The Holy Wasp

Isn't it always horribly funny when something hilarious happens in the middle of Mass? I wonder if the angels laugh at our efforts to hold on to our self-control. I have a feeling that even God has fun with that one. I wonder if He puts certain situations in front of us that make us laugh just to have fun with us.

Mom, Dad, Marie, John and I were all going into Tulsa today (Friday), and while we were at it, we went to the Cathedral for Mass. Mom and Dad were in the middle of the pew, while I was at the end. There were no interruptions until toward the end of Mass.

There weren't many people at mass; most of them were older couples, and really not many were in front of us, except for a little old lady who was one pew up. It was just before the final blessing, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom flinging her arm forward like she threw something. Then I saw a small black object flying through the air moving away from her. It landed on the back of the old lady in front of us; it was then that I realized it was a wasp!!

The old lady didn't notice it at all. I saw Mom put her hands to her mouth, with an expression of complete shock. She started looking around for something to hit it with, and spotted a missalette. She picked it up and proceeded to lean all the way over a whole pew to swipe the wasp off the old lady's back, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) she couldn't reach it. Then I saw her whisper something to Dad; he kind of shook his head. Then she leaned over and whispered something to him again, and he left the pew, bringing with him the deadly missalette.

He walked into the pew right in front of us and just behind the lady, tapped her on the shoulder and told her there was a wasp on her back, and that he could take care of it. He used his hand to knock it off of her and on to the pew,  then he squashed it with the book. Ha! Take that bug! (No, he didn't say that. And neither did the old lady.) She thanked him and Dad went back to his seat.

After Mass, Dad went back to the pew to clean up the mess, when another lady came up to speak to the lady who Dad saved. Then the lady said to her friend, "This young man saved my life. He killed a wasp that landed on my back." Then, addressing Dad, "You are going straight to heaven." And Dad replied, "But I can't take all the credit, I wouldn't have done it if my wife had not told me to." "Oh, well, then she's going straight to heaven, too."

Afterward, we had to ask what else the lady told Dad because we only heard the "young man" part since we were laughing hard about that.

So, in the end the wasp was killed, the old lady saved, Dad's heroic tale is being told to the world, and he is feeling really good about what the old lady called him..."young man."