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An interesting experience. A different kind of prayer (for me), but a spiritual and valid prayer just the same.

I can pray in the manner of a number of different denominations; I guess that's not a surprise for a language teacher.

A funny story is that one year during Lent the Newman Community (Catholic student group) on my campus decided to get together at noon and spend an hour praying the rosary together out loud. I went and joined them, and during the first iteration of "Our Father," they all stopped at "...and deliver us from evil." I kept on going.

The one non-Catholic in the room had been "outed!"

Another funny story happened when I was about 7 years old. My family subscribed to "Life" magazine every week. During that time, the covers were mostly in black and white... but one week a new Pope had been named (Pope Paul??? It would have been about 1954 or so). "Life" magazine arrived with a beautiful full-color picture of the Pope on the cover. I took a look at the framed black and white picture of my father on one of the end tables in the living room, and went and took a pair of scissors, cut the cover off of "Life," and slipped the Pope's picture into the frame over my father's picture.

My mother came into the room and almost fainted. "Penny, take that picture out right away!" she ordered. "Someone might come to the door and think we're Catholic."

I didn't understand why that would be such a bad thing back then, and I still don't.

And my third (final) story. When I was a freshman in college, my Mother underwent surgery for removal of an ovarian cyst (which also resulted in her having a hysterectomy). At the time I didn't really understand the details of the surgery, just that she was far away from me and I loved her very much, and I couldn't imagine what I would do if she didn't make it through the surgery.

I felt a need to go somewhere and ask God, from the bottom of my heart, to please make sure she came through it all right. So from among about 6 churches in town, I went to the Catholic church. I was able to kneel, which I really wanted to do, and I just KNEW that God was in that church. I could kneel and clasp my hands and close my eyes and just stay that way for the longest time... and it felt very right.

So there you have my stories: the rosary flub, the Pope's framed picture in our living room, and knowing beyond a doubt that God was in the Catholic church and would listen to me when I prayed.

Penny