First Communion Season

Spring time is First Communion time for us. With such a gigantic family there is usually one or two kids making their first communion sometime near May. This year The Chone is making her first communion and she has chosen my sister Elaine as her god-mother. This past weekend she did her first confession. We were all so proud of her and it made me think about the few confessions that I have had to go through. I think technically you are suppose to go to confession weekly. But it is such a strange and embarrassing situation and when given the choice I always choose not to go to confession. I have not been in probably over 10 years, maybe even 15, but I can still vividly remember the confession that I had to do for my confirmation at age 15. To have to really look at yourself and your life and list everything you can think of that you have done wrong is a humbling experience, but then to walk into a tiny box, a list your sins to a man who will judge you and then determine your punishment, i mean penance, is humiliating. I never liked the idea of humiliation so I avoid it at all costs. PR Dad and I are not very religious. We had The Phi baptized because we wanted her to have god-parents to help guide her through life. People she can turn to and somewhere to go when she runs away from home because she can't stand her parents. From the moment I knew that I was pregnant with The Phi I had no doubt that I wanted Patty and JZ to be her god-parents. I knew that they would be good for her and I knew that she would be good for them. I have thought about starting to teach The Phi her prayers and I will most likely enroll her is catechism classes so that when she is in second grade she was make her first communion too, even though we don't go to church these days. Religion is no doubt a complex thing, but I feel that by giving The Phi a foundation in one religion will give her the something to compare other religions to. And when she is 20 and decided to go all Kabbahla on us we know that we helped shape her religious identity.