An Alter Boy Revisited

I was born in the small town of Turners Falls Massachusetts in November of 1961. That seems to have been a pretty good time to pop into the world. As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when they're rotated upside down—since 1881, and the last year until 6009* (pretty cool, huh?). JFK was the new President, Elvis was on the charts and making movies, television shows like Leave It To Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show were still in black and white and received with an antenna mounted on the roof (it was even controlled by something called a rotor that turned the antenna depending on the location of the station you had just selected), and technology as a common household appliance was at least a good thirty years in the future. Life was simple then. 

As a kid growing up in the 60's, you had all the time in the world to play and discover, and to enjoy the wonder and innocence that seems to be absent in so much of young life today. A lot of my childhood, for me, seems engulfed in a mist (I really wish I recalled more of it than I do), but I do remember crisp summer mornings outside, ready for a full day of play. (When I finally shuffle off this mortal coil, I think I'd like the afterlife to possess that same feeling of purity and contentment that defined my early life on Hillside Avenue). An integral part of growing up in small town Turners Falls was going to church. My family attended Saint Mary's, the "Irish" church among the three Catholic churches in town. We weren't actually Irish, I think maybe it was just the "cool" church to attend, it was the nicest building and besides, there's something about "Irish" and "Catholic" that just seem to go together; Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley in Going My Way, Pat O'Brien as Father Jerry Connolly in Angels With Dirty Faces, and there's just something so wonderfully charming and humble about John Wayne's Irish character in The Quiet Man. Late 1961 was also right in the sweet spot of Camelot with the new President and his Irish Catholic roots. Actually, I think my family started attending Saint Mary's long before the sixties, but it seems so fitting that we were there at that particular moment in American life. We attended Mass usually every Sunday morning (sometimes on Saturday afternoon), often with my Father, many Sunday mornings he'd get up early to attend the 7:00 Mass. My brother Bill would usually get up with him and I can remember being simultaneously envious of Bill for getting up to attend the early Mass with Dad, and being way too comfortable in bed to consider the option of going along. Once I was old enough I could always opt for a later Mass at 8:30 or 10:30. Seven AM Mass with Dad usually meant breakfast out afterwards, that was the kicker. 

As soon as I was old enough to participate in the service as an Alter Boy, I jumped at the chance. The job came with a uniform, and you got to be right in the action instead of watching (and sometimes nodding off) on the sidelines. Many of my best friends were also signing up. In addition to the benefit of participating instead of watching, and the cool uniform, we also got to go on trips to see the Red Sox, or the Patriots, or visit the occasional monastery. Again, it was a great time to be a kid. 

I mention the church thing and the simple time to grow up, because it brings me to the early seventies when, for some reason, there seemed to be an abundance of religious films including Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Brother Sun, Sister Moon. I recall the latter two as being somewhat significant to me. Brother Sun is about the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the more popular figures in the Catholic bubble gum card collector set, and the inspiration for a great deal of though, for me, in the last 24 hours. The life, in belief and practice, of Saint Francis is encapsulated in the Prayer of Saint Francis. Here's the closest translation from the original text penned in French...

The Prayer of Saint Francis

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is doubt, faith; 

Where there is despair, hope; 

Where there is darkness, light, and 

Where there is sorrow, joy. 

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not 

so much seek to be consoled as to console; 

to be understood as to understand; to be loved 

as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

Although this prayer has largely come to be attributed to Saint Francis himself, it is more likely the work of another author intent on  honoring the Saint. The crux of his message, the author of the prayer and Saint Francis himself, is that we should strive every day to be a force for improving the human condition around us. Where there is hatred, we should instead bring love; where there is discord, harmony; instead of needing to be understood, we should instead strive to understand. The message and model that's been laid out for us, is that, when presented with a negative situation, we should all aspire to find it within ourselves to respond with something better. It's a simple message, and really isn't necessarily a religious one either. Sure, he's asking "God" for the guidance to respond with kindness and selflessness, but "God" applies differently to each one of us. For some, "God" might mean the intention to summon the strength from within. Inspiration applies uniquely to us all. 

As I recall, I once toyed with the idea of exchanging my cool Alter Boy uniform for some flashier Priest duds, but in the end, I was just too busy chasing girls to stay focussed. Eventually, as life got busier and more complicated, and the benefits and motivation of being an Alter Boy faded, I dropped out of the order, along with most of my friends. It would appear that the churchly tone of this post somewhat resembles a sermon that,  a better dressed version of my former Alter Boy self, might have delivered. If that's the case, then I should thank you now for indulging a childhood fantasy. Let's get 'er done: I mention Saint Francis this morning as a reminder to us all that, it is within each of us to bring something better to the lives and circumstances around us; to be a force for harmony, and peace, and understanding. It's within all of us to resist those old powerful forces, programmed into each of us, to react in kind; when offered anger or injury or discord, we so often react with exactly the same. Saint Francis tells us we should find it within ourselves (or from our higher powers) to rise above and choose to be better. To improve the human condition, if only with a word or a sentence or a gesture at a time. With this simple prayer, we're provided the instructions for living a happier and more harmonious life. Saint Francis provided the wisdom, it's up to us to do the rest. 

Cheers!

Father Bob

*Excerpt from Wikipedia