Thursday Prayers - Episode 1

 

The church was half full when I entered. I literally tiptoed down the aisle to my seat observing the silence that filled the church.

The seats in my church are long pews arranged in two columns separated by an aisle. The three-piece-wooden benches have a seat, a kneeler, and an armrest to lean against while kneeling and they face the altar. At the red floored altar lie the altar table and the cushioned priests’ chair . The table is set at the center of the altar and is adorned with two small candles at either side. They are always lit. The priests’ chair is just behind the table. The church has a countryside setting that is just conducive for prayer. Everyone is welcome to sit wherever. Nevertheless I have a pew of preference. It is in the left column if you’re facing towards the altar.  I sit at the point where I leave space from the edge enough for another person. I always find myself seated at that particular spot. And quite often I have found it vacant.  

The memory of this day is still vivid in my mind like it was yesterday precisely because of the rarity of the demeanor. It was a Thursday. To be in the presence of the Lord on a weekly day felt like a whole lot more faith, given that I am more accustomed to Sundays. A friend once said that most of her testimonies are prayers that she made on such days

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/thursday-prayers-1

. She argued that praying on ‘days which are not of obligation’ is part of faith with actions much as we often think of arms giving and other such kind of gestures when we read the verse.

I heeded her word.

I knelt to say my pre-service prayers. Upon concluding, I rose to sit and on him my eyes set. He was two pews in front of me and six pews away from the altar.

At exactly five minutes after 5pm the priest walked out of the sacristy. The longstanding silence was interjected by the squealing of shoes as the congregation rose to their feet in unanimity.

And the choir was at it.

‘…come to the Lord with a song in your heart…’ they hummed until the priest assumed his position behind the altar table.

Then it was sheer silence again.

‘We have gathered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…’ the priest started us off.

All our attention shifted towards the altar but mine was obstructed. It stopped at him. He was tall – I wish I could estimate the height. His head towered above his neighbors’. But this is not what obstructed my attention; it was the hair cut. Marine, they call it – marine hair cut – less hair at the temples and back of the head than at the top. He was dressed in a checked blue, black and white long sleeved shirt which he had tucked in a pair of black trousers. He fastened them with a brown belt.

‘…the shoes must be some color close to brown...’ I rolled my eyes.

The attire was the right fit for his body and complemented his skin tone. He had a small physique with narrow masculine shoulders. A moderate torso build that tapered into a waistline then hips.

The day’s reading was from the gospel of Mathew. Peter asked Jesus about what their reward shall be; for they left all their possessions and followed him. Jesus in his response told him that they shall inherit the kingdom of God. The priest in his summon elaborated that while the apostles gave up land, families, businesses and so on, as Christians in this modern day we may not be able to do the same. However Christ calls us to give up bad behaviors like addictions, adultery, theft, malice among others if we have to inherit the kingdom of God.

It was very inspiring.

My thoughts kept drifting back to him.

We do not give offertory during weekly Masses. It is a church policy. The parish council thought it would discourage Christians from attending prayers as often as they would want to. So we only offer on Sundays or under special arrangement.

I was too carried away in my thoughts to realize when it was the time for consecration. The congregation was already on their knees. I just slammed myself down. I did not apprehend the loudness of the bang until I caught his eyes while I straightened up from the fall. It was not just him. It was everyone; the priest inclusive. They all stared in my direction.

‘They can’t be looking at me…!

I checked behind me. It is then that I realized that there was no one behind me. I was the last in the column.

‘….why would they?’

When I turned back, all eyes were at the altar.