{"id":1552,"date":"2009-12-29T08:24:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-29T08:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2009\/12\/because-being-a-catholic-is-full-time-work\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:14:16","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:14:16","slug":"because-being-a-catholic-is-full-time-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2009\/12\/because-being-a-catholic-is-full-time-work.html","title":{"rendered":"Because Being a Catholic is Full-Time Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Posted by Webster <\/i>
The Octave of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Lord over eight days, not just one, reminds me of another reason why I am Catholic: It\u2019s not a part-time job. I thought of this coming into Mass this morning and seeing altar decorations still honoring the birth of the Baby Jesus. <\/p>\n

<\/a>As a teenager, I left my Episcopal church on Sundays thinking I was all set for the week. Most days now, it\u2019s a different story. Every hour of the day\u2014from the Liturgy of the Hours<\/a> to daily Mass<\/a> to Eucharistic Adoration<\/a> to various forms of service<\/a>\u2014Catholics are invited to worship and work in the service of God and man. <\/p>\n

Take one crazy example. There I was at 4:30 this morning, singing \u201cWhat Child Is This?\u201d in full voice to kick off the Office of Readings for the fifth day in the Octave. It wasn\u2019t quite William Carlos Williams\u2019s \u201cDanse Russe\u201d<\/a> (I was fully clothed), but fortunately my home office is in the basement and my Kathleen (Katie) was asleep on the second floor, so my singing didn\u2019t wake her.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s 7:50 and I am just back from Mass. I arrived at Mass early and said the Rosary before the beautiful Nativity set up in the right transept (photo below). Then I had the honor of serving at the altar<\/a>. (If it\u2019s Tuesday, it must be Webster.) <\/p>\n

I will interrupt my work this office morning with more psalms and prayers from the Breviary. Midafternoon will find me in the Adoration chapel, and then I\u2019ll stop in to see my dear friend and one-time RCIA sponsor Joan of Beverly<\/a> for an hour of Catholic talk\u2014as per usual late Tuesday afternoons.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

If I don\u2019t get lazy (as I do more often than not), I\u2019ll say Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours when I get home about 5:30. A quiet dinner with Katie and Marian (home on Christmas break), and then I\u2019ll spend a couple of hours reading Catholic stuff like Michael O\u2019Brien\u2019s Father Elijah <\/i>and probably blogging too (my one really<\/i> bad habit). Then, like Simeon in today\u2019s Gospel, I will end the day with the words:<\/p>\n

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people\u2014a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.<\/i><\/p>\n

In his memoir, my devout Protestant father wrote, \u201cI\u2019ve always had the impression that Catholics are in general more serious about their religion than Protestants.\u201d That may not be true of all <\/i>Catholics, but the Catholic Church does offer us the opportunity, every day, to make<\/i> it true.<\/p>\n

Another \u201cfather\u201d of my acquaintance once wrote, \u201cIf you\u2019re going to go on a spree, go the whole hog, including the postage.\u201d Which inspires me to say, \u201cOink, oink.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted by Webster The Octave of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Lord over eight days, not just one, reminds me of another reason why I am Catholic: It\u2019s not a part-time job. I thought of this coming into Mass this morning and seeing altar decorations still honoring the birth of the Baby Jesus. 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