They sold my memories!

I was born and brought up Roman Catholic.  Celebrating Lent and The Christmas season and Easter was a huge part of my life growing up.  I went to a Catholic school for my first 8 years. For most of my grades I was taught by Nuns.  I remember being taught by a Lay person, Mrs St Peter, in the second grade.  She cured me of my stuttering problem and was a pretty good teacher, except when I had to go to the bathroom, she rarely answered us when we raised our hands to leave the room and several times, I nearly peed my pants. I remember each day would always start out with Catechism, followed by math, english and the other subjects.  Every friday afternoon, if we were good during the week, we would see a movie in the auditorium. They were 16 mm movies back then. It wasn't always a movie though. I remember once there was a group of musicians, financed by the state called "Music in Maine" and there would be parts of an orchestra appear every friday like the stings on one day for example, violins, cello and base who would play music and then answer questions from the audience.  Shortly after I graduated from the 8th grade and went on to high school, the school was closed down due to a  lack of money to run the school and when the school closed down, the convent was closed and eventually sold and the remaining nuns were transfered elsewhere.Long story short, I had alot of fond memories of that school which gave me a good foundation for life.  However, things changed as they often do.  There was a big beautiful church attached to the school and auditorium which was rebuilt in 1960 and I  remember my dad, who owned a construction company at the time, donated a stained glass window and that was the thing, all the parishioners donated something, or gave their time to do work around the church and school.  I use to bring in paper for the classroom that my family donated.  It was a good feeling and like a big happy family.I use to pass the collection plate at the 6 pm mass and sometimes brought the gifts to the alter during offertory. I remember being in the church choir while in the 4th 5th and 6th grades. We wore a Cassock and a Hassock, I believe the attire is called but I can't remember which is the top and which one is the bottom, underneath.....it's been a long time.  We were very good and I remember wednesday vocal practice was fun and a chance to get out of class for an hour.  Mr, Knigh was a local vocal teacher who taught us how to sing in 3 part harmony.  I was a soprano because I hadn't yet gone through puberty so my voice was on the high side like most pre-adolescent boys.  We had a few alto's and one bass singer. We use to love singing at midnight mass on every Christmas Eve because it was the only time of the year we got to stay up past bedtime! A few hours later, we would be opening presents so we were all excited!
When I was in school, we had two priests handle the duties of taking care of all the parishioners but through the years, the lack of priests forced the church to only have one priest.  Then when some priests began making poor moral decisions,  the church was closed from a lack of parishioners attending mass there and a year or so after it was closed, it was put on the market and sold to a family who will turn the church into a home and possibly the school will be made into apartments.
When I read the newspaper article about the church and school having been sold to some out of towners, it hurt because I felt like a piece of my past was included with it.  I felt robbed, I felt like I had lost my best friend, I felt like my memories were no longer a part of me and no longer important.  When I use to drive by that church that held the ghosts of many memories for me, it took me back to a time in my mind where life was much simpler....there were no computers to interact with, just each other and that was how we learned about life and about love by interacting with people, not machines!
It's the sign of the times. There were  3 Catholic Churches in the closest city. There is the Notre Dame which is the church I got married in, there is, or was, I should say, the St Francis, which has also been sold and there is the Sacred Heart which has been closed and the only time they open it is on Christmas and Easter, I believe, when more people feel like attending Mass.
Attending Mass nowadays is a 20 mile drive one way so I rarely go anymore but living my life by the 12 steps of AA has gone a long way to increasing my spirituality just like it use to be when I attended Mass and felt comfortable being in a place I practically grew up in.
There were many times when I was not in a church but I feel nonetheless, that I have the church inside me!
God Bless!