Okay,
your teacher, a Roman Catholic Priest, would often teach lessons
by playing Rock and Roll Songs in class, and he taught about the Second Coming of
Christ from a Rock and Roll Song he played in class one day. You learned about the Second
Coming of Christ from a Rock and Roll Song. Is that what this is all about and
WHO IS this Roman Catholic Priest and what does HE have to do with the
Second Coming of Christ and Rock and Roll?
This priest is a unique
character. What I find rather strange is that for the first two years of his
residency at my Catholic parish, I never saw the man. He came to my parish in
September of 1965, when I was just twelve years old. Luke 2:42 I knew he was
there because I had heard we had gotten a new priest. But I never saw him for
the first two years that he was at the church. I find that really peculiar
considering all the time that I spent in and at the church. I never attended a
Mass he celebrated until about the end of 1967. The first time I ever set eyes
on him was when he was introduced to us at school as our “religion” teacher.
That was in September of 1967. He had been around for two years, since 1965,
yet I never saw the man until September of 1967. Our paths never crossed for
the first two years that he was at my parish. I was twelve years old when he
arrived at my Catholic parish, I was aware that he was there, I knew he was
there. I was looking for him; I was searching for him, Luke 2:49 but I never saw
the man until I was fourteen years old. I just find that especially odd. He had
been hidden from my sight for two years, up until I was fourteen years old and a freshman at the Catholic high school.
Unlike the other priests who
taught at the Catholic high school I attended, he taught from the Bible. We all
had to buy a Catholic Bible for our freshman class he taught. There were just a
few lessons I recall him teaching from the Bible. The first is from Apocalypse (Revelation) 12:1 of the Catholic
Bible. Here he taught that the woman mentioned in this verse of scripture is
not the Blessed Virgin Mary, but that the Catholic Church recognizes this woman
as the Virgin Mary by accommodation. Another lesson I clearly remember him
teaching was from Genesis 3:15. Here, Father taught us that this is the first promise
of a redeemer for mankind. One other thing I remember him teaching us in class,
is that when the word ‘he’ is mentioned in the Bible, it does not necessarily
mean ‘male’. It could possibly mean ‘female’. But he did not tell us where
those instances were. I really was not much into the Bible when I was fourteen
years old. I liked Rock and Roll much better. And being raised Catholic we did
not read nor consult the Bible for anything, except in this priests' class. I
did my classroom assignments and thought I was doing okay in class.
Near the end of my freshman year
in high school, in 1968 (probably late in May) I was summoned to the
principal’s office, where I met privately with the principal of the high
school, who was also a Roman Catholic Priest. He had me sit down in a chair,
then, he too, took a seat behind his desk. He then demanded to know what was
going on between me and Father Geidman. I had no idea what he was talking about.
No clue. I told him there was nothing going on between us. He was sure there
was and demanded to know what it was. I told him there is nothing going on
between us. He then told me that Father Geidman had failed me in social ethics
class with a final grade of 67 and that the passing grade would have to have
been a 70. He then went on to notify me that I would be unable to return to the
Catholic high school for my sophomore year unless I went to summer school to
make up the course. He then handed me an envelope that Father Geidman had given
to him to give to me. I left his office with the envelope in hand. Later, in
private, I opened the envelope and read the enclosed letter. It read, “She must contact me at least during the
month of June 9 (1968) to arrange a
summer “make up” course – at the rectory.
Now I am not the brightest monkey on the planet, but I
knew my grades were not that bad to have merited a failing grade in his class.
I had attended this Catholic school all my life (except for kindergarten), and
I had never failed any classes in my school career. I could not understand why
all of a sudden, I failed a course. This made no sense to me at all. Not only
that, but I was never given any warning that my grades were in jeopardy in his
class. Never. So I decided to compare my grades with others in the class. I
asked some of the “less than average” students if they failed Father Geidman’s class.
Each of their answers was negative. Then I got their test results for the year,
averaged them up, and discovered that their grades were actually lower than
mine. Yet, Father Geidman had passed them and they were not required to attend
summer school. I felt that he had treated me very unfairly and decided against
going to summer school and chose not to return to the Catholic high school for
my sophomore year. Without telling my mother what had actually happened, I
simply just asked her if I could attend public school for my sophomore year.
She said I could if that is what I wanted, so my decision was made final. I
would be going to the public school next year and would be far away and out of
reach from Father Geidman. I figured if I left the Catholic school I would be
out of his reach, I'd never have to see him again, and he could no longer do me
any harm. I would be free from his clutch on me. So, I thought.
I'm Free
Rolling Stones - 1965
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