Changes

So...this is a test post in part, because I want to see if I have the schedule settings correct. If so, this would be astounding! I would no longer have to be up after Midnight Mass to post on Christmas, or after Easter Vigil, unless I had something to say from them. (I'm going to try and have this post at 8:30 while I'm at the Catholic Student Association meeting.) We've entered a time of change in the Church and perhaps in my life. I've got two dinners coming up with a female friend; we ate together at an Italian bistro and the Hilton bar at conference for 8 hours one night and spent the Alumni Luncheon with one another. I'm not sure if this is a date or not, but I wouldn't be opposed if it were. She's intelligent, funny, caring, loves kids, and strangely enough...blonde. I once swore I'd never even look at a blonde, because in two decades of life, I had never found one to be attractive. Until now. Similarly, the Church finds itself adapting to the new translation of the Mass. I spent that first new Mass in a state of mortal sin, and as I spoke the words "my fault, my fault, my most grievious fault" it was a hammer blow to my heart. I can't describe in any way whatsoever how horrible and low I felt. As for the new translations, I think I only screwed up once, which isn't too bad I guess (but we were using cheat sheets in my parish). I do, however, want nothing more than to go to my usual Mass on Saturday evening. I was coming home from visiting my family for Thanksgiving and ended up at the "college" Mass. Drums, trumpets, tamborines, etc. I was distracted a lot by both my own state of mortal sin at the time, and by the bombastic music. I went to Confession earlier, and felt a sense of renewal I rarely do after recieving the Sacrament. The priest and I were in his office, and he took a few minutes to just speak with me. He asked me how my Advent journey was treating me and how my Catholic journey was going in particular. Eventually the talk returned to Confession, and he was in stitches that a pagan web comic Oh My Gods! once had the Pope doing confessions in a bathroom stall.

In return, he told me a story.

I had a seminary instructor who told us this story, so I can retell it. He was a priest in the holy land and had no other priests around him. So he went on sabbatical to Rome every year and a half to two years; while he was there he would go to St. Peter's for confession. So he went into one of the booths that had English as one of the languages, knelt behind the screen, and told the other priest that he was a priest, and it had been two years since his last confession. A voice he knew from television answered him, "my brother, you must go more often". He was being berated (pastorally though) by Pope John Paul II.

Well enough of my rambling post. Let's see if this posts on time!