Day 92. The Way of the Mystic; The Sister
There was and still is, in my soul a need for majesty, which I shall never grow tired or weary of adoring. In the world I found nothing of this majesty for which I yearned.
Søren Kierkegaard, Diary
Part one: The Princess Bride
“Listen, my daughter, and understand; pay me careful heed. Forget your people and your father's house, that the king might desire your beauty.” (Ps 45:11ff) How many little girls dream of growing up to be a princess? How few actually do. It isn’t easy. First, you have to be the daughter of a king. You must be of royal blood and it would be a very good idea if you carried yourself accordingly – with dignity and grace. You’ll need a palace, and it wouldn’t hurt to have an army of strong and courageous knights at your command. Oh, and though it’s not required, being radiantly beautiful is definitely a plus.
No wonder there are so few! Even if you could find a palace that isn’t in ruins, you could barely scrape together enough to buy the drawbridge, let alone to make a down payment. And then the knights. Forget about an army, would to God you could find just one man who is strong and noble. And though it’s not part of standard protocol, you’re pretty sure that a princess should look good in a bathing suit. So much for plan A. How about a career in journalism?
Enter Jesus.
Your prospects have just improved. As a baptized Catholic, you are a daughter of God. That accounts for your royal heritage. Washed clean by Christ’s sacrifice, you are radiant. Not only is he strong and courageous, but this knight laid down his life and slew the ancient dragon with such heroism that 2000 years later we’re still talking about it. Since you are a woman of faith you are beautiful in his eyes. Suddenly this princess thing is looking possible.
If you’re in the market for majesty, Jesus isn’t merely the best option, he’s the only option. You could do a lot worse. This is your Lord who “loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor…that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:25ff) What is said of the Church can also be said of the consecrated woman. Jesus lays down his life for her to make her radiantly pure. This is a Prince of Peace who knows how to treat a lady! (…and he doesn’t care what you look like in a bathing suit).
What is a sister? She is a woman consecrated to Jesus as her husband. What’s more, she is a woman whose heart cannot find satisfaction in any merely human love. She yearns to make herself a gift to one who is eternal: all goodness, all truth and all beauty. Only Jesus can fulfill this infinite longing.
While the image of a princess falls short in many regards, it’s not a bad place to start. As a princess spends much of her time in the courts of her Lord, the sister spends much time in prayer. She attends to Jesus in worship and renews her self-gift daily through participation in the sacrifice of the Mass. She lavishes time on her Lord in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament and ponders through scripture his life and teaching. She imitates him in his daily “little way” of charity and loves the things that he loves – especially those who suffer.
A princess is a woman dedicated to the welfare of her kingdom. Likewise a sister is a woman of the Church. She is at the service of the mission of the Church, dedicated to the formation of the young, to the care of the elderly and especially to the needs and the rights of the poor. She is not locked away in a castle keep, but moves amongst the people – whether by prayerful, contemplative care or active apostolate – as a servant and ambassador of her Lord’s goodness and mercy.
When we turn to the subject of sacrifice, we must admit that our princess analogy comes apart. Worldly women dream of being served, but the woman of Christ dreams of walking in the way of her Lord. The difference, on this point, could not be more extreme.
Part Two: Women Warriors
Suddenly the great beast beat its hideous wings, and the wind of them was foul. Again it leaped into the air, and then swiftly fell down upon Éowyn, shrieking, striking with beak and claw. Still she did not blench: maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but as a steel-blade, fair and yet terrible. A swift stroke she dealt, skilled and deadly. The outstretched neck she clove asunder, and the hewn head fell like a stone. Backward she sprang as the huge shape crashed to ruin, vast wings outspread, crumpled on the earth; and with its fall the shadow passed away. A light fell about her, and her hair shone in the sunrise.
Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien
The princess pattern comes up short when we turn our attention to sacrifice. Jesus looks for a spouse who will imitate his heroic self-surrender. In her vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, the consecrated woman models her life after her divine spouse, the chaste, poor and obedient Christ. To do this takes extraordinary courage. It is not the stuff of pretty palaces or damsels in distress. The King of kings wants women who are warriors.
Now the warfare practiced by the consecrated woman is not the violent, gruesome kind we see on the nightly news, but it takes no less nerve. Her weapons are uniquely feminine and therefore creative. They are lethal not against human flesh, but against spiritual evil. In this the sister follows not only Jesus, but in a particular way his mother Mary.
Mary is the sister’s model for spiritual battle. The “yes” Mary spoke to the angel Gabriel demanded a courageous twofold sacrifice; a double-death. The first death came with the incarnation, the second through the crucifixion. The first death was separation from home and family. The second was the loss of her only son.
Mary’s first death came in the rejection she experienced from her family. Found pregnant out of wedlock, Mary’s punishment would have been stoning if Joseph had wanted to press charges. She became a local scandal, rejected by her family and held up as a disgrace. It was not because of misplaced reservations that Mary and Joseph found nowhere to stay in Bethlehem. They were outcasts among their own kindred.
Mary’s second death was the crucifixion. In that agonizing hour when Jesus passed from this world, Mary’s heart was pierced (Lk 3:34-35). Yet these deaths for Mary became life for the salvation of the world. In her “yes,” she fulfilled the ancient prophesy spoken to the serpent in the presence of Eve, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” (Gn. 3:15) If you consider it strange to think of Mary as a warrior, recall that in many traditional statues depicting our Lady, she is standing on the neck of a serpent – a sign of military conquest (cf. Josh. 10:24f).
A consecrated woman, with her “yes,” undergoes a twofold death like Mary which defeats our ancient enemy. First, she leaves behind home and family. She is no longer an ordinary participant in the daily life of her parents and siblings. She is often away from them at major holidays; sometimes only sees them one week out of the year…if at all! This is no small sacrifice for a woman. It calls for a death in her soul.
Second, the consecrated woman accepts the loss of her own children. In her vow of lifelong, consecrated chastity she renounces her procreative powers and offers her fertility not for family but for the fruitfulness of the Church. But the sister’s double-death, like Mary’s, is also a two-edged sword. Here she emerges as a warrior. Like Judith of old, she delivers a double-blow to the head of the enemy which destroys the power of death and brings deliverance for God’s people (Judith 13:5-8). She rescues the children of Israel from the jaws of Satan, and brings them home to heaven.
In this fallen world a shadow is cast over natural motherhood. Every new life is sadly destined for death. But while natural motherhood cannot overcome death, the supernatural self-gift of the consecrated woman follows Mary as a maternal death that brings forth eternal life. The consecrated woman shares in Mary’s motherly care for the whole Church and in her prayer and evangelization, she begets countless sons and daughters for heaven. It is no accident that the patroness of the Church’s missionary activity was a cloistered nun, St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
“The celibate person becomes spiritually fruitful, the father and mother of many, cooperating in the realization of the family according to God’s plan.” The sister is not without children because every child in the world is hers. She is not without family because she is surrounded by community wherever she goes – in the parish where she serves, in the school where she teaches, in the hospital where she administrates. While Jesus is the head of his body the Church, it could be said that religious sisters are the backbone. Who can deny their critical role in the daily inner workings of countless Catholic organizations and institutions?
Nobility. This is the royal character of Christ imprinted on his bride, the sister. While an earthly princess claims nobility through trace of bloodline, the consecrated woman claims it through grace of sacrifice. In this she brings many offspring into the presence of the King. “All glorious is the king's daughter as she enters, her raiment threaded with gold;… The throne of your fathers your sons will have; you shall make them princes through all the land. I will make your name renowned through all generations; thus nations shall praise you forever. (Ps. 45:14, 17f)
Novena Prayer
Jesus says: Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Pier Giorgio responds: We who by the grace of God are Catholics must steel ourselves for the battle we shall certainly have to fight to fulfill our program and to give our country, in the not too distant future, happier days and a morally healthy society. But to achieve this we need constant prayer to obtain from God that grace without which all our powers are useless.
Let us Pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, show me how to bear all wrongs patiently. Help me to accept the sufferings which others inflict on me because of my desire to be faithful to Jesus.
Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who protects the innocent, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:
(in your own words, ask for the Lord to grant you the grace of a priestly vocation. Also, pray for priestly vocations to increase in the Church).
A Book of Prayers in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Rev. Timothy E. Deeter
Make it My Own
Daily Discernment Workbook
SAINTS SAID IT
1. Woman as Warrior
St. Teresa of Avila is a Doctor of the Church and a true bride of Christ who saw the spiritual battle with astounding clarity and courage. Her words enkindle our desire to be bold in resisting the lies of the enemy who pretends to be more powerful than he is.
What do I fear? …I desire to serve this Lord; I aim for nothing else but to please Him. I want no happiness, no rest, no other good but to do His will…. If this Lord is powerful, as I see that He is, and know that He is, and if the devils are His slaves (and there is no doubt about this because it is a matter of faith), what evil can they do to me since I am a servant of this Lord and King? Why shouldn’t I have the fortitude to engage in combat with all of hell?”
The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. I, The Book of Her Life, tr. By Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D., Washington, D.C., ICS Publications, 2nd edition, 1987, ch 25; p. 222
How does a consecrated woman fight against the “Father of Lies” by her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience? What lies does she reject by giving herself completely to Christ?
Satan was most beautiful among God’s creatures until he fell. Why does he make war against women? Why is a consecrated woman unafraid?
What, to me, is true beauty in a woman? How does religious life reveal this deep beauty?
BREAK OPEN YOUR BIBLE
2. The Call of the Lover
The Song of Songs is the conversation between a bride and her beloved. Traditionally it has been understood as a metaphor for the nuptial love of God for his people. As a woman considering consecrated life, the words of the Bridegroom can speak to my heart in a special way. What do I hear him saying to me?
Songs 4:8 Come from Lebanon, my bride, come from Lebanon, come!
These lines describe the call of Christ to his beloved. Have I experienced any stirring in my own heart? Any invitation from Jesus during this novena? Remember, it’s best to be real.
Descend from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the haunts of lions, from the leopards' mountains.
Here Christ notes the obstacles his beloved may meet along the way. The first obstacle is difficult terrain, the second is dangerous predators. What obstacles do I find in the way of making a total love response to Jesus? What attacks of the evil one have I encountered?
9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one bead of your necklace.
How have I experienced the love of Jesus in a deep, personal way? Do I accept his love or do I find it distressing (or a little of both)? Explain.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride, how much more delightful is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your ointments than all spices! 11 Your lips drip honey, my bride,
sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments
is the fragrance of Lebanon.
Do I believe that my life is pleasing to Jesus? Not merely “tolerable” or “passing” but radiant and captivating? If I can’t accept that I am the delight of Jesus’ heart, I ask him for the grace to accept. Prayerfully I write his reply below.
12 You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed.
A woman’s heart is an unsearchable mystery. Only Christ can find the key. In this novena, we have considered the image of a temple for intimacy – helpful, but admittedly cold. The Bridegroom calls the inner sanctuary he seeks to share with his Bride a “secret garden.” This image is lush, fruitful and fragrant. How have I experienced this life-giving intimacy with Jesus? Ask the Lord to call examples to mind.
13 You are a park that puts forth pomegranates, with all choice fruits; 14 Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all kinds of incense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.
There are three effects the Lover describes coming from his intimacy with his Bride. The first is fruitfulness. For natural marriage this fruitfulness is seen in children. For supernatural marriage between Jesus and the consecrated virgin, what fruitfulness is to be seen?
15 You are a garden fountain, a well of water flowing fresh from Lebanon.
The image shifts now to the “heart” of the secret garden which is a flowing fountain. We have already seen that the image of a spring flowing from heaven is an image of the Holy Spirit with his gifts of healing and help. What gifts of healing and help flow from the lives of consecrated women? Here I consider the example some of my favorite women saints. What difference did their lives make?
16 Arise, north wind! Come, south wind! blow upon my garden
that its perfumes may spread abroad.
The final effect of the secret garden is a fragrance that reaches far beyond the garden’s walls. The Spirit catches the garden’s perfume and carries it far. What impact do I see a hidden life of prayer and service having on the salvation of the world and the building of God’s kingdom?
Let my lover come to his garden and eat its choice fruits.
Here the bride responds and welcomes the bridegroom. Am I willing to invite Jesus into my secret garden and say ‘yes’ to union with Him in my heart of hearts?
3. To Inspire My Desire
On the day of her vows, a young woman places her whole life in the hands of Christ. The majesty of her bridegroom overwhelms her senses and fills her heart with wonder. No words can capture this experience, but for one who lived the experience deeply, such words as may be spoken can point the way. Prayerfully read this to conclude today’s reflections.
For a Profession
By St. Teresa of Avila
Oh, what a good unequalled!
Oh, marriage most sacred!
That the King of Majesty,
Should be Betrothed.
Ah, wondrous happening
Ready now for you!
God wants His bride
Having won you by His death!
In serving Him be strong
For you are vowed to this.
Already the King of Majesty
Is your Betrothed.
Bright jewels will He give
This heavenly Spouse – King;
He comforts you greatly
No one can deprive you of this,
Of all that He blesses you,
A humble spirit is the best,
For the King all this is given easily,
He longs this day to be betrothed.
The Lord will grant you
Love holy and pure.
You will forget
The world’s fears,
Ah, much more, the devil too.
Now the demon is manacled today
The King of Majesty
Is now Betrothed.
STORIES OF FAITH
4. St. Frances Cabrini: Crazy About Jesus
The life of St. Frances Cabrini is a vivid demonstration of the words of St. Paul: “In weakness, power reaches perfection” (2 Cor. 12:9). Thought too sickly to enter religious life, Mother Cabrini became a tireless worker for the needs of the sick, the poor and especially for orphan children. She was small of stature, but formidable when confronting powerful men and admired as a gifted leader among the sisters of the community she founded. One of America’s first saints, Mother Cabrini was, above all else, a bride of Christ and a loyal daughter of the Church.
"You have only two years to live," the doctor says solemnly to his thirty-nine-year-old patient.
The ethereal-looking little nun does not flinch. In her high clear voice she thanks him for his frankness. Fifteen minutes later, her small black bonnet once more covering the blond curls flattened by pulling them severely back from a middle part, Francesca Cabrini's diminutive figure in its long-sleeved, cape-shouldered black dress, a simple crucifix worn over her heart, heads down the streets of Rome to the convent of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. If the sick woman looks as fragile as some delicate bird, her luminous blue eyes are nonetheless peaceful, her smile almost amused.
That afternoon in 1889, far from preparing for death, the young head of the order is deep in negotiations for leading her first missionary group to work among Italian emigrants in New York City, where the Americans will call her Mother and one day Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
"While I work I'm well; I get sick the minute I stop working," she will later laugh. If works of charity are the lamp she holds against the world's darkness – in the process somehow retarding her own physical disintegration – the oil for that lamp, as she says herself, is prayer. In the many hours of prayer a day she needs to slake the spiritual hunger of her passion for Jesus lies some of the secret of how Francesca carries a work load that would daunt the healthiest individual. There also lies the key, no doubt, to her happy, even disposition when the doctor says she should be disposed to depression and mood swings with her ailments and sensitive temperament.
Mother Cabrini herself, with the sense of humor and simplicity that keynote her character, takes no medical prognosis as the last word. “I shall live as long as God wishes," she smiles, and leaves it at that. Others believe she is so holy that, in her being, spirit dominates and lends strength to her emotions and body. Doctor Morini, who gives her two years to live, says he cannot fathom how a woman in her physical condition sustains her level of activity, besides having such psychological stamina. Astounded, this nineteenth-century man of medicine comes to a profoundly holistic conclusion: "God helps His saints," he ventures,, "and [He] plays with them."
Excerpt from: Nothing Short of a Miracle, The Healing Power of the Saints,
by Patricia Treece
Want to Read More?
See separate document: Day 92: Way of Sister, Treece, Excerpt
_______________________________
Conclude with
“Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be.
World without end, Amen.”
1 Familiaris Constortio, 16