Everyone in Ray's extended family is seen all dressed up ready to go to church except for the central figure, Ray, who is lounging around in his bathrobe. He claims he is getting ready to watch some big game, which starts at 1, after they get back, but he needs to "get ready" to watch it. Ray certainly has the easiest life style of any sportswriter I ever heard of-virtually never having to even travel to local stadiums or ballparks to see games, let alone do other sportswriter duties.
So we see Ray in the room with his dressed up children, his wife, his father and mother and his brother Robert all dressed about to leave for church, and suddenly on this day they decide to sort-of confront him about his "never" going to church with them. If Ray went and single brother Robert was the odd man out, it would be somewhat believable. Here you would think Ray would go just because the whole rest of his immediate family is going. He is stated to be a parishioner at the church, so it's not like he's a non-believer.
Later, daughter Allie shows him a picture he drew which shows Dad in Hell because he never goes to church. Thinking his father gave her this idea, Ray's reaction is to go confront his father. Now Allie is shown at other times going to a Catholic school, so he would know that essentially she is correct-believers, members, who routinely fail to observe the Commandment to "keep holy the Sabbath" are likely destined for Hell, but even though Ray knows she will hear this same sentiment at school, he wants to argue with his Dad.
After getting nowhere with him, Ray has a conversation with Debra that stood out-for the stupidity of the discussion. Debra asks him why he doesn't go to Mass with everyone. Ray actually says that because when he goes, he finds it hard to pay attention-his mind wanders to other thoughts-so he figures there's no point in going if you don't pay attention. I'll come back to this later.
Debra gets him to think about how proud his father would be if Ray followed his example and came to church. Thinking about his dad, a church usher, Ray decides to go the next Sunday.
Only he doesn't go WITH the family, which is really the point of making Dad proud. Ray instead comes after one of the two main parts of the Mass-the Homily which follows the Gospel. He is shown entering just as the ushers are to take up the collection. In a most unrealistic scene, the priest actually goes all the way to the Narthex (the back) to find out why none of his ushers are taking up the collection. Instead, Frank argues with his son while the other ushers stand and wait. Ray announces he is going to start attending Mass regularly, and Frank seems quite pleased, as he starts to take up the collection finally.
But moments later, Frank returns with his basket, along with the other ushers, and we totally leave reality again. Ray, who would have barely had time to sit in the pews with his family, returns to the Narthex to again confront his Dad. Frank is beginning to county his take, as he and the other ushers apparently compete to see who got the most. They count it up right then and there, which would surely involve opening the envelopes to see how much the checks and cash amount to.
Ray has learned that his Dad spends almost the entire Mass outside the Nave-the main room-just talking with his buddies in back and doesn't even stay for the ending portions of the Mass. I believe they said after he counts his basket, he leaves. Which leaves us viewers asking, "So he goes with the family, but never sits with them and goes home by himself-what, does he walk home?" Real ushers quite often are only in the back of the Nave, helping people find open pews just before Mass, or just after it starts. After the offertory, they typically go and sit with their families, perhaps stepping out again to help with directing people at communion time, not always needed for that. They do not gather outside the Nave in the outside "lobby" or elsewhere during Mass.
So because Frank isn't the good religious person Ray thought he was, Ray again is not going to attend Mass with his family. Or so it seems. We don't get a clear ending about that.
What we do get clearly is that the writers apparently never attended a Catholic Mass in their lives. I have been to hundreds of churches, literally, in my travels. The typical Sunday Mass lasts about an hour, usually a bit less. The Gospel is read around 15 minutes after the celebration begins. The homily typically runs under 10 minutes and concludes about 25 minutes after Mass commences. The offertory collection comes about 2 minutes later-so it is about halfway through. Right after the people (pre Covid) give their gifts, comes the Offertory Procession where the money, along with the bread and wine, are taken up to the altar where the money basket is left somewhere near the altar.
There is no time for ushers to count the money right after they collect it. No church I know of would want a half dozen ushers each going through their own baskets and counting them. Some actual employee would do so, likely on Monday when it can then be taken to the bank. When Mass ends, that basket is taken by someone and placed in a vault or strong box of some sort.
So as depicted, Ray arrived just as they were to take up the collection, and he leaves as the ushers return to the back with their individual baskets. So he "went" to all of about 2 minutes of the middle of the Mass, and then just had to confront his Dad right then and there instead of at a more appropriate time.
But what really got me was that earlier scene of Debra and Ray talking about things. The idea that they could calmly discuss this was a real positive-until we went the route of Ray's 7-year-old-like explanation of why he doesn't go-because he finds it hard to pay attention. I try to picture Ray dealing with his daughter, if she said she didn't want to go to school because the teacher spends so much time repeating and talking slowly for the kids who don't understand as well as she does, that she gets bored and then finds she pays little attention to the teacher. As stupid as Ray is so often depicted, I cannot believe he would advise her to stop going to school. He would tell her that she needs to find a way TO pay attention-something virtually every parent has to teach their kid at some point.
Debra should have been telling Ray when she heard his dumb excuse, "Well Ray, what you need to do, little-boy-brain, is find a way to pay attention! Do you not believe God deserves even one hour of your time each week? When you think about your cushy job that pays so well, your loving wife, three wonderful children, plus plenty of other things...I cannot believe you don't want to get there early each week to thank Him for all the things that make your life so wonderful."
Instead we heard nothing about Ray's real problem. We just refocused on his silly notion of trying to please his father-something which in this series seems to be something about which Ray cares about as much as reporting on cricket scores from India to his readers.
One can readily come up with non-religious readings why someone who used to go to church would stop going altogether, even when they can go. No matter which particular denomination one belongs to, there can be at least a few reasons connected to their faith that they use to explain why they stopped going regularly, or altogether. Since I saw this episode while at a motel a few days ago, I have thought and thought, but cannot come up with a lamer reason than Ray's for not attending church. His, "I'm too stupid to figure out how to pay attention, so I might as well not bother, even though I do think it would be good for me to go if I could pay attention" reason is just offensive to anyone whose brain is functioning. That generates my lowest, and very rare score of a one given to a comedy that not only lacks humor throughout but also is offensive.
4 out of 20 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
