First, my apologies for leaving you for so long! It's been an interesting few weeks! If you remember, I went out of town for a weekend for a little R&R (good times). Then on the Friday after that weekend, my step-dad, Bob, had an aneurysm (not so good times) and that set me back another two weekends.
Yes, I did go to church on those two Sundays. I went to St. Bernard's in downtown Akron (awesome 8pm service) and then again on the next Sunday, with the full intention of reviewing it. Yeah, that didn't happen.
So here's your mini review of St. Bernard's (no no, not "ber-nard", it's pronounced "ber-nerd". No, I don't know why. Chalk it up in the same category as to why men have nipples).
I went on the weekend that I was out of town. We made it back in the afternoon and I really didn't want to skip church. I had known about St. Bernard's from my cousin (I had actually been there once before) and that they had a late service (8pm!). So I showered up and hit the late road.
I went there expecting to find my typical Catholic experience. Heavy on boring liturgy, light on engaging relativity. Boy was I wrong.
Yeah, it started out like normal. Sing a few outdated hymns, say the memorized sayings. . . blah blah blah. But when it came time for the priest to preach, something weird happened. He grabbed the mic and started walking down the center of the pews. He asked for a show of hands "Is anyone here a hypocrite?" Not too many hands went up. He started laughing.
He asked another question. "If you can't follow all of Christ's teachings, then why should you try?". . . he actually wanted someone to answer! This guy was awesome! He spoke well. Never read from any notes. He was engaging. Even challenging. I'm not sure where they got this guy, but the Pope needs to come up with a way to clone him and put him at every church in the country!
After his awesome message, we had communion. And instead of just going through the motions, he took the time to explain what we were doing and why. Man, this guy is good.
I left there feeling refreshed and rejuvinated. Not only did he preach a great message but he also gave me hope that the Catholic faith is not without hope. There are still some Catholics who want to preach to the lost and actually grab a few.
I went to another service of theirs in the morning last Sunday. It wasn't quite as good but it was still 10 times better than any other Catholic church out there.
If I could ask you all to keep Bob in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it. The doctor says he'll make a full recovery but it will just take time. And my Mom, too. Thanks.
Yours back in action,
Wandering Reverend
ps - would it be in bad taste to mention that there were lots of cute girls there? Yeah? It would? Okay, I won't mention it.
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