None of my sins have been all that original anyway
I once went to church with a Mormon friend. I think I was about 11. The subject of baptism came up and, being the lone Catholic in the room, I got to defend why “we” believe that babies should be baptized as soon as possible after birth. Why, they asked me, wouldn’t they wait until the child was old enough to make the decision itself? Fuck if I knew (I didn’t say I was a good Catholic), so I went home and asked Mom. She explained Original Sin to me. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to go back to the Mormons in Hometown to explain it to them, but I always felt a little smug after that knowing that I’d been baptized and was therefore safe from the threat of limbo.
In subsequent years, I’ve both shrugged off my Catholic faith and most of the guilt that accompanies it. Which is good because any sin that my baptism washed away has since been trumped by years of drinking, kissing boys, popping birth control, swearing like a sailor, and foregoing Mass for extra sleep. But, as any recovering Catholic will tell you, you never really shake that voice inside that worries a little. Your rational, sane, college-educated brain may tell you that hell is about as scary as the boogie monster, but what if you’re wrong?
And now this: turns out I never needed to worry about limbo. God bless those old Catholic guys for appeasing the worried minds of followers the world over. I know I’ll sleep better at night now.
January 29th, 2006 at 11:59 am
I just think that Hell being hot is enough for me! As a wise woman who I admire once said while driving into San Diego…”Heaven will be 80 degrees.”