THE NEW NORTH AND SOUTH?

I heard a news program on NPR yesterday that is bothering me tremendously. The great temptation was there to turn off the radio and not think about it but that seemed irresponsible. So because it is still a bur under my saddle you will be saddled with it today.

It was a political program and the topic was abortion. The person on the program was radically pro-abortion. But more on that in a moment. What became clear to me for the first time was how divided we are as a nation on the topic. Of course you already knew that and so did I, but it became clear to me yesterday how difficult it will be to be a united nation in this great debate.

Trying to see the issue from the pro-abortion side I can see why they would want to call the issue pro-choice. In their eyes there is only one person involved – the woman. There is only one body involved: the woman’s. Passing legislation concerning limiting or abolishing abortion to them is a state violation of the woman’s bodily integrity. It would be a kin to forced operation – or better yet the refusal of an operation because the state wants a say in how a woman would look or what kind of operation she wants concerning her body. Viewed in this light abortion limiting laws must seem like an abomination and explains the harshness of the words of the person on the air yesterday.

She is a politician and was stating that she was going to work hard at bringing down any politician that voted for any legislation that would in any way impede a woman’s right to an abortion. Any politician that voted in this manner is “against the women of this county” and they will make sure that they will be opposed wherever they are running for office. To be “anti-choice” is to automatically be opposed to women.

That is mighty strong language but again, if you have the mentality above it makes sense. The problem is that pro-choice people recognize that more than one person involved. There are two human beings present and the strong feelings that the pro-abortion side has toward the bodily integrity of the woman is extended on the pro-life side to the life in her womb – the child. If you see the life within the womb of the mother to be a person, then the above paragraph stated by the politician no longer sounds like a champion for the underdog but a terrifying speech of a powerful person who wants control to do with as they wish to a powerless person. This may sound a bit strong so brace yourself: But if you see two people involved here and one has absolute power – even to put to death the other – it sounds like the horrors of our human history being played out once again – in most recent times acts against the Jewish people and slavery.

Can it be that we could exist as a country where one’s conscience can be the determining factor? The question becomes can a people live in unity where one sees a soul-less life to be treated as the “host” wills and the other who sees a person with legal and God given rights of peace, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? At question is a deep anthropology: “What is man? When does life become man? When does he deserve rights? Who has the right to decide?” We do not agree on these things as a nation and the answers will have extreme consequences in every area and stage of our lives (who should receive health care and how much for example.)

In the end it is a question of who we are – how much power we have – and who has the right to decide. It is much more than about abortion. It is much greater and much, much more is at stake.

WHAT'S MY LINE?

Here is an interesting almost quote:

“It is time for a cultural change. We can no longer operate under the idea that everyone makes money and why shouldn’t I? This mentality is a very easy slope to slide down one day finding yourself breaking the law. There is no acceptable level of corruption. Our role in this is not a job it is a calling and together we can make a difference.”

This is not from a papal encyclical or a statement by the USCCB. This call for cultural change stemming from this calling is not even a homily. It is from a presentation by an FBI agent speaking on how we can save ourselves from financial ruin in this country. But in every way it sounds like the Christian message. It is the call we have as baptized Catholics anointed as priests, prophets, and kings, imbued with the responsibility of infusing our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and nations with Divine moral imperatives of virtue, duty, honesty, and integrity. In our role there is no acceptable level of corruption. Our role in this is not a job but a vocation and together we can make a difference.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXVIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “[T]here is a kind of relentless spirit of androgyny pushed in our intellectual culture, where manliness is actively discouraged and disparaged and womanliness is taken to be a kind of servitude from which women must be delivered. The goal seems to be to make men more like women and women more like men, so that, by their eventual blending together, they become indistinguishable. The result, of course, is that male and female become morally insignificant distinctions in our minds.” Benjamin Wiker in the NCR

QUOTE II: “Hell is our doing, not Gods.” Fr. Peter Stravinskas

IN OTHER NEWS:

Here is a two minute must see:

It is a production of Catholics Come Home which you can find here.


Here's what happens when you cannot find things - you look in the recycle bin on your desk top:

St. Procop Parish closed in Cleveland this week. Here are some pictures of the church building.

It's a slow news day - that's all there is!

MONDAY DIARY: THE SILENT ELEVATOR

In a large family it happens so slowly that it can be barely perceptible until it has already advanced quite far. As children grow older, older generations pass and babies are born, everyone takes a step up and fills in the roles of those that they used to think as what “the older folks do.” One day you are patted on the head as you take off running around the family house and then one day you find yourself engaged on the topic of politics.

Being a member of the priesthood is much like that and I had that experience this past weekend. The parish parochial vicar and I went to the closing ceremonies of Forty Hours at a nearby parish. The priest gatherings are not what older priests tell us about “in the good old days” when priests made such clergy gathering a priority (and there were more of us) and there would be a good number of clerics who would come to dinner, celebrate benediction, and then had back to the rectory for socializing. (I remember serving such dinners in our school gym growing up and seeing all of the priests. It was good for me to see them having such fun being together.)

We did not have a gym full but a handful of good priests got together for dinner and benediction. Sebastian even came. He was invited to visit one of our older priests who used to have Labs. So we sat upstairs before dinner while the younger priests caroused downstairs. I would normally have fidgeted and then found an excuse to break away but not that night. I like to think of myself as a relatively young(er) person at least as far as priest years are concerned but there are still some great names out there from priests of days gone by that I knew that the young pups only know by reputation. We were reminiscing about some of those guys (and I was getting the inside scoop) when dinner was called.

At dinner it struck me that perhaps the lines have been slightly shifted. Though we share a lot in our clerical family I have begun stepping slightly in the next stage. This happened once before being named an administrator of a parish. No longer simply concerned with the beauty of a building I started looking at tuck pointing, the condition of the parking lot, and calculating the amount of work a parish may need. (I suppose that is not much different from becoming a homeowner.) So subtly and quietly you step into a next stage of priesthood and are planted in it before you even realize it.

FRIDAY FAIR - A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD STILL LOOK AS SWEET

The Rose window is a circular window in churches that has tracery radiating from a central point. It is most often found in Gothic architecture but is present in other types of churches also. Most often they are found over the front door of the Church, usually visible on the inside over the choir loft. When church buildings were still built on an east-west axis quite often the main rose window would be in the west end of the building. As the priest faced the same direction as the people in more of a guide like Moses leading the people in the desert those things from which he read would face the west. The rose window would then allow the last rays of the setting sun (Son) fall on the Gospel as day came to an end.

Rose windows can be in other locations as well – in the transept – or over the altar. At Saint Sebastian there is an example of a rose window in hall which is the old church. It used to be over the altar (in the south wall) but when the building was renovated it was preserved and moved to (interestingly enough!) the west wall over the main doors to Zwisler Hall.

Another name for a rose window is a Catherine window since St. Catherine was sentenced to die on a wheel covered with spikes.

IF JESUS WERE HERE WOULD HE GO TO MASS?

Actually, no He wouldn’t and neither would we since it would be the Second Coming. But a more important question is did Jesus attend services when He did live here on earth. The answer is yes. He studied the Scriptures (Old Testament obviously) went to synagogue, observed the high holy days, and some suggest that the tassel that the lady plagued with hemorrhages touched and was subsequently cured was part of the religious dress of the Jewish people.

Now think about that. It is true that Jesus is 100% human, but He is also 100% God, the second member of the Holy Trinity. If anybody did NOT need to go to religious services it was Him. But He went just the same. In this way He set the example for us (and we would not have the excuse, “Well, Jesus didn’t go to services.”)

This came to mind yesterday as I was tooling about on my day away and there was a Protestant radio program on what to say to adult children who no longer go to (established Protestant) services on Sunday. There was the example of a young family who decided to no longer attend their church. As far as not attending an “official church” they said that they did not like the music and that the sermon was barely adequate with only a smattering of Scriptural references. As an alternative they now get together with other families in each other’s homes. They have a service that they worked out based deeply in Scripture, there is a faith sharing (I suppose this is like a sermon) and use commentaries and like resources to scour the depths of Scripture.

There were some attempts at trying to bring some arguments to the table as to why they should be attending an established church but they were weak. The best was that one does not attend Church for one’s self but for God and the benefit of the community. That is good. But in the end one of the panelists said, “I guess you have an apostolic Church. Good for you.” I suppose if you believe in Sola Scriptura, if your building has no Sacramental presence of Jesus, there is no sacrifice and so no priesthood, if there is no divine authority given to a church structure, and you are forming a community of believers I would be hard pressed to say otherwise.

Unless we are speaking about the Catholic understanding of Church. Church, the way we believe in it requires a set community, interconnectedness, unity, sacrifice, authority, Tradition, fixed theology, a priesthood, and a sacrifice. These are impossible to establish on one’s own by starting a church in your dining room. It is not about enjoyment – your type of music or your style of worship though we should strive to do what we do well and relevantly. It is not about the personality of the priest though it does help. It is not about getting anything “out of” of the service – you come to serve. And in turn you do “get something” – Christ speaking to you in His own words of the Gospel and receiving Him Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity as the Eucharist.

We go to Mass weekly because this is the example set by Jesus Christ. We gather in the Catholic Church because we believe He gave His authority to the Church in matters of faith and morals. We gather at a Mass rather than a service because we believe that He gave us a sacrifice and a sacrificial system through the priesthood to be celebrated. And we do it as the universal Church because Christ’s mission was and is about unity. That is our role as sons and daughters of our Father. We come first in love and then in duty in season and out, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health all the days of our lives until we are one with Him in glory.

WHEN MOST BULLETINS ARE READ

A homily is a tricky thing. A precious few minutes are allotted to bring to light one sliver of truth from Sacred Scripture or about the feast of the day or season. It can be a particularly delicate challenge when the message of Christ is not rainbows and blue birds. Jesus Himself mentions such things as hell and condemns such things as extra marital sex. A preacher facing a congregation from babes in arms to those who have already said good bye to their octogenarian years, from those who are well established in their faith to those who are hanging on by his fingernails has to find a way to proclaim such truths of the faith so that as many people will listen to the message without anyone else storming out I protest. (Actually I only saw that once but it was quite dramatic.) One way to do this is to avoid all controversial topics. That would certainly make the trial much easier but it would of course be denying the community the fullness of the Gospel.

Another sticky wicket is the one shot listener. When it is time to mention something difficult, say divorce, there will be that one person who came back to the Church after a long absence due to an ugly divorce and who will walk out never to return again. Or perhaps you have been moved to preach against a societal wrong and all of a sudden realize that in this case it will only make things worse. A silly example that will help get the point across is say that you were railing about how Martians should be treated better by our parish and it turns out there is one green Martian in the room and now they stick out like a sore thumb and feel 12 times more uncomfortable than they did before.

Then there is the unexpected. I once wrote a wedding homily about the difference between real love and the artificial mimics that people push off as love. An example was used between real flowers and those awful plastic artificial flowers that people sometimes use. Now I have never had before a wedding that employed artificial flowers nor have I since, but when that bride came forward to exchange her vows she had a full bouquet of fake flowers made by her grandmother. (She was a good sport about it by the way.)

There is the temptation to qualify every statement that is made. “THIS IS TRUE,” followed by a disclaimer reminiscent of a pharmaceutical commercial. “DIVORCE IS WRONG (unless you are in abusive relationship, a same sex marriage, the marriage is unlawfully procured, the marriage was never consummated, you are exercising the Pauline or Petrine privilege, or one of you is a Martian. Consult your canon lawyer before administrating. The Catholic Church does not recognize divorce except for the legal separation of property so you may still qualify for the sacraments. You may qualify for an annulment which does not cost a shiny penny if you do cannot afford it no matter what rumor you have heard. This also does not affect the status of your children. God will not stop loving you. This offer as well as marriages themselves are void in heaven.) Well, that is about the time we have for this homily. Come back again next week when I pick up with my second sentence.”

That is why preaching is fun, requires all the planning and cunning of a good crime, and runs all the excitement and risk of sky diving – you just have to know that if you dive enough one time you will do something wrong, you shoot won’t open and there is going to be a price to pay! But it is so worth it.

Perhaps that is why the Church in her wisdom never says that you have to say “Amen” to the homily.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXVII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “It is a shame that we tell our children that they can grow up to be president of the United States when in reality only one or two of us in every generation could possibly succeed and we do not tell them that they can be saints as if it were the most difficult thing in the world when in reality it is open to everyone.” Homily

QUOTE II: “. . .the one thing I cherish most: his letters. Even when they don’t give me as much of him as I long for, at least I know that at those moments he is writing only to me, and I am getting all his attention. When do we ever get all of someone’s attention anymore? A handwritten letter is a small but priceless gift: the envelope is sealed, the stamp applied, the letter dropped into the dark box. When it arrives, I curl up under my blanket with me tea to read it. It is this ritual that keeps us friends.” Courtney Rogmans in “The Sun”

IN OTHER NEWS:

This was sent to us through our Catholic Charities: "Dear Friends, The following was just sent from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This is important for all of us. Please take action immediately. For more information, visit http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/. Thank you!

B. sent in this 10 minute video on Padre Pio:




Here's a minute long good one:

MONDAY DIARY - GREEN IS GROUND THE WORLD AROUND

The saying for electricians is, “Green is ground the world around,” meaning that whenever trying to figure out which of three wires is the ground wire all one should have to do is look to see which one is green and that, in a perfect world, should be the ground.

In theory much is supposed to be the case for the Catholic Church. You would think that our carefully constructed Mass would make it so easy for a priest to pop into any Catholic Church and one would just know what to do. Ah! But such is not the case. There are of course weird quirks that an individual parish might have that are not in keeping with the rubrics that make it difficult for a priest who is not intimately familiar with a parish to catch on to. Then there are those things that are not covered in the rubrics that can differ from parish to parish. An example of this would be the Communion Rite. Where do the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion stand? Who receives first? How do you distribute everything without causing a train wreck? Then there are the little options such as how are all of the other ministers used to entering at the beginning of Mass? Are the gifts brought forward? Do they expect you to help them set the altar at offertory?

I will admit that I used to just fall short of panicking before celebrating Mass at a parish at which I’d never celebrated Mass before. I would show up very early and ask a thousand questions (as though I would remember all of the answers while trying to concentrate on celebrating the Mass.) More recently I have my stock couple of questions and then I tell the servers, “Tell me what to do and don’t let me fall out of the sanctuary,” which most of the times they are fairly good at doing.

This past weekend I was the guest homilist for wedding. I showed up early as I have always done but there was no celebrant. People were asking me questions about the Mass and I could do was shrug my shoulders and say, “I don’t know.” But the joy of it was that it was just fine. It only took eleven and half years but I figured instead of having a Mass like a fine piece of crafted Classical Music I can deal with Jazz. There is still a lot of structure but like a pick up ensemble a lot more attention will just be paid in the performance of it so that I don’t clash with any other player.

When the celebrant joined us in the sacristy instead of peppering him with a thousand questions about what we were about to do we talked about how his diocese was just about to start the same process we were in the middle of here in Cleveland with the closing of parishes. When the magical hour had arrived he stood and said in gruff voice, “Let’s go!” and we marched out into the sanctuary with polite orders half whispered to us. “Stop here. Reverence the altar. Go to your chair.” And then louder, “Alright everyone we are ready. Stand up and sing!”

There was a time that this would have driven me absolutely nuts! I do prefer much more solemnity at the Mass and always have. But a wise priest once counseled me that I do not have to pray like everybody, but I do have to pray with them. And in the end we did pray and celebrate the sacrament, it was enjoyable, I was able to be relaxed with that, and there was infinitely more to talk about after than if everything were absolutely perfect.

FRIDAY FAIR - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I won't be writing to you again until after All Hallows Eve so here is your Halloween post! Have a great weekend. Here is Sebastian's Halloween picture?

It wouldn't be Halloween without Making Fiends. Here is a Halloween Making Fiends game. And here is the Halloween special!




More Halloween videos:





Just a silly Halloween game.

From the USCCB website.

October 31 is Halloween. According to Sister Maureen Shaughnessy, Assistant Secretary for Catechesis and Leadership Formation for the U.S. Bishops' Department of Education, "Halloween gives us the opportunity to help people of all ages reconnect with the Christian understanding of this very popular holiday. Originally this day was celebrated by the Celts in England and Ireland as the end of their year. On that day they remembered all those who had died during the past year."

A number of customs that evolved related to this had to do with ghosts and scary things. As Christians we celebrate this day as the eve of All Saints, and in fact, many parishes and Catholic schools use this opportunity to have young people connect to the lives of saints - their own name saints or patronal saints connected to their parishes or ethnic backgrounds. It provides a time for storytelling, dressing up and celebrating.

More Halloween stuff over at Catholic Mom.

A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE A STOLEN BLIMP

Church architecture is fascinating. I think I am a frustrated architect. It seems that there are more nook and cranny places to explore in churches than in any other type of building. This is particularly true if it is an older church.

I have one example for you today. You have seen St. Adelbert church pictured here before. Notice the outside. It is fairly straightforward architecture with a fairly standard roof line.

The inside is fairly different however. It has a rounded ceiling and a dome in apse.

That means that somehow a round inside must fit into a more angular outside. The result is a square shell that looks as though it is hiding a stolen Goodyear blimp.

The high altar in this particular building is actually part of the wall. There is no wall behind the altar – the altar is literally part of the wall from the mensa all the way up reredos. From a door behind the altar you can climb a narrow ladder to the top of the altar and look out at the Church.

Newer church buildings tend to be you see what you get. Not there is anything wrong with that - just lest interesting for snoops like me. But perhaps, if you are lucky enough to have a church with an interesting touch such as this you can look up (after you prayers are done) and imagine how the inside of your church building fits into the outside. Do the pillars actually support the roof or is it ornamental. Sometimes a pitched ceiling is just for beauty and in the cieling you can see a double inverted V - the church celing and then the actual roof.

IT'S A BIG, BIG HOUSE WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF ROOM

When I see a Roman collar (or a habit) I feel a sense of security. Not just because I am a priest, but always have. When a crowd is panned on T.V. or in a movie I have a good feeling if I see a wimple or a white square at the neck. But it is not like that for everybody.

I had the pleasure of having breakfast with a fine gentleman who happens to be a Protestant minister who is seriously thinking about become Catholic (please pray for him.) Apparently one of his charisms is befriending people who have fallen away from practicing their Christianity and gently bringing them back into God’s house. We talked a bit about fallen away Catholics and what might be done to bring them back into the Church.

He said that usually such persons have been hurt in some way. They have allowed the personality of a priest or some other Church personality or practice to get in between them and the Eucharist. I suppose this is not so unusual. There are over 4,000 people here at St. Sebastian it is hard to believe that somebody or even some persons will not have a personality clash with the 2 priests or 5 staff members of the parish or catch them on the wrong day or . . . But in any event, it many times cannot be the priest then that brings them back to the sacraments even if it is not the priest that was the cause of their leaving. “For some people the collar is very symbolic and brings with it a whole bunch of baggage.” I bet it is the same thing being a parent. If someone else says something your kid will take it as Gospel even though you have been saying for years.

That is not to say that the collar is a bad thing. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I find that the collar has a very important role. But such a powerful symbol can also have a backlash. It can be associated in a negative way with a person who has had a poor experience of Church.

For all of these reasons it cannot be (nor should it be) the priest’s role to bring in all of the lapsed Catholics. (And it seems most programs are priest centered!) But it is the Church’s job. And of course who is the Church? You! A good number of parishioners have returned to Mass because somebody said, “Do you want to go to Mass with me?” Often times there is no need for theological debate, just a friendly invitation and an ear to listen. If there is need for theological debate and you feel you are in over your head just listen and promise to get back to the person if need be. You do not have to have all the answers when you are asked. And through investigation then you will know more too.

If you can get them back in the doors and feeling somewhat secure then introduce them to a priest that you know and trust (hopefully you have one) and help them come into a better relationship with the symbols of the Church.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXVI

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Where there is no mystery there is only the monotony of the obvious." Michael Schravzer

QUOTE II: "Having lots of money is no guarantee of good taste, but it can make the lack of it more glaringly obvious." from Phillip Herr's, "The Pale Criminal"

IN OTHER NEWS:

Of course those who have been to an Adam's Ale event know I like shamefacedly like the movie the Princess Bride. Looking for something else I accidentally came across the Princess Bride personality test. Take yours here. Here is my terrible result:

Chestertonains! I am looking for these people. We are almost ready to start an Akron branch and are looking for some direction and hope you can help (and I've lost your Email.) I realized later I forgot to post the picture! Here it is!

CK sent this link to Fr. Barron's vidoes. She reports, "Fr. Barron's videos are outstanding. Very rational and non-confrontational." Thanks CK!

I guess today is the day for personality tests! JJ sent this one in. "Draw a Pig!"

The Diocese of Cleveland has a website for religious items from closed parishes that will only go to other parishes and religious institutions out of respect for the items and the institutions from whence they came. But it doesn't hurt to look. Here is the site.

Katy sent this link to Dayton Magazine that contains an article about evolution. Thanks Katy

I took Sebastian for a walk in the park across the street from the parish. Here are some pictures.

MONDAY DIARY - NEW NESTS AND OLD NESTS

My day away from the parish usually begins with breakfast with another priest friend. Sometimes we kill the rest of the early afternoon together unless he has a golf game or I need to run to the farm. This week I asked him if he had ever seen Saint Mary Parish in Akron. This old Akron parish is, IMHO, one of the most significant architectural buildings in the diocese. Unfortunately it has hit on hard times with a highway cutting of its boundaries on one side and the neighborhood in general changing drastically; most of the Catholics having moved elsewhere. So next summer it will close and I guess as sad as it is it’s one of those things.

I did tell him that he must see it before it closes for good however as it is truly stunning. We were able to gain access off of hours and have a self guided tour. It is pure Romanesque architecture, stunning in its artistry and so well proportioned. I don’t know how to put it other than to say that it is a building that relates well to human beings without pandering to them while still directing glory to God. (I would like to talk to an architect some day that would help me say that in terms that other people could understand.)

A secretary told us that her son made a film in the basement of the church. Apparently the large marble pillars are supported in the basement by large mounds of dirt. (We did not get to venture into the basement. Darn! Nor did we venture up into the bell tower but I hope to impose on the kind pastor there sometime before the snow flies. Who am I kidding – even if the snow flies I’ll still ask.)

One of their parishioners joined St. Sebastian this past week. He is a seminarian and he had a grand welcome at this parish. We are so glad to have him here though I am sad that it is at St. Mary’s expense. We were able to throw him into the thick of the parish giving talks at the end of all of the Masses for Priesthood Sunday, eating at the choir’s clam bake, hanging out at the sports boosters bonfire, going for a ride in the ’46 through Sandrun Park and taking a trip into the bell tower Sunday afternoon to take in what we believe to be the panicle of the fall show. Here are some pictures.

While we were up there the hawks seemed perturbed that we were up there. They were heading to the tower when they spotted us. Someone sounded the alarm, “Here comes the hawks!” Have you ever noticed how your hands stop working when in panic mode like when you want to get into the house quickly and all of sudden you cannot operate a key and lock - or your phone goes off during Mass and you can’t even figure out what pocket it is in? So I stumble for the camera as he is headed dead on for us. I couldn’t pick it up, couldn’t figure which end was up, couldn’t turn it on, and couldn’t find the button to take the picture. And of course just as it was all figured out he veered off and headed away. A couple of shots were had though. Here is one.

THE VOW - PART III

Jerry was, of course, devastated. Thinking for sure that she would reappear over the next weeks and months he kept thinking that he spied her in a crowd or heard her voice across the room. With every door knock he was convinced it would be her on the other side of the door and every time the phone rang he answered with the question, “Mary?” But Mary had thoroughly disappeared. Nobody had seen hide nor hair of her.

Many friends stopped by to console Jerry. Even Mary’s friends would drop in but often made things worse by reminding him, “Well, Mary was different after all.” One girl in particular made it her mission to heal his love sick heart and one day; one long day afterward Jerry realized that he had come to love her. Not in the same way that he loved Mary, but he loved her none-the-less and so asked her to marry him. She gladly accepted and the a year later at the stately Sacred Heart Parish church a wedding was once again staged with twice as many people in attendance (for who knew what might happen this time) and a new priest just for luck.

Nothing out of the ordinary occurred however and the guests were not entirely truthful in their stated relief that the day went about as well as such days can for each of them had been secretly awaiting a new development in the whole drama. So whole wedding day, the honeymoon, and even the settling into their new home went pretty much without a hitch.

Another year passed and Jerry was home alone when the doorbell rang. He felt a familiar tingling sensation in his stomach though he was not sure why. His heart raced. He opened the door and there on the stoop was Mary, (still?) in her wedding gown, still radiant and hopeful looking. Next to her was the priest who was to marry them. “I’m ready now Jerry. I’m ready to say my half of the vows.”

Later he could only imaging how he must have looked; mouth agape, eyes bugged out, arms hanging limply. “B – b – b – but Mary! You left me at the altar.”

“That was the test silly! I warned you it would happen before I said, ‘I do.’ And now I am ready to forsake all and give my love to you fully for the rest of our lives!”

“Oh gee Mary. I don’t know how to . . . you see . . . well gosh Mary, I’m married now.”

“I don’t understand.” She said it though with a wry smile as if she really did understand. “You promised publically to love me, and honor me, in good times and in bad forsaking all others for the rest of your lives. Did you falter in that so quickly?”

“But Mary! What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know!”

“But you said you were sick in love with me. That no matter what you had to have me and I told you that I would say ‘I do’ did I not? Can your true love only last a year and half?”

He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

She laughed. “Don’t worry my sweet Jerry. I knew you wouldn’t wait. You didn’t really love me like you thought you did. You wanted love from me, your new desire is to love your wife. You are going to be happier now than you know as long as you choose to love your wife in good times and bad, sickness and health, all the days of your life. I would have (and did!) eventually disappointed you and your dream would have been ruined, but with her you are building a dream together.” With that she stepped backwards into the yard – really walking this time not just fading away. When she reached the middle of the yard she lifted her hands and as she did so she was transformed into a giant magnolia tree that over the years always seemed to be in blossom. Though people would comment on its beauty nobody ever questioned its blossoms. And on occasion when Jerry was standing out on his front stoop eyeing a pretty young lady passing by a branch might fall from the tree and clunk him on the head at which point he would remember that he was happy, turn back into the house where was his wife and he would love her.