Being Catholic is a blessing and each person and experience I have come across has made me the person I am today. There are many things that could be relatable for a Catholic whether it be not eating meat on Fridays during Lent or the irritating sound of a phone ringing in church. These aren't the only things that have crossed my mind, here are a few more to add to the list.
1. Getting to church at LEAST an hour early on holy days because you need a good seat.
If your church has select seating you've been in this position before. We all know about the Creasters, (people who only attend church on Christmas and Easter, just in case you didn't) waiting to steal our seats like they own the place or something. Can ya help me out, God?
2. Ash Wednesday is no joke.
Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is almost like a competition, you always want the best ones but unless you get someone with small fingers your cross ends up looking like a large smudge on your head for the rest of the day.
3. Having people stare or glare at you when it is Ash Wednesday.
People commonly forget or do not know about ashes and when you see someone with a black mark on their head the first instinct is to stare. If I had a dollar for the amount of times I've been told, "There's something on your head" on Ash Wednesday, I could probably afford college on my own.
4. Weekend masses.
I have shed actual tears because I did not want to attend mass before. Awful I know, God, I'm sorry, just send me to Hell now. Sometimes you think that sleep is more coveted than a morning in mass but once you're up it's not so bad after all.
5. Catholic School.
Catholic school is not for the weak. You think growing up with the same 20 people (if that) is easy? Guess again. I wouldn't trade my catholic school days for anything because they brought me some of my best friends and memories, but sometimes I wonder what it may have been like if I had attended a bigger school.
6. Uniforms.
Uniforms of course come along with Catholic school. If you didn't wear one you may consider yourself lucky, but I think the opposite. Not having to pick out an outfit every morning? What a dream! Although now I struggle between choosing which pair of leggings look better.
7. You took part in a Christmas or Easter pageant at some point.
Whether you were Mary or an angel in the choir there was no choice when it came to being in the pageant, your parents would not have it any other way.
8. Giving things up for Lent is a big deal.
God gave up his only son for us so stop being stubborn and give up the ice cream already.
9. Knowing all the hymns at church by heart.
Who needs a missal when you've been practicing these songs for years! There's nothing like singing with a church full of people. This also goes for the prayers and responsorials.
10. Trying to remember how confession goes.
If you're like me confession only happens once every six months, maybe, so remembering the order things go and trying not to mess things up is hard especially if you're face to face instead of behind the screen.
