Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish, and as wax melts from the presence of fire, so let the demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and say with gladness: Hail, most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, for You drive away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ Who was crucified on thee, went down to hell and trampled on the power of the devil, and gave us thee, His honorable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me with our holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, and with all the saints throughout the ages. Amen

Prayer to the Lord's Holy Cross of Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1357) Monk, Theologian and Archbishop of Thessalonica. Father Kresk suggests praying this prayer before traveling and when we know we will be meeting persons who can be dangerous or difficult. 

Missed St. Catherine's Feast and Prayers for the Sinai Monks

A FEW YEARS AFTER the end of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) there was a major overhaul of the Church's Liturgical Calendar. It caused  a great global dust up when Saint Christoper and others had their liturgical feasts dropped. Even now I'm confounded that the patron saint of travelers would no longer be observed with Mass as people started to travel more, faster and farther than ever before - even into outer space. What were we thinking?

Saint Catherine of Alexandria's Feast was dropped as well. This decision may have been terribly short-sighted as Catherine is the patroness of young girls and girl students. Girls need a patron today! Malala Yousafzai, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, was shot by the Taliban for advocating education for girls. 

Girls are kidnapped for the sex trade, and girls are aborted because boys are preferred. And with all this extra testosterone in the world, Mara Hvistendahl relates in her book Unnatural Selection  ~ Choosing Boys Over Girls, And The Consequences of a World Full of Men, quite seriously that we have only more war and violence to look forward to in the future. So I'm happy to report that in 2002, the Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was restored.

Here's the little biography of Saint Catherine found in the Collegeville Lectionary for November 25:

Catherine at age eighteen angered Emperor Maximinus for questioning his cruelty and worship of false gods. When all his attempts to persuade her to deny Christ failed and various tortures were to no end he ordered her to be beheaded. The Acts of Saint Catherine report her body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai where a church and monastery were built in her honor. She is patroness of young girls and female students. 

The monastery mentioned above is Saint Catherine's found in the Sinai desert, indeed, at the foot of Mount Sinai. It is sometimes called the Monastery of the Burning Bush or The Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai. 

It is commonly noted that Americans display a great dis-interest in global news. I'm trusting that the folks who read this blog would be interested to know that the Greek monks who inhabit Saint Catherine's Monastery are presently living under great stress along with their Bedouin friends who form the community of support around the monastery. Saint Catherine's was closed by the government in September as threatening tensions in the Sinai Desert became inflamed. There are two links here to very informative articles about the monastery and the current difficulties the monks and the Bedouins bear.

St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai Peninsula

St. Catherine's Starved Monastery Shuts Down

Prayer For Our Own Time

Sharing the joy
of your November feast restored,
O great martyr Catherine
we hurry to ask for heaven's help.
Prompt the restoration
of the world's young girls:
birth to girls conceived,
freedom to girls enslaved,
choice to girls marriageable,
a classroom to girls illiterate,
treasuring to girls battered,
healing to girl's untreated,
a voice to girls silenced.

Father Stephen P. Morris 

Saint Andrew - Patron of Inclusive Hospitality

Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes ~ Jacob de Backer (1555 -1585) Belgian

TODAY IS THE FEAST of the Holy Apostle Saint Andrew. I'd like to nominate Andrew to be officially called the Patron of Inclusive Hospitality. There are two wonderful Gospel scenes we might pay attention to:

The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past and John looked towards him and said, "Look, there is the lamb of God." And the two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, "What do you want?" they answered, "Rabbi" - which means Teacher - "where do you live?" He replied, "Come and see," so they went and saw where he lived and stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and say to him "We have found the Messiah" - which means the Christ - and he took Simon to Jesus. (John 1:35-41)

John (the Baptist) had his own community of which Andrew was a member. Remember the blood of the lamb on the door posts in the Exodus story is the means by which the people come to freedom. The lamb becomes the ritual symbol of Israel's redemption from our personal slavery and death. Now John is giving Jesus that new designation.

Then Jesus is called Rabbi. In a few lines Jesus will be called Messiah - Christ. There's nothing to say you and I can't have our own titles for Jesus. In another translation the question Jesus asks, "What do you want?" is phrased "What are you looking for?" That's a deeply human question, a cultural question, a global question - even a Church question. What am I looking for? 

Lot's of people drift through life. It never really occurs to them to ask the larger question what is it that I really want? The Dali Lama tells of being invited to a Manhattan penthouse for dinner - the family owning several properties, cars, boats. When he asked to use the bathroom he noticed the medicine cabinet was open (or maybe he peaked) and saw all the prescription bottles lined up for whatever....

"Come and see" - Jesus invites us to an experience. As if to say, "Don't let anyone tell you about me, come and see for yourself." And it is the tenth hour. In the ancient world that's almost four in the afternoon. We're being told:  It's getting late - we don't have forever to address the larger question Jesus raises. 

And in the last verses we see that Andrew immediately goes to find his brother, Simon Peter. Andrew seems to enjoy introducing people to Jesus. "Peter, you won't believe who I've met, you've got to come and meet this man."

~ ~ ~

Then there is this second Andrew incident of inclusion:

Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he had done in curing the sick. Looking up Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, "Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat.?" He said this only to put Philip to the test; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough to give them a little piece each." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother said "Here is a small boy with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many." Jesus said, to them, "Make the people sit down." There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them to those who were sitting there; He then did the same with the fish, distributing as much as they wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples "Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothng is wasted." So they picked them up and filled twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. (John 6:8-13)

In the previous passage Andrew knew the name of the person he was taking to Jesus: Peter. But in this account it is simply, "Here is a small boy." Another translation says, "There is a little boy here." It could just as easily have been a little girl, except that there were only men in the wild place perhaps because they were hoping Jesus was going to form an army to overthrow the Romans and the boy had gotten caught up in the excitement. Or maybe the child had just taken off and followed the crowd, curious as to what was going on. But the boy is nameless. And whenever someone is nameless in the gospel, doesn't it seem we're being invited to step into that person's place or role? That's meditating. That he doesn't know someone's name doesn't keep Andrew from taking him/her to Jesus. 

Let us be glad in the name of Andrew,

the First-Called disciple,

who summoning  Peter

introduced him to Jesus

whose person answers the question,

"What are you looking for?"

Let us bless the name of Andrew,

the First-Called disciple,

ushering the bread-laden boy

to Christ our God:

food in our desert,

God's joy-giving gaze.

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple

There are more than a few things in the Bible (and the New Testament is no exception) wherein story elements offend or confound our own contemporary sensibilities - like Jesus releasing the demons and the herd of pigs goes over the bluff and into the sea and drowns. Bible writing is ancient and it's unrealistic to expect that all the facets of the story will make sense to our way of thinking and living.

Joachim and Anne had prayed long for a child. And when God answered their prayer in the birth of Mary, they were  so grateful, at age three they presented her to the priest in the Jerusalem temple to live! Some young people feel exiled in being sent to summer camp or a residential school, but Mary was sent away as little more than a toddler. But the story is told so we can understand how profoundly God-centered her life was. Let's look for what's beautiful and good in the story and not worry about "How could they...!"  which would be to look at the story too simply.

There's resurrection in this young Mary, isn't there? The going up the stairs is important! And she is not only dressed in white, but she seems to radiate light from within. And Joachim, her father, is holding an empty glass jar. Was the painter just showing off that he had the skill to paint a transparent object? Maybe it signals Mary being emptied for God's purposes. Or Mary's transparency of soul!

Our Father...

At her Presentation at age three, Mary climbed the temple steps. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has said in an interview, "I think every human being is almost by  definition capable of hatred. But what I've learned is that a child until the age of three is not. A child begins to hate at the age of three. In other words, the child has been taught how to hate." Hate is strong feelings against other people. With Mary, I want to climb inner temple steps: up and out of ignorant hatred, to insight, consciousness and understanding.

Hail Mary!

In the ancient biblical world, to be childless cause terrible suffering, sadness and shame. By the time God answered their prayer for a baby Joachim and Anne were already elderly. God's ways are often very strange to us. But even though they had waited so long for this child, the parents were quick to keep their promise to give the child to God's care - placing God first by allowing Mary to be brought up in the temple. And while this may be seemingly impossible for us understand, we might at least pause to consider how I might come a bit closer to that reality. What could it mean for me?

Hail Mary!

Old Zechariah received the three-year-old Mary who climbed the steps unassisted to to the Holy of Holies. It was right for Mary to climb the temple steps - she is higher than the angels. And when she reached the top, Zechariah took her by the hand, leaning on her as if she were a little staff who would lead him to the Holy. Then she went past the veil into the deepest and most secret place of the temple, where only the High Priest was allowed to enter once a year. Oh Lady, enter with your brightness, and light up the inner places where I am blinded by shadow and dark inclinations.

Hail Mary!

Presentation means to make a gift of something. At first glance it looks as if Joachim and Anne present Mary to Zechariah for life in the temple. But when Mary climbs the stairs and enters the holy place, we sense she is presenting herself to God and for God's purposes. Each day I can make a presentation of myself ~ like the glass jar Joachim holds, presenting myself to God, waiting eagerly to be filled.

Hail Mary!

There is something very beautiful about Mary that draws even non-believers to her. Do I notice that even as a little girl, she is fully dressed? That pleases us somehow. Maybe deep inside we feel shame that today in our country, everything is sold by sex - even soda and cars. Undressing is celebrated and expected. Our dancing is no longer elegant and disciplined but now sexualized in a primitive way. Women and girls are exploited for sex, and even the nakedness of little children is desired, sought after and paid for. Mary is modest, which means: not everything has to be shown and seen. It is a very beautiful virtue.

Hail Mary!

The Child Mary climbed the steps before the temple altar and on the third step, she danced, and all of Israel loved her. In many  traditional dances, there are patterns and rules to follow and someone leads while taking the hand of the other. Oh, let's take the hand of Mary who leads the joyful  dance that guides souls. And let's pray that she would lead us out of the abyss of self-loathing; out of the inner land of lies, dark and hateful thoughts - to the contemplation of God's face.

Hail Mary!

The Infant Mary was the fruit of Joachim's and Anne's long, fervent and persevering prayer. And there are people who say, "Oh I tried prayer; it doesn't work." Some people keep daily tabs on the performance of their stock portfolios and make adjustments to maximize their profits. Some people have never missed an episode of a favorite TV series. Some people people spend countless hours talking on the phone everyday with the same friends. But prayer? "Oh I tried that; it doesn't work!" Oh heaven, how we use and abuse you!

Hail Mary!

There is a book for children about the years in which Mary lived in the temple as a young girl: Mary was blessed by God with all goodness. She became very strong in her faith. She was humble, kind, helpful and friendly to everyone. She offended no one, nor spoke ugly words. She never allowed unclean thoughts to enter her heart. And so she grew in wisdom and grace blessed by God. I want to be this alive too: growing in wisdom and grace. 

Hail Mary!

Mary was presented to God in the temple at age three. And at Mass there is the presentation of the bread and wine to be transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. There is nothing in our culture any more which invites transformation - only the transformation of how much weight I can lose with these pills over a weekend, or whose face can be transformed most successfully by surgery. But the best transformation is from hatred to kindness, justice, mercy and compassion. And when I have undergone that transformation, then I am free. But it begins with an oblation: a conscious offering of myself to God, who wants so much to grow-me-up in goodness.

Hail Mary!

We know almost nothing of the twelve years which the young Mary lived while in the temple. She lived with other girls. Widows helped to care for her. We can imagine Mary quite alone with God. Her life was lived with no publicity. God was building a living temple in which Jesus the Savior would live. God is heard in silence. But what did the young Mary hear? Surely God's law which says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your whole mind." (Matthew 22:37,38)

Hail Mary!

Glory be to the Father...

October 4 ~ The Feast of Blessed Francis

HERE'S A HILLY FIELD of wild flowers near Assisi ~ the home of Saint Francis. It's said that when God created the world, God made the fields around Assisi to be like a garden of extravagant bloom as this is where Saint Francis would someday walk.

There are numerous stories told of Francis and his followers. In one scene, Francis witnesses a wealthy man, (sitting on his horse), kill a beggar who has dared to approach him. Francis runs up to see if he can help the poor man who has fallen to the ground. Perhaps to keep Francis quiet, the murderer puts a gold coin into Francis' open palm. Without even closing his fingers around the coin, Francis turns his hand over, allowing the shiny coin to fall to the ground. The murderer rides off cursing angrily.

Francis is to have said to a young friar among his disciples: "It would be better for you to go outside into the street and kiss donkey dung than to touch money." 

We touch money, count and re-count money, play games to make quick money, manipulate and treasure money, delight in money, dream of money, even sometimes kiss money. Sad to say, but priests are often taken up with money. 

Christians are over-the-moon with love for Francis when he stays put, standing in the garden birdbath, but find the saint annoying, impossible or impractical when he says things like this about money. Still, on his feast day we might have a think about his money injunction and discover some way in which we might be able to even remotely make the teaching part of our lives. It's the change of attitude, that pleases Jesus. 

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~ September 8

A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATES that an individual is in our lives now - today. And while over the millenia the Church has chosen different days to keep Mary's birthday, it has done so since about the 6th century. The East sings at the liturgy:

Joachim and Anna were freed from the reproach of childlessness and Adam and Eve from the corruption of death, O Immaculate One, by thy Holy Nativity. And thy people, redeemed from the guilt of sin, celebrate thy birth by crying to thee: The barren woman gives birth to the Mother of God and the nurse of our life.

I like this painting of Mary and her mother, Anna. The mother's women friends are around, probably amazed at the birth (Anna was considered to be beyond child-bearing) and heaven has opened to us in the presence of angels. Anna is buxom and strong-armed. God is going to need strength to yank us back from the greed-sin that wants to engulf us. 

God has given us this paradise-planet and we've raped it - pulling out of it every bit of material we can use for products either exploded in wars or to create garbage mountains. In the birth of the child Mary, God sets out in strength to claim us as his own, saving us from the vicious and life-denying sin of consumerism.

Western Christians begin a new Liturgical Year with the First Sunday of Advent while Eastern Christians begin their Liturgical Year today with the Nativity of Mary. We are always beginning again, Dorothy Day said. Beginning again in prayer. Beginning again in sobriety after a lapse. Beginning to break some old and useless life-approach. Beginning a new school year. Beginning another year of committed love. 

The Feast Day focuses our attention upon a little girl. We might hold most closely in our prayer and thoughts the children of the world. It is reported that 17,000 children die everyday of starvation. And after weeks of being showered with rockets, the children of Gaza are in truth shell-shocked and in desperate need of inner healing. Their parents gone they're now left vulnerable to exploitation and long term neglect.

What can we do? We can care. That's not for nothing as they say. Many headlines are about the salacious nude photographs of actresses hacked from the Internet. Talk about twisted news priorities. And of course, there are numerous organizations that are trying to help, one of which we might choose to support, if even a little.

I worked as a chaplain to a large University Hospital years ago. Remarkable people were found on staff all over the place, but the nurses were the real heroes (and the cleaning staff)! Mary is called the nurse of our life in the prayer above. The nurse is the medicine giver, the soother, the one who often catches and identifies the yet-to-be detected problem, the go-between. Mary, the nurse of our life!