Surprises

Do you ever have those moments when you see something and you wish you had a camera to capture the moment because you're fairly certain you'll never see that sight again? I had just such a moment this morning and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't have a digital camera on hand (note to self: it's time to invest in a digital camera!). The next best thing was to do an image search for icicles and sunlight. The picture on your right is as close a reproduction of the awesome sight I witnessed this morning, but you have to imagine an entire street as far as the eye could see on either side sparkling intensely like that.

It was one of those divine surprises through nature: a little burst of joy! When I left home earlier this morning, the day was grey, chilly, morose...I headed out with my head partially tucked into my scalf and my eyes on the ground watching for black ice patches. I'd just spent about five minutes fruitlessly scraping at my car. I realized, eventually, that there was no way I could get it road-ready and be able to make it to Mass on time. So, I'd set out on foot instead. I was going briskly and was pleased to find that, although the sidewalks looked a little messy, they weren't too slippery. That made my way easier. However, when one of the parishoners and his family stopped to give me a lift, I took it gladly. My bones haven't quite acclimatized to the cooler weather yet and I find myself diving into warm spaces without too much prompting. By February, I'll be walking around fearlessly like any natural-born Canadian, but this is only November, after all!

Anyway, the hint of a surprise on the offing started as I sat in the church and suddenly realized that there was an unexpected shaft of light coming in through one window. The occasional ping of melting ice outside the window was also promising. By the time I emerged forty-five minutes later, there was a great expanse of unlimited blue ceiling with a few stray whisps of white cloud trailing along. Behind me was an ominous grey mass of cloud trying to looking imposing, but utterly failing next to the sheer blue beauty whose proportions roughly rivalled that of a small ocean. And then, the sun came out!

Within instants, the bright blue sky became a prelude to glory. Every bit of ice on tree, ground, hedge and shingle became a prism. As if the earth had suddenly caught a glimpse of its own magnificence, it sighed, and all the trees started gently swaying in the breeze and the sound was as if a million party-goers had lifted their forks and started tapping on the rims of their crystal glasses. The breeze had also stirred up some of the snow, so there were particles of light dancing in the air and settling on my face. It was one of the most delightful experiences of the snow so far. Funny how I forget, every year, how wonderful the ice and snow is. I've been dreading it this year because I enjoyed being outdoors so much over the past few months, but after seeing what I saw today, I'm finally eager to see the landscape draped in white again. I won't go so far as to say I'm eager for the slick sidewalks, but it is good to be reminded that even ice---when suspended on a tree---is a thing of gratuitous beauty.

And speaking of surprises: I know I've already passed this on to most people on my mailing list, but in case you haven't seen it yet, you've got to watch how a food court full of unsuspecting shoppers at the Seaway Mall in Welland, Ontario, were transported out of their ordinary lives last week by a group of ingenious singers. (Thank you, Rebecca and Mrs. Walker for passing this along). It is definitely one of the coolest things I've seen in a while! Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

Prayer Vigil for the Unborn

A five-month old baby in the womb

In a couple of weeks, Advent begins: a time of preparation for the celebration of Jesus' birth into the world, as well as a time of anticipation for his second coming. An awesome time of prayer and bustle. In the midst of it all, is the realization that, for so many, there is no joy or anticipation over their coming into the world. The reality of abortion follows us into this holy period of the liturgical year. As we coo over the Baby Jesus, we need to remember all the tiny lives in danger of never knowing a loving glance this side of Heaven.

In his wisdom, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has declared the start of Advent 2010---beginning at Vespers on November 27th---a time of prayer in solidarity for the unborn.

The following is a letter sent through "Spirit and Life." It is taken from the Human Life International e-Newsletter dated November 12, 2010. Read it, pray about it, and hopefully sign the petition. When you've done all that, maybe you'll consider joining me on November 27th in prayer for life in the womb (as well as for the mothers and fathers for whom the coming into the world of their little ones is not a time of joy, but of great distress!). I'm planning on going to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Vanier that day to pray a rosary. Would you like to join me? If so, let me know! If not, I'm sure you'll find some other way to remember the intention in your prayers. God bless you all!

Worldwide Prayer Vigil for the Unborn


On Saturday November 27th, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate a solemn Prayer Vigil for All Nascent Human Life in St. Peter's Basilica, coinciding with the First Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent. It is the wish of the Holy Father that similar vigils be celebrated in Cathedrals and parishes all over the world, which is expressed in a magnificent letter written by Cardinals Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

The beautiful liturgical season of Advent is full of hope-as Christians we prayerfully anticipate the arrival of the Redeemer. Yet at the same time that we prepare ourselves to celebrate the incarnation of our Savior, we have to be ready to defend the unborn against all the anti-life ideologies that dominate contemporary society.

This vigil follows the path marked by the Venerable Pope John Paul II, who strongly recommended that to create a new culture of life, "a great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world." (E.V. 100) This prayer will encourage Christians to remember that they have a fundamental duty to proclaim that nascent life has to be defended always and everywhere. This prayer will give Christians the spirit of fortitude required to be coherent with the teachings of the Church, without making any compromises with the world.

Prayer should be the foundation of our active apostolate, because if what we do is not grounded in the elevation of our hearts and minds to God in a spirit of humble subjection, it can become mere activism. It is in this spirit that HLI sponsored the recent Fifth World Prayer Congress for Life in Rome in October.

Each newly-conceived human person is a sign of hope to world. In the moment of the creation of the immortal soul of a new person, the Lord gives him a mission to aid in His plans for the redemption of all mankind. He gives to this person unique talents for the benefit of society. So if the life of this extremely young person is destroyed, not only do we have abominable crime, but we are deprived of the talents that the Lord had given to this new person for the common good of the Church and society. Just imagine if St. Thomas of Aquinas would have been killed by abortion, the Church would have lost her greatest philosopher and theologian. If the parents of St. Theresa of Avila would have rejected her-our spiritual life would be very much impoverished and the Church would have been deprived of many Carmelite monasteries. And imagine also if Domenikos Theotokopoulos (Il Greco) would have suffered the same terrible fate, we would have been deprived of one of the greatest Christian artists of all times.

Clearly, contemporary society is spiritually, intellectually and artistically impoverished, as we have killed millions of little ones that had the potential to sanctify and enrich society with their God given talents.

In this Advent and in future Advents, we should foster and increase our devotion to Our Lady of Hope, as Cardinals Cañizares and Llovera recommend in their letter on celebrating this vigil. She is normally depicted as majestic, and is often carrying a baby in her womb. This avocation of Our Lady reminds us of the months that she was expecting the birth of the Christ Child that she was carrying in her womb. In particular this title of Our Lady is celebrated on the Third Sunday of Advent, as was earnestly recommended by the Tenth Council of Toledo in the year 656, which was presided over by St. Eugenio III. In the Catholic tradition, Our Lady of Hope is also called Our Lady of the "O" because her celebration coincides with the most beautiful "O" antiphons that mark the last Sunday of Advent: "O Sapientia," "O Adonai," "O Emmanuel," and others of great beauty.

Our Lady is our Hope not only because she brought the Savior to the World; she leads us to Him and is the channel of all His graces.The traditional image of Our Lady of Hope received a heavenly confirmation with the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the sixteenth century, where the image of her imprinted on the tilma of San Juan Diego is of a lady carrying a child.

Of course, we revere our Blessed Mother in all of her traditional, historical appearances. During Advent, however, we look to Our Lady of Hope in a special way. With this ancient title, she points us toward a theological virtue that is particularly necessary in our difficult times.

HLI Poland has sponsored a multilingual, international petition of solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI, who initiated the historic call to prayer for life. All who want to join the Holy Father and the universal Church in this special vigil are invited to sign the petition at http://yes-for-benedict.net/. The petition will be presented to the Holy Father after the date of the vigil.

For details on how to participate in the Prayer Vigil for All Nascent Human Life, HLI recommends the excellent resource of the US Catholic Bishops at http://www.usccb.org/prolife/papalvigil/.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro-Carámbula,

Interim President, Human Life International

Those Quiet Moments

My days have been filled with silence of late. Largely working from home now---something I always thought would suit me very well---brings its own struggles. Things have slowed down drastically. I'm still occupied, but not to the extent I've been for the past---oh...ten years or more! I'm so used to having tens of things to do, that the fact I can actually sit around in the middle of the day and enjoy a cup of tea at leisure is miraculous! I'm still teaching, but the demands are less and I pretty much set my own schedule these days. My new part-time job adds a bit more variety to my days, but, for the most part, home is now my domain.

No children to run after, no husband to tend to, but the life of the home and the various domestic demands have begun to take priority. Cleaning times, cooking times, laundry times....All of these things are part of my routine. I love it! Today, I came home from Mass, and enjoyed (believe it or not!) polishing the wooden furniture in the living room and dining room and getting at the dust bunnies under the couch. I'm not sure what I've become. Sometimes, I'm concerned about myself. Three years ago, I was jostling to work on a crowded bus every day, sitting in a tiny cubicle, and getting the big bucks. They called that "being successful." It didn't feel like it then, and I'm glad to be away from it now. But what do you call what I'm doing now. I'm not looking to climb any ladders (unless it's to get the cake dish from the top shelf in the kitchen) and I'm certainly not making any money to write home about. But, you know what? I'm happy! I thought women weren't supposed to be happy dusting and cleaning and cooking. Maybe I forgot to read the memo....

Not to over-idealize the situation. There are times when being at home is really hard. Perhaps the biggest adjustment is embracing the silence. Sometimes, whole days go by where the only voice I hear is my own: singing, thinking out loud, praying. Daily Mass and snippets of conversation with the lovely old ladies who have embraced me in my parish are sometimes punctuated by the occasional phone call from family and friends. But mostly I'm seeing to my duties in a shroud of silence, my heart still, my whole being very calm. Sometimes, it's heavenly; other times, it's tortuous.

My brother recently bought me a car and today I experienced one of my first "quiet moments" in it while waiting outside my part-time workplace for my shift to start. Sitting there was like being in a cocoon. I think all the silence of late has lent me the ability to become profoundly quiet wherever I am. So, even with the world bustling around about me, I sat there, feeling as if I was resting in a womb, and thought I'd crack open the Psalms for a few words of wisdom to carry me through my approaching shift. One of the plusses about silence is that when God speaks, you can hear Him loud and clear. Sitting in the belly of my car, the words sprang off the page and spoke directly into my current situation, touching all my raw emotions like iodine to a wound---painful and healing. I soaked them in with a sense of wonder.

The reading was Psalm 34. I thought I'd add the verses here in case someone out there could use the reminder. Here, I was reminded that God is near, even though silence can sometimes seem like residence in a vacuum. He reminded me that my prayers, sent up like a trail of staccato puffs from a pipe, were heard in the stillness of His Heart. He showed me that I am His and that my hurts meant something to Him, even if it felt as if the rest of the world was wholly indifferent. A "Praise for Deliverance from Trouble": that's the title the editors gave the psalm. Sometimes, my trouble is thinking that silence means being alone. I think I need to remember that God resides in the quiet moments and that what seems to be one heart beat (mine) is both of our hearts beating in tandem.


Psalm 34



Praise for Deliverance from Trouble


Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.


1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;

so your* faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
20 He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.