Love, Tears, and Promises
Watched Thérèse on EWTN tonight, and just about cried my eyes out. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is my Confirmation saint; I have read her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, and know about her life, but only the bare bones of it. The film gave her story such a vividness and breath to really drive home how extraordinary she was. She was so young, but so passionately in love with God. She said it herself in the movie: "I don't need to grow up." Biologically, she never did; tuberculosis claimed her when she was twenty-four...one year older than I am now. Nor did she ever grow up spiritually, and in that she truly embodied Jesus' words to his disciples: "He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it'" (Mark 10:14-15). She promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth, to send down a shower of roses.
Not literally, perhaps, but little miracles and signs of God's love for his children, his beloved. Ever since I can remember I have been drawn to the unique beauty of the red rose. My favorite flower is perhaps cliché and common in the commercial romantic sense, but to me it is unique: ever-changing shapes, vivid and powerful in color, and the thorns to protect it. To me it is the ultimate symbol of love and beauty, between two people, between God and His beloved. When I doubt myself and my worth, this is sometimes how I remind myself to look at who and what I am: something beautiful and precious, with God's love to protect me.
In the movie, as Thérèse becomes weaker and weaker in her illness, her sister nuns at the Carmelite monastery dress her in white and carry her to the infirmary. Her devotion to the Blessed Mother is evident throughout her life, and now in her darkest hour she wears one more sign of that devotion: against the white of her hospital habit, she wears the Scapular of Our Lady of Carmel, more commonly known as the Brown Scapular, such as the one I wear. When Mary showed this symbol to Saint Simon Stock, a medieval Prior of the Carmelite Order, she promised that "whosoever dies wearing this [brown] scapular shall not suffer eternal fire." Those words are on mine and every brown scapular, not to make it a good-luck charm, but as a sign of the wearer's faith in God and His protection. Those who wear it in faith will be granted salvation, even if they were not able to make a final confession before death. And God, Mary, and the saints always keep their promises.
Timing is so perfect this week. Though fearful of being late, I was actually early to Mass this evening for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. People have asked me about Mary, wondering if we Catholics worship her. Far from it: worship is meant for God alone. We honor Mary as an extraordinary human being, whom God singled out from the moment of her conception to be pure and free from original sin, preparing her to become the earthly mother of His Son. This is what Father Bob spoke about in his homily this evening: he used a specific phrase that I can't recall at the moment, but it meant the kind of love that compels one to move ahead and prepare the way for the people he loves. And this week I have prayed in particular for Him to prepare and bless two special people.
Miesha and Cesar are getting married this Saturday. I know Miesha from the "Encounter with Christ" retreats in college, and I met her boyfriend Cesar earlier this year when we all attended the wedding of two other EWC alums. Miesha caught the bouquet at the reception, and then two months later she shared the news that she and Cesar were engaged! (I didn't think that little superstition about the bride's bouquet was true, that the girl who catches it is the next to get married, but I was happily proven wrong!) When she said they had set the date for December 11, my mind immediately flew to the nearest Feast Day: December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe. I knew that date was no coincidence but divine inspiration, considering Cesar's Mexican roots, Miesha's facility for Spanish and her closeness to the Blessed Mother. But just recently I realized another bit of serendipity in that choice: not only does their wedding fall on the weekend of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but also of the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday (gaudete = "rejoice" in Latin). We rejoice because we are halfway through Advent and the Feast of Christmas draws nearer. But this year we also rejoice for these friends, my brother and sister in Christ, who are committing their lives and hearts to God and to each other.
Love, tears, and promises. That's what this week is all about. If I was crying at the end of the movie tonight, I'm gonna lose it for sure at the wedding. But I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world.
Not literally, perhaps, but little miracles and signs of God's love for his children, his beloved. Ever since I can remember I have been drawn to the unique beauty of the red rose. My favorite flower is perhaps cliché and common in the commercial romantic sense, but to me it is unique: ever-changing shapes, vivid and powerful in color, and the thorns to protect it. To me it is the ultimate symbol of love and beauty, between two people, between God and His beloved. When I doubt myself and my worth, this is sometimes how I remind myself to look at who and what I am: something beautiful and precious, with God's love to protect me.
In the movie, as Thérèse becomes weaker and weaker in her illness, her sister nuns at the Carmelite monastery dress her in white and carry her to the infirmary. Her devotion to the Blessed Mother is evident throughout her life, and now in her darkest hour she wears one more sign of that devotion: against the white of her hospital habit, she wears the Scapular of Our Lady of Carmel, more commonly known as the Brown Scapular, such as the one I wear. When Mary showed this symbol to Saint Simon Stock, a medieval Prior of the Carmelite Order, she promised that "whosoever dies wearing this [brown] scapular shall not suffer eternal fire." Those words are on mine and every brown scapular, not to make it a good-luck charm, but as a sign of the wearer's faith in God and His protection. Those who wear it in faith will be granted salvation, even if they were not able to make a final confession before death. And God, Mary, and the saints always keep their promises.
Timing is so perfect this week. Though fearful of being late, I was actually early to Mass this evening for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. People have asked me about Mary, wondering if we Catholics worship her. Far from it: worship is meant for God alone. We honor Mary as an extraordinary human being, whom God singled out from the moment of her conception to be pure and free from original sin, preparing her to become the earthly mother of His Son. This is what Father Bob spoke about in his homily this evening: he used a specific phrase that I can't recall at the moment, but it meant the kind of love that compels one to move ahead and prepare the way for the people he loves. And this week I have prayed in particular for Him to prepare and bless two special people.
Miesha and Cesar are getting married this Saturday. I know Miesha from the "Encounter with Christ" retreats in college, and I met her boyfriend Cesar earlier this year when we all attended the wedding of two other EWC alums. Miesha caught the bouquet at the reception, and then two months later she shared the news that she and Cesar were engaged! (I didn't think that little superstition about the bride's bouquet was true, that the girl who catches it is the next to get married, but I was happily proven wrong!) When she said they had set the date for December 11, my mind immediately flew to the nearest Feast Day: December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe. I knew that date was no coincidence but divine inspiration, considering Cesar's Mexican roots, Miesha's facility for Spanish and her closeness to the Blessed Mother. But just recently I realized another bit of serendipity in that choice: not only does their wedding fall on the weekend of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but also of the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday (gaudete = "rejoice" in Latin). We rejoice because we are halfway through Advent and the Feast of Christmas draws nearer. But this year we also rejoice for these friends, my brother and sister in Christ, who are committing their lives and hearts to God and to each other.
Love, tears, and promises. That's what this week is all about. If I was crying at the end of the movie tonight, I'm gonna lose it for sure at the wedding. But I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world.
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