But having been "schooled" so many times by my M.i.L regarding participation in communion by "heretics", I figured I would explain why there was no wine served since your humor involved expecting wine at any Catholic event, particularly a seminary graduation open to non-Catholics.

While I accept their beliefs as being just a valid (or stupid) as any others' regarding religion, I have a bone to pick with their snottiness regarding "rules of forgiveness" and their (demented) exclusion of everyone else's beliefs.

In fact, when she attended weddings and funerals at my (then) Protestant church, she WAS invited to share communion, but refused.

We didnt get married in the Catholic Church because I refused to lie on the paperwork that I'd agree to raise our children Cathoic. Boy she didnt like that! I was never so glad that my (then future) husband stood up, cursed the priest for even suggesting I just lie on the form when I refused to budge on it.

They were also baptized in my family's Methodist church. I didnt want to baptise them at all, but couldn't leave her in constant "terror" that they'd wind up in some imaginary hell if they were not even baptized.

She pissed me off big time with her rigidity in religious matters, but I was never so cruel that I would allow her to suffer more than simple annoyance over our choices.

So, it struck an angry chord in me that drove me to "explain" their stupid rules rather than defend or outright attack them. I'm now past trying to avoid flat out criticism since I remembered than our Merlin is dead now, so wouldn't be collateral damage from my criticism.

He was a solid Catholic who was often offended by my or others' attacks on Catholicism. I very much cared about him enough to avoid being so blatant about it. Until now that I remembered that he is gone.