A Reunion
It was June 1, 1972, that I walked across the stage at Mattoon High School, shook hands with the principal and superintendent, and received my diploma. As I recall, it was a warm evening and there was no air-conditioning in the gym. It took nearly two hours for the 370 seniors to graduate and I couldn’t wait for it to get over. Last Saturday, I drove over to Mattoon for my 50th reunion. My thoughts were much different. Back then, we did not go to high school until our sophomore year. Prior to that, I went to Humboldt Junior High. There were only 17 students in my class. I remember the first time I walked into the high school and how big it seemed. I was anxious about how I would do. Would I fit in? I had a similar feeling the other day. After fifty years, how many of these people did I really know and would I still fit in? A tour of the high school was one of the events planned for the day. The building, originally built in the mid-50’s, had been renovated a few years ago. There was a new office and a second gym. The typing rooms and the simulators in the drivers’ ed. room were gone. They were part of an old technology that has disappeared. The library was where the study halls use to be and a new greenhouse was being constructed. The football field now had artificial turf and the cafeteria had been enlarged. Back in my day, we had only 25 minutes for lunch and the jello cubes they served never melted. They actually would stick to the ceiling of the room. It wasn’t long before we were recalling events of the day. One big issue was the dress code. The length of girls’ skirts was always an issue. To resolve this, they finally let the girls wear slacks. That evening we shared our recollections and renewed the bond that we called high school. It was this experience that made us one.
I recall that on the night before he died, Jesus prayed that his disciples might truly be one. We become one when we share a common bond. Being part of a parish or part of a church is to share a common experience or a common belief. When we walk the same halls or share the same Eucharist, we cannot simply be outsiders looking in. We have become part of something bigger. In the church we come together to share our joys and sorrows. We come together to remember what Jesus did for us. We come together that this life that Christ shared with us may make us one with him in our faith. The bond that makes us one can never be broken. Just like my high school class, our church shares a common experience that stretches back 2,000 years. It is good to gather and remember. It is good to celebrate. It is good to be one.
Father Jeff
The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. Mass will take place at 8:00 AM.
