Ending the Old Year with a Bang!

This is a picture of my sister Annie in Rome from a few years ago when she and her husband John stayed there with friends for about a month. The longer you're in Rome, of course, the greater your chances are of meeting a big shot.

Annie is not a groupie. She barely knows what People magazine is and rarely watches TV. Like me, she lives in another world, and it's not populated with movie stars or politicians or other such creatures

Annie is big on seizing the moment, so when Fabio appeared in her path that summer in Rome, she said hello and received a warm, friendly hello and hug in return. And yesterday when John Travolta appeared in the fitness club that Annie and John frequent, she also said hello and received an equally warm, friendly hello and hug in return.

Annie is quite the dancer, but, no, she and John Travolta didn't pair off (no, at that precise moment he wasn't wearing his famous white suit!), though she could have given him a run for his money. Nor did she get a picture of the two of them together, but it was still an awful lot of fun.

That's my sister Annie! Seizing the moment and enjoying every second of it! To life! No wonder I look up to her!

"How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!"

The entrance antiphon from today's Mass, the Sixth Day of the Octave of Christmas, speaks of the silence of the Incarnate Word: "When peaceful silence lay over all, and night had run half of her swift course, your all-powerful word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven, from the royal throne' (Wis 18:14-15).

"God is the friend of silence," Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say. Her meditation below says it all.

If we really want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks. And to be able to see that silence, to be able to hear God, we need a clean heart, for a clean heart we can see God, can hear God, can listen to God.

When it is difficult to pray we must help ourselves to do so. The first means to use is silence, for souls of prayer are souls of great silence. We cannot put ourselves directly in the presence of God if we do not practise internal and external silence.

God is the friend of silence.

Let us adore Jesus in our hearts, who spent thirty years out of thirty-three in silence, who began his public life by spending forty days in silence, who often retired alone to spend the night on a mountain in silence. He who spoke with authority, now spends his earthly life in silence. Let us adore Jesus in the Eucharistic silence.

We need to find God and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, the grass grow in perfect silence – see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. Is not our mission to give God to the poor in the slums? Not a dead God but a living, loving God. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.

Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us. Jesus is always waiting for us in silence. In that silence he will listen to us, there he will speak to our soul, and there we will be able to hear his voice. Interior silence is very difficult but we must make the effort. In silence we will find new energy and true unity. The energy of God will be ours to do all things well. The unity of our thoughts with his thoughts, the unity of our actions with his actions, of our life with his life. All our words will be useless, unless they come from within – words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Dear Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, teach us to adore our God and King in peaceful silence with you. Amen.

This is what God is like...

Let us once again listen directly to the Gospel [Lk 2:15-20]. The shepherds tell one another the reason why they are setting off: “Let us see this thing that has happened.” Literally the Greek text says: “Let us see this Word that has occurred there.” Yes indeed, such is the radical newness of this [Christmas Eve] night: the Word can be seen. For it has become flesh. The God of whom no image may be made – because any image would only diminish, or rather distort him – this God has himself become visible in the One who is his true image, as Saint Paul puts it (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In the figure of Jesus Christ, in the whole of his life and ministry, in his dying and rising, we can see the Word of God and hence the mystery of the living God himself. This is what God is like. The Angel had said to the shepherds: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12; cf. 2:16). God’s sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an astonishing miracle. God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love. Origen, taking up one of John the Baptist’s sayings, saw the essence of paganism expressed in the symbol of stones: paganism is a lack of feeling, it means a heart of stone that is incapable of loving and perceiving God’s love. Origen says of the pagans: “Lacking feeling and reason, they are transformed into stones and wood” (in Lk 22:9). Christ, though, wishes to give us a heart of flesh. When we see him, the God who became a child, our hearts are opened. In the Liturgy of the holy night [of Christmas Eve], God comes to us as man, so that we might become truly human. Let us listen once again to Origen: “Indeed, what use would it be to you that Christ once came in the flesh if he did not enter your soul? Let us pray that he may come to us each day, that we may be able to say: I live, yet it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)” (in Lk 22:3).

Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us all from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen.

~Pope Benedict XVI, Homily for Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, 12/24/09

Shine in us, Emmanuel!

Shine in us,
Emmanuel,
Shadowless Light.
Flame in us
Emmanuel,
Fire of Love,
Burn in us,
Emmanuel,
Morning Star.
Emmanuel,
God with us!
~Caryll Houselander

O Mary, mother of the Savior, spouse of the Holy Spirit, Our Lady of Light,

shed upon us the brightness and beauty of the light of your Son,

hat we may find our way back to our Heavenly Father.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

~from "The Litany of Our Lady of Light"

by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Father, help us to live as the holy family, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home... Teach us the sanctity of human love, show us the value of family life, and help us to live in peace with all men that we may share in your life forever. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. ~from the Opening Prayers for the Mass of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

December 26, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr

Yesterday we gathered at the manger of the Divine Child. Today we meet at the cross of our Lord and Savior. If today's feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, seems to strike a discordant note during this happy Christmastide, we only need remember St. Paul's immortal words: "But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14). The wood of the crib foretells the wood of the cross. The Virgin Mother lay her Divine Child in the manger. The Sorrowful Mother received her Beloved Son from the cross. We can never escape the cross, Thomas a Kempis tells us, because it is always there. And so is Jesus, just as he was there with St. Stephen, filling him with grace and power even unto the end. Lord Jesus, receive our spirit!

Dear Mary, Virgin Mother, let us draw near with you to the crib and the cross to adore your Beloved Son and to embrace him with all our being. Amen.

(The above statue of the Infant Jesus on the Cross is made by the Passionist Nuns of St. Joseph Monastery of Whitesville, KY and sold in their Monastery Gift Shop. These beautiful nuns have a wonderful blog that I enjoy reading regularly!)

MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given:

and the government

shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called

Wonderful,

Counsellor,

The mighty God,

The everlasting Father,

The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Dear Mary, Virgin Mother of Divine Child, we rejoice with you at the birth of your Son, Jesus, our precious Lord and Savior. May there always be room for you to lay him in the manger of our hearts. Amen.

Christmas Eve

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and Child.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Dear Mary, Virgin Mother of the Incarnate Word, tonight it is our joy to rest in peace with you and your Beloved Son Jesus, who is forever the light of the world. Amen.

December 24

Today you will know that the Lord is coming, and in the morning you will see his glory. ~Invitatory Antiphon from the Liturgy of the Hours for December 24

Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man. You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come. Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time. ~from a sermon by St. Augustine, Office of Readings for December 24

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, the day has come at last when you will bring forth your firstborn Son. How great our joy! Amen! Alleluia!

O Emmanuel!

Never again are we to look at the stars as we did when we were children, and wonder how far it is to God. A being outside our world would be a spectator, looking on but taking no part in this life where we try to be brave, despite all the bafflement. A God who created, and withdrew, could be mighty, but he could not be love. Who could love a God remote when suffering is our lot? Our God is closer than our problems, for they are out there, to be faced. He is here, beside us, Emmanuel. ~Joseph E. McCabe in Handel's Messiah: A Devotional Commentary

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus, our Emmanuel! Amen! Alleluia!

My soul magnifies the Lord!

Sunflower by Ann L. Krumrein

Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you, to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of you, to rejoice in God. According to the flesh only one woman can be the mother of Christ but in the world of faith Christ is the fruit of all of us. For every soul can receive the Word of God if only it is pure and preserves itself in chastity and modesty.

The soul that has been able to reach this state proclaims the greatness of the Lord just as Mary did and rejoices in God its saviour just like her.

The Lord’s greatness is proclaimed, as you have read elsewhere, where it says Join me in magnifying the Lord. This does not mean that anything can be added to the Lord’s greatness by human words, but that he is magnified in us. Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in his greatness and is ennobled.

~from St Ambrose's commentary on St Luke's Gospel

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, with you and through you, may we for ever sing the goodness of the Lord. Amen! Alleluia!.

The Visitation Journey

The Visitation Journey

The second bead: scene of the lovely journey
of Lady Mary, on whom artists confer
a blue silk gown, a day pouring out Springtime,
and birds singing and flowers bowing to her.

Rather, I see a girl upon a donkey
and her too held by what was said to mind
how the sky was or if the grass was growing.
I doubt the flowers; I doubt the road was kind.

"Love hurried forth to serve," I read, approving.
But also see, with thoughts blown past her youth,
a girl riding upon a jolting donkey and
riding further and further into the truth.

Jessica Powers

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, be with us as we journey further into the truth. And when the road is not kind, help us to trust, as you did, in the loving-kindness of our God. Amen.

The love of Christ impels us!

What was the impulse that prompted Our Lady to go in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth if not the Child of Love she carried within her heart and womb? "The love of Christ impels us," St. Paul proclaimed (2 Cor 5:14), and so it was for Mary, the Mother of Our Lord. Jesus-living-in-Mary sent her on His "errand of love," and His presence within her brought untold joy to both Elizabeth and her unborn child.

This "spirit that animated the Virgin Mary at the time when she visited her cousin Elizabeth in the mountains," wrote Andre Ravier in his book Francis de Sales Sage and Saint, is "the spirit of adoring union with the Word Incarnate, the spirit of thanksgiving before ‘the marvels of God’, of spontaneity and promptness in rendering the humble services of daily life. The most extraordinary divinity enclosed in humanity the most silent and the most commonplace. The essential!”

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, instill within us your spirit of the Visitation. With you, let us gladly go in haste to bring your Divine Child to wherever He wants to be. Amen.

Out of the mouths of babes...

Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool! Eugene. (Letter received by the US Postal Service)

Dear God, you are full of paradoxes and surprises! There are a few things that I also think don't go together. For instance, how can you use such a weak, wounded person like me to bring your love to others? I don't know how or why, I only know that you can and do -- and for this I thank you with all my heart. I am yours, dear Lord -- please do with what you will for your glory. Amen.

To celebrate Advent...

To celebrate Advent means to bring to life within ourselves the hidden Presence of God. It takes place to the extent that we travel the path of conversion and change our cast of mind by turning from the visible to the invisible. As we travel this path, we learn to see the miracle of grace; we learn that there can be no more luminous source of joy for human beings and the world than the grace that has appeared in Christ. The world is not a futile confusion of drudgery and pain, for all the distress the world contains is supported in the arms of merciful love; it is caught up in the forgiving and saving graciousness of our God. ~Pope Benedict XVI in Benedictus (Dec 19)

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent and refuge of sinners, the path of conversion can be hard and tiring. When weary and discouraged, let us rest with you in the arms of God, that He may renew our joy. Amen.

The O Antiphons

During Advent, we hear anew the account of Israel's longing for salvation. How much we have in common with these men and women of old! Like them, we know captivity and oppression through the Pharaohs of our own times. Suffering and death are our lot. We shed tears of grief and sorrow. We cry out to God as the Israelites once did, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!" (Is 64:1) We ache for healing and new birth, we long for freedom and light, we hunger for justice and we thirst for peace. We yearn for the coming of our Messiah. Where is the One who will deliver us? When will He come? Who is He and "how shall we call him"?

The answers to these questions gradually unfold throughout the liturgies of Advent, both at Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is our Lord Jesus who is the Promised One. The Church reminds us of the magnificent riches of His salvation in a special way through the O Antiphons of Advent. These are short prayers that are recited before and after the Gospel Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, during Evening Prayer from December 17 to December 23. The Gospel acclamations for Mass on these days echo the O Antiphons. Rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, they're a collage of Old Testament types of Christ our Lord. Their messianic theme stresses the sure coming of our salvation and deliverance, and each antiphon emphasizes one of Christ’s titles as Messiah.

These antiphons, which date back to the seventh or eighth century, are called the "O Antiphons" because each one begins with the word "O". This simple, two-letter, single-syllable word is a powerful exclamation of hope, wonder, awe, astonishment and delight. Combined with the glorious Messianic titles of Christ our Lord, "O" becomes a profound prayer that leads us into the very heart of our saving God, the Word-made-flesh. The final O Antiphon on Dec 23 is the culmination of them all: O Emmanuel! God-with-us! The God who loves us and saves us comes to live among us, to make our home with and within us. O indeed!

The O Antiphons are appropriate prayers for all of us to use and ponder any time during Advent, particularly during the last few days before Christmas. The Church's use of these antiphons with the Magnificat of Our Blessed Mother is both fitting and significant because Our Lady was the mother of Jesus, bearing him in her womb "with love beyond all telling" (Preface of the Mass, Advent II). With Mary we sing a new song unto the Lord, proclaiming His greatness through all generations. Mary was also the first disciple of Christ, "standing out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him" (Vatican II). It was of his mother that our Lord proclaimed "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke 10:28). We learn from her true discipleship in Christ. Let us live our Advent with Mary as we make the O Antiphons our prayer and meditation in preparation for the birth of her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

December 17 ~ O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation. (See Sirach 24:30; Wisdom 8:1; Proverbs 1:20, 8:9; Isaiah 11:2-3, 28:29; 40:14)

December 18 ~ O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free. (See Exodus 3:2; Micah 5:2; Jeremiah 32:21; Isaiah 11:4-5, 33:22; Matthew 2:6)

December 19 ~ O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid. (See Isaiah 11:10, 52:15; Habakkuk 2:3; Micah 5:1; Romans 15:12; Revelation 5:5)

December 20 ~ O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom. (See Isaiah 9:6, 22:22; Revelation 3:7; Psalm 107:10)

December 21 ~ O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. (See Isaiah 9:1; Malachi 4:2; Habakkuk 3:4; Malachi 3:20; Luke 1:78-79)

December 22 ~ O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust. (See Genesis 2:7; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 2:4, 9:5, 28:16; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Revelation 15:3; Ephesians 2:20; I Peter 2:6)

December 23 ~ O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God. (See Genesis 49:10; Ezekiel 21:32; Isaiah 7:14, 8:8, 33:22; Haggai 2:7; Matthew 1:23)

The final O Antiphon is prayed on December 23. On Christmas Eve, December 24, the church prays Evening Prayer I of the Solemnity of Christmas, and in the antiphon for the Magnificat on this evening, we exult in the birth of Our Beloved Lord and Savior: "When the sun rises in the morning sky, you will see the King of kings coming forth from the Father like a radiant bridegroom from the bridal chamber." ALLELUIA!!!

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, O let us sing with you the glory of our Lord! Amen.

Annunciation

Once again, let us kneel down and pray for keen eyes capable of seeing God's messengers of annunciation, for vigilant hearts wise enough to perceive the words of the promise. The world is more than its burden, and life is more than the sum of its gray days. The golden threads of the genuine reality are already shining through everywhere. Let us know this, and let us, ourselves, be comforting messengers. Hope grows through the one who is himself a person of the hope and the promise. ~Alfred Delp, S.J. in Advent of the Heart

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, pray for us to have keen eyes and vigilant hearts. We want to welcome God's messengers of annunciation as you welcomed the Angel Gabriel. And we want to comfort others as you comfort us with the gift of your Divine Child. Amen.

P.S. Living Bulwark has seven selections written by Fr. Delp beginning with "Joy in the Face of Death." They are listed near the end of the right frame.

Watching for Christ

They watch for Christ who are sensitive, eager, apprehensive in mind, who are awake, alive, quick-sighted, zealous in honoring him, who look for him in all that happens, and who would not be surprised, who would not be over-agitated or overwhelmed, if they found that he was coming at once… This then is to watch: to be detached from what is present, and to live in what is unseen; to live in the thought of Christ as he came once, and as he will come again; to desire his second coming, from our affectionate and grateful remembrance of his first. ~from the Parochial and Plain Sermons of John Henry Cardinal Newman

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, we watch with you for the Divine Child, the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Amen.

St. Lucy

Yesterday, December 13, was the feast of St. Lucy, a young Christian martyr who lived in Cicily in the fourth century and was known for her love and kindness.. Santa Lucia's name comes from the Latin noun "lux," meaning "light," and so she is remembered on this day with a procession and ceremony of lights. When I was in high school in Washington, DC back in the sixties, I learned all about St. Lucy's Day from my dear friend Karen Healy, who invited me to go with her and her family to their Lutheran church for this special occasion. The year that Karen herself walked down the aisle as "the Lucy queen" was the most thrilling one of all for me. I marveled that she was so calm and steady with that crown of candles blazing away atop her head. Her smile lit up the darkness of the church more than those long tapers did, and the joy glowing on her face outshone their radiance.

Karen and I have been separated by many miles for many years (she now lives in Cincinnati and I in Houston), but our hearts remained united in that enduring love and friendship which surpass time and space. Last weekend she shared with me this lovely reflection that she gave at her church on this blessed season of Advent. Thank you, Karen, dear friend and Spirit sister, for sharing with us your joy, hope and love!

THE QUILT

As I reflect on what Advent means to me, I find myself looking at a wondrous patchwork quilt of images. Lovely colored squares one overlapping another, some worn and torn, some bright and new, with the remaining squares yet to be added and the edges bound…

My experience of Advent is so richly formed by my youngest years as part of a Scandinavian Lutheran church in Washington, D.C. These earliest memories form the stitches which hold my quilt together. The season brought butterflies and dancing to my tummy and all of my senses reveled--in the enticing kitchen aromas of my Granny’s German clove cookies and rot grut mit fleude -- fresh raspberry pudding with whipped cream -- and in the sounds – "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and bells ringing on street corners -- and in the sights -- candles at night for it was our church celebration of St. Lucia Day and I was chosen to be St. Lucia with the crown of candles on my head and singing the song which honored the young girl who brought treats to the Christians in hiding: “Santa Lucia usclara hegring sprid i vart merke hurst glans av den fegring.” We created our own Advent wreath at home with greens from the back yard and lit the candle of the week every night before dinner -- it was
always exciting to get to the pink candle of JOY which represented Laudate Sunday -- that meant that the Baby Jesus AND Santa would soon be coming. It was a time of JOYOUS PREPARATION

The years of raising a young family with my husband Tom brought amazing color and richness to my quilt, and some tears and tears as well…the challenge of trying to figure out what it means to be both individual and family, suffering five miscarriages, and celebrating the gift of four miraculous little Healys. Being pregnant during Advent always connected me so closely to Mary as she carried her baby in hope and wondering … who will this amazing miracle become…how can I both protect and guide this little one and then one day let go? It was a time PREGNANT WITH HOPE

Recent years have brought more questions and doubts about who I am and who that long ago and far away Jesus is for me. I am currently in the process of coming to terms with my own Jewish background which I have only learned about in the last few years. The work has continued on the quilt, yet there are knots and threads have been pulled too tight. I have taken too little time to be still and reflect…and as I do that now it comes to me that perhaps instead of looking outward for Jesus, that Baby is being birthed IN me and that I am being held and tenderly swaddled in that warm, soft quilt. It is a time of the FULLNESS OF LOVE

The Season of Advent -- it is Joy it is Hope it is Love.

True Joy

Behold, dear friends, what true joy consists in: It is feeling that our personal and communal existence is visited and filled by a great mystery, the mystery of God's love. To be joyful we do not just have need of things, but love and truth: We need a God who is near, who warms our heart, and responds to our profound desires. This God is manifested in Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary. This is why that Baby, whom we place in the stable or the cave, is the center of everything, the heart of the world. Let us pray that every person, like the Virgin Mary, may welcome into the center of their lives the God who became a Child, font of true joy. ~Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Message of 12/13/09

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent and cause of our joy, we rejoice with you that our God is near. Amen.

Today's Feast: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little son: Let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your heart or your countenance. Also, do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need? ~Words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego, Dec. 12, 1531

The words Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to St. Juan Diego on December 12, 1531, are among the most comforting and encouraging ever recorded in the history of mankind. Whenever I am in sorrow, trouble or distress, I love to listen to them and hear our Blessed Mother assure me that all shall be well indeed.

Dear Mary, Virgin of the Advent, thank you for always being "Mater Admirabilis," my most wonderful mother! Amen.

Kindness and truth shall meet...

Earlier this week at Mass, our responsorial psalm was from Psalm 85 and included verse 11:

"Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss
each other."

Whenever I come across this line from Scripture, I recall the General's speech from Babette's Feast, the European film based on the story by Isak Dinesen.

"Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another. Man, in his weakness and shortsightness, believes he must make choices in this life. He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear. But no. Our choice is of no importance. There comes a time when your eyes are opened. And we come to realize that mercy is infinite. We need only await it with confidence, and receive it with gratitude. Mercy imposes no conditions. And, lo! Everything we have chosen has been granted to us, and everything have rejected has also been granted. Yes, we even get back what we rejected. For mercy and truth are met together; and righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another."

To learn more about Babette's Feast, visit the Karen Blixen-Isak Dinesen Information Site and click on "Babette's Feast" at the bottom of the page for a real feast for your heart, mind and soul.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Moon Over Isleboro by Ann L. Krumrein

The full moon is Mary full of grace. Well is Mary compared to the moon, because by the Eternal Sun she is fully illuminated with the light of wisdom and truth. Therefore, the name Mary is well interpreted illuminatrix or illuminated. For she, who is our moon and our lamp, was illuminated by the Lord, and she was the illuminatrix of the world, according to that prophetic word: "For thou lightest my lamp" (Ps. XVII.)… O truly wonderful fullness of this moon! Behold, if Mary was full of the light of wisdom, which she received from the Eternal Sun, before she conceived Him; how much more full was she, when she so wonderfully conceived this Sun, and so entirely received Him within herself! Well, therefore, said St. Bernard, when commending the fullness of the wisdom of Mary: "Heavenly wisdom built for Himself a house in Mary: for He so filled her mind that from the very fullness of her mind her flesh became fecund, and the Virgin by a singular grace brought forth that same Wisdom, covered with a garb of flesh, whom she had first conceived in her pure mind." ~from Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, often attributed to St. Bonaventure, but actually written by Conrad Holzinger of Saxony

Dear Mary, Virgin of the Advent, thank you for giving us your Light! Amen.

Our Advent Times

We all need times of waiting and expectancy in our lives in order to savour the joy of fulfilment. We need to live with the night and darkness before we can appreciate the coming of dawn. And this is written into nature if only we have eyes to see and hearts attentive to life's mysteries. The expectant mother must wait nine long months before she sees the face of her child. The seed must be buried and broken open in the dark earth before it can emerge into the light of day as a new green shoot. A project needs to mature from the stage of being a mere idea hidden in someone's mind to finding practical expression in reality.

We all have times of Advent in our own lives, just as in the liturgical season of Advent we remember the waiting of Israel through the ages, and the waiting of Mary as she carries her child in her womb. We are sure she will bring him forth once again on Christmas day for our contemplation, and we are ready to relive once again the story of the shepherds and the birth at Bethlehem. It is all so familiar and yet all so new each time Christmas comes round. And every year we are invited to reach a more profound depth in our own lives as we contemplate the birth of the Son of God among us.

Elizabeth Ruth Obbard, O.Carm., "Waiting in Hope"

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, teach us to wait in hope.

Second Sunday of Advent

The Virgin, weighed down
with the Word of God,
comes down the road:
if only you'll shelter her.

St. John of the Cross, quoted in A Year with Mary by Elizabeth Ruth Obbard, Carmelite nun and writer

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, come home with me. Amen.

Isaiah 40:1

Comfort ye -- what a good word to the human heart from the heart of God. That word is the best word. To know that the Creator is also the comforter is to have peace at the center. Behind the cosmos is One who cares. He who knows all is he who loves most. You are known completely. And you are loved eternally. Therefore: "Comfort ye."

...Amid our crushing burdens, and those gnawing anxieties which torment so terribly, it speaks to us. Right beside the suffering we endure, which might drive out the saving trust, there stands the word to lift up our hearts: "Comfort ye." For our iniquity is pardoned. That is the news beautiful which breaks upon us in Advent.

Joseph E. McCabe in Handel's Messiah: A Devotional Commentary

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, we rejoice with you to know the comfort of God through the Divine Child in your heart and womb, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

The Power of Compassion

In the gospel from today's Mass (Mt 9:27-31), our Lord Jesus has compassion on two blind men who cry out to him for help. He heals them, and with their sight renewed, they go and spread the word of God's goodness and mercy.

In today's news, CNN follows up on a would-be robbery in Long Island this past May. As Mohammad Sohail closed his convenience store, a man barged into his store armed with a baseball bat and demanded money. Sohail grabbed his ever-ready rifle, aimed it at the robber's face, and forced him to the floor. The would-be robber started pleading for mercy, explaining "I'm sorry, I have no food. I have no money. My whole family is hungry. Don't call the police. Don't shoot me." According to CNN, "Sohail made the man pledge never to rob anybody ever again, then gave the man $40 and a loaf bread. Sohail, who is from Pakistan, said the man then wanted to be a Muslim like him, so he recited an Islamic oath and gave the would-be robber the name Nawaz Sharif Zardari." Sohail did not call the police then and has not pressed charges since.

This past Wednesday, Sohail received an envelope in the mail with no return address. It contained a $50 bill and a note from the would-be robber who was transformed by Sohail's compassion. The typed note begins, ""You change My Life (sic)," and the man apologizes for his actions, says that Sohail inspired him to become a "True Muslin," and declares that his life has changed dramatically.

The power of compassion is inestimable. One single act of kindness has far-reaching effects that we cannot begin to imagine and may never grasp. On his deathbed, Baron Friedrich von Hügel, Austrian Roman Catholic layman and religious writer, theologian and apologist, said "Caring is the greatest thing ,caring matters most." To care is to love, to give life. It is a very real way to shine the light of Advent upon our dark and dreary world.

Dear Mary, Virgin of the Advent, help us to shine the light of your Son's compassion upon everyone we meet on our Advent journey. Amen.

Being Shaken by Advent

Advent is time when we ought to be shaken and brought to a realization of ourselves. The necessary condition for the fulfillment of Advent is the renunciation of the presumptuous attitudes and alluring dreams in which and by means of which we always build ourselves imaginary worlds. In this way we force reality to take us to itself by force—by force, in much pain and suffering.

The shocked awakening is definitely part of experiencing Advent. But at the same time there is much more that belongs to it. Advent is blessed with God’s promises, which constitute the hidden happiness of this time. These promises kindle the inner light in our hearts. Being shattered, being awakened—only with these is life made capable of Advent. In the bitterness of awakening, in the helplessness of “coming to,” in the wretchedness of realizing our limitations, the golden threads that pass between heaven and earth in the times reach us. These golden threads give the world a taste of the abundance it can have.

We must not shy away from Advent thoughts of this kind. We must let our inner eye see and let our hearts range far. We will encounter the earnestness of Advent and the blessing of Advent in a different way. We will see characters, completed and whole personalities, that belong to these days and to all days—characters in whom the Advent message and the Advent blessing simply exist and live, calling out to us and touching us to cheer and shake us, to console and to uplift us.

I am referring to characters that live in these days and all days. The types I mean are these three: the Angel of Annunciation, the Blessed Woman, and the Crier in the Wilderness.

Fr. Alfred Delp,S.J.

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, you, too, were shaken when you learned that God had chosen you to be the mother of the Divine Child, yet you continued to trust Him who is all love. When God pierces our hearts and shatters our lives, may it be for us, as it was for you, a time of awakening to the blessings and promises of Advent. Amen.

Advent Friends

During Advent, I like to think about the people who were closest to our Lord Jesus at His coming into this world. We share together the common bond of our humanity and our fervent longing to have it redeemed by Him. These men and women are our marvelous comrades, our friends and companions as we make the yearly journey from Annunciation to Nativity to Calvary and beyond. We celebrate with them the wonder and the ecstasy of the Incarnation. As Advent begins, I strive to live as they did, in joyful hope of the coming of the Divine Child, whose birth is our salvation.

With MARY, I surrender in faith to the birthing of God within me, patient with the rhythm of my growth. I take time to ponder the Word-made-flesh in my life, and I find deepened joy in God, my Savior.

With JOSEPH, I pay attention to my dreams, hopes and aspirations. I listen courageously to them and respond wholeheartedly, trusting that the God who speaks to me in such human ways also gives me the means to accomplish His holy will.

With the ANGELS, I become a herald of good news and a messenger of peace. I exultantly proclaim the glory of the Lord as I happily and faithfully make the rounds of my daily life.

With the SHEPHERDS, I remain open to the Lord's presence in my everyday life. I "hold every moment sacred" as I continually discover anew the myriad ways God dwells among us.

With the WISE MEN, I journey steadfastly to my destination, onwards and upwards and, yes, sometimes in rather roundabout ways. I revel to be forever in process, constantly in search of a more abundant life, a fuller existence for myself and for all God's people. I seek always the face of the Lord.

With the OX and the ASS and all the ANIMALS crowded around the manger — no, they are not people, but in their own way they are lovely kindred spirits — I give simply and humbly whatever is mine to give, confident that no gift is too small or too poor in the eyes of our gracious God when given freely from a loving heart.

With all the people of Christmas, I look beyond the darkness of this world to the Everlasting Light. With lively hope, I watch and wait. With renewed wonder, I bend the knee and adore. With enlarged gratitude, I find growing strength in the blessed assurance of Emmanuel, God-with-us. And with gladness beyond measure, my entire being cries out, "Come, Lord Jesus — come!"

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, help us to cherish the family and friends your Divine Child gives to us. With you, we want to love and adore Him for ever. Amen.

To see with different eyes...

Advent, this intense liturgical time that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to grasp a presence. It is an invitation to understand that every event of the day is a gesture that God directs to us, sign of the care he has for each one of us. How many times God makes us perceive something of his love! To have, so to speak, an "interior diary" of this love would be a beautiful and salutary task for our life! Advent invites and stimulates us to contemplate the Lord who is present. Should not the certainty of his presence help us to see the world with different eyes? Should it not help us to see our whole existence as a "visit," as a way in which he can come to us and be close to us, in each situation? ~Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at First Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent, 11/28/09

Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. Luke 10:23

Dear Mary, Virgin of the Advent, help us to see what you saw when the Divine Child made his home within you. Amen.

Today's Feast: St. Andrew

Today's gospel for the feast of St. Andrew recounts how Christ called him and his brothers, who were busy with their fisherman's nets. They left their nets to follow the Lord. Grace builds on nature, and so these fishermen took up new a new net, the one Mother Teresa named joy. "Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls," she said, adding that "A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love." Another woman by the name of Teresa comes to my mind, St. Teresa of the Andes. She wasn't even 20 years old when she died -- just 19 years, 9 months! -- but her life of radiant, vibrant joy has caught many souls for the Lord, whom she called her only joy, the joy of her life. "You are loved by the God who is infinite joy," she once told her brother -- and so we are, thanks be to God!

Dear Lord, please catch me and keep me forever in your net of joy, so that through me others may know the joy of your love. Amen.

Season of the Seed

Advent is the season of the seed: Christ loved this symbol of the seed.

The seed, He said, is the Word of God sown in the human heart.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed."

"So is the Kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed into the earth."

Even his own life-blood: "Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone."

The Advent, the seed of the world's life, was hidden in Our Lady.

Like the wheat seed in the earth, the seed of the Bread of Life was in her.

Like the golden harvest in the darkness of the earth, the Glory of God was shrined in her darkness.

Advent is the season of the secret, the secret of the growth of Christ, of Divine Love growing in silence.

It is the season of humility, silence, and growth.

~Caryll Houselander in The Reed of God

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, during these Advent days, may we rejoice with you in the Divine Seed, nurturing it carefully and cherishing it always, so that at Christmas we may also rejoice in the fruit of your womb, Jesus, the Glory of God. Amen.

Waiting in Mary-darkness

I live my Advent in the womb of Mary,
And on one night when a great star swings free
from its high mooring and walks down the sky
to be the dot above the Christus i,
I shall be born of her by blessed grace.
I wait in Mary-darkness, faith’s walled place,
with hope’s expectance of nativity.

I knew for long she carried me and fed me,
guarded and loved me, though I could not see.
But only now, with inward jubilee,
I come upon earth’s most amazing knowledge:
someone is hidden in this dark with me.

"Advent" by Jessica Powers

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, how happy we are to wait with you in your darkness for the coming of your beloved son, Jesus, who is forever the light of the world! Amen.

Last Day of the Church Year

Norton Pond by Ann L. Krumrein

Let the last word be, he is all in all!

Sirach 43:28

Give glory and eternal praise to Him!

All this last week of the church year, in our responsorial psalm at Mass we've been exulting with all creation in our Creator. Our song is the third chapter of Daniel, a well-known canticle of praise and thanksgiving from the Old Testament that urges us to praise and exalt God above all forever.

Why? Because, as this canticle enumerates: God is praiseworthy ... forever glorious is his name ... he is just in all he has done, all his deeds are faultless, all his ways right, all his judgments proper ... he alone is the Lord God, glorious over the whole world, exalted above all forever ... he is good, for his mercy endures forever ... his signs are great and his wonders mighty ... his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures through all generations.

If we ever have reason to question God's goodness and mercy, to doubt his power and might, to wonder if he really does love and care for us, this is the song to sing! After all, this canticle comes from the lips and hearts of three men sentenced to death for refusing to serve the god of their king. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, confident in their God, stand up to King Nebuchadnezzar, who sets up a golden statue for his subjects to worship. Not only do these three brave men refuse to bend the knee to any god but theirs, they also inform the king that they have no need to defend themselves in this matter. They are ready to die for their beliefs, so much so that they boldly declare that even if their God will not save him, they will remain true to him. The king orders them thrown into the white-hot furnace, which has been heated "seven times more than usual" – and they walk about in the flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord.

How Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego pray is a wonderful model for us, especially when we are in distress. First they acclaim God's greatness and justice, next they acknowledge their sinfulness and ask forgiveness, and then they renew their resolve to follow their God. Finally, they burst forth into praise and thanksgiving, calling upon all creation to join them in blessing the God whose mercy endures forever. What an excellent way for us to end the church year!

Blessed are you, and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and glorious forever is your name! ALLELUIA! (Daniel 3:52)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thou that has given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart...
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

~George Herbert, 1593- 1633

The above photograph, "Grace," taken by Eric Enstrom in 1918 in Bovey, Minnesota, is well known and much loved throughout the world. However, few people are aware of how it came to be. The official Web site for "Grace" contains a copy of a newspaper clipping published in 1961 that tells the fascinating story about this famous picture that has touched the hearts of so many. Two ordinary people going about their everyday tasks met up with each other in a seemingly chance encounter, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history -- the everlasting and ongoing history of God's loving Providence and amazing grace. Oh, praise Him!

"Father...you have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank you is itself your gift. Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your greatness, but makes us grow in your grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord." ~from the Preface of the Mass, Weekdays IV

I thank You, God, that I have lived...

I thank You, God, that I have lived
In this great world and known its many joys;
The song of birds, the strong, sweet scent of hay
And cooling breezes in the secret dusk,
The flaming sunsets at the close of the day,
Hills, and the lonely, heather-covered moors,
Music at night, and moonlight on the sea,
The beat of waves upon the rocky shore
And wild, white spray, flung high in ecstasy:
The faithful eyes of dogs, and treasured books.
The love of kin and fellowship of friends,
And all that makes life dear and beautiful.
I thank You, too, that there has come to me
A little sorrow and, sometimes, defeat,
A little heartache and the loneliness
That comes with parting, and the word “Goodbye,”
Dawn breaking after dreary hours of pain,
When I discovered that night’s gloom must yield
And morning light break through to me again.
Because of these and other blessings poured
Unasked upon my wondering head,
Because I know that there is yet to come
An even richer and more glorious life,
And most of all, because Your only Son
Once sacrificed life’s loveliness for me –
I thank You, God, that I have lived.

Elizabeth, Countess of Craven, writer and dramatist, 1750-1828

Presentation of Mary, continued

This painting, "The Presentation of Mary in the Temple" by Paolo Uccello, Italian early renaissance painter, has been the object of my prayer and contemplation since this past Saturday's memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This beautiful depiction of Our Lady's presentation to God in the temple is full of poignant details, such as the two small girls at the bottom of the stairs waving farewell and the chief priest at the top of the steps welcoming Mary with open arms (I am reminded of the last line of Alice Meynell's poem "Renouncement": "I run, I run, I am gathered to thy heart").

What totally captivates me, however, is Mary herself. As her dress flows behind her, she appears to be scampering upward to her divine destination, eager and glad to give herself to God alone. "Be jubilant, my feet!" With the heart of a child who trusts totally in her loving Father, Our Lady gladly goes in haste to do His will. Was she remembering the words of the Psalmist, "I will run the way of your commands, for you open my docile heart" (Ps 119:32)? Mary seems to have already grasped what St. Francis de Sales describes as "true devotion," which is simply "true love" – the "constant, resolute, prompt and active will to do whatever we know is pleasing to God" (Introduction to the Devout Life, Bk 4, Ch 2).

Later, much later, Our Lady of Sorrows will take another upward path -- the long, lonely road to the foot of the Cross, where she will kneel in anguish and grief to receive the crucified body of her Beloved Son. Then, her feet will not be jubilant nor will they scamper, but she will still pray, as did Jesus, "My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast" (Ps 108:2). Even then -- especially then! -- as she did throughout her entire lifetime, she will persevere, she will trust, she will love.

O Mary, full of grace, help us to wholeheartedly give ourselves to God. May we always say to Him, as you did, "To do your will is my delight" (Ps 40:9). Amen.

King Jesus, My Prince

King Jesus, to whom we so rightfully belong, you have redeemed us at the cost of infinite love and charity. I acknowledge you as my sovereign.

My Prince, who would not praise you? Who would not wonder at your goodness? What empire was ever more justly won than ours, since your only subjects are the captives you delivered, the poor you have enriched, the sorrowful you make happy, and the slaves your mercy makes kings.

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, 1627-1704, French bishop, theologian, and court preacher

Blessed be Jesus Christ, the King of love and mercy!

Today's Solemnity: Christ the King

How fitting it is that this last Sunday of Ordinary Time is the Solemnity of Christ the King! As the church year ends, we look to Him who lives and reigns forever...

...Jesus Christ, the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God (1 Tim 1:17)

...the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:15-16)

...the crucified King who calls us by name and who longs for our beauty and our homage (Ps 45:12)

...whose dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, whose kingship shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:14)

...whose kingdom does not belong to this world (Jn 18:36), "an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love, and peace" (Preface of Christ the King)

...who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father (Rev 1:5-6)

...Jesus Christ, the King of love and mercy! the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8)!

I turn to you, my own Jesus, King of happiness and eternal glory, and I embrace you with all the strength of my soul. I adore you with my whole heart. I choose you to be my King now and forever. By this inviolable act of fidelity I pay you irrevocable homage. I submit myself to your holy laws and ordinances.

~St. Francis de Sales in Introduction to the Devout Life, Book 1, Chapter 18

Today's Memorial: The Presentation of Mary

Holy Mother of God, Mary ever virgin, you are the temple of the Lord and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Beyond all others you were pleasing to our Lord Jesus Christ. ~Evening Prayer, Presentation of Mary, antiphon for the Magnificat

You are my beloved!

You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter. I love you with an everlasting love. I have molded you together in the depths of the earth. I have knitted you in your mother's womb. I've written your name in the palm of my hand and I hold you safe in the shade of my embrace. I hold you. You belong to Me and I belong to you. You are safe where I am. Don't be afraid. Trust that you are the beloved. That is who you truly are. ~Henri Nouwen in Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

Dear Lord, may I always rejoice to be your beloved! Amen.

The apple of God's eye

Keep me as the apple of your eye. Psalm 17:8

Today at Mass we pray with the psalmist, "Keep me as the apple of your eye" (Ps. 17:8). Whoever is the apple of my eye is very precious to me. I love and honor that person in a special way, and the mere thought of him or her makes me smile with delight. So isn't it perhaps a bit bold of us to ask God to keep us as the apple of his eye?

No, not really, because we're simply asking him to keep us as we already are. Each one of us is the apple of God's eye! The prophet Isaiah reminds us that we are precious in God's eyes (Is 43:4). The prophet Jeremiah points out that God has loved us with an everlasting love and continues to so love us (Jer 31:3). Every other line of Psalm 136 assures us that "God's love endures forever." St. Augustine tells us that "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us." And Blessed Columba Marmion, writing about the sacrament of baptism in his book Christ, the Life of the Soul, observes that we who "'put on' Christ on the day of our baptism…have, therefore, the right to present ourselves before the Eternal Father and say to Him: 'I am your only-begotten one'".

What is truly bold is God's deep, abiding, eternal love for you and me!

Thank you, dear God, for making me the apple of your eye! Amen.

Come down quickly...

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." Lk 19:5

O thou soul, then, most beautiful of creatures, who so longest to know the place where thy Beloved is, that thou mayest seek Him, and be united to Him, thou knowest now that thou art thyself that very tabernacle where He dwells, the secret chamber of His retreat where He is hidden. ~St. John of the Cross in The Dark Night of the Soul

Thank you, dear Lord, for wanting to make your home with me. Amen.

...that I may see!

Lord, I want to see! Lk 18:41

Lord, that in every creature I may discover and sense you, I beg you: give me faith. Grant me to recognize in other men, O Lord, the radiance of Your face! ~Teilhard de Chardin

Dear Lord, remove the blindness that prevents me from seeing you. Amen.

"Sacrifices Most Pleasing"

These are the sacrifices most pleasing to God: mercy, humility, praise, peace, charity. ~St. Augustine

I came across the above this morning while praying the Office of Readings. It appeared in the second reading, which was from a commentary on Psalm 95 by St. Augustine (go to this page at Universalis and scroll to bottom for full reading), and it gave me some good food for thought and prayer. When I think of a sacrifice primarily in terms of giving up something, at first glance there does not seem to be anything terribly sacrificial about mercy, humility, praise, peace and charity. However, if I think some more about it, I find plenty of things that I can and must give up if I am offer to God these sacrifices that St. Augustine says are most pleasing to him. Being merciful demands that I forgo criticizing and judging others as well as myself. Humility requires that I relinquish my ego with all its inordinate desires. Praise calls for me to release all complaining, both in words and in thoughts. And charity, the greatest of all, obliges me to forsake anything and everything that does not embody the love of God that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom 5:5). In fact, it is the Holy Spirit who makes holy my little offerings and transforms them into "an offering in spirit and in truth" so that I might become a living sacrifice of praise to the glory of God. AMEN! ALLELUIA!

Dear Lord, let me choose the sacrifices most pleasing to you rather than the ones that I prefer. Amen.

The Glory of God

Point Lookout, ME, just before sunrise

Photography by Ann L. Krumrein

The heavens proclaim the glory of God and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. (Ps 19)

Dear God, King of might and splendor, may I always see and show forth your glory in my life. Amen.

Little Things

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito. Unknown

It's the little things that get us,
That tend to hold us back;
We can sit upon a mountain
But not upon a tack.
Unknown

Dear Lord, let me never underestimate the power of little things! Amen.

Prayer for Peace

God of Love and Peace,
Mender of Hearts,
you are friend of all and foe of none.
Your goodness is seeded in everyone,
including those with whom I struggle.
Enter into my heart and soften its hardness.
Erase any ill will and anger abiding there.
Help me to reach out with openness,
to speak when I prefer hiding in silence.
Teach me how to listen with loving ears
and not to cling tenaciously to my opinions.
Instill hope of reconciliation in our hearts
and help us to not give up on one another.
Be the Patience within us that resolves issues.
Be the Love among us that seeks forgiveness.
Be the Faith amid us that strengthens our bonds.
Be the Truce between us that brings us peace.

Amen.

Prayer for Peace by Joyce Rupp

Sr. Joyce Rupp is a well-known and much-loved writer, poet and speaker and, by her own definition, "a spiritual mid-wife." She has helped birth life and love within me many times since I began reading her books in 1988. The first book of hers that I read was Praying Our Goodbyes, which is about the spirituality of change. I was going through a very difficult time accepting the chronic pain and fatigue in my life, and her chapter on living with chronic pain helped transform my heart and mind. This book has helped me to embrace change, a constant in our lives, with enthusiasm, gratitude, and serenity. In the late 90's, my dear friend Carol Rewers gave me Sr. Joyce's book Your Sorrow is My Sorrow, a series of reflections on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Sr. Joyce is a member of the Servite Sisters, or the Servants of Mary, a religious community which has a special devotion to our Mother of Sorrows. This book has kindled in my soul a deep love for and devotion to Mary under this title. Shortly after I read this book, my sister Ann, the Queen of Thrift Stores, came upon a very old chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary in a thrift store and gave it to me, which I pray often. Thank you, Sister Joyce, for being such a loving and beautiful spiritual midwife for me and for so many others!

A Prayer for Love

O God of love, we ask you to give us love:
love in our thinking, love in our speaking, love in our doing,
and love in the hidden places of our souls;
love of our neighbours, near and far;
love of our friends, old and new;
love of those whom we find it hard to bear with us;
love of those with whom we work,
and love of those with whom we take our ease;
love in joy, love in sorrow,
love in life and love in death;
that so at length we may be worthy to dwell with you,
who are eternal Love. Amen.

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1944

The Holy Father on the Communion of Saints

Dear friends, how beautiful and consoling is the communion of saints! It is a reality that infuses a different dimension to our whole life. We are never alone! We form part of a spiritual "company" in which profound solidarity reigns: the good of each one is for the benefit of all and, vice versa, the common happiness is radiated in each one. It is a mystery that, in a certain measure, we can already experience in this world, in the family, in friendship, especially in the spiritual community of the Church. May Mary Most Holy help us to walk swiftly on the way of sanctity and show herself a Mother of mercy for the souls of the deceased. ~Pope Benedict, Angelus, 11/1/09

Dear Lord, our resurrection and our life, thank you for the beauty and consolation of the communion of saints. I can hardly wait for that glorious day when, at long last, I will be fully and finally united with those whom I love so much and miss so greatly. Amen.

Candlelight Vigil at Fort Hood

Dear Lord and Giver of Life, we pray for those who have died, especially the victims of violence, and for those who mourn their passing. In Your goodness and mercy, give peace to the dead and strength to the living. Amen.

When I Am Weary

Mother, I come from the turmoil of life, I am exhausted, body and soul.

It is hard to accept peacefully what happens around us in a day of work and struggle. The things we had put so much hope in betray us. People to whom we wish to be kind resist us. And those from whom we seek help try to take advantage of us.

This is why I come to you, Mother, because deep inside me lives an insecure child. But close to you I feel strong and full of confidence. Only the thought of having a mother such as you gives me courage. I feel that your arm supports me and that your hand guides me. I can thus continue on my way undisturbed.

Renew me entirely, so that I may see the beauty of life. Lift me so that I may walk without fear. Give me your hand so that I may always find my way. Bless me so that my presence in the world may be a sign of your blessing.

Amen.

"When I Am Weary" by Ignacio Larrañaga

Mount Battie

"Mount Battie" by Ann L. Krumrein

The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,—
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the face of God shine through.
But East and West will pinch the heart
That can not keep them pushed apart;
And he whose soul is flat—the sky
Will cave in on him by and by.

Edna St. Vincent Millay in “Renascence”

Mount Battie in Camden, Maine is where Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote her well-loved poem "Renascence." My sister Ann took this picture on a foggy day. When the sun is shining and the sky is clear, one has a panoramic view of the town of Camden and its beautiful harbor. No matter what the weather is when I visit my sister in Maine and we go to Mount Battie, I always hear "the ticking of Eternity."

Loving Father, thank you for artists who reveal to us the beauty of Your creation. Amen!

Maple Canopy

"Maple Canopy" by Ann L. Krumrein

O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Edna St. Vincent Millay in "God's World"

My sister Ann shot the above image in her hometown of Lincolnville, ME. As she described it, "The trees were at the front of a private property. No one seemed to be at home, so I just parked the car and stretched out on the ground underneath the trees….too cool." That's my bold and beautiful sister! A free spirit with a quiet eye for both beauty and an opportunity. To life!

Thank you, dear Lord, for my "too cool" sister and her quiet eye. Amen.

All Souls Day

Give rest, O Christ, to your servants,
with your saints
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.
You only are immortal,
the Creator and Maker of mankind,
and we are mortal,
formed of the earth,
and to earth shall we return.
For so you did ordain when
you created men, saying,
"You are dust and to dust you shall return."
All of us go down to the dust,
yet even at the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give rest, O Christ, to your servants...

~Prayer for the Faithful Departed from the Orthodox Liturgy

Solemnity of All Saints

They come in singing,
the saved ones;
immense fresco of joy,
love with a thousand faces
that form one image,
in the light,
the only icon of glory:
Jesus Christ!
Praise to you,
Lord of all the living!
You shared in their trials,
in the power of your resurrection,
they sing:
You have purified them in your spilt blood,
they are children of the Father and give you thanks:
You have fed them with the bread of life;
triumphant over death, they acclaim you:
Praise to you,
Lord of all the living!

Commission Francophone Cistercienne
quoted in Days of the Lord, Volume 7

The Life Our Lady Lived

Nowadays there is a growing tendency to think of mysticism as a kind of Irish stew, made out of scrap-ends of Buddha, Muhammad, Tolstoy and Einstein, to believe that if we can only manage to sit still with the sole of our foot flat on our stomach and respect fleas, we shall reach perfections.

No, it is a mistake, the sacramental life which is indeed to the only true mysticism, the only pure contemplation, is the life that our Lady lived. It consisted in her daily self-giving of her life to make Christ's life, to give him birth, to give birth to him in all human beings. It was, and is, the life of sacramental love, the love which says and means: "I want to give you the marrow of my bones, every cell of my body, the pulsing of my blood. It is not enough to be with you, to look at you, I must be in you, must be you. I want to be your food, your flesh and blood, yourself. I give you my body and I give it in every split second of every moment that I live, awake or asleep, in all that I do, in my words, in my work, in eating, laughing, weeping, in sorrow and in joy, that you may have my life and have it abundantly." That is what our Lady's life said to our Lord Christ, that is what its tremendous littleness means. That is reality.

And she gave back to him the sort of love he had first given to her, for it is indeed her true son who says to all of us "Take this all of you, this is my body, this is my blood." That is our Lady, that is our Lord, that is reality, that is love.

Caryll Houselander in Lift Up Your Hearts

Prayer of St. Clare

By Your most bitter death give me a lively faith, firm hope and a perfect charity, that with my whole heart I may love You with all my soul and strength. Make me persevere in Your service, firm and steadfast in good works, so that I may be always able to please You, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thoughts of benediction...

O how worthy of love is this great God who out of his infinite goodness has given his own Son for the redemption of all men. Yes, truly, for all men in general but for me in particular, who am the chief of sinners! Ah, he has loved me! I say he has loved even me, even me myself, I say, such as I am, and has delivered himself to his passion for me.

O God, what love can we have sufficiently worthy of the infinite goodness of our Creator, who from all eternity has determined to create, preserve, govern, redeem, save, and glorify all men in general and each man in particular? Ah, what was I when I was not? What was I, I who even now when I am something am still only a mere, pitiful worm of the earth? Yet from the depths of his eternity God thought thoughts of benediction in my behalf. He meditated and planned, yes, determined, the hour of my birth, of my baptism, of all the inspirations he would give me, and in sum, of all the benefits he would do me and offer to me. Ah, is there kindness like to such kindness?

~St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God (Bk 12, Ch 12)

Thank you, dearest Lord, that Your kindness is everlasting, that Your love endures forever. Let my soul live to praise You! Amen.

Forget not all his benefits...

“Forget not all his benefits.” Psalm 103:2

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts, and showed himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favors? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things”, hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth for ever.

~George Spurgeon

Dearest Lord, forgive me my forgetfulness. Thank You for Your many benefits to me, so far beyond measure, and help me to remember them always so that I may spend my life weaving Your mercies into song. Amen.

Lord, I want to see!

In today's gospel (Mk 10:46-52), we meet up with the blind beggar Bartimaeus. Despite people telling him to pipe down, Bartimaeus persists in crying out to Jesus and finally manages to attract His attention. Upon calling Bartimaeus over to him, Jesus asks him, "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord," he replies, "I want to see."

What a wonderful prayer! Straight from the heart! It gives me confidence and hope in my own feeble attempts at prayer. I also yearn to see. But what exactly do I desire to see?

Lord, I want to see your splendor shining throughout your universe. I want to see your goodness inherent in all of your creation. I want to see the radiance of your life incarnated in every person I meet. I want to see the beauty of your truth, which alone sets us free.

Lord, I want to see the endless possibilities of growth and conversion that surround us each day. I want to see the wonders of your love enfolding us wherever­ we go, whatever we do. I want to see the wisdom of your ways, so far beyond our comprehension. I want to see our suffer­ings and deaths redeemed and transformed by your passion and resurrection.

Lord, I want to see the magnificent liberty that is ours as the children of God. I want to see the myriad marvels that unite us into one family, one heart, one soul, one body in you. I want to see the countless opportunities you give us day after day to love and serve each other, especially the least of our brothers and sisters. I want to see your grace and mercy at work in my life and the lives of others.

O Lord, I want to see with the eyes of faith for only then can I see you, present everywhere in quiet, hidden joy, even in our brokenness, pain and sorrow. And this above all is my greatest longing -- to see you. I do already, but through a glass, darkly. Help me to live here and now in such a way that when my life on this earth ends, I will indeed see you face-to-face, my Lord and God.