It was 1958 and Cardinal Roncalli of Venice had just been selected as Pope John XXIII by the College of Cardinals. I was sitting in my fourth-grade class with 62 other nine year olds in Notre Dame Grammar School. In today’s era of tight teacher-student ratios governed by school committees, sixty-three of us in a class was not unusual; it was typical. This was the era before the decline in religious vocations, but also before the use of birth control by all but a few Catholic couples.

Sister Louise Augustine was my fourth grade teacher, she was my favorite. She had a sense of humor, but she was strict. An iron hand in a velvet glove, if you will. Despite seven rows of desks, filled with nine-year-olds, her discipline was robust. Sister’s favorite phrase was, “No talking, no talking” and her favorite gesture was her index finger held up vertically to her lips.

She shared her excitement with us about the election of a new pope. We had just finished reading excerpts of “Lives of the Saints” and she had a new assignment for us. By the next week, we each had to hand in a 100-word assignment on our favorite saint. Some students picked their namesake. We had several girls named Mary in the class, so the Virgin Mary was a popular choice for them. Among the boys, Joseph and Peter were common names, so St. Joseph and St. Peter were frequent selections.

However, even then, I was a bit of a contrarian. Without hesitation, I picked St. Thomas. I liked the idea that he wanted to put his hand in the side of Jesus before he believed in Christ’s divinity. I was pretty skeptical for a nine-year-old. Years later, my mother would share with me that my favorite word growing up was, “Why”. I wasn’t argumentative, just inquisitive. I just wanted an explanation for everything. Luckily, I was an only child, so she had the time to explain things to me in detail.

Two years later, in the sixth grade, I remember an argument with my sixth grade teacher who said that when water freezes, it contracts. I knew full well that when I put the ice cube tray in my mother’s freezer, I would always fill the ice cube tray a little bit below the brim because I knew the ice would expand.

Back to St. Thomas: The choice of my favorite apostle was prophetic and has served me well throughout my life. I grew up to become a surgeon, so my hand has literally and figuratively been within many flank incisions. But beyond the anatomical presage, there was an intellectual foretelling as well. As a physician, I had to get all the facts to make the correct diagnosis and not just jump to a premature conclusion. Review all the data!

I continue to read scientific articles critically, but perhaps even more importantly, I read newspapers and political commentary with a jaundiced eye. Yes, as a nine-year-old, I related to a “doubting Thomas”, a trait that has never left me and has served me well. Sister Louise Augustine taught me more than arithmetic and spelling. A healthy skepticism about life was, perhaps, her most valuable lesson.

 

Kevin R. Loughlin MD is a retired urologist. He lives in Edgartown, Massachusetts. He enjoys writing, reading about current events and walking his dogs on Lighthouse Beach.