Rivulet ~ A Kind of Magnificat

It is the start of May—Mary's Month. Back in December of  2018 I put up a post about the wide stream that runs through and around the property here. I didn't know what to call it, contrasting it with narrower or wider watercourses: stream, streamlet, brook, rivulet, rivoletto, runnel or rill? Then the other day, after a week of rain, I came upon this very much smaller stream of water running out of the hill which was saturated and overflowing. Here's the one minute video I made you might enjoy. Be sure your sound is on.

What a way to begin Mary's Month: Mary, who lived in obscurity. And I wonder if anyone has ever seen this stream before? Has anyone stopped to admire it or been seized inwardly by its simplicity and beauty? Does the stream know how it pleases me?

The rivulet is an overflow, as is the start of our great story: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. (Luke 1:26). Then a very wonderful conversation follows about a holy child's conception. Upon the angel's departure Mary swings into action and goes off hurriedly, through the desert's ups and downs, twists and turns, (like human history and the history of our own lives) to share the happy news (as women do) with her elder relative, Elizabeth.

It's here that Mary overflows (stream-like) in her great, joyful poetic prayer we call the Magnificat.  "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my savior...God who is mighty has gone great things for me..." Luke 1:39-56. In not a few ancient cultures, women, while working with each other, break into spontaneous songs. Did you ever compose or sing your own Magnificat? We talk a lot about mystery—the presence of God so close we might well miss it. Mightn't we be the people known for our own magnificats?

Look again at the one minute video. Observe everything: the bubbles, the reflected light, the tufts of grass that have found their way to the water, the bright moss, the water's descent, the placement of rocks, the sound of the water's movement. The rivulet is a kind of magnificat. The world needs people today who are good at singing their own Magnificats—listeners and wondering observers of presence and beauty, overflowing in trust and hope.

At the Start of May ~ Mary's Month

As early as the 15th century, the Madonnari were artists who specialized in painting the Madonna—the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus. This 17th century, Italianized-Byzantine icon is found in London's Temple Gallery. How inviting! Even the rose-colored, velvet frame, with its diagonal corner joints, draws us to the "window" from which the Mother of God looks out—offering intimacy with herself and her Son.

As a newly ordained, I once heard a priest speak mockingly of another priest who referred to the Virgin Mary as Our Lady. When I asked him why he spoke disparagingly, he wrinkled his brow and said, "It's so old fashioned." To this day I don't know what that means. 

I think the title Our Lady is reflective of Mary's elegant loveliness. As a small act of reparation, I'll begin each of the short rosary meditations here with the appellation, Oh Lady. The little word "Oh" suggests wonder and happy surprise.

Our Father...

Oh Lady, may I live and move deeply in the atmosphere of humility, receptivity and self-gift you create surrounding Jesus.

Hail Mary...

O Lady, I contemplate your standing at heaven's window, calm and serene, interfacing with us who are full of fears.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, make us happy by accepting our prayers; bring to life dead hearts and longing souls.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, pray for our good health and safety—sustain the caregivers, protect the children, the elderly, the homeless and the poor.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, as we live beneath the night time stars, the full moon and the rising sun, may we desire all the more the inner light of your Son.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, standing in a golden light, may we live in the illumination of knowing the truth about ourselves—that we are each of us and all of us, God's children.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, I pray for all whose businesses are failing, who have been laid off, who cannot pay their bills, who have no emergency funds, whose lives are on hold these days of global sickness.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, at the start of May, the season of unfurling and flowering, may my heart green and grow in love for you and other people.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, I pray for the more than three million people who have been ill with this Covid virus and the two hundred and ten thousand who have died. For all who are sick, suffering or who grieve the loss of dear ones.

Hail Mary...

Oh Lady, protect me from the malice of enemies. Keep us from the horrors and waste of wars. Grant us joyful hearts and faces.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

At The Start Of May ~ Mary's Month ~ An Apology, O Lady!

May is Mary's month. And Catholics make a fuss over Mary because she creates an atmosphere of love around Jesus. Not just Mother-Love but Disciple-Love. She is the first to say "yes" to Jesus. 

In the April 16, 2018 issue of America magazine we read: "...the present issue of America kicks off a multi-year initiative in which we will examine the future of the church in the United States and how to incorporate Latino Catholics fully into ecclesial life."  And in the first article: For the Church and U.S. Society, A Latino Future it is reported: "Over one  third of all U.S. Latinos are still under 18; six in 10 are younger than 33. In an otherwise aging population, the Latinos of the United States are a young people. Amercias' Latinos are increasingly assimilated, with record numbers speaking English, a trend driven by the young."

In the column titled: "Your Take" the readership was asked: "How does your parish reach out to Hispanics in your community?" Twenty-four of the 136 respondents said that their parishes made no efforts to reach out to Hispanics. Some expressed frustration at the lack of outreach. An anonymous reader from Marlboro, N.J., wrote: "My parish does nothing! Our pastor has commented about not wanting the Our Lady of Guadalupe icon at one point to avoid having 'those people' come to the church. It is no wonder Latinos flock to evangelical and Pentecostal churches."

I might have thought the pastor's quote couldn't possibly be accurate except that years ago when I brought a copy of the tilma to my parish, I asked a parishioner if she had seen where I had placed it with the Litany-prayer. "Oh, I don't even go back there; she's for the Mexicans."  YIKES!

Do you know that when computer enhancements are done on the eyes of the Guadalupe tilma, reflected human figures are discernible. It is thought they are reflections of the people who were in the room when Juan Diego opened the tilma before Bishop Zumarraga and his assistants. Who is reflected in the Guadalupe's eyes today? The people who are kidnapped. The people who are trafficked. The people who are murdered. The children. One  young mother said, "I had to leave Honduras when gang members threatened to kill my six year old boy."  

And you and I are held in the Guadalupe's eyes, and our families, in all their fears, dysfunction, addiction, health concerns, broken-ness, divorce, spiritual poverty, losses and heartache.  

Profound apologies O Lady,
 for those who have built walls
 around their hearts ~
 walls so high even you are not welcome,
 Mother with reflecting eyes.

Oh, give us some of that golden light
 radiating from your face,
 that we would come to see rightly,
 enough at least to stop calling others
 "those people".