In Praise of Dates

...Girl Dates, that is. A what? Yes, you heard me. Girl. Date. It's when two women go out and have dinner at a place their boyfriends or husbands don't want to or will not go. It's great fun, and I just got back from one with my sweet friend from church. It's also a reminder that despite our culture's emphasis on pair bonding, one person can never fulfill every need we have.

Pictured above is a be-yooo-tiful french martini from the restaurant. It was truly a thing of beauty, unlike the ugly church I went to yesterday for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. 

I rarely make it to my parish for holy days of obligation since I work longer hours across town. This parish is fairly large, but the architecture is ugly. It reminds me of a boxy, arena style Protestant church. There's quilted tapestries that are straight out of the 1990s style church decor, along with carpeting and pews a certain shade of green that was ubiquitous in that era. I kid you not, I've walked into many different churches that had the same. shade. of. green. The congregation looks down at the altar. As I was telling my friend at dinner, I can't lift up my heart in that environment when the ugliness is pulling my heart into the abyss. In contrast, my parish is the Cathedral, a beautiful neo-gothic place where vaulted ceilings soar. It points to transcendence, and makes it easy to lift up my heart. The architecture has meaning. Yes, I know that it's not everything, but this poor sinner needs all the aid she can get.