Finnegan's Awake

I've been a pretty observant Catholic for my whole life. Most of the expected, stereotypical Catholic things, I've done - been taught catechism by a nun, felt guilty when I've skipped mass, gone to church on Holy Days, worn ashes on my forehead all day, confessed my sins to a metal screen, etc. But one thing I haven't done, ever, is sat down for a serious, important chat about my faith with a priest.

The reason I bring this up is that Tim and I have an appointment with our local parish priest in a few weeks to discuss our upcoming wedding. This will essentially be the first time we've met this priest, and I am surprisingly terrified.

Thinking back on my very Catholic upbringing, I really can't believe that I've never done this. That doesn't mean that I haven't ever talked one-on-one with a priest, but it's been in different capacities. I've had friendly chats about vacation Bible school teaching or the parish soup kitchen with the pastor of my childhood church. I talked to my college chaplain about my father's death right after it happened, and had some interesting in-class debates during my Contemporary Roman Catholicism course. I've also met quite a few ministers and priests from other Christian religions and in general have no problem talking to men and women of the cloth.