This concerns me. I’d had something of a problem with the use of profanity in the past, but have migrated to “softer stuff” and tried to cut down on my exclamations considerably. (It helps to try and pray when frustrated, instead of cursing). Nevertheless I still sometimes end up making exclamations, especially when I’m frustrated or surprised or in sudden pain. I’d never thought about the “softer stuff” still being sacreligious, as an evasive way of referring to the sacred. I’ve used them myself, but I was barely even aware that they were oblique references to our Lord, our Lady, etc. Yes, some people in the past invented them to refer to the sacred indirectly, but am I guilty if I use them, simply having inherited them as cultural artifacts and have never thought about them?
Also, sometimes, when I see something particularly dire (an accident on the news, say), I say “Lord have mercy!” or “Merciful Mary” or some variant. Would this count as profanity, even in the technical sense (of being disrespectful of God)?
