Bootleg communion. It's a daring proposition. Not only are you messing with one of the oldest institutions of Christianity, but if their theology is completely correct (which I doubt) then you are messing with God too. The way I look at it is
- I am getting away with something
- It's exhilerating
- I think of King David and his men who were hungry and consumed the consecrated bread.
I have participated in bootleg communion exactly 3x thus far. The first time at a 2006 Midnight Mass. The church was almost baptist it was so modern. I could hardly recognize it as catholic due to the praise choruses, an acoustic guitar, women serving communion, and the Irish Priest cracking jokes in his sermon.
The second time was at Easter service in 2006. Once again, a very modern church and there was nothing to it. I remembered to mumble something unintelligable and the server seemed to think that it interpretted into the correct Catholic words
Then came this Christmas. I took holy communion at an old church in Downtown Denver. Maybe I was a little too lax on observing those in front of me. Maybe I thought I knew what I was doing. I don't know what went wrong.
I always have butterflys in my stomach when waiting for and consuming the holy body of Christ and his blood. I have this nightmare of being called out in front of thousands for being a false catholic. I've always thought this was an unfounded fear. Now...I'm not so sure.
When I approached the server, he said something. Two alter boys stood at his shoulders like the good and evil angels in cartoons. He held the wafer up, I performed the "scoopy" thing with my hands...and he kept holding it. He didn't give it to me. We made eye contact for far too long (likely 2-3 seconds) and then he said "Amen". I said "Amen" too as he placed the wafer in my hands. I put it in my mouth and walked away wondering what happened. I was shaken.
Halfway up the aisle to my seat, I heard the steps and felt the wind of something approaching. I half turned and saw an alter boy coming. Was he coming to block my way? Was he coming to say something to me in front of the entire crowd? Like a speeding motorist who pulls over anticipating that the police officer has come for them, I stepped aside. But instead of me, he approached my friend in front of me. He placed an arm on him and said something to him that I didn't hear. Then he returned from whence he came.
"What did he say?" I wanted to know immediately. Some sort of self-absorbed mind set caused me to believe that the Alter Boy had come to speak to my friend about me. But how would he even know we were together.
My friend brushed me off and kept walking up the aisle toward our seats. When we sat down, I asked again.
He said, "He wanted to know whether I consumed it."
"Consumed what?" I asked.
"The wafer. They gave me two, so I tried to pull them apart as I was walking away. I didn't want to put the whole big thing in my mouth. But...I couldn't pull them apart, so I just ate it. I guess he didn't see me and was worried I'd put the body of Christ in my pocket and sell it on ebay"
No, that would be me, I thought.
"I told him 'Yes' and he walked away. Unbelievable!"
It kind of put a damper on our midnight mass. I felt like I had come closer than ever to getting caught, and my friend was deeply embarrassed that an alter boy chased him down in the aisle in front of hundreds and maybe even a thousand people. It was another successful Bootleg Communion, but not as rewarding as in times past. This time left behind a nagging guilt.
And that, is our Midnight Mass Bootleg Communion 2008
Missy Jamming out on one of her songs
Missy's bass player with the stand up bass
Missy is an incredible musician. Her vocals are great, her songwriting skills are phenomenal, and piano and guitar round out her repertoire.
The bass player and drummer worked really well together to create a wonderful sound for Missy's vocals
Outside the venue in Denver, CO
Inside the Bluebird Theatre, pre-concert. This concert was Sold-out.
This gargoyle is a perfect example of the elegant inside of the theatre
Bootleg communion. It's a daring proposition. Not only are you messing with one of the oldest institutions of Christianity, but if their theology is completely correct (which I doubt) then you are messing with God too. The way I look at it is
A fun tradition for me is attending a Christmas Eve mass. This year I attended Holy Ghost Catholic church in downtown Denver. The service was nice, but communion turned out to be not so pleasant. The guy hesitated on giving me the wafer and for a second I thought I was going to be denied. Then an alter boy went rushing toward me. Luckily he was after someone else who he suspected had not eaten the body of Christ. I thought for sure I'd been caught in my 'bootleg communion'.
This year I really out did myself with gifts. I am currently a victim of the economy, so I didn't have the bank to break on gifts. In a lot of ways, this was a good thing. It forced me to really think about how I could make small gifts more meaningful. The tree in this picture is the one I helped decorate this year. Alas, my pink Christmas tree from last year fell victim to my youngest German Shepherd's destructive phase.
