SAINTS AND BIRDS

    I realize that it has been 3 months since my last news to this site.  Since then my family has come from California and Idaho and my brother Jeff has been laid to rest. The deep pain of loss has not abated but something has been put at peace and we are all moving forward with the legacy of many happy memories.

    In the time when I needed a focus beyond grief, I decided to do a study of SAINTS & BIRDS!  What is the connection you ask?  I have been an avid birder for some years now and  have seen some FAB birds in Australia and recently PERU. Our beautiful San Juan Islands are home to over 200 wonderful species, especially water fowl.

     Recently, I came across an interesting photo of a statue of St. Hildegard in front of her Abbey at Rudesheim, Germany. It is a gorgeous statue but atop her head sits a pigeon.  Then someone sent me a photo of a monument to St. Hildegard, somewhere  near Bingen (Germany). On the wall above the saint's face sits a sweet small sparrow.  Both photos a bit of comic relief- at least to my heart. Both got me wondering.....

 
    I then discovered that there are many saints associated with birds. Of course as Benedictines we know of St. Benedict's raven,  and his sister Scholastica's dove. St. Francis of Assisi actually preached to the birds.  St. Teresa of Avila is more often than not seen with a dove,  but the Little Therese never.  The Celts seemed to have a great "devotion" to birds and are often depicted with them, probably due to their living on islands.  Both St. Hilda & St. Werburg of Chester had their goose.  St. Milburga was said to have a mysterious power over birds. They avoided damaging the crops when she spoke to them.  (I could do many blogs on saints and birds- some stories fascinating...  but you get the point).

    Peoples of the East and desert regions are rarely depicted with birds.   In some cases birds are shown with a saint for no other reason than an artist's imagination. Then there are the birds who just happen around when someone has a camera!

    Some birds are used as religious symbols.
         The most common being the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit, and purity in some saints.
        The eagle is a symbol for many saints: John the Evangelist,
                  Cuthbert of Lindesfarne who was fed by an eagle,
                  Medard of Noyon who was sheltered from the weather by an eagle.
        The peacock, believed by the ancients to be incorruptible, represents immortality.
        The pelican,  feeding her young with the blood from her breast, symbolizes Christ
                  the Redeemer.
         The phoenix,  said to rise rejuvenated from its own ashes, is a type of resurrection
                 and eternity.

    Some famous Christian artists use birds in many of their works. One of my favorites is the Japanese artist Sadao Watanabe (1913-96). His prints depict biblical scenes in the folk tradition (mingel).  He felt that his prints should hang in the homes of ordinary people, because Jesus brought the gospel for the people.

Jesus and Mary-  S. Watanabe

St. Francis- Dr.Qi

       Another favorite is Dr. He Qi  of China, now residing in St. Paul, MN.  His vibrantly colored art often features a dove.
 I  recommend Googling these artists.
    Whatever your passion is, I am sure you can find Saints who relate to it.
                   Happy Birding......

LOSS AND LENT (A Tribute my Brother)

St. Benedict in his Rule tells us to keep death daily before our eyes. This is not to be seen as morbid or surprising, but rather how death informs us how to appreciate life. We live in an age where we spend all our energy denying death's  existence, even after we've lost someone we love.

Last week after a very swift and painful death I lost my brother to cancer.  From diagnosis to the end was 17 days... not enough to prepare us all for the finality of his life.

Everyone grieves in different ways and it is only by being open to the feelings and emotions that grief brings out in each of us ways we can  cope, either alone or with the help of others.

I tell myself, everyone looses a brother- or someone dear to them-  but not me! I have never before lost a brother.  So this grief is new, it is mine.  My sister- in - law Angie can say: I have  never lost a husband of 48 years. My niece  and nephews can say: I have never lost a Father!  Even Jesus wept at the loss of his friend Lazarius.

“Death is terrifying because it is so ordinary. It happens all the time.” (Susan Cheever) Yet grief is its own territory, separate from so-called normalcy. It is like an affliction of the spirit and not one that can be cured in any one way. So the grieving is for our own loss- but as Christians we know our father, husband, brother is beyond the pain and suffering of his life.  On a human level  this does not diminish the loss, but on a spiritual level should be our consolation.  "The eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor 2:9).

I am reminded as I write this of Joan Didion's book Year of Magical Thinking, written after the deaths of her husband and daughter. She covers all the bases, including the kind of insanity that can seize one in the throes of grief, those moments when you forget the person is actually dead, when you turn to speak to him as you normally would at a certain part of the day or reach for the phone to share the latest news. Jeff and I emailed almost daily and spoke by phone often. The Community got used to his gruff voice asking for me.  Never a hello or goodbye, just a presence- as someone said: bigger than life!

Today was his funeral Mass in California but in May he will be buried on our Monastery grounds with Family and Community present.  Constantly present are the sheep, cattle and llamas- a fitting place for one so loved!

Bay pasture and cemetery

A too short life for us, but as Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: “death is something beautiful: it means going home,  going home to God".