ralper

Sorry Jerry.

paS2K

I have always been curious about the separation of Irish Catholics, Italian Catholics, Polish Catholics, Catholics from Mexico and South/ Central America.

Why has no one has mentioned this challenge, or is it not a problem? Here in Philadelphia (strong Catholic area) there are a lot of small churches that have apparently resisted merging due to different ethnic orientations....putting additional financial burden on the Diocese (as if they needed something beyond the potential philandering payments).

NNY S2k

^^^In my hometown there was only 1 Catholic church, so I went to Church/school with the Polish, Germans, Slovenians, French, Italian and even some American Indians. We all got along great. I didn't think it was worth mentioning as we were all 1 family.

Honda 367

I am not a Catholic but one thing I appreciate about Catholic Mass is that no matter where you go, you know what to expect. There is a tremendous comfort in familiarity with sequence in the Mass.

Lainey

My parish was a French parish. In the first couple of years I was in school, we had 1/2 day of English class, 1/2 day French. I still can't speak French.

We had French parishes, (more than one in the city), Polish parishes, and Portuguese parishes. I'm sure they had plain old English parishes too.

They've had too consolidate now. Not enough Catholics left to keep all those churches going.

Grannyrod

[QUOTE=Lainey8484,Dec 16 2005, 01:53 PM] Great memories, Granny!

Glad you

ajlafleche

Second day, first grade, September 1956, Joseph L arrives a few minutes late, Sister Jean about half Joe's height, grabs him and sends him bodiloy against the back wall of the classroom upon which he falls like a tree to the floor.

We were also told the devil lived inside the Epeiscopal church building.

Sister Joseph du Redemteur, fifth grade, barely spoke English but was assigned to teach English, history, math and geography. According to her, the correct pronounciation of "bump" was "bum" so you would want to avoid the bum in the road. Okay, that turned out to be good advice after all. She was also well known for her ability to quite painfully punch people in the kidneys and toss them to the floor for the slightest infraction of a rule.

On the lighter side, each month just before the first Friday, we would do an "examination of conscience" and be coached in what sins we were likely to have committed before being brought to the parish church to confess. I'm sure the priest could tell exactly which nun's class was coming through.

Then there was the overemphasis on modesty which would lead me to wear two tee-shirts no matter how hot it got and bath with a washcloth in my lap.

Junior year in high school. Sister John Anastasia decided she would allow no boys on the National Honor Society and graded us accordingly. If objective grades were too high, she'd reduce the grade for inadequate participation in class.

Headmaster Father Paul deciding proper punishment for some infractio or another was to copy the glossary or index of a large text book. Three times.

Somewhere around 1966 or 67, my brother's science "teacher" told the class the movement of the clouds across the sky was caused by the rotation of hte earth under them, much as the movement of the sun.

ajlafleche

Now I'm going to have flashback nightmares! We only got that brand of penguin when the two local high schools merged. We has Sisters of the Assumption before that (as well as during the last three years of high school).

Legal Bill

I dated the hottest girl in the neighborhood when I was in the 8th and 9th grade, an Irish Catholic red head. She went to Catholic school and looked great in her uniform. Does that count?

paS2K

Depends on whether you got into her uniform, Bill.....er, I mean, oh forget it