Wine

I feel like a jerk all the time, especially if the priest can see me, but I can’t help but fall asleep in church...X_x I dunno, it guess it’s not interactive enough for me, like lectures. There is singing, and I love singing a lot, but there isn’t enough of it. I remember someone telling me that singing was prayerx2 because it was so beautiful...so powerful. I love Christian music...the lyrics and voices the songs...so powerful. Air1 is my favorite station – you can check it out through iTunes radio, under religious, or stream from their website.

Anyway, I was hecka passing out at church, until the “Our Father” prayer and the part where you wish everyone peace. [note: I actually wrote this entry 2 weeks ago but never posted it. Mass today for Palm Sunday was cool in the fact that the gospel was the Passion of Jesus and read like a script, with everyone in the congregation reading the part here Jesus talks together…like all of us together was Jesus’ voice] This part always wakes me up as strangers clasp hands and familiar friends hug, wishing one another peace. Right afterwards is the part where people go up to receive the Eucharist – the bread and wine: the body and blood of Jesus. I signed up and trained to be a Eucharistic minister a long time ago, but never go to write about it. It’s such an amazing experience...the last words people say before receiving is “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the world and I shall be healed” I repeat those words to myself to many times, because it’s sooo true. I really don’t deserve to be up there, given all the shit that I do...but I’m being invited, we’re being invited up to the table...who are we to refuse? So I make my way to the altar, clean my hands with the “holy hand sanitizer (haha)” and face the congregation, singing Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world...grant us peace.

I serve the wine, raising the glass to the same eye level with the person about to receive...the red liquid swishing in the glass between the two of us as I say: “the blood of Christ”. The stranger says “Amen” takes a sip of the wine, and the next person comes up. There’s just something amazing about such a large group of strangers sharing the same cup, receiving the same blessings, singing the same songs, celebrating the same moment and the wonders of life…and being in Berkeley, there’s such a diverse group of people who attend mass together from all over the world…it’s sooo amazing.

Peace be with you. *hug*