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My name is Benji.

My real name is Benjamin but everyone calls me Benji. I’m in 3rd grade and I go to a school called Holy Cross Catholic School. I like my school a lot. The teachers at my school are all really nice except for one who is kind of crabby. I know all the teachers because all of my brothers and sisters either go to Holy Cross now or went there when they were younger.

 

I have a pretty big family. Do you want to guess how many people there are? I have 6 brothers and 6 sisters and I’m the very youngest kid so with Dad and Mom and Buttons that makes 16 of us. Well, I guess there are really only 15 because technically Buttons isn’t a person but he really is like a member of our family.

 

So you probably figured out who Buttons is by looking at my picture. He’s my hamster. I saw Buttons in a pet store by my house last year. I went to visit him often. I was so worried that someone was going to buy him! We used to have a dog named Lady. She died when I was five and after Lady died Mom said “no more pets.” But then my brother, Christopher, talked Mom into letting me have Buttons. He told her Buttons would be good for me. He thought I was responsible enough to do all the work to take care of Buttons so Mom wouldn’t have to. He said that my sisters do everything for me and that he didn’t like that. (They kind of do. The five kids above me are all girls.) He said that Mom and Dad were way more strict with him and my brothers. He didn’t want me to become spoiled.

 

Mom said that he was probably right and that she would talk to Dad when he came home from work to see what he thought. If Dad thought it was a good idea then they would get Buttons for me.

 

Christopher didn’t think I heard him talking to Mom but I was in the next room playing a video game and I heard everything! I was so happy! I knew if Christopher thought I could do it and he had convinced Mom then there was a really good chance that Dad would say yes!

 

My brother, Christopher, is really good. I think all my brothers are good but Christopher is extra good. This year he went to a college that is about an hour away from our house. It’s called a “college seminary.” It’s a place where guys go when they think Jesus might be calling them to be a priest. I think Christopher would be a really good priest someday if that’s what he’s supposed to be. I really miss him a lot since he left. But he does call me every week and he did come home one weekend so it’s not really too bad.

So now I’ll tell you more about Buttons. He got his name from when my Grandma brought me to the pet store to visit him one time and she said that she really liked his little black button eyes and that’s when we started to call him “Buttons.”

 

Buttons lives in a great big glass aquarium with a cover that snaps on top. The cover has lots of little holes that you can see through. It is important to have enough air going in the tank.

 

I put a nice cushion of shredded paper and wood shavings in his aquarium where he can tunnel through and kick around and make his bed. I clean his aquarium with soap and water once a week and put new shavings in there for him.

 

He also has an empty glass jar with a big wide opening. He likes to go in there and sleep. I also put an exercise wheel in there. An exercise wheel is important because a hamster needs to exercise! The first hamster wheel we got for Buttons was really squeaky but now we have one that doesn't make any noise at all when he runs in it.

 

He has a ceramic dish where I put his food. It has to be a heavy ceramic one or he’ll tip it over. We buy special food at the pet store. I also give him some fruit and vegetables sometimes. He also likes sunflower seeds for a treat. I can’t give him a lot of sunflower seeds because it will make him too fat but some are okay. I like to give him the sunflower seeds because he eats them right out of my hand. He also has his very own water bottle that I have to fill with fresh water every two days.

 

His favorite things to play with are the cardboard tubes that are in the middle of rolls of toilet paper. (And believe me, we have lots of toilet paper in my house. Everybody knows to save the cardboard tubes for Buttons.)

 

You shouldn’t give a hamster a bath using water. When a hamster gets wet he can get chilled and it can make him sick. A hamster gets clean by taking a “sand bath!” I just put some special sand in a bowl once a week and Buttons will roll around in it to get clean.

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Now I want to tell you something about myself that is kind of hard for me to tell you. I prayed and talked with Jesus about my problem and He is helping me with it so I feel better about telling you.

 

Okay, the thing I want to tell you about myself is that I have a problem obeying my dad and mom when they tell me to do something that I really don’t want to do. I would obey them for lots of things I didn’t mind doing like emptying a wastebasket or helping to put away the groceries. But if it was something that I really didn’t want to do, I would disobey them. I used to think it wasn’t a big deal because I obeyed them most of the time. That is until something bad happened. It was scary.  I feel embarrassed about it now but it’s worth telling you in case it helps you to be obedient to your dad and mom all of the time like I’m really trying to be.

 

When I got Buttons, Dad helped me figure out everything I had to do to take care of him. He made a list for me that I had to check each day. For the first couple weeks Dad helped me clean the aquarium and feed Buttons so I would know how to do it. Sometimes Mom helped me change his water. She also showed me how to cut up his vegetables and fruit. The one thing that was really important that Dad and Mom both told me, more than once, is that every night when I went to bed I had to make sure that Buttons was in his aquarium with the cover on top. They said he couldn’t sleep with me and that he had to STAY IN HIS AQUARIUM. Well, I didn’t listen to them. One night I brought Buttons into bed with me to sleep. The next thing that I remember is being awakened in the middle of the night by fire alarms going off in our house! It was so loud and I could smell smoke and I heard some of my sisters crying and Dad was yelling for us to hurry out because there was a fire in our house!

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Well, to try and make a long story short, I’ll just tell you that two fire engines came and put out the fire that was burning our kitchen and our living room. The fire inspector said that the fire started because Buttons had chewed through some cords that were plugged into the electrical sockets. If it weren’t for our fire alarms working great there was a chance we could have died in our sleep from the fire. If I would have obeyed Dad and Mom and put Buttons in the aquarium where he belonged, the fire never would have happened.

 

Do you see how important it is to obey your parents? I sure do now. But it still took me a little more time to really learn my lesson.

 

When Christopher found out what happened he was upset with me. He called me the next day from college and told me that he was disappointed in me for not obeying Dad and Mom. He told me he was the one who had talked Mom into letting me have Buttons because he thought that I was responsible enough to handle it. He said that part of being responsible is being obedient. He said that God wants me to obey Mom and Dad because they know what’s best for me. He reminded me how both Dad and Mom had told me more than once to always keep Buttons in his aquarium when I was sleeping or when I wasn’t with him. But I had decided to disobey them and now look at all the damage my disobedience had caused!

 

Deep down inside I knew what Christopher was saying was exactly right. Mom and Dad had pretty much said the same thing to me. But for some reason when Christopher said it to me on the phone I suddenly got so mad that I hung up on him!

Three days later I got a letter in the mail from Christopher. He told me that after I hung up on him he went downstairs to the seminary Chapel to make a visit with Jesus. He told me he was praying for me and asking Jesus if there was something he could do to help me. Then he had an idea to write me a story. In the envelope was the story. I read it. I liked it a lot! It did help me. It made me think. I understand now that when I disobey Dad and Mom I not only hurt myself but my sins hurt JESUS.

 

After I read Christopher’s story, that’s when I really decided to always obey what Dad and Mom tell me. That’s when I asked Jesus to help me.

 

I’ll put the story here for you to read too. I think it will help you like it helped me. 

THE STORY OF CHARLIE AND BENNETT 
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Charlie parked his car in the parking lot across the street from the Church and right next to the parish school. He turned off the ignition and let out a big sigh. It was actually two hours before school was over and the parking lot was quiet.

 

Charlie was at a Church called Our Lady of Sorrows and the school was the parish school called Our Lady’s Academy. Charlie was there to pick up his little brother, Bennett, who was in third grade. Charlie often picked up Bennett from school when he was done with his high school classes for the day. Charlie was a senior and would soon be going off to college. He tried to make the effort to spend as much time as he could with Bennett since he was his only brother.

 

This morning Charlie had talked with Mom and told her he would pick up Bennett from school but he wasn’t thinking it was going to be this early! He was surprised when he heard the message Mom had left on his phone while he was in math class. She was still waiting at the doctor’s office with Olivia, one of his little sisters who is sick, and Dad wasn’t back from his business trip. She wanted Charlie to go get Bennett from school as soon as possible. She would call the high school secretary and tell her that Charlie had to leave early to pick up his little brother because she wasn't able to. 

 

This is what happened. Bennett’s principal at Our Lady’s Academy, Mr. Jones, had just called Mom and told her that Bennett and two of his buddies had pulled the fire alarm during recess! The boys knew they were never to touch the alarm unless there was an actual fire. There wasn’t a fire. They did it for fun. One of the boys had dared the other boys. They all knew the rule. The school camera caught them in the act.

 

When the alarm went off, the fire engines automatically came and the teachers and students that were inside the school during recess had to evacuate. The students were late starting classes after recess and Mr. Jones was not happy! Charlie had gone to Our Lady’s Academy and Mr. Jones was his principal back then too. Charlie really liked Mr. Jones but he also knew you don't want to be the one to get Mr. Jones upset. He had suspended Bennett and his two friends from school for an entire week!

 

This was the second time Bennett was in trouble at school this month. The other time he had been caught looking at another student’s paper during a test. His teacher had told his class to keep their eyes on their own paper and not to cheat. Bennett didn’t listen and disobeyed. When the teacher’s back was turned, Bennett looked over at his friend sitting in the desk next to his. Bennett reached over and moved his friend’s arm so he could get a better look at his paper.

 

What Bennett didn’t realize is that Mr. Jones had come through the back door of the classroom to observe the class as they took their test. He just happened to be standing right behind Bennett! Bennett was caught red handed.

Charlie got out of his car and slowly made his way to the principal’s office. About twenty minutes later, Charlie and Bennett emerged from the school, Charlie walking two steps ahead of Bennett.

 

“But Charlie!” cried Bennett. “I told you! It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t pull that fire alarm. Jimmy did!”

 

“But you were with him,” answered Charlie. “You were standing right next to him. I’m not dumb, Bennett. I saw the video clip. I saw you laughing. You didn’t even try to stop him, did you?” 

 

“I don’t see why everybody is so upset!” exclaimed Bennett, carefully avoiding Charlie’s question. “Remember the other day when we were watching that movie and the kid pulled the fire alarm at his school and everybody thought it was funny? It was just a prank! Nobody got hurt!”

 

Charlie stopped walking, turned around and looked right at Bennett. “The firefighters came to a false alarm, Bennett. What if a real fire would have happened and they were late getting there because of your prank? That costs money for them to come, you know. It’s not free. Somebody has to pay for that.”

 

Charlie paused then continued, “And you made all the classes after recess start late. The teachers didn’t get all their lessons taught. There wasn’t enough time to take tests.” Charlie lowered his voice, “And speaking of tests, wasn’t it about two weeks ago that Mom was in the principal’s office because you were caught cheating on a test?”

 

Bennett’s eyes flashed as his face turned bright red. He yelled, “It wasn’t a test! I keep telling everybody but Mom and Dad won’t listen! It was just a stupid quiz! It wasn’t a big deal, Charlie! I don’t know why Mr. Jones was spying on me anyway!”

 

Charlie turned and started walking again towards the car. When he got to the car, he opened the driver’s side door and got in.

 

Bennett lagged behind and eventually got there too. He opened the back door and threw his backpack across the seat and then he climbed in and shut the door.

 

The two of them sat in silence.

 

After a few moments Bennett asked, “Charlie?”

 

“What?” 

 

“What do you think Dad will do?”

 

Charlie sighed.

 

“I don’t know, Bennie. But if I did what you did when I was your age, I would have been grounded for a year.” Charlie paused then said, “Well, Dad does seem a little less strict since the girls were born.”

 

“You think?” 

 

Charlie shook his head, “What I think is you’re in big trouble!”

 

They sat quietly for another few moments and then Charlie turned to Bennett and said, “Come with me, Bennie.”

 

Charlie opened the car door and got out. Then he started walking towards the Church. Bennett followed him.

 

Charlie opened the Church door and held it open for Bennett. The Church was dimly lit and it took a few moments for their eyes to adjust. They dipped their fingers in the holy water fount and blessed themselves. Then Charlie walked across the middle of the Church and paused before Jesus in the tabernacle. He genuflected, bending his right knee to the ground. Bennett did the same.

 

Charlie kept walking and Bennett followed him. Charlie walked over to the other side of the Church and stopped in front of the first Station of the Cross.

 

“Why are we stopping here?” asked Bennett.

 

“Because we’re going to walk the Stations of the Cross, Bennie.”

 

“But, Charlie, it’s not Lent!”

 

“You can do the Stations of the Cross anytime.”

 

“Well...I guess.”

 

“Okay, we are the only people here besides Jesus, the Divine Person, in the tabernacle. I want you read out loud the name of the Station.”

 

“Do I have to, Charlie?”

 

“Listen, Bennie. You’re my only brother and I love you. You just can’t keep getting into trouble like this. I’m trying to help you but I can’t seem to make you understand. You have to want to do the right thing. There is only one Person I can think of right now who can help you see what I’m trying to tell you.”

 

Bennett sighed, looked up at the First Station of the Cross and read, “Jesus is condemned to death by Pilate.”

 

“Do you remember what we say and do at the beginning?” asked Charlie. “I’ll say, ‘We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You,’ as we genuflect.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world,” answered Bennett. “Yes, yes, I remember.”

 

“Now let’s just look at the picture and think about what’s happening for a minute,” said Charlie. “Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor that condemned Jesus to die on the Cross. He has just washed his hands trying to say he’s innocent of causing Jesus’ death. He’s trying to excuse his actions.”

 

Bennett studied the picture. He had never looked at it that closely before. He noticed the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. Jesus looked sad.

They moved to the next Station and Bennett read, “Jesus bears His Cross."

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

 

Bennett looked at the Cross. It looked really heavy.

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“You know, Charlie, if I were there, I would have knocked all those men down who are hurting Jesus. I would taken a light saber or something and gotten rid of them all!”

 

“No, Bennie. Jesus could have killed every one of those men in an instant if He wanted to. But He didn’t. He wanted to teach us a lot of things by His patience. Jesus suffered because He loves us and wants to save us from our sins.”

 

They moved to the next Station.

 

“Jesus falls the first time.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

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“Charlie, I never noticed it before. Do you see how the Cross is right on top of Jesus? That must have really hurt Him.”

 

Charlie didn’t say anything. They just stood together and looked at the picture.

 

Finally, Charlie moved to the next picture. Bennett slowly followed.

 

“Jesus meets His Sorrowful Mother.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You."

 

"Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

They looked at the picture. Finally Bennett said, “I think Blessed Mother was really sad when she saw Jesus with that heavy Cross and the crown of thorns on His head and all the places on His body where He was hurting.”

 

“I think so too,” answered Charlie. “I think all mothers love their children very much. They also suffer, just like Our Blessed Mother did, when their child is hurt or when they are in trouble.”

 

Bennett understood what Charlie was trying to say. He knew Mom would be really upset after Mr. Jones called her and told her he was suspended from school for a week. Bennett looked up at the picture again. Suddenly he had a funny feeling in his heart. He looked at Mary and felt like he was going to cry.

 

“Let’s go to the next picture, Charlie,” said Bennett and then read, “Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His Cross.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

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They studied the picture for a moment and Bennett said, “I’m really glad Simon helped Jesus carry His Cross. If I were there, I would have helped Him too.”

 

“Did you know that you can help Jesus carry His Cross, Bennie?”

 

“I can? How?”

 

“Each time you are nice to someone who really bugs you. When you are kind to someone who is picked on at school. When you put some of your birthday money in the poor box at Church or in the pro-life basket. Even smiling at someone who is sad. When you do things like this because you love Jesus, then you are helping Him carry His Cross.”

 

“Gosh, Charlie! I never thought about it like that before.”

 

They moved to the next station.

 

“Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

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“Who was Veronica again?” asked Bennett.

 

“Veronica was a lady who was a true friend of Jesus. She was in the crowd of people watching when Jesus carried His Cross through the streets of Jerusalem. As He got closer to where Veronica was standing, she noticed how His face was covered with dripping Blood from the crown of thorns. She also saw people spitting in His face. It was really awful. Even though the Roman soldiers and wicked men were all around her, she didn’t think about her own safety. Her only thought was to help and comfort Jesus. So she had the idea to take a piece of her veil and at just the right moment she broke through the crowd and ran to Jesus. She wiped His face, especially His eyes. This was a true act of love because she noticed that Jesus couldn’t see very well with the Blood and spit that was in His eyes. It made it harder for Him to walk when He couldn’t see where He was going. She did this because she wanted to help Jesus. She wanted to show Him that she really loved Him.”

 

“She was pretty brave,” said Bennett.

 

“Jesus was so grateful for her act of love that He did a miracle for her. When she looked at her veil, she saw there was a picture of Jesus’ face printed on it!”

 

“Really? Are you serious? His face? Oh, wow! I see it the Station now! Can you see it, Charlie?”

 

Charlie nodded. 

 

They stood looking at the picture for a while. Then Bennett said, “Charlie, I think I understand something I didn’t understand before. I think it’s not enough to do the right thing just because someone says we have to do it. We should do the right thing for the right reason. Because when I look at Jesus’ face on Veronica’s veil, I think Jesus really must know if a person does something for Him because they love Him. Don’t you think? Because if a soldier would have ordered Veronica to wipe Jesus’ face and she did it because she was told to, I don’t think Jesus would have left the picture of His face on her veil, even if it would have helped Him see better. But Veronica wiped His face because she wanted to help Him. She loved Him and Jesus knew it. I think that’s the reason Jesus wanted to give her something right back. He wanted to show her that He loved her too. What do you think, Charlie? Do you think I’m right?”

 

Charlie looked down at his little brother and smiled.

 

“Wow! I think you got something there, Bennie. I think you are exactly right.”

 

They moved to the next Station and Bennett read, “Jesus falls for the second time.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

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“Look how tired Jesus looks,” said Bennett. “If I was Jesus, I don’t think I could have gotten up again.”

 

“Even when Jesus fell to the ground completely exhausted, He somehow managed to get up and keep going. Jesus wanted to show us that we should never give up. We have to keep going too. If we do bad things, if we stumble and fall, He wants us to keep getting up. He wants us to keep following Him. No matter how many times we fall, no matter how many times we do something wrong, He will always be there to help us back up. We just have to keep asking Him to help us.”

 

Bennett nodded as he walked to the next station and read, “Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem.”

 

“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.”

 

“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

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They stood looking at this Station. Bennett was still thinking about the Station before when Jesus fell to the ground a second time. Finally he said, “You know, Charlie, I think it’s really something how Jesus was kind enough to talk with those ladies. I mean, Jesus could hardly get off the ground a minute ago and now He’s talking. To be honest, when I’m sick I don’t feel like talking to anybody.” Bennett paused. ”Yeah, I guess Jesus really does wants us to think about other people and not just about ourselves even if we don’t feel good.”

 

“I think you’re getting it, little brother,” said Charlie. “I think you’re really getting it.”

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