Preparation Vs. Execution Vs. 100 Calorie Klondike Bar

So last night was Re:Create, our young adult ministry. We've been meeting for Adoration and worship on the third Tuesday of each month since January. And every time I promise myself that I will get to work on the the theme and talk way ahead of time, but I never seem to be on top of this. Sometimes because I'm behind on work, sometimes because I'm a procrastinator.

Well, as usual, this month I ended up rushing around like a crazy man trying to get things done. Maybe there was a little procrastination involved, maybe a little behind on work, but this time it seemed liked I just was mentally on vacation. I couldn't seem to settle on a topic. I prayed, I researched current events, but nothing really seem to stick with me. Finally, for the sake of time, I decided to piggy back the theme of the Pope's visit to the US... If it's good enough for the Pope, it's good enough for me. The Pope theme was "Christ our Hope". This seemed to be a follow-up, or continuation of his latest encyclical "Spe Salvi", which sounds like spit saliva when it is belched out of my mouth. I'm not that good with Latin. This encyclical, Saved by Hope, is nuts! In a good way. Benny is so intellectually and spiritually deep. I feel like I'm barely peeling the thinest of onion skins every time I attempt to read it, yet each skin itself is so complex. Anyway, I, in my great intellect, decide to convey the Pope's brilliance in my own linguistic beauty. Hmmm... yep, you're right. I didn't really think it through. None-the-less, I was too far into my preparation to turn back now. Me trying to express B16's thoughts is similar to a jar of peanut butter trying to fly an airplane. Yeah, that doesn't make much sense, that's my point. Long story short... when it came time to execute my fantastic talk, I was nowhere near being ready. So I gave up panicking and pleaded my case with Christ. Afterwards, I decided to eat a 100 calorie Klondike Bar in surrender, yet in celebration. When the time came, I struggled through the talk, with the surprising, yet occasional, coherent thought sifting through the crap.

But this story has a good ending. After my vocal disaster, Christ was present with us in the Eucharist. Alex lead us beautifully in worship of our Lord. The people there praying were very inspiring. It's reassuring to know that no matter how crappy my preparation was, how disconnected I felt, how poorly I presented, Christ is still Christ, and was truly present in the Eucharist. Looking back, that's exactly what the Pope's encyclical is about. Christ our hope,... beyond our struggles and failure, Christ our Hope!

I wish I would thought about this before I wrote my talk...