The Advent of Faith

(Adoration of the Shepherds- van Honthorst, 1622)

When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
"Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us."
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

- Lk 2:15-20

There is much that can be said about the short verse, "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." There is much that has been said about that verse.

Yet, I believe it does call for further reflection, or perhaps it is better stated, ongoing reflection, considering that the Blessed Mother is indeed our prime example and model for how we are to anticipate the birth and coming of Our Lord.

For some, Advent can be a more "joyous" occasion, as is witnessed by the shepherds in the Gospel. What then, of Mary's reaction? Is it not in contrast to the "glorifying and praising" of the shepherds? Perhaps it seems hard to interpret the account in any other way, but I believe it is not in adherence with the whole truth of the faith to argue that Mary was not joyous, or not "glorifying and praising" - certainly, she must have been the most joyous and grateful of all! St. Louis de Montfort includes in his reflection on Mary during the twenty-third day of preparation to Consecration to Our Lady that she is "the most grateful of creatures."

What, then, is to be understood of this quiet and internal reflection?

First, I would consider that there is a contrast made between proclamation and reflection, though not in the negative. Consider how the message passes on; it is the angels who declare this good news, this divine revelation, that Christ is born; it is then the shepherds who carry this great news with them, and recount what they have been told; it is then "all who heard" their message that are amazed, and the shepherds who continue to go forth to announce the good news. However, Mary, the Mother of Christ, reflects on these things in her heart.

One observation that can be made is that Our Lady already knew that the Son she gave birth to was Christ! Mary has been told by the angel who announces to her that she is "blessed among women" that she will be the Mother of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. She has lived with the Word of God growing in her womb for nine months. This is not to say that it diminishes her joy or zeal or gratitude for the truth, but rather, that the truth takes root in her heart in a way that is more mature than those who have just heard the good news.

Christ gives us the parable of the seed that falls on various types of ground, and therefore either takes root and grows to bear fruit, or is killed by various failures in the seed taking root and growing. In Our Lady, the seed that was planted was placed in such fertile soil that the fruit that was borne was literally and physically the Word of God! There can be no better or more realistic example than the Blessed Mother for what it means to allow the seed, the Word, to be planted and to grow within us.

Therefore, the contrast that is seen in this account from Saint Luke is an example of the first proclamation of the Word, of the first hearing of the Gospel, with what it is to take the Word into one's heart, into one's very life, and to allow it to grow and bear fruit that will remain. The Blessed Mother has, dramatically, announced the Good News - she has brought Christ into the world in the most literal way that has ever been! From that point on, the proclamation of the Good News is the work of Christ and the Church, the Church always in imitation of Our Lady, who is the exemplar evangelist in her life of faith that brought forth Christ in the world.

What does this mean for us, who desire to rejoice and proclaim the Good News, but who also may have heard the Gospel many times? If this is not our first invitation to know, love and serve Christ, and if we are familiar with the message of salvation given to all men, how do we respond to the re-proclamation of the Gospel?

The answer is of course, a both-and, a two-fold course. We must then practice what it is the be the maturing Christian and the newly-evangelized; we must be (what we are in reality) the saint and the sinner. We must be the penitent, who turns to the Sacraments often, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and who prays daily for personal conversion. We must be the maturing Christian who studies the Word of God and seeks to know Christ more, day to day. We must be the person who is re-affected by the truth; who finds that internal fire is burning first and foremost for our own improvement - for a greater charity in all things - and then for the sharing of the truth with others.

As Pope Paul VI so astutely wrote, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41). This is a summation of the both-and practice that is proper to the one who is re-affected, re-evangelized, by hearing the proclamation of the Good News once again! The practice must be that the man who has known Christ, but who once again meets him on the road, finds his heart turned once more; turned to the light, which somehow had become obscured, turned to the path, which had somehow veered on a different course, turned to the life, which had somehow been forgotten in the smoke of our world. We must be reoriented! Realigned. Through conversion, we become better witnesses, for our lives begin to reflect the truth we profess; through announcement and profession, we give a reason for the conversion we live. 

Modern man cannot live on only emotional, feel-good stories of how God has blessed us; nor can he live only on deep theological doctrine which has no practical demonstration to him: how can anyone come to love a person enough that they would desire to love them for their entire lives, if they know only what he thinks or only what he does? It will not happen. Man must be presented with both the reality that Jesus Christ has been born into our world, true God and true man, the Savior of the world, and with the truth that it is in knowing, serving, and loving Jesus Christ, in conforming to his Gospel and in living as his disciple, that we made children of God. 

Pope Benedict XVI has said that "it is not possible to speak of the New Evangelization without 'a sincere desire for conversion'" (Zenit). Let us then, with Mary as our model, recall in our own lives how we have already been given the Good News, how we have already heard the message of Salvation, which should stir up in us great joy, great gratitude, and the zeal to proclaim such mercy to the whole world - and yet, recall that this proclamation begins first with our own turning back to Christ, so that we will be authentic witnesses to the truth that we share.

Ark of the Covenant

I have not developed much thought on this blog concerning Our Blessed Mother; this is both because I feel she is so worthy a topic that I feel whatever I say shall be inadequate, and also because there will always be more to say of the one who is Virgin Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

Many saints have devoted their entire lives to her honor, seeking to better understand the mysterious graces granted to this little girl who gave her total "fiat" to the angel Gabriel and became the Mother of Christ through the Holy Spirit. St. Louis de Montfort, perhaps one of the better known, wrote many beautiful things in his small book "True Devotion to Mary."
(If you would like to read it, the entire work in available online, here: http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm)

St. Alphonsus Ligouri also had a great love for Our Lady and wrote "The Glories of Mary" (which I have not yet read, but intend to): http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm.

You of course have the many saints who were blessed to actually see Our Lady, such as St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, St. Juan Diego in Guadalupe, Mexico, and Venerable Sr. Maria Lucia and Bls Francisco and Jacinta Marto in Fatima, Portugal.

I do not have the time to list here any form of proper record of the early Church Fathers and their love for Our Lady, but St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Irenaeus, and many others wrote beautiful and profound things concerning her privileges and the honors given to her by God. Here's a short summary page from Dr. Mark Miravalle: http://www.piercedhearts.org/hearts_jesus_mary/heart_mary/mary_early_church_miravalle.htm

Surely we cannot ignore the beautiful documents of Church history given by our Magisterium in regards to the Blessed Mother, most recently in the document of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium. A brief overview of the Doctrines on Mary can be found here: http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya1.htm

Therefore, the point is that my reflections are more from personal love of my Mother than they are meant to be in the form of teaching.

First, I would like to list the Ten Virtues of Mary as explained by St. Louis de Montfort in True Devotion. (In alphabetical order for easy memorizing, they go as follows:)

Angelic Sweetness
Ardent Charity
Blind Obedience
Constant Mental Prayer
Divine Purity
Divine Wisdom
Heroic Patience
Lively Faith
Profound Humility
Universal Mortification

These virtues are wonderful topics of meditation and contemplation in our journey to holiness, and how we might better come to know the Heart of Christ through the Heart of His Mother.

Other aspects of honor for Our Lady include the many titles that have been attributed to her throughout Church history, especially considering her typifying of the Church as Bride of Christ and the many analogies drawn of her as New Eve, spiritual Mother of us all, the Body of Christ even as the Church is Body, etc...

One of my favorite titles within the Tradition is "Ark of the Covenant."
St. Louis de Montfort uses this title in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin in his preparation for Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart.

To really consider this title properly, we must reach back into the Old Testament and seek to understand how the Ark of the Covenant was understood. We do not have time for much exegesis here, but suffice it to say that the Ark was the visible sign among the Israelite people of God's presence with them, the Holy place where the Glory of the Lord dwelled.

The Ark therefore is a sign and symbol as well as a reality. In some ways one can see the Ark as a prefigurement for the Church, for the Tabernacle where God will remain with us, in Christ's very Flesh. Likewise, the analogy is not hard to understand in light of the Mother of Jesus. She who bears Christ within herself, within her womb, is much like the Ark of the Old Testament. Within her is the Glory of God, is God Himself. She bears Him to the world, carrying Him within her holy temple. The language of the human body as a temple is not a stretch for Biblical theology as St. Paul reminds us: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Therefore, if the body is a place where the Holy Spirit dwells with us, and likewise the same place where we meet God in the Flesh and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, certainly it can be said that the Mother of Jesus was the temple within which He dwelt for nine months! Moreover, as the Holy Spirit "came upon" Mary when she conceived Jesus, He remains with her, and she is Spouse of the Spirit in a unique way. So as we all are temples of the Holy Spirit, in an honored fashion, Mary is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I could go on, but there is much to think about in those short thoughts.

I want to end with a prayer from the Preparation for Total Consecration which St. Louis de Montfort includes. I cannot help but think of Our Mother's title as "Ark of the Covenant" whenever I read this:

O, Jesus Living in Mary
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries,
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father.
Amen.

Let us pray that like Our Lady, we will come to know the heart of Christ in a special way through the intimate time spent with him in prayer and contemplation and through the mysteries of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Let us also ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and form us into His very likeness, that we can always be living temples and witnesses of God's love.

Most Holy Spirit, Enflame Us

I want to be where the light is. 


"Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach. Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too. If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast. If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" -- Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one." Psalm 139:5-12


"What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Jn 1:3-5


"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" Lk 12:49


There are perhaps too many things to say about love. About zeal. About passion. About what the truth should mean to us and for us. There are so many aspects of what it means to be consumed by the Holy Fire. 


Saints upon saints have found all that they need to lay down their very lives for the sake of Christ the King within the sweetness of the Holy Spirit's intoxication. All the courage and zeal that could be found within a heart are necessarily enflamed when the soul seeks to be so filled and so consumed with Him. 


There should always be a two-fold aspect to this burning, similar to what we hear about in the story of the widow with seven sons who all die rather than forsake their faith. It is about humility and purgation, and then it is about faith and trust. This is the process of a life entrusted to Our Lord in the Spirit, and especially if we are also dedicated and consecrated to his holy Mother, Mary. She who had no sin and who was the most humble was able to live in the greatest faith and deepest trust any human has ever known. She is our perfect model, for she is the most perfect imitator of her Son, and she is truly Spouse of the Spirit. Daughter, Spouse and Mother of God! Gifts completely unasked for, unmerited, simply given and accepted and loved and cared for and cherished in this pure Virgin's Heart. 


Sorry, getting on a bit of a tangent (which is nearly unavoidable for me when I think about Our Lady), but back to the consuming fire! I am reading through the preparation for Consecration to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, and yesterday's reflection spoke of the willingness to see ourselves as dust. Do we really want to know how sinful we are? Could we even handle it? I often fear I can't. If you love someone you want to make them happy, and to know that you are constantly failing to do this - it's a little disheartening. But only when it is conceived in that fashion. The TRUTH is that we are loved, infinitely, undeservingly, unconditionally, passionately, powerfully, purely, freely, consistently, faithfully, enduringly, perfectly. Yes, we will always fall short of this love. Yes, we will continue to sin. No, that will never separate us from his love if we are always seeking his mercy and striving to do better! He does not lose his children. We may wander off, but he always knows where we are, and he comes for us himself when we need him. 


So to address our sinfulness, to acknowledge it, to look at ourselves... this is important. And ick! It is never fun. But we cannot fear what is brought to our souls by Perfect Love. If we invite Him in, ask to be cleansed, seek forgiveness, admit our failure and are truly contrite - how quickly he will heal us! And this is something we should do often, daily. Of course, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is absolutely necessary and should be frequented often, especially (and immediately) if there is any danger of mortal sin. But even outside of the beauty and gift of efficacious grace that comes to us through the Sacrament, we should daily be willing to acknowledge our weakness and seek the grace to be made whole once more. 


This is what is so wonderful about the simple prayer of "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love..." To be warmed. To allow the fingers hot with the heat of holy love to melt away the ice from our hearts, to heal the aching wounds of our soul, to purge the darkness that clings to our mind, to burn within us so that there is no room for what is not of Him. 


What would this world be like if we were all little St. Thereses or St. Francises or St. Pauls? What if "zeal for His house" truly consumed us? What if we could not stand still! What if all of our energies were constantly burning up for the sake of his Kingdom here on earth! If every breath was a prayer. Every struggle made a sacrifice. Every long day of work made an offering. Every tedious task made on behalf of those in need. Every boring conversation, every disservice done to us, every rude driver or unkind coworker or terrible day of traffic given up in love for another. What if every thought that was tempted to hate or jealousy was caught in time and turned to mercy and love? What if every darkness that invaded, every lie that tried to take us hostage, every temptation to self-love over self-gift was conquered at the door by the blaze of Love within our hearts!? We would not recognize our world. 


How empty our lives often are. How hallow they become. Day in and out we fall away from community and family. Day by day we walk more on the path of solitude hoping to escape all the demands that threaten our meager existence, threaten to shatter our already-broken peace. Moment by moment we become more self-satisfied, more complacent, more accepting of our pitiful state. No longer does the realization of our humble presence make us weep! No longer do we lower our heads in shame. More often it is the safety of disinterestedness or indifference that blankets our ugliness. We do not grasp at crowns, but we do not balk at the image in the mirror. We are what we are, let it be. 


World! Brothers and sisters, my friends, myself - Christ wept over us. He wept because we were not on fire. He wept because we were lukewarm, and were to be spit out of the mouth rather than ingested into the Fire of the Trinity. We cannot accept this! Why should we? Why would we prefer chains to freedom? Why would we like our putrid pens when we have the open door staring us in the face? "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." Jn 3:19-21 We cannot remain still! We cannot be at home in the dark. We were not created for it. We were meant to see. We cannot be satisfied with blindness. Right before the verses I just shared from John Christ says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." Jn 3:16-17 This is the hope, the victory, the mercy, the truth, the delight, the joy, the life that is offered to us all! Oh, that we would not hesitate to take it.


Let us pray to be burned up. To have the grace to look at ourselves in truth, the grace to ask for the grace to look at ourselves in truth. Let us pray that we can be truly contrite, and be healed of our infirmary. Let us pray that we can learn to build up habits of virtue in our lives, and habits of prayer, so that when the enemy comes for us we shall stand in the light. Let us be thankful, always and in everything, even in our trials and failures, because they too lead us back to his Heart, back into the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Let us never lose faith. 


Thomas a Kempis said,
“Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back.”

Wait in Joyful Hope

I hope that this post will be one many have been waiting for, though perhaps unknownst to them, and that it will bring much joy to the heart... the kind of joy that comes with the peace of Christ, the peace only God can give.

This is what the Christian life is about everyone. It is truly that simple. Of course, the words of Christ echo in our minds, "Be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect," and we wonder at him. How could that be possible? How could we even hope to be perfect, we who are so far from God? Then we hear proclaimed over and over, "love one another as I have loved you" and "love your neighbor as yourself" and "the greatest of these is love"... again, this is a theological virtue that comes with grace. How can we be expected to live like this all the time?

But perhaps we can draw from Blessed Mother Teresa here, for she understood how basic this call to holiness was, how truly simple Jesus' message to the human race was. We cannot be gods, nor can we reach the perfection of our Father in heaven... but we can learn from his Son the ways of holiness, by walking the same path he walked, with the same heart he held, one of perfect abandonment, holy trust, full peace at his Father's will. Jesus waited. He did not know his hour, the time or even the way in which he would bring about the Father's will. He waited for it to be revealed to him in the span of time which he lived on earth. Of course, being God himself he could know everything, for he was before all time and space existed, and he will be after all is gone. He is the Alpha and Omega. Yet, he chose, in love, to take humanity upon himself, and in this form of a slave he surrendered himself to a childlike faith in his Father, so that though he could never be separated from him, being the Second Person of the Trinity, he also chose not await revelation of things to his mind according to the Father's will.

Mother Teresa said, "Be humble and you will never be disturbed. It is very difficult in practice because we all want to see the result of our work. Leave it to Jesus." This translates into every area of life - we must expect that even in our journey to holiness, on our walk to the Father, we will be asked to lay down our control, to set aside our plans and our dreams and the ways we think that life should go. We will be asked to get in a boat and see where it lands, and to endure the storms that come up, and to rejoice when the weather is beautiful. We are asked to trust beyond just our family's health or our daily safety. We are asked to trust beyond the things we cannot control anyway. It is more than that. It is meant to be more than that. It must be more than that. We need to trust will ALL the things we can control. Our jobs, our co-workers, our friends, our families, our homes, our cars, our toothbrushes, our sandals, our pillows, our cats or dogs, our coffee...everything. This is how we learn to live as Christ exemplifies, in the same childlike trust and patience.

Moreover, this waiting on the Lord, this trusting and obedience, is hand and hand with two virtues - hope and joy. We wait upon the promises of the Lord, because "he is faithful even when we are unfaithful," and "hope does not disappoint," and "his word does not return void but accomplishes the task for which it was sent." His promises do not let go of us, and his promise is for truth, for love, for life. His promise is for fulfillment in joy, for a return to our home and our Father who loves us. His love bought us at the price of his Son, his Son's love purchased us at the price of his own flesh, his own life. His promise cannot be denied. So our hope is firm, and should grow more firm with every passing moment. As we live, we learn more and more of his goodness, his mercy, his grace working in our lives. This should be testament enough for us to never lose our hope! And this hope, this glorious gift of God, must inspire in us a true joy. Even in the darkest nights and longest struggles, and in the most lonely and forsaken times, joy should be the waves we ride upon because his promise is alive in us, it is Christ the Lord.

Consider Our Lady, Mary most holy, as a young woman who receives a great message of salvation. It is a message of hope, and a promise. Yet, so often we typify her as anxious or nervous, or at least a little fearful, for she could be stoned to death in Jewish law for becoming pregnant illegitimately. Yet, when she is kneeling in her room, surrounded by the glory of the Lord, hearing the sweetness of the angel's words, I do not think there could be any room for fear or doubt. Before that love, all fear is driven out, and all lies of the devil are disspelled. I believe that Mary's fiat was given as one wholly aware of herself, wholly possessing her heart, mind and soul, and yearning to give them to one who was revealing all the love in the world to her! Her Creator was coming to her as a lover, yearning to draw her near to his heart, nearer than she already was, and in response she yearned to give over her obedience, her life, in joy! In joy because what could she fear? What could anyone do to her when God the Father loved her so? What could this life bring that would be too bitter to taste, or too great a climb for her to endure? We know that her life faced perhaps the most bitter climb of all, to be the Mother of the Savior who would lay down his life for all men, and yet she still loved, and still waited, and still trusted, because her hope was God himself, and his promise cannot be broken, and in this her heart and soul found the joy to conquer all the evil of sin.

So my challenge to myself and all Christians is to pray for this grace. We need to seek the grace to practice this kind of faith, one that is hopeful at all times, and through this hope, joyful at each moment.

I know all too well that I fail at this daily. But if I could learn more of the silence, the internal meditation that leads to the awareness of the Lord's love alive and dwelling in me, the Holy Spirit made known in my heart... surely I would find the joy and hope I need in any situation? I believe it to be true, and the truth will set us free. So until that day when we are reunited with our Father, let us wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  


And for fun meditation, a few Scripture passages on "hope" from the RSV:
Matthew 12:21 "and in his name will the Gentiles hope."
Acts 2:26 "therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope."
Acts 17:27 "that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us."
Romans 4:18 "In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, 'So shall your descendants be.'"
Romans 5:4-5 "and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."
Romans 8:24-25 "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." 
Romans 15:2-3 "'in him shall the Gentiles hope.' May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Hebrews 3:6 "but Christ was faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope."
 Hebrews 7:19 "(for the law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God."
Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful;"
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
1 Peter 3:15 "but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence;"
1 John 3:3 "And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."

Memory

It is the season of Advent in the Church, and we are called to consider the waiting period of Mary, Joseph and the whole world for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

My thought is a simple one.

The word "anamnesis" is used by Plato for "recollection" or "remembrance." For the Christian, this word takes on new meaning in light of Christ's words in the Gospels, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me" (Lk. 22:17). Every celebration of the Eucharist is a remembering of Christ's sacrifice and the salvation offered to all mankind through his Body and Blood in the Church.

This is, perhaps, obvious. But to draw the idea a bit further, consider how memory is ever present with us. Day by day, every instance and occurance continues and builds within you. You cannot eradicate anything that has passed by, for time does not obey our wills. So as we grow and develop, especially cognitively speaking, that which we remember becomes more a more a part of our being.

We will find ourselves recollecting fond memories as we grow older, revisiting times and places that hold special significance. In particular, we hold fast to memories of people when they are not able to be present to us in the immediate time.

In practicality, I find my mind lingering on childhood fun, on words and moments my parents had with me, on periods of intense joy with friends and on many moments of immense challenge or change in my life. My mission trips to Ethiopia and Jamaica, my time spent living in Gaming, Austria, my time working in New York last year, my friends who I loved so dearly in college but who I have not kept in touch with... these memories allow me to revisit my old feelings, the lasting impression of those moments, but also to renew the feelings in the here and now, to reassure myself of the reality of those times, places and people.

Specifically love. This is the hallmark of what I am considering. When I was dating someone who lived states away, there were certainly times that I felt I must be making up the reality of the relationship. Likewise, when my closest friends live states away, there are times when communication on the phone or through messages just isn't enough to provide clear and concrete evidence of their affection and love.

This is the epitome of what Christ is inferring when he says that we must remember him. It is more than we can really articulate, because it happens in the part of the mind that is not really controllable by our intellect. There is a memory of his love that is stamped into our souls, a memory that lasts beyond all intelligence, because it was created when we were created. Cognitively, we were not aware of God's love in an intelligible way until we were five, six, seven years old. But in our essences we have known him from the time his hands were fashioning us out of nothing. We cannot call ourselves forth, nor create ourselves. We exist, we are, and that is all. No matter how hard we try, there is no possible way for us to will ourselves into being. As such, there is this imprint that holds us.

We remember what is lasting and deep, and this aids us in transending from what we cannot see with our physical eyes to what we must know with our hearts. No, we may not be able to be held in Christ's arms and feel the safety and peace and joy of his love. Yet, in our memory it is so, and as we remember his love it is made real and present to us.

This is what I believe our season of Advent is meant to be. Memory made alive in our hearts. Who he is, and what he has said, and what he has done. The God of the world made human, the mystery of the Incarnation, the joy of the Nativity, the Word of God, the Lamb of God, alive in the womb of Mary and now given to us in the flesh through the Eucharist.

So let us remember who Jesus is. Let us meditate on his words in Scripture, on his holy life and the miracles and teachings he gave. Let us also allow him to bring up his memory in our hearts - to reveal to us the many times he has been with us in this life, most especially when it would seem that he has not. Let us seek to deepen the foundation of faith, with every opportunity of being united with him, body, blood, soul and divinity. Let our anamnesis lead us to strong conviction of the love he has for us. His love has been eternal and will forever be. So memory spans all time and will forever go on. We cannot forget that he is always present and will be with us forever.

On the Second Luminous Mystery

Pope John Paul II was well known for his love of the Blessed Mother. He declared the "Year of the Rosary" from 2002-2003 within the Catholic Church (http://www.vatican.va/special/rosary/index_rosary.htm). In that same year he wrote an Apostolic Letter on the Virgin Mary and the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html ).

In that document, John Paul II instituted five new mysteries of the Rosary, the Luminous Mysteries. Prior to 2002, the Rosary had consisted of three separate Mysteries, each comprised of five decades meditating on the life of Christ and also his Mother. The original three Mysteries are the Joyful (focusing the attention on the life of Mary beginning from the Angel Gabriel's announcement to her of God's desire for her to be the Mother of Christ and Christ's early life), the Sorrowful (focusing on the passion and death of Jesus) and the Glorious (focusing on the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit's decent, and his Mother's Assumption into heaven and Coronation).

The Luminous Mysteries focused on Jesus' life, miracles and teachings between the time of his childhood and his Passion. The mysteries are: The Baptism in the River Jordan, The Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana, The Proclamation of the Gospel, The Transfiguration, and The Institution of the Eucharist.

I have a personally deep love for this set of mysteries since they were introduced into my life at a time when I was truly deepening my faith and seeking to find a greater love for Christ and Our Lady.

In particular I want to reflect on the Second Luminous Mystery, the Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana.

In this mystery, many things are happening besides the miracle itself of the water in the water jugs being changed into wine, and one might here some of these less obvious points expounded on in a homily or other discussion; for me, the most obvious miracle of the water being made into wine is exactly what I want to consider.

First, why water into wine? What is the significance beyond the need for the drink at the party?
Water is something more common, more mundane. It is drunk by all people throughout the world at all times. It has little flavor or taste, and is often drunk more from necessity than for pleasure.

Wine, on the other hand, can be very exclusive. It can be sweet, potent, harsh, smooth, etc... It has a distinct taste and flavor and grows more potent with age. It is usually more rare to come by than water and can be hard to acquire, depending on many factors of one's life.

In my understanding, there is a great significance for Christ changing water to wine, especially while we pray with these mysteries. Our Lady is the Victor of Purity, Conceived without sin, the Immaculate Heart. If we are seeking her intercession and praying with her Rosary, it follows that we would be seeking a greater purity of heart and tendency away from sin, even if indirectly or unintentionally.

This is where I took my thought on the water into wine. Purity of heart and holiness are potent things. They stirred the Heart of God, Christ Jesus, to preform a miracle even when "his hour had not yet come" (John 2:4), because the beauty of his Mother's heart was so powerful. Likewise, if we are considering ourselves to be like the water that needs to be made more potent, than as we meditate on this mystery we can see how our being "turned to wine" has implications both for our own souls and also for the community around us.

The potency of Mary not only enabled a miracle, but also began Christ's public ministry, most likely deeply affected and converted those servants who were first-hand witnesses of the miracle, and also made the wedding celebration itself very memorable to all who were present since the best wine was served later.

On that thought, if we are being changed from water to wine, we will certainly be infiltrating our circles of influence with the flavor and intoxication of the Gospel.
Our own hearts will also be burning with that intoxication, and our vision will be altered. We will begin to see the things of the world more indistictly, and find walking the path of the world much more challenging. Balancing ourselves will become only possible in light of the drink which would be our only consumption - the Love of God.

Just think, the human body is about 65% water, on average. If that much of our physical being was transformed into a living water, a wine which burned up the impurities in our systems and left only something strong and sweet within us, who would recognize us? It would certainly be no wonder if the world mocked us then, when we would not only be foolish in the drunken way, but foolish for an unseen God, no less!

But He is not so unseen, and the more we are transformed the deeper into his image we will fall. Our Lady carried within her womb God made man for nine months.
Even before His conception, Mary was perfectly without sin. Yet, how much more must she have been like Him after having his body within her own? Do we not have the same opportunity to carry his Body within us every day? (The answer to that is yes!)

So when you sit down to pray the Luminous Mysteries (hopefully today since it is Thursday), keep in mind that the transformation of the water to wine can be something spiritual and physical for us now, and for all who we encounter who find the Gospel proclaimed in our actions and words.

To love is a decision, to pray is a choice, to live is a gift. Seek a life of love.