Is It A Full Moon?

I should have had the foresight to ask for the Sunday of a long weekend off.

I did not.

Thus, I was subjected to what had to be one of the weirdest days in our parish's history. If it wasn't the weirdest, it was a close contender. It started early with one of our regular "customers" ranting over other parishioners using "his" public bathroom. That escalated into a tirade about Moses peppered with some racist and sexist comments during the Mass, followed by a similar though extended rant at the next Mass. At the later Mass, the presider had prepared himself and shut down the cursing with a few comments of his own once it was clear it wasn't going to stop. During the Mass after that, we had another incident with a "customer" in the office, peripherally related to the first episodes but in a much more tragic kind of way. I stayed close by to support the student working. Finally, during the last Mass we had an unknown individual decide to kick the hell out of the church doors closest to the altar, scaring everybody inside. Our head usher went out to investigate and when it happened a second time, the usher chased the culprit away. The usher speculated, "He must be a Protestant."

Finally, just when I thought I was making a clean escape, I got cornered by another very upset parishioner who was forewarning me about a complaint that I would be receiving from someone else in the week to come.

Mental note: Next time it's a long weekend four days before a full moon, take the Sunday off.