If it's His will, I'll Get Over There to Ireland

In Ireland, Copyright 2016, Marianne Norris

I think about Ireland at times. My sisters have visited some of our roots and I'd like to get over there some time, but there are battles that need to be fought here right now. A good movie may be about as close as I come. As I Catholic, we would say it's up to God. If it's His will, I'll get over there. So I don't worry about it. 

The Irish and Irish American Catholics are not the only ones close to the Catholic faith. But it's something many of us have loved for generations and it has been a  force in almost every aspect of Irish life. Only time will tell whether Catholicism is reduced  to a trivial pursuit for the Irish in years to come. It's up to the Irish, when in past, the faith was oppressed by others. It won't the English trying to take the Irish faith away or robbing them of the richest part of their DNA, it will be the Irish themselves. 

America (the US), as a country that reflects our ancestors' heritage,  we have pockets of culture that have been transplanted. Sometimes we have a presence that is no longer found in it's origin location. I remember traveling through Wisconsin where I heard there are Northern European recipes that can no longer be found in Northern Europe. You have to come to Wisconsin to find these!

It's very sad for me to see country after country in Europe in which churches are all but museums. We are starting to see some of that here in America. Modern people look at faith as a straight jacket that restricts their movements. They want to be free! But true faith, while it can inhibit actions with our approval, is really more a reflection of free will. If you are not doing specific things, your faith might be helping you, but it is still about choices you make--at least here in America.

When we were little bitty kids, we learned the Hail Mary. It was easier than the Our Father and it was a prayer that honored Jesus's Mother. It was what we call a prayer for intercession. From the earliest days in Catholic School we learned that Mary would intercede for us, asking for us. At the same time, we were learning about Jesus and what he had done for us. As a little kid in a Catholic home and going to a Catholic School, there was many crucifixes around and images of Jesus. We prayed to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. 

I was reading Bible stories to my grandson this week. He is five years old. We read about creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah.  Some of the basics of our Judea-Christian heritage. I hope he holds onto these, but I won't be forcing him to do it or having the Ten Commandments tattooed to his back. 

But you can't very well expect your kids to learn to read without understanding their abc's. Kids do need a little help in all things that we want them to learn. If you present no faith to your kids as some kind of objective authority, I have to wonder how that plays out. If you school your kids on faith, your children may reject things you taught them. Or you may find them developing a deeper faith than you.

I wrote a book about my experiences called The Brown and White. My book isn't about faith and beliefs so much as it is about the life we lived at the time when I was in high school. But faith was at the core of our existence and a Catholic faith was at mine. In  truth, I'd like to go back and feel the faith that I had at that time. As an adult, I think it works a little different.  I think some of us, like Mother Theresa, can feel disconnected at times and at other times feel in touch.  

When we were kids, I think we felt in touch most of the time. Lots of people let their faith go after many years in Catholic School.  My friends from other churches tell me the same things. But I think its important to try to leave a legacy of some kind.
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Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's lovable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.

Copyright 2017, Sporting Chance Press