Marching Saints... I remember, I remember when I was young and we would be marched from Holy Family Convent School, across the paved parking lot to Stella Maris Church. On All Saints day there would be no suggestions that choice or freedom had anything to do with this movement and ritual. Unlike today where students rights must not be infringed upon, we were taken there because that was what was right and that was what was expected from parents at home and it was what the church did to and for us! Attending Mass on All Saints Day was what was called a holy day of obligation, so off we went, under the watchful eyes of Anne Belle MacIsaac, Janie MacEachern, Mother Saint Rose... The Feast Day of All Saints: Prayers to and prayers about all those saints....Anne, Joseph, Peter, Pius, Theresa, Andrew, Ignatius, Paul.... .....in the mind of a young boy the list was endless. Who were these people? What about their families, parents, neighbours? Did they experience the hardships like us? Did they ever have a toothache or be told to empty the scuttle of ashes and fill it up with coal? Did their fingers show bruises from the brutality of a swat from an angry teacher? Who were these saints? My life was filled with Saints, although their names were not mentioned in those long prayers. Nana Corner, who welcomed her grandson no matter who was visiting. Some cold water from her drinking pot, hung from a hook above the kitchen sink. A cup of hot tea, a biscuit with butter and jam...a short rest sitting with her in the living room watching the comings and goings on around the Corner. Danny and Margaret MacLeod... The big house by the glebe. I didnt know or care that the magistrate lives there! To me they were neighbours who welcomed the regular intrusion of an inquiring young boy... Here too biscuits and tea would abound, but usually cookies or maybe a piece of apple or lemon pie. I always thought it odd that Margaret would offer cheese with the apple pie....and tell the story so frequently how my younger brother Leo hated curds... In this house I first viewed tomatoes from up Ontario way....tomatoes that looked like pumpkins...It was Alistair MacLeod who brought them to Danny & Margaret, along with that large bottle that he and Danny enjoyed so much.... Neither were three these Saints names included in that long litany! Annie Mae Smith and Annie Belle Muise were always with Sister Beaton (although I didnt know her name or know that she was the best dancer around) when I walked past Saint Marys Hospital... The window would be open and the voice would always be heard, Come in for a minute..., coming in meant opening that huge door and then another and stepping down into the basement amongst the laundry room, kitchen, and oh yes, I think the morgue was there too, but it was just a room with no name! Down, down, to the kitchen. The two Annies cooking, baking, working away in the hospital kitchen. Sister Beaton always invited me to an inner room with a big table and many chairs. I didnt understand her kindness. I didnt understand why the Annies would bring a plate of cookies, a glass of milk, and always that orange for my pocket... Today my two Annies and Sister Beaton live amongst those Saints from the long prayer.... The three were my living Saints who taught me kindness and generosity. Sister Beatons bible now sits on my library shelf and helps me to understand where the saints rest. They may indeed rest in their eternal home, but their saintliness is all wrapped up in their humanity....kindness shown to a little boy, generous offerings of a cup of tea, a biscuit, a slip of an orange into a childs pocket, a fat tomato shared on a fresh slice of home-made bread, a swig of whiskey from a visiting nephew, a worn and tattered bible on a bookshelf.... All experiences of Saints... All included in my litany of Saints this morning... Feast Day of All Saints... A time to remember, a time to say Thanks, to My Nannas, My Annies, My Sister Beaton, My Danny & Margaret... And to all of you who are todays marching saints!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:22:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015