Dominic's First Icon

Last Sunday I bought an icon for Dominic from the church bookstore. Fr. Anthony had recommended that the next icons we get should be the guardian angel icons, one for each of the children. When I showed the new icon to Dominic, he wanted to have it right away. So he got to hold it in the car and he kissed it before he got out of the car to go to the zoo that day. When we got home and it was time for evening prayer, he ran and got his icon and held it up during prayers the way Father Anthony holds up the Gospel. Dominic wanted to sleep with it on his pillow because his guardian angel was going to use his sword to cut down his bad dreams at night. After some negotiation he put it on the table beside his bed instead, but not before he gave it another kiss. I didn't realize how much he would like to have his very own icon!

The next day I thought I could hang the icon up by an existing nail hole above his bed. He was adamant that it should not go there. It should stay on his table. Why? He did not want to forget to take it to church to "have a blessing on it". Today being Saturday, our catechesis day, he will get to bring it along to give to Father Anthony. Fr. Anthony keeps the icons on the altar for three weeks (I think it's a Russian rite). We reminded Dominic that he wouldn't have his icon for three weeks, which can be a long time when you're little. Apparently he already knew this and did not need us to tell him, big boy that he is. I am just glad that he didn't decide that three weeks would be too long but would rather wait a length of time so that his icon would be blessed.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4