Mass was a Litmus Test for Catholics

Going to Mass was a litmus test for Catholics back in the day. Going to Mass was getting your Catholic card punched each week. You might not be a saint, but if you went to Mass you were in the game. You recognized the reach and the power of the Man upstairs.  You were a believer in a profound way.

A few of the neighborhood men appeared to be among the worst sinners around, who were Catholic.  These were the guys who swore a little too much in front of kids and women. These were the guys who might be swigging a beer at 11 AM on the weekends. These were the guys who didn't seem to have love for their family. Some of them went to Mass—as if to say I know I am no good, but there is always a chance at redemption. Then there were other men that gave Mass attendance up. No Mass, but they'd wash the car on Sunday—stick out like a sore thumb on the block. 

Regardless of how you might have felt about faith or religion, these guys were just not operating well any longer in society. There was something wrong with them, with their lifestyle and they were in trouble. 

But back in those days, there were also a lot of very faithful women who like Saint Monica got down on their knees and prayed for anyone who seemed to lose the faith.  I knew some men who did it as well.  For Catholics, there is never any problem, never, that can't be addressed by prayer. So, wives, mothers, daughters and sometimes fathers, brothers and sons prayed for those who lost their way. And sometimes redemption came. 

That's the kind of faith that can help bring it all together again for the future. Going to Mass might not make you the best Catholic, but it says in you are a member--that you accept something greater than yourself or your own lifestyle or schedule.

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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.