Two different photos from two different events reveal the hidden but powerful effect of a parent's faith.

Sometimes it’s the second take that reveals a deeper truth.

That’s what happened to photojournalist Jeffrey Bruno after he snapped a photo and posted it on social media from his time at an ordination in Denver, Colorado.

two boys and a dad at ordination in Denver cathedral — Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Bruno

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Bruno

As his did, ours eyes go to the sweet and touching scene of two little boys imitating what they’ve seen with no self-consciousness or fear — just a desire to experience what it’s like to lie on the cold floor of a beautiful cathedral giving your life to God.

A sign of things to come for them? Maybe.

But Bruno looked again and saw something else in that image — a father, off to the side in the shadows, standing near his sons, praying with his eyes closed…

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A post shared by Jeffrey Bruno (@jeffreybruno)

When we look a little deeper, we too can see what Bruno sees and it makes this image more meaningful.

Not long ago, Bruno captured another scene that touched a lot of people when he posted it on social media. This time of a mother, coming up to communion with her children, the youngest carried in a sling.

young mom and little children in church receiving eucharist — Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Bruno

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Bruno

When Bruno posted the photo, he called it “A Mother’s Strength.”

The photo captures a moment we might easily overlook, but is really the backbone of faith: Parents showing up with their children — no matter how hard it is to get out the door — to receive the Lord, to be counted among the family of God, to celebrate the sacramental life of the Church.

The heroic work we do is in the day-to-day witness we give through our actions, like taking little ones to Mass to encounter the Lord and His grace.

Good photojournalists tell a story with their images, to move or inspire us. These images of the quiet witness of a mother and a father, in two different churches at two different times, reveal the ordinary heroism of Christian parenthood and the hope it brings to us all.

Elizabeth Ascik

Elizabeth Ascik

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