What I Will and Will Not Miss About Sunday Mornings

Sundays are supposed to be for worship and rest... however, when you work for the Church, that doesn't always seem to be the case. Think about it, Sundays are probably the busiest days for priests and pastors and those who work for God. Sunday mornings are also usually very busy and often times stressful for me.


Take today for example. On Sunday mornings I have Religious Ed (CCD) for our K-5th graders, but today I also had to be at 11am Mass for the 2nd Rite of RCIA (the process adults go through to be baptized and become Catholic). So after losing an hour of sleep due to daylight savings, I'm rushing between the church and the parish center to get both events ready. Only, in the parish center there is a bird flying around! And then I also find out that one of my catechists is sick and won't be able to make it- but I can't take their class because I'll be at Mass! And then when I'm at the church, because everybody knows that I'm an employee, people are coming up to me and asking me questions that I just didn't have time to deal with. Stressful.


I will not miss the Sunday morning stress. And I won't miss having to work on Sundays. I look forward to getting to choose whatever Mass time I would like to attend and to taking the rest of the day to relax, spend time with family, nap and pray.


Yet, God is good and it all worked out. I eventually got the bird shooed out the door, a parent volunteered to watch a Veggietales video with the catechist-less class, and I kindly either had to help the parishioners or set my boundaries and let them know I didn't have time at the moment to answer their questions.


I will miss RE/CCD classes, I will miss all the kids, and I will miss the wonderful families and catechists. 


Even with all the stress though, I still had a good Sunday morning. I got to receive Christ in the Eucharist and I got to celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion with all the WONDERFUL people in RCIA. I love RCIA and all the people who go through it. Their faith always evangelizes me and inspires me to go deeper. It's amazing to get to be with them as they receive the Sacraments for the first time.


With all the different aspects I do as a parish catechist, I may miss RCIA most of all.