Intercessions ~ Fifth Sunday of Easter

Wild Geranium ~ Madonna's Pins

On Mother's Day,/ we pray for our own mothers and grandmothers/ and any women who have mothered us along the way./ We pray for the world's mothers who are frightened for their children,/ women who are mothers already in their pregnancy./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for those who leave their homes everyday to provide essential services for the good of the sick and the larger community./ For the conversion of those who resist helping in even the most simple ways,/ those who think only of themselves,/ or who have taken to menace and violence in their protest./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray with Pope Francis/ for those who are dying alone,/ without loved ones nearby,/ without prayer or companionship./ We ask blessings for the health care professionals who/ in the midst of their work,/ remain sensitive to this loneliness./ We pray to the Lord.

During this time of global sickness,/ we pray for those who have been elected to serve the health and safety of the people./ May they do so honestly,/ without greed or hidden agenda./ We pray to the Lord.

In Mary's Month of May,/ may we stand with her/ as among the Lord's first disciples,/ growing in our prayer,/ trust,/ inner listening/ and grateful joy./ We pray to the Lord.

The coronavirus epidemic has resulted in food chains disrupted and vast amounts of food being wasted,/ while many people are suddenly finding themselves without insufficient food./ We ask for the creativity and will to resolve these problems./ We pray to the Lord.

Remembering that Jesus died for everyone,/ we pray for the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have died during this covid pandemic./ We pray for their families and friends who mourn them,/ and for their comforting./ We pray to the Lord.

Marsh Marigold ~ Mary's Smock

This is Marsh Marigold (caltha palustris) blooming at the edge of the old cow pond here. It's happiest when standing in water. Prior to the 16th century English Reformation of Henry VIII, all the flowers and herbs had names with religious connotations—most of them Marian. A few holdovers like Marigold, Lady's Slippers, Lady's Mantle have survived and are still with us, though I imagine few people realize that Marigold is really Mary's Gold, or that the Lady references are to the Virgin Mary.

Anyway, Marsh Marigold used to be called, Mary's Smock. Maybe the plant's broad leaves reminded someone in the Middle Ages of a smock, which is a loose fitting garment that goes over one's everyday clothing to help the worker stay clean. Did homemaker Mary wear one? We might remember in kindergarten or first grade, wearing one of dad's old shirts while standing at the paint easel. When I was a young teacher I had a colleague who wore a smock during the school day to keep herself free of  chalk dust. 

These hundreds of plants, herbs and shrubs having Marian names give evidence of a culture that was permeated with a child's innocent imagination. There's not much room for that kind of religious/spiritual sensitivity today. Our loss!

Perhaps we can ponder this lovely plant, standing in clear water,  with its yolk-yellow flowers, and prayerfully request the protections we need as the word smock suggests.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from the festering wound of resentments.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from that willful ignorance

   which leaves me comfortable and undisturbed.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from carrying weapons in my heart.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from enemies who menace

   or do not wish me well.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from depressive fatigue

   which weakens right relatedness.

Protect me, O Lady

   from the inner arguments—

   fighting for recognition

   and winning.

Protect me, O Lady,

   from the loss of Holy Spirit,

   stealing away creativity,

   zest for life,

   even my prayer and love for God.

And protect us, O Lady,

   for a great nation,

   empire,

   culture or civilization

   can come to ruin,

   not by outside enemies

   but from within.

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.