Last week I wrote about a letter I received from the Catholic Diocese in Charleston asking some questions regarding the circumstances of my first marriage (39 years ago).  Today’s mail brought the news that since we “did not follow the required form of marriage (canon 1108)” I am not bound to that marriage and I am “now free to contract a marriage in the Catholic Church”.   Ain’t that sweet?  Although I do wonder how my current Buddhist wife would feel about me marrying a Catholic.  Of course, I’m not sure the Diocese intended to grant dispensation for my other previous marriages (to a Baptist and a Maronite version of Catholic).

Speaking of wives, I was speaking to my present absent wife tonight.  It was our first contact in 12 days and our conversation was pleasantly reassuring.  As I suspected when my rational mind was in control (which isn’t often of late) she had been in the countryside with her mother without access to the internet.  And then she had to participate in the annual kimchee making rituals.  And now she is sick.  I gave her a verbal back rub and we promised to do a better job of staying in touch until I can physically touch her again.  Which I hope won’t be too much longer in coming.

Anyway, I’ll rest easier tonight.  Carrying the burden of having married in contravention canon 1108 must have been weighing heavier on my soul than I imagined.