WWJD?

For the entertainment of my blog readers I must post the hilarious email battle of wills going ‘round regarding my home parish’s annual Baby Jesus Breakfast following the midnight mass at Christmas Eve.

This event has been held every year since 1986, begun by a bubbly, energetic, gregarious and friendly priest who loved going the extra mile for his parishioners and even spent Christmas Eve with our family the years he was with the parish. Fast forward 20 years, and our current priest, in my opinion, cares more about forcing Latin into the service than events that would bring parishioners together. Combined with this, the woman who used to head up the event stopped 3 years ago when her grandson was born and decided not to take it on anymore. These factors added up to The Perfect Storm of problems surrounding the event.

So 2 yrs ago the priest said let’s cancel the event. Or have the mass at 10pm instead of 11pm (which I was totally FOR) instead of 11pm, then the brunch which is a long night for everyone especially those whose kids are up at the crack of dawn to open presents regardless of what time we get to bed the night before! But the new coordinator can stick to her opinion as strongly as the priest on some things, and really wants the event as do a lot of us but insists on the 11pm mass getting us out of there at midnight to eat and celebrate, and the priest doesn’t want the event held so late due to his acid reflux, his temptation to eat if he comes to the event, and thinks the smell of the egg casseroles from the downstairs oven may clash with the scent of the incense at the mass. (This had me in stitches reading these emails over my mom's shoulder on her PC).

At any rate, we're having it. I volunteered to assist. The other option was to have it held on World Marriage Day which really sucks for us single people--it divides rather than unites. Let them have their own event and plan it if they want to do something more than the big to-do the single people are subjected to each year.