I guess it is officially Christmas Season . . . at least, according to Costco who had their Christmas gifts, wrap, and such on display today. It sure takes away from the feast day/holiday having this for sale so early in the year.
I'm old-fashioned and can remember when Halloween was in October and we would get excited about all the orange and black, think about costumes and about two weeks before the day, see all the candy set out for sale. It was just enough time to work up a thrill over the anticipated event.
These days, the red and green clashes with the Fall colors and your children are just as likely to get a candy cane in their trick or treat bag as black jelly beans. I'd hate to be a kid these days. I loved the progress of the Fall/Winter holidays and the time we had to relish each one.
I'm thinking . . . we should pick out one weekend for the whole world and on that weekend, we'd celebrate ALL the holidays. We could start the morning with an Easter Egg hunt, followed by Christmas stockings, trick or treat in the evening with Midnight Mass that night. For people of other Faiths, a sunrise service could start the next early morning, with a Thanksgiving noon meal with all the expected trimmings. We could have egg nog and Christmas presents in the evening just before we set off the Fourth of July fireworks and enjoy some barbecued hot dogs and lemonaide.
Yes, it would be a lot of work but then the stores could stock all this stuff for eleven and a half months out of every year!
Yes, I'm being sarcastic and joking . . . but could you imagine? Unfortunately, it is all too easy to see happening. Don't tell anyone I told you this! : - )
Sunday, September 12, 2010
What do you get . . .?
It is interesting to me that the parishioners who publically celebrate their spirituality the most seem to be the most unchristian given circumstances that don't please them.
This morning, the church wasn't open by 7:20 for the 7:30 Sunday Mass. It was actually kind of fun to mingle with people you don't ordinarily talk to as we joked about being banned from the church, missing the sunrise service, etc. Mass did start on time and all was well . . .
Okay, all was well until after Mass when a woman decided to berate the sacristan for not being there early enough to open up the church. She decided that inside the church, within feet of the Blessed Sacrament was just fine for her loud and abusive tirade. One mother attempted to distract her daughter but the yelling was too loud. The sacristan tried to brush it off and leave but she followed with her strident voice.
This was not a good thing. The sacristan was visibly upset. He isn't on a payroll and helps out extensively at the parish for the love of God and his respect for the priests. He didn't deserve this. The worst part? The woman had just acted as an extraordinary minister at the 7:30 Mass. She had receive our Lord's Body and Blood and within minutes of this holy reception, she used her mouth to treat another person in a most unChristlike way.
All weekend we heard and discussed the various world events, threats, etc. in regards to Koran burning, terrorism, etc. and shook our heads. In my humble opinion, some of the worst rot in the world today starts in our churches where you'd expect the most kindness to manifest itself.
Seems we could pray 24 hours round the clock and it wouldn't be enough.
This morning, the church wasn't open by 7:20 for the 7:30 Sunday Mass. It was actually kind of fun to mingle with people you don't ordinarily talk to as we joked about being banned from the church, missing the sunrise service, etc. Mass did start on time and all was well . . .
Okay, all was well until after Mass when a woman decided to berate the sacristan for not being there early enough to open up the church. She decided that inside the church, within feet of the Blessed Sacrament was just fine for her loud and abusive tirade. One mother attempted to distract her daughter but the yelling was too loud. The sacristan tried to brush it off and leave but she followed with her strident voice.
This was not a good thing. The sacristan was visibly upset. He isn't on a payroll and helps out extensively at the parish for the love of God and his respect for the priests. He didn't deserve this. The worst part? The woman had just acted as an extraordinary minister at the 7:30 Mass. She had receive our Lord's Body and Blood and within minutes of this holy reception, she used her mouth to treat another person in a most unChristlike way.
All weekend we heard and discussed the various world events, threats, etc. in regards to Koran burning, terrorism, etc. and shook our heads. In my humble opinion, some of the worst rot in the world today starts in our churches where you'd expect the most kindness to manifest itself.
Seems we could pray 24 hours round the clock and it wouldn't be enough.
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