Older brothers in faith

As expected, a priest came to my house on December 13. Now, December 13 is the Polish martial law anniversary (1981). It was declared to squash Solidarity protests – the alternative was a full-fledged Russian ”friendly visit,” which would have ended in the extermination of millions. And no, that’s no hyperbole. Russians were ready to go all in and you know what happens when they go all in. So, the martial law was basically the lesser of two evils, or so it seemed, but the topic remains contentious to this day.

Anyway, the priest was a 60-year-old gentleman. I could tell he had gone through a lot in life. I could sense it. Higher-up in the hierarchy. We discussed death, and exorcisms – apparently, he had no idea there’s exorcism info hanging in display cabinets outside the Church. He said he was going to look into it. There was also a Jewish joke to illustrate a point (nothing had).

When I was a kid, I snatched the money off the tray during Mass rather than give them anything. Well, what did you expect? I see the tray with money, I take the money. I was also curious about a communion wafer, so I took it out of my mouth to see what the fuss was about. Not good. Not good at all. Maybe that’s why some priest told me during my confession (you know, the wooden confession booth) when I was about nine that I was going to hell. Yes, some Polish priests can be charming, you see, but it’s changing fast, and more and more priests are actually reasonable.

Catholic priests here, in particular, call Jews starsi bracia w wierze (older brothers in faith).

We didn’t discuss heaven or hell, though, seems to me, having to practice the violin for eternity can very much be hell. Maybe one can then be used as a welcoming party for the new arrivals.  There’s this girl in my neighborhood who practices the violin every day for a few hours. It’s muffled, she’s inside her house but you can hear it in the street. I wonder if she really wants to practice or is made to practice by, most likely, her mother, as some Polish parents are just like Asian tiger parents. Their kids are supposed to play the piano and girls – the violin. She sounds good to my ears, though, so even if she’s forced to do it, at least it’s a sound investment.