March 15

Rachel Field, Clement Mary Hofbauer, and millions of children

Author

David Barnhart
March 15, 2025

Baby bluebirds, 2024. Own photo.

Today marks the death, in 1942, of author Rachel Field. She wrote for both children and adults. 

Today also marks the death, in 1820, of Clement Mary Hofbauer, who was a baker, hermit, priest, and advocate for the poor and for orphans in Eastern Europe. 

Today in 1672, Charles II of England issued the Declaration of Indulgence, which was a decree for religious tolerance after decades of conflict between Catholics, minority Protestant groups, and the Church of England. The decree did not last and gave way to more oppression. The Act of Toleration in 1688 would eventually extend some lasting liberties to dissenting Protestants. 

Today also marks the first major School Strike for Climate in 2019, when over a million students walked out of classes to protest how adult leaders are destroying our planet’s climate and stealing the future of generations of young people. 

Reflection: 

In her book And Now Tomorrow, Rachel Field wrote: 

Miracles are out of fashion nowadays. Or perhaps it is only that they have been explained away from us. Radios and newsreels and words have shorn them of their mystery. Yet to each of us, I think, a miracle is given at some time in our lives. We may not choose the moment it shall be revealed or the form it shall take. We may not even realize till long afterwards that it was our privilege to be part of one. Our minds may betray the wonder that our hearts accept. I fought against the miracle that was to be mine, but there was no denying it when it came to me.

Rachel Field

Greta Thunberg said:

We must change almost everything in our current societies.
The bigger your carbon footprint - the bigger your moral duty.The bigger your platform - the bigger your responsibility.
Adults keep saying: 'We owe it to the young people to given them hope.'
But I don't want your hope.
I don't want you to be hopeful.
I want you to panic.
I want you to feel the fear I feel every day.
And then I want you to act.
I want you to act as you would in a crisis.
I want you to act as if our house is on fire.
Because it is.

Greta Thunberg

Prayer: Giver of Miracles, we acknowledge our own lives, intertwined with every life on the planet, is a miracle. Give us both awe and urgency to cherish this present miracle. Amen.