Here is a marvelous Ethiopian icon of the Mother of God Enthroned. Mary sits with the Holy Child on her lap. Happy angels stand behind holding up a bright red curtain. They look at each other across the back of the chair as if to be sure they are holding the cloth at the same height. Or maybe they are saying to each other, "Aren't we the lucky ones!"
Each of the four figures is wide-eyed to the heavenly light. The only ones sleeping are the mysterious faces to left and right of the throne at the level of Mary's lap. Maybe they symbolize humankind. St. Thomas More said of his own country: "England would have snored through the Sermon on the Mount."
We see a small gold cross at the top of Mary's head. She is mindful of who it is she's holding; mindful of God's presence and action; mindful of us through history, to today, and tomorrow.
Mindfulness means simply that I am an interiorly awake person. I know what I am doing. I know what is before me in the moment - that my senses are awake in gratitude. But mindfulness also means that I am aware of even my negative emotions - that I am not victimized by them, living an angry or fearful life. Without judging it all, mindfulness acknowledges my negativity and then asks, "Do I want this fear (anger, sadness) to lead and guide me through the next moments, hours, days?"
We might enjoy the short video below. Though the words are few, it has a great deal to say. But I am thinking of how mindful the priest is:
- How he is prepared for the daily vertical journey,
- Where he put his feet each step of the way,
- Why he undertakes the climb each day,
- Who the priests are who have gone before him,
- Who the nine saints are who protect him,
- What is the nature of his prayer,
- What is it he is reading,
- What perfect God-gifts are displayed before him,
- How all of this brings him to happiness.
We're not going to climb a 260 metre mountain today - but we will go here and there, and meet this one and that one along the way. May we go mindfully - God is there.
