cinco sobre la religi�n
11.01.02 // 5:43 p.m.

Happy Friday to you! I think I�ll be watching a play my friend is in tomorrow and then cozying up with Caramelo since it is so cold and gloomy outside. I was just writing about this yesterday.

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?
Yeah, I was raised Catholic. I went to mass every Sunday, went to Catechism, was baptized, did my First Holy Communion and Confirmation. In addition, I participated in the church youth group, was in choir, and was an altar server up through high school. My family prayed together before bed (the family that prays together, stays together�) each night and on the way to school we�d say a morning prayer too. Each Christmas Eve, we�d always say the Rosary and there are religious icons all over the house (crosses, replicas of la Virgen de Guadalupe, etc). I was raised in the classic Mexican Catholic home.

2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?
Sometimes, but not to the point I once did. I still go, but it�s only when I�m at home in the Heights and the rest of my family is pressuring me to go. I don�t have the guts to say I don�t feel like it to them. I guess I�m not feeling the whole church thing mainly because I know if I�m going to do it, I shouldn�t do it half-ass and that�s what I�m doing now. There are a lot of things I don�t agree with, but I still feel I need some sort of spiritual guide in my life. My family is still heavily involved in SJV (the parish I went to) so its still a big part of my home life.

3. What do you think happens after death?
I believe there�s some sort of after life. I still believe in heaven and hell, though I�m not too sure about purgatory.

4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
I like saying the Rosary and celebrating the feast of la Virgen de Guadalupe on December 12 each year. Mexicans and Chicanos are so devoted to la Virgen, even those who claim not to be religious or Catholic. It�s just something cultural. I also love singing and the sense of community I get a church. It�s nice to know people care about you. Last thing, I love the smell of incense.

5. Do you believe people are basically good?
I�ll go with Anne Frank and say yes. But I can�t argue why necessarily and Freud�s arguments I studied in my sociological theory class didn�t help much. Humans can be very good people, but just looking at history you find a lot to dispute that.

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Me siento: finished
Escuchando: "The fool on the Hill" by the Beatles

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s


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