If you have trouble with the link to Favorable Odd$ here's the URL: http://oddleft.tumblr.com/
"I hate Halloween!"
Saturday, October 31, 2009
My Guest Post on favorable odd$
I wrote a guest blog post for my friend Oddleft over at Favorable Odd$ called "In the Game." Be sure to check it out, and read some of Oddleft's posts. She is hilarious and has a unique outlook on the universe.
If you have trouble with the link to Favorable Odd$ here's the URL: http://oddleft.tumblr.com/
If you have trouble with the link to Favorable Odd$ here's the URL: http://oddleft.tumblr.com/
I Hate Loaded Religious Questions
When a priest-friend of mine, Fr. Black, was in the pit of depression and struggling over whether to leave the priesthood, he reached out and confided in a priest-mentor, breaking down in a torrent of despair.
His priest-mentor did not respond, “I’m sorry that you’re hurting,” or, “What can I do to help?” but rather, “How’s your prayer life?”
Fr. Black received no compassion, no understanding and no help from this canned “pastoral” response to pain. His priest-mentor was really saying, “If you just prayed harder, if you just believed more, if you really trusted god, if you were just a good holy boy like you were formed to be in seminary, you wouldn’t be so fucked up.”
The priest-mentor told Fr. Black that he would pray for him, and Fr. Black returned to his rectory feeling horrendous and all the more reluctant to ask anyone else for help.
Fr. Black is no longer a priest.
As my fellow heretics in the Freedom from Religion Foundation say: “Nothing fails like prayer.” All types, all the time.
So, how’s your prayer life?
His priest-mentor did not respond, “I’m sorry that you’re hurting,” or, “What can I do to help?” but rather, “How’s your prayer life?”
Fr. Black received no compassion, no understanding and no help from this canned “pastoral” response to pain. His priest-mentor was really saying, “If you just prayed harder, if you just believed more, if you really trusted god, if you were just a good holy boy like you were formed to be in seminary, you wouldn’t be so fucked up.”
The priest-mentor told Fr. Black that he would pray for him, and Fr. Black returned to his rectory feeling horrendous and all the more reluctant to ask anyone else for help.
Fr. Black is no longer a priest.
As my fellow heretics in the Freedom from Religion Foundation say: “Nothing fails like prayer.” All types, all the time.
So, how’s your prayer life?
Image Credit: Offensive+Delightful Industries @ www.oplusd.com
Postscript: This fabulous image was given to me by my dear friend, Mrs. Levine. Check out her incredible, insightful, and ingenuous blog at http://whisperedbetweenwomen.tumblr.com/.
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