Good Morning...

Welcome Angela! Thank you for your comments on this blog. You have asked if I am still in contact with my parents. Sadly, my father passed away from Alzheimer's Disease five and a half years ago ... however his passing was beautiful. He had a "Happy Death."

My mother and I were with him as his heart ceased to beat. Because I was the only "child" of theirs that was with them, I was able to pray out loud and thank God for my father's life and ask God to be merciful to him. Those actions would have been unacceptable if any of my six siblings had been with us.

I am currently not in contact with my family - well, I should write, they would tell you we are in contact but their contact is minimal, to say the least.

I am a mirror to their imperfections and they are an extremely stoic type of people. How they got me in the mix of things is a mystery.

My family is Masonic. Now, I happen to be a convert to Holy Mother Church - I just celebrated my 20th anniversary, this past April 2. Becoming a Christian was extremely difficult for them to accept - especially in the Roman tradition.

I grew up in what I describe as a "church going pagan home". That is not to say that my upbringing was without lessons of God - it just means that we left Christ at church - we were not permitted to bring Him home with us.

As I grew older, my desire for God grew - although I clung to my secular and wild ways.

When I was three and four years old, I attended a pre-school in Tokyo, Japan, where my family resided. The school was run by Catholic nuns and I fell in love with the Real Presence of Christ in the Tabernacle, although I did not know what drew me until years later.

When I was 36, a nun at the church that my husband (a cradle Catholic) and I attended, asked me if I would consider helping to teach a class at the parish. I told her I would be delighted to do so but did she know....

"I am not Catholic?"

She was unaware that I was not Catholic, as not only did we attend Mass as a couple, I volunteered at the Church, doing the ladies auxillary thing as well as answering the telephone in the office a couple of hours a week.

"Would you like to become one?"

Those simple words...WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME ONE...

YES!!! I did want to become one - I had no idea one could become Catholic - I thought one had to be born into the faith...

Oh HAPPY DAY!

I took instructions from our parish and on April 2, 1988 (did I write that already?), I was confirmed. To say that I am still smiling is part of God's goodness and grace - for being Catholic is the best thing I have ever done for ME.

So - the rift due to different faiths...and then, then my audacity to speak out for LIFE. Ah - this is just not permitted. My mother is extremely bitter that I have said that abortion is wrong. She told me last August that my abortion "gave me something to whine about and tell young girls not to do."

She is only a quarter correct in her statement about my abortion.

The fact is, my abortion killed my son, her grandson, and I do not whine about it. I DO speak out against abortion. I do help with Rachel's Vineyard retreats, which is a tremendous honor.

The quarter that my mother has correct, is that yes, I tell young girls that abortion is not the answer to a temporary situation. I also tell women and men that...so perhaps that breaks it down to an eighth correct...

My family's thinking is 1) if I were not Catholic, I would not be against abortion 2) my husband made me become Catholic.

They are wrong on both thoughts.

So, a long answer to your short question, Angela. Please join me in praying that my family of origin will come to know the saving grace of God. Pray, too, that they will know how wonderful they are - having been made in the image and likeness of Him.

Welcome again, Angela!