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Posted in Inspirations

The Adoration of the Magi painted by Giovanni Di Paolo Di Grazia – NGA

After the celebration of the 12 Days of Christmas, the Church celebrates today the Solemnity of the Epiphany or the manifestation of the infant Messiah to all nations represented by the Magi’s visit to Bethlehem after following a star.

Today’s gospel reading in Rome (where the Solemnity is still celebrated on the 6th of January rather than last Sunday in The United States) recounts the story of how the Magi first went to King Herod to inquire about the birth of this new king of the Jews.

In his homily, Pope Benedict XVI delivered another poetically articulated reflection on these profound events, citing in particular Herod’s reaction to the news and comparing them to our own.  Sadly, all Herod was able to see in the person of this infant King and Messiah was a rival.  A rival to his power, a threat to his freedom, and that threat had to be destroyed at all costs.

We don’t have to dig too deep to see a little bit of Herod in each of us.

If by today’s feast we could try to imitate the Magi, also known as the Wisemen, it would do us all some good.  Let us pause to locate the guiding star that orients and points the way to our King, humbly waiting for us as a defenseless infant.  Not as our rival but as our savior, who brings us true freedom beyond anything this world could give.  Let us be ready to leave behind our comforts, our old ways, to seek Him out, present our broken hearts as gifts, and simply adore Him without reservation or fear.

The Church, in her wisdom, gives us seasons and feasts to give us time set apart for reflection.  In these first 12 days of Christmas, (previously know as Christmastide) we joyfully celebrated the birth of the Messiah, manifested to the local shepherds representing Israel.  The visit of the Wisemen represents the manifestation of the Lord to the World.  This little season, within a season, called Epiphany* is a time to reflect on the manifestations of Christ’s love and purpose for visiting His people.  It would be a good time to also take stock of the manifestations of Christ’s love in our own personal history.

Historically, in works of art, the Magi were represented not only as coming from three different races (often portrayed by the color of their skin), showing the universal scope of salvation by the Messiah, but also as three different ages of man: youth, middle age and old age.  In the detail of the above painting of The Adoration of the Magi (painted by Giovanni Di Paolo Di Grazia hanging now in the National Gallery of Art in DC), we see how the different ages represent the growing wisdom of man as he ages.  The youth is represented as the most distant, and least responsive to meeting the Messiah where by the oldest Magi, the one closest to Christ, is on his knees and kissing the feet of the infant King showing his humility and deference.

Paintings of this time were deliberately didactic in nature because much of the laity could not read, so paintings were a great and accessible tool for meditation.  Even though today so many of us can read, the visual image is still so much more powerful than words, and should not lose its role liturgy and catechesis.  We could even use this painting today to do an examination of conscience with to see where we fit in.  Where are we at in out spiritual wisdom? Do we recognize the Christchild and are not afraid to bow down and worship him as King or do we perhaps resist a little, hang back, are content to watch from a distance while hold on to our self-made crowns?  Pretty powerful stuff when we try to place ourselves in the role of one of the Magi and search our hearts to see who we identify most with.

*In fact, before the reform of the General Roman Missal in the 60’s this now unofficial season of Epiphanytide traditionally went up to the last Christmas themed feast day on February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, also known as the Purification of Mary, marking 40 days after his birth. The new calendar ends the Christmas season with the Baptism of Jesus, celebrated on the first Sunday after Epiphany.  This new calendar saddens me because it shortens the season quite considerably.  The Great Pope John Paul II brought back a sign of this pre-Vatican II tradition by keeping the Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St Peter’s Square and the Paul VI Audience Hall through to Feb 2 (a tradition I happily practice myself ) in order to have more time to focus more deeply on the gift of the Incarnation and how He manifest Himself in our world and personal lives.  It’s always a joy to find parishes locally who have revived this tradition as well, keeping up some, if not all of their Christmas decorations up through Feb 2nd.  Epiphany also has special traditions to help celebrate the season like waiting to place the figures of the Three Wisemen in the nativity scene until today, the Epiphany house blessing with blessed chalk, exchanging gifts today (rather than on Dec 25), and King Cake.  So before you toss your tree out this Christmas, here’s hoping you have a chance to celebrate more deeply the manifestation of the Messiah to all nations and races, discovering the hope He brings of salvation for all.

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An Historic Lunar Eclipse

Seeing the big bright Moon, especially low on the horizon, always takes my breath away.  I have a particular love for the Moon actually; not exactly sure I can articulate why though.  Perhaps because of its fascinating surface that can be seen with the naked eye, or how you can actually watch it rise if you’re still enough, or because it’s the humble, “lesser” light in comparison with the Sun.  And of course, there’s the enchanting moonlight that makes the Earth seem to glow, especially on a snowy evening.   

But a total lunar eclipse on a crystal clear night, right on the winter solstice no less, is quite the treat!  Especially when that combination of factors has only happened once in the last 2000 years. 

I couldn’t resist but to set my alarm several times last night so I could get up and catch the various stages of the eclipse. I also couldn’t resist trying to preserve the event in photographs, partly because I knew I’d be too tired to fully appreciate it as it was happening, (and I am one heavily prone to savoring the moment!). 

Below were my attempts to record the historic eclipse while shivering and half asleep. 

Luckily, I had a clear view.  All I had to do was step out my front door, position my tripod and click away.  Unfortunately, I was severely worse for wear the next day from lack of sleep.  But it was worth it, quite a beautiful sight.       

The whole eclipse lasted for several hours, with the deepest shadow being at 3:17a.m. EST, creating the stunning red glow you see below.   

It was a real treat to see this eclipse so close to Christmas.  I felt a taste of the wonder of the Wisemen, filled with great hope and anticipation, as they followed the star of Bethlehem.  The night sky has always had a way of inspiring me.

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  • Tom - December 22, 2010 - 8:41 am

    These are incredible photos from the lunar eclipse during the early morning hours on 21 Dec 2010! Amazing photographic work!

  • Kat - December 22, 2010 - 1:22 pm

    Wow,Renata!!! These are so beautiful!

  • Zoe - December 22, 2010 - 2:29 pm

    These are really something! We fantasized about seeing it, but then it seemed cloudy and we didn’t bother setting the alarm. Bummer. Well done, girl!

  • Renata - December 22, 2010 - 5:53 pm

    Thanks everyone! Still feeling the effects of the lack of sleep, but looking back now I’m really glad I have these, and love that I can share them with fellow lunar lovers! 🙂

  • Susannah - December 23, 2010 - 8:30 am

    Renatta,
    Thank you for this wonderful post and your amazing photos!! I’m so out of every loop that I was unaware of the eclipse! This makes me feel like I can enjoy it vicariously through you. That the pictures were made by you, makes it so much more “real” to me than just seeing the images on the news (not that I watch the news – or I might have known the eclipse was coming!). Since having little ones I’m not only loopless (and often loopy!), but I haven’t seen the beautiful moon all that often. I’m just not out after dark anymore. I love the moon too – it reminds me of all of our creaturhood. When you can see the shadow of the earth moving across it, is seems rather small in comparison to our Creator. And there’s also it’s comparison to Our Lady, reflecting the light of her Son. Beautiful!

  • Julia - December 23, 2010 - 9:53 am

    Wow, Renata, this is great! Way to capture the eclipse – way to get yourself up and poised to capture the eclipse!! I was bummed to miss it – your pictures are fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

Posted in Inspirations

A lovely tradition that I remember fondly as a child was visiting a nativity scene in a Croatian church during Christmastime and finding fresh shoots of wheat placed near the baby Jesus.   I learned that the new wheat symbolized the newborn King who will become for us, our living bread.  Like the grains of wheat, He will be buried and then rise in a new form.  By placing the new wheat near the figure of the Christ Child, we are reminded of His future sacrifice for our sins by being broken and buried like the wheat, as well as our hope for eternal life, by becoming the living bread for us to eat (in the Eucharist) and thereby gaining our place in heaven.  There are many biblical references to Christ being like wheat, our heavenly food, not to mention his very birth place, Bethlehem, meaning House of Bread.

Today’s feast of St Lucy, virgin and martyr, whose name means ‘light’, is the traditional time to plant the seeds of wheat so that by Christmas Day you will have new shoots at least a few inches tall. I typically buy about a cup of raw hard winter wheat from the bulk containers at Whole Foods (to last me through the season).  Then I soak them overnight to help the sprouting process and plant them on the 13th of Dec in a shallow dish covered with some moist soil.  I keep them on a warm window sill that gets light and make sure the soil stays moist.  Be careful to keep an eye on them, since the soil is so shallow, the seeds can easily get dried out or overwatered.

I love this tradition so much, because of its rich symbolism, that I have several small dishes I place around the house: at my nativity under my tree, my sacred space prayer table, and at my dinner table next to a white candle (symbolizing Christ our Light) and figure of Christ in a manger.  (Sometimes I’ll even have two plantings to last me through the entire traditional end to the Christmas season on February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation.)

I hope you can try this tradition yourself.  Happy Feast of St Lucy, and blessed remainder of Advent to you.  For more Croatian Advent and Christmas traditions visit: Like Croatia

Last Year’s Nativity and St Lucy’s Wheat

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Last Saturday night on November 27, while much of the country was still recovering from their Thanksgiving celebrations, St Mary’s in Old Town Alexandria,VA took up the Holy Father’s call from last June to begin the new liturgical year by holding a unprecedented worldwide prayer vigil for all nascent (newly developing) human life. 

St Mary’s held their vigil, like the Pope’s in Rome, to coincide with first vespers of the First Sunday of Advent, while other parishes who participated may have scheduled it at other times during the weekend.  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provided various detailed and complete program options for parishes to implement.

Here are some images of the beautiful and prayerful evening at St Mary’s that include vespers, adoration, benediction and a rosary.  One of the prayer meditations I’m including here was from a quote by John Paul II.

Prayer of Pope John Paul II

 O Mary, bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.

– Evangelium Vitae, 105

Pope Benedict in his homily at the vigil also quoted Pope John Paul the Great’s appeal to “respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!”(Encyclical Evangelium vitae, 5).”

Even though I was asked to photograph the event, thus being “on duty,” I stopped at various moments and entered into the beautiful and rich meditations, as well as the challenging prayers of supplication.  I found it a welcome relief to come in from the cold night for adoration, on the eve of a new liturgical year to pray for the protection of life.  

It was also bittersweet for me because I’d wished there were more people in attendance.  In a matter of weeks, churches will be filled to overflowing on Christmas Day.  I always wish that the same enthusiasm and dedication would be present to pray for the unborn.  Welcoming life seems to still be such a problem.  There was no room at the inn for the Christ Child who was about to be born.  Can there still be no room for so many unborn babies?  We need much prayer, fasting and action to help mothers and fathers of today find a way to welcome their children into the world, even if we can only provide a stable. 

 

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  • Deirdre McQuade - December 3, 2010 - 4:47 pm

    Beautiful work, Renata! Thank you for covering the event.

  • Renata - December 3, 2010 - 5:11 pm

    Thank you, Deirdre!

Posted in Happenings

Our Lady of Tenderness Icon Medal

For my faithful blog readers, Cyber Monday will last all week! 

If you haven’t seen my icon medals yet, here’s your chance to order my solid, sterling silver Our Lady of Tenderness Medal for yourself or as a Christmas gift, at a rare reduced price from $168 to $148 through 5pm on Friday December 3rd. 
 
Just a reminder that these medals are made to order and take at least three weeks to handcraft.  So if you are thinking of getting one for Christmas, this week is the time to order. 
 
I also have holy card bookmarks available that match the icons and they are in stock now.  (They make great little inserts in Christmas cards, btw).
 

Visit my products page for more information on all my medals and cards.  (Apologies for the temporary site and shopping cart limitations.   Please email me if you have any problems.)

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