Driving in England

A painting of Our Lady done by someone locally (image is copyrighted), but who very kindly gifted me with a copy.

Dear Friends and Family,

This Wednesday morning I was quite nervous. After 20 hours of driving lessons (see partial list on the photo below), additional hours of studying necessary written questions, after having passed the theory test, the moment had now come... to take my British drivers' license test!

List of most of the driving lessons I had over the past few months.

For those Americans reading this, the test is much more difficult than the U.S. one. In addition, I had not driven a stick shift from when I was a teenager, and now I had to learn to do so left-handed. During each lesson the instructor drilled me, step by step, on the precise way you needed to be able to maintain your position on steep hills with only the clutch while preparing to enter a busy, narrow road at an intersection; how to navigate roundabouts of various shapes and sizes, emergency stops, the customs of giving way and maneuvering in narrow streets with oncoming traffic, various reversing and parking procedures, highway policies, etc. etc.

Many people fail the test on their first try, and some multiple times. Very much hoping to not have to spend any more time in driving lessons, nor to have to wait another six weeks to retake it, I was picked up at 9:30 AM to prepare for 11:30 AM test. We drove the streets of Bodmin for most of the next two hours, preparing for intricacies and traps to be found around the Bodmin test center. Then, as the clock struck 11:30 a man named Andy stepped into the test center waiting room and told me he would be administering the 40-minute test. After a few preliminaries we got in the car and, following his instructions, I drove off. While giving me instructions he would periodically ask me questions such as "Why did you become a priest?"--seemingly at moments where a lapse in concentration could lead to missing a key turn or required maneuver.

I was aware of a few mistakes and, when we pulled back into the test center, was unsure of the result. Thankfully, he turned and said, "First of all I can tell you that you passed..." and then proceeded to point out my mistakes. But he only marked me down for three minor faults out of a possible 15 before failure would have occurred. It was wonderful news! Now I can get back to driving normally, without some particulars that I think people only do for the test, and above all can devote my time to better pursuits than the finer points of driving!

In all of this, I couldn't help but think: do most couples take marriage preparation as seriously as the preparation for their drivers' license? Often marriage prep consists of a few meetings with the priest, or perhaps on a Friday evening to Sunday retreat. But in how many cases do couples' spend a solid 30 hours in class of some sort, or marriage preparation sessions? And is there any sort of test administered at the end? If there were, couples might work harder to retain much more of what the Church teaches about marriage, and marriages might be significantly better off.

Now, after a full day of ministry, finishing with a game of "Risk Europe" with some of the altar boys, and a nice meal with them, I need to finish some preparations for meetings tomorrow morning with the board overseeing renovations at Lanherne.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari