by Thomas A. Droleskey
In anticipation of the forthcoming travelogue, my dear, dear wife thought that a few photographs she took from our lovely day today would be appropriate to post.
Father and daughter back again at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, Oyster Bay, New York, November 24, 2007.
Another year older. Taken at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, Oyster Bay, New York, November 24, 2007. (It was pretty cold this morning!)
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A rebuilt Oyster Bay landmark: Nobman's Hardware. November 24, 2007.
The beautiful doors to Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Another set of doors, Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
The patron saint of my longtime home parish. Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Confessional, Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Stained glass window depiction of the Last Supper, Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Our eternal friend and the eternal foe of Modernism, Pope Saint Pius X, Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
The Twelfth Station of the Cross, a beautiful mosaic that remains untouched in the fifty-one years since I first stepped foot in Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York. Photograph taken on November 24, 2007.
No, the true Mass is no longer offered at Saint Aloysius. An abomination is offered there now. I once knelt in that pew as a Kindergartner to learn how to attend Mass. It was from that pew that I went up to receive my First Holy Communion at that same altar rail. I knelt in reparation on November 24, 2007, for the offenses given Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this glorious Catholic church.
The lack of lighting does not do this mural of salvation history justice. If you use you zoom feature on your computer you will be able to see a depiction of Cain staring at Abel, jealous that God had found favor with Abel's sacrifice and not his. Moving to the left center one can see Abraham as he about to slay his son Isaac, being restrained by an Angel of the Lord. The center, is of course, the Crucifixion, and the right center shows the offering of Melchisedech. Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Look at the exquisite brick work in the stairs leading to the choir loft near the main entrance to Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Statue of Our Lady Help of Christians, the grounds of Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Pointing to my first grade classroom in Saint Aloysius School, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
Looking at the former first grade class room. November 24, 2007.
The back of the former Saint Aloysius School. November 24, 2007. (There used to be a fence in the middle separating a boys' part from a girls' part. The boys once "invaded" the girls part.)
The bottom row of windows belong to the room where my schooling began on Monday, September 10, 1956. That's where my half-day of school (afternoon session) in Kindergarten was held. What a traumatic experience it was to see my mother leave the room after having been home for nearly five years. I didn't bawl. However, there were a few tears that made their way down my cheeks. I learned at Saint Aloysius what my parents had not taught me at all: the Holy Faith. Deo gratias!
The front of the former Saint Aloysius School, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
The rear of Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
The former convent of the Reverend Sisters of Mercy. On the grounds of Saint Aloysius Church, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
The former boys' entrance to the former Saint Aloysius School, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007.
An intact classroom, Saint Aloysius School, November 24, 2007. (All right, all right. We didn't have air conditioners in the late 1950s and early 1960s!)
Looking into the balcony of the auditorium at the former Saint Aloysius School, November 24, 2007.
Inside the auditorium, the scene of my Kindergarten graduation, June 10, 1957, and a piano recital in 1961.
A beautiful statue of Mother and Son. First floor of the former Saint Aloysius School, November 24, 2007. (Yes, I think that you should realize by now that Saint Aloysius is in Great Neck, New York.)
Oh, those steps seemed so big fifty years ago. It was down those steps that our second grade class descended to make our way to the church for our First Holy Communion on May 30, 1959.
Saint Aloysius Church, side view (south side), November 24, 2007.
Side entrance to sacristy, Saint Aloysius Church, November 24, 2007.
Front view of the top of Saint Aloysius Church, November 24, 2007.
Rounding the bend: where Bayview Avenue becomes Kings Point Road. Kings Point (to the left) and Great Neck (to the right), New York, November 24, 2007.
The color scheme has changed. However, this was home to the family of Dr. and Mrs. Albert H. Droleskey from November 10, 1955, to August 2, 1965. 39 Kings Point Road, Great Neck, New York, November 24, 2007. (The house was built in 1948. My parents were the second owners of the house. My father qualified for a V.A. Mortgage on the house, which cost $21,000 in 1955. Monthly mortgage payment to the Roslyn Savings Bank: $99.00 a month!)
Another view of the old homestead, rounding Kings Point Road and turning onto Steamboat Road. Those hedges are a little thinner now. However, they are the same hedges that have been there since the original owners built the house.
Yes, that old chimney is attached to a functioning fire place. The second story window on the right belongs to the bedroom I shared with my brother (hello, Bob, still waiting for family photos, you know). The second story windows on the left belong to the master bedroom, which was positioned above the dining room.
The backyard at 39 Kings Point Road, November 24, 2007.
Caught in the act! Having my first bite of bread in nearly seven weeks. Downing a Milleridge Inn popover on my fifty-sixth birthday, November 24, 2007. I hope I don't regain the thirty pounds I've lost because of two popovers. I only have another seventy pounds to go! And, yes, that forehead is increasing in its scope.
Someone needs a spelling lesson in the Town of Oyster Bay. (Sign at ENTRANCE to Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, Oyster Bay, New York, November 12, 2007.)
My Masonic high school, Oyster Bay High School, October 13, 2007. We moved from Great Neck to Oyster Bay Cove too late in the summer of 1965 to gain admission to Saint Dominic's High School. This was probably instrumental in helping me to keep the understanding of the Faith that I was taught at Saint Aloysius School in Great Neck. Hard to believe that it is just a little over eighteen months before my graduating class of 1969 will observe its fortieth anniversary. Forty years?
Well, that's about it for now. We had intended to take photographs inside of the old Saint Dominic's Church in Oyster Bay this morning, November 24, 2007. However, a Novus Ordo service was taking place. We keep ourselves and our daughter away from such things, thank you very much. Some other time. The old Saint Dominic's Church, which is called a chapel these days, is about as untouched as Saint Aloysius.
God bless, Mary keep, Thomas A. Droleskey
Vivat Christus Rex!
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint Luke the Evangelist, pray for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Chysogonus, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.
Saint Sylvester the Abbot, pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us.
Pope Saint Clement I, pray for us.
Saint Felicitas, pray for us.
Saint Felix of Valois, pray for us.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.
Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, pray for us.
Saint Gertrude the Great, pray for us.
Saint Josaphat, pray for us.
Saint Albert the Great, pray for us.
Saint Didacus, pray for us.
Pope Saint Martin I, pray for us.
Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us.
Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.
Saints Vitalis and Agricola, pray for us.
Saint Hilarion, pray for us.
Saint John Cantius, pray for us.
Saint Peter of Alcantara, pray for us.
Saint Hedwig, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Saint Francis Borgia, pray for us.
Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us.
Saint John Leonard, pray for us.
Saint Dionysisus (Denis), Rusticus and Eleutherius, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Therese Lisieux, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Placidus and Companions, pray for us.
Saint Bruno, pray for us.
Saint Wenceslaus, pray for us.
Saint Jerome, pray for us.
Saint Remigius, pray for us.
Saint Clotilde, pray for us.
Saints Cosmas and Damian, pray for us.
Pope Saint Linus, pray for us.
Saint Peter Nolasco, pray for us.
Saint Raymond Pennafort, pray for us.
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us.
Saint Thecla, pray for us.
Saint Matthew, pray for us.
Saint Eustachius and Family, pray for us.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Cupertino, pray for us.
Saint Januarius, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.
Saint Giles, pray for us.
Saint Stephen of Hungary, pray for us.
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.
Saint Nicomedes, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Calasanctius, pray for us.
Pope Saint Zephyrinus, pray for us.
Saint Louis IX, King of France, pray for us.
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, pray for us.
Saint Bartholomew, pray for us.
Saint Philip Benizi, pray for us.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.
Saint John Eudes, pray for us.
Saint Hyacinth, pray for us, pray for us.
Saint Agapitus, pray for us.
Saint Helena, pray for us.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.
Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, pray for us.
Saint Irenaeus, pray for us.
Saints Monica, pray for us.
Saint Jude, pray for us.
Saint John the Beloved, pray for us.
Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.
Saint John Bosco, pray for us.
Saint Dominic Savio, pray for us.
Saint Scholastica, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us.
Saint Antony of the Desert, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
Saint Bonaventure, pray for us.
Saint Augustine, pray for us.
Saint Francis Xavier, pray for us.
Saint Peter Damian, pray for us.
Saint Turibius, pray for us.
Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us.
Saint Lucy, pray for us.
Saint Monica, pray for us.
Saint Agatha, pray for us.
Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us.
Saint Basil the Great, pray for us.
Saint Philomena, pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us.
Saint John Mary Vianney, pray for us.
Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Saint Isaac Jogues, pray for us.
Saint Rene Goupil, pray for us.
Saint John Lalonde, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel Lalemont, pray for us.
Saint Noel Chabanel, pray for us.
Saint Charles Garnier, pray for us.
Saint Anthony Daniel, pray for us.
Saint John DeBrebeuf, pray for us.
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, pray for us.
Saint Therese Lisieux, pray for us.
Saint Lucy, pray for us.
Saint Dominic, pray for us.
Saint Hyacinth, pray for us.
Saint Basil, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.
Saint Sebastian, pray for us.
Saint Tarcisius, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Gerard Majella, pray for us.
Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us.
Saint Genevieve, pray for us.
Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius V, pray for us.
Saint Rita of Cascia, pray for us.
Saint Louis de Montfort, pray for us.
Blessed Humbeline, pray for us.
Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, pray for us.
Venerable Pauline Jaricot, pray for us.
Father Miguel Augustin Pro, pray for us.
Francisco Marto, pray for us.
Jacinta Marto, pray for us.
Juan Diego, pray for us.
Father Maximilian Kolbe,M.I., pray for us.
Father Frederick Faber, pray for us.
The Longer Version of the Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, 1888
O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
Verse: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
Response: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.
Verse: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
Response: As we have hoped in Thee.
Verse: O Lord hear my prayer.
Response: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Verse: Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls.
Response: Amen.
