Morning Mass

Mr. Fixit and I start our Sunday mornings with Mass.  This Sunday morning turned out to be not the typical  Sunday morning routine.  First, Mr. Fixit did not go to Mass with me.  He is still feeling not quite like himself due to this respiratory stuff.  So, I attended Mass solo.

Today I was a volunteer helper, or minister, for Holy Communion.  I was in the sacristy, gathering the candle lighter, when the power shut off.  The entire church, well, suffice for the sunlight from the stained glass windows, was dark.  Oh, well, I thought I would light some candles anyway!  I lit all the altar candles, and took my place in the back vestibule to wait for Mass to begin.

Mass was pretty normal, at this point.  The electricity did come back on during the Our Father prayer -- along with the shrieking security alarm.  Not to worry though, this was just a brief amount of time during the prayer.

My co-minister and I headed to the altar to prep for Holy Communion distribution.  We distributed to all the parishioners, and then waited by the altar for Father to return after he finished distributing to his final parishioner.

It was at this point, that things became a bit unusual.  The last young gentleman, that Father distributed Holy Communion to, followed him onto the altar.  My co-minister and I exchanged puzzled glances, and Father was oblivious to the whole situation, as his back was to the young man.

Suddenly, the young man started taking his clothing off -- a coat, sweater and hat -- and was stuffing them into the Tabernacle!  It was at this point that I alerted Father to the situation, who promptly turned around to see what was occurring.  This was just as the young man was pulling his belt off and untucking his shirt, as if they were the next items to go!  All the while, the choir and congregation were still singing, and I did not quite know what to do.

Father talked to the young man, and as the song ended, another volunteer minister came forward to lead the confused man off the altar.  The young man was clearly not quite well, as he told everyone that he was Charles and worked for a local hotel, and that we all needed to repent.  Wow, what a way to share a message!

Needless to say, we finished Mass, prepared the church for the next Mass and processed through the situation.  Six police officers arrived, and I am certain, that the young man was taken into a medical facility for a mental health evaluation.

So that was the atypical Sunday morning Mass.  Let's hope that the rest of the week is not quite this eventful!