Serenity with a smile

Why do most, some people who go to church seem so sad or make long faces or seem disinterested? Why isn't the choir more lively? Why does the priest sound as if he's being forced to deliver the sermon?


Of course I am not implying that they seem disinterested in other walks of life, I would have no clue about that, just commenting on what I see and this is very specific to just two parishes I've noticed around here, I don't know if it is an Asian thing, not wanting to sound racist, I think it just might be. Of course, another line of thought would be to be grateful that there are other people who make the effort to come at all to share the fellowship. 

Why was the only person who seemed joyous at yesterday's saturday's service a boy who was slightly challenged and was being cajoled by his mom (or someone who seemed to be his mom) not to shriek and jump up and down every time the music started playing?

Where has joy disappeared to? I know I can't generalize, but this is the state of catholic masses here of course, there are some parishes in the surrounding areas which are more lively, which is why I keep going to different churches  whenever possible, my church-going habits notwithstanding. You may ask why do you want the service to be lively? While I enjoy the peace and serenity in the presence of the blessed sacrament or on certain sections of the mass, since the mass is a community offering, it would be nice to acknowledge the same. 


I have attended service at the non-denominational Lakewood church a few times and within seconds you'd know what drives the crowds. Serenity with a smile, is that a tall order? 


On a completely different note, was considering moving my blog to google+, I hope they come up with an integrated solution for this.

Pocketful of sunshine

Growing up, you must have had some kind of collection, maybe a collection of creepy crawlies or feathers or visiting cards, if nothing else you surely collected stamps? I started off early with the stamps, it was an inheritance of sorts from my Dad (or a forced inheritance if you ask my siblings!) and I do have it to this day. I don't think I indulged in feathers for more than a few days, but remember some girls in school who had an amazing collection, colorful bird feathers on different pages of a book.

Somewhere along the way I started collecting newspaper and magazine clippings on a myriad range of topics from lateral thinking puzzles to song lyrics to bridal gown cutouts to anything that could be used for the somedayinthefuture collage competition and to religious pictures for our catechism albums! Going snip snip on the 'Weekend' was common, whole sections of Richard Coram's page along with the pop quiz and everything else that caught my eye. I've got rid of most of them but there's a few birthday cards and scrap books and some other odd memorabilia that's stored away for that day in the future.

Today it's all bookmarked, favorited, starred, ever-noted, hearted, pinned on the web or stashed on some usb drive somewhere. It isn't the same, there is some peace in holding on, in possessing and more so in what's not tangible.