PATRON OF MODERN NURSES

Feb 2 Pope Francis in an audience said:  “Even when we rely fully on the intercession of a saint, or even more so that of the Virgin Mary, our trust only has value in relation to Christ. As if the path toward this saint or toward Our Lady does not end there, no. Not there, but in relationship with Christ. He is the bond, Christ is the bond that unites us to him and to each other, and which has a specific name: this bond that unites us all, between ourselves and us with Christ, it is the ‘communion of saints’.

The medical profession has a new saint, who can't come soon enough to intercede for all in health care, especially nurses, who lay their lives on the line daily. 

BLESSED ARTEMIDES ZATTI, who the Holy Father approved for canonization, was an immigrant nurse who died from liver cancer in 1951.

He  was born in Boretto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, in 1880, to Louis Zatti and Albina Vecchi, a farming family. Since he was a small child he was accustomed to work and sacrifice. Already by the time he was nine, he was earning money as a hired hand. In 1897 the Zatti family, forced by poverty, emigrated to Argentina to establish life at Bahia Blanca.

 Here Artemides began to attend the parish run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, becaming a helper to the parish priest, Fr Carlo Cavalli, with whom he often shared work and prayer. He felt a desire to become a Salesian, and was accepted as an aspirant by the Bishop and, by the time he was twenty, went to the Community at Bernal.

He assisted a young priest who was ill with tuberculosis, who then died in 1902. The day when Artemides was to receive his clerical habit, he too contracted the disease. When he got back to the community, Fr Cavalli sent him to the mission hospital in Viedma. Fr Evarisio Garrone, with wide experience, was in charge of the hospital.  Artemides, along with him, asked and obtained from Mary Help of Christians the grace of recovery, promising to dedicate his entire life to looking after the sick.

In 1903 he became a manager of a chemist  in the hospital of San José, attending frequent Mass. His routine also included morning meditation as well as a bike ride to the sick. He would entertain the ill with a game of bocce and from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm would visit hospital patients.

He would read spiritual texts in the night following work. His work schedule spanned from 4:30 am until 11:00 pm. He also gained a diploma in nursing. One doctor said: "I believe in God since I know Mr. Zatti".

 In 1908 he made his perpetual profession. He was completely dedicated to the sick. People sought him out and admired him. For the personnel at the hospital he was not only an excellent director, but an excellent Christian. 

He was always available for anyone who called for help.

He obtained Argentine citizenship in 1914 in La Plata and on 23 May 1915 he began the Christin publication "Flores del Campo",  which was issued weekly.

 He had a hospital constructed in 1913 and was disappointed when it was torn down in 1941 and rebuilt into something else.

The blessed fell off a ladder on 19 July 1950 as he climbed to the roof to fix a water tank. He recovered in the hospital where he was not long after diagnosed with liver cancer.

 He remained in the hospital from January 1951 until his death on 15 March 1951 in Videma.  His remains were housed in a Salesian chapel in Viedma.

 

HEALING

 

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to Wendell Berry, by telephone, with the idea of coming to see him, when I was lecturing in his home state of Kentucky.   He was most kind, but the event never happened.  Here is a poem of his I love, which is perhaps more appropriate today then when he wrote it many years ago.

He believes that small-scale farming is essential to healthy local economies, and that strong local economies are essential to the survival of the species and the well-being of the planet. For us who farm on a "small scale" his words of wisdom have meaning.

In a “New Perspectives Quarterly”  interview Wendell  said: We must support what supports local life, which means community, family, household life—the moral capital our larger institutions have to come to rest upon. If the larger institutions undermine the local life, they destroy that moral capital just exactly as the industrial economy has destroyed the natural capital of localities—soil fertility and so on. Essential wisdom accumulates in the community much as fertility builds in the soil.”

He has written many books of  fiction, essays  and poetry.  His poetry celebrates the sacredness of life and shows us miracles of every day, often taken for granted. 

 

                                                James McShane- USA

 

The Slip 

The river takes the land, and leaves nothing.
Where the great slip gave way in the bank
and an acre disappeared, all human plans
dissolve. An aweful clarification occurs
where a place was. Its memory breaks
from what is known now, and begins to drift.
Where cattle grazed and trees stood, emptiness
widens the air for birdflight, wind, and rain.
As before the beginning, nothing is there.
Human wrong is in the cause, human
ruin in the effect—but no matter;
all will be lost, no matter the reason.
Nothing, having arrived, will stay.
The earth, even, is like a flower, so soon
passeth it away. And yet this nothing
is the seed of all—heaven’s clear
eye, where all the worlds appear.
Where the imperfect has departed, the perfect
begins its struggle to return. The good gift
begins again its descent. The maker moves
in the unmade, stirring the water until
it clouds, dark beneath the surface,
stirring and darkening the soul until pain
perceives new possibility. There is nothing
to do but learn and wait, return to work
on what remains. Seed will sprout in the scar.
Though death is in the healing, it will heal.

WE SAW HIM GO

 

                                                                          Senegal

Ascension

We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we ourselves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light,
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed.

Malcolm Guite

 

Malcolm Guite: Ascension, sonnet drawn from Malcolm Guite’s collection Sounding the Seasons, published byCanterbury Press in England. 

Malcolm Guite about this poem: “In the mystery of the Ascension we reflect on the way in which in one sense Christ ‘leaves’ us and is taken away into Heaven, but in another sense is given to us and to the world in a new and more universal way. He is no longer located only in one physical space to the exclusion of all others. He is in the Heaven which is at the heart of all things now and is universally accessible to all who call upon him. And since his humanity is taken into Heaven, our humanity belongs there too and is in a sense already there with him. ‘For you have died,’ says St. Paul, ‘and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’ In the Ascension Christ’s glory is at once revealed and concealed and so is ours. The sonnet form seemed to me one way to begin to tease these things out.”

Malcolm Guite: “Please feel free to make use of this and other sonnets in church services and to copy and share them. If you can mention the book from which they are taken that would be great.”

FIRST PRIMATE OF MEXICO

"Devotion to the saints is “simply talking to a brother, a sister, who is in the presence of God, who has led a righteous life, a model life, and is now in the presence of God. And I talk to this brother, this sister, and ask for their intercession for the needs that I have.” (Pope Francis, Feb. 2022) 

When I read the meditations in the “Magnificat”  magazine, perhaps my regular favorite is  SERVANT of GOD LUIS MARIA MARTINEZ, who was Archbishop of Mexico City, a philosopher, theologian, and poet.

He was born in 1881 in the Mexican state of Michoacán. He studied at the diocesan seminary in Morelia, and was ordained a priest in 1904 and later taught at the seminary, eventually becoming dean. 

After serving as auxiliary bishop of Morelia, in February 1937, he was appointed the archbishop of Mexico City by Pope Pius XI. He served until his death in 1956, and guided his flock through a difficult transition following a period of virulent anti-clericalism and Masonic-led persecution of the Church in Mexico.

The archbishop Martínez was a close friend of Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas, dating back to their youth in Michoacán. The good working relationship of both men during the Cárdenas administration (1934–1940) bridged a gap between church and state, and helped subdue the bitter animosity between Catholics and leftists that had lingered since the Mexican Revolution. The archbishop kept his friendly, pro-government stance through the succeeding administrations of Manuel Ávila Camacho, Miguel Alemán Valdés, and Adolfo Ruiz Cortines.

He maintained a steady belief in democracy and publicly urged citizens to vote. During World War II, he spoke out strongly against fascism and groups that sought to align Mexico with the Axis powers. As described in an obituary, "his adherence to the democratic cause was the more notable in those days in that some of the more strident pro-Axis groups were largely Catholic in composition".

During the regime of Cardenas’ successor, General Manuel Ávila Camacho, the Archbishop instituted a national Catholic campaign to wipe out illiteracy. He obtained government assistance to refurbish the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

He was known as well for his tender pastoral care and his wisdom as a spiritual director. At the core of his life, thought, and work, was always Jesus Christ. 

In 1951, Archbishop Martínez received the honorific title of Primate of Mexico, the first such officeholder in the Church.

 He died on February 9, 1956, in Mexico City and was buried beneath the altar of the Metropolitan Cathedral. An estimated hundred thousand mourners came to pay their respects before the funeral. 

 Among his books are The Sanctifier, Only Jesus (considered his magnum opus) and Secrets of the Interior Life.

“We priests must be victims by reason of our loving sacrifice; we must be altars by reason of our purity. The soul that shares in the mystical priesthood of Jesus must necessarily be priest, victim, and altar, that is, that soul must be Jesus.” 

Archbishop  Martinez’s  messages are always hope-filled showing us  the Lord’s  love and concern. He  reminds us that "the work, pain, and sufferings of this world do not constitute the definitive atmosphere of our souls. Our atmosphere is rest in God."

CHILDREN'S ART-- THE UKRAINE

 

An auction of Ukrainian children's art sent to the International Owl Center in Minnesota has raised tens of thousands of dollars for relief efforts in Ukraine. When the war started in Ukraine, some of the drawings and paintings from Ukrainian children were posted on social media. The response led the center to explore the possibility of auctioning off the work, some held long in storage.

The first auction, March 20, raised an amazing $101,321 with 59 pieces of art. The second auction ended March 27 and raised $71,552. The third auction ended April 3 and raised $49,143. The top piece went for $8,005, with two other pieces going for over $7,000 each. 

The  three auctions raised $222,016  with the proceeds going to UNICEF for children in the Ukraine, which includes medical supplies, education support and mental health teams.

The center has more art pieces which will be auctioned off at later dates.

The  owl center also plans to print a set of greeting cards, and are keeping some of the Ukrainian children’s art in its permanent collection.

The center tried to reach some of the children who sent artwork over the years, but most art schools that participated are in eastern Ukraine. They eventually heard from the teacher of two talented young artists, that they were able to leave Ukraine with their families.

We can only pray that more budding artists are safe.

If you want to know about owls, I highly recommend the site of the Owl Center.

BIRDS IN PARADISE

 

                        House finch taken by our neighbor, Ned Griffin

This year’s Migration Bird Count yielded some interesting birds, least of which was a trumpeter swan, which flew over us as we sat by the bay eating our lunch.

Three barred owls and two great horned owls made us think we were on another planet.  Jim even spied a yellow-rumped warbler (butter-butts we call them ). Brown cowbirds, oyster catchers, bufflehead ducks (that have not yet flown north), a red-tailed hawk, and some tree swallows gave us seven new species we have not see in recent past listings at this time.  So while, some experts say numbers are dwindling, we did not find it this year on Shaw Island.

In the past week, I have had more finches at the deck feeders than I have seen in years:  Goldfinch, house finch, pine siskin, and purple finch all have vied for the seed put out for them.  An islander, who has obviously put a lot of money into thistle seed, had to have 50+ goldfinch at the feeders. We sat for 20 minutes watching the feeding frenzy.

Some interesting facts, and I am sure the results are not yet finalized:

 ~Columbia, Peru and Ecuador lead the list with most number of species found

~USA is 7^th and Mexico  8th

~USA topped the list (by far)  with number of lists- over 68,000 (lower 48 states)

            followed by Canada with just 12,700 lists

~Worldwide 7,600 species recorded-  lower USA 671 species

~Worldwide 131,000 lists

Obviously Americans love their birds!  But some parts of the world are catching up- slowly!

MUSIC FROM UKRAINE

 

Recently came a request from a Ukrainian woman whose family is still in her country- she is in USA now- so we have daily prayed for Olga, Tatanya, Marina Sergy, and  Mihail.   This very moving music and video came to me today and I want to share with all.  Very poignant!

 

                         Maria Prymachenko, Our Army, Our Protectors, 1978.

Світ – "Обійми" (кавер-версія на пісню гурту "Океан Ельзи") | Svit – “Obiymy” (Okean Elzy cover) - YouTube

NEW SAINT - OLD FAVORITE

 

 Today one of our favorite saints will be canonized-  

Here is CHARLES de FOUCAULD's  Prayer of Abandonment

 

Father, 
I abandon myself into Your hands; 
do with me what You will. 
Whatever You may do, I thank You: 
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only Your will be done in me, 
and in all Your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into Your hands I commend my soul: 
I offer it to You with all the love of my heart, 
for I love You, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into Your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for You are my Father.

BIRDS AND LIGHTS

This Saturday is the World Migratory Bird Count.  Of course I will be doing it on Shaw Island along with Oblate Gigi and her busband Jim.  In just a few days, goldfinches, purple finches, pinesiskins and house finches have appeared on my deck,en masse, facing Squaw Bay (recently renamed Reefnet Bay).

“Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!” has been selected as the official slogan of the 2022  global World Migratory Bird Day campaign. 

Artificial light impacts birds in the breeding and winter seasons, disrupting feeding and other vital behaviors. In 2022, the impact of light pollution is the focus of World Migratory Bird Day, an annual global campaign that celebrates the migration of birds across countries and continents.

Artificial light is increasing globally by at least 2 per cent per year and it is known to adversely affect many bird species. Light pollution is a significant threat to migratory birds, causing disorientation when they fly at night, leading to collisions with buildings, interfering with their internal clocks, or interfering with their ability to undertake long-distance migrations. 

Biologists have found that light pollution causes birds to begin nesting up to a month earlier than normal in open environments such as grasslands and wetlands, and 18 days earlier in forested environments. The consequence could be a mismatch in timing and hungry chicks may hatch before their food is available.

Birds that migrate or hunt at night navigate by moonlight and starlight. Artificial light can cause them to wander off course and toward the dangerous nighttime landscapes of cities.

Studies have estimated at least 100 million bird deaths  are related to light pollution in cities throughout the United States per year, and some estimates put that number closer to one billion deaths per year.

Solutions to light pollution are readily available. For instance, more and more cities in the world are taking measures to dim building lights during migration phases in spring and autumn. Further information about the impacts of light pollution on migratory birds and steps one can take to address this issue will be made available on the WMBD website throughout the year.

There is a group called International Dark-Sky Association  (IDA)  which studies this problem- not only in relation to birds but all wildlife. Many universities across the globe, as well as the Audubon Society, are studying  this problem.

 When one looks at the above light-pollution map, it is easy to see that most of the pollution comes from the East coast of USA  and all of Western Europe. 

Someone recently told me that during the first year of Covid isolation, when many businesses were closed and lights turned off, they were able to see the night sky as they had not in many years.  Something to ponder!

POPE'S WORDS- DECADES AGO

As we continue our thoughts  and prayers for the people of the Ukraine, these words of St. Paul VI are most appropriate for the month of our Mother Mary:

 

May she, who knows the sufferings and troubles of life here below, the weariness of everyday work, the hardships and privations of poverty, the sufferings of Calvary, bring help to the needs of the Church and the world, heed the appeals for peace rising to her from every part of the world, and enlighten those who rule the destinies of men.

May she prevail on God, Lord of the winds and storms, to still also the tempests in men’s conflicting hearts and ‘grant us peace in our time’, true peace based on the solid lasting foundations of justice and love — of justice granted to the weakest as to the strongest; and love which prevents egoism from leading men astray, so that each one’s rights may be safeguarded without forgetfulness or denial of the rights of others.    Pope St. Paul VI, May 1965  

                                      

Artist-  Olesya Hudyma_ Ukraine

THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND MOTHERS

 

                                    Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese, Malaysia 

Tomorrow  is a double feast-  Good Shepherd Sunday and Mother’s Day. We will celebrate both in our hearts and prayers. We have not bred our sheep for five years now, but one of our Oblate neighbors brought us 7 lambs-  they romp around bringing much joy.

One of the most moving passages in Scripture about God as Good Shepherd is found in Isaiah (40:10-11)

 “Here comes with power, the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm;  Here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; In His arms He gathers the lambs, Carrying them in His bosom, leading the ewes with care.” 

                                                        Jyoti Sahi- India

Some unusual images of Christ as Good Shepherd can be found in all cultures across the globe

Vinayak Masoji, India (’The Lord is My Shepherd’)

Jesus didn’t come to save only the Jewish  people, and while He started with the lost sheep of Israel, His reach went further.

“I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again.” (John 10:14-16).

When Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd, He called to anyone who would listen to his voice.  Having raised sheep for over 30 years, I can attest to this, as my sheep could hear my voice far from the fields, and would answer to me.

    

                                                                        

Isabela Couto, Brazil

Why does Jesus refer to Himself as Good? The Greek word kalos, translated “good,” describes that which is noble, wholesome, good, and beautiful. It signifies not only that which is good inwardly but also that which is attractive outwardly. It is an innate goodness. Therefore, in using the phrase “the good shepherd,” Jesus is referring to His inherent goodness, His righteousness, and His beauty. 

In this month  of May we honor our Blessed Mother as well as our own mothers.  Mary, as mother, is the guardian of the Divine Shepherd, Jesus Christ. This is why the title "Divine Shepherdess" should be read as Shepherdess of the Divine Shepherd. The  title is well known in several Latin American countries, where she is known as the "Divina Pastora."

Just as we hear the voice of Jesus, through the Scriptures and through the teaching of Mother Church, so too do we hear our own mother’s voice on a very deep level.   In pregnancy, mothers to be,  are encouraged to speak to their child in the womb and when  we are born, we  recognize and are soothed by our mother’s voice and we will hear her voice throughout our lives, even when she is gone from us.

Just as Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, so too do good mothers give their lives for their children.  To mothers everywhere a Blessed Day! 

 

       Rudolph Valentino Bostic, USA

WHIMSICAL ART IN UKRAINE

 

 

EVGENIA GAPCHINSKA calls herself the "number one provider of happiness" in her country, Ukraine.  She definitely creates fun art, which is different from artists in her country and she is the highest paid. Her work is internationally known and she annually has exhibitions in Ukraine, Russia, France, Belgium, England, the Netherlands and other countries.  

 Born in 19 74 in Kharkiv into a military family she started her art studies when still a child. After the eighth grade, she entered the Art school de Kharkiv in the department of "teacher of the Art School for Children" (art school for children), where only five people were recruited for this department. Three people made it to the end of the training, where they spent just over six years. She graduated with honors. 

In spite of all her art schooling, she did not start her art work till later, working at many jobs including a manicurist, in an advertising agency, and in a plastic sales company. Finally in the mid-1990s she went to work in a gallery and she again began to draw.

In 2000,  she moved to Kiev with her husband and son , where she was able to find patrons for her work.   There, she set up her own art gallery  One wonders if it it still standing, after all the bombings in this capitol city.

UKRAINIAN DESIGN

 

Another master of traditional folk art (but with a twist) in her country was, HANNA SOBACHKO-SHOSTAK who was born in 1883 in  Skoptsi, Ukraine. She completed two school grades, started working for rich villagers in the field, and helped her mother weave and embroider, drew on paper and painted houses.

Landlady Anastasiia Semyhradova opened an educational and demonstrational carpet studio in Skoptsi in 1910 where she, together with painter Yevheniia Prybylska, tried to revive the traditions of carpet making and embroidery. They invited Hanna,  who worked as an embroideress at the cartel during 1910–1916.

The studio also experimented with the avant-garde, and Hanna Sobachko became friends with famous futurist Aleksandra Ekster and switched to decorative graphic art.  She painted decorative panels with watercolors and gouache in the spirit of “rural futurism” – dynamic compositions, asymmetrical, bright images of flower ornaments and birds with the avant-garde influence.  Her art won many awards and she exhibited in Kyiv, Russia, Paris, Berlin, and New York. 

In 1932, Hanna Sobachko-Shostak moved with her family to Cherkizovo village, in the region of Moscow,  where she worked at Eksportnabyvtkanyna factory.

 Her decorative paintings, with floral and fauna motifs, are distinguished by their dynamic composition, asymmetry, and use of intense colors.  Her works were highly appreciated abroad, in particular, by Henri Matisse.

In 1963–1964 her designs were featured on Ukrainian stamps.

A book about her by H. Miestiechkin was published in Kyiv in 1965,  the year she died.

EVOLVING ARTIST

 

                                                      “Bread”  

TETYANA NILIVNA YABLONSKA  was another Ukrainian painter. Her early pictures were devoted to the work and life of Ukrainian people, such a "Bread", (1949).

She was born in Smolensk, Russian Empire in 1917. She studied at the Kiev State Institute of Art. She was a prolific artist until the end of her life, reportedly painting her last pastel etude on the very day of her death. She later taught at the Kiev art Academy.

She moved to general images of nature, delivering a subtlety of style and color rhythms ("Anonymous heights", 1969; "Flax", 1977).  She was inspired by post-war reconstruction of the Ukraine in search of a new visual truth  and was fond of Ukrainian folk decorative motives. Having been to Italy, she found a balance of color as seen in the early Renaissance works.

She won many awards and honors:  the honorary title "Peoples' Artists of the USSR" in 1982, "Artist of Year" (UNESCO) in 1997, "Woman of Year" (International Biography Centre, Cambridge) in 2000, and the highest state award of Ukraine – title Hero of Ukraine (2003). She died in Kyiv in 2005.

.

While I love her earlier works, I find the vivid yet subtle drawing in her last works of flowers, most refreshing. It is wonderful to  see how a great artist can evolve over a long life.

 

Bellflowers- 2005

  Dusk- Lily of the Valley-  2005