Bringing Peace And Justice To All

Growing up in rural Ireland, Sunday Mass was not an option, it was a ritual. Every Sunday we were woken up at 8:30am to have breakfast, as we couldn't eat an hour before Mass, according to some arcane tradition. At 9:50 we all bundled into the car and trundled up the road to the small local church dedicated to St. James.

And every Sunday at 9:59am, I prayed to God.

You see, the terrestrial Irish television station, RTÉ 2, loved to air children's programming while my family and I were at Mass. This was the reason we had to be almost dragged out the doors some mornings, as we just had to see the last few seconds of whatever show had started at 9:30. 10am was Sesame Street, so I never felt like we lost out on much.

But it was the show at 10:30 that had me kneeling in my pew, praying for a hasty conclusion to the weekly events. Everything rode on which priest walked through the door of the sacristy to deliver Mass. Most gave me a 50/50 chance of getting out on time, while the sight of a select few was met with joyous praise to the Allfather, as it guaranteed a short Mass, home well before the 10:30 deadline. But there was always the risk we had the one who loved his sermon’s, dragging them out to what I felt certain must surely constitute a war-crime against children, choosing the long form of the prayers, and refusing to read the clearly marked shorter version of the Gospel.

Of course, Sunday Mass was not just about sitting, kneeling or standing in church reciting prayers in a monotonous, hypnotic fashion. I also had to contend with the adults hanging around the church gate, catching up on the weeks gossip.

So what was it that had me so anxious? What show could have me praying to God to ensure the shortest possible devotion to that same deity? Only the best, most epic cartoon of it's time, one with a rock ballad opening score that still makes my heart jump to this day and floods my mind wit happy memories, dashing through the front door to turn on the TV and snuggle up by a fire for this weeks adventure.

The original, in all its glory, can be viewed here.