Last week’s “Finding Meaning” column remembering the late St. Catherine’s Parish School was adapted to a front-page general interest story, thus no column. Sorry. In researching the story, I was intrigued to learn how teachers, parents and students became an extended family in this “happiest place by the sea,” that to this day is heartbroken by its closure. And I gained two or three insights.
As noted, Laguna had two Catholic grammar schools taught by on-site convent nuns. The first was called Sacred Heart (1934-1946); the second St. Catherine’s (1957-2020). Here’s an intriguing observation: They both opened after World Wars, a result of post-war ‘baby booms’ as returning soldiers came home seeking the happiness of family life. And both schools later closed due to declining enrollment after the birth rate surge receded. The first insight: Babies, though they seem helpless and dependent, shape our society for the better more than we might realize. They not only cause schools to be created but also make the world better in innumerable ways.
A newborn blesses a jaded world with its innocence and beauty. The poet William Wordsworth spoke of this, wisely writing that we come to this world, “Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home.” A baby is a bit of heaven on earth. What parent can’t remember the first sight of their new baby? It’s been many years, but I clearly remember meeting our first child, this little miracle delivered by the Beautiful Wife and of succeeding children. (That first meeting is even sweeter with grandchildren, for they don’t wake us at night.)
We had the confidence of youth with our first baby, quite sure we knew what we were doing. That vanished with the first episode of the baby crying with ear-piercing screams as we struggled to figure out what was wanted. The thoughtful parent soon realizes that though they shape their child, the child also shapes them. This leads to a second insight: The parent’s focus may be very much about their own needs and wants in the beginning, but with the arrival of children, the focus necessarily turns to the children, their development, and their future. It’s the primal basic training on the commandment to love others more than we love ourselves. As we learn to do so, we ennoble, even sanctify, ourselves and, consequently, those around us, especially our families.
The arrival of babies thus blesses society, but the rate has been declining since 1820, reaching a low in 2020 when our ‘fertility rate’ (total births divided by population) hit a low of 1.65 births per thousand, well below the 2.1 rate needed to maintain the population. (The fertility rate in 1820, when children helped work the farm, was 7.)
The decision to create life is personal between the prospective parents, as is family size. But the creation of life is the most optimistic statement one can make about their faith in the future. (Though there are plenty of surprise pregnancies, the majority, roughly 60 percent, are planned.) A new baby was recently christened in our church, and the congregation was audibly awed by this bit of heaven on earth. To show support for this miracle of renewal, the BW and I would like to present a gift to any babies born in Laguna this year (contact us at the email below).
I’ll say it again, babies change the world in a virtuous cycle that first blesses the parents, then ripples through society. There’s meaning in that.
Skip fell in love with Laguna on a ‘50s surfing trip. He’s a student of Laguna history and the author of “Loving Laguna: A Local’s Guide to Laguna Beach.” Email: [email protected].
