On Money Problems...

Dear readers (if there are any),

   Sorry for my not posting lately. I was out camping until yesterday, and yesterday I was too conflicted over what to write, (and I was also being lazy). I was going to write a post about Downfall, a very excellent film. But it's about Hitler. So instead of being a Debbie Downer and writing about National Socialism, I'm going to write about Western Capitalism.

   I know that half of you have stopped reading this post since I mentioned "Western Capitalism." But I promise not to write an essay about its origins, or destroy your patience with a long winded post about Marxist vs. Keynesian economics. I want to talk, instead, about us. And about big buildings.

   I currently have a tab on my browser that says "Men's 2012 spring fashion trends." I have a hymnal waiting for me at the post office, and I have been thinking of multiple cheap ways to get another tie to match my countless bengal striped shirts. I am quintessential consumer.

   And yet, why do I feel so scandalized when I see fancy churches, with stained glass and paintings and all those extra odds and ends? I buy stuff to make myself to look better; why should I feel like a church (which does a lot more to help the world in which we live) should be a sparse and warehouse of Jesus?

   The logic really breaks down when we compare churches to corporations. In medieval times, churches were the tallest buildings in the entire village. Now, in practically every city in the world, skylines are crowded with high rise condos and corporate offices, buildings dedicated to the pursuit of money and bastions of capitalist greed. We drive past these buildings without taking a second glance. Some of us even work in these giant buildings. Some people even revel in it, taking pictures in places like Times Square, literally the most advertised space in the entire world.

   And yet we feel disgusted when we see a big church. What's up with that? It seems so weird to me that we have all these huge skyscrapers that, according to Fr. Robert Barron, are "Monuments to consumerism" and "Temples of materialism" while most churches are struggling to maintain their mortgage payments.

   What does that say about us, the consumers? What are we doing to contribute to a world in which corporations can build massive spaces without batting an eye, and small tiny churches are going bankrupt? Even as a college student, I can see ways in which I can contribute more to my church, but I feel such a desire to spend my money on cute shirts, shoes, and other paraphernalia.

What's up with that?

Tie guy

PS After many of my protestant friend's concerns that my comparison between protestants and the devil could be construed as offensive, I have edited it to show that I am merely joking. Sorry for my veiled sardonicism.

PPS Hooray for Jessica Davis, who got baptized on Saturday!!!! Praise be to God who has now brought her fully into the (c)atholic Church!

PPPS If you don't want to see more days without posts, you better give me some ideas of what to write about            next.