AS I WAS SAYING......
In December 1897, a little girl sent the following query to the 'Questions & Answers' section of the New York Sun: "I am an 8 years old girl. Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so'. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?" -Virginia O'Hanlon
Her letter found its way into the hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. Son of a Baptist minister, Church had covered the American Civil War for The New York Times and had worked on the The New York Sun for 20 years, more recently as an anonymous editorial writer. He was a sardonic man who had for his personal motto, "Endeavour to clear your mind of cant." When controversial subjects had to be tackled on the editorial page, especially those dealing with religion or theology, the task usually fell to Church.
Now, he had in his hands a bombshell: a little girl's letter on a most controversial matter, and he was burdened with the responsibility of answering it."Is there a Santa Claus?" At once, Church knew that there was no avoiding the question. He must answer, and he must answer truthfully. And so he turned to his desk, and he began his editorial in the form of a letter: "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus".
The letter was an immediate sensation, and became one of the most famous editorials ever written. (I have reproduced it below). It operates on a number of levels: it is of course a reassuring address to a fearful child: "Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever....."
But it is primarily a public address to a coarsened, sceptical adult world, a hymn of praise to faith, an invitation to genuflect before the mystery that is life and love:
"Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.....Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding."The article is now considered the most memorable editorial in newspaper history. It was reprinted annually at Christmas time, from 1897 right up to 1949 when the New York Sun went out of business.
Francis Church married shortly after the editorial appeared. He died in April, 1906, leaving no children. Virginia O'Hanlon went on to become a principal teacher within the New York City school system. Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in Valatie, N.Y. In their public exchange, two worlds merged with enriching results, and the magic of Christmas was honoured.
-D.L.
YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS.....
Dear Virginia,
Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
A CHRISTMAS LETTER
Greetings to you all,I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and that 2002 treats everyone well. Over here, we are up to our eyes with First Communions and Confirmations. We are also preparing for the rains. So a lot of time is taken up with visiting the little country villages. Roads here are only dirt tracks and my parish is extremely mountainous. This makes travel difficult and takes an awful toll on the jeep. I have been grounded since the radiator of the jeep exploded. It will not be fixed until tomorrow. This complicates life somewhat; I have to hitch a lift on a truck as far as it is going and then complete the journey on horseback. It really can be a pain, literally!
The parish is growing, slowly. But there are definite signs -an increase in the village catechism groups, more villages participating in the life of the parish, a growth in Youth Activity, and much more. I try to co-ordinate things, and keep the show on the road. I now teach in the diocesan seminary and in the Catholic University. This gives me a different perspective. There are currently 48 lads preparing in the seminary which will be important for the future of the diocese.
The pharmacies are doing well in providing the most basic medicines. Thanks to help received in Ireland we now have over 100 different medicines available. These medicines are sold to the people at a discount price which allows the people to be able to afford them while at the same time allowing the pharmacies to restock.
The 'Pig Project' is going very well. We have 22 sows 'fostered out' to different families. When these farrow, one female piglet is then passed on to another family. This allows a family to advance by receiving help and also preserving their own dignity because they themselves do the work of rearing the pig.
The youth group are rearing 200 chickens for me. These will eventually be sold and the income will allow the parish to attend to the poor who are very numerous here.
The second-hand (second-eye!) spectacles that Dick sent me have been a great help and there is constantly a stream of people looking for them. If anybody can gather up old used spectacles I would be delighted to collect them next Summer.
The Irish Augustinians and the Galway parishioners have financed a new Parish Centre. We have completed the ground floor and we are already using it. We will shortly be putting on the roof, also with help from Galway. It will be invaluable as a training centre, a community centre where the dead can be waked, catechism classes held, youth activities conducted, and so on. I am very grateful. Keep us all in your prayers and have a very happy Christmas.
God Bless,
-Noel
Convento San Agustin, Chone, Manabi, Ecuador, South America e-mail osachone@uio.satnet.net -Just flag it Noel)