#fierceinvalids

It was my aunt’s idea, back when she was sister Croetine, that an order of desert nuns be formed that would both honor St. Pachomius and give the Roman Church at least a token presence in the region.

Ah, but St. Paul had decreed that women’s heads be covered in church “because of the angels.”

Another excellent example of where mood selection can be critical to the meaning of a sentence. If “be” were “are,” the women’s head coverage could be understood as a statement of fact on the part of St. Paul, rather than an injunction.