Real Men Kneel on Stone

From a blog of a Catholic priest serving in Iraq:

It has benches along three sides, a field altar in the center, and a tabernacle on the fourth wall, mounted on a wooden platform. Nothing fancy, but it is more than most places have, so I am more than satisfied.

The floor is stone tile. One day I commented during my homily that maybe we should get foam rolls from Supply to kneel on.

After Mass my collection of one enlisted sailor, two Navy officers (doctors both), one enlisted Marine, and four Marine officers had a quick huddle. As one of the officers was bringing in some of the gear from the Mass back to the sacristry/confessional/storage area (we make the best use of our spaces over here), he remarked that the group had decided that the pads were not needed.

When I asked why not, he replied: “Real men kneel on stone.”

There are TWO operative words here: kneel and stone.