Intercessions ~ Fourth Sunday of Easter

Ukrainian Mother

It is Mother's Day./ We pray for the women who have mothered us over the years./ For mothers who struggle against the greatest odds:/ who are refugees,/ who cannot supply their children with food,/ security,/ medical care,/ education./ For mothers who are sick,/ exhausted,/ addicted,/ penniless,/ without supports,/ who have lost hope./ We pray to the Lord.

Early in May we pray for those who will celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance./ We ask for them,/ gifts of good health,/ safety,/ well-being and growth in the good things of God./ We pray to the Lord.

Bombed,/ shelled/ and turned into a cemetery,/ the Ukrainian city of Mariupol,/ is named after the Virgin Mary ~ Mother of Jesus, Lord of Life./ At the start of Mary's month of May,/ we pray for the turning of hearts which destroy,/ causing havoc,/ despair,/ pain and death./ We pray to the Lord.

Our lives are supported by many people/ known and unknown to us./ With grateful hearts/ we pray for those who grow and prepare our food,/ who provide us with safety,/ water,/ medicine,/ clothing,/ power,/ transportation and the countless things we buy./ May they be treated well,/ paid fairly,/ and given the rest to which they are entitled./ We pray to the Lord.

Friday is the Feast of the 14th century English Mystic Blessed Julianna of Norwich/ whose great literary work is titled Revelations of Love./ As the plague raged through Norwich three times,/ Julianna maintained,/ "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."/ May we be built up in faith,/ hope and love./ We pray to the Lord. 

It is the season for the birthing of lambs and calves/ and the wild animals./ It is the time for nest building/ and the hatching of eggs./ The time of leafing out and flowering./ We ask for something new of Christ-life to be born or renewed in us./ May we have some fresh sense of what Christ hopes for from us./ We pray to the Lord.

God's Smart Plan

This wood engraving was created by the British artist Howard Phipps. It is titled Jobbing Gardener. "Jobbing" seems to be British slang for "working to complete a job or project." This fellow is down on one knee (that's where my jeans wear out first) digging around with a hand fork. It's spring; he's still wearing a sleeveless sweater and cap. A couple of great bees are hovering over him headed into the leafed out bushes. His long nosed British water can is nearby with some old fashioned clay pots. A woven trug is at hand while the cat investigates.. That might be a swarm of starlings in the background by the hill. It's a wonderful garden picture. 

It seems to me that God made us spiritual beings with bodies — not bodies in search of a spiritual life. And so God placed us in the garden where we could be contemplative, healthy and happy. The Risen Jesus being mistaken for a gardener at the end of the gospel story might well remind us of the beginning of the human story where Adam and Eve were created to take care of the first garden. Of course we often go against our contemplative nature, paving over everything with cement and asphalt, chopping down every tree in sight, heaping up mountains of garbage, using rivers to flush away toxins. We have not learned well.

Recently someone shared something she discovered on Facebook that might encourage or help us to set out in new direction. Max C., writes:

"Did you know that there is a natural antidepressant in the country? It's a Mycobacterium vaccae bacteria found in the soil that humans ingest or inhale when they spend time in nature and gardening. This bacteria stimulates the brain part responsible for producing serotonin. The most passionate gardeners will tell you that their garden is their "happy place" and that the actual physical act of gardening reduces stress and lifts mood. Mycobacterium vaccae also improves cognitive functions, it has an effect on Crohn's disease and even rheumatoid arthritis. The natural effects of these antidepressant bacteria in the soil can be felt for up to 3 weeks. Sit down, get your hands dirty and be healthier."

What are we to do with this man; how are we to pray for him?

 

This is Mr. Putin lighting a big candle while visiting  Mount Athos in Greece in 2005. Mount Athos is a peninsula in the Greek Archipelago where there are twenty some odd monasteries and hundreds of monks of different nationalities. The Monastery of St. Panteleimon is the Russian Monastery (aka The Rossikon). It is the largest of all the monasteries — more like a town.

Men who are covered in blood have not infrequently been pictured doing pious things. In more than a few Renaissance paintings we see princely types holding models of churches and monasteries in outstretched hands, kneeling before the Mother of God —  imaging the gifts they made to the Church — a kind of amends for their dastardly deeds. So Mr. Putin's pious display (candle-lighting, icon and gospel-book kissing, hobnobbing with hierarchs) is not new. God sees; God knows. Pity the Church, which out of spiritual breakdown, greed or fear accepts the theatre and the accompanying lucrative donations. That's why I'm wondering about the monk who is looking on as Mr. Putin piously crosses himself. What is this monk thinking? He's got a lock on gaze, and not smiling like the the deacon on the far left under the icon of the Mother of God Interceding.

We can't read the monk's mind, but I'd like to think that as an elder monastic he's got some understanding of the the Gospel of Jesus Christ who said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you many be sons of your Heavenly Father." Matthew 5:43  Tall order!

What are we to do with this murderous invader? It may take the Ukrainian people generations to forgive the cruel spoiler, but the words of Jesus stand. I would suggest we pray this prayer from the heart: "Jesus, give Vladimir Putin what he needs for salvation."  Then, let Jesus do the rest. There are Evangelical Christians who say we should invoke curses down on him — like the vengeful psalms. But that isn't the Christ-way. Forgiveness doesn't mean, "Let's go on vacation together," but praying, "Jesus, give him what he needs for salvation" Actually, that's loving. Or at the consecration, when the chalice is lifted up at Mass say: "I claim the blood of the Lamb for Vladimir Putin." The Lamb, of course, is the Crucified and Risen Jesus. 

Jesus knows Vladimir Putin inside and out. Jesus knows me inside and out. No need to compare and contrast. Stay with the picture a moment. Then, imagine after the candle-lighter has sailed away, standing alone with the monk and praying this prayer for the man responsible for incomprehensible evils: a Christian country bombing and shelling to rubble another Christian country on Easter Sunday. St. Paul writes: "Don't be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God!" Galatians 6:7