come to me, all who are weary

Spinsterish Musings: Mass tonight

jocelyn has a story about how mass at her parish went last night - about a man who came "barreling" into the church after Mass had begun - how would you have reacted?

Although he had obviously dressed himself up a bit, he looked pretty rough and he had one eye that was red and swollen shut. He sat there for a moment, hunched over. Then he knelt for a bit. Then he got up and walked up the centre aisle and out of the church.

I felt really bad, at that point. That we as a church had somehow failed him (which is silly, I suppose, because what exactly did I think we were supposed to do for him in the space of two minutes?).

my first thought was how many times have i felt that i was stumbling into church - maybe not physically - but in such a weary way, desperate for help, seeking solace...what could have been done in the space of two minutes? pray. which is what they all did.

now about her parish priest:

Father John is really one-of-a-kind. Some people might say that's a good thing, but I think he is a radical in the way that Christians are supposed to be. He's scruffy and wears sandals all the time and forgets appointments and is late for weekday masses and I'm sure he horrifies traditionalists. His homilies are not masterpieces. But he lives the gospel far more eloquently than anyone could ever preach it. We've had excellent homilists in our parish, and as a lover of words and ideas, I do miss that. But Father John makes me want to be more generous, more loving, more forgiving simply by his example.

i think regardless of his traditional values, that he absolutely exemplies what Jesus would be (to this reader, anyhow).

He is absolutely a soft touch, and I think every homeless person and beggar in town knows it. If people ask, he gives. He usually has one or more people sleeping on his couches in the rectory. I'm sure he gets taken advantage of. But he sees Jesus in everyone. He really does. I want to be like that.

so do i, jocelyn. so do i.