AHA!!!!!

As a few of the readers of this blog know, while The Big Seester (that's me!) has been a Catholic for four score and seven years, The Baby Seester (The Clam) is currently swimming the Tiber, and unless something radical happens, will become an official Catholic this Easter! (hurray!)

Quick aside: St. Monica and I have been palling it up for many years over this little heathen. I have attended the Saturday afternoon St. Monica Sodality Mass at my parish for a looong time. If you don't know who St. Monica is, here's a wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Monica. (Note: if wikipedia says that St. Monica was on the grassy knoll, ignore it. Wiki gets funny like that sometimes.)

So, imagine my surprise when I read this comment from The Clam on a blog I check regularly:

Incidentally, it was women priests that broke me out of my last delusions of Episcopalianism as well. I hadn't been inside an Episcopal church in years, but having been christened and confirmed Episcopal, when The Canuck and I were trying to compromise on churches, I figured that (or maybe Lutheranism) would work.

Then he and I visited St. Paul's (Anglican) Cathedral in London (Ontario), and I was ok until the female priest started consecrating the Eucharist. Despite never having had a particular opinion about female priests, I had this visceral "no, there is something NOT RIGHT about this!" reaction, and I walked us out of the church. We tried to be discreet, but unfortunately that meant going up a side aisle while people were going up for Communion, and we had to walk right past the woman in question, who (for some reason that's beyond me) was helping with the ushers' job of releasing rows of pews. She didn't look too chuffed at our walking AWAY from the altar rather than towards it, and we had to practically force our way past her, but we did it.

The funniest part was, when we got out of the building and were walking towards the car, the first words out of my mouth were "Don't tell my sister - she'll never let me live it down!" (She's been telling me for years that I'm a closet conservative.)

But that did it - I realized that since the Anglican and Episcopal churches permit women's ordination, they were not the right churches for me. The Episcopal parish I belonged to for several years had only a male priest, and was very traditional (we kneeled at the rail to receive Communion, etc.), and I could have sought out a parish like that now. But like you, I said "Even if my parish and I are a good fit, how can I be part of that larger body that I think is wrong?" Which is what amazes me about the Call To Action type of response: rather than saying "I don't fit into this larger body; I should go somewhere where I do fit" they seem to be saying "This larger body does not fit me, but I should not have to change; the larger body should change to fit me." I don't get it.

Now, when The Clam casually mentioned that she was doing some Catholic reading, I said, very casually, "Oh. That's nice."

When she said that she was attending Catechism classes, but that didn't mean she HAD to enter the Church at Easter, I said, "Of course it doesn't. You're just getting educated."

When she posted that she had finally "gotten" Mary, I commented that I was really glad that she understood that we don't worship Mary.

When she invited me to attend the Rite of Election and watch her sign her name into the Book of Life, I said, "Sure I'll come."

If she actually enters the Church at the Easter Vigil, I will be there to offer warm congratulations and a thoughtful gift.

But I will interiorly be saying I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!

Incidentally, if you are interested, the blog I mentioned is The Kraalspace, by a hilarious woman named Dr. Mabuse. Here's the link: http://kraalspace.blogspot.com/