Morning AB, All.
Next week is Palm Sunday and by popular demand we shall sing “For Those Tears I Died”.
Well, maybe you hadda be there.
Anyway, went to confession the other night, my once a year thing as required by the faith. I always go in Lent when they bring in the stranger priests because anybody who thinks I am going to confess to Father Flowers please consider yourself wrong.
By the way, before I forget, thank you AB for reliably doing this thread, even when robbed of an hour’s sleep. Thank you Bray for weekly wisdom and thank yon commenters for wise input that shall await me upon return from church, 10 am mass.
So all day, all damn day, I pray to God-who hates me by the way, more on this later. I pray, I ask for His help to keep me from what be embarrassing situations so don’t let me near Father Tom because I ain’t confessing to him. I never confess to my priests, didn’t the one before Father Tom. It bothers me to have people walking around me every day who know my sins. I didn’t want to hurt Father Tom’s feelings as the man LOVES confessions, I think I know why but it doesn’t matter. He will often crack a joke around me that I need to confess something or other that I said, indicating I’d be confessing to HIM.
Again, maybe you hadda be there. But my thoughts were, to Father Tom’s joke, that he better not hold his breath.
I even saw Father Tom’s car parked over by the office and I physically moved the Jeep around to the front of the church so the priest would not see me and maybe want to say Hi. Or something.
The usher says, as I walk into the church, that all of us should sit in the middle of the church. They got the pews taped off on four corners so that the stranger priests can hear confessions privately. So I do what the usher says, still praying to God that he makes this go smooth.
The priests arrive and take their place, Father Tom at the altar. I am looking around figuring out where to position myself so I do NOT get Father Tom.
The usher comes in, stands by my pew, and says, “People in this pew (MINE)”, up to about three in front of me, “shall confess to Father Tom.”
I look around in a total panic. All damn day I prayed and the people in these pews as indicated by the usher are getting in line to confess to Father Tom and I got to get out of there.
Man I looked like the Pink Panther, grabbing my pocketbook and trying to sneak over to the other side of my pew to get in line for another priest.
Anyway, I am going through a rough spot in my faith and I am convinced that God hates me, or is very mad at me. There are times when I cuss God out for hours at a time.
That old saying that God does not give us more than we can handle? Like I told the priest I DID confess to, that’s not true. Plenty of people get more crap than they can handle and I am on the precipice.
Speaking of my confessor priest, maybe later, but he was situated about four feet in front of Father Tom and come on, God is really messing with my head.
He was a sweet guy and we ended up laughing and when I got up to leave he grabbed my arm and hugged me…..I am not making this up, what the hell is it with me and priests?
But it turns out that hating God is NOT a sin.
Well go to hell. I thought it was and it was the only reason I even went to confession, a Catholic thing I am just not sure I believe in.
The confessor priest could see I was distraught, and I was….I really do NOT want to hate God and I sure don’t want God hating me. I could sense he wanted so bad to comfort me and he did, he really did. He told me God had big shoulders, that he (the priest)-as am I- was from Maryland…Queen Ann’s county which I told him I would not hold against him.
When he pulled me down to hug him well damn if the whole entire church didn’t see but it was not a bad thing. That priest went to bed that night a happy man because he wanted so bad to calm a distraught parishioner, and he did. I made sure he knew that I appreciated his kindness.
After, the ushers came up to me and asked if I knew this priest’s name….maybe it was the big hug that had them thinking I knew the guy but even now I don’t even know his name.
Anyway, sorry for taking up so much of the time but serious, God simply does not like me because I am constantly being found guilty of stuff I DID NOT DO!
I find this past week’s efforts to hurt this Donald Trump campaign. I am not a Trump person but come on, why do these organizations get away with this stuff?
Looking forward to wise commentary.
Um, perhaps you should have labeled your post OT at the beginning.