All Saints Day

I remember when I was in grade school, went to a Catholic school from first grade to eighth, we used to have the day off school and would celebrate All Saints Day by going to Mass. One of the perks of going to a Catholic school was that we got days off that the public schools didn't, but we also got out for summer after they did.

If I remember correctly and believe me, this was a long time ago, All Saints Day was considered a Holy Day Of Obligation, meaning you had to go to Mass or it was a sin if you didn't. I remember there being a lot of those.

I remember going to confession too. Our pastor's name was Father Frawley, they named the church's hall after him, Frawley Hall, it's still named that. When we had to go to confession every Friday, we kids hoped and prayed that we wouldn't get him to confess our sins to. He would give out the longest penances, the prayers you had to say when you were finished confessing your sins. Instead of a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers, he would give us lots to the point we felt like we were never going to be finished saying them. He was also tall and an ex- Marine, which made him seem all that more menacing to us.

I don't go to Mass anymore, but I did go through high school. By that time they had started having Mass on Saturday evenings if you didn't want to wait to go on Sunday, so a couple friends and I would go. We would sit in the back rows so that as soon as Mass was finished, we would be the first ones to leave. I think we only went because our parents wanted us to go.

The old school has closed down, but the church is still active. Father Frawley of course is no longer there, but we still have the hall to remember him by. The wedding reception for my brother's wedding was held in that hall. Maybe the next time I go back home to visit, I'll stop in. It can't hurt and who knows, maybe I'll run into some of those friends I used to go to church with long ago.