Nothing could epitomize better the sense of worthlessness that Catholicism instills in its believers than this “prayer before praying.” In it, the penitent admits that even when praying, when doing what the god of the Bible commands, he’s a worthless pile of nonsense, and without a little bit of Jesus’ blood smeared on his lips, he would say the most outrageous things…

But then there’s the eternal problem with such things: if there should be a prayer before praying, shouldn’t there be a prayer before praying the prayer before praying? And logically, shouldn’t there be a prayer before praying the prayer before praying the prayer before praying? If nothing I say is worth saying without praying beforehand, and even that prayer is not worthy of anything other than scorn because I’m some useless shit of a sinner, shouldn’t I just play it safe and keep my mouth shut?