twelfth new thing

let's get a little bit more religiosity up in this piece, shall we? as i mentioned previously, if this adventure goes the way i intend, i will be doing a lot of new things that involve the church. and, no, this is not one of them. but this week, for the twelfth installment of the 52 new things-- and in celebration of easter-- i attended my first full catholic mass.

some of you may know (this includes you, mom and dad) that my sister married a nice catholic boy in june of 2007. since i foresee a lot of christenings and confirmations in my future (between her and her sister-in-law's kids...) i decided to get a jump start on all this mass stuff. plus, let's face it, if you are in any way a type a personality like me than the rules of mass are totally appealing. so, on easter sunday, i tagged along with the coolest catholic family i know (in atlanta) and attended service at st. michael the archangel.

once i found the place (i am such an ITP girl), i was amazed at how many people were there. thankfully, the cumberland's had saved me a place in a pew and with all of us together, we almost took up a whole one. kev informed me that hardly any of those people show up on a regular basis. nice to know that protestants aren't the only ones who feel the need to come back to the big house only twice a year.

the music was impressive (full brass section anyone?) and easy to sing along with (there were enough people there that my horrible toneless voice was indistinguishable from the rest). i didn't know all of the responses for the rites and readings but i managed to get my fair share of "and also with you"s in. plus, when the priest came through the parishioners with the holy water, i got splashed twice. double blessings! awesome. the little kid in front of us was hilarious (and his mom was hot, but i was in church so i didn't notice...until after the service) and all in all, i had a wonderful time. but there were two things i was disappointed with-- one the priest's fault and one my own.

first, the papa's fault. the homily was HORRIBLE. honestly dude, you got a church full of peeps who probably haven't stepped foot in your sanctuary since this time last year and you deliver what i can only hope was an under prepared sermon. honestly, if it had been earlier in the morning i might have fallen asleep. lisa agreed, it was a total let down. second, my personal problem. i hate not being able to participate in the eucarist. i'm not baptised and so i find it inappropriate to do the whole "body of christ, blood of christ" thing. so i have to cross my arms like a moron and receive a blessing. at least this time i wasn't the only one in the whole congregation and i got an actual prayer while the celebrant had his palm on my forehead. triple blessings! sweet.

after mass, we went to kevin's parents house where his parents and his four brothers and sisters (and respective spouses) had lunch. i always heard jokes about the decibel level at the cumberland house, but i thought nothing of it. i worked in at a veterinarian clinic for 4 years with constantly barking dogs. loudness doesn't bother me. well, they were everything they had been cracked up to be and it was hilarious. and i felt so blessed to be included. until i got home. and then i had a headache. for two days.

happy easter ya'll.