Cath-Lit Live: We Have a Pope

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Cath-Lit Live: We Have a Pope

“Cath-Lit Live!” features brief interviews with Catholic authors who are releasing new books. Hosted by Catholic author and speaker Amy J. Cattapan, “Cath-Lit Live!” gives viewers a glimpse into the latest Catholic books while getting to know a bit about the author as well.

 

 

We Have a Pope by Katherine Bogner, illustrated by Kortnee Senn

Welcome to St. Peter’s Square in the heart of the Vatican, where cardinals are arriving from every corner of the globe. They have come to elect a new pope. We Have a Pope is a gorgeously illustrated children’s book by beloved author Katherine Bogner and illustrator Kortnee Senn. Discover the history of the papacy and how a new pope is chosen in We Have a Pope. See inside the walls of the Sistine Chapel and watch from St. Peter’s square as the whole Catholic Church waits to hear the words “Habemus papem—we have a pope!”

 

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About the author:

Katie Bogner is a Catholic school teacher, blogger, and author. She is passionate about equipping parents, catechists, and teachers to share the beauty and truth of Christ and His Church with their students. She is the creator behind the popular website LookToHimAndBeRadiant.com where she shares hundreds of completely free lesson plans, printables, and other resources for teaching the Faith. Katie is the author of four books for Catholic kids: Through the Year with Jesus, Through the Year with Mary, All about Advent & Christmas, and a brand new picture book called We Have a Pope.

 

 

You can catch “Cath-Lit Live” live on A.J. Cattapan’s author Facebook page. Recorded versions of the show will also be available to watch later on her YouTube channel and Instagram.

 

Copyright 2024 Amy J. Cattapan
Banner image via Pexels

Saint Joseph: A Man for All Women

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Saint Joseph: A Man for All Women

Forget all your impressions and expectations of the “leading man” or “action hero.” Only one man can truly be described as the “strong, silent type.” For all the winning generals in history, it was a humble carpenter who outwitted the evil King Herod, putting an end to the plan to disrupt salvation history. For all the outstanding preachers and theologians who so deftly interpret the word of God, just one groom waiting for his betrothed to enter his home understood so clearly and personally God’s messages to him and the world. For all the loving husbands past and present, one cherished his wife’s purpose and mission so much he made it his own. Out of all the devoted fathers who ever lived, only one was chosen to successfully raise and protect the Savior of the World.

That’s why St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, foster father to the Son of God, and head, provider, and protector of the Holy Family is not just a man’s man, but a woman’s man―at every stage, difficulty, and season of her life.

Scripture presents St. Joseph as a man of faith and action. In Meet Your Spiritual Father, author Mark Miravalle lists 13 “major New Testament references” to his life (pp 25-26). St. Joseph’s success in all these life and death missions can be boiled down to a knowledge of Scripture and love of God, which gave him the willingness and confidence to act. Unlike the young Samuel who did not know the Lord and therefore, did not recognize His voice when He repeatedly called him (cf. 1 Samuel 3:7), God’s word through His messenger angels provided clarity to St. Joseph to respond immediately (cf. Mt 1:20-25, Mt 2:13-15).

St. Joseph, therefore, is a great intercessor, leading women to clarity for action and to delve into the Word of God. He brings devotees ultimately to know and hear God’s voice. The Litany of St. Joseph provides no fewer than 24 roles and wonders this great and underappreciated man is known for, all of which are beautifully and comprehensively detailed in Fr. Donald Calloway’s book, Consecration to St. Joseph.

St. Joseph was the strength center of his family. Women―single and married, with children and without, who are providers, protectors, and caretakers―are also often expected to be the strength center of their lives. In the most supportive of environments, parenting takes wisdom, patience and many other virtues that few of us have even on a good day. Many mothers are the head of the family. St. Joseph, ever the provider and protector of the Holy Family, listened for and heeded the Divine messages he received. He knew that the Father would lead him; he just needed to listen. It could only be Joseph’s unyielding devotion to the Lord and study of scripture that led him without hesitation to listen to the angel who spoke to him in a dream, understanding its significance to mankind (cf. Matthew 1:21-23).

Single women who desire to be married can ask for St. Joseph’s intercession to find a good man. God chose Joseph specifically for Mary. He wants to choose a good man for each woman, but He wants to be asked. Single women can ask St. Joseph to pray on their behalf to the Holy Spirit to reveal and discern when the right man comes along. St. Joseph saw Mary’s grace-filled and sinless soul, and his prayerful intercession can help women see themselves as the beautiful and pure souls that God created.

Women who are without fathers, either through abandonment or death, can find comfort in St. Joseph. God entrusted him to care for the Blessed Virgin and the Son of God. If he can take care of them, he can take care of every girl feeling the loss of her father. Any girl or woman who misses her father can ask St. Joseph to be her foster father and help lead her to the Father of us all.

Aging raises uncomfortable issues―added dependence on family and strangers, financial strain, and health difficulties. Thoughts, not just of dying, but how we will die become more prominent. These are frightening thoughts as we relinquish more control over our daily lives. St. Joseph lived his life with chastity and dignity. Pray for his guidance entering later years, to look upon a life with humility and benevolence, seek the peace of Jesus Christ with the assistance of a strong confessor, and to prepare for a happy death.

St. Joseph, pray for us women.

Copyright 2024 Mary McWilliams

Photo: Stained glass window of Mary & Joseph by Valentine D’Ogries. Photo by Mary McWilliams

References:
Consecration to Saint Joseph. Donald H. Calloway, MIC. 2020, Marian Press. Stockbridge, MA.
Meet Your Spiritual Father: A Brief Introduction to St. Joseph. Mark Miravalle. 2015, Lighthouse Media, Sycamore, IL & Marian Press, Stockbridge, MA.

Serendipity

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“The wind* blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 (1)

Serendipity

The winds of March always have been infamous. Some days you might be lucky enough to fly a kite along the beach, or above an open field where the grass is beginning to show a bit of green. Other days you might cower inside, with a hot cup of tea, while a raging blizzard or northeaster demolishes the emerging shoots of spring bulbs.

Whether you are experiencing the lamb or the lion as you read this, on our first March Saturday of 2024, I want to introduce you to some new friends in faith I’ve been blessed to encounter through the wind of the Holy Spirit this Lent.

Even though I’ve written and edited for small literary publications for most of my adult life, I grew up in the era of print. The role of managing editor for an online literary journal is relatively new for me. So, with a good intention towards “continuing education” — but little real hope — I ran a Google search.

And behold! An organization called Catholic Literary Arts (3) popped up in the search results, with a class entitled “How to Run a Literary Journal: The How, Why, and Wherewith” (4).

Founded by multi-faceted literary artist and president, Sarah Cortez (5), in 2020 –the year of their first Sacred Poetry Contest (6) — Catholic Literary Arts is based in the state of Texas. Already it is blessed by, and welcomes, writers from a variety of different cultural backgrounds.

The organization received assistance with its establishment, Sarah told me, from Catholic Writers Guild’s own beloved founder, supporter, and former vice president, Deacon Arthur Powers, who also served as one of CLA’s first instructors for online classes (7).

Two additional seminars on the 2024 CLA website looked so appealing that I signed up for those, as well.

Dr. J. Larry Allums’ seminar, now concluded, “The Short Story’s Brilliance and Clarity in Revealing Spiritual Truth,” focused on classical writers Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gustav Flaubert, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and James Joyce (8).

I was amazed and delighted by the openness of sharing about spiritual insights among participants. I appreciated the opportunity to recollect how important it is to study the classical spiritual writers.

Ryan Wilson, Editor-in-Chief for Literary Matters (9), based at the Catholic University of America, and the CLA instructor for “How to Run a Literary Journal …” already in our first session offered an in-depth history of literary journals; and updated participants with the latest news about an extensive list of contemporary journals. He highlighted those that are most open to submissions from writers with a spiritual focus, especially for poets (10).

I’m looking forward to “Image, Tone, and Pacing …” with popular poet Tamara Nicholl-Smith, whose work appears in some astonishing venues around the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico; as well as in the prestigious Guttenberg Bible display at the University of St. Thomas (11), in her class that will be coming up next.

Although CLA discussions thus far have taken a slightly more “academic” and classical approach to Catholic writing than the sessions I enjoyed so much at our Catholic Writers Guild live meeting with the Catholic Publishers Association meeting in Chicago last May 30-June 1, 2023 — I’ve found the warm hospitality in Catholic Literary Arts sessions equally welcoming.

With taglines like “Write with Spirit” and “Fearless Catholic Writing” (12), CLA shares with CWG a common call, and we stand together on the same home ground. Their mission statement reveals how congruent they are with our own commitment to work in the world with our God-given talents, and to help bring about the creative vision of Saint Pope John Paul II.

“Catholic Literary Arts encourages ongoing growth in literary, artistic, and spiritual development of artists and writers so that the Cultural Patrimony and rich treasures of the Catholic Church may be more perfectly explored and used to draw all peoples to God.” (13)

If you’re a published or aspiring author of Catholic children’s books, and would like to connect with influential editors from Our Sunday Visitor, Word on Fire’s new children’s imprint Spark, and Pauline Books & Media, there’s still time to register for CLA’s Meet-the-Editor Panel: Children’s Edition, on March 6 at 7:00 PM CST (14).

This might be a worthwhile option to help sustain your motivation from CWCO last month, stay on task, and relieve some of the letdown that can follow periods of deep fellowship with our spiritual colleagues at conferences.

Whatever life you are living as a Catholic writer and wherever you must go this month, may you dance in the winds of March with the Holy Spirit, who leads us all through crucifixion to resurrection.

The author, out for a walk after the March 2, 2023 snowstorm in Tucson, Arizona.
Author’s personal photo, used with permission.
Margaret King Zacharias

© 2024 by Margaret King Zacharias

Feature photo: Snowstorm rolling into Tucson, Arizona on March 2, 2023. Author’s personal photo, used with permission.

Notes:

  1. 1. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3#51003008-f
  2. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3#51003008-f
  3. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org
  4. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/classes
  5. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/our-board#cortezs
  6. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/2020-contests
  7. Sarah Cortez, personal communication.
  8. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/classes
  9. https://www.literarymatters.org
  10. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/classes
  11. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/classes
  12. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org
  13. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/our-mission
  14. https://www.catholicliteraryarts.org/classes

There Are No Ordinary People

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There’s an old saying: Ubi amor, ibi oculus—where love is, there is the eye. Love helps us see. Love helps us see the good in others, especially when that goodness is not so easy to see at first. Love helps us find, and approve of, the goodness in other people. Seeing that goodness is, in part, a matter of will—we have to want to find the goodness in other people. But seeing goodness in others is also a matter of developing a particular mindset, a particular attitude, toward other people.

What is our attitude toward other people? Are people basically good, or basically bad? Do all people have intrinsic value and dignity, or are they only valuable if they are in some way useful to us—to the extent that they serve our purposes or needs, approve of us, agree with us on important issues, etc.? Being able to find, and to continue to see, the good in other people may require that we begin to think about people (all people) differently than we have in the past. It may require that we adopt a new attitude toward people. What kind of attitude? God’s attitude. And what is God’s attitude toward people? That people are very good (Genesis 1:31). God’s proclamation that the first human beings were very good was, in part, God’s way of saying “How good that you exist!” And God says that about each of us. Every one of us. Or else we wouldn’t exist. It is God’s love which created us, and it is God’s love which sustains us in existence. All of us—even that person we find to be so cantankerous, so petty, so annoying, etc. If God can exclaim about every person he created, “How good that you exist!”, we should be able to find a way to do that, too.

God proclaims human beings to be very good because he made us imago Dei, in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). God made us like himself in our ability to think and reason, but he also made us like himself in our ability to love. Everything that God created is good because it shares in God’s being, the being of the Infinite Good. But human beings are very good because we share in God’s capacity to love. Every single human being has intrinsic value and dignity because God loves them. Every single human being has intrinsic value and dignity because they were made imago Dei. Every single human being has intrinsic value and dignity because they were created to be a child of God. Every single human being has intrinsic value and dignity because Jesus died and rose for them so that they could share in, and contribute to, the eternal circulation of love that constitutes the divine life. Keeping these truths in mind will make it much more possible for us to find and approve of the good in other people.

Admittedly, some people, although made imago Dei in their capacity to love, don’t seem to be exercising that capacity very much. But maybe part of our mission in this life is to help draw the capacity for love out of people who are like that, to draw the capacity for love out of that difficult person whom no one else seems to like very much, by first loving them. Loving them starts with finding some good in them, and finding some good in them starts with seeing them as being children of God. All of them. As C. S. Lewis put it, “There are no ordinary people.” We need to adopt that attitude toward every person who crosses our path in life.

* This article is based on an excerpt from Rick’s latest book, The Book of Love: Brief Meditations.

Copyright 2024 Rick Clements

Photo by RODRIGO GONZALEZ on Unsplash

Rewriting a Story

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Writing a story is not easy. Sometimes a writer has to change his or her manuscript. Sometimes the plot doesn’t make sense, or the ending doesn’t work. Maybe a character doesn’t fit in the story and has to be removed.

Or maybe the writer can’t finish the story and leaves it on their hard drive as an unfinished manuscript. Sometimes the idea is good, but the story itself is a failure.

Are you in that situation? Are you struggling with writer’s block? Coming up with a good story idea is one thing, but trying to finish it can be frustrating. You want to please your fans. You want your future readers, a literary agent, or a publisher to accept your story. You want the characters to be believable to your audience.

Before you finish your manuscript, think about one of your favorite books or movies. Why do you reread that story or rewatch that particular show over and over and over again? Could it be that the writers of those stories make things come alive in your mind? Is it the characters that grab your imagination? Is it the plot or the scenery?

Let me give you an example. I’m currently rewatching a very clean, family-friendly series. I have seen these series before; the characters and the plot are very believable. When one of the characters was killed on this show, I cried for two weeks. I felt sorry for his wife and for everybody else in that small town.

I wanted to find out what happens next to the characters. The production company announced that they are currently working on the next season. Sometimes scriptwriters disappoint their fans. Some fans want a character to do such and such a thing on the show, but when they don’t get their wish, then they are upset. That is how a modern-day show touches people’s lives. People want the make-believe characters to be happy. They want them to be a good example for their children. Think about these things while you are having writer’s block. Ask God to help you in this area. Find a beta reader to read your manuscript. Find a freelance editor to help you with your manuscript.

Copyright 2024 Angela Lano

Stumble onto a Forgotten Priest’s Homilies, and Wind Up in a Successfully Reflective Lent

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Ever feel like you’ve failed Lent? You enter the season ambitiously on Ash Wednesday, receiving the smudged cross on your forehead, determined to read through the New Testament or Exodus at a measured pace, only to get stuck on a confusing passage and give up … for now.

A local parish offers an evening Bible study, but when the day comes, you’re too exhausted from work. Maybe next week, you think, but then the six weeks go by and you’ve missed the whole thing. You try online reflections, but you just breeze through them over morning coffee. You chastise yourself for being undisciplined or for refusing to take your spiritual life seriously. But maybe you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. A more relaxed approach, such as leisurely readings by a forgotten, but once beloved priest could deepen your faith, self-reflection, and ultimately your relationship with God.

Fr. Ronald Knox is little known to 21st Century Americans in favor of other popular English converts such as St. John Henry Newman and GK Chesterton, but in his time, Fr. Knox was regarded as one of the most influential and prolific Catholics of the past century. He is a contemporary of Chesterton and an Oxford neighbor of CS Lewis, and February 17 marks the 136th anniversary of his birth. Raised in the Anglican tradition, even becoming an Anglican minister, the good father followed in his country’s stead, not because he believed it was the perfect way, but because he wanted to bring the Church of England back to Rome. When he realized his ambition was futile, he converted to Catholicism at the still tender age of 29.

Fr. Knox was much sought after as a speaker, preacher, and retreat facilitator for his way of bringing depth to simple concepts and simplicity to the profound. His self-deprecating humor, orthodox theology, and insight into the human condition found its way into countless published homilies, broadcasts on the BBC, and even detective novels. He is also highly respected for his English translation of the Bible, known as the Knox Bible.

One collection of his homilies that might elude a mainstream audience is his title, The Priestly Life. Originally published in 1958 and re-released in 2023 by Cluny Media, this compilation of 16 retreat talks addressed to priests could just as easily be called The Saintly Life because it speaks to the saintliness we are all called to live. With the wisdom of a compassionate confessor, Fr. Knox, who seems to know what’s inside the flawed heart that yearns to be whole, begins with the Alpha and Omega framed in Biblical history, then gently leads the reader (or listener, originally) to realize his sinful nature, bringing him to humility and repentance. Catholic theologian and author John Janaro quotes Evelyn Waugh’s in a 2021 essay, calling the priest and his ministry an “apostolate of laughter and the love of friends” (Janaro).

His chapters in The Priestly Life address so many of the “No, not me” sins: sloth, apathy, grumbling and complaining, blaming. In “Murmuring,” he engages the reader with a compelling story of the Israelites venting and complaining about Moses and God. You read along, nodding and chuckling, amazed how much they sound like your co-workers. He goes on to explain why the grumbling, a “very difficult sin to avoid,” is a three-fold sin against God, neighbor, and self and realize, “That’s me!” and feel an urgency to go to Confession.

“Part of the reason why God put you into the world was to exercise the patience of others by your defects; think of that sometimes when you are going to bed” (pg. 81).

He speaks to his brother priests in “Accidie” about a “tepidity” of spiritual life. “What I mind about is not so much that I seem to get so little out of my religion, but that I seem to put so little into it. Or perhaps I should put it this way: what I mind about is that I should mind so little” (pg. 90). He also addresses a type of malaise, of going through the motions. The scenarios sound much like ruts that most everyone, at some point and in honest moments, experiences in marriage, work, and life in general. “All of the savour has gone out of his priesthood; he sometimes thinks, even out of his religion. Was he, perhaps, not meant to be a priest … is it possible that he has made a mistake?” (pg. 89).

Fr. Knox, in other chapters, addresses perseverance, death and obedience. In his piece on the Blessed Mother, he eschews “Mariology” and sounds more like a loyal knight honoring his heroine queen. While each chapter serves as retreat on its own, they also impart an appreciation into a priest’s very human life by which we might gain more compassion and understanding of a demanding and sacrificial choice, Wouldn’t that help make a successful Lent?

Copyright 2024 Mary McWilliams

Knox, Ronald. The Priestly Life. 2023. Cluny Media. Providence, Rhode Island.
Janaro, John. Monsignor Ronald Knox. 2021. Magnificat. Catholic Education Resource Center.
Photo Credits: Keegan Houser and Eduardo Braga

Catholic Writers Conference Online

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Two years ago, a friend told me about the Catholic Writers Guild and their annual online conference. At the time, I had just started dreaming of publishing a Catholic chapter book series, but I didn’t know where to start. Feeling overwhelmed, I pursued the Catholic Writers Guild website to see about this conference.

The skeptical part of my brain told me it was too good to be true. The frugal part of my brain told me $40 was a honey of a deal for access to three days’ worth of presentations. (The conference is free for clergy and $60 if you’re not a Catholic Writers Guild member; also, membership is totally worth the $40/year dues). Additionally, all the sessions are recorded, so I could go back and rewatch my favorites and check out the ones my schedule conflicted with.

To say my mind was blown by what $40 got me is an understatement. I took almost a whole journal’s worth of notes and gathered ideas for what it means to be a Catholic writer in the world today. I learned about things that I didn’t even know I needed to know, and felt the Holy Spirit reaffirming that this is what I am called to do. I met other people who shared my passion for writing within a Catholic lens. I started to believe I could actually do this.

I left that conference on fire. Since then, in the last two years, I have published the first three books of my chapter book series, visited Catholic schools to talk about my stories, written and published countless articles (one was even translated into Hungarian!), and started writing and editing Catholic curriculum. None of this would have happened without the Catholic Writers Guild.

The Guild is composed of fellow Catholics who want to use their gifts from God for good. Our genres and styles are as varied as we are, but we all strive to grow in holiness as we write. During the online conference, some presentations were more relevant and helpful to me, but I learned something from every talk.

This year, I am counted among the presenters, and I’m thrilled to volunteer to share my own experiences in the hopes of encouraging and educating other Catholic writers. Sure, I get a small stipend and exposure to other Catholic writers, but that’s not why I’m presenting this year.

Two years ago, women and men from the Catholic Writers Guild planted seeds that have begun to sprout in my life. With God’s continued light and watering, I know I will have full-grown trees one day. In the meantime, I want to spend my time planting seeds of my own.

You don’t have to be an established writer to attend this conference. You don’t have to know what you want to write or even the genre. All you need is an interest: a tiny prompting of the Holy Spirit that the written word may be one of your gifts He is asking you to share.

Join us at the online conference this year from February 23–25, 2024. Worst-case scenario? You’re out $40. Best-case scenario? Well, only God knows that.

© Maria Riley 2024

MY SPIRITUAL REBIRTH

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When I was a senior at Villanova University, I “came alive” in the City of Philadelphia! It was a Saturday night in November 1998, two days after my mother’s birthday. I was agonizing over eighteen credits that semester, sad about having to leave all my friends in a few months, and in a few days – on Tuesday, November 10th – I would be taking an actuarial exam in nearby Philadelphia. My father, a former Marine, was excited because the Marine Corps was born in Philadelphia on November 10th, so he considered that good luck. I was studying for the test while waiting to do gown to Corr Chapel on Main Campus to help out with the SEARCH Retreat taking place at Camp Newmann. All of a sudden, I realized that after years of living just to work hard and get awesome grades, I was tired of the lack of balance I had.

During the prayer service in Corr Chapel, I felt myself glowing. We drove over to Camp Newmann to give palancas to the team leaders so that they could distribute them to the retreatants. It was a dark and dreary night outside, but inside, a fresh new light was shining. Michael Vassallo was reborn! From that night on, I wanted to keep people like my fellow SEARCH friends in my life no matter how busy I was. I was determined to hold on to this newfound sense of balance.

What joy I felt to arrive at the camp and bond with the retreat leaders! My schoolwork and upcoming actuarial exam were crushing me, but I insisted on focusing on the warm circle of love, even though I was not a retreatant that weekend. My time for that had already come, but that Saturday night in November 1998, I felt more elated than I did when I was on my own SEARCH weekend in October 1997. I felt liberated.

That night, I went to bed feeling peaceful – still worried about the other stuff, but happier.

The next day, we had a welcoming mass in Corr Chapel for the retreatants once they got back to the campus. That added to my happiness, and if that weren’t enough, after that, a bunch of us were taking my friend Will’s mother out to dinner off campus for her birthday! Once again, I felt a sense of belonging and acceptance unlike any other I’d ever had!

A few days later, when I took the R5 train from Villanova (conveniently right outside my dorm) into Suburban Station in Center City, I had another epiphany. I had ventured into Philadelphia by train all alone before – mainly to take this same exam or to get home or come back to school by Amtrak – but for some reason, as I emerged from Suburban Station and set foot in Center City that morning, I felt something different in the air, and it was not because of the rain. In fact, despite the rainy day, my heart radiated with sunshine! My life was still changed from the other night, but the feeling was magnified – as if the spirit of the City of Brotherly Love was reinforcing the love I felt from over the weekend. I had never realized how beautiful Philadelphia was until that morning. It was breathtaking, and I carried this magnified feeling with me as I walked a few blocks over to the test center on Walnut Street – the same street where I would one day enjoy going to dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse and Moriarity’s Pub!

I wound up failing that test in this city in which the Marine Corps was born on this day over two centuries ago, but I still felt that peace, that spirit, that love. Our country earned its freedom from Great Britain in Philadelphia, and, in a sense, I earned my freedom there – from the “tyranny” of my own self-imposed workaholism. I had been thinking of relocating to the area around my school, and these epiphanies I’d been having over the past few days solidified that desire. This city which I had taken for granted for so long now struck me as a magical place of love, beauty and hope where I could start my life over.

Later that same day back at school, we had another SEARCH function in Corr Chapel. This was a renewal for all veteran SEARCHERS.

Coincidentally, I retook the exam again the following February in Center City – only to have a SEARCH renewal that night in Corr Chapel again!  That chapel will always remind me of Philadelphia and my epiphany related to it, especially since I was in both places in one day – more than once! Could that have been a sign?

© Copyright 2024 by Michael Vassallo

Featured Image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay

Roses and Ashes

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Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

 Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” 1648

In a rare, but not unprecedented, synchronicity this month, St. Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday will fall on the same day. These two dates last came together in 2018, and they will do it again in 2029. According to the Fayetteville Observer, this convergence seems to happen approximately three times in every one-hundred-years. The Twentieth Century also recorded three occurrences, in 1923, 1934, and 1945. (1)

The origins of our contemporary St. Valentine’s Day celebration are hidden in history. Even Roman Catholic sources record an astounding variety, of what can perhaps best be regarded as legends. He may have been a priest, a bishop, and/or a physician. It’s unclear whether the stories that have been combined under this saint’s name include the life one man, or the lives of two.

There is some evidence that, on an actual occasion, a prisoner named Valentine left a letter for his jailer’s daughter signed, “from your Valentine.” He’s said to have healed the child of her blindness; we all prefer to believe he did. He may well have converted her to Christianity. He might have converted her father, too. Plausible evidence does exist that a man named Valentine was imprisoned and martyred for his Christian faith. Other tales suggest that the little girl, and possibly her father, died with him. (2)

One fact is clear, that the official liturgical calendar of the United States makes no reference to a saint’s feast on February 14. On the USCCB website, it’s marked only with a purple dot indicating a day of Lent. There is no alternate reading for a saint’s feast day. (3)

Another mystery is how a saint, whom most legends report died as a martyr for his Faith, came to be a symbol of chocolate, flowers, and every other sort of indulgent romantic concupiscence.

Ash Wednesday, on the other hand, is a reminder of the death we all will experience. The Latin counsel memento mori, “remember you will die,” dates back to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, from sometime before his death in 399 B.C. (4).

The use of ashes as a symbol of penance and anointing for death by the Hebrews is documented in the Old Testament books of Esther 4:1, 484-465 B.C.; Job 42:6, 700-500 B.C.; Daniel 9:3, circa 550 B.C.; and Jonah 3:5-6, circa 500 B.C. (5)

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, Illustration from The Book of Old English Songs and Ballads, Circa 1920; Public
domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A solemn recognition of Ash Wednesday has been practiced since the earliest days of Christianity. The words, “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” from Genesis 3:19 (6), have been spoken through millennia in both the Eastern and Roman Catholic churches. They are still used for Ash Wednesday services in many Protestant churches today, as well. 

But the question remains. What meaning can we discern from this mysterious union of love with death, that seems to appear as a trinity in multiple centuries?

For one answer, we might turn again to scripture, and discover that Song of Songs is the only one of three writings classified by biblical scholars as ‘Wisdom books’ that appears in Protestant bibles. Our Catholic Bibles contain all three, with the Book of Wisdom and the Book of Sirach included (7). Here is another trinity.

The Song, also called Canticle of Canticles, is a romantic poem that evokes all the sensual joys of earthly lovers, as metaphors that describe God’s desirous love for us. In Christian churches it is read as allegory (8). The determination of the bride to reach her lover, and the strength of their bond, represent the Sacrament of Matrimony on earth and Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church, in eternity.

When the cross of ashes, death, and dust is marked on our foreheads again this year — and the day wavers from joy, to penance, and grief — may we remember the powerful lover who awaits us, and continue to sing the Canticle:

“… Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm;

For Love is strong as Death …

Deep waters cannot quench love,

nor rivers sweep it away …

 … You who dwell in the gardens,

my companions are listening for your voice–

let me hear it!

Swiftly, my lover,

be like a gazelle or a young stag

upon the mountain of spices.”

Song (Cant.) 8:6-7, 13-14 (9)

John William Waterhouse, Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May; 1909, Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons.

© Copyright 2024 by Margaret King Zacharias

Featured Photo: John William Waterhouse, Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May,1908, Public domain, via
Wikimedia Commons.
Footnotes for Roses and Ashes and Sources for Further Reading
  1. https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/live-wire/2018/02/06/live-wire-when-was-last-time-ash-wednesday-and-valentines-day-were-same-date/15307391007/#
  1. For a few different perspectives, see:
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/will-the-real-st-valentine-please-stand-up
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Valentine
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/history-of-st-valentine.html
  1. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021424.cfm
  2. https://dailystoic.com/what-is-memento-mori/#:~:text=Memento%20Mori%20—%20(Latin%3A%20remember,but%20dying%20and%20being%20dead.”
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Socrates
  1. https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-are-the-origins-of-ash-wednesday-and-the-use-of-ashes/
  1. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3
  1. https://www.artesianministries.org/bible-study/why-are-catholic-and-protestant-bibles-different/
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Songs
9. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/songofsongs/8

Where Love Is, There Is the Eye

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How do you find, and then continue to see, the good in other people? Especially those people in your life who are particularly difficult to get along with, much less love? How does one love even the seemingly unlovable person? Well, first of all, you have to want to find some good in them. Finding and approving the good in other people is an act of your will. You have to choose to look for the good rather than the bad in others; you have to choose to focus on the good rather than the bad. As fallen creatures, we all tend to be a mixture of the good and the bad. To will to focus on the good more than the not-so-good in others is to open your heart more fully to love. Genuine love cannot take root when you are quicker to see the faults and shortcomings in others than you are to see the good in them.

There is a Latin phrase that applies here: Ubi amor, ibi oculus — “Where love is, there is the eye.” Love enables us to see. Love enables us to see the good more clearly: in other people, in ourselves, and in life itself. Love enables us to see beauty and truth more clearly as well. Adopting a predisposition toward love by consciously willing to find the good in others makes it easier for you actually to see the good that is there — the good that otherwise might have escaped your notice. Adopting a predisposition toward love opens up our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to other people.

There’s another old saying that is also relevant here: “People see what they want to see.” Well, that’s often true. Old sayings don’t tend to become “old sayings” unless they have at least a grain (and often much more than a grain) of truth in them. People do tend to see what they want to see. If people choose to focus on the faults and shortcomings of other people, that’s mostly what they will see in them. But thankfully, this phenomenon works in the other direction as well: if people choose to focus on the good in others, then they will mostly see the good. Resolve to focus on the good in others rather than the not-so-good, and to keep yourself focused on the good you do find in them. When you notice your attention drifting toward their faults, consciously re-direct your attention to the good. Obviously, we need to exert extra effort to focus our attention on the good in the other person when we’re dealing with people we find to be more difficult to love. But like most things in the school of love that is this earthly life, this becomes easier with practice. One of the reasons God places those difficult people in our lives is precisely to help us grow in our ability to love.

* This article is an excerpt from Rick’s latest book, The Book of Love: Brief Meditations

Photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash

Copyright 2024 Rick Clements

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