The Patron Saint Quilt is Done!

For more information, please visit: http://patronsaintquilts.blogspot.com/

Prayer by Thomas Merton

I've been reading Six Sacred Rules for Families: A Spirituality for the Home and came across this prayer by Thomas Merton:



My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lose and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (from Thoughts in Solitude)

Book Review: Messages of Glory

Messages of Glory: The Narrative Art of Roman Catholicism
Photographs by Robert A. Flischel, Joe Simon, and Jay Yocis
Text by Monsignor William Cleves and Margo Warminski
Cincinnati, OH: David-Flischel Enterprises, LLC, 2012

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, photographer Robert Flischel was busy photographing weddings and religious services in Ohio and Northern Kentucky. As he did so, he felt an increased desire to examine the beautiful spaces and share that beauty with others “with a goal of telling a clear and meaningful story.” The result of that goal is the breathtaking coffee table book, Messages of Glory: The Narrative Art of Roman Catholicism.

The striking images of stained glass, sculpture, paintings, and mosaics take center stage, with the text serving to augment the story rather than dominate it. The Ohio/Kentucky area is a microcosm of America and the immigrant wave that took place between 1840 and 1950. As Anne Husted Burleigh shares in the preface, these images are “a testament to the devotion of generations of Catholics who established these memorials, and as a repository of a priceless and irreplaceable collection of sacred art that reflects the richness of our Catholic culture.”

The images are divided into categories, beginning with angels, then moving to saints, beatitudes, sacraments, symbols and icons, the stations of the cross, the life of Mary, mysteries of the rosary, the holy family, and the life of Christ. All serve to teach and inspire. All could be a source for meditative prayer.

From an artistic perspective, the craftsmanship of these pieces is amazing, and something we often take for granted. We walk into a Church and expect to see beautiful windows and statues and give little thought to the artists and craftspeople who put so much of their heart and time into creating them so that they might give glory to God.

One story worth sharing in this text concerns the Angels of Cincinnatti. They are two European sculptures brought to Cincinnatti in the 1840s for St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. In the 1850s, they were moved to St. Teresa of Avila Church. In the 1960s, it was decided that they no longer fit the style of the church and were relegated to life behind a curtain in the parish bingo hall. In the 1990s they were rediscovered when the diocese requested an art inventory. They are now on loan to the Cincinnati Art Museum and getting the attention such fine pieces of sculpture deserve.  

“Messages of Glory” is inspiring. It would be wonderful if other photographers took on the challenge of preserving the art of other dioceses. Much of this liturgical art is at risk due to parish closings and the simple passage of time. It is worth recording from a historic, artistic, and spiritual perspective in order that future generations may also benefit from it.  

"Gimme Shelter" opens in theaters on Friday

"Gimme Shelter is a moving film with an uplifting message of hope and the dignity of human life – and the fact that it is based on real people and events makes it all the more compelling.  A first-rate cast – Vanessa Hudgens, Ann Dowd, Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser – brings the story to life, and I was particularly proud of the portrayal by James Earl Jones of a good, kind, hardworking priest.  I hope that this film finds a wide audience -- particularly among teens and young adults!”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Archbishop of New York

"The remarkable narrative of Gimme Shelter expresses a powerful reality and the heroic love of a mother for her unborn child. Exploring the hard questions regarding the meaning of life, family, love and suffering, our heroin, "Apple", fights against all odds and finds hope in the kindness of some key people, including a hospital chaplain who expresses the true nature of a priestly soul of service, guidance, and the deep Love of God for every single man, woman and child from the moment of conception. Out of rejection shines the courageous beauty of a mother's love, and out of tragedy, shines hope!”

His Excellency Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula
President, Pontifical Academy for Life, The Vatican

A pregnant teenager flees life with her drug-addicted mother and ends up living on the street before being welcomed into her first real home in Gimme Shelter, an extraordinary tale of survival and redemption inspired by actual events. For 16-year-old Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens), life has been a constant struggle to overcome the harsh reality of a subsistence existence with her abusive mother, June (Rosario Dawson), and June's string of lowlife boyfriends.

When she finds herself pregnant and alone, Apple temporarily takes shelter with her biological father, Tom (Brendan Fraser), a wealthy Wall Streeter living in a New Jersey mansion with his wife Joanna (Stephanie Szostak) and two young children. But Apple's inability to adjust to her new circumstances, and her refusal to terminate her pregnancy, soon force her back onto the streets.

 Desperate to find a haven for herself and her unborn child, Apple reluctantly agrees to move into a suburban shelter that houses other pregnant teens. Emotionally scarred and unable to trust those who want to help her, it seems unlikely that Apple will be able to adapt to the shelter's strict rules and high expectations. With her safety and that of her unborn child at risk, Apple must find a way to break the shackles of her unhappy past and embrace the future with clarity, maturity and hope. Inspired by the real-life, David-and-Goliath story of Several Sources Shelters founder Kathy DiFiore, award-winning writer and director Ronald Krauss wrote his original screenplay while spending a year in a shelter for pregnant teens, and based his poignant screenplay on the lives of several of the shelter mothers.

Gimme Shelter stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical franchise, Machete Kills), Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Trance), Brendan Fraser (Crash, The Mummy), James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope, Star Wars franchise), Ann Dowd (Compliance, Side Effects) and Dascha Polanco ("Orange is the New Black"). Also appearing in the film are several real life shelter mothers, their babies and Kathy DiFiore. The film is produced by Krauss and Jeff Rice (End of Watch, 2 Guns). Director of photography is Alain Marcoen (The Kid with a Bike, She is Not Crying, She is Singing). Production designer is William Ladd Skinner (This is the End, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise). Costume designer is Ciera Wells (All is Bright, Damsels in Distress). Executive producers are Paul Hellerman (Pulp Fiction, The Mexican) and Scott Steindorff (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Human Stain).

Pope Francis on the Right to Life

With the March for Life in Washington coming up on Wednesday, I offer these words from Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (November 24, 2013)

Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. . . .

Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. . . . 

Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single life, but if we all look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, "every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offense against the creator of the individual."

The Introvert's Way

I've always known that I was an introvert. I'm like my father, who has always embodied a strong, silent persona. I think that because I had him as a role model, I never thought myself strange or different. I just was. I always had a few close friends, but I also liked being alone. I found solace in books and art and writing. I didn't realize everybody else didn't share my love of these things.

As I've gotten older and learned more about the differences in extroverts and introverts, I have definitely found the study interesting. God likes variety, and just as he created male and female radically different, he created introverts and extroverts to make life interesting. After all, who would all those extroverts talk to if there were no introverts? And a room full of introverts is definitely a quiet room filled with awkward pauses.A few extroverts certainly help keep the conversation flowing. That being said, two introverts who care about each other can have a very deep, meaningful conversation.

I know that there are extroverted writers and artists, but they are a minority. Without us introverts contemplating life so deeply and recording it, cultural development would definitely slow down. The world needs both kinds of people.

I guess I've never felt put upon as an introvert -I've just been. Maybe that's not the norm. The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World by Sophia Dembling seems to have been written for introverts who have had enough and aren't going to take it anymore! It makes the case that introverts are 50% of the world's population and that we need to stake our claim in it. Truthfully, I hadn't realized we hadn't.

Still, I found the book interesting and fun. It confirmed that I am a "normal" introvert and I laughed when Dembling referred to audience participation at a theater production as "hell" and discussed the pain of group projects. Please, please - just give me an assignment and let me do it! I'll gladly work with others as long as my role is clearly identified and I can go work on it.

My dislike of the telephone is apparently also shared by others. Who are all those people talking to on their cell phones for hours and about what? I just don't understand. My cell phone suffers from neglect. When I have to make a phone call, even to people I love, I have to psych myself up for it. I love email and FB messages. If I had a phone that texted, I'd probably love that, too. I like parties, but they exhaust me. The holidays wear me out. I am not alone - apparently many people feel this way.

We can act extroverted when necessary, but that takes a lot of energy as well. (Interestingly, though - according to this book - it takes more energy for an extroverted person to act introverted).

I also found it interesting that introverts may actually think a little slower than extroverts because we process on a deeper level, which is one reason we find group conversations difficult. By the time we have processed the comment and what we want to say, the group has moved on to something else. I can't tell you how often this has happened to me. Or - I do have something to say, but I'll over-analyze before I speak. "Should I say that? Does it have something valuable to add? Oh well, I'll just sit here and be quiet. Maybe I'll blog about it later." Although, truly, I analyze my blog posts the same way. The world is noisy enough - I don't need to add to it without reason.

"The Introvert's Way" is an interesting read for introverts and for the extroverts who love us. It is also good for extroverted parents of introverted children (or vice versa). It is good to know how the other half thinks and functions.

Book Review: Each Kindness

I picked up Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, a winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor, while browsing in the children's section of my local library. I expected a feel-good story about being kind. This is not a feel-good story - this is heartbreaking, but definitely worth reading, even as an adult.

The story is told by a little girl, maybe eight or nine years old. She shares how a new girl named Maya came to her class. She was different, poor, with clothes that were different and games that were different. Maya tried to be friends with the other kids, but they rejected her every time. The other girls called her "Never New" because all she owned was second-hand.

The teacher gives a lesson on kindness, on being the pebble in the water that sends out ripples. The narrator realizes that she has not been kind, but it is too late. Maya never returns to school. Her opportunity for kindness to the different new girl has passed, and she must live with that regret.

It's a powerful message. Yes, I'm sure on some level it is meant to be an anti-bullying book, but it is also a reminder for each of us who don't necessarily bully anybody, but who sometimes fail to be kind. Once that opportunity is wasted, it can never be reclaimed. Everybody can benefit from kindness. It is an important thing to remember and put into practice.