St. Mary Magdalene

The feast of St. Mary Magdalene is one of my favorites.  I've always wanted to model my life after this beautiful and holy woman; that is, I want to love much.  I recently learned that during the course of the last seventy years, it was realized that the seven demons that Jesus cast out from St. Mary Magdalene was actually referring to His curing her depression and anxiety, not the prostitution that is usually attributed to her. As one who has deeply struggled with those same mental illnesses, the knowledge that we have this commonality makes me love her even more.

Here's a treat from my favorite local poet, Jessica Powers, aka Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit, OCD, in honor of this special Feast Day:

God is a Strange Lover

God is the strangest of all lovers;

His ways are past explaining.

He sets His heart on a soul:  He says to Himself, “Here will I rest my love.”

But he does not woo her with flowers or jewels or words that are set to music,

No names endearing, no kindled praise His heart, direction prove.

His jealousy is an infinite thing, He stalks the soul with sorrow;

He tramples the bloom; He blots the sun that could make her vision dim.

He robs and breaks and destroys-there is nothing at last but her own shame, her own affliction,

And then He comes and there is nothing in the vast world but Him and her love of Him.

Not till the great rebellions die and her will is safe in His hands forever

Does He open the door of light and His tenderness fall,

And then for what is seen in the soul’s virgin places,

For what is heard in the heart, there is no speech at all.

God is a strange lover; the story of His love is most surprising,

There is no proud queen in her cloth of gold; over and over again.

There is only, deep in the soul, a poor dishelved woman weeping….

For those who have need of a picture and words:  the Magdalen.

And something I've shared before from Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, and my spiritual father:

To Saint Mary Magdalene

You claimed
the false
until you found
the True;
your beauty
wounded
until Beauty
wounded you,
and plunged your soul
into a spring so sweet
your tears
fell as chaste pearls
at Mercy's
feet.

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IX-Jesus falls the third time

(The ninth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is an utter weariness in the Holy Face drooping like a tired flower back to the breast of the earth.  Eyes and mouth have not the strength to close, so complete is the exhaustion of the Master.  Only the will to sacrifice remains in vigor, and that will endures because its strength is nourished by Love Divine.

Jesus, somewhere along the road ahead, a last disappointing failure may be waiting for me, a last moment of bodily weariness, perhaps a last moment of moral weariness.  Jesus, on my bodily and spiritual infirmities have mercy, remembering your own last fall.

Blessed Mother, pity the tired ones of the world. 

 (From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VII-Jesus falls the second time

(The seventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

Jesus was mindful of the abiding character of human frailty and in this His second fall beneath the Cross, His very exhaustion provided for all time courage and strength, grace for souls that find themselves constantly in need of beginning again.

Jesus, in a very special manner I thank You for the second fall beneath the Cross, for repeated falls with repeated need to begin again are characteristics of my life, and indeed of the lives of thousands.  Your second fall assured me of Your patience with human weakness and inspires me to lift myself by Your grace and to begin again.

Mother dearest, your only weakness was that of love; extend your pitying love to me and to all who fall in sin and need must rise again.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

Gleaming Dust or Gleaming Divinity?

The world of the internet can be so amazing, can't it?  What I love best about the internet is all of the wonderful people I've met online through common interests such as praying for priests.  One such special person that I met online and fervently hope to meet and pray with in person some day soon, is Dawn Meyer.  Through this blog and facebook and the Monthly Prayer Request for Priests, Dawn and I have struck up a lovely friendship.  Dawn, knowing that I am an Oblate of the Precious Blood and with that have a special interest in the founder, Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, recently sent me this profound email which she has graciously allowed me to share here.  I know that she and I are not the only ones who struggle with detachment from material goods and other things which keep us from a closer union with God alone and I felt that her words would touch many hearts.

Dawn writes:

Remember the 30 pieces of silver that Judas accepted in return for handing Jesus over to the chief priests?

(Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. Matthew 26:14-15)

Consider this....

Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald

"The silver had done no evil, the silver had not enticed of its own, if the silver could have spoken, it would have said, 'O Judas, do not take us for our Creator; we are only gleaming dust, He is gleaming Divinity.'

All sin is the choosing of the dust. Even when it is the choosing of a living creature, what are we but animated dust? And what is the source of our animation? All the beauty of human love, all the beauty and tenderness that is in honest human love, is only a fraction, a faint shadow of the tenderness of God's love." -Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald

It is a powerful image to be mindful of, this "choosing of the dust". In the midst of temptations, the sinful thought, word, or deed looks so enticing, so captivating, so irresistible that we lose sight of the fact that we're really succumbing to a heap of "gleaming dust"! When you look at it that way, it seems preposterous to even contemplate choosing to sin, yes?

The other day I was out shopping and as my eyes did a 360 around the store, taking in all of the colorful items that surrounded me, it occurred to me that every single thing there was all just dust. Flowery wreath for the front door...dust. Mango-colored pillow that would look great on my gray couch...dust. Cute Easter table decorations....dust. You get the idea. Not to say that buying any of these items would be a sin, in and of itself. But in the end, we know that nothing material lasts forever, and the "joy" we feel when taking possession of any material good, pales in comparison to the joy of knowing and loving our Creator.

Hmmmm....gleaming dust or gleaming Divinity? Seems like such an obvious choice, doesn't it?

Mary Immaculate,
help me in my weakness
to resist the tempting heaps of gleaming dust
that present themselves to me every day.
Be my guide, my constant help.
Lead me to always choose your Beloved Son
in His gleaming Divinity, so as to please Him
and merit eternal life with you and the Blessed Trinity.

Amen.

For Christ in His Priest

My family and I had enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my son, John, who had come home from seminary college for a long and busy weekend filled with special events in the Church.  On Tuesday, the time had arrived to say good-bye, and my son Justin and I planned to drive him back to Chicago so he could resume his studies.  As a new Oblate of the Precious Blood, I thought it would be nice if we could pay a visit to the Priory of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood in Lake Villa, Illinois.  When I learned that the priory was only an hour-long drive from my home and wasn't too far outside of Chicago, I called to make arrangements for a visit on our way back to the seminary.

The drive to the seminary was beautiful as the route took us away from the busy city and super-fast freeways and toll-ways, through the scenic countryside, where the abundant trees were a mosaic of red, yellow and orange.  When we arrived at the Priory we found it to be a large piece of property with several buildings that had formerly been a farm, nestled beside several fields of corn.  The first building we saw had a sign on it that read "Chapel".  I parked the car near the back of the building and we went inside to offer prayers of thanksgiving for my recent Solemn Resolution of Love.

The Chapel

Upon entering the chapel foyer, I stopped to light a candle of gratitude.  To the right we saw a sliding glass door that led to the chapel.  Kneeling at the altar before the monstrance we saw one of the Handmaids who was deep in prayer.  I let out a little gasp of joy because the sight of this woman in prayer was exactly like the one that I had looked at many times on the internet when I would visit the Handmaids of the Precious Blood website.  I couldn't believe that I was actually in the presence of a real-live Handmaid of the Precious Blood after having only communicated through correspondence for the past year.

My sons and I knelt in the back row and I felt extremely honored to pray the prayer of the Lay Associate of the Priesthood and the Prayers for Priests and Those Destined for Priesthood that the Handmaids of the Precious Blood pray every day in the very same chapel.  Then I prayed for every priest and seminarian as well as those discerning a call to the priesthood whom I have carefully listed in my own prayer book.  I followed these prayers with a rosary and several other Marian prayers and then fell into silence in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord.  I was filled with joy!

When my sons and I left the chapel, we were greeted by a sister who welcomed us into the guest house and invited us to sit down and enjoy some coffee and bagels.  Sister kindly shared her own history with the Handmaids as well as the history of the priory.  We talked about Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the order, and Fr. John Hardon, SJ, a long-time spiritual director for the order who initiated the Oblates back in the 1980's.   The Handmaids and I share a common friendship with Friar Paul Schneider, OFM Conv. who is also an Oblate of the Precious Blood.  Sister told me that she and the other Handmaids who live in the Priory in Illinois were granted permission to attend Friar Paul's ordination to the priesthood at the Basilica of St. Josephat in Milwaukee this coming May.  It will be a day of great joy!  She also talked with John about the friendship that the Handmaids share with Fr. Pawel, one of the staff members at St. Joseph College Seminary, who had asked the Handmaids to pray for the seminary on the occasion of the dedication of their new chapel and the consecration of the altar.  It was beginning to feel like a very small world and Sister already felt like an old friend.

She took us outside to show us the vegetable garden and all of the buildings on the grounds.  We stopped in the place where they sell honey as a means of earning income and Sister gave each of us a jar of the sweet treat as a congratulatory gift for becoming an Oblate.  They also earn money by selling hosts that are made elsewhere and are distributed through the Priory.

Before we left, Sister told us that we had to meet another Handmaid who used to work with the Oblate candidates by corresponding with them while they were in formation.  This sister was delightfully joyful and sweet.  I reached to shake her hand and she reached to hug me instead.  Then she exclaimed that it was a great joy for her to meet an Oblate in person.  She said that writing to Oblates was a somewhat "hidden" ministry because you rarely get to meet the people that you are writing to, so having the opportunity to stand face to face with an Oblate was a real treat.  I felt the same way about meeting her.  It was a beautiful moment that I will never forget!

I can't wait until another opportunity presents itself for me to pay another visit to the Handmaids of the Precious Blood Priory and to physically spend time on my knees with the women with whom and for whom I have been praying this past year and who, in return, have been praying for me and my family.

I am so overjoyed to be an Oblate of the Precious Blood!  It is a wonderful gift from God and a great benefit of being Catholic, to have the opportunity to move a little more deeply into prayer for the men who bring Christ to the world.  The spirit of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood is, "For Christ in His Priest".  I am grateful to live that spirit in my daily life through prayer and sacrifice for the men who give their lives to bring Christ to life for all of the faithful.

with the sisters

Dip Your Paddle

In my most recent candidacy lesson for the Oblates of the Precious Blood I found this gem from Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald on mental prayer:




















"Look at the beautiful face of our Mother Mary and you will say a perfect prayer. How simple it is to pray if we pray meditatively, if we take time to think of what we are saying. St. Francis of Assisi would spend all night saying only: "My God and my All." I want you to learn to pray like that, according to Divine Counsel: "When you pray, pray not long prayers." Pray meditatively; don't be racing through prayers. If you ask God, He will help you to pray. Pray as one who paddles a canoe on a quiet lake in the twilight. [Imagine] the violet banks of hills set against the gold of the setting sun; the lake almost a mirror with here and there a little fish splashing and a little bird winging its way home. You dip your paddle just enough to keep the canoe moving. So in meditation, one does well to dip one's paddle just enough to keep one's soul moving toward God."

All-Love, loving

I've been reading a wonderful book, A Prophet for the Priesthood: A Spiritual Biography of Fr. Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald by Fr. John Hardon, SJ. It's beyond amazing to read a book by one great and holy priest about another great and holy priest who devoted his life to praying for and helping all priests, but especially for those who struggled in their vocation. In today's world when we hear of one priest after another falling from grace, it's so hopeful to know that this isn't something new and that there is someone who cared enough to build a lasting religious order to combat the temptations and trials that beset the priesthood.

Fr. Fitzgerald was the founder of the Society of the Paraclete for priests and the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, an order of contemplative nuns who devote their lives to supporting and praying for priests. He worked tirelessly to promote Eucharistic Adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I found the following quote to be particularly poignant:

"Even if you had the happiest of human homes, even if you had the great sense of security, the love of the finest earthly husband and children, it would only be for a few years...The shadow of the cross lies over every life. It can't be otherwise because only by the cross can we be redeemed. And the cross is terribly hard unless we love the Corpus on it. The Blessed Sacrament is for us the Corpus on the Cross.

It is for us Mother and Father, and brother and sister, and Bridegroom and Bride. It's All. Here is all the tenderness of the Eternal Father. Here is the source of that little mysterious throbbing of your heart which means that you are living.

O Lord Jesus, like a child who only knows that the Blessed Sacrament is Jesus, teach us that which is the supreme wisdom of all the Catholic philosophies. St. Augustine was a lover. That is the secret of sanctity, to be a lover of God. Here in the Blessed Sacrament is everything. Here is All-Love, loving."

And this quote about desiring good will is very moving:

"Beg God to give you a good will. We recognize it in others, do we not? We are lost, we get nowhere unless there is good will. That is all that God has blessed on earth, is it not? He made that careful distinction and had His angels express it at the moment when heaven was radiant in its own generosity, when the night was filled with the music of the angel choirs. And what was it that they are proclaiming? Not peace on earth to everyone but only peace on earth to men of good will."

To learn more about Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, a priest of very good will, visit the Handmaids of the Precious Blood.

Saint Mary Magdalene

(Magdalene by Antonio Veneziano from Magnifacat Magazine)

Her feast day rapidly approaches; my favorite saint, Mary Magdalene, with her jar of alabaster whom we honor on July 22nd, and I have found the most lovely poem written in her honor. Today I snuck away to one of my favorite places, the Salzmann Library at St. Francis de Sales Seminary where three treasures were waiting for me to indulge my spiritual avarice-three books written by or about Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, the holy founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, a cloistered order who devote themselves to praying for priests. Fr. Fitzgerald wrote poetry and had it published under the pseudonym of A. Page, CSC, and it was in his book titled Paths from Bethlehem where I found this delicious poem:

To Saint Mary Magdalene

You claimed
the false
until you found
the True;
your beauty
wounded
until Beauty
wounded you,
and plunged your soul
into a spring so sweet
your tears
fell as chaste pearls
at Mercy's
feet.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!