Z is confirmed! It really was a wonderful Mass and I have a whole new respect for our Bishop. Today though...I have mixed emotions about this whole day. First of all....I woke up feeling horrid. I think I breathed in a little too much incense last night or maybe my body is trying to fight off a virus. At any rate....I don't feel well...thus the late blog. Second....Z was pretty upset this morning over an incident that happened at school yesterday. I have been torn as to what to do about the whole thing. I don't necessarily think that parents need to jump in every time a kid (especially a high school kid) has a problem at school, but this goes a little above and beyond and it really has him upset. So upset in fact...that even though today was the day that all the theater kids go to school in full costume (something Z lives for) he just didn't even care. His enthusiasm has hit rock bottom and he is just so over the insecure and unhappy youngsters at that school that go out of their way to try and make him just as insecure and unhappy as they are. And the fact that he refuses (in most cases) to react to their incessant bad behavior is just fueling them. They seem to be taking his non-reaction as a challenge to see how far they can push. At any rate.....I decided to talk to the principal and get this thing taken care of....before someone does push Z too far and he does decide to react......and then HE gets in trouble. That is the way it always seems to work in our world. To top it all off...this is my short/long day. Short at work but long with meetings and then Z's play tonight. Oh...and did I mention that I don't feel well?! Ugh!
As I said, last nights confirmation Mass was wonderful. There were quite a few kids getting confirmed and Z was just so excited. He was all dressed up in a suit and tie...and of course my camera chose this event to not want to work right. Have I mentioned how much I hate technology? The church was decorated beautifully and it was packed. That mixed with the incense and my head was spinning by the time it was all over.
It has been a lot of years since I have been to a confirmation. Honestly...I think mine when I was 9 or 10 was the last one I have attended. (That could be wrong....but that is what is coming to mind now!). Things were a lot different back then. I went to a Catholic school where the academics where taught by lay teachers but the religious ed was left up to the nuns. I remember those nuns well although I am not sure I remember their names well. I believe they were Sisters Ignatius and Sylvia. Sister Ignatius I believe was our confirmation teacher. We started in the fall preparing for confirmation and we were given a list of 100 questions about God and our faith which came directly from the Baltimore Catechism and which we had to know before we were allowed to be confirmed. I am not sure if this is true or not....but I seem to remember Sister "implying" that the Bishop would be asking each of us all 100 questions. Of course that was not to be the case....but you better bet I knew all 100 answers. Every day Sister would go up and down the rows of kids firing those 100 questions at us and by spring.....everyone of us knew every answer. Sister did her job well. When the actual confirmation took place, I remember being very disappointed. The Bishop only asked a couple of kids a couple of questions. I felt a bit let down that my big Soldier of Christ debut didn't include me being asked and me answering all 100 questions beautifully.
The religious instruction of that time in my life has proven to serve me well over the years and I can still remember Who made me and Why He made me! It also helped me to help Z prepare for both his First Communion and now his Confirmation. And last night I loved the way the Bishop was with the kids. He is a very humorous man who put the kids at ease immediately. All questions he asked so that no one was left to feel embarrassed if they were nervous and forgot an answer and yet I am pretty sure that he left those kids with a memory they will never forget. The biggest thing that he left me thinking about was this:
He said even as a priest and now a Bishop, he doesn't know everything there is to know about religion. He said there are always people asking him questions that he doesn't have a biblical response right off the top of his head for....and that is okay. He said you simply say "I don't know, but I will find out, and I will get back to you!" I believe those words are pretty much good for anything in life....after all...they have been my personal mantra for years. He went on to say though....that some questions like "Why do bad things happen to good people?" are without an earthly answer...and that is where our faith comes into play. We have to have faith that God has a purpose and a reason for everything and in the end....whatever happens is what is best for us, whether we understand it or not.
When all was said and done, I believe we all walked out of that church feeling proud of these young ones who all looked so beautiful and so happy and possibly.....maybe us adults walked out having an even better understanding of our own faith having this mini refresher course. I know when it was over....I felt as if a weight had been lifted from me and I simply couldn't be prouder of Z if I tried! I promise there will be pictures at some point. Since my camera refused to work.....I left it up to the professionals and so soon I should have pictures in hand!
Today I leave you with a beautiful song of faith. It is one of my favorites and pretty fitting for this blog I think.Hope you have an awesome Thursday! Here is..... Here I am Lord!
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