CatholicMom.com: Mama Bear and Papa Bear rocking chairs

The rocking chairs in the both alcoves at the back of historic Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa surprised me. As I explored that church, the chairs were a welcoming contrast to the hard, straight wooden pews lined up in the main church.

Almost hidden from the congregation and unoccupied at this weekday mass, the rocking chairs, I imagined, held mothers relaxing in them as they soothed or nursed their children during Sunday Mass.

I was early for Mass, having walked from the conference hotel the hot mile on this September day. In one alcove, two rockers were almost hidden under a staircase.  I sat in the smaller one, which reminded me of where I sat to rock my babies. This Mama Bear Rocker seemed to beckon to me as it waited contentedly next to the taller Papa Bear rocker.

Read about my vision of Mary and Jesus at CatholicMom.com