Church Events

Anytime I go to church, I either have a really great experience or a really funny experience or both. It is a good thing that I look at some of these things with a sense of humor because I would probably be very irritated. For instance, the published mass times are NEVER right. They just change them whenever they want. I am sure that there is some sort of system or announcement, but I have not figured it out yet so I spend a lot of time waiting for mass to start, which is okay with me because I look around the new church or pray. Never enough time for that right? The second week I was here, I went to the seminarian mass which was broad casted on the radio and so was being pushed back a half hour. The mass was cool because they had students in from Dublin and Galway to do the readings. The choir was in rare form also. It was made up of the seminarians (I think). Even having a choir is a rare thing. I love the seminarians! It is grand to see so many, which actually is not very many compared to the past, but so many young and old men dedicating their lives to God! After that mass, there was a coffee and doughnuts type thing which here is tea and pastries. An couple in their 60's sat with us and told us some great things to go see while we are here. We talked with them for close to an hour! The man is an important person on campus, raising money for the college and collecting art. He spent 6 years in Chicago and 1 in Boston working for the school. He also knows a biology professor very well and got very excited when he found out that I was a biology major doing work in wetlands (that is, after I explained to him what a wetland was. "Oh, you mean a bog!"). He told me all about his work shoveling bogs as a kid and his professor friend working on newts in bogs. What a great guy. Definitely had the gift of the gab!

The next week I went to Galway for mass and checked online for the mass time. I thought 10 but it was at 10:30. No problem there, the church was amazing! Also communion was the funniest thing here. The Eucharistic ministers were scattered throughout the church and people just mobbed them. There did not seem to be any sort of organization from what I could tell.

The Cork story is the funniest to me. I went to the church the day before to talk to someone to make sure that I had the time right. I had a paper that said 10:30 but my experience with mass times told me that I should double check. I explored the church and talked to what must have been the employed church helper-person, I do not know what they are called, who I should mention is about 80. He said that mass it is at half 10 (10:30). I was glad for the help. The next day I arrived at the church at about 9:55 and it was empty except for about 2 people. I saw the same man but I did not realize was the same until later. Here is our conversation:
Liz: What time is mass?
Man: 10
Liz: (looking around at the two people present at the time) Is it going to be an empty mass?
Man: No.
Liz: Where is everybody?
Man: (motioning to his ear and shaking his head) What?
Liz: Where is everybody? Doesn't mass start in 3 minutes?
Man: Oh, yes, yes they will be here.
Liz: And mass starts at 10?
Man: (squinting eyes) Pardon?
Liz: MASS STARTS AT 10?
Man: 10. 10? (looks at his watch and looks around) No. no. half 10.

Thanks buddy. Looks like I am early yet again for mass. But it was a funny encounter. Adam said later that the man seemed like he was purposely feigning deafness when he realized that he was wrong. Oh, old men. We wanted to catch a bus at 11:45 to Blarney so I asked an old lady if she knew of any other churches in the vicinity that had a mass at 10. She did not know and lead me to the sacristy where the old-helper-man was and an old priest and asked them. The priest got out a booklet of the Archdiocese of Cork to check and fumbled around with it for some time while the woman looked over his shoulder. After a couple of minutes she said "the list is in the back" and he shook his head and continued to look through it page by page. She smiled, shook her head, and winked at me. Later I found out that she was a sister that was guest speaking about her order and work in Africa. The dynamics of men and women are still very traditional here with women only going to work and having careers within the last 15-20 years. I was not surprised by either of their reactions.
Anyway, we fund out that it was most piratical for us to stay and they said that mass would not be one hour anyway and we would be able to catch our bus.


This week I walked all the way over to the seminarian mass, which really is not that far, but NO ONE was around at 9:15 in the morning so it seemed longer. Sadly, the mass was canceled because the seminarians are on retreat or something. I do not plan on going to the children's mass at the parish again. It was cute, but I think that something a little more age appropriate would be good for me. I don't have bully problems at school anymore.

Let's see what happens next week!