Author: Sr. Dorcee, beloved

I am the one whom Jesus loves.

“To make visible the marvels wrought by God”

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Yesterday, November 21, is usually observed as the Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple.  (This year it was superseded by the Feast of Christ the King.)  The Presentation of Mary is always a special day for consecrated religious.  Fr. Peter John Cameron, in his book Mysteries of the Virgin Mary,  explains it this way:

The Presentation of Mary in the temple is an act of consecration.  This feast hold special significance for those persons called to consecrated life in the Church; at the same time it moves all people to reflect on the meaning of consecrated life for the Church.

He goes on to cite a quote from John Paul II that I have also found very encouraging for myself, as one called to consecrated life:

What Pope John Paul II says about consecrated life in his apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata is revealed first and foremost in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially as Our Lady is presented in the temple:

The first duty of the consecrated life is to make visible the marvels wrought by God in the frail humanity of those who are called.  They bear witness to these marvels not so much in words as by the eloquent language of a transfigured life, capable of amazing the world.  To people’s astonishment they respond by proclaiming the wonders of grace accomplished by the Lord in those whom he loves . . . . It is the duty of consecrated life to show that the Incarnate Son of God is . . . the infinite beauty which alone can fully satisfy the human heart.

Please pray for us that we may fulfill this duty wholeheartedly, that God’s marvels may be manifest “in the frail humanity of those [of us] who are called”.

“The Joys of Letting Go” & “Paging Humility”

Sr. Dorcee, beloved6 Comments

About a month ago I wrote a post about not being in control which gathered quite a few comments.   Fr. David May, from Madonna House in Combermere, ON, writes along a similar vein in this month’s copy of Restoration.  He titles it: “The Joys of Letting Go.” You can read it here.  And, please, especially you mothers who worry about being the perfect mother–and even those of you who don’t, don’t miss this post by Betty Duffy.  It will at the least give you a good laugh . . . and that’s always a good thing.

Sky diamonds

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Have you ever really pondered that repetitive verse from Genesis 1: “And God saw that it was good”?  The Hebrew word used there for “good” also means “beautiful.” Paul Evdokimov writes in his book, The Art of the Icon, a Theology of Beauty: “The Creator, like a divine poet, in bringing the world into being out of nothingness, composed his ‘Symphony in Six Days”, the Hexameron.  After each of his creative acts, he ‘saw that it was beautiful.’ The Greek text of the biblical story uses the word kalón—beautiful and not agathon—good; the Hebrew word carries both meanings at the same time.”

That quote came to mind last week as I was reading an article about rocks of all things.  Apparently, during the early days of the universe, after some stars blew up and died in intense heat, “we get the first 12 or so minerals: atoms forged by starbursts.  Carbon, nitrogen, silicon, iron all come from stars.”  But the really cool thing I read is that “the universe’s original minerals include diamonds . . . teeny bits of diamond dust floating in deep space.”  That strikes me so much as just what God would do in His creative work: scatter “teeny bits of diamond dust” out into deep space.  “And God saw that it was very good” and very beautiful.

And, unbeknownst to me–the next few days are the best for viewing the Leonid Meteor Shower–“Avid meteor gazers graced with clear skies may see between 15 and 20 meteors per hour.”  Read more about it here.

When our emotions seem to outrun our surrender

Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

I’m fairly sleep deprived with a lot “on my plate” at the moment, and actually have had a lot on my plate for over a year–not just a lot to do, but am dealing with a lot of major things that I can’t really go into here.  That can easily kick up anxiety in me.  My tendency then is to get anxious about being anxious.  I mean, I do my best to surrender it all to God, but inevitably the feelings of anxiety are still there, and then I get anxious: am I not surrendering enough, etc.  Soooo that brought to my mind two things: 1) my spiritual director’s “mantra” to me: “Don’t be afraid of being afraid,” which I could now rephrase: “Don’t be anxious about being anxious,” and 2) what Caryll Houselander wrote about dealing with her fear and anxiety during WWII which I’ve posted here.

Something else I’ve tried to do (when I remember!) is to offer up my “suffering” of fear or anxiety or whatever.  It is a suffering for sure, not to be wasted.

A blessing

Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

May you take this poem as a personal blessing to you today:

Jesus’ arm beneath thy head,
Jesus’ love around thee shed,
Jesus’ light to cheer thy way,
Jesus’ ear to hear thee pray,
Jesus’ loving hand to bless
in this weary wilderness.
Jesus first and Jesus last
till earth’s storms are past.
And if aught forgotten be–
may he double it to thee.

~unknown

Two stories in Rome

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I have been to Rome twice, and I would like to tell you a little story from each time.  The most recent time was two weeks before John Paul the Great died.  Another Sister and I were riding a bus with a seminarian from our diocese who was studying in Rome and was graciously helping us find our way around.  We started talking about our favorite saints, and he told us that one of his professors told him that we do not choose our favorite saints, but that they, indeed, choose us.  The ones we feel most drawn to are, in fact, drawing us to them.  How theologically sound that is, I don’t know, but I like the sense of it!

The second story precedes this one by a few years, but is very related to it.  It was my first visit to Rome and I was pretty much on my own.  I had only three days, but was within walking distance of St. Peter’s.  Since I didn’t really know how to get around well enough to see much else, I decided to just “do” St. Peter’s in depth.  On one of my last visits–which happened to be on this very date, November 12–I roamed around inside and at some point got tired enough to look for a place to just sit down.  If you’ve ever been to St. Peter’s, you know there aren’t many places to sit down.  I finally  found a side altar way back in a corner that had some chairs set up in front of it.  As I sat there praying, I noticed a person up at the altar, praying before it.  After he left, out of curiosity, I went up to the altar to see who was buried there.  (Remember, I was “doing” St. Peter’s in depth, exploring all the nooks and crannies–and there are plenty of saints in those nooks and crannies!)  Much to my surprise, I found that it was St. Josaphat, whose very feast day it was!  Now I know that he was seeking me out, rather than vice versa.  He has become a special friend since then, especially because of his great work for the unity of the Church.

 

Altar of relic of St. Josaphat, St. Peter's in Rome

God’s kaleidoscope

Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

Do you remember the first time you ever picked up a kaleidoscope and looked through it, the sheer delight you experienced?  Here’s St. Thérèse’s thoughts on her experience:

This toy . . . intrigued me, and for a long time I kept wondering just what could produce so delightful a phenomenon.  One day a careful examination revealed that the unusual effect was merely the result of a combination of tiny scraps of paper and wool scattered about inside.  When on further scrutiny I discovered three looking-glasses inside the tube, the puzzle was solved.  And this simple toy became for me the image of a great mystery . . .. So long as our actions, even the most trivial, remain within love’s kaleidoscope, the Blessed Trinity (which the three converging glasses represent) imparts to them a marvelous brightness and beauty . . . .  The eye-piece of the spy-glass symbolizes the good God, who looking from the outside (but through Himself, as it were) into the kaleidoscope finds everything quite beautiful, even our miserable straws of effort and our most insignificant actions.

God, give us the ability to see ourselves–and others–as you see us.

Try this link for fun!  And, if you want to try making your own, go here!

A cheap photo album

Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

I have a small photo album, one of those cheap ones you can get at the dollar store that hold 4×6 inch pictures.  A cheap photo album, but like any of yours, probably full of treasures.  This particular one doesn’t hold photos of my family (although I do have a few of those).  Instead I have collected art prints and words–poetry and prose–that inspire me.  It does include one real photo–of my brother Tim’s grave.  Otherwise, it’s simply, as I said, art work that inspires me, that speaks to me of the love of God and my love for Him. I use it in prayer regularly, opening it up to this or that page that may strike me at the time.   On a couple of facing pages I have placed side by side two pieces of art that you wouldn’t normally place side by side, but doing so makes a strong spiritual point for me.  I would like to share some of those with you in this blog, and hopefully doing so will pull you into the love of God.  Look at the ones below, for instance.  Can you what is similar in both of them . . . before reading what I’ve written below?

The one on the left is obviously of Jesus rescuing Peter as he sank beneath the waves.  The one on the right may not be as obvious.  This is an icon of Jesus’ descent into hell when He goes to release Adam and Eve.  Did you notice in both how Jesus reaches out His hand in both situations to grasp the hand of the other?  That is a window into His Heart for each of us.  He is always reaching out His hand to each of us in our need, to strongly grasp ours as we reach out for Him.

 

Sorrow and hope

Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

Sr. Sarah, who is grieving the loss of her mother and whose father’s anniversary is coming soon, said something this morning that I think is worth repeating here.  It went something like this: “I am experiencing sorrow tinged with hope, but I look forward to the future when it will turn into hope tinged with sorrow.”  Think about that.