The Boondock Saints

November 01, 2004 - 3:22 p.m. Cold rain beat down, dragging with it the leaves from the trees. Tenna had lived in Wisconsin all her life and knew the cold that would be coming soon but she had never lived this far north in the state and was warned to expect more snow and more severe cold. Weather and the impending winter brought her down. The place looked dreary, certainly no where near as pretty as it had been when she first arrived at Our Lady of Knock, and all girls boarding school, that August. It's been nine weeks since my parents died, Tenna thought. She wondered if her grandmother was still ill and how long she would have to stay there. It was November 1st, All Saints Day, and Tenna along with the rest of the girls in her class, the girls she ate with, learned with, slept with, lived with all filed in a single line through the church doors for mass. The girls went to mass everyday but today was special in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Today was the day for the Saints, the humans who did something extraordinary in the eyes of Mankind and God. Tomorrow would be All Soul's Day, the day for the dead. Tenna would pray extra hard for her parents tomorrow. Kneeling and saying her “Our Father's” till mass began Tenna looked around her at all the statues and stained-glass windows. Many Saints were featured in these pieces of art work. The magnificence and beauty of the building made Tenna feel painfully ordinary. Her eyes ended up drifting to one of her fellow classmates, Megan Mahoney who sat alone next to Sister Monica, their teacher. Tenna had never spoken to Megan but had heard enough about her. Her father was dead and her mother had gone crazy. Megan was the only one of the girls who slept in a dorm room by herself. No one wanted anything to do with her because at night she had night terrors complete with screaming fits and violent movements. Not only did this prevent anyone else in her room from getting any sleep, it terrified everyone. No one wanted to sit by her or eat with her or anything. Tenna hadn't be ostracized by her fellow boarders but she had not felt welcome. Over two months at Our Lady of Knock and she had no close friends. Shy had always been on the shy side and her parent's death made her want to keep to herself even more. This made her seem aloof, which is not a good way to make friends. She was at an insecure place and just didn't know how to break free. She wondered if she and Megan could get along. Could the out crowd make their own in crowd? She was drawn to the red headed girl and her purple rosary beads. Did she understand Tenna's pain? Mass went as usual but that rainy All Saint's Day, Tenna decided to do something extraordinary. The world had taken so much from her and given her so little but she decided to do something proactive about the situation she found herself in. She had no idea when or if her Grandmother would get better. She couldn't just accept it all and rot at the boarding school. Give up? Is that what the Saints did? After church, the girls were lined up to go back to start their morning classes. Tenna stood behind Megan Mahoney, the girl who screamed in her sleep. “Megan,” Tenna leaned forward and whispered in her ear. Megan did not motion in any way to suggest that she had heard Tenna. “Megan,” Tenna tried again, “ I was wondering. Would you be my friend?” Tenna heard an excited gasp escape in front of her. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every one who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure.” John 3:1-3 Love and value your friends.     previous - next