Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A quick chuckle

This is from Fr. Jim Martin SJ, writing at AMERICA magazine. He was addressing graduates at the University of Pennsylvania, and it's too much of a gem not to share.

There's an interfaith gathering at Penn and all the participants --
Catholics, Protestant, Jewish, Muslims, Buddhists, even agnostics andatheists --are on lunch break. They go to a local food truck (my favorite, which we called Ptomaine Tony's), and they all get food poisoning and die.

So they arrive at the gates of heaven, bummed out because, you know, they're dead, but happy because they're in heaven. And St. Peter comes out to take care of business. So he turns to the Protestants and says, "Hey, thanks for all that great work you did in helping people learn the Bible and all those great hymns. So welcome to heaven. Why don't you go to Room Five, but make sure not to look in Room One." Off they go. Then Peter says to the Jewish crowd, "Hey, thanks for keeping the Covenant faithfully, and following all the Commandments that God asked of you. So Mazel tov! Welcome to heaven. Go to Room ... Four, but don't look into Room One." Then he turns to the Muslims and says, "Thanks for all daily prayers and your devout observances of all that the Quran taught. Welcome to heaven! Go to Room Three, but make sure not to look into Room One."

Finally, one of the agnostics, who's surprised to be there at all, says to St. Peter, "What's in Room One?" And he says, "Oh, that's the Catholics. They think they're the only ones up here."

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Daily Mass Readings
Acts 12:24-13:5a
Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8
John 12:44-50

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