Catholic Church Observation Paper

As a good Irish Catholic family (from the time Sam was healed from the meningitis) this nine-member family went to Mass every Sunday, observing all sacraments of the Catholic Church. Upon arrival in the church parking lot, before Max even had a chance to walk around and open the door for Hanna, she gave the same verbal warning, “No nose picking, no slouching, and no butt sitting against the pew.” All seven knew from experience that spankings awaited any violators when they got home.
Like clockwork, all nine, with Hanna and Max in the lead, paraded to the front of the church sitting in the same row, second pew from the front on the left-hand side, every Sunday, filling the entire row like sticks in a long wooden fence. Walking to the front of the church, all five girls wearing the same matching blue and white pinstriped dresses, the two boys in black slacks, black shoes, and starched white shirts with clip-on bow ties, jockeyed for position as they approached the self-imposed assigned
pew. It was a test in procrastination as they lollygagged their way to the front, not wanting the torture of sitting next to Hanna for an hour. It’s not that they didn’t love their mother—it was her razor sharp fingernails that instilled the fear of God in them.
Sitting next to her, either on her right or left was a horrid experience, avoided at all cost. Hanna kept an eagle eye on her brood, expecting them to sit like statues—standing and kneeling at the appropriate times. The unlucky ones sitting on her right and left received immediate consequences for inappropriate behavior. Once seated, any movement from legs swinging back and forth brought her razor-sharp fingernails to the top of the kneecap. With her eyes focused on the priest at the front of the church, she dug her nails into the knee flesh, putting a stop to swinging legs instantly. She was able to reach across two bodies on either side of her, putting a halt to any wiggling, or heaven forbid, nose picking, never once making eye contact with the culprit. Slouching and butt sitting against the edge of the pew while kneeling brought a stabbing pain to the middle of the back as she slithered her hand to press in dagger nails, penetrating even the thickest sweater. Wincing or crying out guaranteed a spanking after church.
They sat like soldiers, Hanna Commander-in-Chief. The highlight of Mass occurred when a child escaped from the crybaby room at the back of the church. Occasionally, a runaway youngster made it all the way to the front of the church before his parents could snatch him up. Laughter was hardly contained as the youngster climbed the altar steps with the speed of a racecar, dropping to the floor next to a kneeling altar boy. Even a smile was a magnet for Hanna’s fingernails.
The First Holy Communion, typically performed around the age of eight, was a church sacrament taken seriously by Max and Hanna. In a family with seven children spaced just a few years apart, a First Holy Communion occurred every few years. It was an event they all looked forward to and went to great lengths to prepare for. The candidate for First Holy Communion took instruction from the nuns. They learned about prayer, confession of sins, and the sacrifice Jesus Christ made with his death upon the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Once the course of study was completed, usually in the spring, preparations began in earnest for the youngster to accept the Holy Eucharist, a bread-like wafer dipped into real wine and placed on the tongue for the first time.
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“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! I’ve had just about enough of this KINGDOM talk! Stop talking about the SON. I don’t want anyone getting any bright ideas here.”
“Scorch, sir, the trials are coming soon. Max and Hanna will never stick with the KINGDOM after they get hit with the trials.”
“You’d better do your job, Discouragement, or I won’t let you burn in the Everlasting Fire.”
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Attending class was only part of the preparation. It was a time to wear formal clothes and become the focus of attention. The boys wore black suits with white shirt and a tie. The girls dressed in white knee length dresses, anklets with white patent-leather shoes, white gloves, and white veils. Just outside the church on the big day, a long line of boys and girls forming two single file lines, paraded into the church, sitting together as a group. This was significant for the seven because it was the one Sunday away from the clutches of Hanna, although the nuns had long sharp fingernails too.
The priest celebrated the Mass.
When it was time for Communion, the boys and girls walked to the front of the church in single file lines to accept Communion for the first time. Millie thought of it as her first act toward independence in her faith-walk separate from her parents. She looked forward to the day she would take the Holy Eucharist into her mouth for the first time. She had always looked on with envy as her older brother and sisters took Communion each Sunday, coveting the gifts they received at their First Communion party.
When Molly, Pete, and Kate each made their First Communion, a huge celebration took place in the backyard of whatever house they happened to be living in at the time. ALL of the relatives were invited. Max’s seven siblings along with their spouses and children, Hanna’s sister and two brothers along with their families, and all the grandparents, created an enormous group. Consuming copious amounts of food and drink, this was a party Millie eagerly
awaited.
It was two days before Easter Sunday, the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. In observance of Good Friday, remembering the day Jesus was crucified and buried, the nine-member family planned to attend church together. Every store, gas station, and business closed from noon to 3:00 p.m. The streets seemed deserted as they drove into the packed parking lot. They were running late, so by the time they reached the church doors, their regular pew was already filled with people. Max and Hanna quickly divided the children into groups of two and three, pushing them to ushers who seated them in various locations around the church.
Millie and Sue nearly leapt for joy as the usher walked them further and further from Hanna and their three oldest siblings, Molly, Pete, and Kate.
Millie spoke in a hushed voice, “Susan . . . look, this huge white pillar is blocking the way so no one can see what we’re doing.”
She whispered back, “But Millie, I can’t see what’s going on in the front.”
“Who cares, Sue, you can pick your nose, and you won’t even get a spanking.”
Millie slouched in the seat, propping her feet on top of the kneeling bench. She let her eyes wander to the stained glass windows that circled the perimeter of the church. The smell of incense filled the air. Susan tapped Millie’s arm, “Look, everyone in our row is standing up.”
Jumping to their feet, Sue and Millie followed the men and women seated in their row, inching their way to the front of the church. Susan nudged Millie in the back, “What’s happening, Millie?”
Whispering over her shoulder, “I don’t know. Just do what the person in front of you does.”
Susan and Millie crept toward the front of the church. Caught in the traffic of people, they were unable to pull out of the line. Millie scoured the church for any sign of her family. Completely disoriented, she had no idea how to get back to her seat. Susan grabbed the back of Millie’s dress, pulling so close she stepped on the back of Millie’s shoes. Millie jerked her body pulling the fabric from Susan’s hands, she hissed at her, “Let go!”