"When my grandmother, Vlasta Vodvarka, was about 12 years old (1899?), her mother fell ill. The local priest told Vlasta and her little brother to go daily to the church, make prayers and an offering and light a candle so that God would watch after her sick mother. One day, they returned home from their pilgrimage to find that their mother had passed away while they were gone.
Vlasta was devastated that she had left her mother to die alone, and felt angry and betrayed by the priest. She never set foot in a church again and had nothing but disdain for religion, especially the Catholic church. My grandfather, apparently, agreed. He was often heard to stamp his peg leg and aver, "My religion is right and wrong." So in that, anyway, they were well matched."--Marilyn Rea Beyer4 |