1. What future priest directed a Seton musical: A. Fran Peffley; B. James Hudgins; C. Keith OHare
2. What was sometimes used to signal the end of classes: A. a cow bell; B. an air horn; C. a tambourine
3. Where did the Seton pilgrims going to World Youth Day in Denver stop for the night on the way out? A. Salina, Kansas, B. West Bend, Iowa; C. Indianapolis, Indiana
4. What Seton team played a nationally ranked team? A. Baseball; B. Girls soccer; C. Girls basketball
5. Where were the Lenten Retreats once held? A. Washington, DC; B. Maryland; C. West Virginia
Part IV of The Last Journey
Then on just an ordinary ferial day when it was raining, and we were getting ready to go down to the woodshed, it all ended, just like that. The spotless victim was waiting over in the church for me, and I knew with great relief that those years had meant to strengthen my faith to make it pure and invincible.
Yes, I remembered it all. And now I was face to face with the Bread of Heaven! He turned to me, and there was the gratitude of God in His eyes as He spoke.
In France on April the 23rd in the year 1930 at a meeting of 43 Masons, Father Louis Merreau consecrated 44 Hosts. Each of those men took a long slender knife and stuck those Hosts on the wall around the room. After that, my priest took the last Host, placed it on the floor, and put a long slender knife through it. He became a prominent Mason and was known all over Europe. He committed suicide last year .
And now .he is .?
In purgatory .thinking of you and how you saved his soul from hell. That was part of the meaning of those seven long years.
He turned then, walked down the steps across the presbytery and out into the colder air of the cloister. I followed and bumped into the heavy wooden door. Its hard to see through tears .
I shivered as the cold air wrapped itself around me and seeped through the woolen cowl. Down the dim cloister moonlight we walked, turned off into the passage leading past the stairway to the infirmary. Further on He opened the side door that led to the garden for the professed choir religious. He led me over to the spot where I stood so many times in the years gone by.
Do you see these mountains? You have loved them for so many years.
And it was true. I had loved them. Up from the earth they rose and pierced the very heavens, and with them your heart cold rise and beat side by side with the heart of God. They had become part of me, and when my feet were stuck in the mud and mire of temptation, I would come out here and gaze t the rolling splendour of these mountains. I would rush to the peak of the highest one, and there I would look at the towering strength of God. I have lifted my eyes to the mountains whence help shall come to me. Through all the years they had been a joy and a strength to me.
This will be the last time you will see the mountains, and I must tell you about them. Through all the centuries I knew that you were coming here. I knew how desperately weak you would feel, and how puny and small you were. I placed these hills here for you. When I created the world, I was thinking of Marty Holloway, and I knew all that he would need to come back to Me. Many people have found the same comfort and consolation in them as you, but none has needed them as much as you. It was you I was thinking of most of all when I made them.
There in the snow and moonlight Jesus smiled at me. I could only say, My beloved to me, and I to Him.
- 1. C. Father OHare before he was ordained but in the seminary did direct the orchestra for Music Man. The group played under a tent like construction by the bleachers. The last assignment I know that Father OHare had was in Banica. Another future priest also directed a musical: Mark Pavlik directed Wizard of Oz and also made Fuzzy Gregorys Good Witch of some direction Wests? amazing costume. Father Pavlik is a priest in Minnesota. These two musicals directed by future priests are among my all-time favorites. Father Peffley has the well-known talent of juggling, but I dont know how he is musically. Father Hudgins is very musically talented, but he didnt become associated with Seton until after he became a priest. He was able to teach the 12th grade religion class regularly when he was an associate pastor at All Saints. Other music/orchestra directors for musicals have been Jenn Gregory, Jeanette Fisher, Dr. Divietri, Mr. Montelione and Dr. Morch.
- 2. A. The cowbell was the instrument rung to signal the end of classes once Seton moved to its current location in the Old Building but before Mr. Whittum installed the computer bell system. I know I sometimes felt as if I were part of a slow moving herd going from one classroom to another before the Corpus Christi building was built. The Fire Marshall once wanted a fire drill, so Mrs. Severe, the school secretary (among many other duties) ran around ringing the cowbell and yelling Fire Drill. The school evacuated fairly quickly. Fire drills were one of my favorite things especially once we started lining up across the street and taking attendance. This meant much less time to teach. Once the cowbell couldnt be found so my sister Wendy ran around banging a pie plate with a spoon. I think Mr. Heisler did something similar to announce that we had a new Pope. An air horn was not used to signal the end of classes, but one was used to signal the end of quarters of basketball games when Seton used All Saints Gym for its home games. It was a very annoying. Part of preparation for home games was to go to J.E. Rice to pick up a new air horn. I think the best feature at the scorers table in those days was the wooden change of possession arrow that Mr. Scheetz made. He also measured and put in the three point line there that everyone thought was wrong because it didnt match the top of the circle arch, but Mr. Scheetz patiently explained many times that the free throw lanes at All Saints were narrow and therefore the top of the circle was closer to the basket than it should have been. The only use of a tambourine that I know of at Seton was for the Arbor Day Celebration that was sponsored by the COOL Club for a couple years. We had a little parade down Maple Street and used the tambourine and maracas for the celebration that culminated with the planting of a tree. We even had an Arbor Day King and Queen.
- 3. A & C There were two stops on the way out to World Youth Day. The first was Indianapolis. What I remember most from that stop was the spontaneous gathering on the football field of the young people to sing We Are One Body. We slept in a Catholic high school gymnasium that first night with pilgrims from three other states. The second night we slept in a National Guard Armory in Salina. I dont know if a cement floor is really harder than a wooden gym floor, but it sure seemed to be. Mrs. Ferri remembers that it was 104 degrees that day and seemed to stay about that hot during the night. She also said that a group went to a swimming pool that was about to close, but they kept it open longer so the travelers could enjoy a swim. In Denver, the pilgrims stayed at a inner city Catholic school with carpeted sleeping quarters and no gang colors were allowed to be worn. Jennifer Gregory 86 did a great job organizing the pilgrimage. There was no stop in West Bend, Iowa, but there is an amazing place there called The Grotto of the Redemption that you should visit if you are ever in West Bend.
- 4. All of the above. Seton has a career record of 0-3 against nationally ranked teams. The baseball team played Greenbrier from Southern Virginia in the state tournament. Girls soccer played a nationally ranked team in the state soccer tournament. I do not remember the team. And the girls basketball team played a nationally ranked team in a National Christian Tournament in Tennessee. We scored first, but the other team scored often. There may be other times teams have played a nationally ranked team, but these are the ones I am aware of.
- 5. C. One year it was suggested that there might be more of a retreat atmosphere away from Seton, so the retreats were held in West Virginia. That was the only year the retreats were far away. Several years the seniors and juniors had their retreat at All Saints, while the underclassmen were at Seton. Washington, DC, was the sight of a school pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Dogma in 2004. Seton assisted at a Mass in the Shrine Crypt that was televised by EWTN. The whole student body went to the Shrine on chartered busses. It was a beautiful day. A little aside: I remember a woman told Mr. P. to congratulate the director of the school because she was so impressed that the girls skirts covered their knees. Emmitsburg, Maryland is, of course, home to the Shrine of Mother Seton and where Seton goes for the yearly pilgrimage the first Sunday of May. This coming Sunday is the Pilgrimage. It is one of the things I miss most since Ive been away from Seton. The pilgrimage is basically the same every year, but every year it was so enjoyable. The beautiful drive; singing in the Basilica with the tremendous acoustics; the whole Mass; the ringing of those great bells; the little tours through the houses that acted as convent and school; the slide show; the picnic and games and then going up to the Grotto of Lourdes for the walking rosary among all the beautiful spring blossoms. I was so glad my mom was able to go on the Pilgrimage the first year she lived back in Virginia. I am also glad to know that the last few years have seen the best attendance ever, despite the weather not always being the best.
Jezu, ufam Tobie.
I am posting this on Sunday, April 25th. This is the one year anniversary of Blogic.