According to thy Word

Two simple reflections from the mouth of Mary, Mother of God.

She practised what she preached:

"Be it done unto me according to Thy Word": the Annunciation.

"Do whatever He tells you!": to the servants at the Wedding in Cana.

She knew the benefits that would come from saying "Yes, Lord."

Advent

Candles lit in sequence,

purple, pink and white,

mark the coming season,

herald shorter nights.

Time of preparation,

chance to re-align,

but who, in truth, is waiting?

You? or Jesus Christ?

Resurrection

Low in the afternoon,
The sparrow deceived by the sun:
Dusk being yet hours away,
To its close the year slowly drawing.

Our feathered friend must dream:
The hope of a long-promised dawn,
Shiv'ring in twilight's repose
And lo, with the first signs of morning

Kith and kin reawaken from slumber
To greet the daystar of their lives
And beyond all counting, the number
Who ascend, fresh-winged, through the sky.

The heart in prayer...

...is an altar on which
the Holy Spirit places and engraves

the eternal Gospel,
Jesus.

(Fr. Jean Corbon)

A Reflection on Stained Glass

Made by another,
Everything in order,
Depending on an outside and an inside.

Giving glory to its maker,
Showing beauty through its nature,
Letting something else shine through its being.

In-built scenes of wonder,
Revealed to the beholder,
Relying on the glass embracing light.

Darkness does not serve her,
Yet night does not destroy her,
Dawn returns and once more she is vibrant.

All that is required,
Is the sun that fills and fires
And passes through until she is enlightened.

You and I
And she and Him,
We have so much in common.

On The Visitation

When Mary visits her cousin, her concern for another would go on to bear so much fruit, more than she could ever have imagined. Thanks to her thoughtfulness towards someone else in need, Elizabeth would greet her with words now repeated in prayer by millions of people ever since. Endless glory has been given to God with each "Hail Mary!" and endless prayers answered in return with Our Lady's intercessory help.

But also for Mary, as a reward for her generosity and selfless charity towards another - each prayer provides a rose petal with which to crown her during the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary. Mary's goodness becomes her own crowning glory and, as ever, her "yes" sees God's will being completely fulfilled.

She inspires us to think of others first, in the hope that one day our selfless acts of love and thoughtfulness will please God's heart and reap a harvest which we ourselves will not know until all is made clear and completed.

Apple Month

August has always been "apple month" for me. Coming to the end of summer and getting ready to head back to school the apples had to be picked from the three trees in the garden and put in buckets for cooking or eating. Mum would bake tarts or make jam or apple jelly and we'd do our best not to bite into a cooking apple by mistake - too sour!

The phrase "apple in someone's eye" always sounded a bit odd to me so I looked it up today. Apparently you can find it in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and it means "something that is especially beloved and precious". So when I come across these phrases in the scriptures, they now begin to make more sense:

Psalm 17:8-9

⁷ Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wing.

and

Proverbs 7

¹ My son, keep my words
and store up my commands within you.

² Keep my commands and you will live;
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

In other words, if we hold the words and the teachings of God as precious and valuable in our sight, we will be his pride and joy and "especially beloved" in His eyes.

The Road To Hell

...is not to Maynooth, but rather one that is paved with good intentions. I really wanted to use this blog last year as a place to reflect on the journey. Here, one year on - little has been posted and instead I was too busy "doing" rather than "pondering".

Perhaps this year as the Spiritual Month begins in a week's time, I will resolve to keep a better record of the ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) goings-on inside a seminary.