In the Cloister Garden

I spent part of today working in the cloister garden (above). Seasons have their effects on cloister gardens; and as we know, seasons of life have effects on our souls....

"Let us advance; let us make our way through these low valleys of the humble and little virtues.  We shall see in them the roses amid the thorns, charity that shows its beauty among interior and exterior afflictions, the lilies of purity, the violets of mortification: what virtues shall we not see?" (St. Francis de Sales)

"The beginner must think of himself as setting out to make a garden in which the Lord is to take His delight, yet in soil most unfruitful and full of weeds.  His Majesty uproots the weeds and will set good plants in their stead.  We have now, by God’s help like good gardeners, to make these plants grow.  We must water them carefully, so that they may not perish, but may produce flowers which shall send forth great fragrance to give refreshment to this Lord of ours, so that he may often come into the garden to take his pleasure and his delight among these virtues." (St. Teresa of Avila)

"Have good courage to cultivate this vineyard, contributing your little effort to the spiritual good of the souls that the Lord has reserved for Himself lest they ‘bend their knees before Baal.. in the midst of a people that has unclean lips.’  Do not be surprised if the fruits do not yet appear, because if you do the work of God patiently, your labor will not be in vain."  (St. Francis de Sales)

"I am the true vine and My Father is the vinegrower. He prunes away every barren branch, but the fruitful ones He trims clean to increase their yield.  You are clean already, thanks to the word I have spoken to you.  Live on in Me, as I do in you.  No more than a branch can bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, can you bear fruit apart from Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who lives in me and I in him, will produce abundantly, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  A man who does not live in Me is like a withered, rejected branch, picked up to be thrown into the fire and burnt."  (John 15:1-6)

"Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil.  Fertilize the soil ever so richly; it will remain barren unless fed by frequent rains." (St. John Vianney)

"We must give the flowers - that is, the glory - to God, and the fruits (our services) to the neighbor." (St. Catherine of Siena)

Cloistered Here? Absolutely!

I once had a dream about a carnival.  Specifically, I dreamed I was in a little house on carnival grounds.  It was night, but the light streaming in through my windows was bright and garish.  It flashed bursts of purple and white and blue and red and yellow, ceaselessly, across walls and floors and faces.  

There were other people in the house, sitting quietly in my little living room.  The faces around were serene and still.  I knew we were praying.

It was a "staying" sort of dream, the kind you carry with you throughout the day and perhaps long after.  I felt it captured much of the essence of my life as a cloistered heart. 

Like the house in my dream, my life is encircled by "the carnival." I don't have to look far to see the truth of this, although I often forget it.  I live surrounded by so many things that don't really matter in the long run... things that carry the atmosphere of carnival.... the chase after fun, self-indulgence, riches, entertainment, pleasure, the pursuit of what pleases me-me-me.  Yes, that last sentence contains redundancies; and yes, the carnival does as well.  Like a wheel spinning round and round going nowhere, the carnival spins back to self and I and me and mine and what I can get out of life.

It's tough not to get caught up in the carnival.  After all, there is much in it that can be legitimately enjoyed.  But oh, how easy it is to let the clamor and excitement, the music and the neon, the magic and illusion take my focus off what really matters!  It is a constant struggle.

How to live in the carnival while not being part of it?  Perhaps, for me, a clue lies within the dream.   I am to remain in that little house of prayer, in the cloister of God's will, wherever I may go.  I am to keep the light of prayer lit within it, for that will illuminate the shadows and reveal the Truth of God.  

Like a turtle in its shell, I can carry the cloister with me. I can live in a house of peace, in the midst of the carnival's neon glare.   

"The world with its seductions is passing away, but the man who does God's will endures forever."  (1 John 2:17)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org    

Thee I Praise...

A word jumped out at me this morning, from a simple text.  The word was "worship."

I have thought about it all day.  What does it mean to worship, and why does the mere word capture my heart?  I went in search of an adequate definition... and then I realized.... 

I can't define worship.  The dictionary can't define worship.  Like poetry, worship "shows," it does not "tell."  It praises, thanks, sings, adores, celebrates, exalts, surrenders, prostrates, loves.  So I will not waste attempts at the telling.  I will let a handful of worshipers show...

"Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights.  Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts."  (Psalm 148:1-2)

"Throughout the long hours I adore You, oh living Bread, amidst the great drought in my soul.  O Jesus, pure Love, I do not need consolations; I am nourished by Your will."  (St. Faustina, Diary #195)

"Thee I praise, O God my delight, for upon Thy Cross I have made my bed."  (Blessed Angela of Foligno)

"O my Jesus, I love You, and I want to worship You with my very weakness, submitting myself entirely to Your holy will."  (St. Faustina, Diary #782)

"In the fire, Azariah stood up and prayed aloud:  'Blessed are You, and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and glorious forever is Your Name.  For you are just in all you have done; all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right, and all your judgements proper...'"  (Daniel 3:25-27)

"I recall that I received most light during adoration.... During that time, I came to know myself and God more profoundly."  (St. Faustina, Diary #147)

"To the One seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"  (Revelation 5:13)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

To Carry the Fire

Some years ago, it occurred to me that a cloistered heart may feel (and be) like someone standing with a candle in an artificially lighted room. We have found, in Scripture and Holy Mother Church, the fire of God's love.  Holding in our hearts this genuine, precious Light of truth, often we find ourselves in the presence of something that appears to be light, but that is no more fire than a light bulb is fire.  

We have all experienced "artificial light."  We live surrounded by it.  The world is drowning in it.  It is the "light" that says we're doing just fine without God.  It's the "light" that, if it credits God for even existing, shoves Him to the periphery and makes its own way without Him.  It reminds us, in one way after another, that we are now "enlightened."  We have harnessed electricity, been to the moon, decided when life is valuable enough (to us) to be born and when it's useless enough (to us) to end.  It's quite convenient and tidy, this artificial light.   It reveals the ingenuity of mankind, and it's more appealing than a messy candle that burns to a nub as it carries the flame.  It is today's light, self-sufficient and broad-minded, and certainly more sophisticated than the humble flame once carried by John, Peter, Paul, Benedict, Francis, Therese. 

I suppose we would feel quite foolish if we were to stand around in electrically lighted rooms holding candles.  We would know people were talking about us behind their hands, probably snickering,  perhaps feeling sorry for someone so silly as to stand with an old fashioned candle in a lighted room. 

But what if there were a storm, a lightning strike, a downed power line?  What if the room suddenly fell into darkness?  It's at such times that people dash about in search of candles. 

Storms come to everyone, at some time or other.  The artificial light reaches only so far.  Regardless of how bathed in self-sufficiency a person may be, eventually there is sickness, there are crises, there are times when darkness falls and the lights we've relied upon all of our lives flicker out (we've all heard of churches filling up after widespread disasters).  It is often during times of storm when people go in search of Real Light.  It is then that they look for those who carry it. 

As ones who live for God in the midst of the world, we are surrounded by the light that is no light... or at best is temporary "this-world-light."  We might feel different from our neighbors if we're seen to be carrying the Real Thing.  We may be known as ones who don't hold the "popular" opinion, ones who live as if God actually exists, ones who go so far as to live as Jesus said to live.

If so, we can know we are not alone.  We can remember that God is with us, that the saints dealt with the very same thing, and that there are "carriers of the fire" all around the world, in this very age of the Church.

We can also know that God has us where He wants us, in our neighborhoods and workplaces and families.  All around, there are people who are (whether they realize it or not) looking for living, breathing examples of the Real Thing.

If storms come to their lives, such persons may be relieved to find us there, still standing firm, still caring.  Still giving example.  Still loving.  Still carrying the Flame. 

"Your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father."  (Matthew 5:16)

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org    


 
(Godfried Schalcken painting in US public domain)

He is Present

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone?  He burns with the desire to come into your heart."  (St. Therese of Lisieux)

"As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives Holy Communion is so united with Christ that Christ is in him and he is in Christ."  (St. Cyril of Alexandria) 

"In imitation of Mother Mary, whose soul was completely centered upon the Child within her womb, this same contentment may be attained by those who have received Holy Communion and with sure faith feel that which 'neither flesh nor blood but the heavenly Father has revealed to them' (Matthew 6:17).  They know that their Savior in body and soul is present with a most real presence in their body and in their soul in this more adorable Sacrament."  (St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God)

"Since Christ Himself has said 'this is My Body' - who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?"  (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

"Although you feel tepid, approach with confidence; for the greater your infirmity, the more you stand in need of a Physician."  (St. Bonaventure)

"Because Christ Himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, He is to be honored with the worship of adoration.  'To visit the Blessed Sacrament is.. a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord' (Paul VI)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1418)

"The Tabernacle is a reminder of Christ's life in us and of our surrender to Him.  We, too, are the Living Tabernacle of Jesus, a reminder, also, that our life is not governed by appearances and impressions, but by faith in the invisible Reality.  He is there as the ever-flowing Source of Grace, as our Invisible Director and Helper.  Being the living Centre of our life, He must become the Centre of our hearts and minds, the Centre to Which we are directed and from which we judge all our problems, as well as the world's."  (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini, 1941, p. 19)