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Real Presence of Real Books

by Ana Braga-Henebry in Family on Thursday, December 03, 2009 6:00 AM

The sacramental life of our Mother Church deals in the tangible reality of the creation for a reason: the physicality of good things can guide, teach, protect, and heal us.  A child who grows up in the presence of good (and even great!) books may be profoundly affected in enduring, nurturing ways.

The recent canonization of Damian of Molokai drew me back into the living room of the childhood house. My love for this new saint originated in that living room where handsome hardwood bookshelves lined the walls, displaying titles, in several languages, that spanned the centuries of human history. Growing up surrounded by hundreds of books of literature, philosophy, biography and art was integral to my intellectual formation and has been woven into my life as a Catholic mother.

My father didn’t believe in the value of television. As our large family was a center for much visiting by family and friends, we spent much of our leisure time in that large room with walls of books.  I can still “see” in my mind entire shelves with the titles displayed on colorful spines, some newer, some well-worn. Thus did I become acquainted with such authors as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, Maritain, Chesterton, and the great Brazilian writers, such as Machado de Assis.

Old Books, Old Friends

Great volumes with reproductions of sacred art held my attention for hours at a time across many years. Among all the minor books, encyclopedia, and dictionaries, there was one book—whether due to its format or its location on the shelf—that caught my year after year before I ever felt old enough (or tall enough) to actually bring it down. It was “Damiao o Leproso” by one John Farrow, who then I would not have recognized as the father of actress Mia Farrow.

A sturdy hardcover, translated into Portuguese from the original British publication, the book seemed unpretentious, yet it held promise. No attractive jacket blurb told me that was a biography of a humble Belgian priest. No customer reviews could warn me of how I would so deeply admire a man who fought against fortune and authority to give his life truly for Christ in the person of his leprous neighbors in Hawaii.
Many years passed. I married, began living my vocation of wife and mother, and I never forgot the story of the saintly priest who worked tirelessly, and died among his beloved lepers. Yet when he was beatified by John Paul II, it confirmed all I learned from that wonderful book: despite his shortcomings and his critics, he was indeed a saint! And I felt he was my friend.

When recently my teens joined a service group and voted Blessed Damien for the group’s patron, that book on the shelf came to mind. I could almost touch and smell it, and I rejoiced in knowing that the teens are inspired by such an exemplary friend in heaven!

Book Blessings Multiply

My husband and I bought a set of bookshelves many moves ago. They are white, fairly inexpensive, but sturdy places to hold our many books. After all, we have always enjoyed saying that once we brought our books together when we married, they quickly began to multiply!

Our cheerful shelves have been the “trademark” look of the Braga-Henebry household and the background for many family pictures through the years! After each move we have sought to reproduce the ordering: Catholic fiction, theology, poetry, Shakespeare, American and world Literature, history, science, our diverse books from college, and the books passed on from parents, and given by friends. My husband’s precious collection of Greek Loebs in their lime green jackets which have always adorned a top shelf. I just know that every time my kids visit a home with those small distinctive volumes displayed in a row they will recall home and conversations will ensue.

How many books on our shelves are even now inspiring our children? How many of these spines, covers, pages, and places will remain in their memory? How many poems, quotations, images? In what instances in life will they recall these old friends and fill their hearts with noble memories? By surrounding, enveloping our kids with books — good and true — the possibilities are boundless!

— Ana Braga-Henebry has a Masters Degree in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas. She has written myriad articles for Catholic homeschool periodicals, has been writing book reviews for over ten years, and blogs from the family acreage in South Dakota.

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