And now what?

Hello all.
I have been officially transferred back to St. Louis, effective today!  YAY!

I have bought a house.  YAY!!!!  It's not quite in the neighborhood I want, but pretty close.  It's actually in the parish of Epiphany.  Barely.

I vaguely remember my last visit...after awhile, all the churches blend together unless something spectacular happens. (like dancing...)

I'd forgotten how plain the interior of the church was.  All white except for the woodwork.  There was stained glass but it was symbols and not people.  It was all white....white...with a tiny tabernacle in the center of the whiteness.

I was sitting there going I can overlook the vast expanses of white if I am spiritually fed, if there is good music.

Hey did you know today is the first day of Advent?  I don't think the music director got the memo.  The closing song was Soon and Very Soon and then the Communion and Offertory was 670 and 671 in the Breaking Bread.  The opening was by Marty Haugen...I want to say 587?  No O Come O Come Emmanual?  No Advent songs at all???

The homily was about some new scheme Father had to get money or people involved.  Ah yes.  It's in the bulletin.  There are 3 advent goals for the parish.  The gold goal...send some teens to Haiti to help the poor heathens.  The Frankincense goal...write down what you want the parish to pray for.  They will be placed in the "...frankincense container as reminder that as the smoke of the incense raises heavenly ward so does our prayers at each Mass."  Incense?  They actually use incense here?  Oooo.."At each and every Mass as the gifts of bread and wine are brought forward we are invited to the bread and wine as a symbol of our hopes and dreams."  (That Jesus guy...his blood and body...not so much...but hope and change...er sorry hope and dreams.. definitely....).  Feel the squishy....feel it!  The 3rd goal is the myrrh goal...seek out opportunities to die to oneself...we are being challenged to do something 1x a week or even 1x a day that is outside our comfort zone and to die to ourselves in the service of others.  Like doing the dishes without complaining, or learning about the Faith.  (Funny...protesting and participating in die-ins wasn't mentioned...).  I don't know about you...but doing the dishes without complaint, especially when there is a dishwasher involved, doesn't seem so much like dying to myself....

The first part of the homily was about the word Watch.  I don't know I wasn't paying attention.  I was trying to imagine how if I infiltrated the parish council I could convince/coerce the parish that white...vast expanses of white, are bad....

Before I went to Mass today, I decided that I will give the parish 1 month.  If any hugging breaks out though, I'm out of there.  It's going to be a long month...