Marta's Mission

By Christine Farrow-Noble

Marta Walsh, a curious 12-year-old girl in a small southern California town, learns from Catholic friends that eight soon-to-be 8th grade girls will be invited to live at Mission del Pueblo and help with activities there. Her father, a former Catholic, expresses concern about the potential influence of the church on his younger daughter. Marta's participation in the program opens new family conversations and brings unexpected experiences, dilemmas, and discoveries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine (Chris) Farrow-Noble
• Release date: Sep 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223634478

Book preview

Marta’s Mission

A Novel

By Christine Farrow-Noble

MARTA’S MISSION. Copyright © 2023 Christine Farrow-Noble. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the author, except when quoted in an online or published review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Photo Credits:

Cover: Christine Farrow-Noble

Dedication: Kate Cardoza Blackwell

Book design: Y42K Publishing Services

https://www.y42k.com/publishing-services

Dedicated

to our beautiful and curious granddaughters.

Mika Eleanor Blackwell and Anna Marie Blackwell

Anna and Mika at Smith Rock State Park, Oregon, April 2023

Table of Contents

1 Black Shoes

2 Six-Second Kissing

3 Slumber Party

4 The Morning After

5 Pull of the Horse

6 North End Chapel

7 Feeling at Home

8 Not My Daughter

9 Late Afternoon Phone Call

10 Prayers and Questions

11 Changed Plans

12 Family Dinner Out

13 Trip to Mission del Pueblo

14 Arrival!

15 Seeing St. Clare and the Ruins

16 Walking the Cemetery

17 Goodbyes

18 Moving In and Silent Dinner

19 First Introductions

20 Meeting Clare

21 Mass

22 Sister Cecilia’s Briefing

23 The Girls Speak at Last

24 Schedules and Choices

25 Local Girl

26 Missing Home Missing Mother

27 Meeting Father Ryan

28 A Second Run

29 August 3, 1955

30 First Community Event

31 Luiseño Family

32 Grace

33 Nancy, Changed

34 Nancy and Her Mother

35 Nancy, Afraid

36 Searching Searching

37 A Muffled Sound

38 Thursday’s Alert

39 Day of Limbo

40 Pre-Dawn Meeting

41 Explaining in One Sentence

42 Working With Nicholas

43 Imagining a Talent Show

44 In the Kitchen and Gardens

45 Will the Girls Do Something Together in the Talent Show?

46 Call From Home, August 23

47 Julia’s Find

48 The Talent Show

49 Honoring St. Francis

50 Final Goodbyes

Acknowledgements

Sometimes

A place, a person, a scent, a taste, a sound, a song

Finds its way into my soul and settles in

It calls to me in my waking and in my dreaming

Nurturing my longing

I know I will return

Somehow

1

Black Shoes

Marta had always disliked black shoes. She’d resisted buying them, even when black sneakers came into style and her friends were wearing them with black jeans. They reminded her of being in the convent, but she’d never been in one. She had never even been Catholic, at least not in this lifetime, as Auntie Ruth says. Marta laughed every time her aunt said that because she knew it related to the possibility of other lifetimes, and she didn’t want to think about that. This lifetime is enough. Maybe it had been a dream, the image that kept returning -- looking down at black shoes peering out from beneath a long black skirt…or habit.

She’d heard from her older sister Emily about the rules about wearing black patent leather shoes to their public high school. Girls weren’t permitted to wear these dress-up black shoes because they might reflect their underwear on the shiny surfaces. Marta and Emily laughed aloud (a rare occasion in their family) about this. Who watches girls’ shoes to catch a glimpse of underwear? The counselors at high school must have too much time on their hands to imagine these scenarios. But the rule remained.

2

Six-Second Kissing

Most of what Marta knew about the Catholic Church she’d learned from her friends after the retreats at All Souls Roman Catholic Church. Several times a year all the Catholic girls and boys got to get out of school to go across the street for these special religion lessons.

Last Wednesday Marta’s friend Louisa rushed back from the half-day retreat for the last part of lunch. She was obviously worked up about something, which usually meant that Sister Elizabeth had delivered some strong warning to her girls. This middle-aged nun felt intensely her responsibility to educate and protect junior high girls. She spoke constantly about the dangers surrounding her youthful charges. Marta and other non-Catholic girls were hanging around their usual table, eager to hear the latest reports about right and wrong, sin and forbidden behavior. Fifth period would begin in ten minutes, so Louisa spoke in her staccato rush.

You won’t believe this. Sister Elizabeth said, straight off the bat, that French kissing was a mortal sin, and so was kissing for longer than six seconds. She’d heard some boys talking about the party at Bob’s last weekend.

What? Six-second kissing is too long? What about kissing for less than six seconds? Carol piped up. She’d had a boyfriend since sixth grade.

That’s a venial sin, Louisa explained, matter-of-factly.

Whatever that means, Marta commented. What’re you supposed to do, count down the seconds every time you kiss?

She’d never come close to kissing any boy for one second, let alone six, and she didn’t know what French kissing was, but no one around her had to know that. This French kissing must be something that normal people don’t do, and certainly Catholics wouldn’t dare do. No one would take a chance on a mortal sin for kissing.

Of course not, Louisa scoffed. She didn’t want to lose her audience, so she quickly picked up her story again.

Then Sister Monica told us that same old story about the slippery slide – you know, the dangerous slide that begins with kissing and touching. That warning that once you start down, you can’t stop or go back or get off. She made it sound dangerous to hold hands or let a boy put his arm around you. How would she know, anyway? All the girls laughed, thinking about Sister Monica. They doubted she’d ever been kissed.

Fifth period bell rang, and they scattered to their afternoon classes, leaving the conversation floating above the deserted table. Marta thought about this new information all the way to gym. She’d have to wait for any more details until their next slumber party when they could talk about this again. Then she remembered. Patty was having one this Saturday, and hers were always good. Her parents didn’t mind the girls staying up late if they were quiet, and they didn’t have to stop eating after midnight, like they did at the Catholic girls’ houses. I can save my questions ‘til Saturday. She nodded, as she changed into her gym clothes for tumbling.

But these words came rumbling back through her mind as she walked home. Mortal sin, venial sin, or was it venerable sin? Mortal is the most serious, she knew that. But venial or venerable? She couldn’t remember. With her books resting on her hip, she walked into the kitchen.

What is the kind of sin other than mortal, Mother? Venial or venerable?

Look them up yourself, her mother replied with a smile. Marta guessed she wasn’t sure, either. After all, she hadn’t been raised Catholic; she’d joined the church when they decided to get married. Her father was the Catholic one, and her mother had to promise to bring the children up Catholic. Now he never went to Mass and didn’t consider himself a practicing Catholic, whatever that means. Practicing for what?

She found the family’s blue American Heritage Dictionary where it always was, on the low shelf next to the cookbooks and quickly located mortal sin.

Mortal sin: Theology. A sin, such as first-degree murder or perjury, that deprives the soul of grace and causes damnation.

She had a more difficult time finding the v words but finally found them both by sounding them out.

Venerable: Commanding respect by virtue of age, character, or position.

Venial sin: Roman Catholic Church. An offense judged to be minor or committed without deliberate intent. It does not separate the soul from the grace of God.

No wonder I get these words confused. But how could any kind of kissing be in the same category as murder?

Since both mortal sin and venial sin had definitions linking them to the Roman Catholic Church, Marta felt clear about their relationship to each other. If the topic came up again at the slumber party, she could be a part of it. That felt good. Sometimes when her friends started talking about their religions or praying or God, she felt left out. Why didn’t her family have a religion like so many of her friends? Marta had been the only one in her family to try out churches on her own, but none of them felt quite right. She didn’t know why her father stopped being a Catholic before she was born. Auntie Ruth always said, Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.

She’d have to ask him about that someday, but not before Saturday. She had enough to think about without talking about religion with her father. She’d have to plan ahead for that conversation.

3

Slumber Party

The short time between Wednesday’s report from the class at All Souls Roman Catholic Church and Saturday’s slumber party went slowly for Marta. She kept thinking of things that she wanted to know more about. The talk about the slide, the French kissing, the two kinds of kissing. At the same time, she knew that these questions had to do with religion, and sometimes the conversations at slumber parties were about everything but religion. Boys, teachers, parents, summer plans, dreams and reports on dating and parties, to mention a few topics. Marta knew she’d have to wait to see what the mood was Saturday night.

It started normal enough. The eight girls arrived within about a half-hour of the 7:30 starting time, with most of them being dropped off by their parents or an older brother or sister. The weather had turned cold that February night, even for southern California. Marta had packed her favorite flannel nightgown, so she’d be warm in the family’s red flannel sleeping bag. Patty greeted each girl and told the driver that the party would be over by 8:30 a.m., so her family could get to church in time for the 9:30 services. They were used to this routine when Patty had a slumber party.

They were also used to the Catholic rules about Saturday night. If the Catholic girls were going to take Holy Communion at Mass the next morning, they couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight. Everyone else went along with this rule too; it made it easier for everyone. The no-eating rule was easier than no-drinking. Marta always drank water or lemonade before going to bed; it seemed to help her get to sleep. But she went along with it. She didn’t want to get into any trouble with anyone.

But somehow that night got off in a bad way. Sandra had brought some new 45s, and everyone wanted to dance. Patty’s parents didn’t mind the music or the dancing at first, but the girls started laughing and singing along with the music, even more than usual.

Patty’s mother came up around 9:30. Quiet it down, girls. Don’t make me have to come upstairs to warn you again.

Many of the girls were dancing together, laughing and playing, making big movements with their arms. Marta usually felt kinda shy about dancing, but this felt different. They were all girls, and everyone was acting silly. Girls were dancing on their own or with a partner. Everyone was having so much fun, including Marta.

Suddenly Patty’s mother was at the door again, flicking the lights off and on.

Didn’t you hear me? I said you had to keep it quiet, and I meant it. Something’s gotten into you girls. This is your last warning. If I have to come up here one more time, you are all going home immediately. And don’t think that I wouldn’t do that. Don’t test me, you hear?

She closed the door behind her with a hard push and went back downstairs to bed.

She was very angry, and the girls knew this. Everyone stopped dancing and turned the music off. No one said a word for a few minutes. They didn’t want to get sent home. They knew that. Marta couldn’t even imagine how angry her parents would be if they got a call in the middle of the night to come get her and take her home. Patty’s house wasn’t an easy place to find in the light or dark.

They put their sleeping bags out on the floor around the edges of the big room and sat around in a circle, talking. There were endless things to talk about. They always made jokes about the Penny Hops on Wednesdays. These noontime dances in the girls’ gym were both fun and difficult. The boys would line up on one side of the gym and the girls on the other. The announcer would say, Okay, first dance, boy’s choice. The music – some popular song -- would start over the PA system. A fast one, a slow one, or something in between. One by one some boys would walk across the gym floor and ask a girl to dance. More students had the courage to dance to a fast song. The slow songs usually only got the boys and girls who were dating out on the floor. The next one might be a girl’s choice, or an All Dance, or sometimes the announcer would call it something crazy, like, This is a Blue-Eyes choice, and only people with blue eyes could ask someone to dance. Marta loved to go and wanted to get asked to dance, but that had happened only a couple of times so far.

The girls also talked about girl things, like getting their periods or going out on a date. Marta hadn’t done either, so she just listened, hoping no one would notice. But when someone mentioned French kissing, she paid attention.

I don’t know about you all, Marilyn looked around the circle, "but it sounds disgusting to me. Why would anyone want to put their tongue in someone else’s mouth? And,