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Dominic made a toast to Mark. He invoked the blessing of the almighty on the assembled at the party and hoped that their friendship would help keep Ryan, Kyle and Mark together as a united family. After dinner several gifts were presented while Dominic's wife, Teresa, served coffee and the cake that Mark was cutting.
The Master and the Mate
by Deepdiver
ed. Sir Dave Loud CHAPTER 23 B
Mystic Bay
That Saturday evening after the party had wound down; Ryan announced that he was going to Church and that if anyone wanted to accompany him they were welcome.
"So where does this come from?" Kyle inquired out of curiosity.
"It's just that as we were celebrating together, I thought that God had made me a very happy man because you two have come into my life. I think that people who receive gifts and fail to express their gratitude are just low life's." Ryan explained.
Kyle and Mark both decided to accompany Ryan; and the three of them set off to attend the 7 p.m. Mass at the local parish church: the Church of the Resurrection. Both Kyle and Mark felt awkward, not having any idea of how to act, so they just walked behind Ryan as he led the way. Just before going into the main body of the church, Ryan dipped his hand into a bowl of water and signed himself. Both Kyle and Mark watched him carefully.
"The water reminds us that we are baptized and we ask ourselves as we re-enter this temple if we have lived according to the baptismal promises we made at our first entry." Ryan said.
"Well I'm baptized. Can I do that too?" Mark asked.
"Sure, watch me and do as I do." Ryan instructed Mark.
Kyle just watched since he was not sure if he had been baptized or not. Ryan repeated the tiny ritual but signed himself in reverse so that Mark could mirror his movements easily. Then they walked toward a pew, but Ryan knelt on one knee before sliding into the bench. The other two did the same and looked at Ryan.
"See that shrine off to the side? That contains the Lord's body and so we pay reverence to it before we sit."
"Have you been here before?" asked Kyle.
"No, but every Catholic Church in the world reserves the sacrament to take to the sick after the Mass and for us to worship whenever we wish. See that red light off to the side; it indicates that this is the Eucharistic altar where they keep the consecrated hosts." Ryan explained.
Mark just stared at the shrine in awe. Kyle wondered how Ryan could be so sexy one minute and so religious the next.
Suddenly a bell rang out and everyone stood. The priest came from somewhere in the back, led by the servers and the lectors, and the choir sang the gathering song. Not too many in the congregation joined in, but Ryan picked up a hymnal and sang along unabashedly in spite of not having a very pleasant singing voice. After the priest had greeted the congregation, everyone signed themselves again. Mark was still uncomfortable with this little ceremony. After some introductory prayers, the priest sat and different people from the congregation went up and read from the Holy Scriptures. Then the priest got up to read, everyone else stood as well and after offering incense he also read from the Gospel.
Mark whispered, "Why are we standing?"
"The priest is proclaiming the Gospel; which is the most solemn part of the Liturgy of the Word." Ryan declared.
"What's a liturgy?" Mark asked.
"I'll explain it later." Ryan replied.
After the reading from the Gospel the priest explained to the people how the Gospel reading fulfilled the prophecy of the first reading thus proving to those who believe in the Word of God that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.
Ryan overheard Mark repeat the phrase, "Son of God" to himself. Kyle was waiting for the preacher to begin a tirade against sinners, but it never came. His words were aimed at helping the people deepen their faith that God loved them, that forgiveness was within arm's reach and that the dignity of all men was evidenced by our being invited to God's meal where His food was served in anticipation of the banquet to which we would all participate in glory. After the sermon, prayers were offered for the church; the government; world peace; Christian unity and for the sick who were mentioned by name and the poor.
Then the congregation sang another song, a collection was taken and the main altar readied.
"What's going to happen now?" Mark asked and Kyle listened.
"This is now the second part called the Liturgy of the Eucharist: it has four small parts, the offertory which is going on now, then the Eucharistic prayer, followed by the communion and the closing blessings." Mark watched each rite transfixed and drawn into the mystery which the liturgy is supposed to elicit in the faithful. Kyle watched events from a more aesthetic position and enjoyed the pageantry and the drama of it all. Ryan was deep in prayer when he wasn't explaining things.
Mark watched as the priest raised the basket of bread and said the words from the Last Supper. When he finished, ringing bells caught Kyle and Mark by surprise and incense was offered by the servers. Everyone was now down on their knees.
"What's going on?" Mark asked quietly.
"We Catholics believe that Jesus just changed the bread into his own risen body." Ryan said with conviction, simplifying the mystery of the Real Presence. Mark's eyes were filled with wonder as he observed every detail transpiring before him. Kyle heard what Ryan said and was observing how Ryan's body movements expressed what he was saying. He didn't know what to believe, but at that moment he knew he believed that Ryan believed with all his heart.
Then the priest did something similar with a tall golden cup and again the bells rang, incense was offered and the people proclaimed their faith. Then everyone prayed the 'Our Father' and shortly after shook hands or embraced. Ryan turned first to Kyle and hugged him tightly and said to him, "Peace be with you." Kyle returned the hug, but didn't know how to reply. Next Ryan turned toward Mark and said, "Son, peace be with you." Mark responded, "And with you too, dad."
After another bell sounded a lot of the congregation stood and got in line and went up to the altar. Ryan told the others to remain in their pew and they noticed that not everyone went up front. They sat relaxed, waiting for Ryan to return and listened to a hymn praising Christ present in the Eucharist. Kyle found the hymn in the book that Ryan had used and noticed that the song dated back to the third century.
On their way home, Mark was full of questions and wanted to know the meaning of every detail. Kyle listened and was again amazed by how well versed Ryan was in his religion. He was more surprised because he knew Ryan to be a man of science. He saw the journals that he read; he'd seen his library and even tried to read some of the articles that he had written. Kyle couldn't figure how such an intelligent man could also have such deep religious convictions. But he did know one thing. He loved Ryan even more.
"Why all the smoke?" Mark asked.
"Well, first it's very biblical, going all the way back to the time of Abraham and the prophets, for the priests to recognize God as God by offering him incense. The Jews still used it in the temple of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus; and it was even offered to Jesus by the wise men at his birth as a sign of his divinity. The Church has the mission to help us recognize God and one way she does this is by offering incense. Secondly, as Rudolph Otto points out, all religions teach that God is 'other', 'holy' and 'mystery.' The incense helps put us in touch with these aspects of God's being." Ryan answered.
"So you believe that Jesus is really God himself?" Kyle said, more as a statement than a question.
"Yes, with all my heart. That one idea is repeated throughout the Gospel, but there is also a test of our faith in this truth contained there. In Chapter six of John's Gospel, Jesus challenged his followers to believe that his body is real food and that his blood is real drink and that by eating him he would give us a share in his divinity which capacitates us for life everlasting." Ryan testified.
"Awesome." Mark exclaimed.
"So did they believe him?" Kyle asked.
"No, the vast majority went their own way. Only a very few continued to follow him. They are his apostles and disciples." Ryan said.
"So you believe that you just ate Jesus' body?" Kyle continued, pursuing his line of questioning.
"Yes, I do." Ryan declared.
"I want to do that too some day!" Mark said with the innocent faith of a child.
"Well, Ry, I know that I love you and at times I could just eat you." Kyle said.
"Some might think what you just said is blasphemy. But I think you just hit on a deep insight into Christian spirituality. It's about love and when we love truly it helps us penetrate the mystery of the Eucharist." Ryan said affirming Kyle's nascent faith.
On the way home they dropped Mark off at his friend Peter's house, as he'd arranged a sleepover with his best friend.
"Remember you've got to be up bright and early if you want to go out on the Gardie with Dominic's family." Ryan reminded him.
That night in bed, both Kyle and Ryan were rather sedate as they talked about the Mass that they had gone to and about Ryan's beliefs.
"But doesn't your Church condemn homosexuality?" Kyle asked.
"Not exactly; it does teach that being homosexual is not a sin, but doing homosexual acts is." Ryan explained.
"Isn't that really the same thing?" Kyle objected.
"It is to an undisciplined mind that is not accustomed to thinking precisely. In science one has to clearly define your terms or your variables. The same is true in theology. For instance in the Ten Commandments it says 'Thou shall not assassinate.' Do you understand the difference between not kill and not assassinate?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah." Kyle responded.
"Yes? But the victim in both cases is dead! But the difference in meaning, in intention is quite big, wouldn't you agree?" Ryan asked.
Kyle just nodded his head affirmatively.
"In psychology we measure intelligence in part by a person's vocabulary. More words mean more categories for things and more ability to distinguish between subtle differences and to think more precisely."
"Huh?" Kyle said, not understanding.
"It's like the difference between hurting someone and the pain and pleasure we have in sex. Not everyone can see that difference, but you and I know that there is a vast difference."
"There sure is," Kyle said as they kissed and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Early the next morning when the alarm went off, Ryan jumped from bed and headed for the shower.
"Get up sleepy head, we have a big day today and our guests will be arriving soon at the Gardie. After all they've done for us it would be very bad form if we weren't there to receive them." Ryan said.
Kyle just moaned and turned over. After a quick dip, Ryan came back into the bedroom and flicked his towel across Kyle's ass.
"Argh! That really hurt. God is going to get you for that!" Kyle said, jumping from the bed in order to avoid further abuse of his sensitive butt cheeks.
After dressing they got into Ryan's Honda and headed for Peter's house to pick up the boys before heading for the Marina. Despite Ryan's reminder to Mark the night before, the boys weren't ready; so they drove on to the bakery and picked up some nice fresh sesame bread rolls and some jelly doughnuts for breakfast. They swung by Peter's house again to pick up the boys; who were waiting on the front porch this time.
"It's too cold to be out on the yacht!" Mark said.
"Oh, it's a beautiful day, the sun is out and it will warm up." Kyle said.
They arrived within minutes at the Marina and where carrying the goodies from the bakery on board the Gardie when Dominic and his family pulled into the parking lot. Anthony jumped out first and asked Mark if Bill was on board.
"We just got here ourselves, why don't you just go over and wake him." Mark responded.
Anthony turned on his heels and was off to the Mon Cherie. Dominic got upset because he'd left without helping with the food packages and ice chest he had brought along. Mark quickly lent him a hand after hugging him and kissing Teresa.
"You know, Ryan took us to Mass last night!" Mark said proudly.
"Oh, really? I'm so glad for you Mark. I hope you keep going." Teresa said.
"I sure am! I'm going to be a priest!" Mark said and Teresa gulped from the shock as a tear formed in her eye.
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