Contemplative Haven

Did I ever tell you that I’m three-quarters Irish?  Well, it’s true.  My mother was Irish on both sides of her family, and my father on one side of his.  Many’s the time I heard the story of how my maternal grandmother came to Canada crammed on a cattleboat; God only knows how the rest of them arrived.  We were afraid to ask.     My great-grandmother loved to scare all the wee ones with horrid tales of fairies taking babies and ghost-stories right before bedtime.  Apparently any visitor who annoyed her would be ushered to the door which was shut quickly behind them as she called out, “Peace be with you,”, which my mother told me sounded much more like a curse than it should have. 

Though we were raised as practicing Catholics, I never really knew anything about St. Patrick other than that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and taught the pagans about the Holy Trinity using a shamrock.  All my life I pretty much pictured him as a leprechaun.

When I was little, St. Patty’s Day was one of the best days of the year.  My house had the piano, so we had the party.  And what a party it was.  All of my aunts and uncles and their wives and husbands and near to fifty of my first-cousins (yes, I said fifty first-cousins) crowded into our little dining room, with the piano, the banjos, the fiddles, the accordians, the eats, the drinks, the singing, the dancing, the laughter, and the smoke.  I am so happy that I have these memories.

It wasn’t until I first started blogging in 2006 that I heard about St. Patrick’s Breastplate, and then a couple of years ago I heard a lovely version of it sung by what sounded like angels (this was on one of the podcasts done by Pray-As-You-Go, but I wasn’t able to find out who the performers were).  Then by chance last evening as I was looking at some YouTubes on St. Patrick, I found that someone had uploaded it! 

So Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone; may you be blessed, safe and happy today.
Sincerely, McGabrielle

When we look up joy in the Catholic Catechism it says “see also: Happiness”, and the two combined give us seven entries. As I was reading through them, I reflected once more on how intertwined and inter-related everything is.

One of the entries listed for joy (Paragraph 1829) says:

The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy;

In actuality, the first three of the twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy and peace, so, if joy and peace are not only Fruits of the Holy Spirit but fruit of the first fruit of charity (which is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit) [ have I lost you yet?] we can see how one things builds on another, or leads to another, or blossoms out of another.

One of the entries for happiness (Paragraph 1818) says:

The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man;

Now, the entry I quoted for joy is actually found under the larger heading of the Theological Virtue of Charity, and the entry I quoted for happiness is actually found under the larger heading of the Theological Virtue of Hope. So while I am not referring in this post specifically to the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, we can see that everything is a gift – the theological virtues, the gifts and the fruits – and how we respond to these gifts or nurture the seeds of these gifts will be the telling factor in whether or not our garden grows – whether or not cross-pollination will take place and one blossom will produce another, then another, then another…

To me, pollination is a metaphor for practice, for acting upon the gifts received.  The Holy Spirit distributes virtues, gifts and fruits as He will, but it is our practice that will lead to growth and to His pouring out of more and more as He witnesses our receptivity and actions.  The theological virtues must be practiced; the fruits of the Holy Spirit must be used. 

There are so many practices we can put into place to pollinate our garden, but one that I would like to mention here is the practice of gratitude.  Expressing our gratitude to God every day is a powerful means of bringing joy and other fruits into our lives, despite whatever obstacles and challenges we may be facing physically, financially, emotionally, etc.  If we wake up and give thanks to God every morning and throughout the day, mentally review five things we are grateful for every night before we fall asleep, or list five to ten things every day in a Gratitude Journal, we will see a remarkable flowering take place.

Not too long ago my friend JT sent me a link to this video in which Brother David Steindl-Rast gives a beautiful reflection on gratitude as a spiritual practice and its relationship to joy.  Thank you, JT!  I had not seen this particular video before, but I had been introduced to Brother David a few years ago at the site Gratefulness.org. It’s a wonderful site, and if you take a peek in its left sidebar, you’ll also see a link to something I think many of you may love – the Hours with “angelic company” and beautiful Gregorian chants.

Of course I cannot find the relevant post at the moment, but not too long ago Lightborrower of Less Darkness, More Candle reflected on the fact that she couldn’t help but think/hope that somehow, some way, we were with the angel in the Garden of Olives, helping that beautiful being of light to comfort our Jesus.  This is not a new reflection for Lightborrower, but one that she has written of several times over the years, in various blog incarnations…and always, I felt deep within myself, that she was correct.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. [Jeremiah 1:5]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world… [Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1:3-4]

In Volume I of The Messages, Anne the lay apostle writes:

…there were good and holy souls who accompanied Him. He [Jesus] told me that my soul, along with countless other little souls, accompanied Him to Calvary. He drew strength from us and from our presence in His Passion. We consoled Him. It’s some sort of backwards in time sort of thing and we cannot understand it from our position on earth. At least I am struggling with it in a logistical sense. We were with Him. We flocked around Him in a great multitude and stayed with Him until the end. He said, “Can you see why I persevered? The love that surrounded me? This love surrounds you and all just souls.” [Vol. 1, pgs. 71-71]

Does this not bring us great comfort and joy, even in our own pain united to Christ’s, to know that somehow, some way, we were there with Him, supporting Him, consoling Him. So the next time you hear this hymn, or sit weeping through it on Good Friday, weep with joy, for you can answer clearly and with profound gratitude, “Yes, I was there.”

The experience of joy throughout Lent is something that has been my reality for a few years now, so I thought it might be worthwhile to explore that theme this year.

In the following video, Father Mike Manning sets the stage for us [the audio in this one is a bit muffled, but not really a problem].

As we can see from Father Manning’s talk, our perception of a thing makes all the difference between a negative or a positive response/reaction.

This Lent, I wish every one of you the deep joy and exhilarating freedom of releasing any attachments in your lives that you feel are holding you back on your path of holiness. I wish you also the profound joy of intimacy with Our Lord as you unite yourself to Him throughout the day in your spiritual communions and your prayertime, and as you accompany Him in His Passion. I wish you the humble delight of emulating our Creator through generosity of spirit, whether in almsgiving or by helping your neighbour in any of a multitude of secret ways.

“Pardon my Lenten smile” too, as Father Manning says.  I just can’t help it. 

Three years ago for the feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes (which was yesterday), I posted a beautiful image of Our Lady which can be found at Lourdes in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X.  At the time I did not know who the artist was, nor could I remember where I had found the image on the Internet, and all of my subsequent searching led nowhere.

Then a couple of weeks ago my eagle-eyes happened to spot a back-issue of a pastoral journal sitting in the narthex of my church and lo and behold, the same image was on the front cover.  What joy!  Sure enough, the details were inside.  Ladies and gentlemen, better late than never, I give you: 

 The Assumption, by Robert Falcucci (1900-1989)

Robert Falcucci’s father was Italian and his mother was French.  Robert was born in France and lived there all his life until his death in Saint-Aubin in 1989.

His family has set up a website giving biographical information and to show a portion of his works, some of which are for sale or available for exhibition. If you click on “Scènes religieuses” and “La Vie du Christ” you will see some very beautiful paintings of Jesus. I’m so pleased to have finally discovered this wonderful artist and the painter of The Assumption.

In my recent wanderings I noticed that the Spirituality & Practice website is offering an e-course which may be of interest to some for this upcoming Lent.  The course is entitled, “Practicing Spirituality with Edward Hays”.

I was not familiar with Father Edward Hays, but you can read a brief bio of him in the description of the e-course to which I’ve linked above.  A little something that caught my eye:

Over his long and illustrious career, Hays has been a pioneer manifesting a daring mystical sensibility and an unbridled imagination that makes his vision consistently fresh and invigorating.

Father Hays has authored more than thirty “best-selling books on contemporary spirituality”, titles of which you can see here at Ave Maria Press (just click on “Titles by this Author”), so even if you are not able to take the e-course you may be interested to see if you can locate any of his books at your library.

Among other assignments/responsibilities throughout his years as a priest, Father Hays was the director of Shantivanam House of Prayer, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.A. If you click on the “About” section in the menu and read the history of Shantivanam, you will see how Father Hays established this House of Prayer in the early seventies for his archdiocese. On the Shantivanam homepage to which I’ve linked, scroll down and take the “visual exploration” of this beautiful House of Prayer and retreat facility – your spirit will thank you. Well, I never imagined myself saying these exact words, but how I’d love to meet you, my friends, this summer in Kansas!

[A candle-gift from my niece at Christmas]

A very warm welcome to our Catholic blogging community goes out to Miss Linda, author of two blogs:

A Life Lived Faithfully and A Life Lived Joyfully

No matter how strong our faith, it can always use reinforcing, upholding or encouraging.  And joy?  Well, couldn’t we all use much more of that?

At “A Life Lived Faithfully”, Miss Linda shares beautiful artwork as well as helps us along through the liturgical year with timely posts and reflections.  At “A Life Lived Joyfully” we share in her daily adventures with such things as cats, computers and Kindles, as well as her gorgeous creations; Miss Linda is a very gifted seamstress.

Here’s to faith and joy, to Miss Linda, and perhaps even to the remote possibility of dragging out my sewing machine! 

Some of you may recall Neven Pesa from a post I did in April 2008 here at Contemplative Haven and also from one at Consecrated to Mary.

Neven contacted some of us last month (Catholic Seminarian Rocker is what he titled his email!) to update us on his story; he was enthusiastic when I asked him if I could share his email with my readers.  He also attached a track of “Gloria In Excelsis Deo” which he wrote, arranged, composed and performed (I wish I could embed it here for you all to hear; it’s just beautiful).

The wonderful news is that this past autumn, Neven was accepted as a Postulant of the Basilian Salvatorian Order, of the Catholic Byzantine Rite, located in Methuen, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  Here is a picture of Neven with his Bishop:

My warmest congratulations to you, Neven!

Although the website that Neven had formerly set up and to which I linked in my original posts is now defunct, Neven would like me to pass along his thanks to all of you who supported him in any way – spiritually, morally or financially. Neven writes:

Admittedly, I am still very far from meeting my goal of becoming completely debt-free and some would say that my venture, in the world’s eyes, has been a failure. Sales have been modest but considering that I am not attached to a record label and have no advertising behind me except word-of-mouth, I believe that my venture has been more of spiritual quality than of monetary “quantity”. Quality – as in your love, encouragement and prayers.

Neven’s CD, Shekinah Hosanna, is still available at CDBaby (I have it, and I love it), and he just finished recording a second CD under a different band name (I will update you when I receive the information).

So Neven, once again, warm congratulations on becoming a Postulant of the  Basilian Salvatorian Order; best of success for your seminary studies, for your music and for your deepening prayer-life and journey of intimacy with Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Keep us updated; our prayers are with you!

This evening, Canadians who watched the horrific fate of Haiti on their televisions were also met with the face of an extremely emotional Michaelle Jean, our Governor General who was born in Haiti, sobbing and breaking down in a press conference. I could not help but ask myself, where was her compassion, where were her tears, where was this display of emotionalism for the thousands and thousands of murdered babies when she smilingly bestowed the Order of Canada on our most (in)famous abortionist?

It is time for each and every one of us to become aware of, and take responsibility for, the repercussions on both the earthly and spiritual planes of our decisions and actions. I am not saying our Governor General is solely responsible for the devastation in Haiti. I am saying that she, and millions of people the world over, appear to be asleep.  They do not seem to realize that there are universal principles at work here – that light attracts light, love attracts love, darkness and negativity attract darkness and negativity, violence, murder and death attract the same, that all of life is interconnected.  Sin has repercussions, and these repercussions have to be taken squarely on our own shoulders and not blamed on our loving God, as many are wont to do.

The Messages (Volume 1, page 136) Jesus says: 

“Abortion is murder, dear ones.  Do not be fooled…Your generation is suffering untold calamities because of this grave, grave sin.”  

The Messages (Volume 1, pg. 92) Mary says:

“We must help souls to realize that it is time to come back to Jesus now.  Time is short.  There is no other way to say that.”

Let us pray now for the people of Haiti, for the eternal salvation of the souls who may have died unprepared spiritually, for the success of the rescue efforts, for strength for the families and friends of the victims, and in gratitude for the global outpouring of relief:

Prayer for All People

O Lord, we bring before You the distress and dangers of peoples and nations, the pleas of the imprisoned and the captive, the sorrows of the grief-stricken, the needs of the refugees, the impotence of the weak, the weariness of the despondent, and the weaknesses of the aging.  O Lord, stay close to all of them. [Catholic Book of Prayers]

… that I feel we will be bursting with creativity.  It’s behind the scenes with so many of my blogger-friends.  It’s been building up for years (sometimes decades) in the heart area to such a degree that if it isn’t released the heart will surely implode.  This, of course, is exactly the opposite of what is desirable.  The world doesn’t need imploding hearts, crippled spirits or any more people “living lives of quiet desperation”.  The world needs joy, beauty, healing and love…

Our friend Carol has a beautiful post calling out to all of us to co-create, appealing to us to flood the world with the beauty of the talents the Lord has bestowed.  She links to and quotes from Venerable Pope John Paul II’s “Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists” (April 4, 1999), whose words are upheld and reinforced by Pope Benedict XVI on the tenth anniversary of this letter. (This clip from the Vatican’s YouTube Channel is only 1 minute and 42 seconds long):

“Art in all of its expressions has the ability to broaden the horizons of human consciousness and it becomes an avenue to the transcendent, to God.”  So let us journey on, to “grasp the profound meaning of our existence”, and help others to do so as well.

[Note:  Since Carol had closed the comments for this particular post on her site, I would just like to thank her here for the links she put in for my two blogs, for anyone who may be starting, in the midst of, or considering his/her Consecration to Mary.]