Church Politics

I watched the Pope's funeral from 3pm to 7pm. Yup! That's the entire time it was LIVE on TV. I was even challenging myself with a game "name-the-world-leader-who-enters-the-basilica". Of course, I couldn't name them all...I am not familiar with the leaders from Eastern Europe.

The responsorial psalm was Psalm 23. It was sung, and it reminded me of an experience during the Holy Week. I sang the psalms for the Holy Thursday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday masses but the story behind it is something else. I'll probably tell you the story some other time. The story is quite long, but I'll give you a background. I am a lector in church and there is a rule that if you are a lector and the psalm will be sung, the lector is allowed to do so. If you are a choir-member but not a lector, you are not allowed to sing the psalm at the lectern. The thing is, our choir practiced some psalms (they're not supposed to do that because they are aware of the rule I just mentioned) and they got mad at me when they found out that I had already prepared the psalms I was assigned to sing. Prepared here means I already had a tune for all the psalms I had to sing. I received a tongue-lashing for doing what I was supposed to do; I was treated with such rudeness and disrespect that I could only mumble "po" and "opo".

I like politics and I enjoy UP politics no matter how painful it can be at times. What I do not like is church politics! No, I am not talking about how they elect a new Pope. I am talking about the people who try to suck up to our parish priest. Really pathetic, if you ask me. I view going to church as a form of relaxation. But now, I dread it. I sometimes dread going to church especially if I know that I'll see the rude guy. I have been told that I should not mind this church issue of mine when I serve. I try not to, but then, they are the ones bringing it back. Can you believe that I got accosted by one of the people mad at me right before the start of a mass? It was very distracting! It made me feel like going home right then and there, but of course I did not do that because that would have been abandonment of duty.