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Mary Catherine
Thirty-seven years ago Mary Catherine had knelt in the center aisle of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, near the back, to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance. She wore a simple white peasant blouse, cotton skirt, and black lace mantilla to cover her chestnut colored hair pulled back into a chignon. Magnificent with pointed arches and soaring ceilings, this gothic place of worship imbued Mary Catherine with a sense of the Holy Spirit. Repentant, she fingered her rosary beads and looked up at the life-sized statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary welcoming her with outstretched arms. A beam of sunlight shone through a multi-colored stained-glass window, across the arms of the statute of Mary directly to the spot where Mary Catherine knelt. Was it a sign that God had forgiven her
