Today is December 8th; in the Catholic Church this means it is The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Which is an awesome trivia question that people get wrong all the time. It means that Catholics believe that MARY was concieved by her mother (St. Anne) without Original Sin on her soul. How this factoid came about is beyond me...all I know is that when I was a kid, in private Catholic school, we got the day off for it! So needless to say, I was all in favor of it!

As I sat at Mass today, I got a bit nostalgic in that since we always had this day off, it was traditionally the day my mom would take us to Center City Philadelphia to see the Wanamaker Light Show and then go to lunch at the Crystal Room.

Even though Wanmakers has gone through many incarnations to its current state as Macy's, the light show still carries on, along with the massive Wanamaker Organ that other bloggers have mentioned elsewhere...

There was talk that the narration track for the light show was to be re-done, replacing the voice of the late, great Philly broadcaster, John Facenda. This stirred much controversy in my hometown but my sister attended one of the shows to discover that Facenda was replaced by...none other than Mary Poppins/Sister Maria/Victor-Victoria herself, Julie Andrews! Actually I think it was a great choice.

Anyway, back at Mass I reminisced in my head for awhile as I listened to the readings. And then Father Steve began his homily...

Don't get me wrong - his homilies are GREAT. This guy must have studied speechwriting and public speaking/theatre extensively because his stuff is the shizzle...thoughtful, engaging, intelligent and yet accessible and unpretentious. A difficult mix to achieve, in my book. I keep thinking he could make a fortune on the talk show/lecture circuit. But anyway...

He was discussing today's first reading from Genesis - about Adam & Eve getting totally busted by God and fruitlessly trying to fake their way out of it. Then he looks directly at me (the Church was pretty empty) and says, "Now, all of us have embarassing things from our past, we can't hide them from God." and then something to the effect of "we should confess them to free ourselves from that shame and embarrassment."

WTF?!?!?

Immediately I recalled yesterday's blog entry and thought,"Is that dude lurking on my friggin BLOG?!?"

So, Steve - if you are out there, leave a note here and free yourself from the embarrassment of getting busted by ME!

post script -I'm realizing now that this "free yourself" talk was really strange as the few times I have gone to confession w. Fr. Steve, he's so laid back and says, "Ah,. that isn't a sin I wouldn't worry about it." Plus the penances he gives are pretty boring and mild ("say a prayer about it.")You certainly won't get a clerical spanking from him when you spill your guts.  Maybe he's bored and is looking for some new lurid confessional tales to spice things up. Gee, wouldn't THAT be a kickass idea for a "reality show" - put a hidden camera & mic in a confessional?!?!? Of course completely unethical/illegal - but we ARE talking about American television.  In the meantime, if you are seeking all things lurid and/or horrific to stir up your emotional melting pot, then I highly recommend the bizarre memoir, Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.