29 January 2012 & 5 February 2012


My Friends,

Baptizing Imagination
When you read to your children, you open new worlds
Brandon Vogt is a 25 year old convert, in 2008, to Catholicism. He is married and the father of two with a third soon to come. By day he is a mechanical engineer. He is also a voracious reader and prolific writer. He writes regularly on his blog: The Thin Veil. He is the author of a book: The Church and New Media. I frequently read his blog. His insight and passion for the Church, to me, are inspiring. The piece that follows appeared recently in The Thin Veil. It is a springboard for reflection, and, I suggest, not just for parents of young children!

“One day while waiting at a train station, a young atheist wandered over to a bookrack. He browsed the selections, picked up a small fairy tale on a whim, then sat down and began reading. He was immediately hit with odd sensations. It felt like a waterfall had engulfed him. Suddenly his mind was washed with wonder and life. And all of his boredom and cynicism felt as if they were being wiped away.

“Some years later the young man marked the event as his “baptism of imagination.” This one book — a fantasy story — ignited his wonder and forever changed his view of the world. A few years later, the young man renounced his atheistic views and became a devout Christian.
“Most of us can probably relate to the great power of stories. From our childhood we remember being drawn into tales of pirates and knights, soldiers and cowboys. Most of us can still recall the great adventures, enchanting mysteries, and exciting journeys that captivated us as children.

“Imagination is powerful. It pulls us into the world of a well-told tale, moving us from the sidelines and into the action ourselves. We become the courageous hero, the devoted friend, and the curious explorer. With the fictional characters, we journey through mystical lands, embark on risky voyages, and battle for the sake of all good.

“But today, many children have lost this gift. Instead of developing their own imagination, children are drawn to computer screens and video games which do all the imagining for them. Despite all of our entertainment options, kids are more bored, more cynical, and less imaginative than ever before.

“How do we re-enchant their minds and baptize their imaginations? One way is to introduce them to epic stories like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. These stories don’t just entertain us. They actually condition our children to live a different way. They allow kids to believe that anything is possible and the stories train them in heroic virtue.

“When children imagine Frodo trekking through the dark lands of Mordor, fending off evil to destroy the ring, courage swells within them. They find it easier to conquer the much smaller battles of their own day.

“When Aslan sacrifices himself for the sake of his friends, our kids become much quicker to embrace sacrificial love. And, even better, they acquire a keener understanding of Christ.
“We can also enliven our children’s imagination by helping them to become intrigued by the mundane things of the world. The jovial writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “The function of imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange; not so much to make wonders facts as to make facts wonders.”

“This gift of imagination is one of the greatest we can give to our children. It’s about more than fending off boredom. It’s about helping our children peel back the blinders that prevent them from seeing the world in all its magic, wonder and splendor.

“It’s about teaching them to see a caterpillar with the same shock as a sea serpent. It’s about showing them how stones are as captivating as stars, how babies are as glorious as angels.
“Only then will our children experience the sensations of our man at the bookrack, the one whose mind was awash with wonder. That man would later be known around the world as C.S. Lewis, one of the most famous writers of the 20th century. His Chronicles of Narnia have since been enjoyed by millions of children and baptized many imaginations.

“So read to your children. Fill their heads with wonder. Wash their minds with fantasy and whim. It’s not just their soul that needs baptizing but their imaginations, too.”

Speaking of Converts
Above I noted that Brandon Vogt is a convert to the Catholic Church. Our Adult Faith Formation Series currently in progress with Dr. Dan O’Brien as the presenter and facilitator is a double blessing. It offers continuing education and faith formation for members of this parish family. This, Archbishop Carlson repeatedly emphasizes, is one of the essential signs of a parish that is vibrant and vital; that is, in his words: Alive in Christ.

This present series, too, is providing instruction in the faith and experience of Catholic life for two among us, Natalie Beile and Mike Wurbel, who are preparing to join the Roman Catholic family of faith. They will do so, here, on Holy Saturday Night, April 7, during our celebration of the Easter Vigil. Thanks be to God for His presence and action in their lives. Thanks be to God, too, for so generously building us up. These coming weeks “we wait in joyful hope” to welcome them into full communion in the Church. This, too, is one of theessential signs of a parish, Archbishop Carlson says, that is Alive in Christ!

This Old House
The replacement of the 50+ year old boiler and air-handler system in the church is nearing completion. It is state of the art. There are four boilers which fire sequentially, as needed, where before there was one single boiler. The energy efficiency and fuel cost savings will be significant. The noise reduction from the air-handlers is considerable.

In many ways, those with a trained eye who have seen the project evolve cite the undertaking as monumental given the circumstances of restricted access and tight space and the confines of a building 161 years old. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who have helped realize this significant and vital achievement in a church which is “the House of God, the Gate of Heaven”, and our home as a parish family, and a historic and venerable part of the patrimony of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

I am grateful to John McGuire and James Fedrick and all who have been involved in keeping the church as tidy as possible during what has sometimes been a dusty project. Once it is completed, a thorough cleaning of the church, including the carpet, will provide the finishing touch.

Your gifts, in response to my special year-end appeal, of $66,100 to date, together with two bequests, totaling some $75,000, for which we await distribution in the next few months, are a reassurance that we will not need to draw down, significantly, our reserve funds for this $160,000 project. We have been blessed with those gifts, and the generous provision, of John Frehr and Rich Yanes in their estates. The financial stability, immediately and for the long-term future, is another of those indicators of a parish, Archbishop Carlson says, that is Alive in Christ!

Fill the Hangers
You have been extraordinarily, but characteristically, generous in your response to the annual Fill the Hangers coat drive. The response has included many gently used and some newly purchased winter-wear. Not only parishioners have responded, but also those in the civic and business community who regularly join us here for worship on weekdays and weekends. The same is true monthly for our food pantry collection.

This outreach to those among us in need is, again, one of the indicators Archbishop Carlson cites for a parish that is Alive in Christ”. Those who benefit from your generosity in the Fill the Hangers drive, and all who benefit from what you provide for the food pantry, are most grateful!
A particular expression of gratitude goes to John McGuire for generously coordinating these initiatives!

In Brief
Your 2011 Parish Contribution Statements are currently being prepared. They will, then, be mailed to all households of record for your tax purposes. This is, again, an opportunity for me to thank you for your responsible and generous stewardship supporting our mission and ministry.

We share the joy of Patrick & Jamie Tueth, and their first-born, Clare Grace on the arrival of Jack Patrick who was born January 6, 2012. He is proof positive, again, in flesh and blood, that “love creates life”. In coming weeks we will schedule the date for the Baptism of Jack Patrick during our 10:30 Sunday Mass.

We share the joy, also, of David Mazar & Adrienne Schneller, a young couple with us regularly for Sunday Mass. They were recently engaged and are planning their marriage here on April 13, 2013.

Faithfully,
Monsignor Delaney