Whoops, we missed two weeks. Mea culpa! Now that the end of the liturgical year is upon us, it's time to get back to business. Today is the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday before starting the new liturgical year next week with the first Sunday of Advent. Where did our Advent wreath go? Where will we find candles?
Rather than worry about tomorrow, let's bask in today's glory. We went to a different church since we were up early. The 8 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph's was quite good because the children were really well behaved. Jacob paid attention and prayed along with many of the prayers. Often, he was a beat behind, so he said "and with your spirit" right after the rest of the congregation. Lucy was just barely fidgety.
We were the lone people up front on the right transept, so we only had ourselves to give the sign of peace to. We did give money to the collection, though I only had small change in my pocket, so we put a five pound note in too. At the end of the Mass, the priest singled us out as an example of how even if kids might seem distracting, he never gets distracted by children at Mass and loves to have them. If the kids get loud, he gets louder, or so he said. He didn't have to demonstrate it today, though we did notice him smile as he started to process out and Jacob said the final "thanks be to God" just after the congregation. Father also had some good advice on having special Sunday soft toys and having a special missal or prayer book for the kids to follow along that they only have on Sunday. He received the tip from a vicar's wife back when he was at a parish shared with the Church of England.
His sermon was good too. He talked about how foreign the notion of an active king or queen is in modern society. In the readings, the idea of a shepherd king, one who takes personal care of his people, is something unfamiliar today. Also unfamiliar is the call to serve others as the Lord does. But this is our truest vocation, being obedient to God especially in serving others in their need.
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