Parents always have a way of insisting on traditions, even when their kids aren’t interested.

So, what would you do if your mom demanded you attend church every Sunday, but you had no intention of sitting through the service?

Would you fake it altogether?

Or would you find a more creative way to fulfill her request and still do what you want?

In this story, one son finds himself in this very situation and finds a great workaround.

Here’s what he did.

Going to Mass is not the same as going to Church

I was cooking empanadas (an Argentine fast food delicacy) when I remembered that I learned how to cook them through malicious compliance.

Let me explain.

I grew up in Argentina in a Catholic family, attending a Catholic school in a mostly Catholic country.

But even though my family was Catholic, going to Mass wasn’t a regular occurrence.

Mom would go from time to time, and we would go from time to time, but it wasn’t something usual.

Here’s a little background about churches and schools in Argentina.

Since I studied in a Catholic school, most of my close friends went to Mass every Sunday, around 7 PM, to a Church that was around 10-15 minutes’ walk from home.

After Mass, they usually stayed for a little while afterwards, talking about whatever teenage boys and girls talk about.

This happened when I was fresh out of high school and starting university, but still living with my parents.

In Argentina, there are no huge campuses with dorms and stadiums.

Most people who study at universities still live with their parents and go to school every day.

Also, most of the public ones are very good and free.

While he went to a Catholic school, he didn’t like going to Church.

For some reason, Mom comes one day and starts saying that I have to go to Church, that I have to set a good example for my younger brothers, and blah blah blah.

But it’s just me, not the family, not my parents, just me.

By that time, I’m pretty much an atheist or, at least, not really into the catholic Church and all that comes around that, so I have no intention whatsoever to even step inside a Church.

Going to a Catholic school sometimes has that effect.

I even clashed a lot with religion teachers in the school, arguing and not buying their tales.

They couldn’t do anything about it because I was a good student and scored 8s, 9s, or 10s on everything (B+ or A’s are the equivalent).

You don’t argue with your mom, so he agreed.

Nevertheless, I said OK to Mom (you don’t argue with Mom).

She said that I have to go to Church, and I’ll go, but she never said that I have to go to Mass.

So, at around 6:40 PM, every single Sunday, I would say, “Bye, I’m going to Church,” and go out.

But I would stop first at an empanada joint halfway to Church, eat a couple of empanadas, watch the last soccer match of the day with the employees, learn how to make empanadas the right way, have a chat with the employees, and arrive at Church 5 minutes before Mass ended.

Eventually, he told his mom what he did.

I would stay right by the door, waiting for my friends to come out of the building, then have a chat and a couple of laughs with them and return home afterwards.

Mom never found out (this was way before mobile phones; we roamed the streets free by then, and nothing ever happened), but ten or so years later, with me having moved out of my parents’ house, I told Mom about this.

She shrugged and said, “Well, we all have to disobey our parents sometimes.”

Wow! That’s one way to do what you’re told without doing what you’re told.

Let’s see if the folks over at Reddit can relate to this story.

This person says they go to Church way more than they do.

Here’s someone whose mom did the same thing.

When this person goes home, they also do the same.

For this reader, it’s all about the mother’s words.

That’s one way to do it.

At least he learned a valuable skill while pretending to go to Church.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.