Sunday, January 18, 2009

Acadian Books, Cajun Books there are so many out there, but once in a while you get one that really makes you want to read more. Today I opened one called Lost and Found in Acadie by Clive Doucet, I want to read it to you , well this part anyway. It is about when he was young and going to church on Sunday, I found it to be comical in this chapter. Here goes.
"I'm about 12 years old and I'm standing in front of the station of the cross in the old church at Grand Etang. The priest has given me 10 Hail Marys and two Our Fathers for my penance.( He repeats the Hail Mary) I am saying them as fast as I can, he continues which is very fast having invented a technique for speed reading. I start off with Hail Mary full of grace so that God can easily disern my good intentions before segueing at light speed to blessedisthefruitoftywomb,Jesus and then the rest. Cheating on my penance is a low thing to do but I want to go out and play. What were my sins? I can't remember.Old standbys like being disobedient to my parents weren't available,because my parents weren't there. Taking the Lords name in vain was handy for a good basic sin but outside of the school yard was not frequent. Had I wilfully entertained pure thoughts? was difficult for a backward 12 year old with only vague notions of what impure thoughts might be. Yet I must have had some sins because I was standing in front of Jesus carrying his cross. I wouldn't understand until later that I was in training for sins to come. Another part he is at the Mass , he writes" I was not distinguised by my piety but I knew the various stages of the mass so well that I could follow them in perfect harmony without ever paying the slightest attention. I mostly looked around as if at the theatre with the lights on checking to see who was there and what was going on. Gerard a Levis's sisters were awful pretty and I found it very easy to look at them over the top of my missal. And his story goes on. I have added this book in my Book Corner on my website www.acadian-roots.com . I would recommend it.
Did this bring back memories ? I remember going to church and we had to wear something on our head, if we did not have anything the nuns would make up put a kleenex or a hanky on our heads. I remember going to confession, it was a big thing to me. I remember I felt I really needed to confess , I was not very old at the time, so it was not time for the confessions, and we were told by the priest if we had done something bad, it was ok to go get him at the rectory. Well lo and behold , here I was at the rectory. "Knock ,Knock, " The priest answers the door, many of you may know him, "Father Pellerin". Yes? I need to go to confession I said. Ok he said let's go to the church. I confessed, and I think the sin was disobeying my mother. grin. So he had to leave the rectory ,go to the church to hear that. I did feel good after tho. grin.
Again, see how interesting that was? Wouldn't you like to pass some little stories like that for future generations? I remember how quiet it was in church, you could hear a pin drop, and someone would sneeze. Then everyone would burst out laughing. I am sure something similar must have happened to some of you.
Anyway I am glad I posted this today, because as I was typing I was laughing.
So again, thanks for the visit, do come again.
Have a great day.
Aline

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