In Thanksgiving for the Gift of Baptism

Three-quarters of a century ago, on April 29, 1951, I was baptized by Fr. Thomas Love, S.J., in Baltimore’s Church of Saints Philip and James. Old Scratch must have thoroughly sunk his claws into my infant self; according to family tradition, I sent up such a howl when he was ousted by water and the Holy Spirit that my cousin Judy hid in a confessional. (Critics may find traces of this experience in my later prose style; I couldn’t possibly comment.)