After much discussion, we decided to get Bridget christened. It seemed like a given to both of us raised Irish Catholic. However, we are both disaffected followers given the sexual abuse scandal and lack of women and married men as priests is ridiculous... but to cover our bets we went ahead, after attending a meeting with a priest at the local church, which was mostly pro forma, the priest seemed a little odd, but who knew.... we had uncles bob and brian, kieran and cecilia as godparents, and grandma and grandpa in attendance. The preparation included a "class" in which a priest talked to us about the ceremony, its meaning and how much to contribute (and the finances of the church which was detailed enough to be inappropriate), followed by a cheesy DVD, that makes Hallmark Movies look Oscar worthy... the ceremony was not to be believed, the priest was so out there to be a caraicuture of a out-of-touch priest. His long-winded sermon included refences to active excorcisms stilled carried out, the Godfather, stereotypes of New York Italians, scolding of people not regularly attending church (great way to bring them back) and much more, much of it I have blocked out, all of it both odd and largely inappropriate to the occasion... I wish I had tape of it, the very reason so many people feel a disconnect with the Catholic Church and many (not all) of its priests... the highlight was lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in White Plains, where we had not previously gone... we were the only ones there for a late lunch, the company was great, the food terrific and Bridget loved the attention, she brough the house down eating corn on the cob we brought... knowing Bridget, I certainly don't believe in original sin, she is purely innocent, we should all be so good, God bless you Bridgie...
