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.
