"You're not going to a Catholic school. I don't want to hear another word about it," my mother said sternly after I pleaded with her several times when I was about to enter junior high school.
My best friend, Karen, was going to one and a couple of my other friends from sixth grade. My mother was a public school teacher and she insisted that I would receive a public school education.
"You need to be exposed to all kinds of people," she added. "You won't get that at a Catholic high school."
Maybe she thought that I'd want to be a nun or never meet any guys. Maybe that's why I rebelled from that day forward, didn't care about school, and married a Jewish guy.
I was devastated. So, the for the next six years, I kept to myself in school and only hung out with a few close friends.
My friends went to St. Xaxier's. Funny name for an all-girls high school.
St. Francis Xavier is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born on April 7, 1506 at the castle of Xavier near Pamplona, Spain. He met St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, while a student at the College of St. Barbara at the University of Paris, France.
St. Francis Xavier was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He led missions throughout the world to places like India and Japan. He died on Dec. 3, 1552 at Shangchuan Island, China. He is the patron saint of missions and his feast day is Dec. 3. Canonized: 1622
Not long before my mother died, she called me into the living room.
"I know where I went wrong wtih you," she said. "I should have let you go to a Catholic school."
I didn't say a word. She was absolutely right. The damage was done. I walked away in disgust. Why do parents wait until they're dying to look back on the mistakes they made? Why can't they reason with situations in the moment?
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