Pick a Priest before a Priest Picks You

When the combined number of years Jeng and I attended Catholic school exceeds our age, it becomes obvious that a large portion of our lives were immersed in Catholic traditions. So it was without question that our marriage would begin in a church. This past weekend, we began the Catholic wedding preparation journey with a visit to Sts. Peter and Paul Church, where our ceremony will take place.
I never attended mass at Sts. Peter and Paul and did not know the clergy so I took a gamble when I called to inquire about the church. Fr. Jorge* was the one that answered my call.

I'm always nervous when approaching a priest. Guilt for my sins? Yea probably. But also because my priestly encounters have ranged from scary and daunting to friendly and jovial. And then I remembered the movie License to Wed, and had visions of a nightmarish wedding preparation course full of awkward conversations and instigated arguments. Luckily Fr. Jorge is no Robin Williams. Instead he is an elderly Italian-American man who moves at his own pace.

A sweet man, Fr. Jorge took awhile to understand our geographical and timing situation. I didn't blame him, its not simple. With neither of us living in SF permanently, squeezing in marriage prep classes is difficult. Then as I attempted to make an appointment, I realized he doesn't respond well to messages or voice mails. (I think his hearing isn't the greatest.) And I highly doubt he has e-mail. I didn't want to be ageist and judge him for being too old. (I hate being perceived as too young.) So as we sat with him to discuss the requirements for a Catholic wedding, I had to constantly remind myself to be patient.

He gave us a book with church readings and explained how to choose from readings A, B and C by reading examples. Jeng was worried he was going to read the whole book. He convinced us to do a full mass instead of just a ceremony since we're both Catholic. "Its a difference of 15 minutes," he said. Then he explained how he prefers to do all the readings himself, rather than having us choose people who may be nervous and read too fast or too quietly. Now Jeng and I are secretly hoping our ceremony doesn't drag on for hours.

Our theme for the wedding weekend is very modern tech. How much should that theme carry over to our ceremony? I suppose not at all since the ceremony is full of tradition. But the generational gap is hard to ignore so we're on the fence about whether to stick with Fr. Jorge or inquire about another priest -- maybe younger? And/or Filipino to understand our cultural traditions? I can't imagine God being very happy with my picky priest tastes. Plus, how does one go about firing one? I'm not quite sure what to do but I will pray about it.

*Name has been changed to protect the innocent