Do we remember this gospel verse
Perhaps this means we need to be continually reminded of the things Jesus teaches us because our minds are distracted and over-loaded. And it also might mean that in the tradition there are lovely and important things we need to bring out again and again and even look at in a new way as the world changes. It's also said that in the future, churches will only be successful with new and younger members who take environmental things very seriously. Green Churches, we might say. I get it!
So here is a charming antique holy card of the Virgin Mary under the title: Stella Maris ~ Star of the Sea. Mary stands prayerfully over the world's waters. And these waters are troubled: the coral reefs are dying as the oceans warm, where wars have been fought, where great ships and countless lives have been lost, where human greed is stressing fish populations to extinction, the waters of drilling disasters. Mary stands prayerfully over the paradise world we are spoiling. She hopes for us to act.
"Therefore," Jesus said, "remember that every scribe well-trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens, is like a householder, who brings out of his storehouse new things and old." Matthew 13:52
Perhaps this means we need to be continually reminded of the things Jesus teaches us because our minds are distracted and over-loaded. And it also might mean that in the tradition there are lovely and important things we need to bring out again and again and even look at in a new way as the world changes. It's also said that in the future, churches will only be successful with new and younger members who take environmental things very seriously. Green Churches, we might say. I get it!
So here is a charming antique holy card of the Virgin Mary under the title: Stella Maris ~ Star of the Sea. Mary stands prayerfully over the world's waters. And these waters are troubled: the coral reefs are dying as the oceans warm, where wars have been fought, where great ships and countless lives have been lost, where human greed is stressing fish populations to extinction, the waters of drilling disasters. Mary stands prayerfully over the paradise world we are spoiling. She hopes for us to act.
And our human lives are sometimes likened to a sea crossing - especially as life can be tumultuous with sickness, heart-ache, losses and suffering. The artist who painted this dear card seems to understand this: Look, the waves are white-capped! This means the sea is tempestuous, and the little boat of my life seems to have lost at least one of its sails, indicating it is in trouble and adrift.
And the millions of refugees are adrift, the children who are lost and looking for home are adrift, the people who have visited all the doctors and tried everything unsuccessfully are adrift. Or adrift might mean the inner, fearful, pained-wandering of depression. Heaven knows.
Here is a choir of monks singing the medieval vesper hymn to Mary: Ave Maris Stella. An English translation runs under the Latin. It is said that perhaps the hymn was composed by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (called the Harp of Mary) who lived in the 12th century. So then, people have been singing this hymn for a very long time.
I'd suggest that like that other great Marian hymn, Salve Regina, these sung verses have the power to re-orient, balance and calm us.
I'd suggest that like that other great Marian hymn, Salve Regina, these sung verses have the power to re-orient, balance and calm us.
