Saturday, November 19, 2005

Bishop BASIL's Last Message to St. John Parish

1. Live simply.
2. Pray often.
3. Don't hold grudges. Be nice to each other. (This point was rather comical when he said, "Husbands and wives how hard can this be? But it is hard. We get so nit-picky with each other. Remeber husbands, you asked her to marry you. [Everyone laughed] And wives, you said yes. [More laughter] Or vice versa... whatever the case may be." [Stunned silence with smirks and small giggles hidden in pockets.]
4. Confess often.
5. Commune often.
6. LIVE SIMPLY.

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I went up and spoke to Fr. John and said, "Hmmm... that message sounds familiar." (It's the same message he gives us repeatedly.) He smiled and hugged me and squeezed my hand.

It's a peaceful sight to see the beauty our beloved Bishop reflected in our priest.

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On a side note: Have you ever heard Southerners sing in Arabic? The Arabs at St. John have to listen closely to recognize it -- it has a drawl to it. Thankfully we don't sing in Arabic often. It's kind of cool when we do, though, because all the Arabs start singing very loudly and robustly. Makes me smile.

Victoria -- for some reason this reminds me of you teasing me for the official "y'all" I promised. My priest says that in Mississippi the Liturgy lasts an extra 20 minutes just to compensate for the Southern accent.

4 comments:

thomasw said...

whoa, thank christ i don't attend that liturgy in mississippi! err...i mean it must be grand for y'all, but my preference is for a shorter, more terse liturgy. st.james' liturgy delivers the goods for me. also, it is the most ancient afaik.

Matthew Francis said...

I love Southern accents. This may sounds weird, but if ever I have to be told that the world is going to end in, say, a half an hour, I'd want to be told by a Southerner. I suspect it might have the word "fixin," in it too. As in, "We're fixin for the world to end in about thirty minutes, y'all." Perfect... I just think it would be sweet and consoling.

Kassianni said...

I would love to hear a liturgy with a southern accent.
I wonder where y'all could be inserted:)
speaking of which, did you realize there actually is an ebonics bible out there? I'd love to read it.

we were at an antiochian church in Couer D'laine, Idaho a few years back, Fr.Gregory's church, and when they came to the Lord's prayer, they did it in quite a few differently languages, just to honour and respect the different ethnicities represented.
I thought it was a nice gesture.
and it sounded really cool.
especially the Spanish version.
I'm a big fan of the latin languages.

Stacy said...

Victoria,

Hmmm... an ebonics Bible? Well, that just about takes the cake, doesn't it!

*****

Matthew,

I'm glad that would console you. The Southern charm must have lost its edge with me because I'm afraid it might take a little more than that for me.

*****

Thomas,

I like short, too, especially when I've stupidly decided that heels won't be so bad to wear.