Love in the Age of World Domination

The Catholic Happy Hour

Its been many a moon since  I have been to a Happy Hour, and a couple of years since I've seen the inside of a bar.  Thus, ironic that my foray last week into that familiar old haunt should be for a catholic young adults event. By the way what is up with catholics and drinking? Not a good combination.

How did I find myself at a Catholic YA event - well a girlfriend invited me along and I thought why not - a nice quiet evening. My first surprise was walking into a loud jam packed bar full of young city professionals in work clothes. The young Catholic contingent in DC is very active/ powerful, and lots of young men and women frequent these socials and mixers to find like-minded people and even partners (now why didn't I think of that!)

I was also reminded (again) that some segments of this group are extremely articulate, opinionated, and not shy to tell you what they think. Which went something like this:

1) If you don't believe in Jesus Christ you'll go to Hell
2) Catholics are the closest to God; and the Church is infallible
3) We must lead by example, show the right path to those led astray by bad influences, and convert all these poor souls who are misguided into paragons of virtue like ourselves.   

Like. Wow. That was kind of awesome, just in its sheer lack of humility.

I had no idea that I was supposed to save people from themselves. I have been reading Mass for like 3 years now and I do it because its service work, which helps me. It never occurred to me that I do it to lead by example and influence family and friends to do the same. Hell - I rarely know whats right for me, let alone for anyone else. I would hope that people would find spiritual paths that suits their own interests and needs.

But you know what really makes me sad? I love going to church (often when its empty;), and I love some of the prayers and rituals, and readings. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to be around certain segments  of organized religion that are judgmental, intolerant, and anything but spiritual.

I guess all religions have good and bad, and there are ultra-conservative elements in society every where. What happened yesterday is just another data point supporting something I have felt since the age of 4 - religious people seem far more concerned with influencing the behavior of other people than focusing on their own spiritual growth and relationship with God...  weird because one can obtain much comfort from the latter while the former only leads to frustration.

OK, I know. I can be judgmental too! I need to work on that. And I am. Meanwhile, I just feel sad, when I read things like this Very Poignant Letter.

To Give is Divine

Tomorrow I fly to Switzerland and then on to London for the holidays. I've spent weeks working on my presents. Now its time for the wrapping. And I am a mad wrapper of gifts. Ooohhh I go dizzy over the choices - boxes, bags, tissue paper, wrapping paper, ribbons and gift tags. Gold or silver? Lively and colorful with snowmen and santas or chic and minimalist with brown paper and silk ribbon? Perhaps the former for family and the latter for friends? The recent package I shipped to S&M involved a red cardboard gift box, which contained the bubble wrap, which buried the red and green wrapping paper, which enveloped the separate pre-packing of each gift, inside which lay each item.

I don't know what it is about this time of year that gets me sooooo.. deligent. Its like I need to make a proper declaration of warmth and love to each and all. The friends got the party, the colleagues got the cards, the boss got the book, the priest, the lector, and the rector got the gingerbread cookies, and the reception desk lady in my building got the wine bottle. I don't know why I am such a sucker for all things christmas, the perfect target for all the consumer-driven folly that takes place around this time. For me, it's a stance, really, taking a position of Good against the Not-so-good, a choosing of sides. Against the cold wind, and loneliness, against pain and drudgedy God gave us this, and with this I will stand. The psychological consequences are a wish to give pretty things and a desire for celebration.

On Christmas Day, after Midnight Mass, I'll open my presents, gently and carefully, not wanting to tear the beautiful wrappings. I always save the cards and the ribbon. I'll smell the Christmas cake from the kitchen and hear the old familiar carols play. I'll look around in satisfaction at the wild mess of wrapping paper and opened packages and scattered crumbs of cookies. And I will think to myself, 'there's only this. there's only us', and thats enough. For Now.

The Priory of Sion

Da Vinci mania found me in the bookstore yesterday pouring over books and article for/against/explaining the controversy at the heart of the novel. The central theme - that Dan Brown claims is not fiction but fact - is that a mysterious secret society, known as the Priory of Sion, has for centuries guarded a momentous secret - that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene, they had a baby, and his royal bloodline still survives today.

My question is why - WHY - has this incurred the wrath of so many Christians, including the Vatican?  I saw the movie today and despite its potential it was not shot as dramatically as I expected it. As for the theory that Jesus may have been more human than divine...   I just don't see the big deal. This is probably blasphemous of me, but (and I thought of this before Tom Hank's character says it at the end of the movie) what is important is that Jesus was a great man, and his life was a true inspiration. Whether he was married or not, had a child or not is .. well ... kind of irrelevant in the larger scheme of things.

The part I like most about the story though is the focus on women as the chosen gender. Mary Magdalene, not Peter, was supposed to have been groomed by Jesus to take over from him as leader of the church.

Just Enough Religion

to make us hate, but not quite enough to make us love.

The difficulty is not the idea of religion itself, but that all the religions on offer are not that great, says this guy, and then he goes on to trash them all.

Are we Hard-wired to be Religious?

Kristof's latest column in the NYT discusses this curious notion of a genetic inclination toward religion, ie. the existence of some kind of "God gene", whereby some people are genetically more likely to believe in God than others...

Hmm makes me think. Deeply. I have as many friends who believe in some God as those who do not believe in any God. Neither group is homogeneous, and I can't say that one type is more successful or happier than the other.

To me religion and faith are kind of separate. Religion is a social institution, almost all religions say pretty much the same thing, and it is largely a good idea, except when people fight over whose religion is better. But faith, real palpable faith in some kind of higher power is a totally different thing, and a very private matter. Some do and some just don't. I do because otherwise I'd have a big existential problem that would lead to depression. If this universe came from nothingness and is hurtling towards nothingness, well then what is the point of all this? What is the point of life and how we live it?

Status Anxiety

I did a few more useful things in this evening, like research all the Catholic churches in DC and come up with the best one in terms of distance and in terms of Mass options on Sunday. You know, so that if I miss the 11am, there's the 12pm, if I miss that there's the 1.30pm, and finally there's the 5.30pm...  which is the one I went to today.

The St. Mathews Cathedral is breathtaking, I have rarely seen so BEAUTIFUL a church, and the service was exceptional - amazing choir, congregation full of young people, and a great priest, which is something I have solely missed since the parish priest next to Carr Saunders Hall/LSE, which was like in 1992.

He gave an excellent sermon about "Status Anxiety" based on a Washington Post article in todays paper.

"Walk into any Washington party and The Question inevitably comes: "What do you do?" It's a rude but efficient query, a way of quickly establishing your place in the hierarchy of the people worth talking to -- or not. The conversation flows or falters depending on the answer, complete with a proffered business card or a swift escape to the bar".

The article is all about successful people clawing their way up the ladder, and how the more successful they become, the more anxious they get.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31029-2004Jul31.html