Sister of Grace

A man appeared before Gloria’s eyes. This man had graying brown hair and wore a black cassock; a robe which covered him from head to toe. This man’s name was formally known as, Father Morgan.

Gloria looked around the room and watched as everyone gave him a welcoming smile. The followers of Divine Hope were very diverse with ages ranging anywhere from three years old to seventy years old. Most of the elder, she observed, were very much content to be in the first couple of rows of seats while the others who were much younger, generally sat in the middle. Some were alone, but most were with their children and family.

Gloria sat next to Aileen and Cassidy in the fourth row of seats, although she much rather would have liked to sit in the far back in hopes of becoming somewhat invisible from the gawking eyes.

Every once in awhile, she could feel the eyes staring at her, even if it only was for a brief second. And each time someone glanced over at her, it made her want to flee even more. It made her want to flee into the security and familiarity of the alleys; the streets of New York City. But what kind of life was that?

Suddenly everyone began to stand up. Aileen gave Gloria a smile and a little nudge, gesturing her to also stand up. Light music began to play and everyone began to sing in unison happily.

Glory to God in the highest
And peace to His people on earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship You

We give You thanks
We praise You for Your glory
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father
Lord God, Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world

Lord, have mercy on us
You are seated at the right hand of the Father
Receive our prayer
For You alone are the Holy One
For You alone are the Lord
For You alone are the Most High

Jesus Christ
With the Holy Spirit
In the glory of God the Father
Amen

To Gloria’s surprise, the atmosphere in the church was almost…exhilarating. It was such a different and unique experience that she had previously never witnessed and been apart of before. It was almost like being at a rock concert, as funny as it sounds. The main similarity is that both were spiritual experiences, but in different context.

All of her awkward feelings from being in a totally new and different place, suddenly flew away just as soon as it landed. Wow…this is actually not all that bad! Gloria thought to herself.

Gloria found herself graciously admiring the beautiful interior of the church. The pictures on the wall almost reminded her of the graffiti art that she’d see when living on the New York streets.

Suddenly, Gloria felt as if she were tossed into a time machine for the service seemed to catapult toward the end. Everyone arose and began to leave as Gloria remained glued to her seat, watching as the pews began to empty.

She didn’t know what to do with herself. Should she just leave? She wanted a better life; a new life, and she wanted to personally reach out to someone for help. She wasn’t sure how much individual help she would receive just by attending service every Sunday, she wanted the help now.

So Gloria very bravely walked up to Father Morgan with her heart beating out of time. When Father Morgan noticed her presence, he gave her a small smile.

“Hi…” Gloria began, with a low and nervous voice. “The uh…service was great today. I really enjoyed it.” This feels awkward….very very awkward…

Father Morgan was a very interesting and peculiar man. Anyone could tell that he was quite reserved and shy, not very sociable nor outgoing. He wasn’t a mean man, but he was very traditional to say the least.

“Thank you.” He simply said.

Gloria was unaware of the fact that her eyes grew two times larger at the booming sound of his voice. His gratitude seemed to have bounced up and down the chapel and his voice seemed to have echoed three times over.

Gloria looked down suddenly. She was confused. She felt comfort and peace radiating down from the father, but at the same time she felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t even sure why she felt so uncomfortable now because she felt perfectly content during service…but now it was just her and the father.

She had never experienced anything like this before in her life. The only other time that she was associated with church was when she was a little girl living in Oakland with her parents. Even then, she was raised up Christian; not Catholic. Gloria figured that it wouldn’t be as different as a protestant church, but she was dead wrong. This was unfamiliar territory for her and she felt like an outsider, like she didn’t belong. However, this wasn’t the first time when she felt misplaced.

“Is there something wrong?” Father Morgan asked softly. She looked back up at him slightly and it seemed as if his eyes bore into her skull…as if he could see right into her; like he could open her up like a book and flip through the pages of her thoughts.

“It’s just…” Gloria paused for a moment. She didn’t know exactly how to say this. All of the problems in her life were so complex and deeply rooted from remaining there in her life for so long. She missed her parents, she missed her life back in California. She wondered if her parents even thought about her or missed her. She couldn’t imagine so after betraying and leaving them in the way that she did. She felt so selfish and stubborn.

She also felt so foolish running away with….him. She thought that was she in love with him and he made her feel as though everything was going to be okay only to then turn around and leave her with no where to go. Although she was old enough to move out, she refused to do so. She just wasn’t prepared to fend for herself, and she didn’t think that was necessarily a bad thing at all. However, living on the streets of New York has gave her a reality check. Perhaps it was a reality check that she needed?

“I need your help.” She blurted out suddenly, surprised at her own echoing voice.

All was quiet for a moment when the priest gave her another small smile, his eyes gleaming. “Follow me.”