Feast of the Annunciation

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.  Note that on today's date, March 25, there are exactly nine months until Christmas.

The details of this event are related in just one small paragraph in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26-35; I prefer the Douay-Rheims version), yet it is one of the most pivotal events in human and salvation history. 

The Annunciation can be traced all the way back to Genesis 3:15 (again I prefer the text of the Douay-Rheims Bible).  Mary is indeed that Woman who crushes the head of Satan.  That is why she is often depicted in art with a snake under her foot. 

To aid my Rosary meditation, I often like to find interesting and beautiful works of art that depict the various mysteries.  Since my family travels frequently, I often take the time to visit art museums, and I particularly enjoy looking at religious art. 

I came across this painting of the Annunciation (above) by George Hitchcock in the Art Institute of Chicago.  I was immediately drawn to its simple beauty, and I liked that it was different from so many other typical paintings of this mystery,which usually show an angel presenting Mary with a single lily.  Here, she is surrounded by lilies, the symbol of purity and virginity.  Mary, "full of grace," is the new Eve, depicted in a garden of lilies, reversing the disobedience of the old Eve in that long-ago garden of Paradise.  Her fiat, or yes, will allow us to re-enter that garden.

I could spend the rest of my life meditating on this one mystery of the Rosary and never fully grasp its depth and beauty.  Today, I will reflect on Mary's words, "May it be done to me according to thy word."  I hope and pray that I can find the strength to do what God wills of me.

Wretched Census People!

This is a departure from my usual blog entries, but I thought a little humor was in order this week.  A little background:  My family has spent the last four years traveling in an RV while we homeschooled our children.  (My husband was a part-time Reserve Air Force pilot.)  Just recently, we decided to settle down for awhile, and we have started looking for a house in a charming small town in rural North Carolina.  We are blessed to have our comfortable, roomy RV to live in as we take our time finding the right place to live.  We're staying in a very nice wooded campground, and our site overlooks a pond where Canadian geese stop during migration, and deer often run through the surrounding hills.  Even so, there are some people who don't quite "get" why we would do this, thus the following (true) story, which does have a spiritual theme (wait for it...):

I woke up this morning feeling exhausted and beset by a bad case of those middle-age hormones. After getting everyone off to school, I sat down to tackle the first item on the list: calling the military health care "customer service" for the 10th time, regarding their inept handling of our transfer to a new region. After that stimulating call, I was ready to get some exercise and sun on my face, so I opened the door to get a feel for the weather and how I should dress for my much-anticipated bike ride.


To my surprise, there were two badly dressed men approaching the RV, wearing some sort of badges and carrying clipboards. They shouted, "We're from the census department. We need to ask you a few questions." The poor things really had no idea who they were about to deal with.

I tried to remain calm. "Sorry. I'm just about to run out."

Undaunted, one of them called out, "How long have you been living here?"

I snapped, "Don't you people mail out forms?"

They looked surprised. "Oh, you have a PO Box?"

(No. I get my mail from the Pony Express.) "Yes, of course."

"Have you received your questionnaire yet?"

"No, but I'm sure it will arrive soon. Good day."

They still refuse to leave. "We have to go through all the campgrounds and find the transient people who are living there."

Now they have gone too far. Don't they realize that this is a custom RV with real cherry cabinets and a dishwasher? I am no TRANSIENT, even if I look the part at this moment, with no make-up, hair in a ponytail, wearing a sweatsuit (my best Nike one, however).

I narrow my eyes and beam out death rays, "If you want to ask me any questions, you can make an appointment at a time that is convenient for me."

They STILL don't give up. One shouts, "Do you live here with your husband?"

(No. I raise snakes and train them to strike at wretched census people.) "I will not answer your questions until you make an appointment. I have to go."

I close the door as they shout, "Someone will just come back tomorrow."

I take a deep breath. Since it's Lent, I pray for them. They'll probably need it.

The Transfiguration, Part 4

According to The Transfiguration narrative of St. Luke, the three Apostles were overcome by sleep.  This ties in with Sunday's First Reading from Genesis: Abraham, like the three Apostles, falls asleep and awakens to hear an important message directly from the voice of God.

The three chosen men awaken to find Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah about His upcoming "exodus" in Jerusalem.  Of course, we know that Jesus will suffer, die and rise from the dead, but the use of the word "exodus" again recalls the Old Testament and the search for the Promised Land. 

To aid your meditation, take some time to read the book of Exodus.  As you read, think of the parallels in the Gospels.  For example, Moses begins the journey to the Promised Land by leading the Israelites through water.  Likewise, we begin our journey to heaven (the new Promised Land) through Baptism, the sacrament that Jesus initiated in the River Jordan.

Now wide awake, Peter, at first, displays insight as to his role in this event: "It is good that we are here." However, in typical pre-Pentecost Peter fashion, he goes on to put his foot in his mouth and shows that he really just doesn't get it: "Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." St. Luke makes his mistake obvious: "But he did not know what he was saying."

In my next post, I'll explain why, but today let us think about the words, "It is good that we are here." I often recall St. Peter's words when I am at daily Mass, Stations of the Cross, or in a situation where I can do some good deed or offer a kind word. God gives us many opportunities to become instruments of His Divine Will. Keep this in mind when any time you think, "It is good that I am here".

Rosary Workout note:  Yesterday, I prayed the Luminous Mysteries as I ran on a treadmill at the gym.  While meditating on The Transfiguration, I imagined that I was running up Mount Tabor, seeing Jesus and the three Apostles, curious to find out what was happening.  I sometimes find that if I incorporate my workout into the scene of the mystery, it helps to focus my meditation.

The Transfiguration, Part 3

In the next scene of St. Luke's Gospel narrative of the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear and converse with Jesus.

The appearance of these two key figures from the Old Testament is very interesting. Elijah never died, according to the Old Testament. Instead he was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11). (I'll discuss this in more depth when I write about the fourth Glorious Mystery, The Assumption.) Moses, however, did die and never saw the Promised Land. So is Moses a ghost? Here's a link to an article about the Catholic Church's stand on ghosts. (Important caveat: Catholics should never try to "conjure" up any ghosts, attend seances or consult a medium or other "ghost expert". The Old Testament story of Saul and the Witch of Endor gives us a great example about the consequences of such actions.)

Finally, according to Catholic theologians, the presence of Moses and Elijah is not a coincidence. Moses symbolizes "The Law" and Elijah symbolizes "The Prophets". It will all tie in together in the final scene of the Transfiguration. More tomorrow...

In the meantime, read the other Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration: Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:1-8

Transfiguration, Part 2

Note that Jesus and the three Apostles go "up the mountain to pray". Bible scholars believe that this mountain was Mount Tabor. In the Bible, many important events occur on top of mountains: Noah's ark comes to rest, Moses receives the Ten Commandments, Abraham nearly sacrifices Isaac, Jesus delivers "The Sermon on the Mount". (It would be an interesting Lenten study to research the significance of mountains in the Bible.) Also note that "Jesus prayed". As always, He sets the example for us.

Next, Jesus is physically transformed: "His face was changed in appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white." If Jesus' three chosen companions on this trip had any doubt that He was the Son of God, they sure didn't at this point in the narrative! Catholic theologians interpret this transformation as a means for Jesus to strengthen the resolve of the chosen three shortly before their big test of faith during His Passion and Crucifixion.

This Gospel now ties in beautifully with the second reading. St. Paul says, "He will change our lowly body to conform with His glorified body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself." During the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals His glorified body and gives us hope that our own bodies will "conform with His" in a similar transformation. That hope certainly strengthens my own resolve!

Perhaps you can pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary this week and meditate on what you are learning. These reflections are meant to inspire others to learn more about the mysteries of the Rosary. One caveat, if you use the internet to research the Rosary or the mysteries, please use caution and discernment. There are many sites out there that do not adhere to Catholic teaching (or the Magisterium) even though they call themselves "Catholic". I like to use the site review feature at Catholic Culture to verify questionable sites.

The beautiful icons I've posted with the blog entries are also meant to help facilitate meditation. More on this fascinating mystery tomorrow.

The Transfiguration

As I was driving to Mass this morning, I quizzed my children (ages 10 and 12) on the mysteries of the Rosary. I am always a bit perplexed at some of the "mysteries" they come up with:
"The Washing of the Feet"
"The Nailing to the Cross"
"The Walking on Water"
Eventually, between the two of them and with a few hints from me, they were able to recall all 20 mysteries.

I recently began a weekly practice of reminding my children to listen carefully to the readings, Gospel and homily so that we can discuss them on the way home.

During the Gospel, my son leaned over and whispered, "It's the Transfiguration!" I was proud that he was not only paying attention but was actually able to come up with the title of the 4th Luminous Mystery.

As we drove home, I asked them to recall a few facts about the Transfiguration.
First of all, Jesus chooses just three Apostles for this journey: James, John and Peter. Why these three? Peter's inclusion is obvious given his pivotal role as our first pope. John will also play a big part as an evangelist and as Jesus' chosen caretaker of His belvoed mother. The presence of James is a bit of a puzzle. He was the brother of John and probably a relative of Jesus. Perhaps you can ask St. James for insight the next time you pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

More on the Transfiguration tomorrow...

My Rosary Scrapbook

This blog has been a little buzzing bee in the back of my head because I have great plans for sharing my love for and devotion to the Rosary. However, I've been swatting it away as other priorities demand my attention -- a move to a new state, a growing list of writing assignments, and a book about to be published by Bezalel Books.

Nevertheless, I have been mulling over ideas on how to best proceed with my plans for this blog. An idea hit me just the other day as I was editing my book, The Rosary Workout, for publication. In one section, I suggest building a notebook or scrapbook on the Rosary mysteries as an aid to meditation. It can include Bible verses, artwork depicting the mysteries and thoughts or revelations experienced during meditation. I don't personally keep a Rosary scrapbook, but I have been meaning to start one. I realized that this blog can be my Rosary scrapbook. I can use it to share the knowledge and insight I've gained on the Rosary through years of study and meditation.

I read over my past blog entries, and now I think they are too impersonal. My initial aim was to avoid the ME, ME, ME aspect of blogging. However, the blogs that I enjoy are those written by people who inject their personality into their writing and who share their trials, triumphs and setbacks.

I hope you enjoy my virtual Rosary Scrapbook.