We Are All Fleabag

It’s a typical Sunday in Winnipeg for me. I attended my 9 am spin class, also called RPM, and changed into my clothes for 11 am mass. The parish I attend has a rotation system to allow people to attend mass in person while keeping to public health orders. The mass also does a livestream and during the early days of COVID it was the only way to attend a service when places of worship had to shut down. The Vatican pivoted and fast in the face of a public health disaster. It made this cradle Catholic think they can pivote quickly on a whole of host of things, starting with an formal apology to Indigenous peoples for residential schools. (Ahem!)

When it comes to my own faith, things like praying the rosary or taking eucharist informs a lot of my life. I recognize my humanity in all its aspects and, today, that aspect had a big neon sign blinking ‘HOT DAMN THANK YOU JESUS!!!!’

I sat down to my computer, with my Haagan-Dazs Chocolate and Chocolate Chunk ice cream. to write or procastinate by watching Sharpe on Amazon Prime. (Dudettes, that blog post is in the works.) The ice cream was the perfect acompaniment to the picture making the rounds:

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A post shared by Richard Armitage (@richardcarmitage)

I had no words, just a GIF:

When I recovered my jaw, it dawned on me we have a hot priest and we all Fleabag. Fleabag, for those unfamiliar withe the show, starred Phoebe Waller-Bridge who created and wrote the show. The second season revolved around Fleabag going head over heels for a priest she nicknamed ‘Hot Priest.’ (Played to perfection by Andrew Scott.) Turns out, I am not the only person making that association.

I calmly finished the ice cream and will confess to my Fitbit app of my indulgence. As for the other indulgence, no way am I confessing that face to face with a priest. I said my faith informs a lot in my life, but it doesn’t stop me from:

A. Questioning it.

B. Needing the church to DO FREAKNG BETTER!!! (So. Many. Issues.)

I did have a great friendship with a priest, a Franciscan, who got transferred later to Toronto. He was the parish priest of my old church before moving to another part of Winnipeg. I got humility mixed up with self-flagellation and he helped me unlearn some things connected to a childish view of faith. In fact, after watching 300, I had what’s best described a ‘lusty buzz.’ I felt light headed and it was all Gerard Butler’s fault. (It’s not about the muscles, although that was part of it, I am talking the all-in, leader of a group and I definately have a type.) In one of the few times I confessed because I was scared of reducing someone to a slab of meat, he assured me it was normal and part of wanting to bring life into this world. I got the normal part but mentally disagreed about the latter.

While I praised wardrobe for the clerical suit, especially the fit of his pants, it does make me happy to see someone practicing their vocation. We all have one, or many, in our lives. It’s the thing we are called to do and called to be. In Richard Armitage’s case, he’s an actor, a storyteller, and he gets to practice this vocation he enjoys and we get to enjoy it. (Lusty thoughts not withstanding.) In my case, I am still working out both my salavation and my vocation. Now if you would excuse me, I suddenly have a need to read the bible, especially the Song of Songs.