An unrelated aside

I'm totally peeved that somebody on Facebook just said "hey everybody, I went to mass and prayed for smaller goverment and lower taxes!" 

Yee-haw! Is it just me, or is it kind of idiotic to ask God to influence politics and make you more profitable? 

This is your number one concern when you attend mass? Listen, it's no secret that I don't think of God as a magical wish-granter in the sky, being pleased or dis-pleased at what's going on down on earth, feeling favorable or unfavorable towards the members of the flock depending on how pious they were this week.  Maybe this commenter feels a similar sense of hilarity at that notion, and his statement is really just profound irony. One can hope. Unfortunately I doubt it. 

Prayer is good for concentrating the mind on what's important, what's spiritual and what's meaningful to the pray-er. Prayer in groups connects people and provides connection and communion, and can spur action and energy to work for good.  What the hell good is going to church and praying if all you're asking for is money and candy and a new car and a bigger TV? We already have mythical self-indulgent wish-granters for that stuff - Santa Claus, magic numbers, the lottery, the Easter bunny. Jesus. I'm not even religious and I feel like I have more respect for the meaning of church than this supply-side Christian.