Ah, Easter memories...

[Mike the Lab Rat]

I was raised Roman Catholic (Italian variety), so for my family, Easter was a frigging major deal.

When we got up on Easter morning, my mother wouldn't let us eat or drink anything (other than water), since you weren't supposed to have any food in your stomach when you received Communion. I guess it was sacrilegious to have the Body of Christ sloshing around your alimentary canal with Cap'n Crunch.

We'd slap on the usual "high holy day uniform" of undershirt, dress clothes (long-sleeved shirt, real tie, and suit coat) and haul ourselves and our extended family, stomachs rumbling, to Mass.

St. Patrick's in Catskill (NY) is a small church. No ventilation, other than the windows. The varnish on the pews would get sticky in the heat and glue your body to your seat. The place was packed on Easter as the "twice a year" Catholics would make their appearance and ushers would try to force eight or even nine people into pews designed for six or seven. The place was SRO even in the entrance vestibule.

Mass would start, and the air got thick with the fog of incense. Personally, I love the smell of church incense (it's one of the things I love about my current "High Church" Episcopal parish), but on a swelteringly hot day, with layers of warm clothing, jammed in a pew so tightly you can barely draw breath, not having eaten since about six the previous night.....it made for a bad scene. I'd suddenly see "sparkly lights" in the periphery of my vision, sweat profusely...and then pass out. Hell, being raised strict RC, I figured that it was all part of the "Holy Ghost experience."

Another treat - being crammed into the pew so tightly, I couldn't fall over, so apparently I'd be unconcious for awhile before anyone realized I was out. Even then, there was nothing my family could really do, since everyone was packed like sardines. My dad would just try to get me sitting down with my head down until I'd revive. Turns out that the same thing happened to my brother and a lot of our friends,

An hour and a half later (gotta love High Holy Day Masses), we'd haul ass to some pancake house to finally eat something after our 18+ hour fast.

Good times.

[Wolfman]

Happy Easter Mike !!
on an unrelated note-- I saw that the Catskill Game Farm closed its doors. When I lived in Grand Gorge we'd take the kids there. My older son and his family made a "pilgrimage" there before they shut down.

[socal]

Mike,

Same good times as a wee lad here.

How times have changed. This morning my kid had a bowl of ice cream, stuff she gave up for lent, for breakfast. Wifey, who shunned alcohol for 40 days slammed some Bailey's in her coffee. No shirt and clip on tie; jeans and "holy" Converse with a collared shirt. We went to the early bluehair mass, and rack the good father for starting 2 minutes early and finishing in 47 minutes with music.

[Ken]

After living through all of that kind of crap through my childhood, my mother to this day wonders why I don't go to church w/nearly the frequency she made me do as a child... at 7:30 in the morning... on a non-school day.

Hell, I go to a local non-denominational church these day. While doing so, I look back on those days of Catholic church and mass w/jaded eyes.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Yep, Mike, I remember those two, except for one minor detail of difference.

When we got up on Easter morning, my mother wouldn't let us eat or drink anything (other than water), since you weren't supposed to have any food in your stomach when you received Communion. I guess it was sacrilegious to have the Body of Christ sloshing around your alimentary canal with Cap'n Crunch.

In our house, the rule was no food one hour before communion. Under my mother's interpretation of that rule, it went to one hour before Mass, although I would invariably point out to her that communion wouldn't take place until a good 30-45 minutes into Mass. In any event, I'd always get up early on Sunday so I didn't have to go to Mass on a completely empty stomach.

[Mikey]

When I was a little kid we had the same thing about not eating in the morning before mass. And at that time it was, like MtLR, a high mass with incence and stuff, and it was said in Latin and the priest had his back to the flock for most of the time (yeah I'm that old). I think I could still recite the Agnus Dei.

The thing that made it worse for us is we always had a big Easter basket full of candy (not a Catholic tradition) outside our bedroom door and we couldn't touch any of it until we got home from mass. And we weren't allowed to really dig into that sweet pile of chocolate eggs and jelly beans until after we ate breakfast, which was usually a large production taking an hour or more.

[Mike the Lab Rat]

Under my mother's interpretation of that rule, it went to one hour before Mass, although I would invariably point out to her that communion wouldn't take place until a good 30-45 minutes into Mass.

The legal mind was workin' even at that young age, eh?

My dad used to argue the same thing and would make himself a snack before we headed out. My brother and I, OTOH, didn't have the clout of Dad, so we went without.

[BSmack]

It's times like these when I thank God and god for growing up Lutheran.

[RadioFan]

It's times like these when I thank God and god for growing up Lutheran.

Heathen.

Not to go all Dinsdale on you all, but I stopped worrying about this bullshit when I was, ummm, 16, as in actually working.

And on Sundays too ~ gasp ~

These idiotic "rules" deserve where they belong, in the past.

But then again, nothing ever happens outside of 9-5, EDT, M-F.

Idiocy.

[BSmack]

It's times like these when I thank God and god for growing up Lutheran.

Heathen.

Not to go all Dinsdale on you all, but I stopped worrying about this bullshit when I was, ummm, 16, as in actually working.

I stopped regularly attending after Confirmation. Which for me was more of an exercise in intellectual curiosity than a parental requirement.

[OCmike]

It's times like these when I thank God and god for growing up Lutheran.

It's times like these when I laugh at the fools filling their heads with all of this stupid bullshit.

You got a problem with Lutherans, fuckface?

[Invictus]

It's times like these when I thank God and god for growing up Lutheran.

It's times like these when I laugh at the fools filling their heads with all of this stupid bullshit.

You got a problem with Lutherans, fuckface?

Bring it, mvsspic. Me and my dog will fuck you up.

And, then give you a profound message at the end of that beating.

Sincerely,

[Bizzarofelice]

grew up UCC protestant. Guess that's why not going to church was an easy break as opposed to the Catholics who can't go by a Catholic church without spewing bile at the Vatican.

[OCmike]

grew up UCC protestant. Guess that's why not going to church was an easy break as opposed to the Catholics who can't go by a Catholic church without spewing bile at the Vatican.

Not going to church was easy for my Old Man, as he preferred sleeping in until 10AM and watching NFL games to going to church. Once I became an adult I liked his way better than Mom's. :D

Bring it, mvsspic. Me and my dog will fuck you up.

And, then give you a profound message at the end of that beating.

Actually, I don't really care if he likes Lutherans or not. I just felt like calling someone "fuckface"...

BTW, a Lutheran is probably the least likely person you'll ever get a knock on the door, some literature and a "profound message" from.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

^^
For the Boston clones (me... and... me) who listen to the WEEI hacks, close your eyes and listen.

L to R:

Tony Massarotti, Fred Smerlas

[Terry in Crapchester]

Other than a generalized contempt for all forms of Christianity, no.

This from the guy who claims that ALL of our laws derive from Judeo-Christian concepts of morality.

mvscal KHOA

Tell me, why do you hate America?

[Dinsdale]

That's some cutting-edge smack right there, T-Dawg.


Really.

[Terry in Crapchester]

That's some cutting-edge smack right there, T-Dawg.


Really.

KYOA and "why do you hate America" has been used by pretty much every poster at one time or another. In fact, Dr. D used the latter so frequently that it's become something of a punch line on this board by now. Tell me you knew.

[Goober McTuber]

T-Bag defining punch lines and what is funny will always be, well, funny.

[Dinsdale]

Now waitaminute, see if I've got this right...

You just cited Dr Detroit as a precedent as to why you're currently getting over and being the slapper-of-knees?


Ohhhhh, dear.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

and being the slapper-of-knees?

The only way Terry will ever assume this role is if his man-boobs sag down far enough...

[Dinsdale]

his man-boobs

AKA "Crap On Terry's Chest There."

[Mike the Lab Rat]

Roman Catholicism was pretty much over for me when two forces collided:

College at an institution with an 8:1 female to male ratio

and

Confession.

It's rather difficult to even pretend that you're sorry for bagging as much co-ed tail as you did, let alone solemnly promise that you'll stop.

Basically, during my final RC confession, I told Father Murphy that we'd better just end the session because we both knew that chastity just wasn't gonna happen. He laughed and gave me off-the-record props for at least being honest with myself and him.

[Tom In VA]

Basically, during my final RC confession, I told Father Murphy that we'd better just end the session because we both knew that chastity just wasn't gonna happen. He laughed and gave me off-the-record props for at least being honest with myself and him.

Yeah no shit. Then again there is that whole "firm purpose of amendment" thing necessary before even confessing something. In fact, I think it's required.

[Mike the Lab Rat]

Basically, during my final RC confession, I told Father Murphy that we'd better just end the session because we both knew that chastity just wasn't gonna happen. He laughed and gave me off-the-record props for at least being honest with myself and him.

Yeah no shit. Then again there is that whole "firm purpose of amendment" thing necessary before even confessing something. In fact, I think it's required.

My mom used to march our asses to Saturday evening Mass early enough to make sure we made it for pre-Mass confession.

She didn't mind that my dad, brother, and myself cherry-picked the priest. Most folks brought up RC understand/remember the concept of shopping for the "easy penance priest"...our was Father Murphy. The guy would have let Ted Bundy off with four Hail Mary's, an Our Father, and an Act of Contrition. What mattered to Mom was that we went before every Mass. Had to get those mortal sins off of us prior to receiving Communion.

10 years of catechism, however, managed to scratch at the back of my mind and I realized that I'd rather face the "wrath of mom" for not going to confession that the "wrath of God" for knowingly making an incomplete Confession. I explained my rationale to Dad (whose response was a high-five for my getting laid and a extracting promise on my part to not tell Mom that he high-fived me...) who then broke the news to Mom for me.

I assume that she got over it.

Of course, down the road I abandoned the RC faith officially and am raising my kids Protestant (my dad refers to it as "the topic of which we dare not speak"). My dad, OTOH, could not care less, since, like most dads, he only goes to Mass to appease his wife.

I'm thinking that since my younger brother became a Carmelite monk, she's got that to balance out my "apostasy."

[Tom In VA]

Yeah but once again, the notion of facing ones failing and character flaws and moreso the actions taken based on them is not really all that original. Neither is the notion of restitution, atonement and ..... penance.

Catholics however viewed Christ telling the apostles .. and I paraphrase ... "what you loose here on earth is loosed in heaven". As the institution of the sacrament of confession and that since he only said it to the apostles and the apostles were the first priests it can only be priests that hear the confession.

I think most people prefer priests based solely on the "vow" priests take to not blab the fact the Mrs. Gibbons shoves cucumbers up her booty while the Mr. Gibbons is at work ..... getting a hummer under his desk from the next door neighbors college aged daughter doing an internship for the summer.


Most sin, causes enough pain and anguish in and of itself that Christ was pretty much like ... "go and sin no more" no matter what ailed you.


To be a true Catholic, following every single thing, heck to be a true Christian following every single thing is almost ...... impossible.

This is where I I guess side with Dins. If you're going to be a Christian, you have a lifetime worth of work at being one YOURSELF, no sense butting in and looking at whether or not other people are being one.

Glass houses kind of thing.


I don't know what I am anymore, God is going to decide that one I suppose.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Now waitaminute, see if I've got this right...

You just cited Dr Detroit as a precedent as to why you're currently getting over and being the slapper-of-knees?


Ohhhhh, dear.

Uhhh, no.

Just giving you some history on the saying. Sort of like, "If I see you I will fight you," that statement has evolved into a completely different meaning from what it once had.