Christ Church Cathedral

I heard that you’re looking for some stories about the parishioner’s experiences here.  I’m writing mine even if I’m a bit uncomfortable with it.
 
On December 21st 2001 at 10:25 in the morning, my doctor told me that I got HIV virus.  Believe me it’s a kind of date and hour you never forget. It had been also the end of my world.  Too scared to commit suicide, too depress to meet people, that Christmas was a very sad time in my life.  No family, no friends, no lover, I ‘d been quite alone.  So on Christmas Eve, I decided to go for a walk instead of staying home and crying buckets.  Any way I’d cry mostly all the 3 days before then I’d probably got no tears any more to spill.  I’d walk for many hours and then I’d been in front of this little Church on Ste-Catherine in front of Birk store.  Music came out and all that wonderful light attracted me like a moth.  Indeed it looked to me like those wonderful Christmas card, it was so fairy like.  So I came in.  Lot of people was there but I did not want to meet with any of them because of my disease.  I did know that I can’t infect people just by being around them, but I did still be afraid.  And what would be there reaction if they knew, if they knew what kind of disgusting guy was just there beside them?  So the mass finish soon, I came in during communion, and people enjoyed themselves, spoke to each other, and greeted them happy Christmas.  For myself I tried to avoid every one and I was so impress by the simplicity of this church decoration that I’d look everywhere.  Then the bishop came by.  Not bishop Clarke, the one before.  All dressed in white, like a Jesus. At least a Jesus like the one in my imagination.  First, he pasted by without knowledge of my presence, but then he stop.  It looked like someone told him something and then he turn around, saw me and came to me.  I’d been very impress because we shook hands and he greeted me a wonderful Merry Christmas and told me that Jesus loves me, and he left me.  I’d been rooted to the spot; I just did not believe what just happen to me.  So my Christmas had been a bit more cheerful after that.  I still ask to myself what would had been the Bishop’s reaction if he knew to whom he shook hands that night.  But any way it had been helpful to me since.  8 years later, I am sometime still afraid of people’s reaction about it.  So I prefer keep it to myself.  I’m not often at church but I try to shake hand and speak with those who are kind enough to speak to me.
 
That’s my story.
 
Anonymous