Dear God,
Okay, so did You see me?!! I went to the Graduation Mass at the High School yesterday… yep, that was me… I was there! I knew it would be long… but oh my You… 2 hours? Not quite ideal for a girl with a weak bladder that’s prone to infection.
Oh, and before I forget, thanks for not letting the walls come crumbling down when I walked in. Then again, it was held in the gym rather than a church, so…..
It was really weird watching my kid walk down the isle in her cap and gown. Seems like just yesterday I watched her graduate from preschool.
I’ve got to say… not being Catholic… at a Catholic Mass was rather interesting. They sure stand up a lot at Mass. And for long periods of time. Up and down, up and down. Not cool when Mother Nature brought an early gift this month.
I thought it was odd that the first things that were asked for … were Your forgiveness and tolerance for our sins. I’m thinking… dang! what do these people do in their ‘off time’? Me? I think I would have opened with something like…”Thanks for a beautiful sunrise” or “for the air we breath… nature?”….something like that. Or maybe a bit of humor. (A priest and a rabbi were in a bar…) You know, lighten up the place. But I’m always respectful of others ways of worship so that’s cool.
I had to smile a moment during communion when I could spot all the other heathens and non-catholics. You know, like when everyone is standing and walking to get communion…. all us non-catholics were just sitting there feeling weird as people brushed by us in the aisle. But I remembered that my son just told me yesterday that he refers to the communion wafers as Jesus snacks… or… Jeez-its (You know, like Cheez-its?) So I had to smile.
And the ‘peace be with you’, ‘greet your neighbor’ thing… that was actually quite nice. Then, after shaking hands with bazillions of 5 people… something came over me. (The sudden urge to find my Purell. What was I thinking? A germ-a-phobe shaking all those hands.) I smiled and shook their hands, but I was really thinking… I hope they don’t have the swine flu.
Anyhow, the whole ceremony was very moving… yes, even though I got stuck sitting next to the lady who was showin off her ‘churchin skills’… who knew every song by heart and sang them loudly – even the songs the audience wasn’t supposed to sing. But hey, she smelled WONDERFUL! I so should of asked her what she was wearing! She smelled like an alchemists shoppe I once visited. If I could have nestled my nose in the nape of her neck I would of. (If she wasn’t the loud singing lady I mean.)
Thanks for keeping those walls erect for me. Til next time,
~Sheila
