Books tells children the history of Diocese

Sister Eileen Lomasney, CSJ, was up to the task of presenting the history of the Albany Diocese to children.

"I like the challenge of distilling great truths into simple language," said the author, poet and teacher. "It's tied in with my belief that God is simple and simply love. Awareness of this can touch children if presented to them."

Her latest work, "How We Tell God's Story: The Church at Albany for Children from Saint Isaac Jogues to Bishop Howard Hubbard," brings the history of the Diocese to life for children during the diocesan Sesquicentennial. (A detailed history of the Diocese has also been written for adults by historian Sally Light; information about ordering it is available through parishes.)

Table of contents

Written for children ages 7 and up, Sister Eileen's book shares the stories of 17 influential people in diocesan history and suggests ways children can write their own stories. It was illustrated by Sister Marion Honors, CSJ, who is nationally known for her religious art.

The book places the history of the Diocese within the context of general history. For example, references are made to the first passenger train, the Civil War, Thomas Edison's recording machine and the Depression. In addition, each chapter begins with a poem.

Besides including the stories of St. Isaac Jogues, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and the bishops of the Diocese, the book covers Catholic lay people, such as:

* Thomas Dongan, the Irish-born New York colonial governor who worked towards establishing religious freedom;

* Marie Antoinette's lady in waiting Henriette-Lucie de La Tour Du Pin, who fled to America during the French Revolution and lived on a farm in what is now Latham where she and her family granted freedom to slaves; and

* Author and storyteller Mary Reed Newland, who as a lay woman, wife, parent, friend and neighbor lived a Christian life.

Learning while writing

Writing about these people was enjoyable for Sister Eileen, who said: "I learned so much. Once I got into the research, I just fell in love with so many people. There is so much beauty here -- beauty of spirit, beauty of milieu, the joy of discovery."

In addition, as she wrote, the long history of Catholicism in the Diocese became more real for her.

"There was the wonderful realization that we started with the wilderness and the Native Americans respecting earth, but the seed of the Word hadn't come," she said. "Just to see that seed flower through people like the de La Tours and Thomas Dongan is wonderful."

Memories

Sister Eileen, who recently celebrated her 60th anniversary as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, found that writing the book summoned memories of her own childhood, such as trips to Auriesville where a shrine commemorates the spot where St. Isaac Jogues and his companions were killed.

"I loved to walk down to the ravine," the site of the martyrdoms, she said. "I fell in love with Kateri and the martyrs when I was 9 or 10 years old."

The book also includes one of her own favorite childhood memories in a chapter about Msgr. Joseph Delaney. Sister Eileen shares a story of her days at Marion Lodge, a summer camp for Catholic girls.

"One girl remembers being there and the joyful times Msgr. Delaney would seem to bring with him," she writes. "One night, he said if they were ready at five o'clock in the morning, he would take them to Saratoga so they could watch the horses come out on the track for their workout. To see the beautiful horses running in the early morning light was magical. Then he treated them all to breakfast at the track. The girl never forgot that day her whole life long."

Children's help

Sister Eileen enlisted the help of local children as she wrote the book. Thirteen kids read chapters of the book to ensure that her audience could understand the information she was presenting.

Andrew Cencula, a seven-year-old, read the chapter on Msgr. Delaney and wrote to her that "I like everything. I like to hear stories about a nice man; it makes my heart grow."

Ten-year-old Victoria Miller said, "Your book is going to be marvelous."

("How We Tell God's Story: The Church at Albany for Children from Saint Isaac Jogues to Bishop Howard Hubbard" is available through the diocesan Office of Religious Education for $10. Copies will also be available at the major diocesan Sesquicentennial events, and there will be a book signing during Spring Enrichment, being held at the College of Saint Rose in Albany from May 19-22. To order a copy, call the ORE at 453-6630.)

(05-15-97)

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