Today, we received some very thoughtful gifts from my dad. All of them are wonderful, but three of them are very special.

The first is a holy card printed in remembrance of a relative’s (Elisabeth Gautier) First Communion and Confirmation on 5 Juillet 1906 or July 5, 1906. This is for my youngest. If I am reading the note on the card correctly, then I met Elisabeth Gautier’s daughter (my paternal grandmother’s cousin) in Switzerland several years ago. She made us (us includes my brother, my uncle, and a maternal great aunt) a delicious lunch. After lunch, we all went for a walk in the Swiss Alps. I am now wondering whether a crucifix with an ivory corpus which hangs on one of our walls originally belonged to Elisabeth Gautier or to her daughter.

The second took my breath away. I don’t know whether it belonged to my paternal grandmother, but I do know that she had an incredible devotion to the saint I am about to mention. It is a small leather bifold. On the outside is imprinted, “Je veux Passer mon Ciel a Faire du Bien sur la Terre.” (I will spend my Heaven doing good upon Earth.) On the inside right is a picture of St. Therese. On the left is written “Coton qui essuya les ossements de Ste. Therese de l’Enfant-Jesus 27 mars 1923.” (Cotton that wiped the bones of St. Therese of the Child Jesus March 27, 1923.) There is a red thread cross with some cloth underneath it. I have told my Therese that this will be hers when she is older. Curious about the date, I did a Google search and found that St. Therese’s body was transferred from the public cemetery to the Carmel on March 26, 1923. It is also the year that St. Therese was beatified.

The third was a holy card and medal from Lourdes celebrating the 150th anniversary of Mary’s apparition to St. Bernadette, 1858 to 2008. I do not need to mention who gets this.

I have been trying to call my dad to thank him, but the phone has been busy. I will be trying again in the morning.