Memories

When I was in the sixth grade, we moved into a larger home with a beautiful backyard. We had a fishpond with thirteen goldfish and knew each one by name; we had three flowering peach trees, another tree surrounded by Lily of the Valley, and a walk that led to the alley that was bordered by lovely Irises such as you see in the picture. We also had a grape arbor so my mother and a friend pooled our sugar rations to make grape jelly. My brother, George, was born that Christmas of 1941 when we had just begun World War II; my brother, John, was born less than two years later and soon we were hiding Easter eggs among the flowers in our yard. This picture triggered so many memories as I had the back bedroom with my desk overlooking the backyard and spent a fair amount of my time contemplating what went on outside instead of getting my homework done.

Today is the Feast of St. Athanasius, Archbishop and Doctor of the Church who lived in the fourth century and is known for his struggle against the Arian heresy. He had many enemies and was five times banished from Alexandria. It was during his exile in the desert that he wrote the life of St. Antony.