Yasmina's Moral Revolution

The woman was gorgeous. The man, a foolish boy.

They stood side by side at the front of the cathedral, surrounded by the most powerful clergy in Florence; behind them, the great mass of people who'd turned out for the wedding.

The young man standing to her right--he was barely older than me!--could not take his eyes off this beautiful girl beside him. I felt my heart ache as I watched him stare at her with wide-eyed adoration. The poor fool had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.

I should know. I'm the one who introduced them to each other.

I was there when they met, and it was love at first sight. He had been so nervous when we introduced him to her; she could hardly speak a word of Italian! But as soon as they locked eyes, their faces lit up, and they couldn't stop smiling at each other. It was beautiful to see.

So of course I knew how it would end. You see, this charming young couple were both my responsibility; and they were just two among hundreds or thousands more that are part of my flock.

We are Indian Catholics, in Italy. We're not real Indians, of course; we're from Kerala, down south on the Malabar Coast of India. That's where all our ancestors came from; and now you can find us all over Europe, living in exile from our homeland, sharing our faith wherever God has led us to go. In Florence alone there are thousands of us: men and women and children who have taken vows never to return home again unless it is under Christian rule; and all the while we wait for another crusade to free our country from Muslim invaders once and for all...

And so there was me--my name is Yasmina--and myself and my two sisters, Subaida and Farida... We are three beautiful women in service to God: a mother superior who teaches our flock in language learning, a doctor who tends to their health needs with love and care... And myself, the most important of all--the Mistress Of Vows--who trains them in obedience to God's will!

It was my job--no, *our* job--to raise these young Indian men and women up righteously in God's love; and together, we did an excellent job! Many years ago, a great benefactor called Cardinal Borromeo arrived in Milan as papal legate for the Church; he took note of our work with these exiles from India, and said that he wanted to send them to other cities across Europe where they could preach Christianity among the heathens... And so now you can find us here in Florence too!

But it wasn't always easy: many of these young men and women arrived here illiterate; their parents didn't believe that education was important for girls back home in India... And because of that ignorance about things like hygiene or nutrition or even basic medicine... Well, many died before they even got here! Some even killed themselves out of fear or despair!

That's why every single one of them got assigned an older mentor when they arrived on Italian soil: someone like me to teach them everything they needed to know about life abroad... They call it "sensitisation", but really it's just basic training! We teach them how to eat properly with a fork instead of their hands; how to write letters back home instead of just sending letters through traders traveling between India and Italy... We teach them everything about being good Christians living in exile from our homes... Most importantly though--and this is why I'm here today!--we teach *them* how *not* to be tempted by sin!

See? See how happy they look? How blissfully unaware? They don't realise that marriage is a holy sacrament between two people made in God's image... A physical union meant only for procreation. No amount of pampering or wealth or opulence can justify such sinfulness! The very thought makes my blood boil..

But still I tried my best not to let my anger show on my face as I looked over these two young people standing right before me... My poor naive siblings standing so proud up there on that altar like nothing was wrong with them! I tried so hard not to frown as I leaned over close enough so that nobody else could hear me whisper into their ears: "You know what this is!"