[Superman]

I am 64, and have been Catholic as long as I can remember. There is another piece of this tale that (it seems) has not entered this thread. When I attended Ash Wednesday Mass four days ago, half the ladies were wearing scarfs on their heads. None of the men had head coverings. The Church no longer requires womens' heads to be covered, but it used to make this requirement. It has never been the slightest bit okay for a man to wear a hat at Mass. Big no-no. Not sure where Matthew attends Mass but at Sacred Heart Church on the campus of St. Martins University (which is also a Benedictine monastery by the way), an RCIA candidate would NEVER.....EVER get away with this.

Now before you guys sneer at the notion that I believe God distinguishes between hat-wearers and others, hear this: I was tickled to see, at the Ash Wednesday Mass, that our usher was wearing a grey hoodie. Catholics are actually mighty casual about dress code at Mass. We really do think our relationship with God is 100% private and personal, and that God judges our hearts and not our clothes. God did not say that men may not cover their heads at Mass. And it is strictly forbidden nonetheless. The priest should have said something, even if nobody else did. This is forbidden. But then....I used to attend Mass when it was sung in Latin.

A friend of mine's son's coach asked him, many years ago now, if the son was being disrespectful or being funny when he called the coach "Sir." My friend said no. He said his son has three choices. "Sir." "Coach." Or "Mr. Anderson."

Frankly, I am probably set to leave this world at about the right time. Not sure I want to see much more of the deterioration of respect and manners.