Getting a little creative...

Ok, I know I've never made a big deal of my religion here... because I don't think religion really has a place here. Yeah, it's a part of who I am, and yeah it is an important thing, but I don't think it really pertains to much of what is ever said here. I'm an asshole, a cynic, a bitch, a drinker, a partier, a whatever... it doesn't matter... I think all that is more important to understanding me than saying I'm a Catholic.

There, I said it, I'm Catholic.

Go ahead. Berate me, call me names, do your worst. It really doesn't bother me. I've heard the vast majority of it already. (It's not a religion people get particularly creative when trying to parody.)

Anyway, I'm writing all this because I was kind of put off by something while attending mass last night (yes, I go in the evenings... because God already knows I like to sleep in.) ANYWAY...

Those of you who either ARE Catholic (active, or otherwise) or have ever attended a Catholic mass, (for whatever reason) know that it's a fairly ritualized thing. There are times when everyone knows when to sit, stand, or kneel. There are certain responses that are uttered at certain times, and these things kind of universally transcend specific churches, so that they are done pretty much the same way no matter where you find yourself attending a Catholic mass.

Last night was not the standard mass for the Lizzle... Or anyone else in attendance.

I don't know if the priest was new, (he didn't look new by any measure!) or if he had some congregation-induced "stage fright," or if the real priest was abducted by Tom Cruise and brainwashed into Scientology and carrying Tom's baby or something, and thus the real priest was replaced last-minute by a thetan who was vaguely familiar with the Catholic mass and thought he could fake it, or what.

Whatever the reason, all I know is that this mass was OFF. It was like the priest was trying to do some kind of improv, and mix it up a little, he added extraneous phrases and self-interjections... It was kind of hard to concentrate on the real reason I was in church when I've got this guy trying to put his own little mark on the service.

So I just want to note that when something is kinda ritualized, be it a mass, a certain rite of passage, etc, and other people are kind of reliant on you doing your part a certain way, this is not the time to try and get all creative and witty. It ain't gonna fly nearly as well as you're hoping. It's not the time or place to add in your own little histrionics... We just want the standard form... It'll be a lot easier on all of us in the long run.

(I know this post is not at all entertaining to a lot of you, but it's a Monday, I can't focus, and I was so irritated by this guy, that it was the only thing I could focus enough to write about... Sorry again... Maybe if it were a better weekend in basketball I'd have something positive to say about life.)