Don't Kick the Habit

Many of my posts point toward a singular attitude of mine: I don't like it when people push religion down my throat. There was even a situation a few years ago when a couple of missionary-types (the guys with the ties who walk down the street looking for converts) walked up to my father and me, as we were trying to fix my car, and wanted to talk about salvation. My father said, "just keep moving," but I had to take the, "Screw you! There is no God!" approach. It was one of my typical infantile attitude moments. For the record, however, I'd like to say, I'm not so anti-religion as I may seem.

I read an article today that reminded me of the respect I have for many in the service of the Higher Calling. Sister Mary Scullion, as reported by MSNBC, is one of those who put my faith in those with greater faith than my own. She is an activist to end homelessness in Philadelphia, and I was moved by the article, which I believe everyone should read. I was never thrilled with the thought of missionaries whose good works tend to be secondary to their coversion tactics (read Things Fall Apart if you want an example of fantastic fiction writing about it).

When I was a kid, I went to a Catholic school and was held by the faith. As I grew older, I lost much of that faith, but I kept a respect for most of the nuns that I knew. Most of them were a little scary, but they really pursued the life that they preached. Nuns, unlike Pat Robertson, live a life of poverty. Talk about your glass ceilings! And one credit to the Catholic religion that has not been shown enough amid the controversies over some Priests, is the devotion of nuns to the faith. I have never heard of a single case where a nun accused of anything worse than being strict. They really are the only part of the Church that gives me pause to think "there might have been some magic in that old blue habit they found."