The publisher of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, the book I coauthored with Anna LaNave, recently interviewed us for a podcast. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjfRczhLqs.
As we prepare for the beginning of Advent later this month, I thought I’d share the story of the day I mustered up the courage to register at my parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Arlington, after I’d been attending Mass about two months:
I went up the short cement walkway and opened the door into the entryway, then the heavy security door into the office itself. A young Latino sat behind the desk.
“Good evening. May I help you?”
It was so quiet. I looked around quickly—what appeared to be a library to the left, tables and bulletin boards overflowing with signs and brochures. I took a deep breath.
“What do I have to do to become an official member of this parish?”
He reached in a drawer and handed me a piece of paper.
“Just fill this out.”
I looked at the form. It was so simple! Just name, address, and phone numbers along with boxes to check for sacraments received, marital status, special needs, and preferred language.
I looked up.
“You don’t need my records from my old church? You don’t need the dates I was baptized or confirmed? You don’t need any proof of any of this?”
He smiled.
“No, just fill out the form. We’ll trust you.”
It took all of three minutes. No tears, no clap of thunder, no hesitation, no shaky handwriting, no cross-outs. As far as I was concerned, I was Catholic again.
