Understand women once a month… period
March 28, 2023
To heal our ‘soul wound’
March 28, 2023
At the Sunday, March 12, 10.30 a.m. Mass at the Church of the Nativity, Crystal Stream, celebrated by Archbishop Emeritus Robert Rivas OP and assisted by Deacon Mike Smith, a special occasion was commemorated. It was the 103rd birthday of Georgiana Acair Johnston. Unfortunately, she was feeling under the weather that morning and, when tested, was found positive for Covid-19.
While she couldn’t leave home, she was in a joyful spirit all day, receiving phone calls from her children, grandchildren and relatives who live abroad.
Aunty Acair, as she is called by her relatives and friends, is the wife of Andrew Johnston, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 86. They are the proud parents of two boys, Keith and David, and four girls, Marilyn (deceased), Janice, Helen and Catherine. They also have 16 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.
At the Mass, after the Prayers of the Faithful, Archbishop Rivas presented her son Keith and his wife Bernardine, who came from Canada to celebrate the occasion, a special gift and card containing a poem that he dedicated to Aunty Acair.
The text of the poem follows:
ACAIR! AH-KIAO!
Happy were the smiles all around
on the providential day you were born.
Heaven and Earth resounded
in joyful choruses and praises.
Your fruitful life
of five score and more,
we celebrate today
with gratitude and awe.
Your children, grandchildren
and great grandchildren too,
give thanks to Papa God,
full of gratitude for you.
All the branches
on the family tree
bow graciously
in acknowledging you:
a matriarch blessed
with fruitfulness
and longevity.
What an example you are:
a woman of grace,
a beloved sister,
a faithful wife,
a loving mother,
a caring grandmother,
a proud great-grandmother!
What a gift and treasure,
to be cherished forever!
Happy Birthday!
Heaven smiles from above
and, below, the earth is glad.
The day is filled with love,
happiness and rejoicing.
Let us light a candle
to shine brightly
on this momentous day
marking your one hundred
and third birthday;
still a spark,
warm and bright;
still on your feet
to your family’s delight!
May your joy be complete
as you celebrate your day
in the Eucharistic Feast.
May your life, lived in grace,
be a joyful foretaste
of that place that awaits
all those who, like you,
are great examples
of women of faith.
