DEVOUT PEOPLE WHO SWEAR
I know, I know. As an observant Catholic, I am not supposed to swear, and IF I did, then I would have to confess it. Have to tell ya' I am not good on the confessing thing. I seem to find excuses not to drive down to see my favorite priest in the cabinetto and tell him my several sins, which do not include: murder, sex trafficking, harming children, adultery, watching the State of the Union address, and more. It would mostly be: gossip, swearing, being impatient with folks, and--is interrupting others a sin?
Many years ago when I was involved in "Voice of the Faithful," a Catholic reform group which started when the sex abuse scandal came to light, there was a dear priest whom I adored and who helped me start the local group--Fr. Leo. He was very progressive about how our church needed to reach out to the LGBTQ community, was for same-sex marriage, and stood up for his beliefs. Which got him into trouble with the church. But--he had a fairly raunchy mouth, as I did, and as another dear priest friend did, Fr. B.
I thought at the time of having laminated cards printed up with our pics and bearing the logo, DEVOUT PEOPLE WHO SWEAR, and I would be a card-carrying member along with my two friends.
Turns out that swearing is good for you. All these years I've felt guilty about saying "f..k you" to my burning lentils, or "sh.t" to my dog when she does the same thing on our new rug, I can heave a sigh of relief. I believe it was a recent article in the NY Times "Well" section that cited evidence that swearing seems to balance our internal selves. Given that information, my mom should have been the most balanced and the most serene woman on earth.
I wish Shakespeare were more current among the young these days, as I am very fond of some of his swears: "you starveling," "you elf-skin," "you bull's pizzle," and "you three-inch fool."
Will I confess to swearing? Probably not, although I might confess to the occasional time I stare vainly in the mirror, think I am smarter than someone else, or condemn someone for having red state politics instead of my clearly better blue state ones.
As a new feature, I want to add on-- Crazy Things Annie's Noticed:
--Do you ever notice that cars, or vans, that bear the sign saying, "I trust in Jesus" are probably the worst ever drivers on the road?
--Have you ever seen a lady ahead of you in the organic market who is wearing organic cotton leggings, jacket, and a monstrously ugly purple hat is--during flu season--licking her finger as she peruses a magazine in the stands and then returns it?
--Why is it that when we are on Weight Watchers (why? why? why?), we exaggerate our daily exercise and minimize how much we've eaten and drunk that day?
That's it for today, folks: don't forget that hygge is grand during these cold months; that the occasional glass of wine flushes toxins out of your brain (according to the Un. of Rochester); that cuddling with your honey lifts your burdens; and that Nunes, Trump, and their beyond-belief corruption is not the last word. God's is.
Many years ago when I was involved in "Voice of the Faithful," a Catholic reform group which started when the sex abuse scandal came to light, there was a dear priest whom I adored and who helped me start the local group--Fr. Leo. He was very progressive about how our church needed to reach out to the LGBTQ community, was for same-sex marriage, and stood up for his beliefs. Which got him into trouble with the church. But--he had a fairly raunchy mouth, as I did, and as another dear priest friend did, Fr. B.
I thought at the time of having laminated cards printed up with our pics and bearing the logo, DEVOUT PEOPLE WHO SWEAR, and I would be a card-carrying member along with my two friends.
Turns out that swearing is good for you. All these years I've felt guilty about saying "f..k you" to my burning lentils, or "sh.t" to my dog when she does the same thing on our new rug, I can heave a sigh of relief. I believe it was a recent article in the NY Times "Well" section that cited evidence that swearing seems to balance our internal selves. Given that information, my mom should have been the most balanced and the most serene woman on earth.
I wish Shakespeare were more current among the young these days, as I am very fond of some of his swears: "you starveling," "you elf-skin," "you bull's pizzle," and "you three-inch fool."
Will I confess to swearing? Probably not, although I might confess to the occasional time I stare vainly in the mirror, think I am smarter than someone else, or condemn someone for having red state politics instead of my clearly better blue state ones.
As a new feature, I want to add on-- Crazy Things Annie's Noticed:
--Do you ever notice that cars, or vans, that bear the sign saying, "I trust in Jesus" are probably the worst ever drivers on the road?
--Have you ever seen a lady ahead of you in the organic market who is wearing organic cotton leggings, jacket, and a monstrously ugly purple hat is--during flu season--licking her finger as she peruses a magazine in the stands and then returns it?
--Why is it that when we are on Weight Watchers (why? why? why?), we exaggerate our daily exercise and minimize how much we've eaten and drunk that day?
That's it for today, folks: don't forget that hygge is grand during these cold months; that the occasional glass of wine flushes toxins out of your brain (according to the Un. of Rochester); that cuddling with your honey lifts your burdens; and that Nunes, Trump, and their beyond-belief corruption is not the last word. God's is.
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