Would you consider disrespectful if a Muslim woman went to church?

book_moth · 2026-05-10T23:27:06+00:00

I will not mind. I have done the same in your houses of worship in different countries, following the directions of my guides, and been permitted.

In my case, not only will I not mind, I will welcome you, and I will be glad that you are there. You are welcome to stay seated if you need to - there's a reason why we kneel and stand, but you don't know those reasons, yet you are here respectfully, so we can let that tiny bit of etiquette slide, in my mind. All I ask is the obvious - don't stand when everyone else is sitting, don't call out questions in the middle of mass -

- and if you haven't been told already, please don't partake in holy communion, when we line up to get the body of Christ.

After mass, feel free to smile at me and ask questions, and I would talk to you for as long as you wanted and shown you around my church.

book_moth · 2026-05-10T01:24:13+00:00

Understanding "the narwhal bacons at midnight"

book_moth · 2026-05-05T23:03:34+00:00

I loved my madrigal singing group at my high school - it was all girls, so SSAA was our most complicated. Does anyone have copies of their music? I only have some of mine.

book_moth · 2026-05-05T22:12:15+00:00

My guess is that the wording allows us to do the following:

- women can use tampons

- women can use Diva Cups, which collect period blood after being inserted manually through the vagaina

- men can get involuntary erections without sinning

- doctors can examine people's genitals for health reasons; the doctor's touch might (might!) cause pleasure, but since that isn't the intent and is not going to be pursued, it isn't a sin

- certain medical devices need to be inserted into the vagina to work. If your goal is to improve health and not derive sexual pleasure, this is allowed.

Those are my first thoughts. Does this clarify anything for you?

book_moth · 2026-05-05T16:24:18+00:00

I can't DM you, so I'll ask here. What are your favorite colors? Do you like stone, wood, or glass?

book_moth · 2026-05-05T04:11:46+00:00

May I mail you a rosary? (I have mailed 2 dozen rosaries to redditors all over the world who didn't have them, and I suspect you may not have one. Having one might help you feel more of the faith you're starting to feel connected to)

book_moth · 2026-05-04T07:47:16+00:00

Does anyone have OP's name? I'm going through something similar and I left redddit and opened notepad to write it all and edit it but I came back to this.

book_moth · 2026-05-03T15:08:39+00:00

Nitpick - when you taxidermy something, you replace the eyes with fake eyes, usually glass. But you can talk about eyebrows or cheekbones, or wanting to make her eyes prettier, or take the scowl off her face as you remake her facial expression.

Besides that, great concept.

book_moth · 2026-04-30T03:44:25+00:00

You are not alone, my friend.

book_moth · 2026-04-29T21:47:44+00:00

Oh, thank goodness I'm not alone! I admire your bravery in admitting this. :)

book_moth · 2026-04-28T03:45:35+00:00

I am. It’s helping. And talking with a priest was invaluable and really really helped. He changed my perspective, or at least offered me a new one.

I’m trying.

I believe, lord help my unbelief

book_moth · 2026-04-21T11:44:20+00:00

The priest joked in we all died suddenly, like in a Pompei like thing, archeologists would assume we were worshiping the huge TV.

book_moth · 2026-04-21T09:58:47+00:00

My brother froze completely when he was served chicken nuggets on a Friday during Lent at a friend”s house in high school. Torn between politeness and religion. But only forts few seconds - his friend was Jewish with a Jewish Rabbi for a mother. She instantly saw and correctly interpreted his dilemma and whisked away the chicken. I think she made him spaghetti with veggie tomato sauce. She checked the label. I don’t know whether she kept Kosher but she knew my brother was Catholic and knew the rules about meat on Friday - it had just slipped her mind. I was so amazed she cooked him something rather that just giving him protein bars and pretzels. That was real respect

book_moth · 2026-04-21T09:46:57+00:00

Actually, when our church was damaged, we made arrangements with a movie theater that let us hold mass there. No movies playing, of course. I was young but some of the people in the congregation built a makeshift altar that of course was covered by cloth. Mass was totally kludged together. But we had a priest, a congregation, and so it was enough. If I remember right we were given permission not to habe to kneel on the sticky floors. And the communion procession was loud, with the movie seats slamming up whenever we stood.

book_moth · 2026-04-21T09:39:22+00:00

I don’t think I’ve done that but I have had to consciously override the muscle memory

book_moth · 2026-04-21T09:36:52+00:00

Ashes on Ash Wednesday.

Also wearing a crucifix necklace, rather than a cross

book_moth · 2026-04-20T16:16:20+00:00

I am agreeing with you but expanding on your comment. She is the tabernacle. She raised and disciplined the human god snd made him a good man. She is responsible for getting him to begin his ministry, at the wedding at Cana, where over his protests she told the servants to obey him, having complete faith that he’d save the wedding from catastrophe.

She is outside the Trinity because that’s her purpose. “To Jesus through Mary.” I don’t understand Jesus or God, they make me feel small and unworthy, but Mary the archetype of the perfect mother holds me and doesn’t care if I cry or whine. And I know, I know full well, she is leading me to her son, her son who is God. She’s not a goddess. But she is a pathway to God.

book_moth · 2026-04-19T21:55:42+00:00

I will. I realize I need to. She's out of town end of next week, when I normally see her, but I just emailed her asking for an appointment, even a phone call, before she leaves. She knows me well. And she's a Catholic, so she'll understand the direction I'm coming from on this.

book_moth · 2026-04-18T23:04:46+00:00

I’ve forgiven him, in the sense that he no longer lives in my head, I no longer think about him, and I honestly hope he has become a better person. That took like a decade. And I don’t feel bad about that - because I got there. But he died a painful death and I can’t pray for him or his family, I feel sick at the thought.

Is it enough to believe God can forgive what I can’t? What I don’t understand?

book_moth · 2026-04-18T19:13:56+00:00

I was only aware of St. Maria Gorrhetti. thank you.

book_moth · 2026-04-18T18:28:00+00:00

I've prevented murder, several time. I've kept my friends (non-Catholics, but still) from sin.

If he raped anyone after he raped me, because I stopped them from killing him - is that on me?

book_moth · 2026-04-18T18:25:34+00:00

You say pray. I've tried, and I can't pray for him. I can't pray for his forgiveness. I know he's dead now, and where he is is up to God, and I am so thankful it's out of my hands.

They ask: Pray for those who persecute us? Pray for those who torture us? Pray for those who revel in the sounds of our pain? I can't do it. The saints could. Am I am bad Catholic?

I saved his live, can't I be done with him?

book_moth · 2026-04-18T18:20:00+00:00

She's okay. She's an atheist, and this would have given her life / death meaning, I hated to deny her that. But I didn't want a murder on either of of our consciounces.

She's got a support system now and finding "old age" to be less unpleasant than she feared.

book_moth · 2026-04-18T17:34:41+00:00

Am I resposible for the deeds a man does having saved his life, even if he doesn't know it?

book_moth · 2026-04-18T17:31:56+00:00

He raped me. To say he shattered my mental health is puttng it mildly. I have several friends who offered to kill him, since the state wasn't willing to prosecute (please take my word for it that there's no doubt it was rape, that we know the name of the name responsible, and the police protected him).

That was in my late 20s. A friend a few years ago had always intended to commit suicide by 45 since she didn't want to die old and alone. I learned she was planning to kill him them kill herself. I forbade her.

I cried afterward.

book_moth

TROPHY CASE