Growing Up Catholic in a Small Texas Town: Just Listen

Four Things I Learned by Listening

For years, I used to tune out in church when the priest began his homely. I’d enter my daydream world. I got some excellent writing done that way. But since the goal in a Catholic’s life is to become a better person, and since I write murder mysteries, which seem sacrilegious to ponder during Mass, I’ve recently decided to try and focus on the sermons. Not only is it good for my soul, but wrangling in my brain is a great mental exercise. Here are a few things I’ve learned lately by listening.

1. There really are exorcists. I didn’t know that priests had to go to the Vatican to train to become exorcists. I also thought that much of what happened in The Movie was bogus — not so! Levitation, yep. Head turning 360 degree — yep. Our priest didn’t go into detail but mentioned one exorcist, Father Carlos Martin. I came home and Googled him. This guy is hugely popular, as you can probably guess. I watched a few of his YouTube videos and interviews. This one gave me nightmares, and I made sure my Holy Water supply hadn’t dried up, and then I rushed to confession.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMCx80fW2LE

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

2. I gotta get myself to the Holy Land. On another Sunday, our priest gave a sales pitch. Our Catholic Church sponsors a trip…