The Feast of St. Martha

While there is some debate as to whether Mary Magdalene is the same as Mary-the-sister-of-Martha-and-Lazarus, I don't think there is any debate in the minds of women struggling to walk with Christ that Magdalene and Martha are two of the great examples of womanly virtue in the Gospels and in all of Christianity.

Since today is here feast, I wanted to share a quick meditation on St. Martha by one of my favorite Catholic bloggers, Julie Davis of Happy Catholic, from her bi-weekly column on Patheos:

We see again how familiar and friendly Martha is with Jesus. As before, she goes to him with a forthright complaint. She shows great confidence and trust in saying that she is disappointed that he didn't save her brother.

Martha also shows that she possesses great faith and understanding in unmistakable terms: "I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." What an incredible moment that must have been between Jesus and Martha. Martha has come a long way, never losing her focus on Christ even in her grief.

Yet, after such a moment, she also doesn't forget her sister, Mary, who is still at home mourning.

Martha is both loving and practical to the bone. We have an unmistakable example of that practicality when Jesus is getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Read more. St. Martha, pray for us!

The End of a Good Feast Day

For I know well the spring that flows and runs,

although it is night

1. That eternal spring is hidden,

for I know well where it has its rise

although it is night

2. I do not know its origin, nor has it one,

but I know that every origin has come from it

although it is night.

3. I know that nothing else is so beautiful,

and that the heavens and the earth drink there

although it is night.

4. I know well that it is bottomless

and no one is able to cross it,

although it is night.

5. Its clarity is never darkened,

and I know that every light has come from it

although it is night.

6. I know that its streams are so brimming

they water the lands of hell, the heavens, and earth

although it is night.

7. I know well the stream that flows from this spring

is mighty in compass and power

although it is night.

8. I know the stream proceeding from these two,

that neither of them in fact precedes it

although it is night

9. This eternal spring is hidden

in this living bread for our life's sake

although it is night.

10. It is here calling out to creatures;

and they satisfy their thirst,

although in darkness,

because it is night.

11. This living spring that I love for

I see in this bread of life,

although it is night.

-- St. John of the Cross, The Poetry

All Saints!

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones
Words: John A. L. Ri­ley
Music: Lasst Uns Er­freu­en, (Ger­ma­ny, 1623); har­mo­ny by Ralph Vaughan Wil­liams, 1906
Played by Healey Willan (1880-1968), on the organ of St Mary Magdalene, Toronto

Happy Feast of St. Theresa of Avila

To have courage for whatever comes in life -- everything lies in that.

--St. Theresa of Avila

Our Lady of Czestochowa

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna, patroness and protector of Poland, beloved of Pope John Paul II. She also happens to hang over my desk. (Sometimes I talk to her. Really, I ought to talk to her much more.)

And, recently, I discovered this prayer on a holy card:

HOLY MOTHER of Czestochowa, Thou are full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, words and actions--my soul and body. I beseech Thy blessings and especially prayers for my salvation.

Today I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother, totally--with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen.

Amen. Amen!

Edith's Devotions of Choice

How can we narrow down our top 5 devotions? Part of what I love about being Catholic is that we have devotions, saints, liturgies for every season in our lives! But, I can, for the sake of Kim's challenge, narrow it down! So here goes -

5. The Divine Mercy Chaplet - I love this chaplet and the message of God's Divine Mercy. I still have not made my way through all of St. Faustina's diary (but I will!). This chaplet was made even more special for me when my old parish in Louisiana observed this novena from Mardi Gras every Tuesday until the Tuesday of Divine Mercy week. The choir director at the parish wrote the music and it is absolutely beautiful. I'll really miss that!

4. Spiritual Reading - I love doing all kind of spiritual reading, I am a reader and being intellectually stimulated is one way I relate to God. Whether it is Bible reading, prayer books, writings of saints and blesseds, I love it all.

3. Studying the Lives of the Saints/Novenas - I am obsessed with learning about the saints - (hmmm...can you tell, i.e. Edith Stein?) They remind me that human beings are not only entirely capable of holiness, but called to be holy. Learning about them gives us friends in heaven, and seriously, who can't use that??

2. Rosary - Sometimes I find the rosary difficult to pray - not in the sense that the prayers are hard, but to really focus and meditate upon them for me is difficult. So if I am having a really hard time, I try to focus on the fact that I am a child of God and a child of His Holy Mother and they love me. And then I also might picture a person's face that I really want to offer that decade for. It helps, and the rosary changes lives and hearts.

1. The Liturgy of the Easter Triduum - This is the most solemn and joyful time in the Church. The joy, fear, sorrow, and anticipation of Holy Thursday, the emptiness you literally feel on Good Friday, and the indescribable joy of the Easter Vigil Mass, especially as you watch new members become embraced into the arms of Holy Mother Church - words just cannot even express how much beauty....

Click for favorites of Julian and Agatha.

Agatha's Devotions of Choice

The last few weeks a meme of Catholic devotions has been spreading the papist blogsphere. The Magdalene Sisters were tagged by Kim Luisi, author of the blog Faith Fiction and Flannery, and a writer for Traces Magazine.

So today Julian, Edith and I will be sharing our favorite Catholic devotions. Can you guess, from the photo above, what's mine?

1. The Angelus: when I have a really crazy days, the bells peal out across Michigan Avenue, and I take a moment to say it, and the stress doesn't matter anymore.
2. Praying for the Souls in Purgatory: I always say: if you don't pray for them, you don't get to go. And that would be a shame, wouldn't it?
3. The St. Joseph Novena is perfect.
4. Celebrating Feast Days (ps. this week is feasting non-stop: Dominic, Edith Stein, Lawrence, Clare, Jane Frances de Chantal, Hippolytous, Maximillian Kolbe)
5. The Prayer of Saint Francis basically covers everything I want to want.

Woman Warrior of the Month: Edith Stein

Dear Readers,
Happy feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross! As you know this past week of August we celebrated with the Edith Stein Novena, which follows her last nine days in this world before the Nazis murdered her and many, many more Hebrew Catholics in retaliation of the Dutch Bishops denouncing the Nazis and the slaughter of the Jews. The novena, taken from the Association of Hebrew Catholic Website, and as the association's president David Moss explains, the novena is especially prayed during the time of August 1-9 - the time from her arrest to her death. David Moss writes,

The novena was composed by Elias Friedman, O.C.D., founder of the Association of Hebrew Catholics (AHC), who recommends it to all devotees of Saint Edith. The most suitable time to observe it would be from August 1 to August 9, in annual remembrance of the days spent by our saintly martyr in the death train, accompanied by her sister, Rosa, and many other Hebrew Catholics, on the way to the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

We present the Novena to the public, hoping thus to further devotion to our holy Carmelite and as a model for Hebrew Catholic’s to imitate. Edith Stein offered herself, like Jesus, our Lord and Messiah, as a victim of expiation for the redemption of her people and of mankind.

May our efforts hasten the day when all Israel shall proclaim:

Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord

(Baruch haba beShem Adonai)

Also, a little more about what inspired this novena prayer from author Elias Friedman:

An attempt has been made to draw a parallel between the last week in the life of Saint Edith Stein and the last week in the life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is more in the parallel than pure analogy; Jesus himself, repeated his passion in the soul and body of Saint Edith. It is what gives to her suffering its full redemptive value. Through Jesus, our Saint sanctified the Shoah, turning the Catastrophe into a true Holocaust unto the Lord. Tragic as the story is, it should be understood as the sine qua non for the ingrafting of the Jewish People into the Church, their own olive-tree.

Now, about our Saint. I have spending lots and lots of time reading everything I can about her and by her especially since my break with Peter. I felt that I wanted to reconnect with strong women to help me recover my own strength, and learn that feminine way to practice the virtue of fortitude. Let me tell you something about St. Edith, in case you have already seen, she is THE woman warrior.

Edith Stein was born in Breslau, Germany on October 12, 1891 to Siegfried and Auguste Stein. Before she reached the age of two, her father passed away, leaving her mother with 7 children and a lumber business to run. And her mother did run that business. In her unfinished autobiography, Life in a Jewish Family, Edith says that all who knew her described her mother as the most capable merchant in town. Edith wrote this book in the 1930's as an antidote to the rising anti-Semitism in her beloved Germany. This book, which I've not quite finished reading, chronicles her very normal, very real family life from her birth until 1916, which as far as she had written before the Nazis took her off to the death camps. She shows great affection for her family and reveals her own spiritual journey to the Church, which was a highly intellectual one.

Edith was known as an extremely intelligent and gifted child. She loved school and did quite well in school. She says that although her mother was quite religious and did observe the basic tenants of Judaism, Edith and her siblings were not very religious and often ridiculed their mother's piety. Frau Stein did not let that deter her. But as a young teenager, Edith self-consciously decided that she did not believe in God. It was not until she went on to receive her doctorate that Edith would find herself attracted to the Catholic faith.

Edith studied for her doctorate under the famed phenomenological Edmund Husserl. She became great friends with many very renowned scholars of phenomenology and several times had come into contact with Dietrich von Hildebrand (although they did not know one another well). It was also here that she began to be more open to the Christian faith, as most of her friends were Christians, both Protestant and Catholic. She was a brilliant student, and all her friends and family teased her for her great passion to study with Husserl. She writes that on one New Year's Eve before she left to study in Goettingen for her doctorate, her sisters and friends wrote a little verse about her: "Many a maiden dreams of 'busserl' [kisses in German], Edith, though, of naught but Husserl. In Goettingen she soon will see Husserl as real as real can be." (Life in a Jewish Family, p. 220). I admit, I had to laugh at this little anecdote. To me it not only shows her passion for the intellectual pursuit of truth, but it just shows her humanness.

It was while she was studying in Goettingen during 1913-1914 that Edith says she started to learn how "to respect questions of faith and people who had faith." (Life in a Jewish Family, p. 316). She said that she even attended some Protestant liturgies, but that the sermons, which mixed politics and religion, often turned her off to the faith. It would be about another 10 years before Edith found God in the Catholic faith.

Edith loved Goettingen and Husserl's classes. She was paving the way for women intellectuals, who, even in an intellectual powerhouse like Germany, were not common. She dearly loved Germany, loved its history, loved being a Germany citizen, but she was also keenly distressed at its tempestuous political situation in the during WWI and in the decades the followed. Edith even took a leave of absence from school during WWI and served as a nurse for wounded soldiers. To the end, she loved her German identity.

Edith finished her doctorate in 1917 and stayed on for several years helping her "Master" Husserl to edit his works. She finally began to consider seriously the possibility of becoming a Christian in 1918, and for two years discerned whether to be a Catholic or a Lutheran. She knew this would cost her many of her friendship among her Jewish acquaintance, and she especially knew that her mother would be heartbroken. And God works in funny ways. While she was visiting a Protestant friend in 1921, she randomly found a copy of Teresa of Avila's book The Book of Her Life. She felt that the saints words in the book fulfilled the desires of her heart, and on January 1. 1922, Edith Stein became a Catholic. She also felt at this time that to join the Carmelites was her calling, but she waited until 1935, so that she would not add insult to injury for her heartbroken mother.

Although her family was far from pleased by her decision, Edith remarks that they all respected her because they knew that Edith ardently sought truth with her whole being. Dr. Fraulein Stein, as she was called, longed to be a philosopher and also loved to teach. Josephine Koeppel says of her:

Edith earned the international reputation she had in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria by her careful attention to contemporary topics of her own day which were forerunners of our own vital issues. Her lectures on women's roles. . . incorporated all the facets of her remarkable erudition. . . . To enable others to lead and teach is an inestimable talent, and this was one Edith Stein's greatest gifts." (Life in a Jewish Family, Chronology, p. 419)

In 1933, Edith entered Carmel in Cologne, Germany. Her mother was sorrowful, but embraced her daughter for the last time. She made her final vows in 1938 and took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, which means "Teresa Blessed of the Cross" (or by the Cross in some translations.) Her name reflects her beloved spiritual sister and fellow Carmelite, Teresa of Avila, and her fate of sharing in the Cross of Christ in a very tangible, visible way. After her mother's death, her sister Rosa followed Edith's example, became a Catholic and joined her as a Third Order Carmelite. As a Carmelite, she continued her work as a philosopher and a seeker of truth. Many great treatises and theological meditations were written in this period. But in 1938, the threat of the Nazis was so great that the nuns removed Edith and Rosa to their Carmel in Echt. It was here, as we know, that Edith and her sister were brutally taken in 1942 to their deaths in Auschwitz.

But on the journey to her death, Edith made an impression on her fellow Jewish Catholics. Lucie Bromberg-Rosenthal, who shared a barrack with Edith, remembers this time:

The great difference between Edith Stein and the other sisters lay in her silence. My personal impression is that she was grief-stricken. She was not afraid, but I cannot express it better except by saying that she seemed to carry such a heavy burden of suffering that even when she did smile every once and a while, it made one even sadder. . . . She had the thought of impending suffering; not her own, for she had long accepted it, but the suffering that was awaiting the others. Her whole appearance, as I see her in my mind's eye sitting in the barrack, still reminds me of a Pieta without Christ." (Taken from Edith Stein and Companions, p. 85-86)

What Edith has taught me is the great love it takes to embrace suffering. What I hope she teaches me is how to become a better woman in Christ and how to love and to suffer as she did. May this feast day be a blessing to all of you, and I hope you will let Edith Stein into your life today to show you the face of Christ.

Edith Stein's writings can be found in English through the Institute of Carmelite Studies.

I Hate to Interrupt Our Novena...

...but I couldn't help but write a post about St. Dominic on his feast day. Personally, I think Edith Stein wouldn't mind. With feast days in such close calendar proximity, I think they're probably toasting one another. Actually, no, they are toasting the Lord!

For anyone interested in in the life and legacy of St. Dominic and his brethren, I highly recommend purchasing St. Dominic's Family : Lives of Over 500 Famous Dominicans by Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P. From that book I leave you this:

His rule was meant to make the way to heaven easier, not harder. He was the first to propose an order dedicated to preaching at a time when no one but bishops regularly preached. With insight that we can bless today, he foresaw that one might preach in many ways, and in many media; so he made VERITAS the motto of the Order and did not limit the ways or means by which one might preach it. Lastly, his Order was organized to cope with problems of future centuries in lands that had not even been discovered in his day. There is nothing in the Dominican rule to prevent the evangelization of any continent, or of Mars, for that matter; its application is flexible in order to meet the problems of all times and places.

Lord, we praise you for the gift of St. Dominic's life and the establishment of his order. Teach us individually and collectively how to preach your Truth. Amen.

Feast of St. Martha

Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.

We Magdalene sisters love our patronesses, and while Mary Magdalene gets most of our attention, today we honor the feast of her sister (and ours), St. Martha. Martha is considered the sister of Mary and Lazarus as depicted in the Gospels. Perhaps we are most familiar with her from Luke 10 when she (perhaps with a little exasperation in her tone?) asks Our Lord to admonish her sister Mary for leaving all the serving to herself. In the end, he chastises her!

From this description, we know her as the exemplar saint of the active life, as opposed to her sister Mary, the contemplative, "the better part." But I've always really identified with Martha, which I know I've mentioned before on this blog. She is the patron saint of housewives, servants of all kinds, cooks, and (Get This!) SINGLE LAYWOMEN. She is indeed our patroness!! But I identify with her more because of her willingness to serve the Lord, to wait upon His physical need for food and comfort. And by this means, she knew Him for who He was, as she proclaims in the Gospel of John (chapter 11) "Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world." She said this just before Our Lord raised her brother, Lazarus from the dead. But she did not utter these words so that Christ would do this; she had faith in the words spoken by Christ to her and in the Word, Christ Himself. She knew that no matter what happens in life, even the death of a loved one, at the end of every day, Christ is.

I think we modern ladies have so much to learn from her. She is, after all, through the wisdom of Holy Mother Church, given to us single laywoman as a particular patroness. But she teaches us to persevere in faith, to trust the Lord, and to serve Him in our daily lives. I know that many of us sit wondering when we'll meet that special man God has ordained for us (if our vocation is marriage) or wait in discernment to see if God is calling us to Himself as a Bride, or perhaps we just wonder what might be next in the chapter of our lives. St. Martha teaches us to have faith, to trust in the Lord and to live our lives joyfully as we listen for answers to all of our questions. And when we do this, He performs miracles for us beyond our own understanding. He will transform our lives to bring about more graces than we can imagine, if only we will allow Him to. So let us ask St. Martha for faith like hers as we await Him.

And dear readers, Happy Feast today.

Image found here.

Back to Back Feasts: St. Bridget of Sweden

From my Magnificat today:

Again the same religious appeared on his rung as before and said: "O Judge, I ask you:"...

"Why did you not cause all your words to be heard in a single moment? Then it would not have been necessary for them to be preached through the intervals of time."...

"As to why I did not speak all my words in one hour, I answer you: Just as, materially, it goes against the body for it to take in one hour as much food as might content it for many years, so it is against the divine arrangment that my words, which are the food of the soul, would all have been spoken in one hour. But just as bodily food is taken in little by little, to be chewed and, when chewed, to be carried to the interior, so my words were not to be spoken in one hour, but rather through the intervals of time, in accord with the intelligence of those who were making progress, in order that the hungry might have something by which to be satisfied and that when satisfied, they might be excited to higher things."... -- St. Bridget

I find this comforting this morning, as several matters of the heart weigh on me, and questions about vocation, purposefulness, fulfillment, work, and the nature of God all swirl around my head. I was just discussing with my best friend last night how sitting in the mystery of our lives and in the mystery of God is so very much a part of the human experience, and one that is necessary, frustrating, enlightening, and delightful all at once. Having questions and knowing that all of the answers cannot be given to us in advance or at once and living in the paradox of knowing the Lord but not ever knowing Him fully is just so very much our reality. And there's not a damn thing to do about it. And according to St. Bridget's dialogue with the Lord, that's just as it should be, because it would not be fitting (or part of our good) for it to be any other way. I guess the unfolding of our lives and the often dim way of navigating through them is the way that the Lord can continue to stir up in us a greater desire for Him. Today I pray in thanskgiving for the thirst, and for the reminder from St. Bridget of Sweden for the appropriateness and gentleness of our caring heavenly Father.

St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order
painted by Francisco de Herrera, the Elder, 1628


Today is the feast of the "Seraphic Doctor", St. Bonaventure. His work, "Journey of the Mind into God" was one of my favorite texts when I studied the medivals, though I hardly remember it now. Still, I often pray the payer, below, after I recieve Communion. It's incredibly difficult to pray, because what he wants, and what I should want, are so hard to ask for. But I hope reciting it will get me a few bonus points. Happy feast, everyone!

PRAYER OF ST. BONAVENTURE

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the
most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true,
calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever
languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee,
may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be
dissolved and to be with Thee. Grant that my soul may
hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of
holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having
all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste. May my
heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels
desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with
the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee,
the fountain of life, the fountain of widsom and knowledge,
the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the
fulness of the house of God; may it ever compass Thee, seek
Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on
Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of
Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and
delight, with ease and affection, with perseverence to the
end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence,
my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and
tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my
refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my
possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart
be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today is the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist. this is one of the oldest and most popular feasts of the calendar, partially because it falls so close to the solstice, and therefore "baptized" old Pagan solstice festivities. (It is also, the day that is farthest away in the calendar from Christmas Eve--back when the Christian calendar was the calendar that defines our seasons, this clearly had some significance which is now lost.) St. John is the patron of half a billion things, including: baptisms, epilepsy, the Diocese of Charleston South Carolina, and of Portland, Maine, half the towns in Italy, Jordan (obviously), Quebec & all of French Canada, tailors (this cracks me up), and convulsive children.

In French Canada, the feast is a day for drunken revelry. The streets of the finest walled city in North America, Quebec, smell like stale beer for a good week following the all night parades and parties. Like most manifestations of religion in French Canada, the day has become a holiday of nationalism, rather than a feast of a great Saint.

In Barcelona, according to our friend, the Courtier, it is also a day--or rather night--of great festivity--and a lot of fire. One of the common customs of La Nit de Sant Joan is to build a fire in the streets, and throw slips of paper with their sins written on them into the flames.

Well, I shan't be doing that, though I do foresee some sparklers in my near future. Instead, I think I'll head across the street for confession and Mass this afternoon. St. John the Baptist, pray for us!

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary

I give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take You, O Sacred heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of his righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in You, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Your goodness and bounty.

Remove from me all that can displease You or resist Your holy will; let your pure love imprint Your image so deeply upon my heart, that I shall never be able to forget You or to be separated from You.

May I obtain from all Your loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Your Heart, for in You I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying in bondage to You.
Amen.

Prayer from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM

Rose Petals at Pentecost

Now that I am home in the Chicago area, I have been anxiously asking myself what is next other than writing my doctoral dissertation. As in, I need a job! So I made a Pentecost pilgrimage to a gorgeous Church in Chicago, St. John Cantius. As God has been feeling distant from me in my sorrows, I was need of renewal this Pentecost. The Mass was lovely enough, but it came for me at the end of the Mass. As the exit procession of priests, seminarians, and altar servers began, fragrant, beautiful rose petals began to fall from the oculus of this gorgeous Church. I just started smiling, relishing in this physical reminder of the tongues of fire falling baptizing all of us, uniting the Communion of Saints. And of course, the rose petals gave it a Marian significance as well.

I had never heard of this tradition before, but as I have learned, it is a Roman tradition that at Pentecost each year, rose petals are dropped from the oculus of the Pantheon, now the Church dedicated to Mary, Queen of Martyrs. Check out the story here - where I also found the photo. Enjoy - and Happy week of Pentecost!

Ascension

Well, regardless of whether your diocese celebrates it today or Sunday: today IS the Feast of the Ascension. 40 days after Easter, Christ ascended to Heaven.

Now begins the period of waiting. It is not the expectant waiting of Advent. Nor is it the hard penitential waiting of Lent, or the sad uncertain waiting of Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

This waiting is different. It is confident and joyful. It is uncertain about the future, but eager for God's calling. It is ready to do God's will, but listening for further instructions. It is the waiting of discernment, the waiting of Vocation.

Veni creator Spiritus...

Happy Feast of St. Catherine of Siena

"Now I invite you to weep, you and my other servants. And through your weeping and constant humble prayer I want to be merciful to the world. Run along this road of truth dead, so that you may never be reproached for walking slowly. For I will demand more of you now than before, since I have revealed my very self to you in my truth. Be careful never to leave the cell of self-knowledge, but in this cell guard and spend the treasure I have given you. This treasure is a teaching of truth founded on the living rock, the gentle Christ Jesus, clothed in a light that can discern darkness. Clothe yourself in this light, dearest daughter whom I so love, in truth. "

-- The Dialogue --

Happy Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, TOP

Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And on those in the tombs
Lavishing life!

St. Thomas Aquinas

Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, and I am very glad! This day could not have come at a better time. So I am going to share with you one of my favorite Thomas Aquinas stories:

Some time between 1240 and August, 1243, he received the habit of the Order of St. Dominic, being attracted and directed by John of St. Julian, a noted preacher of the convent of Naples. The city wondered that such a noble young man should don the garb of poor friar. His mother, with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow, hastened to Naples to see her son. The Dominicans, fearing she would take him away, sent him to Rome, his ultimate destination being Paris or Cologne.

At the instance of Theodora, Thomas's brothers, who were soldiers under the Emperor Frederick, captured the novice near the town of Aquapendente and confined him in the fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca. Here he was detained nearly two years, his parents, brothers, and sisters endeavouring by various means to destroy his vocation. The brothers even laid snares for his virtue, but the pure-minded novice drove the temptress from his room with a brand which he snatched from the fire.

Towards the end of his life, St. Thomas confided to his faithful friend and companion, Reginald of Piperno, the secret of a remarkable favour received at this time. When the temptress had been driven from his chamber, he knelt and most earnestly implored God to grant him integrity of mind and body. He fell into a gentle sleep, and, as he slept, two angels appeared to assure him that his prayer had been heard. They then girded him about with a white girdle, saying: "We gird thee with the girdle of perpetual virginity." And from that day forward he never experienced the slightest motions of concupiscence.

One final note: Please keep a special intention of mine in your prayers tomorrow!
(Painting: The Temptation of St. Thomas Aquinas by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez. Not really sure why it's called "temptation" since this is obviously post-temptation. But...I do like it.)

Conversion of Paul

Ah! Today is the feast of the Conversion of Paul...one of my favorite of the year. Mostly just because of this painting. Oh yeah.

This morning I am struck by the juxtaposition of yesterday's amazing reading from 1 Corinthians, and today's story of Paul's vision on the road.

Here's the Corinthians:

But God has so constructed the body
as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Some people God has designated in the church
to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

And Paul's conversion:

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

Sometimes when this day comes along, I wish that I too could be converted so fully and powerfully as Saul was. But then, as my pastor reminded us last night, every day is a calling forth, and everyday I have the chance to live out my vocation as fully as Paul did.

St. Paul, strong and courageous and steadfast in duty and love for the Lord, pray for us as we work and live and laugh and love, that we might do all these things for Christ's sake.