It's tough to stay 'faithful' when you're on the road...

[RVThere]

Gotcha! NO, it's not a story about cheating on your spouse.

It's a story about the trials and tribulations of trying to find church and a reliable mass schedule while on vacation.

Growing up, my parents insisted that we never ˜took a vacation from God' and would go to church even while driving cross country in a Ford station wagon and a pop up camper. Back in those days, there were no GPS's and no internet. Often with dubious directions from the campground staff, who evidently went to a different church, we plied the back roads looking for a steeple and a Bingo sign. My Mom always said, ˜Find a Bingo sign and you'll find a Catholic church!'. We would often arrive at the church at least an hour too early and, because we had to fast before Communion, STARVING! There we would wait in the church parking lot, not able to run or play because we were in our Sunday best. A whiff of frying bacon would float our way to add to our misery... ˜Give it up for the souls in Purgatory.' Yeah, Ma, we heard that one before...

With my family, I carried on this tradition of faith. I leave NOTHING to chance so, before we left on vacation, I would plan out our stops so that we would be near a larger city on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I would dutifully check the internet sites that cater to the traveling faithful, like catholicweb.com. Click on a state, click on a city, and ˜BINGO' (pun intended), there was the list of Catholic churches.

We'll be in Campbellville, KY this weekend. Ah, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (how appropriate!) has 10 am mass. Check!

Following weekend Pocatello, ID. Wow, choice of THREE churches. Don't need Spanish mass at 12 noon and I want to be at Craters of the Moon before it gets too hot. Let's go with the 9:30am mass. Check!

The only problem is with THE PEOPLE who originally provide these mass times to the website. They aren't very conscientious in their duties. As mass times change, NO ONE bothers to alert my pillar of information, catholicweb.com. Parish secretaries take note, GET ON THE STICK when it comes to updating your mass times. ˜Inquiring minds' want to know...

So, like déjÃ* vu, there I am sitting in a church parking lot. Because of inaccurate mass times, we have arrived 30 minutes too early and have the place to ourselves. I can take up 10 parking spaces with my RV! I can position myself to pull out easily. Other than being lightheaded from lack of solid food, all is good.

OR we could arrive 30 minutes too late. Where do all these cars come from? How do they get away with making these streets so tight? Where the he--, OK heck, I'm at church, am I going to park this thing? Once situated in a spot four blocks away, we have a choice – slither into mass late and hope no one notices (ain't gonna happen with wife's clunking heals and three boys who don't know the meaning of QUIET) or wait for the next mass. Grrrrrrr, I'm not thinking holy thoughts! Shouldn't I be finding solace here?

You know, after driving cross country with yelling and screaming kids, I need MORE than church, I need CONFESSION!

[RVThere]

Gotcha! NO, it's not a story about cheating on your spouse.

It's a story about the trials and tribulations of trying to find church and a reliable mass schedule while on vacation.

Growing up, my parents insisted that we never ˜took a vacation from God' and would go to church even while driving cross country in a Ford station wagon and a pop up camper. Back in those days, there were no GPS's and no internet. Often with dubious directions from the campground staff, who evidently went to a different church, we plied the back roads looking for a steeple and a Bingo sign. My Mom always said, ˜Find a Bingo sign and you'll find a Catholic church!'. We would often arrive at the church at least an hour too early and, because we had to fast before Communion, STARVING! There we would wait in the church parking lot, not able to run or play because we were in our Sunday best. A whiff of frying bacon would float our way to add to our misery... ˜Give it up for the souls in Purgatory.' Yeah, Ma, we heard that one before...

With my family, I carried on this tradition of faith. I leave NOTHING to chance so, before we left on vacation, I would plan out our stops so that we would be near a larger city on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I would dutifully check the internet sites that cater to the traveling faithful, like catholicweb.com. Click on a state, click on a city, and ˜BINGO' (pun intended), there was the list of Catholic churches.

We'll be in Campbellville, KY this weekend. Ah, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (how appropriate!) has 10 am mass. Check!

Following weekend Pocatello, ID. Wow, choice of THREE churches. Don't need Spanish mass at 12 noon and I want to be at Craters of the Moon before it gets too hot. Let's go with the 9:30am mass. Check!

The only problem is with THE PEOPLE who originally provide these mass times to the website. They aren't very conscientious in their duties. As mass times change, NO ONE bothers to alert my pillar of information, catholicweb.com. Parish secretaries take note, GET ON THE STICK when it comes to updating your mass times. ˜Inquiring minds' want to know...

So, like déjÃ* vu, there I am sitting in a church parking lot. Because of inaccurate mass times, we have arrived 30 minutes too early and have the place to ourselves. I can take up 10 parking spaces with my RV! I can position myself to pull out easily. Other than being lightheaded from lack of solid food, all is good.

OR we could arrive 30 minutes too late. Where do all these cars come from? How do they get away with making these streets so tight? Where the he--, OK heck, I'm at church, am I going to park this thing? Once situated in a spot four blocks away, we have a choice – slither into mass late and hope no one notices (ain't gonna happen with wife's clunking heals and three boys who don't know the meaning of QUIET) or wait for the next mass. Grrrrrrr, I'm not thinking holy thoughts! Shouldn't I be finding solace here?

You know, after driving cross country with yelling and screaming kids, I need MORE than church, I need CONFESSION!