12/27/2020 0 Comments Becoming Catholic - Part 21976 – When Catherine and I married in 1976, I was under the pleasant delusion that I was simply marrying Catherine. I did not realize that I would become part of Catherine’s very large and welcoming Polish / Catholic family. Ah well, I was young. I would not actually get to know them well until 11 years later when Catherine and I finished our commitment to the Magic Company, and could spend more time with them. However, there is one person who plays a subtle but significant role in my voyage to becoming Catholic, Catherine’s mom, my mother-in-law. Her name was Frances, but we all called her Babci (Grandma in Polish), after her first grandchild Elizabeth, our daughter was born. Babci followed the wisdom of St. Francis (her namesake), “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary use words.” Babci taught by example, simply by the way she lived her life. I loved Babci from the start. She was surely my second mother. I would sometimes say to her “You are my favorite mother-in-law”. “But David”, she would respond, “I am your only mother-in law”. I would counter, “But that doesn’t mean that you are my favorite. She would laugh and sometimes say, “Well, you are my favorite son-in- law”. I would remind her that I was her only son-in-law. Then we would both laugh. How sweet is that! Babci’s parents both came from Poland and had eleven (11) children. Babci also had five children of her own in eight years, Catherine being the oldest. Babci functioned very well in “orderly chaos”. She worked all her life as a hairdresser whose shop was in her house. Catherine had over 30 first cousins, many of whom lived nearby and visited frequently. Babci and her large family were Polish and Catholic, and going to church was simply baked in. God was in the flowers, the compost and especially the FOOD. For Babci, food was love. She was a marvelous cook both of Polish food and what we now call “healthy” food – vegetables, grains, minimal sugar, yogurt, etc. She was highly influenced by Adele Davis, perhaps the most famous nutritionist in Babci’s era. But as for religious, theological or even Catholic dogma, I do not ever remember even hearing a conversation in all the years I knew her. What I saw was a person who found good in almost everything and spent her life caring for others. More to come on her in future blogs. 1982 – By this time. Catherine worked at the Theatre full time, and we lived about 20 minutes away. Our town had a good school system but it would not be convenient for Catherine to leave the Theater every day, pick Elizabeth up, and then go back to the Theatre. There was a small Catholic School, St. Mary’s, within walking distance of the Theatre. Catherine had gone to a parochial elementary school and was familiar with the type of education offered. We both thought it would offer good basics, not only academically but also as a caring place focused on service to others. Elizabeth had not been baptized as an infant. After we decided that she would go to St. Mary’s, it seemed sensible to us that Elizabeth be baptized to get the “full Catholic package.” All her relatives who lived nearby were Catholic and this would become part of her upbringing. We made an appointment to meet with Father Johnson, the head Priest whom we already knew and liked. In fact, six years earlier when we purchased the Theatre, our group attended a Mass that he said as our “welcoming” moment to the town. Our conversation with Father Johnson was rolling along discussing details of Elizabeth’s baptism and some of the logistics involved. I innocently mentioned that we had been married by a justice of the peace. Father Johnson’s face turned somewhat ashen and he looked directly at Catherine. “Even if David does not know what this means, I am sure that you do.” She nodded in agreement. He explained to me that in the Church’s eyes, we are NOT married. I was feeling a bit jaunty and blurted out “So, are we living in sin? It is quite pleasant.” He took it in stride and said that although it was not required, he would strongly recommend a church blessing of our marriage which would rectify this “indiscretion”. He said it would be better for Elizabeth as she progressed through her Catholic education and all the attending rituals. He explained that the blessing would come after some “pre-cana” (pre-marriage) counseling. I enjoyed our few “pre-cana” sessions. He asked earnest and reaching questions about the type of marriage and the type of parents we wished to be. We were still in the very early stages of our marriage and there really was a lot to consider. We picked a date for both the blessing of our marriage on the altar of the church and Elizabeth’s baptism at the baptismal font in a private section behind the altar. The witnesses for the blessing were two good friends from the Theatre who also became Elizabeth’s godparents. And so it was that another detail of my Becoming Catholic fell into place.
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