It’s been a long time since I went to a Catholic church, but today I went to my friend’s grandfather’s funeral.  I am amazed how rote the experience of Mass is for me.  I think that given the readings for a given day, I could probably recite 60-80 percent of the Mass from memory.  The indoctrination I received as a child is strong, very strong.  When I first started attending a Presbyterian Church with TKD, I was constantly caught off guard when we got to the phrase “forgive us our debts” in the Our Father because I was so accustomed to saying “forgive us our trespasses” in the Catholic church.  Today, it was quite the opposite, I was caught off guard by “trespasses” instead of “debts”.  

Originally, I was not sure that I would go to the funeral, but I decided last night that it really was the appropriate thing for me to do.  I am glad I did.  That’s something you don’t often hear, “I’m glad I went to a funeral;” but I really was glad to be there to support my friend and his family, who in a lot of ways are an extended family for me.

One more thought, it was incredibly cold, the wind whipping off Weems creek today.  Incredibly cold.