Hey Fadda, how's the Pasta?

Ah, Spaghetti Dinner at Queen of Apostles Church. I was too young to remember, but I always envision my father asking the question that titles this post. He pronounced "pasta" the way one might pronounce the word "mast", except with a "P" in the front, and an "A" on the end. Which is exactly how he would have pronounced the word "pastor" - one would not be able to discern any difference. Its one of those quaint New England oddities - you kinda have to know the context to understand which "pasta" is being discussed. Which makes dual-context situations like the one above so amusing. (hey, the winters there are loooong - you entertain yourself as best you can)

I'm in a mood to reflect on spirituality today, because a good friend who has an AWESOME blog, turned me onto another AWESOME blog. For one like myself who grew up Catholic and miserable, this guy gives me hope that its not all bad, bad, bad. I mean anyone who quotes the movie "The Big Lebowski" in the context of religious discussion is alright with me.

Anyway, later this month there is a big shindig at our church, St. Mark's in Highland. Its called the Boar's Head Dinner, and its a great opportunity to mingle and embrace the fellowship that comes with shared faith. I've thought about going, but probably will not. I suppose its not the noblest of motivations that draws me to the event. See, I'd simply like to approach the Rector, Rick Laribee, and ask him "Hey Recta, how's the pasta?"

I've posted about this before, but lemme just say that Rick is the cure for what ails me, spiritually. You know what I've observed about 99.9% of the people who choose religion as a profession? Their perspectives are whacked - they're totally in it for themselves. Most of them are there just to hear themselves speak. And We (the congregation) are merely props each Sunday to support them (the chosen ones) in their calling. We are there to help them in their quest to get closer to God. And we should always admire them and defer to them, since they are so much closer to God than us. And that, if you'll pardon me, is an ostensorium full of crap. And its a large part of what turns me off of religion.

One of the reasons I think this is such a whacked perspective is that us lay-folk are just a little busy most of the time. What with our careers and all. Not to mention kids, homes, marriages, etc. etc. Once a week, we go to church to put everything out of our minds and try to connect with our spirituality. So anytime I meet one of those 99-percentiles, I want to say "HEY! You live and work here! You get to do this all the time! On this one day, how about helping ME get closer to God?"

Rick does just that. After the 9:00 am service, all the kids go off to Sunday School, while the adults can choose to go back into the church and hear Rick's sermon. Sit in a clean, quiet place with other adults and NO kids? Sign me up for that. He doesn't give his sermon from the pulpit. He stands among us, looks us in the eye, and speaks directly to US. And what he says is nothing short of inspirational. He lives and breathes this stuff - LOVES IT as he likes to say - and derives a sincere joy in sharing it with you in a way that helps you to really, really understand, connect, and get your God on.

Still, if I'm being honest with myself, its the Headmistress that gets me into the pew each week. Why? 'Cuz I hasta.

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The Saint Louis Catholic church is located near us, in Clarksville, Md. It has been under construction for as long as I've been here, which is a little more than a year now. There are construction trailers, construction trucks, and construction crews there 'round the clock. Yet, nothing ever seems to change.

Whiting-Turner is the engineering/construction firm doing the renovations. Partly because I have so little real work to do, and partly just because I was curious, I Google'd Whiting-Turner to find out the name of their CEO, Willard Hackerman. I then Google'd his name and "Catholic Church", and came up with an interesting connection with Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore. Seems that the two are close friends. In fact, when Cardinal Keeler received Pope John Paul II on his visit to the States in 1995, he invited Hackerman, a practicing Jew, to bless the Pope in Hebrew. And Hackerman sits on the Executive Committee of the Catholic Charities of America's Capital Campaign, which Keeler chairs.

Its all very interesting, in a "don't have much else to do" kind of way. I had a funny thought that if one were to subscribe to this ridiculous "Christian" notion of a War on Christmas, I suppose one might think of the Whiting-Turner Construction Company as its "Haliburton". And Cardinal Keeler as its Dick Cheney.