I was telling one of my colleagues this story and he laughed so much that I thought it might be worth sharing it with you.
Several years ago, New York was sweltering through a heat wave. A friend of mine, a diocesan priest who worked at the Archdiocesan Center in Manhattan, was standing at the curb, waiting for the light to change so he could cross the street.
A sympathetic bystander turned to him and said, “Father, what a sacrifice! It must terrible having to wear a black suit and clergy shirt in this weather.”
My friend looked at him and said, “This? You call wearing this a sacrifice? This is nothing. Try going without sex your entire life. That’s a sacrifice!”
He told me that the poor man was so stunned that he just stood there as my friend and many others started crossing the street!
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Lol!
Simon,
I thought it was pretty funny when he told me.
Paul
Whoa-talk about conversation stunners…
Bob,
Yes, I dream of coming up with zingers like that.
Paul
*snort* That is a jaw-dropping reply!
Fran,
I think the heat was getting to him!
Paul
=D
Tim,
Paul
I think it would be fun to know your friend as he sounds like someone who would be full of surprises!
Lynda,
You don’t know the half of it!
Paul
I think I would have had the same reaction as my fellow New Yorker. Do you know how hard it is to stun Manhattan pedestrians? Your friend has a rare gift!
Denise,
A rare, er, gift indeed!
Paul
What a sacrifice indeed.
Jo,
Yes it is. I hope it will prove to have been worth it.
Paul
Paul, your response to Jo really gave me a good laugh!
Funny! The French in me will keep unsaid any potentially unbecoming retort
Claire,
Soyez libre. Vous etes parmi vos amis…
Paul
I feel much like Claire. But in pig latin…..
Helen,
I could never get the hang of pig Latin. One of the great sorrows in my life.
Paul
PIG LATIN???? Ummmmm….I’d better not go there.
Emma,
I suspect it’s not what you might think it is!
Paul
A play on words. Pig Latin is the only Latin that I speak. But, “you” started it.
What an awesome answer! I actually really did laugh out loud
Oh man!!!!
I think I would have been pretty gobsmacked too! Reminds me of a Priest we used to have (I could talk to him like a brother) and he was relating in the pulpit, being on a TV show somewhere and a scantily clad lady was on the show too. He ended with the line “Just because you are on a diet does’nt mean you can’t look at the menu”. Well it made me laugh and was a reminder that priests are human too.
ps. I meant human as in not a third species ie. Man, Woman, priest, you know what, I think I am making this worse so I’m away from here!