a long one ... one that started with birth. I was born in a Catholic hospital

on Christmas Day evening delivered by nuns because the doctor was en route to

the hospital. The first person ever to touch me was a nun.

I was baptised & confirmed Lutheran but it did not "take" as no one in my

family really practised.

The first time I entered a Catholic Church for mass at age ten I "knew I was

home" ... but being only ten, I did not realize one could convert. My

mother's answer was we were Lutheran. So I accepted this ... born Lutheran

you are Lutheran period. When I was 14 I met my husband who is a cradle

Catholic. When I was a pregnant teenager whom did I end up talking to?

Sheerly by coincidence ~

a nun! Because of family controversies my husband and I were married by a JP

but ... the night before we eloped, we went to a shrine of Mary and prayed and

lit candles asking our marriage to be a success and for us to always love each

other. (We had eight long hard years of problems and arguing and trouble

before we were married.) We raised our son who joined the Navy in 1992

leaving home permanently. The moment he graduated we became responsible not

only for my elderly parents but also for my husband's elderly aunt. That

lasted six years. At the beginning of this year I made up my mind I had to

set my life right. The first thing on the list was either becoming a "real"

Catholic or returning to the Lutheran Church. Well, of all people, my real

estate agent, guided me to the small parish I finally joined. And the

Lutheran Church I attended sporadically went up for sale.

Within just a few months I had converted and been confirmed. My husband and I

were also remarried by a priest near our 17th wedding anniversary. It was

like the right parish, the right priest, the right people were just waiting.

The Catholic Church called out to me my entire life and I am finally home!
 

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