Jesus Loves Football Too

Sunday was the Super Bowl. Sunday is also the sabbath for us Christians. But apparently, these things were never meant to mix. Somewhere in the Catechism is reads "On the day of the Super Bowl, God cancelled all his plans."

I woke up late on Sunday, around eleven, and on my way to brunch decided to stop by the Campus Ministry office to make sure that mass was still at 7PM that night. Of course, I wasn't surprised to find that they had a sign up saying Mass was at 11am, the same 11am that it was currently fifteen after. The Mass schedule on campus is one of the most unpredictable coordinated events I've ever seen. It's so unpredictable that I won't even say it's a "schedule," because really it's sort of just something that happens whenever anyone feels like it. I've missed Mass on more than one occasion thanks to my school's inability to keep a regular time. They'll tell you it's weekly at 7pm, unless they find a reason to change that; sometimes they'll move it an hour, other times it's half a day earlier.

But luckily for God, I had a back up plan. The Cathedral in downtown Greensburg has a slightly more flexible Mass schedule, offering me upwards of four difference chances to attend church. And so Karissa and I decided that we will attend the 7:00PM service. I wasn't planning on watching the Super Bowl, seeing as how the only really great thing about it would be the commercials.

We got to the Cathedral at about five 'til and found ourselves a nice seat in the gigantic, and rather bland Cathedral. I will admit that the place was rather empty, maybe about twenty folks total. But still, there were people, and there were lights on and candles lit. It was eerily quiet however... there wasn't an organist playing away, there weren't any lectors to be seen. Something was awry. And then after a few minutes I saw some folks in the front row get up and leave. This is never a good sign.

About three minutes after that I hear someone whisper in the back of the church, "There's no mass tonight." Great. Just great. Karissa and I left the church around 7:15, both sort of let down about the lack of Mass (even though she's Lutheran).

Normally us Catholics get in big trouble when we miss Mass. After all, it's our responsibility to make it every week and my week certainly doesn't feel complete without it. But this time I got screwed over (and it isn't the first time.) So surely this will not be bad marks for me, because how often is the case that the parishioner shows up and the priest doesn't? So next time I find myself in the confessional booth, I'll say "Look, I missed mass, but it was definitely YOUR bad."

The whole idea really ticked me off. The fact that the Super Bowl means that much that churches, not just of the Catholic denomination, would totally throw their schedules to the wind so that everyone could sit at home and hope to see Paul McCartney's teet. I am a very punctual person, and I'm also one who likes to adhere to set schedules. I used to think Mother Church would also stick to those schedules that she touts so highly. If we are to be at Mass every week the same should go for you Father No-Show.

You're thinking "Well maybe they made an announcement the week before and I just didn't hear it since I normally go home for church." This is a possibility, and definitely an understandable one. But there are two problems with this: 1) there were no signs on the doors telling us so. 2) I CALLED the Rectory Sunday morning to make sure I got the times correct, and their answering machine said nothing of any schedule changes. That is THEIR bad. So how about I throw a little of that good ol' Catholic guilt their way and say "Not cool Cathedral in Greensburg, not cool."

But ya know, maybe next Sunday I'll teach them a lesson. I'll stay home from Church and watch Meet the Press. Yeah... that'll show em.