March 19, 1971

My Dad died on March 19.   The date was not significant to me until years later when I started learning more about my faith. My Dad was Catholic and my Mom was Methodist when they married in 1951. It was a big scandal back then. Even as a child I knew Methodists and Catholics did not generally understand each other, much less, marry!  But I could not have picked better parents. They were amazing, I just wish I had had them longer.  So, I grew up attending Mass AND going to Methodist Sunday School and Church.

There were definite prejudices that even I, as a child, in that Methodist Church understood . . . . especially when my younger sister  would forget and genuflect. The Methodist kids asked weird questions.  Why do you pray to statues and drink blood?  I remember thinking, "Don't their parents explain ANYTHING to them?"
 I also remember calmly taking it in (I was very analytical at that age)  and saying, "We do not pray to statues and we don't drink blood.  We have statues to remind us of Jesus, Mary and all the saints. We ask Mary and the saints to help us and pray for us. There is a picture of Jesus in our Sunday School room and a cross in the church . . . . .  do you pray to them?
And, Catholics take communion just like you except they use wine (not grape juice) like Jesus did. And they have communion every week not every once in a awhile."
I did not fully understand transubstantiation at that age. I knew my Mom and Dad believed that communion WAS the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

That was the extent of my apologetics. Maybe I should tell you I was about  10.   I thought  communion was the same at both churches although I never took communion at Methodist Church or Mass. I distinctly remember thinking I did not totally understand and it was a very important thing and so I would wait to receive the Eucharist.

And wait . . . I did.

Daddy died when I was 11 and I remember feeling so much closer to him in Mass.
Mom did, too.

And, remember,  Daddy died on March 19 - the Feast of St Joseph.
St Joseph, the earthly Father of the Holy Family . . . . surely St. Joseph stepped in and helped to guide us and protect us. My daughter' name is a form of Joseph. I thank God for helping me finally understand the significance of this date. 

I do not know if the date has always been the Feast of St Joseph. That doesn't matter.
March 19th is a day for joy not the panic attacks and sorrow I experienced most of my life. Flashbacks to that day were pretty bad for years and years - I was in the car when Daddy died. I had had a dream of it happening a few days before and I felt terrified at not being able to stop it from all happening again -- it played out exactly like my dream. Yeah . . . . . that'll make for some serious guilt in a kid that NO ONE can talk you out of.  It was even suggested that I had my time frames confused and I dreamed it later OR that I was experiencing deja vu as a result of the trama and stress. That might have worked except, I called out to my Dad the night of the dream and he came and slept next to me to calm me down. Mom and Daddy both knew about the dream.

But back to my main reason for posting  . . . . .  Mom and I both became Catholic in the 1980s.
My Mom had started "Catholic Instruction" 3 times through the years but each time that she started class with a priest she got the point where she was told she would have to pledge her unconditional loyalty to the Pope.  That lead to the topic of infallibility. It was NEVER explained to her. It was just a presented as a mandate. No Biblical references were offered and coming form a Southern Church of Christ background she definitely would have grasped the Biblical teachings!  No explanations about the Pope speaking in general and the Pope speaking infallibly . . . none, zero, zilch.  She questioned the priest about those born Catholic. "Do they have to take this oath?"
"No," replied the priest.
So, you can see where this is headed. Mom did not become Catholic . . . . . . .  until I started my RCIA classes in college. I got so excited about what I was learning that I would call her -- long distance (a BIG deal back then)  -- and we would talk at length.  Mom eventually planned a trip to my college (1500 miles away) and spoke with my priest. After talking, the priest said that my Mom was more Catholic and had more conviction of faith than most people he knew. Long story short & I love this part of our faith journey --- The day my Mom first received Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist ended up (coincidentally?) being on my Dad's birthday.
St. Joseph, pray for us.

graphics additional info and credit: 

St. Joseph, Terror of Demons - Ora Pro Nobis!
St. Edward's Catholic Church in Drayton, ND
(photo credit)found @ Stained Glass Splendor