Asking Questions… Or Not…
Dec 19th, 2006 by michelle
My DH has pointed out that I haven’t blogged in a while, so I guess I need to figure out what I am going to write.
Of all the “Orthodox” things that have happened recently, one that has left a significant mark on our lives has been our first catechism meeting with our new priest, Fr. Justin. Fr. Justin met with my hubby and me on Sunday evening. It was basically a time to get to know each other and to determine what we have done thus far in catechism (which hasn’t been a lot yet). We are going to have our first official class after Theophany, and we are really excited for it.
I always feel really awkward when someone much wiser and more educated than I (such as a priest) would like for me to ask questions. I much prefer to either ask my hubby or look it up on my own. I am slowly realizing that I need to get over this. Catechism is one of my chances to really ask questions. My biggest problem is that I typically ask questions that are just something very practical or factual. I typically do not have any deep theological questions that I feel are worthy of catechism. I feel like it would be a waste of time to ask my “practical” questions when I could probably look them up online and get the correct answer (I love Orthodoxwiki.com).
One of the good (and also bad) things about our catechism class is that my DH and I are usually the only ones who attend our class. It is bad because, obviously, the other catechumens are not present. But it is good because I do feel much more comfortable in the company of just my priest and DH. I need to take advantage of those times when it is a smaller group because I would never feel comfortable asking questions in front of a group. Oftentimes, I feel like I am wasting their time; especially if they already know the answer to my questions.
Obviously, I have a hang up about asking questions in public (I was always the girl who sat at the back of the room and only raised her hand when she was one hundred percent certain of her answers)…
Any advice??
I always seem to think of questions- but not when I have someone sitting there to answer them. Or, when I do, then I feel like my questions are not very significant. I enjoy reading your blog. Keep it up.
Michelle,
You sound just like me! I still feel very uncomfortable around my priest. I think it also has to do with confession. This is the person who is going to hear the worst things about me.
I also sat in the back as a kid and was the school wallflower. What the heck am I doing with a blog!?
Deb