Blast from the past: St. Paul's elementary

Stopped by my old elementary school yesterday. Surreal, that.

I didn't remember it looking so institutional and foreboding. Now it looks like a mental hospital or a really fun Call of Duty multiplayer level where you have to kill the terrorists and save little navy blue and plaid clad hostages. (Navy and plaid was the dress code FYI)



I remember latchkey, and playing in the wood chips of the playground with my buddy Mike. Our fishing tackle boxes full of Micro Machines, ready to make war on any ant colony that got in our way.

I remember spelling tests and Mass in the Cathedral. And my crush on my third grade teacher, Miss Summers (can you think of a better name for a third grade teacher?).

I told her I was going to marry her. We just had to wait until I was at least an 8th grader. She understood.

I remember ghost stories about the spectral nun that haunts the top floor. That story always freaked me out because I was already scared of the LIVING nuns, I couldn't image how scary a dead one would be!



Looking back now I realize how lucky I really was. My mom sacrificed to make sure I had access to a good education. And it was.

Learning the rosary, how to get along with others, respect for my elders and the eight beatitudes are about the best things for a kid.

There was one beatitude that always stuck out to me. To this day, I still feel my chest tighten a little when I read or speak it.

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied."

In some translations it's "justice" but righteousness or justices either way ...

I hunger. I thirst. Satisfy me.

Stop making war. House the homeless. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Educate the young. Help those who can't help themselves.

That's what Catholicism is supposed to be about. That's real righteousness. Real justice. Sometimes (like for entire centuries at a time) Catholics have lost sight of that. But I yearn for it. And, regardless of your creed, don't you too?

Today, Christmas day, is the best time of the year to reflect on that.