AAAAA CHOOOOOOOO!

So whats the deal with sneezing, youd think that every single person with a pollen allergy would be a saint by now.  Ive been really keen to this the past couple of weeks,that is, people saying "God bless you" or "bless you."  For crying out loud, children cant say God in the pledge of allegiance in school but this 3 word phrase gets tossed around more than the F word. If you pay attention, youll hear it more and more too.

It is like a wildfire, as soon as someone breaks the ice with a "GBY" its like the mute can speak, everyone and their mother chimes in with the phrase.  Whether you are in a classroom or in a meeting, it seems as if people are racing to get it out quicker and louder.  And heaven help us for the habitual sneezer who shoots 'em out rapid fire about 8 times in a row.  People will trip over themselves to get 8 "GBY's" out.

Folks, Im perplexed.  Saliva and snot is shooting out of a persons mouth and nose at over 100 mph, they should be saying "GBY" to US because they are getting their goods all over us!!


The phrase actually comes from the middle ages when the bubonic plague was spreading, well.....like the plague.  People would say "GBY" to the person that sneezed because it was usually a sign of impending death.  Wouldn't it be strange if someone say "GBY" to the person who just gave you the middle finger while driving (or the person you flipped the bird to, I know there is no one who reads this blog that does that) or to the person that just called us a nasty name or even to the person who just did something nice for us.  Instead, we save the "GBY" for the Mr. or Mrs. Mucous slinger.  Lets start a revolution and try to give some meaning back to a phrase that has become trite.

Isnt it strange how things catch on and stick around and we do things when we dont even realize we are doing them.  This goes for the many great traditions and Traditions of the Catholic faith. So many people just go through the motions or criticize from the outside because they dont understand the true beauty of what's actually taking place. Im not going to name them all or even a few, there are great books that can help you understand the beautiful intricacies of the mass as well as the other wonderful pius practices that are preformed. I will, however, touch on one of my favorite overlooked traditions.  During the mass, right before the consecration (when the bread and wine actually become Jesus's body, blood, soul, and divinity) the community stands to sing "hosana,"  this is what the Jews sang as Christ rode in on the donkey before he was to be sacrificed.  Its such a beautiful mirror and re-presentation of the sacrifice of Christ and we are made present as Christ humbles Himself, not by riding into church on a mule, but by coming to us in the appearance of food, bread and wine.

Next time we have to say those the magical words, lets try to mean what we say, and say what we mean.

God Bless You!!