Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 05:24:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Deep Diver <deepdiver_pr@yahoo.com>
Subject: Master and the Mate Chapter 23 b

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Dominic made a toast to Mark. He invoked the blessing of the almighty on
the assembled at the party and hoped that their friendship would help keep
Ryan, Kyle and Mark together as a united family. After dinner several gifts
were presented while Dominic's wife, Teresa, served coffee and the cake
that Mark was cutting.

The Master and the Mate

by Deepdiver

ed. Sir Dave Loud
CHAPTER 23 B

Mystic Bay

That Saturday evening after the party had wound down; Ryan announced that
he was going to Church and that if anyone wanted to accompany him they were
welcome.

"So where does this come from?" Kyle inquired out of curiosity.

"It's just that as we were celebrating together, I thought that God had
made me a very happy man because you two have come into my life. I think
that people who receive gifts and fail to express their gratitude are just
low life's." Ryan explained.

Kyle and Mark both decided to accompany Ryan; and the three of them set off
to attend the 7 p.m. Mass at the local parish church: the Church of the
Resurrection. Both Kyle and Mark felt awkward, not having any idea of how
to act, so they just walked behind Ryan as he led the way. Just before
going into the main body of the church, Ryan dipped his hand into a bowl of
water and signed himself. Both Kyle and Mark watched him carefully.

"The water reminds us that we are baptized and we ask ourselves as we
re-enter this temple if we have lived according to the baptismal promises
we made at our first entry." Ryan said.

"Well I'm baptized. Can I do that too?" Mark asked.

"Sure, watch me and do as I do." Ryan instructed Mark.

Kyle just watched since he was not sure if he had been baptized or
not. Ryan repeated the tiny ritual but signed himself in reverse so that
Mark could mirror his movements easily. Then they walked toward a pew, but
Ryan knelt on one knee before sliding into the bench. The other two did the
same and looked at Ryan.

"See that shrine off to the side? That contains the Lord's body and so we
pay reverence to it before we sit."

"Have you been here before?" asked Kyle.

"No, but every Catholic Church in the world reserves the sacrament to take
to the sick after the Mass and for us to worship whenever we wish. See that
red light off to the side; it indicates that this is the Eucharistic altar
where they keep the consecrated hosts." Ryan explained.

Mark just stared at the shrine in awe. Kyle wondered how Ryan could be so
sexy one minute and so religious the next.

Suddenly a bell rang out and everyone stood. The priest came from somewhere
in the back, led by the servers and the lectors, and the choir sang the
gathering song. Not too many in the congregation joined in, but Ryan picked
up a hymnal and sang along unabashedly in spite of not having a very
pleasant singing voice. After the priest had greeted the congregation,
everyone signed themselves again. Mark was still uncomfortable with this
little ceremony. After some introductory prayers, the priest sat and
different people from the congregation went up and read from the Holy
Scriptures. Then the priest got up to read, everyone else stood as well and
after offering incense he also read from the Gospel.

Mark whispered, "Why are we standing?"

"The priest is proclaiming the Gospel; which is the most solemn part of the
Liturgy of the Word." Ryan declared.

"What's a liturgy?" Mark asked.

"I'll explain it later." Ryan replied.

After the reading from the Gospel the priest explained to the people how
the Gospel reading fulfilled the prophecy of the first reading thus proving
to those who believe in the Word of God that Jesus is the Messiah and the
Son of God.

Ryan overheard Mark repeat the phrase, "Son of God" to himself. Kyle was
waiting for the preacher to begin a tirade against sinners, but it never
came. His words were aimed at helping the people deepen their faith that
God loved them, that forgiveness was within arm's reach and that the
dignity of all men was evidenced by our being invited to God's meal where
His food was served in anticipation of the banquet to which we would all
participate in glory. After the sermon, prayers were offered for the
church; the government; world peace; Christian unity and for the sick who
were mentioned by name and the poor.

Then the congregation sang another song, a collection was taken and the
main altar readied.

"What's going to happen now?" Mark asked and Kyle listened.

"This is now the second part called the Liturgy of the Eucharist: it has
four small parts, the offertory which is going on now, then the Eucharistic
prayer, followed by the communion and the closing blessings." Mark watched
each rite transfixed and drawn into the mystery which the liturgy is
supposed to elicit in the faithful. Kyle watched events from a more
aesthetic position and enjoyed the pageantry and the drama of it all. Ryan
was deep in prayer when he wasn't explaining things.

Mark watched as the priest raised the basket of bread and said the words
from the Last Supper. When he finished, ringing bells caught Kyle and Mark
by surprise and incense was offered by the servers. Everyone was now down
on their knees.

"What's going on?" Mark asked quietly.

"We Catholics believe that Jesus just changed the bread into his own risen
body." Ryan said with conviction, simplifying the mystery of the Real
Presence. Mark's eyes were filled with wonder as he observed every detail
transpiring before him. Kyle heard what Ryan said and was observing how
Ryan's body movements expressed what he was saying. He didn't know what to
believe, but at that moment he knew he believed that Ryan believed with all
his heart.

Then the priest did something similar with a tall golden cup and again the
bells rang, incense was offered and the people proclaimed their faith. Then
everyone prayed the 'Our Father' and shortly after shook hands or
embraced. Ryan turned first to Kyle and hugged him tightly and said to him,
"Peace be with you." Kyle returned the hug, but didn't know how to
reply. Next Ryan turned toward Mark and said, "Son, peace be with you."
Mark responded, "And with you too, dad."

After another bell sounded a lot of the congregation stood and got in line
and went up to the altar. Ryan told the others to remain in their pew and
they noticed that not everyone went up front. They sat relaxed, waiting for
Ryan to return and listened to a hymn praising Christ present in the
Eucharist. Kyle found the hymn in the book that Ryan had used and noticed
that the song dated back to the third century.


On their way home, Mark was full of questions and wanted to know the
meaning of every detail. Kyle listened and was again amazed by how well
versed Ryan was in his religion. He was more surprised because he knew Ryan
to be a man of science. He saw the journals that he read; he'd seen his
library and even tried to read some of the articles that he had
written. Kyle couldn't figure how such an intelligent man could also have
such deep religious convictions. But he did know one thing. He loved Ryan
even more.

"Why all the smoke?" Mark asked.

"Well, first it's very biblical, going all the way back to the time of
Abraham and the prophets, for the priests to recognize God as God by
offering him incense. The Jews still used it in the temple of Jerusalem at
the time of Jesus; and it was even offered to Jesus by the wise men at his
birth as a sign of his divinity. The Church has the mission to help us
recognize God and one way she does this is by offering incense. Secondly,
as Rudolph Otto points out, all religions teach that God is 'other', 'holy'
and 'mystery.' The incense helps put us in touch with these aspects of
God's being." Ryan answered.

"So you believe that Jesus is really God himself?" Kyle said, more as a
statement than a question.

"Yes, with all my heart. That one idea is repeated throughout the Gospel,
but there is also a test of our faith in this truth contained there. In
Chapter six of John's Gospel, Jesus challenged his followers to believe
that his body is real food and that his blood is real drink and that by
eating him he would give us a share in his divinity which capacitates us
for life everlasting." Ryan testified.

"Awesome." Mark exclaimed.

"So did they believe him?" Kyle asked.

"No, the vast majority went their own way. Only a very few continued to
follow him. They are his apostles and disciples." Ryan said.

"So you believe that you just ate Jesus' body?" Kyle continued, pursuing
his line of questioning.

"Yes, I do." Ryan declared.

"I want to do that too some day!" Mark said with the innocent faith of a
child.

"Well, Ry, I know that I love you and at times I could just eat you." Kyle
said.

"Some might think what you just said is blasphemy. But I think you just hit
on a deep insight into Christian spirituality. It's about love and when we
love truly it helps us penetrate the mystery of the Eucharist." Ryan said
affirming Kyle's nascent faith.

On the way home they dropped Mark off at his friend Peter's house, as he'd
arranged a sleepover with his best friend.

"Remember you've got to be up bright and early if you want to go out on the
Gardie with Dominic's family." Ryan reminded him.

That night in bed, both Kyle and Ryan were rather sedate as they talked
about the Mass that they had gone to and about Ryan's beliefs.

"But doesn't your Church condemn homosexuality?" Kyle asked.

"Not exactly; it does teach that being homosexual is not a sin, but doing
homosexual acts is." Ryan explained.

"Isn't that really the same thing?" Kyle objected.

"It is to an undisciplined mind that is not accustomed to thinking
precisely. In science one has to clearly define your terms or your
variables. The same is true in theology. For instance in the Ten
Commandments it says 'Thou shall not assassinate.' Do you understand the
difference between not kill and not assassinate?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah." Kyle responded.

"Yes? But the victim in both cases is dead! But the difference in meaning,
in intention is quite big, wouldn't you agree?" Ryan asked.

Kyle just nodded his head affirmatively.

"In psychology we measure intelligence in part by a person's
vocabulary. More words mean more categories for things and more ability to
distinguish between subtle differences and to think more precisely."

"Huh?" Kyle said, not understanding.

"It's like the difference between hurting someone and the pain and pleasure
we have in sex. Not everyone can see that difference, but you and I know
that there is a vast difference."

"There sure is," Kyle said as they kissed and fell asleep in each other's
arms.

Early the next morning when the alarm went off, Ryan jumped from bed and
headed for the shower.

"Get up sleepy head, we have a big day today and our guests will be
arriving soon at the Gardie. After all they've done for us it would be very
bad form if we weren't there to receive them." Ryan said.

Kyle just moaned and turned over. After a quick dip, Ryan came back into
the bedroom and flicked his towel across Kyle's ass.

"Argh! That really hurt. God is going to get you for that!" Kyle said,
jumping from the bed in order to avoid further abuse of his sensitive butt
cheeks.

After dressing they got into Ryan's Honda and headed for Peter's house to
pick up the boys before heading for the Marina. Despite Ryan's reminder to
Mark the night before, the boys weren't ready; so they drove on to the
bakery and picked up some nice fresh sesame bread rolls and some jelly
doughnuts for breakfast. They swung by Peter's house again to pick up the
boys; who were waiting on the front porch this time.

"It's too cold to be out on the yacht!" Mark said.

"Oh, it's a beautiful day, the sun is out and it will warm up." Kyle said.

They arrived within minutes at the Marina and where carrying the goodies
from the bakery on board the Gardie when Dominic and his family pulled into
the parking lot. Anthony jumped out first and asked Mark if Bill was on
board.

"We just got here ourselves, why don't you just go over and wake him." Mark
responded.

Anthony turned on his heels and was off to the Mon Cherie. Dominic got
upset because he'd left without helping with the food packages and ice
chest he had brought along. Mark quickly lent him a hand after hugging him
and kissing Teresa.

"You know, Ryan took us to Mass last night!" Mark said proudly.

"Oh, really? I'm so glad for you Mark. I hope you keep going." Teresa said.

"I sure am! I'm going to be a priest!" Mark said and Teresa gulped from the
shock as a tear formed in her eye.


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