Years ago, I belonged to a parish called Corpus Christi. It was a thriving, growing parish with many outreach ministries. People from around the country came to visit it to learn what we were doing.
Alas, the charismatic pastor began to stray further and further from church teachings (as at least one of the lyrics below shows), and the parish became a center for all sorts of illicit activities, including homosexual weddings, women priests, and inter-communion. When the diocese finally began to crack down, the pastor and a number of parishioners split from the Catholic Church and created their own church.
Before that happened, the parish was also a center for music, theater, and lots of humor.
Four of us lay people who were active in the parish began to play pranks on the pastor (who had a sense of humor) and the staff. We kept our identities secret for a while, calling ourselves (forgive me) the Four Good Lays.
Finally, just before Christmas, we marched into the pastor's office and revealed ourselves, singing a parody song. (I recently found a copy of it while cleaning out some old files.)
The Twelve Days of Corpus Christmas.
by the Four Good Lays
On the first day of Christmas my parish gave to me
a free day to sit on the beach.
On the second day of Christmas my parish gave to me
two Roman collars, and a free day to sit on the beach.
On the third day of Christmas my parish gave to me
three Cuban stogies, two Roman collars, and a free day to sit on the beach.
On the fourth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
Four Good Lays, three Cuban stogies, two ...
On the fifth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
five telephone rings, Four Good Lays, three...
On the sixth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
six pack of Genny, five telephone rings, Four ...
On the seventh day of Christmas my parish gave to me
seven lay homilists, six pack of Genny, five ...
On the eighth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
eight heated Sundays, seven lay homilists, six ...
On the ninth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
nine committee meetings, eight heated Sundays, seven ...
On the tenth day of Christmas my parish gave to me
Ten Commandments broken, nine committee meetings, eight ...
On the eleventh day of Christmas my parish gave to me
eleven piano lessons, Ten Commandment broken, nine ...
On the twelfth of Christmas my parish gave to me
twelve letters to the bishop, eleven piano lessons, Ten ...
It seemed funny at the time. The pastor laughed. (Genny, by the way, is a local brand of beer.)
Of the four of us lay people, one later broke from the Church and got ordained as a woman priest, one joined a religious order, one was a lawyer who moved to Chicago where she was involved with the National Association for Lay Ministry and last I heard was still practicing civil rights law, and I remained active in Catholic parishes and music circles, and eventually became a Secular Franciscan.
Pax et bonum
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