So usually I'm pretty good about not randomly laughing during hall masses. It doesn't actually happen that often, or really one purpose--but sometimes something sets me off. Two of the last four incidences I can think of have been fairly under-control...That is, I managed to get them under control fairly quickly. The other two weren't as much.
Earlier this year Peter did a reading which involved the phrase "gird your loins." Whatever you might say about my maturity, this did indeed set me off--to the point where I felt the need to leave the room for a second and recollect myself. Well, that phrase came up again this last week, in a Gospel reading this time. I managed to contain it as with the more minor incidents and, having survived "gird your loins" thought I might have a chance of making it through the whole mass.
Not so. You see, the presider for this mass was one Father Gordon. Father Gordon is actually one of my favorite presiders, even given that I've only had two masses with him. However something about his voice makes me laugh. And during one of the prayers, there was one word in which his timing was just a tad off from the timing of the congregation. For some reason this was just enough to get me going again. I actually did try to contain it. However my method for doing so was to press my face into my hands and then my face and hands into my lap. While one or two people knew that I was laughing, most of them, when they found out, said they'd had no idea. Reactions included phrases similar to the following:
"Oh, is that what that was?"
"It looked to me like you were having some sort of profound conversion experience."
"It looked like you were crying and I was wondering if you were okay."
(That third one was actually an explanation of why the person saying so had asked me earlier if I was indeed okay.)
So I found this to be quite a humorous event. I think the next time it gets to that point I'm going to step outside, though, as that's a tad easier. What I'm not understanding is why this never happens at the big Chapel of Christ the Teacher masses.
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3 comments:
i laughed after reading this... because the mental picture of you laughing was just so clear...
I'm glad you're learning techniques to deal with these situations. As to why this never happens in Christ The Teacher, who knows? Maybe it's because it's more of a mix of people (ages, genders, professions, etc.)?
Because it's CHRIST? i have to admit, i'm with Joel. I laughed to, because I could just see you in my mind. I think it's great that people thought you were having a conversion experience...and you might have been, if you hadn't already. Os and Gs to you.
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