Dialog Between Concerned Neighbor And ... Priest

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Father,

my next-door neighbor

is always screaming

at her children, her husband,

or at her television.

Yet, she claims to be

a devout Catholic.

How is that possible?

A devout Catholic 

is not defined

by personal behavior.

 

How is that possible?

 

The more irregular

a parishioner's behavior is

most often means

the more money that person

 puts in the collection plate.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong

but it sounds like 

you are defining

 devotion to your religion

by the amount of money

given to your church.

 

That is correct.

Without money,

a Catholic church

—or any other church— 

cannot breath.

A Catholic priest

would be indigent

and pained to preach.

Thank you, Father

for that explanation

but you have given me

more reason to be proud

of my atheism.

That's nothing to be

ashamed of but 

virtually all pastors

of all religions agree

that Atheism

is lacking in imagination.

I imagine that to be true

but my imagination

has many alternate routes.

 ***

© OLIVERIO ©

_______________________________________________________________________________________________