SAINT LUCY, PATRON SAINT OF THE BLIND - DECEMBER 13 - HOW TO GET TO KNOW THE SAINTS

 

Saint Lucy

Patroness of the Blind

Feast day December 13

This article is a personal account of some of what has been involved in getting to know my favorite saints, many of whom are my ancestors and holy cousins, aunts and uncles of one degree or another. 

I was initially guided on this road by extensive reading of the contemplative practices of the mystics of the Catholic Church, such as Saint Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Jane de Chantal, Francis de Sales, Thomas Merton, and others of that ilk.

My ancestors range from Saint Olga of Kyiv, my 34th great grandmother, and the patron saint of converts, to Saint Margaret of Scotland, an English Plantagenet princess married to King Malcolm of Scotland, who is my 29th great grandmother and the patron saint of large families. There are something like 2 dozen of my relatives in heaven who are saints of the Catholic Church (as well as the Orthodox, in many cases.)

There are also a number of saints I consider my friends. It is quite a crowd!

Part of the reason that I am so fond of the saints is that I have no close family. My natal family was very small. Most have died. There are a very small number of remaining people, who have been cruel toward me, one of whom conspired with others to write me out of my father's will after he got dementia, then came back for a second bite of the apple in a stunningly cynical legal move that was calculated to push me into a corner and prevent me from claiming the inheritance my father had continually promised me throughout his life. 

The only people who loved me were my father and my grandmother, and they are long gone. In response to these circumstances, I have turned to my relatives in Heaven.

"Though my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord will receive me." Psalm 27:10

I also enjoy the company of many sainted friends that I have grown to love. The initial attraction sometimes has to do with the saint having been a hermit for at least part of their time on earth, and I look to them for guidance and example in how to lead that life. It warms me to understand how many of them there are! It's an extreme type of spiritual life, but yet there are many Catholics throughout history who have gone into the isolated, quiet places to pray in secret to the Lord in Heaven who rewards us in secret.

Later, some of these hermits attract other spiritual aspirants, and a community forms. Sometimes, the religious authorities, recognizing their holiness, would make them a bishop or the abbess of their own convent, and these people move from the hermit state to the cenobitic life. But there is something about spending some time in the hermit life that is an incredible help to the establishment of the spiritual aspirant in their relationship with the Divine.

As a side note to readers: even if you can only spend a dedicated weekend, or a week or two in a solitary setting, especially at a retreat center, monastery or convent, it will feed your spiritual appetites in a way that will stay with you forever. I promise. These experiences build upon one another. You will look back upon them with gratitude. And this is the perfect atmosphere in which to begin your contemplative journey with the saints.

Saint Lucy is one of my sainted friends in heaven upon whom I lay the task of interceding for me with the Lord so that I do not lose any more of my vision than I already have. I am functionally blind in my left eye and struggling to retain the vision in my right eye. At the present time, I have to get monthly injections into my right eye. After the 3-month period of getting these shots, the retina specialists will take photographs of the inside of my eye to determine if the shots have been able to stop the leakage of blood into my eyes by the invading blood vessels due to macular degeneration.

In celebration of the feast day of Saint Lucy, the patron saint of blindness, I am hereby giving an accounting of my personal experiences of the contemplative life, in connection with the establishment and maintenance of relationships with my favorite saints, of whom Lucy is one!

In the many years in which I have been disabled, I have accumulated a host of saints around me. This isn't a turn of phrase or mystical fancy. When you call upon anyone in the vast Heavenly Court, they respond to you in direct proportion to how much and how often you call upon them, in conjunction with the general state of grace in which you live.

Keep in mind that the deeper types of contemplative prayer will not typically include words or visuals. The consolations and atmosphere are different, but communing with the saints is a lovely phase that sets the stage for the mind before it enters into communion with the Holy Spirit.

Saint Lucy's feast day presents a very good opportunity for me to talk a bit about how I have made friends with the saints in Heaven.

In order to start the process of getting to know a saint, especially an obscure one, the first thing I typically do is some preliminary reading about the saint and get to know her a bit. The internet is a wonderful resource. A simple Google search for articles about the saint, as well as a trip through YouTube to check for educational videos, are both good resources. (Just check to make sure that the provider of the information is legitimately Catholic and not some cosmic poo-poo person who is selling crystal healings, "reiki sessions" or something like that!)

I usually find a prayer or two about that saint that has an official imprimatur, then I will light some candles and incense at my shrine, dim the other lights in the house, turn off the phone, use the sacramentals I have on hand, such as holy water, and begin.

Recently, I have started using some of Father Chad Ripperger's prayers from  his book of "Deliverance Prayers for the Laity." First, I will pray a version of his Invocation to the Entire Heavenly Court in order to sweep the decks of any lingering malevolent spirits, calling upon the entire heavenly court.

If you do not have the time to recite this entire prayer, then I recommend you pray any St. Michael prayer that you typically pray, something which is very easy to find on the internet and in many standard prayer books that you may have around the house.

Also, the short prayer to your Guardian Angel can be used at this juncture, instead of or in addition to the Invocation to the Entire Heavenly Court.

Invocation to the Entire Heavenly Court

O glorious queen of Heaven and earth, 

Virgin most powerful, thou who has the

power to crush the head of the ancient

serpent with thy heel, come and exercise

this power flowing from the grace of 

thine Immaculate Conception. 

Shield us under the mantle of thy purity

and love, draw us into the sweet abode

of thy heart, and annihilate and render

impotent the forces bent on destroying

us. Come most Sovereign Mistress of the

Holy Angels and Mistress of the Most

Holy Rosary, thou who from the very

beginning hast received from God the

power and the mission to crush the head

of Satan.

I humbly beseech thee, send forth thy

holy legions, that under thy command and

by thy power they may pursue the evil

spirits, encounter them on every side,

resist their bold attacks, and drive them

far from us, harming no one on the way, 

binding them immobile to the foot of the

cross, to be judged and sentenced by 

Jesus Christ, thy son, to be disposed of

by Him as He wills.

St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church,

come to our aid in this great battle against

the forces of darkness, repel the attacks of

the Devil, and free me from whatever 

stronghold the enemy has upon my soul.

St. Michael, summon the entire Heavenly

court to engage their forces in this fierce

battle against the powers of Hell. Come, O

prince of Heaven, with thy mighty sword,

and thrust into Hell Satan and all the other 

evil spirits.

O Guardian Angels, guide and protect me/us.

Amen

You might also like to take advantage of one of the perimeter prayers which is very good protection when preparing your shrine for each period of meditation upon the saint, in which case I would recommend using the perimeter prayer as you are preparing the shrine, then begin with the Invocation to the Entire Heavenly Court.

Small book of St. Padre Pio's

prayers that I use almost daily

After the Invocation, I would then pray one of Saint Padre Pio's prayers to all the saints, as follows:

A Daily Prayer to the Saints

Dear beloved saint(s) ____(name)____

You are my friend(s) in Heaven.

You guide me, you help me, you are

there for me in my earthly journey.

As I live my life today, help me in my

daily activities and direct me spiritually,

so I can know and understand God's

plan for me.

Give me the grace and strength to assist

those in need. Help me to care for those

who need care.

Seek the Lord's blessings for me, so that

I may experience God's love and goodness

as you did, despite all the challenges and

obstacles in daily life.

Ask God to grant me the courage and

determination to always do what is right

for me, my family, and those closest to

me. Please hear my petitions and inter-

cede for my special intentions before our

Loving Lord.

_________(state your request_______

Amen.

This prayers is one for which I have made room in my daily schedule of prayers, in order that I may always keep in  mind my heavenly friends.

When making a special appeal to a particular saint, as we are discussing here, it also has a place in that cycle of prayers. At this point, after clearing away all negative attentions, gaining the assistance of the entire Heavenly Court, and addressing all the saints with Padre Pio's beautiful prayer, I would then pray the prayer to the specific saint with whom I am developing a relationship at the moment.

In today's case, it is Saint Lucy, whose prayer is as follows:

PRAYER TO SAINT LUCY:

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light

under a basket, but let it shine for the whole 

world, for all the centuries to see. We may 

not suffer torture in our lives the way you 

did, but we are still called to let the light of 

our Christianity illumine our daily lives.

Please help us to have the courage to bring 

our Christianity into our work, our recreation, 

our relationships, our conversation - every 

corner of our day.

Amen

I then proceed with contemplation, by closing my eyes and meditating upon the day's saint. In the initial stages of appealing to any saint, there will be a very gradual movement toward one another. It can even take years before you are in regular communion with that saint, depending upon the state of your soul, how much time you put into this, and whether you are in a state of grace.

You know, the saints are simply people who lived on earth at one time and whose lives of faith were so exemplary that it has been determined that they are definitely in Heaven.  When asking for the saint's help in the form of intercessory prayers on your behalf, you are seeking them out in Heaven, where the entire Heavenly Court is spending all its time singing the praises of the Lord.

(Side note: Whenever I think of Heaven, I can almost hear the Heavenly Court singing the Lord's praises in the sweetest of notes! Can you imagine? What a blissful idea!)

You need to get the saints attention so that she may dedicate some of her prayers to your welfare, when she is joining in the prayers of the Heavenly Court.

I find that, in addition to the beauty of the words that you employ in your prayers, it helps to visualize Heaven as well.

IMAGINE HEAVEN

Reaching for Heaven

by Zulmaury Saavedra

at Unsplash

You might imagine, as I do, that you are walking upon the dazzling pavement of a heavily trafficked street paved with golden shimmering bricks or a glittering plaza, in a very big celestial city, with a crowd of sparkling beings gently moving about or swaying in place, their forms gracefully moving - with all of them lifting their voices to sweet celestial music and using beautiful gestures meant to glorify the Lord and participate in His beauty while the splendor of the Lord shines in and through everything. All the Saints are gathered around  the Lord who is at the center of it all, flanked by his Blessed Mother and the angels, and it is gorgeous. Personally, I hear bells throughout, but that's just me.

Obviously, the English language, and our own imaginations, cannot come anywhere near the glory of what goes on in Heaven, but we have to work with images and situations that are familiar to us until the door is opened for us and we experience a more closely representational vision of the Heavenly abode.

I may imagine that I enter Heaven and begin to walk its Heavenly illuminated streets, and then I see a shining person on the other side of the street or the plaza, walking on that other side, perhaps traveling in the opposite direction from me and I just see the back of their head.

Everyone and everything is full of light, and all their spiritual forms expand in time to the music they offer the Lord. In one way or another, they are all communicating with the Lord. Angels are flying in the sky. Saints are walking the illuminated structures. Everything is radiating a dazzling light!

This is the imagery that appeals to me, but you will find your own way through that supernatural place.

In the beginning, you may only have a fuzzy impression of what the saint looks like. It helps to call upon the iconography. Saint Lucy, for instance, today's special saint, is often represented holding a small plate or bowl containing her eyes that were plucked out of her head during her lifetime. [It is a gruesome image, I know, but she lived during the time of Diocletian, whom you may have heard of. He was a brutal man who was responsible for the torture and terrible deaths of many Christians of his era. He was emperor from 284 to 305 C.E.] One of the stories claims that Lucy plucked out her own eyes because a suitor became enamored of their beauty. Another tale claims that it was done to her in the middle of some torturous act.]

In order for you to get the attention of any particular holy person, you have to call upon her intently so that the saint, angel or even our Blessed Mother will hear you. This is how it is in the beginning of this spiritual practice when one has yet to make an intimate friendship with the saints by consistent, regular attention to them.

After the initial prayers, and you feel you have made contact with the saint, you will want to spend some time just communing with her in that holy place.

THE RELATIONSHIP GROWS

After the first introductions, the saints will start to listen for your call, knowing it will come. Then they will themselves draw closer, until finally they are living in your heart and you are in communion with them all the time. Once you have established a practice of communicating with them, your attachment to them, and they to you, can be instantaneous, in my experience.

Eventually, I have been on such intimate terms with the saints that I feel their presence within me throughout the day and can conjure up a conversation or companionship in a moment. 

This is especially true for the saints who are my actual ancestors, who I believe have been praying for me my entire life. I believe that they watched the birth and growth of all their various grandchildren, praying for them through the trials and tribulations of their lives, interceding for them with the Lord.

Saint Eahlswitha,

Wife of Saint King Alfred the Great

My 33rd Great Grandparents

Sometimes, in the quiet of a late evening, you will want to go to them in Heaven. At other times, during the day, when faced with the problems of life, you may need them right here in the earthly plane, in order to inspire and encourage you in whatever you face in your worldly life.

I will OFTEN ask myself, "what would this saint do if they were faced with a similar circumstance?" I find it very helpful to posit this question because I will often receive an answer fairly quickly.

GUARDIAN ANGELS

This process works well for your Guardian Angel also because this special angel, who has been tasked with caring for you since your birth, will actually feel thrilled that you are giving them some attention. Every time you call upon your Guardian Angel, you are allowing it to fulfill its entire purpose. Created solely to keep its eyes on you and help you, it can grow to feel cold and lonely despairing of ever truly pleasing God, if you don't give it any opportunity to help you.

Like all angels, each Guardian Angel is its own species of spiritual being. There is no other spiritual being made exactly like any one of these angels who is yours and yours alone. I have read some accounts in which it is claimed that your Guardian Angel looks exactly like the person for whom they were created.

So, if you are meditating on finding a saint in Heaven in order to obtain her intercession for your needs, and you come across an angel that looks exactly like you, don't be surprised.

Painting of cherubs by 

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

I would just say that it is probably a good idea to make sure that you first have a good relationship with your Guardian Angels before you start running around the spiritual realm, giving all sorts of attention to one saint or another, while ignoring your poor Guardian Angel and making it sad.

In fact, it will be much easier getting it to help you than some old saint, since you are your Guardian Angel's only job and responding to you is part of its duty.

I say "it" when I refer to angels because, in fact, they have no gender. While they sometimes come to earth and appear to us in some form that does, at times, appear to be human of a specific gender,  they have never been earthly beings. There is no marriage among angels and no angel babies being birthed. God creates angels out of His very holy will, so there is no necessity for them to be either male or female. On the other hand, God can do whatever he wishes, and if it really IS true that at least some of the Guardian Angels look like their charges, then it is possible that they appear to be either male or female without actually having a specific gender, per se. It's one of those mysteries.

While your Guardian Angel is a celestial being, the saints were and continue to be real people who have moved from the worldly to the heavenly realm.

DON'T ASK YOUR DEAD GRANNY TO PRAY FOR YOU.

Many people like to believe that everyone who has died is certainly in Heaven, but in the Catholic faith this is not strictly true. If a person does not die in a state of grace and has a lot of sins to clear up, they cannot enter Heaven. I believe this is why Jesus told us to "be ye perfect as thy Father in Heaven is perfect."

Many of our relatives will be in purgatory for some time, in order to clean up whatever sins were on their soul when they died. They need our attention also, and the best thing we can do for them is to pray for them to the Lord, make reparations for the sins left on their souls, and otherwise offer sacrifices for them, such as dedicating a period of fasting to them. Appealing to the saints and to the Guardian Angels of our loved ones who have died is also a very good idea. Their intercessory prayers can be helpful to your deceased relative.

It occurs to me that, at least for the devout among us, the pain of finding oneself in purgatory instead of Heaven might be so horrifying and painful that this moment alone might be enough to burn up our sins in an instant, sending us to Heaven quickly thereafter. I, for one, imagine I would go flying into Heaven singing prayers of gratitude for having escaped Hell and being let into Heaven at all.

When I see the Guardian Angels of the souls in purgatory, I imagine them downcast and sad, no longer able to help their charges except by praying to The Lord that they be released from purgatory.

The saints are deceased humans whom The Church has assured us are living in Heaven because of the unique spiritual character of their lives on earth. We can feel confident that these souls are able to intercede for us because we know they are in Heaven, while those in purgatory can not.

Purgatory is not Hell. It is a stopping place. It is not a gruesome and permanent place of torment, like Hell, but neither is it Heaven. The souls in purgatory cannot help us. They cannot even help themselves, except through the suffering of purgatory which purifies their souls. I have a strong suspicion that simply being unable to enter Heaven would be an awful suffering. I think I would yearn for Heaven so strongly that not being able to go there immediately would itself be an immense pain. 

When the soul has been purified sufficiently through suffering, the prayers of the faithful on earth, the intercession of the saints, and the grace of God, they are allowed to enter Heaven. It is pointless to ask your deceased Granny to help you out of a jam. We don't know, for certain, if Granny is in Heaven or not. She MAY be. We just don't know. But we DO know that the Saints are in Heaven, so it is best to save our appeals for those we know are in Heaven: the saints, the angels, our Blessed Mother, Jesus, and God the Father.

One thing we should remember is that the saints are humans. Our relationships with them are real relationships with real people who are living in Heaven. They have not been transformed into magical beings, nor are they angels, which many people incorrectly assume they have become. Angels are a different species. In fact, each angel is completely unique and is its OWN species entirely different from all others, but that is a different story entirely.

When building a relationship with the saints you are building a real relationship with a real person. It does not happen by magic, nor is it typically an instantaneous, effortless thing. If it does appear to be magical and instantaneous, you either have a remarkable imagination, or there is a demon chasing you and trying to trick you by appealing to your ego. 

I would take care to be sure and pray all the deliverance prayers at your disposal and clear the perimeter of your prayer space. Call in Saint Michael and your Guardian Angel to watch over you while you pray, and you should be alright. It's also a good idea to play Gregorian Chant in your home regularly.

If your experience is anything like mine, the more saints and angels you get to know in this way, the more you will be aware of the presence of a growing family of saints and angels who are with you all the time. In this way, the kingdom of Heaven is within you. The holy ones are with you. This is what I experience and what I hope for you as well.

DON'T MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT HAS TO BE!

In order for this to happen, I believe you should be in a state of grace in your life, committed to living as sinless a life as what is possible for you. God is all good. Heaven is a place of purity, peace and perfection. Evil and sin are incompatible with deliberate sin. Accessing the Heavenly realm does not seem possible if one is in a sinful state.

So, if you are deliberately sinning and assuming that God will be alright with it, becoming familiar with the saints will be more difficult. Confession and reception of the Blessed Sacrament, use of all the sacramentals such as holy water and blessed salt, helps provide a fertile ground for the growth of divine relationship between you and the Holy Ones. That is my belief and experience.

Those of us under either private or formal vows will typically promise "poverty, chastity and obedience." Americans often have trouble following ANY of these vows, and that is exactly what makes our spiritual lives more difficult than they have to be.

With regard to poverty, many of us have no problem with that. We have no extra money and, in fact, do not have enough for what we consider to be our needs. If we DO find ourselves with excess belongings that do not have a place in our working lives or our state of life, there is usually no problem getting rid of these. Giving to the poor is something I have found very easy to do. We are surrounded with poor people, even those who are so poor they do not have even a home to live in! It's shameful, really, but that is a topic for another blog.

Chastity is the virtue that most Americans ignore completely. Because of this phase of modernism, American Catholics have changed the rules for themselves. I can tell you confidently, however, that anyone having sex outside a valid marriage is going to have problems with their prayer life. Tell yourself whatever you like. God did not change the rules. People did. And when people change God's rules, trouble ensues. It is just a fact.

Even the Hindus with whom I studied before getting baptized had very strong teachings about the necessity for the control of the sexual expression. Their reasoning is different, but the result is the same.

If you want to make progress in your spiritual life, get your physical life in order in this area, and I guarantee you that you will experience tremendous relief. The flood gates will open and the difficulties will lessen.

Likewise with regard to obedience. For lay people, obedience means first of all obedience to the rules of the Catholic faith. Get familiar with the Catechism. It's a huge book, I know, but the YouTube classes "Catechism in a Year" is a great place to start. There are also classes you can take at your parish.

Once again, the more in line is your behavior with the principles of The Faith, in all areas, the easier and more satisfying your prayer life is going to be.

ATMOSPHERE HELPS

In fact, whatever we can do to inspire ourselves in our surroundings, such as tending to an appealing and beautiful domestic Shrine and altar in our homes, can also be quite helpful to get us centered and concentrated on our spiritual practices, such as this one. 

Father Chad Ripperger, well known Catholic exorcist, tells us that Gregorian Chant chases away Satan and his demons. It hurts their ears to hear these holy sounds! In gathering the holy saints to yourself, you do not want to gain the attention of the fallen saints, so keep that in mind as well.

One day I will make a blog post about home shrines and the various items that can help you maintain your spiritual atmosphere and attitude.

Finally, I will add that getting to know the saints and developing relationships with them has been particularly beneficial for all phases of my life and my spiritual practices, especially since I discovered I am descended from some of these people. This is particularly helpful for me, since I do not have any living close family. The saints in Heaven, the angels, and our Blessed Mother and our Loving Lord have literally become my day-to-day family and they can become part of your intimate family also!

I hope this post is helpful to all of you. If you have any questions, feel free to write a comment or contact me on Facebook.

In the meantime -

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, MY 29TH GREAT GRANDMOTHER

 

Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland

"THE PEARL OF SCOTLAND"

Wife Of King Malcolm III

(1045-1093)

FEAST DAY: NOVEMBER 16

I began researching my genealogy in 1978, long before the internet or Ancestry's famous website, and before the current situation in which many people tell me, "genealogy is easy, it is all online!" They don't realize that it is the expert handful who "connected the dots" between families, years ago, and who were the people whose research is responsible for all of it being "online." Without the genealogy experts connecting the dots, the Ancestry website is just a big bucket of random facts and copies of documents.

At some point, however, our work became easy when we researched back far enough for the historians to take over for us and bring us back practically to the beginning of Christianity itself. Thanks to the members of the nobility that came to this continent in the 1600s and 1700s, our grandfathers and grandmothers can be traced very far back.

SAINT MARGARET AND KING MALCOLM III

Having converted to Catholicism late in life, I was thrilled to discover, at about the same time, that I am descended from and related to a number of saints who were also nobility, which is what accounts for the remarkably extensive family trees we are able to create for each of our families. 

As a Catholic, the thing that really thrilled me is when I reckoned that my family in Heaven is no doubt praying for their descendants, me among them, and since I am the only Catholic remaining in my family line, I can sure use the support!

Ever since making this discovery, there are some mysteries about the course of my life that have become revealed to me. I was raised by religion-hating people who particularly disliked Catholics. My father and I were somewhat close, as I lived with him on and off when I was a child and then worked with him writing television scripts together when I was in my 20's. But I can't pretend that he and my mother were not complete narcissists.

My mother, in addition, was terribly abusive toward me, and she particularly disliked my religion-loving, God searching nature. Things were always difficult for me when she and my sibling ganged up on me.  It was horrible until I was able to leave home shortly after I turned 17, and never looked back.

Knowing what I know now about the Masonic orders and how antagonistic they are to Catholicism, I am intuiting that some of my mother's antipathy toward me can be traced to her involvement with the Masonic groups of which she was a part when she was a child and a young woman. Her mother and father were both involved with the Masons. When I developed a correspondence with some Carmelite nuns when I was 11, my mother became extremely upset and put an end to it. It was at this time that her hostility toward me became markedly elevated. This dislike never made sense, seeming to come from nowhere, but there is a spiritual reality that is hidden from the banal daily view of human life, and I credit that spiritual reality with inspiring her dislike of me.

Satan has a way of using humans against one another, it seems to me. He didn't want me anywhere near the Carmelite order and its emphasis on silence and contemplation. I am not a Carmelite, but I might as well be, living as a hermit, as I do, and living a life of contemplation on my own.

Long story short: Satan also was not thrilled that I brought the family line back to Catholicism, at least with my own self. I think I am the only one. He had counted on this family line, descendants of saints, to have been utterly lost, thanks to the intrusion of the Masonic orders, and similar distractions. But no. When The Lord made me, he made me wildly curious about and yearning for Him, for whom I have searched my entire life. There were many detours, but here I am, 70 years old, firmly ensconced in my Catholic faith, loving it SO much, thanks be to God.

Thus, today is one of my favorite feast days - the feast day of my 29th great grandmother, Saint Margaret of Scotland. I love Saint Margaret and her story. 

Saint Margaret is one of those Plantagenets that sit on so many branches of our genealogical trees. She was the daughter of King Edward the Exile and the granddaughter of King Edmund Ironsides.

Internet sources do a pretty good job of describing her life and her affiliations. The thing that appeals to me very much is how well-rounded she was as a human being. She was legitimately religious and is credited with civilizing her husband more than a little, though he was never as devoted to the faith as she was.

Always attentive to the needs of the faithful, she did things such as establish a ferry across the Firth of Forth so that pilgrims might access holy sites, she invited the Benedictines to establish a monastery at Dunfermline and also oversaw the restoration of Iona Abbey.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW 

DEPICTING MARGARET FEEDING THE POOR

As queen, Margaret was very attentive to Christian charitable work and served the orphans and the poor before she herself would eat. For herself, personally, she is reputed to have been somewhat contemplative, given to much time in private prayer and in reading. She also practiced "ecclesiastical embroidery," which I am assuming has something to do with making the priests vestments or coverings for the altar. All of this feels very familiar to me, as it sounds very much like what I would be attracted to doing if I was in her shoes.

BEST OF ALL, and something almost makes me giggle with glee is that she was really into fashion. She engaged merchants from around the world to bring her a variety of fabrics and accoutrements, introducing the Scottish people to a mode of dress that was reputed to be more refined and elegant. It certainly sounds as if this grandmother of mine had a beautifully artistic soul.  I love that.

She is the patron saint of large families and had at least 8 children, one of whom was King David I of Scotland, who was my 28th great grandfather and is ALSO a saint! Interestingly enough, I am also descended from another child of Margaret: Matilda (Editha) who married King Henry I of England.

It pleases me that Margaret is the patron saint of large families because I often call upon her to help me associate myself with my wider family in Heaven, i.e., all those saints from whom I descend! My own natal family on earth was very small and terribly dysfunctional. There was NO love whatsoever, except from my grandmother, who lived in San Francisco and I rarely got to see. Knowing that I have relatives in Heaven makes me feel more complete and supported.

EMZAELLA MABEL CHANNING LAIRD

MY GRANDMOTHER

27TH GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF

SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND

If you come from a small natal family and there does not seem to be enough love to spare for you, I highly recommend getting to know your relatives in Heaven, if you can. It has certainly helped me a lot in my struggle with a dearth of familial love.

"For my father and my mother have forsaken me

but the Lord will take me in."

Psalm 27:10

If Saint Margaret sounds interesting to you and you would like to get to know her a bit, there are several books available about her. I am betting they are on Amazon. There are also many websites that have some things to say about her. 

Silver Rose

Post Script: Please do not forget my GO FUND ME campaign for a car and wheelchair lift. If I were to tell the stories of all the ways in which my lack of transportation has affected my life, you would cry.

The GOFUNDME link is on this blog's page, top right - underneath my Author photo.

PLEASE NOTE:  I have decided to GIVE A GIFT for every donation to my GO FUND ME campaign over $50. There will be a selection of gift for each level of donation, with photographs that will enable you to pick which gift you want.

Gifts will vary between hand-made silver-wrapped earrings with real gemstones, pearls and artisanal dichroic glass, or personalized, hand-stamped primitive Southwest designed book markers with jeweled tassels or a variety of hand wrapped personalized, unique rosaries.

Personalized rosaries and book markers will include small pouches in which to store/carry them.

Photographs and gift levels will appear in future blog posts, as I make the items over the next week. 

Each of these gifts is a unique piece of art. Because of my physical disabilities and my visual issues with very small things, Rosaries take about 6 to 8 hours to make, as do most of the book markers. These are hand-made items that I have personally designed and which have personalized, unique details. No two items are exactly the same.

Send me a message on Facebook if you have any questions:

MY FACEBOOK PAGE

COLD FISH IN A HOT CLIMATE

 

I have noticed lately that, here in New Mexico, fewer people exhibit warmth or smile at you. I believe it may be a cultural thing.

It can be very offputting, especially when dealing with the medical profession. I have run into this at the "Senior Health Center" of the local university, where the staff is cold and lacks empathy. It makes me wonder why these people entered this profession, but there are pockets of this coldness in other areas, so it could just be a local trait.

This clinic is attached to a teaching hospital, and you could imagine that their attention is more focused on their personal educational goals, except that, in the 25 years I have been getting my medical care through various clinics of the university hospital, I have had a couple very kind and compassionate doctors, but ever since the last one retired, I have had a awful time getting comfortable with a doctor.

The people at the Senior Health Clinic seem particularly hard and unfeeling, which is sad when you remind yourself that they are dealing with a most vulnerable population.

Coming from California originally, I have also had some wonderful medical care and was accustomed to staff and doctors having a lot of personality and exhibiting great personal warmth.

Perhaps this hard bitten attitude toward seniors is just a reflection of the direction of American culture at this time. It does not help to have authority figures in the news denigrate various groups of vulnerable people. It is only a matter of time before they start advocating for old people and the disabled to be eliminated through euthanasia.

The greatest offense, according to people in some areas of government, seems to be uselessness or vulnerability. It makes me wonder how our seniors and the disabled will end up, when everything is said and done. I have the comfort of the familiarity with The Lord, and of course I will endure through the strength that God gives me - but I often wonder what life would be like if the people who were being paid to care for me at least pretended to actually CARE.

Of course, when hiring staff for any hospital clinic, you can't mandate compassion, caring or warmth. It's just unfortunate that the culture of that particular clinic, which is a fairly new one, has developed into one that is hostile toward their chosen demographic.

I recently had a really horrible experience with them. There was a hugely incompetent thing that happened, and the staff was clearly not interested in fixing it. I went through weeks of phone calls trying to get the situation normalized, and then my doctor and the clinic director ambushed me at my appointment and harassed me about it.

They were trying to mask the ineptitude of their staff, but I am not buying it. I am even having a hard time getting switched to a different clinic. They say that, even though I do not feel safe at that clinic, they have decided I will remain there.

Apparently, I have reached the age where people are starting to try to exert their will over me - for things that are within my freedom to choose for myself. Since I am nowhere near losing my marbles, I will keep a grasp on my freedoms, thank you very much.

You read about such things happening to seniors, but it is still a surprise when it occurs to oneself.

Unfortunately, I will have to look outside this rabbit warren of clinics and hospitals where I have gotten my care for the last 25 years. Apparently, in those decades, UNM has reached a size where it is unwieldy and a corporate mindset has settled in.

There are never enough doctors in this town, it has grown so big so fast, and it may be a while before I can find something that suits me, but I ask that you all pray for me so that I can find some facility where smiles are not so rare.

I also ask that you pray for my ministry for ELDER ORPHANS to be taken up by my parish. I keep hearing that it is a good idea. There are meetings and memos and all those things, yet no one calls me to discuss it with me. I know how to organize it without costing us anything at all, and yet weeks go by and nothing happens.

Things move VERY slowly in this arena, and now that the Christmas season is upon us, no one seems able to do anything "new" until Christmas and New Years are well behind us. I come from a very small, very secular and anti-religious family - and now I am a hermit - so the holidays have never occupied much more of my consciousness than any other feast day.

I have already had discussions with the manager of the elder care organization of which I am a client. They are ready for me to direct Catholic caregivers through their system. All that has to be done is to advertise on the back of the church bulletin for volunteers, but the parish drags its feet like a very old and very tired woman.

I suppose this is common with religious organizations. I encountered the exact same thing when I was in the Hindu convent. It took forever to get anything done, and when it came to individuals cooperating with one another, it was like pulling teeth!

Please pray for me that this thing does not "die in committee" for lack of interest in my demographic or by others less familiar with this area squashing it in favor of other things they find more interesting.

In the meantime, I pray for you, as you pray for me.

God bless you all!

Silver Rose

DAILY MIRACLES

 

Sometimes, when you ask The Lord for clarity, He gives it to you right away, ESPECIALLY when you are in real need of emotional support when it comes to your faith. And I was REALLY in need of a little propping up today. Within MINUTES of asking for help, I was given it in a remarkable way.

First, I will give a little background.

Most of you know that I live as a hermit. I do try to be as helpful as I can be to neighbors, despite my limited abilities, but I essentially stay in my own little bubble, where I pray and meditate and do the best I can to deal with painful handicaps.

Over the last year or two, as my disabilities have become much more obvious and visible, by virtue of my having to use an electric wheelchair on the property, I have been struggling with attacks from young neighbors who have bullied me in surprising ways. Sometimes they are trying to force me to give them something. At other times, they seem to be doing it for recreation. 

I even had one new neighbor lobby the managers to take from me a piece of equipment that had been installed for me to assist me in caring for my garden. That neighbor concocted an elaborate lie about it, even though I have written documentation on my phone between the two of us. The new manager was unfamiliar with how the installation of the equipment had occurred and it took 3 months to get it straightened out. It is surprising when things like this happen after I have gone out of my way to welcome them to the property with home-made bread and desserts, but I am not a psychiatrist.

When I was a young woman, I volunteered at nursing homes, and this was a relatively common thing for someone in my generation to do. But now, instead of helping people with fragile health, there are many who attempt to abuse the vulnerable and steal from them instead.

It is as if society has made a radical turn to a more primitive time. Like something out of a science fiction film, the mask of civilization has fallen from the faces of many, to reveal a face similar to what we might have seen in the middle ages, when you could be burnt as a witch, simply for being a woman living alone.

Bullies torment vulnerable people when they think they can get away with it. They usually don't do it publicly, so it is difficult to make it stop. Bullies are usually cowards.

How do we love our neighbor and pray for the enemy in the midst of all this?

As our good Jimmy Akin says, loving your neighbor means wishing the good for that person.  Praying for them is the Christian method of wishing good for them. (Jimmy Akin is a researcher, podcaster and author. He regularly appears on CATHOLIC ANSWERS.) This does not stop them from harassing the lady in the wheelchair, though. At least, not immediately.

A neighbor has recently started throwing bags of dog poop at my back door, where they land on the cement and sometimes open up and spill excrement.  I have seen them do this twice myself. 

That neighbor is taking the dog bags from where I have left them in a big pot in my garden when I have to potty my dog after the sun goes down and I can't see well enough to throw them in the trash can meant for this purpose. The parking lot is way too dark for me to do this and puts me in the way of traffic.

I see this neighbor walking back and forth to my garden, bending over to pick up the bags, then going to my patio and throwing them at the doorstep. 

I have experienced several instances of bullying and harassment from neighbors, since having to start using a wheelchair, so when I found my patio littered with dog poop this morning, it felt like the final nail in my neighborly coffin.  All I need is for someone to give me more work to do.

I had a distraught, out-loud conversation with God and asked him, PLEASE, how am I to continue when so many people are so vulgar and childishly abusive?  It had been a really bad week for me, one in which I have encountered one example after another of disability discrimination and harassment, as well as being abandoned by those who are being paid to help me.

I was having some real disappointments, not only from this neighbor, but from the world, in general, from uncaring telephone companies, merchants and caregivers to our government, where we have just elected a felon/rapist/fascist/white supremacist to the highest office of the land who has already promised to be a "dictator on day one" and who has vowed to eliminate the Medicaid program that helps me survive.  It is a depressing prospect.

It is also difficult to endure abuse while others stand by and blame the  vulnerable for the vulgarity that thugs dish out. Any police officer will tell you that the more vulnerable you are, the more you are liable to be a TARGET.  There is no "reason" that justifies it. The vulnerability IS the reason. I had an entitled Facebook snob recently tell me that no one will do something bad to you unless you deserve it by having done something to them first. It isn't true and makes no sense, when you think about it. The disabled old lady in the wheelchair has no interest or ability, frankly. We are just struggling to get through our day, despite chronic pain and disfunction. Blaming us for the actions of evil people and criminal types is pure gaslighting.

I felt like the entire world has turned ugly. I prayed fervently, out loud, with tears.  "How can I continue?" I asked Him. I had a real "lament" going on for myself. 

This isn't what I imagined when I became a hermit, and part of these problems I have been having with these people is that my mode of life is so radically different than theirs that it probably irritates the soul of those who have no real religious or spiritual life. People who try to torment disabled elderly ladies are not in tune with God. They are in thrall to dark forces, and anyone who is thus situated is going to be infuriated when they come up against the vibe of a  religious hermit who loves God.

The only way to avoid these sort of people is to live more authentically as a hermit - away from the crowd - something that I cannot afford to do at present, especially since I am unable to endure the physicality of it. I have it in mind for future, however, but I need to generate some income in order to do it so that I can pay for the new residence and the means to get moved into it. That's something for the next step.

Shortly after finding my patio littered with dog poop bags, my dog was urging me to take him out for a walk. I had just woke up, but his need seemed urgent, so I took him out and, while I was struggling to get my wheelchair over a speed bump in order to avoid a moving car, a young man approached me and asked me, "May I help you?"

Here was this young man, dressed in a neatly pressed white shirt and nice jeans, reaching for the doggie bag in my hand. I was so surprised!  I had not met him before and hesitated.

He said to me, "Please, let me help you. Every day I see you walking your little dog, and it makes me so happy to see you."

His accent was heavy, but his English was very good.

We had a sweet conversation. He was a relatively new neighbor. He introduced me to his fiance, who was sitting in the car.  They were from Columbia. His manner and his demeanor were miles above and beyond the manners and consideration of my other (American) neighbors who have been harassing me.

I learned a lot from this exchange, and I have "taken it on-board" as an answer to my prayers. It is also a retort to those who claim that immigrants are what is wrong with our country, and who impugn their character in such vulgar fashion. Statistically speaking, immigrants are FAR LESS LIKELY to commit crimes than our American people, and I find that very easy to believe, based on my personal experience of toxic, free-floating hostility from people to whom I have been kind.

When I returned home, I thanked God for the encouragement, and the perspective. I remembered, once more, Jesus telling the parable of the tares and the wheat.

"24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30

God is bringing "all things to the good for those that believe" by facilitating that the mean people drop their social masks so that I can see who is wheat and who are the weeds. In this way, I can remain with the wheat. In order for this to happen, a certain amount of evil has to be allowed to appear in the world so that I can pinpoint who is of God and who is not.

I really needed this guidance today. It is extremely difficult to raise the consciousness of our culture when it comes to the disabled and the elderly - especially the ELDER ORPHANS, for whom I am working on establishing a ministry through my local parish. Some people will simply NOT be receptive. They have chosen to be weeds.

Fortunately, God has allowed me to see a bit of His method and, as a result, my faith is intact, thanks to those little daily miracles of good being revealed by the bad. I am so grateful for that.

Keep the faith, people! If you love God, He has you in his hand, whether you can see it or not.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUPERNATURAL, THE MYSTICAL, THE CONTEMPLATIVE CHURCH

 

THE TRINITY

BY TADDEO CRIVELLI

(From a manuscript created about 1460-1470)

Social Media is an opportunity to evangelize:

A non-Catholic on Facebook says that, although she is not Catholic, she has been reading the Bible, reciting the rosary, praying, and doing other very "Catholic" things, yet still feels empty. As I wrote my response to her, I realized that I was explaining to her not only the reason for my becoming Catholic, but some of the significance of the supernatural and mystical nature of our faith which is accessed by contemplative practices.

My response to her gives a strong explanation of why I became Catholic.

This is what I told her:

"The Catholic faith is not an intellectual exercise. What do I mean by this? I will give you one example. In John 20:19-23, Jesus appears to the Apostles after the Resurrection, satisfies them that it is, indeed HE who stands before them, and then tells them that, just as God has sent Him to them, Jesus is sending the Apostles out to mankind. Jesus has the POWER, as well as the AUTHORITY, to do things under God the Father's power, authority, and direction. Then He does something very significant.

He breathes upon them. What is the significance of this? It is the TRANSMISSION of the power to do those things that God, the Father has directed.

It was not enough to simply HEAR from Jesus that the Apostles have permission and authority to do those things that the Jews always taught that only God, the Father, could do (forgiveness and healing, among them.)

Power was transmitted to the Apostles

Jesus had to transmit POWER to them in order for the Apostles to have the ability to do what Jesus instructed. This is why He BREATHES on them. If simply telling them were enough, He would not have BREATHED on them as a dramatic action.

The POWER is an actual "THING" (for want of a better word.) It is not an intellectual assent or an expression of PERMISSION. It would not have been enough to give them PERMISSION to forgive sins. He had to give them the POWER to do it!

Upon breathing upon them, Jesus announces to them what He has done, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." The spiritual gift, the spiritual power, of The Holy Spirit has been transmitted to them by Jesus, whereupon He tells them what they are to do with this power that was transmitted to them.

"Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."

Apostolic Succession:

Down through the ages, the priests of The Holy Catholic Church have received this Holy Spirit, this POWER, in an unbroken line from those early days. This unbroken line is "Apostolic Succession." From God the Father, to Jesus the Son, to the Apostles, and then down through the long line of bishops (our modern "apostles"), the power of the Holy Spirit travels.

This power was not transmitted to other churches

There is no other Church that has had this power transmitted to it directly by Jesus.

Only the Apostles who formed the Catholic Church were breathed upon by Jesus. The Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah, and they did not receive it.

The "Eastern Orthodox" Church started out as the Eastern arm of The Catholic Church, but they would argue that we broke off from them. The Eastern Patriarch excommunicated our Pope and our Pope excommunicated the Patriarch of the Eastern part of the faith. The great Schism between the two halves occurred in 1034, and our territories are divided, East and West. I believe they are considered to have apostolic succession.

(When I became disabled and home-bound, I decided to dedicate my prayers, in general, to the reunion of all Christians, especially the Catholic with the Orthodox churches, so I have a heightened interest in my Orthodox brothers and sisters.)

The so-called "Protestant" churches would not exist for another 500 years after the schism, and they did not receive the breath of the Holy Spirit. They rejected the Church that Jesus started and decided to start their own.

In 1517, Martin Luther posted his objections to the Catholic faith on the Church door, in Wittenberg, Germany, and by 1521, he had left the Church entirely, and that was the beginning of the Lutheran faith in the Germanic countries.

I read something the other day about him taking up with a nun. They fell in love and decided to violate their vows. Instead of admitting what they had actually done, Martin Luther found fault with the Church instead. Not a great pretense on which to abandon the true faith of Christ.

Thanks to Henry VIII, King of England, the English abandoned the Catholic faith for "The Church of England," which was created so that King Henry could marry multiple wives. He issued his Act of Supremacy in 1534, claiming headship of the Church in England.

It is sin and ego that separated out these movements from The Church that cradled them from infancy. We often think we can do better than our Leaders and our betters, thanks to egotism.

Ours is a profoundly supernatural, relational, mystical faith. It administers the intersection of the supernatural with the natural, to beings who are both "body and soul."

A meal you have not eaten cannot feed you.

So far, you have been watching a meal being created, cooked and eaten by others. You see the benefit of it. But you will not receive any of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals from that meal you have not eaten. You can agree that eating that meal is a good thing to do. You can give assent to the goodness of it all you like. But until you eat the meal yourself, none of the vitamins or minerals of that meal will sustain you.

Your soul will be starving until you join the Catholic Church."

The error of human beings does not adulterate The Faith.

All my life, I had searched for the mystical connection with God. I knew, instinctively, that there was such a thing, and I felt, at times, that I was experiencing a hint of it within my soul. Throughout my childhood, I had heard nothing but bad things attributed to the Catholic Church. Everything I had heard about it in popular culture painted a picture of an institution that was staid, rulebound, judgmental, and (at times) cruel and militant.

The Catholic Church is the repository of the supernatural, mystical gift of Jesus Christ.

It wasn't until I was a nun in a Hindu convent, where I EXPECTED to find the mystical heart of God and the universe, that I actually found it in the numerous books I read about the Catholic mystics. Saints Theresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Jane de Chantal, Francis de Sales, and many others opened that world to me. Eventually, I left to get baptized and be accepted into the Catholic Church.

I HAVE found some people who were staid, rulebound, judgmental and, at times, cruel and militant - but The Faith is never thus. Human beings are flawed, and people are limited in their ability to express The Faith, according to their own temperaments, gifts and deficits. Their interpretations of The Bible, or The Catechism, as they relate to the faith, can be limited to only what their temperament will allow. But The Lord, true to His Word, has kept The Faith intact, down through the ages. He promised that "The Gates of Hell" would never prevail against it.

Some people emphasize the Temporal while others focus on the Mystical:

There are some people who reject the metaphysical aspects of the faith, while others reject the practical and temporal. But, just as human beings are "body and soul," so is the faith comprised of both these aspects. We are expected to perform certain actions in and for "the world," while at the same time being informed by and operating within The Spirit. When we do not properly incorporate the world with the spirit, we can develop a mania for one or the other.

There are people who are so transported by stories of the supernatural, that they lose all sense of the practical and worldly altogether. They seem to be gullible to every so-called "apparition" that is advertised, no matter how outlandish it seems to most of us. This is not helpful to the faith and can cause charlatans to take advantage of well-meaning folks. Some of the Catholics who are focused on the supernatural can be dismissive of the practical aspects of the faith. The allurements of the mystical consolations captures their attention so much that they will pursue the entertainments of it and will follow "seers" whose monetization of the faith will appear as if the circus has come to town.

Sometimes, in pursuit of the mystical attractions, the plight of suffering neighbors will be ignored, and we will fail to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and do all the other things we have been commanded to do in order to love our neighbor properly.

On the other hand, folks who are focused on the worldly aspects will be very good at the practical matters. Unfortunately, some of these folks will eschew anything metaphysical. It makes them uncomfortable. They are afraid they will not be taken seriously if they even talk about such things in relation to The Church. For instance, the apparitions of our Blessed Mother can make these kind of people very uncomfortable, even though there is very solid evidence for them. The apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, for instance, were reported in newspapers around the world, complete with photographs of the Miracle of the Sun. Skeptical reporters had gone to that location to debunk the miraculous, only to return absolutely converted, and bring home the proofs of the miraculous they had witnessed. Many thousands of people were eye witnesses.

The current trend:

In the last three decades or so, it seems to me that many parishes have rather more of the latter type of person running them. It feels as if the secular expectations of how to run a business have taken over, and the mystical is regarded with suspicion. This does not mean that "The Faith" or "The Catholic Church" is anti-mystical. It only means that the people administering many parishes, at the moment, have generally more of this tendency. It is my hope that, gradually, it will move to the center position, where both aspects - spiritual and temporal - are blended equally.

Humans are not perfect, but it is my belief that most everyone is doing the best they can, given their personal interpretation of the light that has been given them by the Holy Spirit. That does not mean there is no room for improvement, and one of my prayers, lately, is that the spiritual and temporal be interfaced with one another in the way in which Father, Son and Holy Spirit want them to be. "The Trinity" itself is a perfect example of this Divine, Blessed Balance!

Pray for your parish and your leaders!

If you find any deficit with the parish in which you find yourself, let it be a reminder to pray for the leaders of our faith. When you are praying, don't forget to mention your parish and fellow Catholics. In addition, I offer the following prayer:

Loving God, author of creation,

your spirit pervades and enriches our

world.

Through your Son, who shares our humanity,

You have called us to participate in your divine creativity

and to build the kingdom of God here on earth.

Form us, we pray, as one community

under the leadership of our bishop

to serve all the people of this region in your name.

Inspire us to discover new ways

and structures to spread your Gospel.

Open our eyes to see Christ in others,

especially the poor, the sick and the marginalized.

Empower us to be the hands and feet of Christ

in our parishes and communities.

Help us to welcome all into His embrace.

Guide us in our discernment,

as we pray with Pope Francis

for the vision to see new paths of possibility;

for a spirit of mission that invigorates our every effort;

and for the strength to be unafraid of what is new.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Imprimatur: July 25, 2014

The Most Reverend Lawrence T. Persico JCL

Bishop of Erie

I hope you will take advantage of this beautiful prayer and pray it often! Also, that my blog may be of some help to you for yourself and for the enlightenment of those you teach, lead, and inspire in the faith, including your family and your children.

May God bless us all. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us, and May our Guardian Angels guide us!

Silver Rose