Catholic Ragemonkey

He's Got the Look!

On Saturday, during the conference, we celebrated Mass at 11:00 a.m. It was the highest weekday Mass that I had been to in a long time, probably since the last conference. Wonderful were the music selections, the Mass parts in Latin and gently chanted, an excellent homily from Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R., and the remainder well-celebrated by Fr. Antonie Thomas, F.J. But while the priests were vesting in the make-shift sacristy, a funny thing happened.

I was standing next to Fr. Andrew, chatting it up about Fr. Benedict, when another priest slipped over and introduced himself to Fr. Andrew. Since my mother raised me not to be a heel, I introduced myself as well. This unnamed priest looked at me and asked, quite innocently, "Are you in the same order as Fr. Andrew?" There was a momentary pause as Fr. Andrew and I looked at each other and said, virtually simultaneously, "Ah, no." But to ease the embarassment, which proves the superiority of Fr. Andrew in the realm of social moral issues, he added, "But he does have the C.F.R. look."

I have never thought of it that way, but I suppose that a religious order could create a fashion trend. Personally, I think it just suggests that I shouldn't wear sandals or let my beard go untrimmed at the same time. And for all those wags who suggest that I should just shave off my beard and be done with it, I want to suggest an image to you. Remember that scene in The Passion of the Christ where Christ is scourged? My throat shreds when I shave and I would generate more blood and gore than that scene.