Tuesday, July 05, 2005
About being Old
Although I'm not now a religious person, I did at one time attend church regularly. Now and then a hymn comes to my mind and I imagine humming or singing it. I also recall that at one time I was an active and enthusiastic "anglo-catholic," or "high-church" Episcopalian. I was in my 20's. World War the Second was on. I was an acolyte in a church in Washington, DC. One of my duties was to train other boys to be acolytes. I was in charge of a group of them, all about eight to ten years younger than I.
On one occasion, one of my "pupils" was performing the acolyte's duties during a spoken rite of holy communion. He was supposed to move the missal or priest's prayer book from one side of the alter to the other. During the transfer he was to bow in the direction of the altar.
Well, he didn't do very well. I was kneeling at a corner near the altar and I motioned to him to do this and that. I was impatient. Later a member of the congregation spoke to me about my behavior. My motioning and impatient gesturing were worse and more distracting than the altar boy's mistakes. I felt chastened.
Soon after that I left Washington to continue with my life after the war. I attended graduate school, received my degree, married, had children, etc. Now, many years after the event, I think about how impatient I was then. It was the boy's first attempt at carrying out an acolyte's duties. It was an early service, and not many people were present. If at that time I'd had the patience, tolerance, and wisdom that comes with age, I would have remained quiet and later praised the boy. After that, I might have given him a few tips on how he could make his performance even better.
Two of the blessings of old age are the wisdom and patience that come with it.
On one occasion, one of my "pupils" was performing the acolyte's duties during a spoken rite of holy communion. He was supposed to move the missal or priest's prayer book from one side of the alter to the other. During the transfer he was to bow in the direction of the altar.
Well, he didn't do very well. I was kneeling at a corner near the altar and I motioned to him to do this and that. I was impatient. Later a member of the congregation spoke to me about my behavior. My motioning and impatient gesturing were worse and more distracting than the altar boy's mistakes. I felt chastened.
Soon after that I left Washington to continue with my life after the war. I attended graduate school, received my degree, married, had children, etc. Now, many years after the event, I think about how impatient I was then. It was the boy's first attempt at carrying out an acolyte's duties. It was an early service, and not many people were present. If at that time I'd had the patience, tolerance, and wisdom that comes with age, I would have remained quiet and later praised the boy. After that, I might have given him a few tips on how he could make his performance even better.
Two of the blessings of old age are the wisdom and patience that come with it.
