Rosaries in Spanish

I had a funeral Mass to work this morning at the Catholic Church just down the street. It’s the oldest one in the area (I work downtown) and is absolutely breathtaking. I’ve been inside more times than I can count, and every time I go in I am amazed at how lovely it is. I also love that there is always some small group of Mexican women kneeling in the front pews saying the Rosary in Spanish. I don’t exactly know why, but hearing the Rosary chanted in Spanish is one of the most soothing things I can think of. It’s way better than in English, and although no one in my family speaks Spanish I think I’d like my funeral Rosary said in Spanish instead of English. I’d be surprised if God even paid attention to such a small detail. And maybe making my family say it in Spanish would force them to pay better attention to the words they are saying. I mean, I am far from being spiritual, but am fairly religious (funny, most people claim to be the opposite), but the Rosary is a very interesting prayer. Actually, I like it better than Mass.

The service I had this morning was all in Spanish, and I mentioned the family in a previous post. Yep, this is the service with the good-looking grandson that translated for his mom (although I must say, my Spanish is getting quite good), and I’ll tell you, that boy was cute today in his black suit and hair all pulled back into a low ponytail and Spanish accent and buff, casket-carrying physique. And he chatted with me at the graveside after the service was done, and I kept thinking, “Man, I wish this kid had more funerals to go to,” then feeling bad because it sucks to have to go to funerals for the general public. I’m not convinced that makes me a bad person yet though, I mean, it’s not like I asked the guy out.

Today is Buck’s 62nd birthday (yep, he now qualifies for Social Security) so I made him chocolate cupcakes with butter cream frosting and sprinkles (I let them pick what kind of cupcakes they want for their birthday) and sang a Marilyn-esque “happy birthday”, although without the super-tight dress. He was glad (more for the cupcakes than the song) and has eaten three so far.