Not once, but twice I intended to go to mass today, and not once, but twice did circumstances either force me to skip mass altogether or come in far later than what should ever be acceptable. After my day off yesterday (I saw "Up" and "Night at the Museum" in celebration of the commencement of my brothers' summer vacation), my dad drove me back to St. Ben's this morning, arriving with about 15 minutes to spare before the 8:30AM mass. I told him that I'd meet him inside the church after running some errands in the rectory; unfortunately, I couldn't finish off everything in time, and it was well after 8:30 by the time I had everything sorted out. I decided to pray the daily Office and wait until 9:00, when I was scheduled to volunteer to decorate the church with some other lay volunteers. I arrived just in time to see my dad off and welcome in a wedding photographer, who was arriving early to prepare for an 11:30 wedding, which, to the surprise of both Fr. Steve and myself, would coincide with the scheduled Saturday time slot for Reconciliation.
No matter. Ann (who I had met at a previous meeting) Julie (a young mother who is expecting another child!) and I worked for nearly 2 hours decorating the church; an abundance of green plants now decorate the altar area, which, I think, is quite fitting considering the liturgical season we've just entered (priests wear green vestments for mass during Ordinary time). We finished just in time for me to do a bit of spring cleaning in my room before Reconciliation at 11:30. I waited until after Confession before I had anything to eat; I'm surprised I didn't pig out later tonight at dinner, all things considered.
My free afternoon was spent playing video games until the Hour of Mercy; after finishing off my daily devotions, I began reading Diary of a Country Priest again - only to fall asleep while reading. This is the second time this has happened, and I really wish I knew why I have this strange propensity to begin with. The book certainly isn't boring (in fact, I can't imagine a better book for a seminarian to be reading during an apostolate, especially at a parish!), so it's really frustrating that I can't even get through a full chapter without falling asleep! Heck, I'm lucky I'm past the page 50. Mrs. Marge, the Secretary at the school, really wants to borrow it to, and since it's on loan from Fr. Steve, who's leaving in only a month for his new parish assignment, I've got a lot of reading to do in the coming days!
By the time I woke up from my afternoon nap it was after 5:00PM - mass! Luciano, I was sure, was expecting me to sing with the choir and/or cantor; clearly this was NOT happening today. I washed up in time to arrive for Fr. O'Boyle's homily; I saw Sue again, who greeted me quite jovially during the Sign of Peace. This, combined with the fact that we sang "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" for the recessional, made my grumpy post-nap mood evaporate quite quickly. Luciano seemed genuinely surprised when I talked to him after mass, but it didn't seem to me that he was particularly distressed, either. In fact, he was quite understanding. Hopefully I'll be able to make up for my absence at the masses tomorrow!
I had to have dinner alone tonight, though I didn't particularly mind (pasta, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!) That will NOT be happening tomorrow, given my brunch date with a certain group of parishioners following the 10:00AM mass. I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully I won't make too much of a fool of myself!
Lord, give me strength to overcome Satan's temptations throughout the day tomorrow. By your saving grace,stifle my pride and grant me eternal life with you. Jesus, I trust in you. AMEN!
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