An Interfaith Witness to Natural Grace

This reflection comes from my unfinished book in process… that is tentatively entitled: The Spirit Within; The Spirit Without- Stories of Grit and Grace.

It was an interfaith baptism and confirmation ceremony that was requested by a Native American woman so that she could marry a Roman Catholic man. This ceremony was many years ago, so the names escape me; however, the feelings I experienced have stayed with me and I can recall them easily…

A little background… In years past, and I am unsure IF it is still required, strict Catholic teachings require the person you are going to marry to receive a Catholic baptism. The young woman was raised by her grandparents who came from Arizona; one was a native Naz Pierce, and the other grandparent was born in the Apache nation. Neither were Christians.

After the war, as a veteran, he became a postman and his family wound up in greater Boston… Privately, they honored their teachings and traditions and raised their granddaughter with those cultural values and outlooks.

Then, as life would have it, she fell in love with an Irish Catholic boy… With a quiet grace and wanting the best for their grandchild, they agreed to have her be baptized. (as you are probably well aware, many Native Americans were “introduced” to Christianity by the militant missionaries That harsh and often dehumanizing indoctrination was, more or less, assimilated while it was often the elders who kept the native teachings, wisdom, and practices alive-sometimes successfully incorporating them into their Christian worship and into the leadership of some churches!)

They discovered me as the person in the area most well suited to their aims and wishes. Because I carried a dual ordination that was free of most dogma, and adaptable to both ritual and comparative religious teachings, when contacted, I felt that it would be a remarkable and memorable match. And so it was!

We gathered at a local retreat center a few days after Christmas, on the 27th. We met, before that, to design the ceremony. I made it clear and inviting that I would want her traditions represented and that there would be a blending of the importance of baptism with a new naming ceremony that featured both Catholic and Native American elements woven together…

Rather than go through all the words of the service, here are some remembered highlights: There were readings about children, about naming, and about starting a new life… There was a ceremonial blessing of the directions and a smudging of each person in the ceremony: Grandmother, Grandfather, “Mary”, and Me… I offered “Mary” an official baptism, and since she was already 22, I also offered her a Confirmation, where she took on her new name: Tone-pa, which means beautiful bird or soul. The grandparents offered her a wreath of flowers, and a handstitched pair of moccasins for walking in her new life. 

There was a feeling of ancient correspondence; with nature, the birds, the smell of the aromatic herbs… There was a quiet reverence for the blessings of two ancient traditions coming together in a harmonious agreement that values our human path through life; sacred new beginnings, and transitions and passages that welcome us all …

The Spirit was clearly present… not in any overwhelming or distinct way, but as an abiding love, and as a sacred companion to our journey through life. While I have rejected the doctrine of omnipotence, I revere and trust the One God, who is omnipresent; always with us; as a trustworthy guide and sustaining grace…