OUR LAST MOTHER DIES

Today was the burial of Mother Dilecta's mother who went to the Lord June 10.
She was 91 and the last of our mothers to die. Born in Colorado, she was a teacher for many years. Mr. P. is still alive and at 91 golfs every Thursday. He calls it his "Holy Day of Obligation".

MD  with nephew Justin

When they retired in 1980 they moved from the Los Angeles area (where they settled in 1946) to a small beach town north of San Luis Obispo. In her "free time" she recorded textbooks for the blind and taught adults to read through a literacy program. "Bobbie" is survived by three children, six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. Quite a legacy!

Like all of our mothers she left us values, a love of learning and a hope for future generations, especially in our caring for others less fortunate than ourselves. It is fitting that she died on the vigil of the feast of Corpus Christi, as she had a discernment and concern for various weaknesses and illnesses. Mother Dilecta's mother had a great attraction to Archbishop Fulton Sheen (as did my own mother- though unlike Mrs. P. she never converted).

MD & Bella

Mother Dilecta, who is the monastery poet (a published one)  wrote this final tribute to her mom:

        Morning Meditation
            (for Mom and Claire)

    So now, pale-brown cow
        last evening
        my very first source of milk
        died-
        May her dwelling
        be in peace in a land
        flowing with milk & honey
        as I finish milking
        this last, long-flowing teat
        I've long called
           "The Everlasting".

(NB.  see photo of Claire in earlier BLOG
    and BLOG (March 22) about Archbishop Sheen

SYMBOLS (Continued)



Peggy Woods

The HERON was a symbol of Christ on the Mount of Olives.



Barry Moser



   The STORK, returning every spring, symbolized Christ in
 His Resurrection.

The CRANE represented renewal and Christ resurrected.







Malcolm Greensmith

 The SWALLOW, a harbinger of spring, also stands for the Resurrection.












The BLUEBIRD and BLUEJAY denote spiritual joy and contentedness.



Floy Zittin











Mark Kelso



 The PHEASANT denotes a spiritual seeker.





                                          
                                                      


Floy Zittin

   The OWL is synonymous with wisdom and  virtue.















Kimberly Parsons (11th Grade, N.C.)



The RAVEN, noted for its intelligence, is emblematic of penance and the solitary lives of hermits and the monks of the desert, such as Sts. Benedict and Paul the Hermit (also fed by ravens).

St. Vincent- A.T. Ribot (1891)

 St. Vincent of Saragossa's body was protected by ravens from  other animals, after his martyrdom.

BIRDS as RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS

BIRDS have long been a symbol of the soul as they fly free of the earth-bound body seeking the heavens.
They represent a passage between the physical world and the spiritual.

The DOVE is the most depicted bird in religious art as it represents the Holy Spirit, and is usually seen in the Baptism of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In the Old Testament (especially in the Canticle of Canticles) it stood for purity and innocence.

In the story of Noah and the flood, it represented peace.
Many saints are depicted with the dove, such as Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila and the Benedictine Pope, Gregory the Great.


St. Gregory the Great



The PEACOCK was believed to be incorruptible, so represented immortality.

The EAGLE, reputed to have the power of looking directly at the sun, was a symbol of Christ gazing on the brightness of God the Father. St. John the Evangelist's symbol is the eagle.

Mike Beeman

　






 The SPARROW represents the love of God for even the "least" among us. Twelve sparrows can represent the twelve Apostles.



Early Christians, noting that the NIGHTINGALE sang with increasing joy as the dawn approached, made this bird the symbol of the holy joy of the righteous Christian soul, singing in the darkness of this world.



Nightingales- Tina Bone





Stephen Filarsky



 A white DUCK swimming with swans or other water birds often symbolized the spread of Christianity among the heathens.



V. Crivelli- Madonna & Child with goldfinch (detail)





The GOLDFINCH frequently appeared in pictures of the Christ Child.

It became associated with His Incarnation.

Because of its fondness for thistles and thorns it has also come to represent the Passion of the Lord.



One of my favorite bird artists, Floy Zittin











CROWS and CHILDREN

How many of you know that a MURDER of CROWS is what one calls a group of crows?
My Island 4-H group has been studying crows for their birding project this year. In years past they did a general study, such as migration, where birds eat, or habitat. This year they decided to study one species and after they learned what a group of crows is called they decided this would make a great "eye-catching" display for the county fair.

PBS did a documentary a few years ago entitled "A Murder of Crows". It was interesting to find that one of the foremost researchers in the world in the study of the corvoidae family (which includes ravens, jays and magpies) is at the University of Washington. The kids decided that they would set up their own scientific study and watch the crows each Friday and Saturday when they came to bird. When the study started in January we still had the pigs and the kids would watch as the crows came to eat any left over food after the pigs ate. Sometimes it was boring, sometimes fun. Several of the group want to be scientists or archaeologists so for these 11 and 12 year olds it was a study in patience and perseverance. They found that even a fun job takes work.

From the movie we learned that crows are as intelligent as dolphins, elephants, chimps, and pigs. They have 250 unique vocalizations with two distinct dialects: one for family and the other for community. They can recognize the faces of humans, memorize garbage routes, and know when traffic lights are red.

From their own study the kids learned that crows have a scout crow (even after the pigs were slaughtered one crow would wait and then go get the others), they can tell time, and the male would eat and then take food to the female on her nest.
They studied myths of Native Americans and found that in the 20th & 21st Centuries, crows feature more often in stories than ravens did in the past.

Studying birds shows the kids many aspects of nature and their connectedness to us.

 Like the larger raven, the symbolic crow is associated with the sun, longevity, beginnings, death, change, bad luck, prophecy, and Christian solitude.

 Chagall- Song of Songs

Christians consider the crow an emblem of the Virgin Mary. The words, "I am dark, but lovely...because the sun has tanned me," are believed to mean that the light or love of God has so shown upon her that she is burned and purified as if by a mighty sun or fire (Song 1:5-6).

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES (A TRIBUTE to LARRY)

On Saturday my god-daughter and dear friend lost her husband Larry. Fortunately, it was a cancer that took him fast and while we all knew he would not be with us long, it is still a shock to all.
I suppose we are of an age where dear ones start to disappear from our lives, leaving only happy memories.

I have known Sandi and her sister Janet for over 20 years. We first met at a sheep fiber show, sitting next to one another on a  miserably hard bench. Someone came along and asked, are you all sisters, and I answered, yes, we are. That became the beginning of a great friendship. Their family is French and Czech and both women have the high cheek bones and beauty of the Slavs. Sandi and I have always resembled each other so it is easy to mistake us for blood sisters.

Janet came into the Church first, baptized here at OLR, followed by Sandi a few years later. After that Sandi and Larry's granddaughter, LaRen, and later grandson, Lucas, were baptized in our chapel.

Janet, Larry, Sandi, LaRen, MH, Shauna

Because Sandi was married, the marriage had to be blessed in the Church, which was done that same day. Many in the family came having a grand celebration with the Community sitting under the apple trees having a picnic.

Larry, who had been baptized a Catholic, but did not practice in his adult life, later said to me, well, I guess I may be next. I gave him a catechism, but we never followed through.The week before he died, Sandi called Father who came that Saturday to administer that last Rites. She said Larry was very happy and peaceful.

Some of my fondest memories of Larry are the annual trips over the mountains to the lovely village of Leavenworth to visit old friends of his and Sandi's. We would argue and laugh about politics and the state of affairs in the world. We women would try to drag him through a few stores which I am sure he enjoyed more then he let on. We would then stop for apples in the canyon on the return home, relishing the reds and golds of turning leaves.

I last saw Larry 10 days before he left us and I will always remember sitting on the porch, with Bella's face on his knee, and the warm sun bathing us all, after a very cold spring. He was cheerful, joking and laughing. Soon after he was in full Hospice care. In his last weeks he was surrounded by the care and love of his children and grandchildren. His passing to the Father is a loss to all who knew him, though he has gained a High Place.

MORE BENEDICTINE SAINTS

ST. BAVO (d. 654)  was a Belgian nobleman who spent a wild youth, noted for his selfishness. He was known to have sold his servants as slaves to local noble houses. He later married and was a widower. After hearing a sermon by St. Amand of Maastricht he converted and vowed to change his life.

He built an abbey on his estate, called St. Peter‘s in his day and St. Bavo’s today. He turned it over to St. Amand, and became a monk. He finally gave his estate to the house, his belongings to the poor, and lived as a recluse in a hollow tree and later a cell in the forest near the abbey.

 Because he is so often shown with a falcon, he is considered the patron saint of falconry.











 


ST. LUDGER (d.809) was the son of wealthy Frisian nobles. His brothers were St. Gerburgis and St. Hildegrin. He heard St. Boniface preach in 753, and was greatly moved. He studied at Utrecht, Netherlands under St. Gregory of Utrecht and later under Bl. Alcuin in England.

In 773 he returned to the Netherlands as a missionary. He later lived as a Benedictine monk at Monte Cassino, Italy from 785 to 787, but did not take vows. At the request of Charlemagne, he returned to Friesland as a missionary. It was a successful expedition, and he built a monastery in Werden, Germany to serve He built a monastery at Mimigernaford as the center of this missionary work, and became its abbot.

St. Ludger’s health failed in later years, but he never reduced his work load. No matter how busy or dangerous his outside life, he never neglected his time of prayer and meditation, it being a source of the strength to do everything else.



 He is considered the missionary to the Saxons. In art, St .Ludger is portrayed as a bishop with a swan or goose near him.

BENEDICTINE MEN AND THEIR BIRDS

Sts. Benedict & Scholastica

The most famous of our saints is our founder ST. BENEDICT of NORCIA (d. 547).
He  was born to the Roman nobility and was the twin brother of St. Scholastica (mentioned in our previous blog). As a youth he studied in Rome, but was dismayed by the lack of discipline and the worldly attitude of his fellow students. He fled to the mountains near Subiaco (about 2 hours north of Rome), living as a hermit in a cave for three years where he was befriended by a raven who fed him. His discipline was such that an attempt was made on his life; some monks tried to poison him, but he gave the foul bread to his raven to dispose of.

 He returned to his cave, but continued to attract followers, eventually establishing twelve monasteries.

 He later founded the monastery at Monte Cassino, where he wrote the Rule of our Order. He had the ability to read consciences, the gift of prophesy, and could forestall attacks of the devil.

(Lu Bro) 

A summation of the Rule: “Pray and Work”  is balanced by attention to manual labor, intellectual pursuit and prayer.  He is one of the patrons of modern Europe.

 (One of my favorite images: statue at  St. Martin's Abbey, Lacey, WA)

The raven is a symbol for solitude. It also symbolizes filial gratitude and affection, wisdom, hope, longevity, death, and fertility.












Another great Benedictine saint, but not well known in America is ST. MEINRAD
(d. 861).  He is known as the Martyr of Hospitality.



He was a monk in the monastery at Bollingen (Switzerland) though he longed to become a hermit,  living a life of prayer, penance and meditation. In 828 having at last obtained his superiors' permission, he set off for the Dark Wood on the slopes of Mount Etzel.

Soon after settling in a solitary retreat he found a nest with two young ravens, which he gladly adopted and tamed, perhaps because the he had a statue of the Child Jesus holding a small bird in one hand. St. Meinrad spent seven years on this mountain, but as more and more pilgrims come to visit him, he fled from his tiny cell, taking his two friends, the ravens, with him.

Br. Martin Erspamer, OSB

 He went still farther into the depths of the Dark Wood until one day he found, in the midst of the lofty pine trees on a small table-land surrounded by hills on three sides, a bubbling spring giving forth sparkling, fresh mountain water. Here he built himself a little log hut and a chapel, in which he reverently placed his statue. His faithful ravens often perched on either side of a crucifix, watching the holy hermit as he worked and prayed.

He spent over 20 years alone and was never  harmed by the mountain bears or wolves or other wild animals who dwelt there. However, two hardened criminals, hearing that people made pilgrimages to the hermit, were tempted by the idea that he must have rich treasure hidden away in his lonely hermitage. And so one cold winter night they made their way through the deep snow to his retreat in the forest.

As the saint was  finishing his Mass he heard the shrill screams of warning of his faithful ravens. He went out and welcomed the two men with loving kindness and hospitality, setting before them some bread and wine. When they roughly demanded that he show them his hidden treasure he humbly led them into the little chapel, and pointing to the plain wooden statue above the altar, he said, "I have no other treasure."

In a mad rage the two robbers seized and brutally beat the saintly old hermit to death with a heavy club, while his two ravens flew wildly about, screaming and trying in vain to help their good friend by pecking at the murderers' heads.

The men dragged the saint's body away and were about to begin their search for the supposedly hidden treasure when they noticed a wondrous smell pervading the place. When they perceived that two candles standing by the hermit's bed had somehow just been lighted, without human hand, the two assassins fled in terror all the way to Zurich. But like the accusing finger of God, Meinrad's two ravens persistently followed and attacked the murderers until they were arrested and  confessed the crime.

On the place where he was martyred a church and shrine were built in his memory, which later became the famous and very beautiful Abbey of Einsiedeln. I was able to visit this marvelous monastery and the Black Madonna, when I lived in Germany over 40 years ago.