Confessions

Be warned - long post.



Did a little shopping yesterday evening which I believed I should stop myself very soon. The amount of shopping I'm doing this Christmas is horrifying me, yes I'm becoming a victim of commodity fetishism [See my previous post].

Just as a summary I recollect what items I have bought so far:
1. A pair of red Addidas track pants [newest arrival]
2. An Addidas white T-shirt [Yes I'm an Addidas fan]
3. A black sleeveless T-shirt with orange stripes at the side.
4. A new pair of vintage Addidas canvas shoes [metal superstar model]
5. A long sleeve round-neck Addias T-shirt with a hood
6. A Navy Blue Addidas Sweat Shirt [See what I mean about me being a fan?]
7. A new bag which I have no idea what brand it's called.
8. A new pair of jazz sneakers.
9. A new solid dark-grey working class shirt.
10. A new pair of beach slippers [veryyy comfortable]
11. A 2nd hand slim Creative MP3 Player
12. A new set of retractable headphones to go along with the MP3 Player.
13. A new T-shirt [red with white sleeves.. kinda National Day style]
14. A box of Christmas Cards [18 cards]

I shall not delve into detail what I plan to give to my family, I shall however think carefully about the purpose of the gift I'm giving to them, which in this case leaves me with only effectively 2 days to think and shop. Not a very comfortable timing I have given myself.

Last night after I did my final shopping for myself [I hope], I accompanied my parents to church for Penetential Services. During the church service the priest was reading the story of the prodigal son. Basically this wealthy businessman had 2 sons, the elder was hardworking and never asked the father for any reward. The younger son however was restless and wanted to see the world.

So he went to his father and took half the property. However, he fell to temptations and squandered it recklessly until he was forced to live with the pigs and share their feed. He was remorseful and went home to seek the father's forgiveness.

When he reached home, the father came out to welcome him. Not a single word of reproach but donned the finest robe on his shoulders; sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger. Even killed the prized calf to throw a feast.

The elder son, upon knowing about the festivity was so angry he stood outside the house and refused to be part of it. When the father came out to ask why he replied,"Father, all these years I have worked hard and never complained nor asked for anything. Yet you have never even gave me a goat for me to celebrate with my friends. This spendthrift squandered half your property away and now you killed his the prized calf to celebrate his homecoming?"

To this the father replied,"He was dead and now is alive, he was lost and now is found. Your brother has come home."

The priest explained that sandals on the feet symbolised a free because slaves usually walked around bare-footed. The ring on the finger symbolised the status of an upper-class family and the robes around the shoulders symbolised the love and tender care that the father is bestowing on the son.



When it came to my turn for confession I simply told the priest," I am the prodigal son." Not surprisingly, the priest went silent for a while. Guess he was not expecting this answer.

He asked me,"Do you know what your obligations as a Catholic?"

I replied I didn't know. I told him that I pray alone, I do not like mass congregations praying together. He became even more baffled. At this point he seemed to become impatient and simply gave me some advice to find out about the obligations of a Catholic and blessed me.

I guessed even priests have schedules to meet. No matter, didn't make much difference anyway whether I really attended the services or not.


Which led me to a suddent interest - What was religion like before Christ? Sacrificial rites or just simple prayer rituals? Were there certain taboos observed? What was the hiearchy like?

Something new to discover, I should really study the Da Vinci Code in depth. It's time to put my faith to the test.