Whoa! Who's Chatty Cathy, tonight?
My cousin's boyfriend's brother passed away recently and the funeral was, today. Yesterday, she called and asked me to do a reading during the service (Catholic). Apparently, her boyfriend wanted someone, who actually goes to church. The funny thing is that he couldn't think of anyone because he doesn't go to Mass himself!
I don't get that... Why have a Catholic funeral when you didn't live a Catholic life? I don't mean that in snobbery, either. I think it's fine and dandy if that's what he/they want, but I just don't get it! If they didn't care enough during life to go to Mass, why go through the motions of playing Catholic for the funeral? Do they feel obligated (or maybe that they deserve it) just because they were baptized Catholic? I don't know. It just seems to be all for show to me, but in the end you look silly.
Anyway, we got to the funeral a little late so, all the seats up front were taken. (BTW, as I was headed up towards the front, I noticed I was getting dirty looks from a lot of people. Looks that said, "Why the hell is she up here? She isn't even family!") I got up to where the "choir" was sitting, (our congregation is so small, we don't really have a choir. It's just kinda thrown together for funeral services. :/) and asked one of the ladies where I should sit. She told me to sit with them, AND THIS IS HOW I WAS TRICKED INTO BEING A PART OF THE FUNERAL CHOIR. heh.
Well, through the service, there were a lot of people, who didn't know when to do/say what should be said/done during Mass. Not a big deal because MS is heavily Baptist so, many of this guy's friends/family may have been protestant. Yet, his immediate family, who wanted to do a Catholic service didn't know what to do, either. They all just sat there, which I found odd. Actually, there were so few practicing Catholics at the service that whenever we had to do any of the replies, it seemed like only those of us in the choir were saying it. We sounded like the Chorus in a freaking Shakespearean play! So, again, it just makes me wonder... What was the point?
Although, I do have to admit that my father had a Baptist funeral, though he was adamantly not a Baptist. He was RAISED Baptist, but as an adult had issues with Christianity. I liked the preacher, who gave the sermon, though. He spent the days before the funeral talking to all of us and used that to talk about my dad's life and the impact he had on the people, who knew him. It was just the wake (three days of preaching!) that I felt had nothing to do with my father. The truth is that my mom allowed herself to be railroaded by my aunts (his sisters) into doing the whole shebang. Maybe it helped them through their grief, I don't know. To me, it just felt like a lie. :/
In other news, after today's funeral, my mom and I went out for an early dinner with my aunt and cousin's 8-year-old. Somehow, we got on the topic of my getting married (this seems to be a reoccurring theme!). Well, at the restaurant, I saw this fine-looking black guy and UNFFFFFF. I mean, he looked like he was about 18, but GUH. Every time he passed by, I had to take a glance because Lord Jesus! *fans self*
I don't think that they noticed my drooling over him *lying to self, haha*, but I asked out loud "Mom, what would you do if I found a black guy?" Do y'all remember when I posted that my mom essentially said she'd be okay with me being a lesbian? WELL! When I asked about dating a black dude, she just sat there, said nothing, and wouldn't look at me. My aunt, on the other hand, said, "I'd be disappointed, but I'd accept it." Then, she laughed at herself for answering when the question wasn't directed at her, which made us all laugh. The tension was broken and we went on to another topic. ...But my mom still never answered the question.
Which leads me to surmise that lesbianism, ok; black guys, no way! (Hmm... I wonder if that means that only dating Choctaw lesbians is okay?) Conundrum!
I don't get that... Why have a Catholic funeral when you didn't live a Catholic life? I don't mean that in snobbery, either. I think it's fine and dandy if that's what he/they want, but I just don't get it! If they didn't care enough during life to go to Mass, why go through the motions of playing Catholic for the funeral? Do they feel obligated (or maybe that they deserve it) just because they were baptized Catholic? I don't know. It just seems to be all for show to me, but in the end you look silly.
Anyway, we got to the funeral a little late so, all the seats up front were taken. (BTW, as I was headed up towards the front, I noticed I was getting dirty looks from a lot of people. Looks that said, "Why the hell is she up here? She isn't even family!") I got up to where the "choir" was sitting, (our congregation is so small, we don't really have a choir. It's just kinda thrown together for funeral services. :/) and asked one of the ladies where I should sit. She told me to sit with them, AND THIS IS HOW I WAS TRICKED INTO BEING A PART OF THE FUNERAL CHOIR. heh.
Well, through the service, there were a lot of people, who didn't know when to do/say what should be said/done during Mass. Not a big deal because MS is heavily Baptist so, many of this guy's friends/family may have been protestant. Yet, his immediate family, who wanted to do a Catholic service didn't know what to do, either. They all just sat there, which I found odd. Actually, there were so few practicing Catholics at the service that whenever we had to do any of the replies, it seemed like only those of us in the choir were saying it. We sounded like the Chorus in a freaking Shakespearean play! So, again, it just makes me wonder... What was the point?
Although, I do have to admit that my father had a Baptist funeral, though he was adamantly not a Baptist. He was RAISED Baptist, but as an adult had issues with Christianity. I liked the preacher, who gave the sermon, though. He spent the days before the funeral talking to all of us and used that to talk about my dad's life and the impact he had on the people, who knew him. It was just the wake (three days of preaching!) that I felt had nothing to do with my father. The truth is that my mom allowed herself to be railroaded by my aunts (his sisters) into doing the whole shebang. Maybe it helped them through their grief, I don't know. To me, it just felt like a lie. :/
In other news, after today's funeral, my mom and I went out for an early dinner with my aunt and cousin's 8-year-old. Somehow, we got on the topic of my getting married (this seems to be a reoccurring theme!). Well, at the restaurant, I saw this fine-looking black guy and UNFFFFFF. I mean, he looked like he was about 18, but GUH. Every time he passed by, I had to take a glance because Lord Jesus! *fans self*
I don't think that they noticed my drooling over him *lying to self, haha*, but I asked out loud "Mom, what would you do if I found a black guy?" Do y'all remember when I posted that my mom essentially said she'd be okay with me being a lesbian? WELL! When I asked about dating a black dude, she just sat there, said nothing, and wouldn't look at me. My aunt, on the other hand, said, "I'd be disappointed, but I'd accept it." Then, she laughed at herself for answering when the question wasn't directed at her, which made us all laugh. The tension was broken and we went on to another topic. ...But my mom still never answered the question.
Which leads me to surmise that lesbianism, ok; black guys, no way! (Hmm... I wonder if that means that only dating Choctaw lesbians is okay?) Conundrum!