REMEMBER WHEN?
Robert Obach
I remember the day when I first went to Catholic school in St. Albans, Long Island, New
York. When my mother left me with the first grade students in the big yard of St. Pascal
Baylon School, I felt alone and afraid. Then Sister Mary Helen, C.S.d., led us into
the school and to our classroom. There were fifty of us in that class.
Sr. Mary Helen was perfect for the first grade. She was young, dynamic, enthusiastic,
caring and, from what we could see of her (her hands and face) - very pretty. She made my
first day at Catholic school so special that I remember it even though a half century has
intervened between then and now. On that first day Sr. Mary Helen introduced us to Jesus.
In the front of the room was a large flip chart, each page containing a scene from the
life of Jesus. That day she told us about the way Jesus calmed the storm when he and his
followers were out on the Sea of Galilee. God was with Jesus and Jesus would be there for
us when we needed him.
And so my first day at Catholic school was quite special. When I got home I was so
happy that I got my four-and-a-half year old brother, Richard, to come outside the house
where I pointed to the sky and told him the good news that God is in heaven watching over
us. "You can almost see him up in heaven, Rich," I said. Then I asked, "Can
you see God up there?" My brother looked up at the sky filled with clouds. Then he
looked at me. Then he looked back at the sky and declared, "Yeah! I can see Him! I
can see Him!"
I went through eight grades at St. Pascal's. Since we had new classes admitted and
eighth grade graduations every six months, I had nearly sixteen teachers (one or two
taught us for two grades) in grade school and they were all Sisters of Saint Joseph of
Brentwood.
For the most part I got along quite well with most of my teachers, with the exception
of Sr. Catherine Marie, who made me stand against the wall for talking (when it wasn't me
who was talking). I got even by drawing unflattering portraits of Sr. Catherine after I
got home from school. My mother saw me doing that and said, "Don't you know it isn't
nice to draw ugly pictures of the Sisters?" She pointed out that the Sisters were
very special persons who made sacrifices of their lives to God so they could teach us. She
also pointed out that the Sisters are human and so they do make mistakes and they may even
stand the wrong student against the wall for talking. After my Mom said these things, I
felt ashamed of myself and tore up the drawings and put the pieces in the trash.
Looking back, I can see what a solid education I received from the Sisters. We had no
gym, no science labs, and, of course, no computers. But did we learn the basics!
I returned to Long Island for a class reunion in 1996 and once again met Sr. Mary
Helen. She is retired now, but she volunteers at a parish in North Merrick. She said that
two more of our teachers, Sr. Agnes Cecilia and Sr.
Joseph Roberta, are still alive, but that most of the others have passed on to be with the
Lord in Eternity. This Sunday is our annual Archdiocesan Appeal for Retired Religious. The
Sisters and Brothers who taught so many of us, who instructed generations of Catholics,
are now retired and few young women and men have followed in their footsteps as they had
once followed in the footsteps of the Sisters and Brothers who taught them. Today they
need our support. We owe them in so many ways.
Note: Robert Obach graduated from St. Pascal's in January, 1954 and went on to become a
professional theologian/teacher/writer. This piece was originally written for his
parish newsletter in Dayton, Ohio.
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