Transfiguration

In honor of the Feast of the Transfiguration, I'd like to share a poem by Madeleine L'Engle with you.  It's from Glimpses of Grace, a book of daily readings with passages taken from a great variety of her writing: poetry to memoir to A Wrinkle in Time.  

    Transfiguration

    Suddenly they saw him the way he was,

    the way he really was all the time,

    although they had never seen it before,

    the glory which blinds the everyday eye

    and so becomes invisible. This is how

    He was, radiant, brilliant, carrying joy

    like a flaming sun in his hands.

    This is the way he was – is – from the beginning,

    and we cannot bear it. So he manned himself,

    came manifest to us; and there on the mountain

    they saw him, really saw him, saw his light.

    We all know that if we really see him we die.

    But isn’t that what is required of us
    Then, perhaps, we will see each other, too.

 

I wish I could paint this poem. A different sort of icon: Jesus "carrying joy / like a flaming sun in his hands."

And then, somehow, to paint the hope of learning, all of us, really to see each other. A prayer for today, indeed.

St. Margaret's Day/Have you understood all this?

We have had a wonderful day here at the convent celebrating our patronal festival.  Around 115 of us enjoyed worshipping together and listening to a funny and thought-provoking sermon from the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton (of Geranium Farm E-Mo fame).  The gospel for the day is Matthew 13:44-52.  She focused her comments around a couple of lines that have always struck me: "‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’"   And then she looked at us... "Yes?"  Ri-i-i-i-i-ght... sure they/you/we/I do!  

Perhaps I should not be so amused - but as she said, you never quite know what you are saying yes to at first! Think of marriage vows.  How can you really know what it will be like? You can't.  Nor with the religious life. Nor with anything else like that. 

She also pointed out that you can't make happiness. It's a by-product.  Like joy.  Joy, she said, is a by-product of meaning.  I have heard it said that joy is an infallible sign of the presence of God.  This fits, of course.  She talked about real sacrifice and real martyrdom as being possible only when you really do love life.  God calls you to a place where there is the deepest meaning in what you are doing.  And that is why the martyrs could sing.

Thinking, too, of Frederick Buechner here - that this place/activity/being to which God is calling you, that place of joy, is otherwise known as vocation. 

interview with Sister Promise

Trinity Wall Street sent a group to Haiti. They've interviewed them and posted the video and photos on their website.

Perspectives on Haiti: Sister Promise Atelon

Hard to see the photos, but Sr. Promise did a good job with the interview, I must say.  Not that this is a surprise!  I look forward to seeing her later this week when she comes to Boston for St. Margaret's Day, so I will just have to tell her this myself.  Being able to do so will be a blessing.

born into devastation - newborns in post-earthquake Haiti

I just saw this video (below), an 11 minute spot from a French news channel that someone posted on YouTube. It just breaks my heart.  Everyone I know is still living in a tent.  The Sisters at least have a nice one in someone's side yard; others are not so lucky.  Actually, it's the lucky ones who have the real tents. 

Now imagine you are a mother who has just given birth.  Your husband died in the quake. You have no income to buy food.  And for some reason, you can't nurse. 

Or you are a mother with a baby in a shelter with no door.  Do you dare leave at night to find a place to go to the bathroom?  And what do you do with the baby if you are alone?  How do you carry water?

So much one could say...

Haiti: Le Cauchemar des Nouveaux-Nes (The Newborns' Nightmare)

Haiti’s inspiration - The Boston Globe

A good article for you about a man making a difference:

Haiti’s inspiration - The Boston Globe

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Flash Brindisi" at Reading Terminal Marke...

Lawrence students to debut Haiti film

This video is about Lawrence University students who are making a documentary about music in Haiti. Focusing on Holy Trinity Music School, they began shooting in December. Then there was the earthquake, and their focus changed. They shot more footage in March. It may be some time before the film comes out, but it is certainly on my "must watch" list.