St. Lucy's Day

"Saint Lucy's Day" by Carl Larsson, 1908

 

When I came across this image I had to share it ... and let us all know that it is St. Lucy's Day.

I've never paid much attention to St. Lucy beyond a casual knowledge of her connection to light and that she is venerated especially in Scandinavian countries. And of the custom of wearing candles for a breakfast celebration, which is illustrated in a lovely fashion in this painting.

Lucy's feast is on 13 December, in Advent. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a festival of light.

This is particularly seen in Scandinavian countries, with their long dark winters. There, a young girl dressed in a white dress and a red sash (as the symbol of martyrdom) carries palms and wears a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. It is said that to vividly celebrate St. Lucy's Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light.

Wikipedia

Detail from Mesa

Although this post praising Lines and Colors is old, the point is not. I still love that blog and am happy every time there's a new post.

Detail from Mesa, Jan Davidsz de Heem
via Lines and Colors

One of the things I love about Lines and Colors is the way that Charley Parker will sometimes choose a single painting and then pull out details that make it possible for me to better appreciate the artist.

This is one such case because I am not, as a rule, drawn to still life paintings but the different details highlighted made me view the work with new eyes. Swing by there to see what I mean.

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

This my annual post about Our Lady of Guadalupe. I usually am not especially interested in one visitation of Mary more than another, but there is something about Our Lady of Guadalupe that captures my attention. It is all the concrete symbolism that can be seen. Be sure to check out all the links. There is some fantastic information in those places.

MEMORIAL

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepayac hill near Mexico City on the 9th of December 1531 to ask for the construction of a church there in her honour. After the miraculous cure of his uncle, Bernardo, this Indian peasant brought to his Bishop some roses that he received from Our Lady as a sign of her request. As the flowers fell from his cloak to the ground before the astonished Prelate, the image of the blessed virgin, which is venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe to this day, was miraculously impressed on the simple garment before their eyes.

In Conversation With God Vol 7: Feast Days, July-December

There is so much in that image that speaks to Catholic hearts through symbolism.

However, there is much more to Our Lady of Guadalupe's image than that. As with all good Catholic images there is abundant symbolism that was specifically designed to speak to the hearts of the people to whom she brought her message ... the Aztecs. I remember when our priest put out a flyer about this and I was just knocked out at how meaningful every single thing in the image is. I really like this explanation.

The miraculous image produced on the apron or tilma of Blessed Juan Diego is rich in symbolism. The aureole or luminous light surrounding the Lady is reminiscent of the "woman clothed with the sun" of Rev. 12:1. The light is also a sign of the power of God who has sanctified and blessed the one who appears. The rays of the sun would also be recognized by the native people as a symbol of their highest god, Huitzilopochtli. Thus, the lady comes forth hiding but not extinguishing the power of the sun. She is now going to announce the God who is greater than their sun god.

The Lady is standing upon the moon. Again, the symbolism is that of the woman of Rev. 12:1 who has the "moon under her feet". The moon for the Meso-Americans was the god of the night. By standing on the moon, she shows that she is more powerful than the god of darkness. However, in Christian iconography the crescent moon under the Madonna's feet is usually a symbol of her perpetual virginity, and sometimes it can refer to her Immaculate Conception or Assumption.

The eyes of Our lady of Guadalupe are looking down with humility and compassion. This was a sign to the native people that she was not a god since in their iconography the gods stare straight ahead with their eyes wide open. We can only imagine how tenderly her eyes looked upon Blessed Juan Diego when she said: " Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief -- Am I not here who am your Mother?"

The angel supporting the Lady testifies to her royalty. To the Meso-American Indians only kings, queens and other dignitaries would be carried on the shoulders of someone. The angel is transporting the Lady to the people as a sign that a new age has come.

The mantle of the Lady is blue-green or turquoise. To the native people, this was the color of the gods and of royalty. It was also the color of the natural forces of life and fecundity. In Christian art, blue is symbolic of eternity and immortality. In Judaism, it was the color of the robe of the high priest. The limbus or gold border of her mantle is another sign of nobility.

The stars on the Lady's mantle shows that she comes from heaven. She comes as the Queen of Heaven but with the eyes of a humble and loving mother. The stars also are a sign of the supernatural character of the image. The research of Fr. Mario Rojas Sanchez and Dr. Juan Homero Hernandez Illescas of Mexico (published in 1983) shows that the stars on the Lady's mantle in the image are exactly as the stars of the winter solstice appeared before dawn on the morning of December 12, 1531.

The color of the Madonna's dress is rose or pale-red. Some have interpreted this as the color of dawn symbolizing the beginning of a new era. Others point to the red as a sign of martyrdom for the faith and divine love.

The gold-encircled cross brooch under the neck of the Lady's robe is a symbol of sanctity.

The girdle or bow around her waist is a sign of her virginity, but it also has several other meanings. The bow appears as a four-petaled flower. To the native Indians this was the nahui ollin, the flower of the sun, a symbol of plenitude. The cross-shaped flower was also connected with the cross-sticks which produce fire. For them, this was the symbol of fecundity and new life. The high position of the bow and the slight swelling of the abdomen show that the Lady is "with child". According to Dr. Carlos Fernandez Del Castillo, a leading Mexican obstetrician, the Lady appears almost ready to give birth with the infant head down resting vertically. This would further solidify her identification with the woman of Rev. 12 who is about to give birth.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother and Patroness of the Unborn,
1999 Office of Respect Life – Diocese of Austin

Read about this apparition of Our Lady in more depth at Catholic Culture.

Here is yet another point about the symbolism in an article by Bishop Olmsted, which is sadly no longer available online from The Catholic Sun where it first appeared. I have never seen the symbolism mentioned anywhere else.

Nine heart-shaped flower blossoms decorate the tunic worn by Our Lady of Guadalupe, surrounding her hands, which are gently folded in prayer. This artistic technique told the Native peoples that the Virgin Mary was holding hearts in her maternal hands, protecting them from harm. This image mesmerized them as they gazed with awe and wonder at the sight. It filled them with new hope at a time when they teetered on the edge of despair. Why?

Hearts, they had thought, were what you offered to the gods in order to restore harmony in the world. In their own practice of human sacrifice, hearts were torn out of victims, usually enemies captured in battle, and then offered as a peace offering. But that effort to win peace with their “gods” had failed to save them from defeat by the Conquistadors. Worse, after the conquest, they no longer knew how to pray or even to whom to pray.

But then, Our Lady of Guadalupe came to them, gently holding their hearts in her hands. Harmony, they realized, was again possible! Her hands held their hearts just above the divine Child in her womb, the One whose Sacred Heart conquers violence and restores peace to the world.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Read about the structure in a wonderful post at Mexico Bob

Be sure also to check out this fantastic book Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love. It is chock full of good information about more symbolism and how Our Lady of Guadalupe relates to our lives today.

Merry Christmas, Texas Style

Jason Merlo, photographer
Texas yucca and red oak saplings - Burnet County, Texas

It's how we show our Christmas spirit.

Beyond the Manger by Robert J. Daly SJ

This is a book that surprised me. I'm glad I gave it a chance. Following the feasts of Christmas, the author imagines the reactions of characters who encountered the Holy Family at the first Christmas. This is done in narrative, free form poems which usually are the sort of thing that I don't like, but the author makes the voices real enough that they just read like stories.

What I really enjoyed was the different characters like the camel driver for the wise men, the innkeeper's daughter or the drifter. Each one we meet has been drawn in by Mary's smile or Joseph's eyes or the baby, of course. Occasionally, we encounter a character further on as a peripheral figure in someone else's story, which caused me a delightful jolt of recognition. There are some memories from Mary and Joseph as well, which also pleased me because they weren't the sort of sentimental material that I usually avoid. They felt genuine.

That's how this whole book feels — genuine. It pulls us into the Christ child's story in a way I hadn't come across before. Recommended.

A Touch of Winter

A Touch of Winter, by our favorite - Remo Savisaar

Whispers of Mary: What Twelve Old Testament Women Teach Us About Mary by Gayle Somers

Throughout the history of the Bible, incredible women have played a part in the story of salvation. Steeped in Scripture, the Blessed Mother would have known and pondered the stories of these women. She might even have recognized pieces of her own story in theirs.

Whispers of Mary invites Catholics to explore Marian typology through the lives of women like Eve, Esther, and Judith. With thought-provoking commentary and hundreds of Scripture verses, Whispers of Mary deepens readers' appreciation for the story of salvation by revealing how even in the Old Testament, the lives of heroic women pointed toward Mary, and through Mary, to God.

This was a really good look at the precursors to Mary in Scripture. The 12 women highlighted were familiar to me but the author almost always found something new to consider, quite often because of a close reading of text I just hadn't noticed. I especially appreciated the way thar Somers gave context for each woman's place in salvation history. I also really enjoyed the last chapter about Mary which considered how she might have been influenced by her own scripture knowledge showing echoes of their stories in her own life. That hadn't occurred to me before.

I didn't always agree with Somers's points, for example the absolutism of "never tell a lie" brought up when looking at Judith but there weren't a lot of those moments. To be fair, it did spark a household discussion of the topic ranging from St. Augustine to Corrie ten Boom's experiences in The Hiding Place. So, that in itself had value.

I also never use discussion questions but did note that these seemed more salient than most. None of them were interesting to me but I think a lot of women would find them fruitful.

Recommended.

First Communion - Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso. First Communion. 1895-96.
via My Daily Art Display

Of course, the big surprise in this painting is not the subject matter, though I really love the piece. It is the artist. This is from Pablo Picasso's early years. My Daily Art Display has more information about Picasso during that time.

St. Juan Diego Feast Day

Today the Church in the United States celebrates the optional memorial of St. Juan Diego, an Indian convert, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared as he was going to Mass in Tlatlelolco, Mexico. Our Lady asked him to tell the Bishop that she desired a shrine to be built on the spot to manifest her love for all mankind. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego as a sign for the Bishop. This miraculous image has proved to be ageless, and is kept in the shrine built in her honor, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

Catholic Culture

Click through on the link to read more, see prayers, activities, and lots of good stuff. 

 I really love Our Lady of Guadalupe but hadn't ever stopped to think about her humble servant, Juan Diego. When I do I can see parallels to my own life, as removed as it may seem from his so long ago and in such different circumstances. One of my favorite parts of the story involves Juan Diego having a problem that makes him miss his appointment with Mary.

By Monday, December 11, however, Juan Diego's uncle Juan Bernardino had fallen sick and Juan Diego was obliged to attend to him. In the very early hours of Tuesday, December 12, Juan Bernardino's condition having deteriorated overnight, Juan Diego set out to Tlatelolco to get a priest to hear Juan Bernardino's confession and minister to him on his death-bed. Fourth apparition: in order to avoid being delayed by the Virgin and embarrassed at having failed to meet her on the Monday as agreed, Juan Diego chose another route around the hill, but the Virgin intercepted him and asked where he was going; Juan Diego explained what had happened and the Virgin gently chided him for not having had recourse to her. In the words which have become the most famous phrase of the Guadalupe event and are inscribed over the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe, she asked: "¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?" ("Am I not here, I who am your mother?"). She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered and she told him to climb the hill and collect flowers growing there. Obeying her, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers unseasonably in bloom on the rocky outcrop where only cactus and scrub normally grew. Using his open mantle as a sack (with the ends still tied around his neck) he returned to the Virgin; she re-arranged the flowers and told him to take them to the bishop. On gaining admission to the bishop in Mexico City later that day, Juan Diego opened his mantle, the flowers poured to the floor, and the bishop saw they had left on the mantle an imprint of the Virgin's image which he immediately venerated.

Wikipedia

I love that in order to avoid delays and embarrassment, Juan Diego goes a different way. I have way too many times in my life like that. Though I rarely have such a good excuse as caring for an ill relative. And the fact that Mary chides him for not turning to her with his problem is a good reminder that too often I forget to enlist God's help in the challenges in my life.

We are trying to celebrate saint days more intentionally in our lives. So we will get some special roses, have Oh Gosh cocktails (like a margarita but made with rum — can't help it that we don't like tequila, we do the best we can!) . 

Feast of the Immaculate Conception - Holy Day of Obligation

Luca Mombello (1518-1520/ 1588-1596)
Immacolata Concezione con Dio Padre / The Immaculate Conception with God the Father
via Idle Speculations where there is some fascinating information
about paintings of the Immaculate Conception with the Son included.

 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Our Lady's preservation from all stain of original sin is an absolutely unique privilege. According to theologians, the fullness of grace in Mary's case was the principal ground and characteristic of her human nature. Every aspect of her being shone with the splendour of that harmony with which God had originally wanted to endow all humanity ... We understand clearly that God prepared with infinite love the one who was to become the Mother of his Son: How would we have acted if we could have chosen our own mother? I'm sure we would have chosen the one we have, adorning her with every possible grace. That is what Christ did. Being all-powerful, all-wise, Love itself (1 John 4:8), his power carried out his will. (St. Josemaria Escriva)

The life of the Immaculate Mother of God will always be a worthy ideal for us all to imitate, because she is a model of sanctity in ordinary life, of the kind of holiness that is accessible to everyone in everyday circumstances. It is a quiet dedication that often passes unnoticed.

In Conversation with God, Special Feasts: July - December

I do love those moments when modern science catches up to the Church. Today, believe it or not is one such day. This blew me away.

The gift of the Immaculate Conception was given contemporaneously with Mary's microscopic sparking to life. ... God chould choose His own mother and so logically chose a perfect one. As the author of creation, He crafted a pristine soul incapable of sin or moral disorder. ...

When she is just a fetus, a woman has as many eggs as she will ever have. The ovaries of a female fetus are saturated with eggs whose numbers will only decrease over time. So half of the genetic material necessary to form an embryo has waited, latent, inside of that embryo's mother since the time that mother was herself in utero. The unbroken chain of human life is unfathomably beautiful. Grandmother, mother, and grandchild are, in a certain sense, bound together, united, in every woman expecting a daughter. When Mary was conceived in the womb of Saint Anne, then, the DNA of Jesus of Nazareth was already present in the embryonic Mary. This is a biological fact, not a statement of faith. At the Annunciation, when Mary miraculously conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, that "Lord and Giver of Life" spoke through the words ofthe Archangel Gabriel and sparked Christ to first stir with humanity deep inside the body where His genes had long been waiting. ...

In Saint Anne, God was readying the fairest flower of Israel, her most modest daughter and humble rose, for Himself. Mary's virtues of humility and obedience would straighten the path twisted by Eve's sins of disobedience and pride.

Father Michael Black, Saints and Feasts of the Catholic Calendar, Vol IV

If you've been saying the Immaculate Conception novena, here's the final day's prayer.

Marianne Stokes, Madonna and Child, 1907-1908

via Wikimedia Commons

I discovered this image via Magnificat's cover years ago. Our Lady is so serene and loving looking that I wanted to include it here, despite the fact that it isn't specifically about the Immaculate Conception.

Immaculate Conception Novena - Day 8

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Birth Of Mary
(I like thinking about the practicalities as well as the theological at this moment.
Just like her son, Jesus, would do, Mary is a sign to us that God works in the material things —
the "matter" of our world.)

GATE OF HEAVEN

St. Alphonsus Liguori affirms that Mary is the Gate of Heaven, since in the way all befits a king confers first to pass through his palace gate, no grace comes down from heaven without first passing through the hands of Mary. Even during her earthly life we see how Our Lady was the dispenser of Divine grace. Precisely through her the unborn Jesus blesses the Precursor from his Mother's womb on the occasion when Mary has gone in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Jesus performs his first miracle by changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee -- at Mary's insistence. The disciples begin to put their faith wholly in Jesus from this very moment. The Church in history and in the nations of the world began on that day of Pentecost -- in the presence of Mary.

In Conversation With God :
Feast Days July - December(vol.7)

Here is the novena for the eighth day.