Between Opportunities
I brought Sarah to see this beautiful place. The first parishioners mortgaged their own homes to help finance construction. Stain glass windows from Munich, Mexican onyx and brass communion rails still in use. Organ is a 3 manual, 41 electro-pneumatic w/ 2,298 pipes. A lock of St Stephen’s hair is in a reliquary.
Posting by an Anonymous Friend
Courting/manosphere lessons so far this year (meeting one woman a month; low-grade, short-term successes but people aren’t meant for this revolving door):
1. If the girl goes cold, cut contact immediately. No matter how attached she was before (four-hour video calls in which she even talks about marriage). Literally no questions asked. Don’t ask/whine/plead, “What’s wrooooooong? Whyyyyyyy? We can work this oooout.” That’s weakness, which God made women hate; their survival instinct now gone wrong. A bit of socialization from mainstream culture I had to unlearn. By the third one this year I got it. Don’t even give her the chance to deliver the friends speech (got that once) or any other breakup cliché. And by “no contact” you’re not even thinking of trying to get her back, although it gives you a sliver of a chance. (Two have come back to me.) It’s for your own dignity and peace of mind. Don’t be needy.
2. Obvious: the friends speech IS for losers. I actually prefer “no” or even being ghosted. If you hear/read it, leave quietly without saying anything. It doesn’t deserve an answer. No more contact. Anyway, Mike Pence is right; wise. A Catholic turned evangelical smarter than most practicing Catholics. For me, it’s 1960 (no surprise): no to opposite-sex friendships. There are beautiful married acquaintances I’d informally call friends; I’d never be alone with them. There are associates’ wives and girlfriends with whom I am cordial. They are not friends. I don’t … Read the rest
A kid asked, “If a Pope is a bad Pope, but he’s still the Pope and there’s nothing we can do about it, how do we know when we can ignore him?”
Short answer: when he opens his mouth.
Long Pedantic Dad answer: whenever he says something a) novel, or b) contrary to what the Church teaches, or c) factually errant, or d) contrary to common sense.
P.S. No disrespect to the Orthodox (or Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, etc), but ideas have consequences, and either you’re right, or I’m right, or we’re both wrong, and pretending otherwise is false charity.
Not satire: Pope says seeking to convert non-Catholics is a grave sin
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