonna need lots of blessings ’cause he’s such a sinner, he needs all the help he can get.”
I don’t remember what I said, but I can still hear my grandma’s peal of laughter behind me. Rags never did get punished. Must have been because the old sinner had a tender hearted boy on his side determined to bless the dog into goodness.
