They Think We're Crazy

More and more I can see how being Catholic is counter cultural.  Now I feel it. 

I am at the bank trying to open an account for my Lay Dominican chapter.  The banker asks:

When was your chapter founded?

Now how am I supposed to know that?  I don’t know when my chapter was founded, nor my region’s founding, nor my province’s.  I do know when the Order of Preachers was founded.  The date of the Dominican Laity is arguable.  So I gave the banker the date I know.
1216, I say affirmatively.

The banker’s eyes open wide.  “What?”

I explain that Dominicans have been around for 800 years.

OK.  He fills that line in and asks.  Who was your founder?

Saint Dominic.

How do you spell that first name?

This is where I realize that this person has no clue what I’m talking about.  But I explain that the first name is Dominic and the last name is Guzman.

The next question I’m asked is, “What is your purpose?”

Save souls.

What? 

I would have repeated my answer but I instinctively intuited that “save souls” would never be comprehended.  So I said, “fight heresy.”  The banker’s lips got thinner and the eyes beadier. I tried “evangelization” for an answer.  For a response, I received a cold, hard stare.  My final try was “preaching.”

This is where I heard a loud, long, sigh.

Is there someone else in your organization who can help you answer these questions?