Oh no. This isn't happening. There are over 300 people here and no one is stepping up to the plate? Really? Oh no. What is that? Is that my arm raising itself up to volunteer? No, stop it. Stop!
"Oh thank you so much, please come to the back."
Damn-it. What the hell did I just do?
Let me explain. I am not a very religious person. I was raised very strict Catholic but pretty much don't believe in most Catholic beliefs to this day. I am however very spiritual. I am a strong believer in energy, good people, right and wrong, laughter, good deeds, and morality. But Jesus? An infallible bible? Yeah, not so much. But when I was in highschool my Mom pretty much dragged me to Church to become a Eucharistic Minister. (A Eucharistic Minister is the person who gives out the "body and blood" of Christ, aka: bread and wine.) Why did my Mom make me do this? Here's the best part. It was my punishment for breaking into their liquor cabinet and getting wasted off of 20 year old Gin. (I still to this day can't drink Gin. It was bad. Really bad. And it involved a lot of baking, but I'll save that story for another day.)
So here I was at Christmas Mass (which my family always goes to on Christmas Eve) volunteering to give out the body and blood of a Christ I don't even necessarily believe in because I got wasted long ago in highschool. Why? Two words. Catholic Guilt. After I went into the back and got my assigned spot, I started sweating cold bullets. I, of all people should not be giving out Christ's supposed blood. I, Miss Sinner of New York City wearing my hippie Williamsburg Christmas dress with green socks and brown boots was probably the least qualified out of anyone. But no one else was volunteering to do it, so it didn't leave me much choice.
And you know what? I'm glad that I did. It was at the very least a social experiment, and at the most a good deed. Every person who came up to get the wine I was giving out (of course they would stick me with the wine) had this look in their eyes. This expression that I haven't seen in a long time. It took awhile for me to pinpoint what it was. Finally it hit me. The look was one of repentance and hope. Hope for a better world. Hope for forgiveness of sins. Hope that there is something bigger out there and Love for whatever that thing may be.
So, who am I to poo poo on someone else's beliefs? I'm not. Everyone has something they believe in. Whether it be an infallible god, energy of others, or even friends, exercise, work, or hobbies, everyone needs something. And if I got to be a part of bringing that hope into others lives for just a few minutes? Well, that just warms the deepest cockles of my heart.
Afterwards, we went back to the tabernacle where we had to dispose of the rest of the wine. After asking what we were supposed to do with the leftovers in the glass, someone responded:
"Well, it's been blessed so we can't throw it away. You have to drink the rest of it."
Cheers baby Jesus. Cheers.
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