Okay, I told Teresa Graas Im going to post this on my Facebook page and she didnt object, so here goes. Tonight was Father Brians last Mass at our parish before being transferred. Already it was going to be a big deal (emotional.) The church was packed because people from elsewhere came to see him off, too. When the church is packed, Teresa is very nervous. She had a big load to bear tonight. When we went inside, she saw that Sr. Anne Michelle was in attendance. This was her school principal years ago. This is a bit more pressure for her to do well, but she went over and hugged Sr. Anne Michelle before Mass. Right after the second reading, normally we go into the Alleluia, but tonight we had another song before the Alleluia. As we were singing, with Teresa up front as cantor, two stray cats came into the churchs front door (the back of the church.) One of them went up the aisle and down under one of the pews. The other, which Teresa met the other day outside the church after cantor practice, was already acquainted with her, so as she was singing, this cat goes up to the altar, circles the altar, walks over to Teresa, sits down and starts MEOWING. We were all singing. I was trying to keep from laughing, Father was laughing, Teresa is cantor so cant move from her spot at the microphone next to the ambo, and Teresa kept right on singing. She did NOT LAUGH (although she was smiling broadly.) Our friend Debra Webb graciously took care of both cats by shooing them outside. (Thank you, Debbie.) After Mass, in the car on the way home, Teresa was sharing her view of this experience and she told me, I knew I couldnt laugh because Sister was there and if I laughed Sister would send me to hell! I dont want to go to hell but I sure dont want Sister sending me there! After Mass, of course, I thanked Sister for helping Teresa get through that without laughing, simply by being present at Mass, and I expressed a little dismay that she wasnt worried about what her mother would say but, rather, what Sister would say to her! Very proud of my daughter, grateful for Sister, and very very sad that Father is leaving us. We will miss him greatly....but the reason our bishops move our priests every 10-12 years is so that a cult of personality doesnt build around them. One should not go to a church because a certain person is there preaching but rather because God is there. Tonight, we learned that God sends consolations (in this case, a cat circling the altar, which was both disturbing and funny) to cheer us up in our somber sadness.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 01:09:41 +0000