DISSIDENT POETESS

 

Contemporary Ukrainian writer LINA KOSTENK is in her 90s, but is already one of the most inspiring women in the country’s history. For many years, her work remained unpublished, since in the 1960s she participated in the dissident and “Sixties” movements. This period spurred the newest styles in Ukrainian literature, forced to create something avant-garde and critical in relation to the authorities and to the then-totalitarian regime. She wrote hundreds of poems but only one novel (Notes of the Ukrainian Insane), which instantly became a bestseller.

She was born in 1930 in Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv Oblast (not far from the Chernobyl Zone, and in the 1990s she worked in the affected area on the preservation of cultural heritage) into a family of teachers.

In the 1930s her father was sent to the Gulag as ‘an enemy of the people’. After WWII Lina graduated from the Kyiv Pedagogical Institute and in 1956 from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow.

 Her first book of poems, Rays of the Earth, was published in 1957.  In the early 1960s, she faced an onslaught from the Soviet critics accusing her poetry of ‘disconnection from the real life’ and ‘formalistic experimentation’.

Her refusal to give into ideological criticism and the demands of Soviet censorship led to her work being blocked from publication until 1977. During this time she was an active and outspoken member of the Ukrainian dissident movement. She continued publishing into the post-Soviet period, and in 2010, she published her first novel, "Notes of a Ukrainian Madman", an account of the social and political upheaval in independent Ukraine, which immediately became a bestseller.

In 1987, she was awarded Shevchenko National Prize for the same novel.Beside poetry, Kostenko wrote prose. Her novel Notes of a Ukrainian Madman (2010) was the only prominent work trying to explain the events of the Orange Revolution of 2004. The novel was an immediate bestseller and gained popular and critical acclaim.

 She is an Honored Professor of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Honorary Doctor of Lviv and Chernivtsi Universities. In the modern Ukrainian tradition, she is among the most famous women of ancient and modern Ukraine. Her  works have been translated into many languages: English, Belarusian, Estonian, Italian, Lithuanian, German, Russian, Slovak and Spanish

Her poetry consists primarily of intimate, lyric poems and ‘social’ poems on the role and responsibility of a poet, particularly in a totalitarian society. Employing diverse rhythms, sophisticated language, it   ranges from playful irony and humor to scathing satire. She is acknowledged as one of the best current Ukrainian poets. A wise and prophetic woman, she writes:…the worst is not that everything might be changed but that everything might stay the same…

Her poem “A terrible kaleidoscope,” was published a year after the Chernobyl disaster. (Translation by Uilleam Blacker).

A Terrible Kaleidoscope

In this moment somewhere someone dies.
In this moment. This very moment.
Each and every minute
A ship is wrecked.
The Galapagos burn.
And above the Dnipro
Sets the bitter wormwood star.
Explosion. Volcano.
Ruin. Destruction.
One aims. Another falls.
“Don’t shoot!” a third implores.
Scheherazade’s tales run dry.
Lorelei sings by the Rhine no more.
A child plays. A comet flies.
Faces bloom, not erased by dread.
Blessed is each moment we’re alive
On these worldwide fields of death.

 

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HEROIC WOMAN OF POETRY

 March was WOMEN’S HISTORY month which studies of the role that women have played in history. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, personal achievement over a period of time, the examination of individual and groups of women of historical significance, and the effect that historical events have had on women.

Inherent in the study of women's history is the belief that more traditional recordings of history have minimized or ignored the contributions of women to different fields and the effect that historical events had on women as a whole; in this respect, women's history is often a form of historical revisionism, seeking to challenge or expand the traditional historical consensus.

Even though we have started a new month, and since our focus these past weeks has been on the UKRAINE, I thought it appropriate to examine the lives of some of this country’s modern women authors and the effect they have had on their country.

The first writer is LESYA UKRAINKA, born in 1871, she was the daughter of a mother who wrote poetry and short stories for children. She was also active in the in the women's movement and published a feminist almanac. While her mother played an active role in bringing up the children, they were educated by Ukrainian tutors at home, to avoid schools that taught Russian as the primary language. Lesya’s  father was of noble lineage and active in politics.

 At the age of eight,  Lesya wrote her first poem, "Hope," which was composed in reaction to the arrest and exile of her aunt, Olena Kosach, for taking part in a political movement against the tsarist autocracy.

Her uncle, Mykhaylo Drahomanov, encouraged her to study Ukrainian folk songs, folk stories, and history, and  to peruse the Bible for its inspired poetry and eternal themes. She also was influenced by  other well-known composers and poets.

 At the age of 13, her mother suggested that she use a pseudonym, because, in the Russian Empire, publications in the Ukrainian language were forbidden. Lesya's first collection of poetry had to be published secretly in western Ukraine and stole into Kyiv under her pseudonym. At this time, she was also studying to  become a pianist, but but due to tuberculosis of the bone, she did not attend any outside educational establishment. Writing was to be the main focus of her life.

Her poems and plays are associated with her belief in her country's freedom and independence. Lesya's illness made it necessary for her to travel to places where the climate was dry, thus, she spent extended periods of time in Germany,Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Crimea, the Caucasus, and Egypt. She loved experiencing other cultures, which was evident in many of her literary works.

Lesya actively opposed Russian tsarism and was a member of Ukrainian Marxist organizations. In 1902 she translated the Communist Manifesto into Ukrainian. She was briefly arrested in 1907 by tsarist police and remained under surveillance..

In 1907,  she married Klyment Kvitka, a court official, who was an amateur ethnographer and musicologist. They settled first in Crimea, then moved to Georgia.

Lesya died in August 1913 at a health resort in Surami, Georgia. Lesya is known primarily as a poet of courage and struggle and  characterizes the ancient understanding of valor and the strength of the woman warrior, which we certainly see in the Ukrainian women in today’s war with Russia.

(Painting on right- Nataliya Bagatskaya)

Contra Spem Spero! (I Hope Against Hope)

Away, dark thoughts, you autumn clouds!
A golden spring is here!
Shall it be thus in sorrow and in lamentation
That my youthful years pass away?

No, through all my tears I still shall laugh,
Sing songs despite my troubles;
Have hope despite all odds,
I want to live! Away, you sorrowful thoughts!

On this poor, indigent ground
I shall sow flowers of flowing colors;
I shall sow flowers even amidst the frost,
And water them with my bitter tears.

And from those burning tears will melt
The frozen crust, so hard and strong,
Perhaps the flowers will bloom and
Bring about for me a joyous spring.

Unto a winding, flinty mountain
Shall I bear my weighty stone,
Yet, even bearing such a crushing weight,
Will I sing a joyful song.

Throughout a lasting night of darkness
Ne’er shall I rest my own eyes,
Always searching for the guiding star,
The bright empress of the dark night skies.

I shall not allow my heart to fall sleep,
Though gloom and misery envelop me,
Despite my certain feelings
That death is beating at my breast.

Death will settle heavily on that breast,
The snow covered by a cruel haze,
But fierce shall beat my little heart,
And maybe, with its ferocity, overcome death.

Yes, I will laugh despite my tears,
I’ll sing out songs amidst my misfortunes;
I’ll have hope despite all odds,
I will live! Away, you sorrowful thoughts!

PRAYER FOR PEACE

 

 

We ask you, Queen of Peace,
to help us respond with the power of truth and love
to the new and unsettling challenges of the present moment.
Help us also to pass through this difficult period,
that disturbs the serenity of so many people,
and to work without delay to build every day and everywhere
a genuine culture of peace.

 

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace,
who are yourself our peace and reconciliation,
who so often said, “Peace to you,” grant us peace.
Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice, and brotherly love.
Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.
Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.
May all peoples of the earth becomes as brothers and sisters.
May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.

 

HIDDEN WOUND

 

The Shoulder Wound of Jesus calls to mind the wound that Jesus is said to have received carrying the cross  on which He was crucified. It is attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux and to St. Gertrude.

St. Bernard asked Jesus which was his greatest unrecorded suffering and the wound that inflicted the most pain on him in Calvary. Jesus answered: "I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others and which is not recorded by men."

According to Stefano Campanella, author of  “The Pope and the Friar” Karol Wojtyła ( future Pope  St. John Paul II), while still a priest, visited St. Padre Pio and asked the question of which was his most painful wound – much like the manner Bernard did to Christ. The young priest expected that it was Pio's chest wound, but Padre Pio replied: "It is my shoulder wound, which no one knows about and has never been cured or treated."

Prior to his death, Padre Pio confided to Brother Modestino Fucci at his friary in San Giovanni Rotondo that his greatest pains happened when he took off his shirt. At the time, Brother  Modestino believed it to be his chest wounds much like  St. John Paul II. When he was later assigned the task of inventorying all the items inside the cell of the late Padre Pio, he noticed his undershirts had blood stains on the right shoulder. 

That night, Brother Fucci prayed asking Padre Pio for a sign if he truly bore the shoulder wound of Christ. At 1 A.M., he awoke with an excruciating pain in his right shoulder and the room was filled the aroma of flowers, the sign St.Padre Pio’s spiritual presence, and he heard a voice call out: “This is what I had to suffer!”

Scientific evidence related to the Turin Shroud: Four university professors have published an article in “Injury” magazine revealing that the crucified man that was wrapped in the Turin Shroud suffered a dislocation of the humerus, the paralysis of one arm and a violent trauma to the neck and chest.

 The person whose figure is imprinted on the Shroud is believed to have collapsed under the weight of the cross, or the “patibulum” as it is referred to in the study, the horizontal part of the cross.

The Man of the Shroud the academics explain, fell “forwards” and suffered a “violent knock” “while falling to the ground.” “Neck and shoulder muscle paralysis” were “caused by a heavy object hitting the back between the neck and shoulder and causing displacement of the head from the side opposite to the shoulder depression.

 On the basis of this report, we may draw the connection with the biblical passage on Simon of Cyrene, as the bearer of the cross would not be able to continue to carry the cross, at any rate not without help.

Prayer of St. Bernard:

O Loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of Your Shoulder on which You  bore Your heavy Cross, which so tore Your flesh and laid bare Your Bones as to inflict on You an anguish greater than any other wound of Your Most Blessed Body. I adore You, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify You and give You  thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound, beseeching You by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing burden of Your heavy Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of the Cross. Amen.

WHERE IS GOD? WHY SUFFER?

 “Where is God during war? Where is God when we are being killed? God is with us. He is being crucified again by those who are shooting at us. He is being condemned to death again by those religious leaders who are justifying this war. He is being laid in a tomb by those who are burying the inhabitants of Mariupol, Izium and other cities of Ukraine in mass graves,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.

St. John Paul II wrote that Jesus “has taken upon Himself the physical and moral sufferings of the people of all times, so that in love they may find the salvific meaning of their sorrow and valid answers to all of their questions” (Salvifici Doloris, No. 31).

(Icon: Sviatoslav Vladyka)

Jesus has told us that to follow Him we must take up our cross and that it will not be easy. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Lk 9:23).

 In this life should we expect anything less than a share in Jesus’ s own passion and cross if we claim to love Him? This  means we suffer, and it is more often than not a suffering we would not choose for ourselves.  St. Gemma Galgani said,  “If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love.”

Pope St. John Paul II wrote  a beautiful encyclical on suffering, Salvifici Doloris.in which he states each of us in our suffering, “can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ” (Salvifici Doloris, No. 19).

 In this Lent, which has for so many, a unique window into the suffering of humanity- having come out of 2 years of a pandemic and now watching the destruction of a country, too close for comfort, which could bring us to another world war, we have the opportunity for more prayer and sacrifice which includes acceptance of the cross we are asked to bear.  It means recognizing that the cross we bear is for other members of the Body of Christ. When accepted and given freely, our suffering is never wasted. 

“In the face of evil, suffering and sin, the only response possible for a disciple of Jesus is the gift of self, even of one’s own life, in imitation of Christ; it is the attitude of service,” Pope Francis said during World Youth Day in Poland in 2016. Little did he know then how especially true these words would be for today!

CONSECRATION TO MOTHER OF GOD

 

If we want the world to change, then first our hearts must change.  For this to happen, let us allow Our Lady to take us by the hand.  Let us gaze upon her Immaculate Heart in which God dwelt, “our tainted nature’s solitary boast”.  Mary is “full of grace” (v. 28), and thus free from sin.  In her, there is no trace of evil and hence, with her, God was able to begin a new story of salvation and peace.  There, in her, history took a turn.  God changed history by knocking at the door of Mary’s heart.

 

Today, renewed by forgiveness, may we too knock at the door of her immaculate heart.  In union with the Bishops and faithful of the world, I desire in a solemn way to bring all that we are presently experiencing to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I wish to renew to her the consecration of the Church and the whole of humanity, and to consecrate to her in a particular way the Ukrainian people and the Russian people who, with filial affection, venerate her as a Mother. 

This is no magic formula but a spiritual act.  It is an act of complete trust on the part of children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their Mother.  It is like what young children do when they are scared; they turn to their mother for protection.  

 We turn to our Mother, reposing all our fears and pain in her heart and abandoning ourselves to her.  It means placing in that pure and undefiled heart, where God is mirrored, the inestimable goods of fraternity and peace, all that we have and are, so that she, the Mother whom the Lord has given us, may protect us and watch over us.

 (From Consecration of Ukraine and Russia- Homily of Pope Francis - March 25, 2022)

                                                        

DEDICATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF OUR MOTHER

 

                                               Mykola Zhuravel - Ukraine

March 25, 2022  the feast of the Annunciation, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary  in Rome at Saint Peter's Basilica.  A consecration ceremony is also scheduled in Fatima, Portugal by the Papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.

Russia has been dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary four times already. The first time being October 31, 1942 in the midst of World War II,  Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through a radio message on the eve of All Saints Day.

On the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, “Apostles to the Slavs,” Pope Pius XII issued an apostolic letter directed to the Russian people, entrusting Russia and her people to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

November 21, 1964,  at the conclusion of the third Session of the Second Vatican Council, Pope (St.)  Paul VI, along with all the bishops present, renewed the consecration of the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

March 25, 1984, Pope  (St.) John Paul II consecrated the whole world in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, inviting all other bishops to join him in prayer, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

One wonders how many more times we need to implore our heavenly Mother for help? 

Our Lady of Fatima appeared on May 13, 1917, only a few months after a revolution began in Russia that would spread through the whole world, and Russia was specifically mentioned in her message to the children.

“To prevent [another World War], I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays.

If people attend to my requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace. If not, she [Russia] will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed.

In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me; it will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal the dogmas of the Faith will always be kept.”

“This act of consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through his Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace.” Pope Francis  March 21, 2022

Ukrainian artist Mykola Zhuravel turns to nature to create thriving monuments to our link to the earth itself. He searches for compatibility between Earth and mankind, while pointedly making reference to the obstacles that human beings have placed in the way of a harmonious existence.. By using levkas, a traditional primer employed by icon painters, Zhuravel unites the legacies of Byzantine and Rus icon painting with his contemporary painterly technique. The result, richly vibrant and inventive contemporary works that emerge as modern-day icons.