Catholic Ragemonkey

Where Have I Been the Last Week?

Unlike Fr. Hamilton, due to other stuff happening this month, I did not attend the clergy gathering. It was kinda sad not to be there with my brother priests but as I am going to be out of the parish for the next three weeks effectively, I couldn't arrange another week away. But if I have been home, why haven't I been blogging? Well, let's run that down.

Last week, I had two funerals. The first funeral was for a onetime resident of the parish who many years ago had moved away. The second funeral was for a longtime parishioner who was part of a very large and noteworthy family in the community. To compound matters, the two funerals were back-to-back. So, I had to miss the ordination this year. I had been faithful in attending the ordinations but this year it was not to be. That is the nature of priestly ministry; sometimes you have to choose between the needs of the parish and the events of the diocese. The first funeral was a Thursday-Friday event and the second funeral, Friday-Saturday.

Then on Saturday, I started the first of my classes at one of my mission parishes. I think we have talked about "Catholicism from Scratch" here. The idea is to present the essentials of the Faith in a way that is easily assimilated and encourages people to move forward and to mature in their apprehension of the Faith. I had to remember to bring my laptop and the DVD and to prepare for the possible questions which might come up. This was in addition to the usual weekend Masses and sacraments.

On Sunday, we had the roller coaster. Sunday Mass at Alva and then at Cherokee I received someone into the Catholic Church. This ought to have happened at the Easter Vigil but there were some other issues to be worked out. Celebrating Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion in the mission parish will lead to the regular parishioners to make a more full commitment to their own Faith. Then I had double duty RCIA: mystagogy at 6:00 p.m. and Inquiry at 7:30 p.m. I have to admit how satisfying and exciting RCIA is, but it takes energy and excitement, not to mention a sharp mind to answer and address questions and concerns.

From Monday to today, I have been dragging and pooped beyond mentioning. Hopefully I can catch some extra zzz's next week. But then again, I will be in Kingfisher discussing RCIA strategies so don't count on it.