He Should Have Asked, "Should I Be Doing This?"

 

I'm probably stretching things a bit to come up with a meaningful point from the following story quoted from Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin. If that requires an apology, then I apologize.

But here's hoping you just appreciate the laugh.

One priest friend recounted the story of his first wedding, which he performed shortly after his ordination. My friend had borrowed the marriage rites book, the guide containing the script of the marriage ceremony, from an elderly Jesuit. The old Jesuit had written little notations in pencil, because the rites book includes all of the words needed for the wedding Mass, but not what you might call the "Stage directions." So alongside the script for the marriage vows the old priest had scribbled helpful directions like, "Turn to the bride," "Turn to the groom," "Go back to the presider's chair," "Take the rings from the best man." He also wrote directions for the congregation that aren't included in the book, like saying, "Please stand" or "Please kneel."

All was going smoothly until my newly ordained friend reached the end of the vows. There was a little notation that added something that most priests say, but is not included in the official Catholic rites.

The penciled-in note said, "You may now kiss the bride."

My friend found that baffling. But who was he to argue with the elderly priest, who had done more weddings than he had? So my friend stopped, closed his book, leaned down, and kissed the bride.

She stood there dumbstruck, and everybody burst out laughing. Finally, he said to the groom, "Uh, I think YOU were supposed to do that!"

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Truth is...Sometimes, unquestioning obedience might be questionable.

Feeling Like You're Hiding Something?

 

There's a fairly widespread phenomenon that affects people in an expansive range of occupations. It's called Imposter's Syndrome and it means you don't feel worthy of the accomplishments you've made or the opportunities you've enjoyed. The classic example is an Oscar-winning actor waiting for someone to realize they can't act.

It directly relates to the latest word I've discovered in John Koenig's The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows:

the giltwrights - n. `the imaginary committee of elders that keeps a running log of all your mistakes, steadily building their case that you're secretly a fraud, a coward, a doofus  -  who would've revoked your good fortune years ago had they not been hampered by their own bitter squabblings over proper grammar and spelling. [Old English gilt, awareness of wrongdoing + wrought, shaped with hammers.]

For most of us, there's no need to create an imaginary group to keep that log. We do a fine job of compiling a list of our faults all on our own.

That's bad enough. The trouble with this is compounded when we assign the role of giltwright to Yahweh...the very being who forgives us for all those things we are putting on our lists.

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Truth is...If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Growing Young

 

From the pen of Rich Mullins, the words to his song, Growing Young:

I've gone so far from my home
I've seen the world and I have known
So many secrets
I wish now I did not know
'Cause they have crept into my heart
They have left it cold and dark
And bleeding,
Bleeding and falling apart

And everybody used to tell me big boys don't cry
Well I've been around enough to know that that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well we are children no more, we have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits and He watches down the road
To see the crying boys come running back to His arms
And be growing young
Growing young

I've seen silver turn to dross
Seen the very best there ever was
And I'll tell you, it ain't worth what it costs
And I remember my father's house
What I wouldn't give right now
Just to see him and hear him tell me that he loves me so much

And when I thought that I was all alone
It was your voice I heard calling me back home
And I wonder now Lord
What it was that made me wait so long
And what kept You waiting for me all that time
Was Your love stronger than my foolish pride
Will You take me back now, take me back and let me be Your child

'Cause I've been broken now, I've been saved
I've learned to cry, and I've learned how to pray
And I'm learning, I'm learning even I can be changed

And everybody used to tell me big boys don't cry
Well I've been around enough to know that that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well we are children no more, we have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits and He watches down the road
To see the crying boys come running back to His arms
And be growing young

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Truth is...Perhaps it's because of all the stuff we live through in our lives that Jesus said we must become like little children if we want to see the kingdom of God. (Matthew 18:3). Here's praying that we all can grow a little younger each day.

Holy Humor: Papal Edition

 

According to a book I am currently reading (Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin, SJ), Pope John XXIII, who served from 1958 to 1963, had a notable sense of humor.

Some examples:

• When a journalist innocently asked him, "Your Holiness, how many people work at the Vatican?" John paused, thought it over, and said, "About half of them."
• In the 1940s, when John was still an archbishop and the papal nuncio, or ambassador, in Paris, he was at an elegant dinner party, seated across from a woman wearing a low-cut dress that exposed a good deal of cleavage. Someone turned to him and said, "Your Excellency, what a scandal! Aren't you embarrassed that everyone is looking at this woman?" And he said, "Oh no, everyone is looking at me, to see if I'm looking at her."
• The pope was visiting a Roman hospital called the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. Shortly after entering, he was introduced to the sister who ran the hospital. "Holy Father," she exclaimed, flustered by his surprise visit, "I am the superior of the Holy Spirit." "Well, I must say, you're lucky," said the pope, delighted. "I'm only the Vicar of Christ!"

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Truth is..."A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing" Proverbs 17:22 in the Amplified Bible