Contemplative Haven

One of the best days of my life.     ♥

In what way might we honour Our Lady today?  Have we given it any thought?  

The gentle dance of these beautiful Carmelite nuns of Cebu, Philippines in homage to Mary has left me wondering what I might do that would never ordinarily cross my mind.  There is something about the sweet innocence of this dance and the nuns’ interpretation of the accompanying song that makes me realize that my interaction with Mary might still be a bit too staid.  She is our Mother, after all, and that’s a very personal, intimate relationship. God has given each one of us talents, and it occurs to me that Mary would take delight, as any mother would, in receiving a gift which is an expression of her children’s creativity.

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Are you aware of the extraordinary graces attached to a true devotion to the Brown Scapular? If not, see today’s post at “Consecrated to Mary”…

“Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary! that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word incarnate! despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.”

For an explanation of why saints such as St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Anselm and others believed that our prayers to Mary are heard and answered more swiftly and assuredly than our prayers to Jesus may be, please see my post today at Consecrated to Mary.

The following excerpt from Adrienne von Speyr’s, “Handmaid of the Lord” [pgs. 137-138] really gave me a new perspective on what exactly the coming of the Holy Spirit did for the Apostles; she has given me a fuller understanding of the freedom and authority they received, and why. She speaks of them as they wait and pray in the upper room:

They are not the whole of Christianity; there are many who are not among them. But they were set apart by the Lord during his lifetime and selected for service. They now know that they are to continue this service and, praying, they await God’s further instructions. For the moment they are still as if constrained. Each of them holds to what the Lord had shown and given him while still among them. Each one’s whole Christian existence is determined by the earthly words and deeds of the Lord, by an all-too-human — albeit grace-given — bond between him and the Lord.

And now, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends upon them: the Spirit which had spoken to them before through the mouth of the Lord is now bestowed on them as the Spirit of the Lord, which speaks to them of him and reveals him. Thus every merely earthly bond, every merely literal understanding of his words, is transformed into a spiritual freedom and a spiritual understanding from within. Henceforth none of them is limited to recalling what he personally had experienced with the Lord in order to possess a standard, a canon of the truth that he is to proclaim at the Lord’s command. Through the Holy Spirit each one receives a total image of the Lord, an understanding of the fullness of God. That makes them free and gives them the rights of maturity in dealing with the truth of the gospel. They are no longer held to a meticulously exact repetition of words handed down. They can themselves give shape to the message without fear of deviating from their mission. They may interpret the words without distancing themselves from their kernel. By the power of the Spirit who guides them they can also act with authority and independence in the priestly functions that the Lord, through his suffering, had acquired for them and given them. But this expansion of all personal powers, this coming of age of the individual Christian, goes hand in hand with a much profounder bond to the community of the Catholic Church; and the Church is embodied by the Mother of the Lord in its midst.

May you all have a beautiful and blessed Pentecost this year.

Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima for the Children of the World

O Mary, you freely and lovingly embraced the will of God for you by accepting the call to be the Mother of his Son.  With the help of St. Joseph you raised the child Jesus so that he grew in wisdom, age and grace before God and humanity.

You appeared to the children of Fatima, confiding in them, though they be young and unknown, to reveal to the world your message of conversion and peace.

We ask you now, Our Lady of Fatima, to gather all the children of the world into your loving embrace.  Grant them God’s gifts of health and peace, of security and love.  Help them to know and use the many gifts and talents they have been given for the betterment of the one human race.  Inspire them one day to be men and women of peace.

O Lord, through the intercession of your Mother Mary, bless and keep your children.  Amen.

[Taken from the booklet:  Our Lady of Fatima with Prayers and Devotions, in the "Florentine Lives of the Saints" collection]

Celebration at Fatima - May 13, 2006

No, I’m not renaming the Haven.  I was reading Owen’s recent post with much interest, and one thing just led to another.  First I thought of Abram’s name-change to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah; and of course there was Saul to Paul.  Then I thought of others, like Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity who became Laudem Gloriae (Praise of Glory), and Saint Faustina who realized she was not just Sister Faustina, but Sister Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.  The list goes on and on.

Then I thought of a song entitled, “I Will Change Your Name”, written by D.J. Butler.  The version I have at home is a lovely one by Eden’s Bridge, on their CD “Celtic Worship 2″.  I was not able to find that for you online, but I found a beautiful version by Terry Eutsler, of The Gate Christian Fellowship. 

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid

I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confident, joyfulness, overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks My face

Have you experienced a spiritual name-change?  Please don’t tell me in the comments; it should be a secret between you and God.  But wouldn’t this be a beautiful time to reflect on this; during May, the month of Our Mother, and as we approach Pentecost, why don’t we take some time to sit in silence with the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Spirit,  listening for our new name.  Then, let’s live it!

“Nativitas est hodie sanctae Mariae Virginis (Today is the nativity of Saint Mary the Virgin: First antiphon for Vespers of the feast). We have just come from first Vespers of Our Lady’s birthday. I am full of those happy antiphons, and glad because of the feast and because of what it means, for through her we come to heaven. Coeli fenestra facta es. (Thou art become the window of heaven: from the hymn O gloriosa Domina). I am glad that in our Order we still enter heaven through the window. I believe that line of the hymn was reformed in the Roman liturgy so that the rest of the Church goes in more decorously through the door. But we Cistercians still get in by the window….

This afternoon I was content looking at the low green rampart of woods that divides us from the rest of the universe and listening to the deep silence: content not for the sake of the scene or the silence but because of God. And now I hear a car in the distance, a solitary car coming down the road. The sound of action reminds me that I must soon wash my neck and go and read Monsignor Sheen to the retreatants at their supper.

That is how everything stands, Mother of God, after the first Vespers of your Nativity in the year 1947. Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace). Keep us in your heart until next year and the year after and until we all die in peace, disposed in the four corners of America in new foundations, and myself perhaps you know where, alone with you and with God. His will is my cell. His love is my solitude. Dona nobis pacem.”

[Thomas Merton: The Sign of Jonas, pgs. 62-63, Sept. 7, 1947]

…at Consecrated to Mary…

During this period leading up to the Feastday of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, I will be making the novena I posted about last year here and here, in which different aspects of Our Lady’s beautiful Icon are meditated upon each day.  To all those who are making a novena at this time, may you be filled with trust and confidence in Mary’s love and solicitude for all her children. 

I also wanted to share with you today a beautiful video I just discovered.  It is of etched-glass windows at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Foremost, Alberta, Canada.  The windows were created by Mary Mehlen, and there is one representing each of the Seven Sacraments, as well as one in honour of Mary and another in tribute to all who minister.  Many thanks to the YouTube channel allsaintsparish for providing this beautiful footage for all to enjoy. 

Recently I received a comment on my February 2008 post for the Feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes.  It was from Mr. Kamalakar Rao Ponnapalli, inviting us to watch the trailer of his movie entitled, “Our Lady of Lourdes”, of which he is writer and producer.  There has also been a website set up here, where you can see some posters and pictures from the movie. 

I googled Mr. Ponnapalli’s name, to see if I could find out more about the movie, and to make sure I had as much correct information as I could before I posted this.  I happened upon a comment which he had left in an online forum, wherein he mentioned that during the production of this movie he had witnessed several of what he believes to be miracles, and that this labour of love came about because he had been inspired by Mother Mary. 

I asked Mr. Ponnapalli if he might share with us a little bit about his experience of witnessing these miracles, as well as how Mother Mary has impacted his life as a Hindu.  He has graciously agreed to provide me with some information, which I will be posting over at “Consecrated to Mary” when the time comes. 

Congratulations in bringing this beautiful movie to fruition, Mr. Ponnapalli; I wish you much success with its distribution, and may many blessings and graces pour down on you through Our Lady for your fine work and perseverence.