I Am Not Hamlet

I attended mass/liturgy at an ethnic church yesterday-- St. Rafka --in the next town over from me. I had previously attended a Sunday evening liturgy with my family, but this time I was alone. The first time we went it was rather sparsely attended as their festival was occurring in the parking lot, so most parishioners were, I imagine, at the festival. Not to mention that Sunday evening services are only attended by those most serious about their faith. The liturgy was in English, though a few prayers were in Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic--the language Jesus spoke). Did I mention this was a Maronite-rite Catholic church? The Maronite rite is one of many in the Catholic church--known most famously for the Roman rite--that's what everyone thinks of when they hear or think of Catholic church. Anyway, this is a primarily Lebanese rite. Attendance yesterday was substantially more than the evening in August previously attended. And the prayers and songs! Many, many were in Arabic ...

Less than 24 hours remain in Advent 2014, and while the season hasn't been particularly hard, life itself has been.  Reflecting back, I think my life has been in a semi-tailspin since late January 2012, from which I've only partially recovered. Without revealing too much, I've been struggling to overcome a habitual sin that has plagued me for far too long; my economic contribution to my family has been negligible, and I've been ambivalent about joining the Roman rite of the Catholic Church since Spring 2012. What I (think) need is a priest who can find that balance in the confessional between saying, "Quit Fu@&ing around" and "Jesus loves you more than you can imagine, keep following Him, do not, under any circumstances, take your eyes from Him." Does anyone in SE Michigan know of such a priest? Here's hoping your Advent has been fruitful.