Because of Patrick’s absence,
David had been able to grace us
with his presence—
with the grace that was David
personified.

She hadn’t wanted Caitlin before she was born,
but because she’d been a Catholic,
she’d been spared.
Before my mother had met my sister,
she had had considered wiping her not off the face of the earth
but out of existence in the minds of every being on the earth.
Catholicism had saved my baby sister.
After she was born,
it wasn’t Catholicism that saved her,
but Caitlin being Caitlin.
She loved Caitlin in a way she would never love me.

David loved my mother without condition,
in every condition.
Even the favor of God wavered.

How many lives had Christianity saved?
How many lives had been destroyed
in Christianity’s name?
Even I,
a questioning Christian,
could see that even non-Christians
had benefited from Christianity’s
existence.

For Mother had sought
atonement
in emotional self-flagellation,
even as Protestants
sought verification of theirs
in good works.