Coach. Duke. Captain. Doctor. King. Knight. Idealist. They're all fine titles, but to be honest, they don't do much for me. If all of those honorary distinctions of valour and wit were lined up on a chess board, they would all be afraid of getting whacked by the Godfather - the ultimate honor every man aspires to attain. As of this past Sunday, I'm proud to officially commence my pinky ring shopping. Two friends recently welcomed a little man into their life and I was asked to be the godfather. It was a proud moment.
However, I am concerned that I will not be deemed a good Catholic in the eyes of the church. Getting issued a sponsor certificate from the church could prove to be a difficult hurdle. There are few things more humiliating in life than getting the thin envelope from the Boston Archdiocese.
When the Catholic Church says godfathers should provide spiritual guidance, I don't think it means leave the gun, take the cannoli. Upon being granted the role of a lifetime, I did what any lapse Catholic would do to fully understand his commitment as a spiritual counselor, I googled it.
According to Father William Saunders of the University of Notre Dame, in order to be a sponsor, the person must be:
- baptized (check)
- completed 16th year (hey, I'm acing this test so far)
- Catholic who has received the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation, and leads a "life in harmony with the faith and role to be undertaken." (Well, I can answer "True" to the sacraments. If I'm allowed to answer the third part in essay form, I might be able to get partial credit.)
A sponsor shall be disqualified if:
- Antagonistic to the faith - has attitude "I am a Catholic, but..." (Damn. I've started almost every sentence that way in reference to the Church for the last 10 years.)
- the chosen does not practice the faith by regularly attending Mass (this test is taking a turn for the worse, kind of like when Corey Haim got the hydroplane question wrong on the Motor Vehicles exam in License to Drive.)
I need a plan. I may try to argue for a weighted average of "living in harmony with the faith" afterall, I went to Catholic school from elementary through college, and that's got to count for something.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment