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PU From the Pew, Christmas Parties, Meetings, Any Public Gathering 
Allison and Carrie, five-year-old twins, were playing as they called it "grown up ladies." They wanted to "smell beautiful." More is better, they thought. Mom was in the back yard watering her plants. Taking a bowl from the kitchen, they went on a perfume hunt throughout the house. They found mom's three or four special scents, some expensive, some very expensive and some just so-so. Big sister had quite a variety of scents; she was very popular with the boys. Hey, here is some of Dad's cologne. Throw it in, why not? And those of big brother, too. Mix it all up. They were going to be the most beautifully smelling girls in the world. Well, we can imagine the outcome... P U all over the house! Open all the windows, girls into the bathtub, clothes in the wash and a thorough scolding, together with a few muffled laughs and some wonderful memories for the diary.Now, imagine a church, a hall full of people, any gathering of people all wearing perfume, deodorant, cologne, powders, of all different brands, all giving off their proficient, pungent potency. Not too unlike the twins, Allison and Carrie, everyone is trying to smell beautiful, but what really happens is people begin to smell beautifully. PU from the pew, the hall, the meeting room, the elevator! The cacophony of smells becomes unbearable. Allergies go berserk. One has a desire to open windows and take a bath like the twins, Allison and Carrie. Some people, men and women alike, put on way too much perfume and/or cologne, etc. It is a lot like cooking. If you can immediately identify the spice in the food you taste, if you say, "Wow, this entree is really loaded with garlic," the entree is, in fact, over-spiced. When you order something in a restaurant and say, "Wow, this really tastes good, I wonder what's in it?" Then it has just the right amount of seasoning. In the same way, if you are bombarded by a strong odor of perfume, it is so over-powering that it completely distracts you from the person wearing it. A famous perfume expert, Margaret Jeagnne, says, "The proper way to put on perfume is to spray very little into the air and walk into it." This will give a person a mystic presence and stir curiosity about the person wearing this intriguing fragrance. "I wonder who the person is behind this hint of a delightful tickle of the olfactory nerves." The moral of the story is: more is not necessarily better. Have pity on and consideration of your fellow humans, especially in gatherings, such as in church, at meetings, social and sports activities. May your Christmas be filled with the odor of sanctity from the Christ child, pine trees and the Christmas crib. Fr. Cardelli Italian Catholic Federation, 8393 Capwell Drive, Suite 110, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE |