A personal vent about today's Mass.

Everything went fairly okay until the beginning of the Reception of Communion. This is where the priest genuflects, then holds the Host elevated over the paten saying: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His supper."

Needless to say, up to the point the priest speaks it's so quiet in the church you can hear a pin drop.

THAT was when my two youngest children (6 yrs. and autistic, along with his four year old sibling who seems to be just a general hellraiser) decided to act up. The wife motioned for me to take them out and thus began a four-star, scream-at-the-top-of-our-lungs meltdown. We sit in the front so our kids can actually see whats going on and learn about their Faith, thus it was a long walk, dragging and prodding both of them to the doors. Yep, a very long walk.

This isn't the norm but by the same token we've had other memorable moments similar to this. Such as the time the wife and our oldest boy (8 yrs. old and autistic) were at Mass and the light of my life proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "Momma, I can't stop putting my hands in my pants cause my weiner itches!"

That was right before the Passing of the Peace, where everyone shakes hands with their neighbors in the pews. For some reason nobody would shake our boy's hand.

Ya know there have been times I've been introduced to church members whom I swore were complete strangers yet they'll say, "Yeah, I recognize you."

I'm starting to wonder if incidents like these play a part in that recognition.

(Sigh) I knew there would be days like this when I became a parent at the age of 51. Nobody warned me how much "fun" they would be.