Lent: Fasting from Victimhood
An Immodest Proposal for Understanding Christian Faith Allow me to do something immodest at the beginning of Lent 2024: Try to say what Christian faith is all about, and why it matters. To do that, let me first introduce myself the way I usually introduce myself to strangers: Hi, I’m Michael Coffey. Most people who know me personally know me as Mike, and that’s right. I do like Michael, also, but that’s not why I always introduce myself as Michael. I had numerous experiences of introducing myself as “Mike Coffey” and people hearing it as “My coffee” and they wonder why I’m talking about the beverage in my hand. The “k” sound at the end of Mike and the hard “c” sound at the beginning of Coffey elide and it becomes “My coffee.” So, to eliminate this silliness from my life, I’m Michael Coffey. Nice to meet you. One of the other funny things about my name is “Coffey” the Irish name has nothing to do with the drink. The spelling should be a clue, although there are some “Coffee” people out
