5 April Fools’ Pranks for a Catholic Gentleman


Ordinarily, I don’t like to prank, lest I am pranked. But, when I do prank, I like to have good reasons for doing so. So here are 5 ideas for you that are inspired by Saints, Sacraments, and Catholicism! Enjoy!

  1. Inspired by Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, get a box or bag of wrapped candies and gift it to a special lady. But make sure you use something like fine thread or fishing line to tie all the candies together, so when one is taken out, they all will come out!
  2. It’s always good to be reminded of one’s Baptismal Promises, so inspired by the Sacrament of Baptism, use something like clear packing tape to tape up the end of the faucets. This way, when someone goes to turn on the tap, water will spray in all directions. For best results, direct the water to spray towards the front by leaving a hairline opening along the front of the faucet, and taping beyond the lip of the rear! In the immediate aftermath of the prank, pray this with your victim.
  3. Here are two inspired by Saint Philip Neri, both meant to be an exercise of humbling oneself, to the embarrassment of others. First, if you’re at Catholic Campus or at Daily Mass, walk around reading (or be visibly reading) a well-known heretic (Luther, Calvin, Joseph Smith, or Tom Cruise), claiming it is your spiritual reading. See how your fellow Catholics react. Here’s another: shave half of your face and leave the other half unshaven. This works particularly well if you have a beard, as Neri did. See if anyone will join in your humility and go out in public with you!
  4. Here’s one that is a reminder to be “Salt of the Earth” (Matthew 5:13) and naturally involves salt. There are two methods that come to mind. First, empty all the salt shakers and hide all the salt. Second, replace all the salt with something else, like sugar, or finely ground rice. As Catholics, we are called to be salt and light to our world, and if we’re not doing that, then we’re as useless as tasteless salt!
  5. Lastly, here’s two for the kids in your life. In our home, chocolate syrup when mixed to make chocolate milk has become a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the “graces” ordinary milk receives at Baptism, which are later “stirred up” at Confirmation. Secretly make a carton of ordinary milk into chocolate milk, and see the surprise kids get when expecting milk, and ending up with chocolate milk! Another idea is to gently pull out all the color tips from a set of markers, then give them to the kids to color with. They will find that they don’t work. To get the colors back, tell them you need them to listen to the story of Noah’s Ark and when you get to the part with the rainbow and God’s Covenant, restore all the tips and color a rainbow with them!

Remember, on April Fool’s Day, be a Catholic Gentleman! And share your ideas and results in the comments below!

Warning: here are two ideas I would advise you NOT do. Do not sneak into the sacristy before Mass to hide all of Father’s vestments except one of the incorrect liturgical color. Also, please don’t consider impersonating a priest in a confessional. If you do this and presume that you can simply find forgiveness in confession later, you are also guilty of the sin of presumption and have done the Sacrament of Reconciliation a huge irreverence. In fact, shame on you for even letting this idea enter your mind;)

~ The Catholic Gentleman's Guide


One thought on “5 April Fools’ Pranks for a Catholic Gentleman

  1. If you are a Louisiana Catholic rosary-maker, use purple, green and gold (the colors of Mardi Gras) beads!

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