That's quite possibly because of the fear associated with it. We attended mass regularly as a part of our schooling, and I was NEVER prepared. Bring a chapel veil? Yeah. Never remembered that one, so scrambled for a kleenex and prayed it would stay on my head. Supposed to bring a rosary? Yeah. Forgot that too. I just kept my hands at my waist and hoped no one noticed. Right. My teacher, Sister whoever she was, let me know in no uncertain terms I was a HUGE disappointment to her and I would be losing my sticker for that week. How brutal. I don't remember how old I was for the "final blow" of the lost sticker, but the rebuke was accompanied by that smell. Maybe that's why it makes me feel a little ill. Or maybe I just don't like the smell. That's probably it. I'm not very deep.
I was able to say the entire mass in Latin by the time I was 7. That's not to say that I actually understood the Latin words until much later, but my diction and inflection was pretty spot on. "E-coom spee ree tutu ooooooooooooo, please pass the biscuits." I still remember a lot of it. And I had
the choreography of the mass down pat. Stand up, sit down, kneel down, repeat after me...... I was on it. At one time, I was pretty sure I was going to be a nun. I'd actually practice what that would be like by draping a pink and white plaid baby blanket over my head and kneeling down. I'm not sure what I thought I was accomplishing when I "practiced" but in my child like mind, I was gonna be good!
Probably the most fascinating part of the mass, though, were the baskets on the poles. There were men in the church that served as ushers, and they really 'ushered.' No way were you going to get away with sitting on the end of the pew. They'd keep bringing people to be seated in that pew until you were actually pushed out the other end. I think they might have taken "packing them in" seminars in order to get their ushering license.
The ushers used the baskets on a pole to take up the collections. These things would reach clear to the middle of the pew. A basket was attached to one end of the pole so that you could put your offering in it without ever having to touch the basket. And there was a bicycle handle on the other end of the pole with finger groves and everything. The ushers kept those things moving. You had to time your drop just right, or you missed the zone and your offering ended up in your lap or on the floor. The usher would back the basket up to retrieve your contribution, but it always included a little attitude at having harshed his groove.
There was a little sleeve of fabric that encircled the pole so that when you held the pole with your hand on the sleeve, it just slid out and back really easily. Along with thinking I wanted to be a nun, I also harbored a secret desire to be an usher so that I could zip around with that nifty basket on a pole. They used to stand in the corner of the church, and I actually touched one once. I guess I'm delusional AND easy to amuse.
But you shall seek the Lord at the place
which the Lord your God will choose
from all your tribes,
to establish His name there for His dwelling,
and there you shall come.
There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices,
your tithes, the contribution of your hand,
your votive offerings, your freewill offerings,
and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.
There also you and your households
shall eat before the Lord your God,
and rejoice in all your undertakings
in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
Deut 12:5-7
7 years old. Before braces and after the "bad bang" experience.
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