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Past Reflections |
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Uncertainty + Fear = Joy?
Every Sunday, as we offer prayers for all churches, I shoot off an extra prayer for a little church in Ohio which I visited last summer. The congregation of Saint Peter’s meets in a beautiful building with stained glass windows dating from the 1890s and a stone baptismal font crafted in 1860. It is the second oldest building in the town. The Lutherans, the senior warden admitted, had them beat by one year. The beauty of this old church and the lesson this congregation taught me about living the resurrection made a lasting impression. One Sunday I joined fifteen other worshipers in their sanctuary, which could easily hold one hundred. Upon sitting down in the church I was immediately greeted verbally or waved to by every member present. Three of them even rose from their pews to come over and introduce themselves before the service began. They apologized that there would be no Eucharist as the priest who traveled two and a half hours from Cincinnati every Sunday had a wedding to perform in another town and could not make it. If I was counting on communion, one offered, perhaps after I finished there I could head on over to the Lutheran church for the 11:00 o’clock service. After the service we were led by the hostess to coffee hour where the newcomer ministry leader sat us down and brought us refreshments. My niece and daughter were invited to help their outreach team stuff backpacks with school supplies. I learned from my hosts that twenty-five people attend church there regularly and maybe twenty families officially belong. The building that once housed several Sunday school classes and small groups are empty most of the time. They are doing very poorly financially. Only three children attend. The main reason for their decline, my hosts explained, is that young people don’t stick around in the rural town as employment opportunities are few. They also felt the headlines the Episcopal Church had been making lately didn’t fit well with the conservative nature of the county. These facts saddened me and I was at a loss for words so I simply nodded. But my guests were actually cheerful. They told their story not with hopelessness but as people who, though mourning for what had once been, are optimistic that their faith will be rewarded. Their circumstances mirror those of the women at the tomb who were, as Matthew describes them, “afraid yet filled with joy” (NIV). Saint Peter’s is waiting, despite looming property taxes, no permanent priest and no promise of new membership for better times. Meanwhile they are living the hope of the resurrection through their great hospitality, serving those in need and other essential ministries. May we all be granted the same grace of the women at the tomb and the parishioners of Saint Peter’s. May our fears always be coupled with great joy.
Peace
Julie Davis Copyright 2007 |
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Julie is a mother of three and religious educator who writes to clear her mind. Luckily for readers of Faith Reflections Julie needs to clean house often! Julie looks forward to your comments at julie@faithreflections.com. |
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In the name of God, The Father, |
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O Magnum, Mysterium! By Victoria Tkachuk
Getting through weekday mornings was always a challenge in our house. Not necessarily for us sisters (of whom there were three, and all within a few years of one another), but for Mom and Dad. First off, my sisters and I had equal aversion to anything taking place in the first few hours of the day. Secondly, bathroom time was distributed on a 'first come, first served' basis. But the biggest problem was simply getting us up (not merely awake, but physically out of bed) and going. My sisters and I were (and perhaps still are!) a bit prickly in the morning. The task of raising us from unconsciousness seemed to fall on Dad the most often, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was his undeniably effective strategies for doing so.
Sometimes Dad's routine consisted of rapid exposure to the chilly Minnesota breeze (present even indoors in winter) a la blanket stealing. Other times there was a competition introduced, which could be anything from, "Mom made something special for breakfast so you'd better get down there soon!" to "I'm going to use the bathroom and afterward, well, you might not want to go in there awhile." Being naturally competitive with each other certainly helped spur my sisters and I on, but there were days where we just couldn't get out of bed because we were so tired we might collapse if we did! (Or so we claimed.) What was Dad to do then? There was still one move left in the sneaky Dad bag of wake-you-up tricks; a little ditty by the name of, "O Magnum, Mysterium."
I'm laughing as I type this, remembering Dad's deep bass bellow through the hallway: "O Magnum, Mysterium!" I wasn't laughing back then! This was definitely not my preferred way to start the day. I didn't have the foggiest clue what this song was about, or who originally sang it, or why Dad liked it so much. All I remember thinking back then was, "The faster I get out of bed, the sooner he will stop singing!" And Dad would oblige. That is, until he realized he could use this form of melodic blitz not just to get us out of bed, but to make us move down the hallway, the stairs and out the door that much quicker.
When I recalled this particular memory of Dad I realized I had never given much thought to why he chose this song over any other. Surely he must have had some reason for choosing it? And yet, I've never taken the time to ask him why he liked "O Magnum" so much. Perhaps I will finally do so this year. In preparation, I did a little research and discovered this is a beautiful hymn, with mighty lyrics! The Latin lyrics are as follows:
O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum Ut animalia viderent Dominum natum Jacentem in proesepio.
O beata virgo, cujus viscera me ruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum Alleluja!
Translated into our less-than-poetic English it looks like this:
O Great mystery and wondrous sacrament, That animal might see the birth of the Lord As He lay in the manger.
O, Blessed Virgin, Who was worthy of bearing Our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!
Reading the English translation is akin to consulting the NIV after reading something in the King James; it's the same meaning, but just not as pretty. Read these lyrics, though, and understand both their simplicity and their weight. There is but one subject: the mystery of God's goodness toward us. This is noted first by the lyricist in his noting that we animals were included at the birth of our Savior, as witnesses. This fact is a wondrous sacrament, that we, even as fallen people, could be there! The lyricist continues, praising the blessedness of Mary, who was worthy of bearing the Christ child. That there have been many God has chosen to carry out His works- Alleluia!
The importance of Dad's choosing "O Magnum Mysterium" was always, well, a mystery to me. I speculate now that the message it sends us- we fallen people have a God so good that He includes us in His plans- is one we ought to sing to ourselves every day.
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |
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Originally from Connecticut, I now reside in Arizona with my husband and three children. My first real story was written at 7 years of age. Since then I have penned a repertoire of short stories and novels and have tried my hand at poetry and children’s stories. My work can be viewed at www.verbophobia.org. |