Our Lady's Lamp

Today (December 12) is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For an abbreviated version of the story, go here . Most of us are familiar with the image. Some of us - myself included until recently - tend to avoid this aspect of Mary because she's so.... popular. And for those of us who are not Mexican, we often get weird looks from people when we start talking about Our Lady of Guadalupe because, well, she's Mexico's Lady, right? Wrong! I could spend forever talking about all the amazing aspects of this apparition. I could talk about the fact that the tilma has survived for over 400 years when it shouldn't last beyond 20 (And the first 100 or so were unprotected). I could talk about the images present in her 3 mm eyes; I could talk about the lack of brush strokes on the tilma, the fact that scientists just scratch their heads in confusion as they try to explain it, about how the stars on her mantle align with the constellations on the day she first appeared, or about h...

The Rosary is central to my spirituality because it is an active meditation on the mysteries of Jesus' life - particularly in relationship to ours, and always through the eyes of His mother. Praying these prayers - most straight from scripture - daily and meditating daily on parts of His life, death, and glory has taught me so much about who Jesus is, how He relates to me, and how I am supposed to live in response. Often, when I pray the Rosary, something sticks out. Themes develop, and Jesus reveals Himself through His mother's eyes, letting her tell the story of His life. Mysteries that never struck you suddenly do - I mean really, how often do we sit and just think about the Presentation of Jesus at the temple? Not just the prophesies, but the Presentation itself? Or how about the Finding of Jesus in the Temple? Or Jesus' Transfiguration? Probably not very often unless you are praying the Rosary or just ran into it in your reading. Unfortunately, I have fallen out ...

Remember that typology stuff I was talking about? I already mentioned there that Jesus is the new Adam. But if Jesus is the new Adam, as Paul tells us, then who is the new Eve? Mary, of course! No other woman was with Him at the beginning and stayed with Him until the end. But do we  need  a New Eve, you may ask? Well, here is what some of the Early Church Fathers and more modern theologians have said. "Christ was born of a woman so that just as death came through a woman, so through Mary, life might return." ~St. Peter Chrysologus "Jesus became man by the Virgin so that the course of which was taken by disobedience in the beginning through the agency of the serpent might be also the very course by which it could be put down. Eve...conceived the word of the serpent and bore disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced to her the glad tidings that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her and the power of the...

If I were to ask what the biggest dividing factor between Catholics and Protestants is, I guarantee you at least half would say "Mary." A few might say "The Pope," one or two may bring up the sex scandals, some may bring up Tradition and Scripture vs Solo Scriptura, and a few who were familiar with Catholic doctrine might say the Eucharist. But the bulk of people would say Mary and the Saints.  Why is that? Some people will claim that it is because we shouldn't talk to the dead, but Jesus told us that God is not God of the dead, but of the living , so many will leave the topic of the saints alone - regardless of their acceptance of it. But few will leave Mary alone. I was listening to a talk by a convert, and he was certain that "Mary would keep him Protestant." Mary was one of my mother's largest hurdles to pass as well, though that wasn't something I had an issue with . But for many of my friends, it is.  So, first, let me clarify a ...

My Desire Totus Tuus - Totally Yours. This, more than anything, is what I desired of my life. One of my first posts, a year and a half ago, was about how God shaped my heart to desire His Glory . God has since changed my desire. Anyone can give glory to someone - think of the soldiers that gave great glory to conquerors like Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, or the Champions that fought in the place of the king to settle disputes. Achilles was one of the great Greek glories.... but he despised the rulers. You can bring glory to someone you don't necessarily love. And I realized that I didn't just want to serve God - I wanted to love  Him. I didn't just want to be His soldier. I wanted to be His bride, His lover. This was a distinction I did not make until after I graduated college and had time to sit and stop being a Martha and start being a Mary. After graduation, I had almost 8 months of no job, so I spent lots of time in the Adoration Chapel, sitting as t...

Mary is known and called by many titles: Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady, Our Lady of the Rosary, the New Eve, Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Angels, Comforter of the Afflicted, Mary Most Holy, Blessed Virgin, even just Mother (to name a few). However, when I was in at church, the priest teaching, while praying, asked for Mary's intercession under a title I had heard once or twice before, but I had never really thought of: "Seat of Wisdom." As I pondered this title, I realized that it is intrinsically tied to one of my favorite titles for Mary: Theotokos - the God Bearer or Mother of God. Now, some of my friends are likely curling their teeth back at this, so I say, please, read on. I shall explain. The first recorded use of this title dates to the third century in Egypt, and much controversy erupted over this because the Egyptians called Isis the Mother of God. They proposed a compromise ...

This blog was dedicated to my two Mothers. So, let me brag a bit about them. My Earthly Mommy, Brenda: As a kid, she was one of my best friends. She taught me how to talk, how to value prayer and scripture, how to be creative, how to bake - and to enjoy the batter too! If dad couldn't fix it, mom could. She showed me that nothing was impossible and no one was unlovable. When I was a little girl, I was often called "Mini-mom" and I can't lie: I wanted to be just like her. When she got ill, losing that constant was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to deal with. But she'd raised a woman who wouldn't buckle under pressure though I came pretty close a couple times. It was only because of the way she and my father raised me that I was able to push on, get my degree, and be the woman I am. She says that I excelled despite her and my father's weaknesses. I disagree. I excelled because of their love and instruction. And though my mother often does...

Yesterday, it seems, was the day for weddings. A couple at my church were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary (pray for them and for all married couples!) and I got to witness two of my dear friends, Ashley and Israel, marry each other. It was beautiful. And yes, I cried - like a baby! One of the things I loved about their wedding was that Ashley and Israel decided not to change the gospel from what the gospel of the day was. Instead of finding something like the Wedding at Cana or a "Love one another as I have loved you" or something like that, they kept the reading for the feast of the day: The Annunciation. (Since the 25th of March fell in Holy Week, the feast was moved to the Saturday after Easter). For their wedding, they chose to have the wedding of God the Spirit and a mortal woman read. This, I think, was absolutely beautiful. Think about it. An Angel comes as an emissary and tells a young girl that the God of the Universe wishes her to bear His Child and b...

For the third year in a row, I have watched The Passion of the Christ on Good Friday. For the third year in a row, I have cried like a baby. But I think I cried harder this time than any other time I watched it. Looking back, I can see little signs of how God has begun to prepare me for last night, but little could prepare me for the stark understanding of the truth that flooded my heart as all the little things culminated in the viewing of that movie. Jesus has been using Mary to teach me about the Annunciation (post in progress!) and about the beautiful mystery it was, and I have been drawn more and more to songs by Kelly Pease and Danielle Rose  from Mary's point of view, to a deeper understanding of how His whole life led to calvary and how painful that road would been, especially for those dearest and closest to Him. LAst year, I expected to walk the sorrowful road with Mary, but instead walked with John and Magdalene . This year, I walked both with and beside Mary and l...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others." -Marianne Williamson When Mary was approached by the Archangel Gabriel and was greeted as a queen, she was troubled by his greeting. He told her not to be afraid – possibly of him, but also po...

Well, the number of reasons are really too many to number, but I will focus on one. In almost all religions, the archetypal member is male, and most of their societies are heavily emphasized on the male. And while, yes, it is true, that the Church does not teach that women can be preachers, Christianity is one of the only religions that has for the archetypal member, a woman. Despite the fact that Jesus chose twelve apostles, declared that the Church would be built on Simon, then renamed Peter, rose Paul to such a position of power and authority, the Church does not promote them as the model Christians. They could. They are all beautiful examples of Christianity. Paul himself says to imitate him and thus imitate Christ, but you will rarely hear Paul put forward as the model Christian. You will hear Peter put forward as the model for repentance (and also Mary Magdalene), but you will rarely have him put forward - outside of anecdotes - as the model Christian. The person who is s...

The Ark of the Covenant has been found! For two and a half thousand years, people have searched for the ark, but it has already been found, and, as Christians, we can take joy in the knowledge our tradition and scriptures pass to us, for Revelation tells us where it is. "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child...." The new temple, complete with the altar upon which Christ presents himself, slain, yet glorified , to the Father, is in heaven. And the Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place and vessel the Almighty used to come to His people who were not ready to see His full glory, is also there. But it is not the same as it once was. It has changed forms, th...

Today is the Feast of the Visitation - when Mary, newly gifted with the miracle of the God-child, goes to visit her elderly cousin, Elizabeth who was also miraculously pregnant. From the moment of Mary's Fiat , Jesus was within her, the Word was flesh - growing flesh, true, but flesh. The God that made the universe was living and being fashioned a human body inside of a young Jewish girl.  Mary, filled with joy (and probably a bit scared too), goes to see her cousin and help her through the last trimester, which, for an older woman would be difficult even in our current day of comfort. Mary went and greeted her cousin, and as soon as she did, the Child growing in her womb was made known to the still young John, and he - as David did hundreds of years before - leaped for joy at being in the presence of God. The very first person to ever leap for joy, to worship Jesus (besides His Mother by offering her life) was an unborn child. That unborn child was the first missionary - he to...

March 25, nine months before December 25, is the Feast of the Assumption. Christ did not begin his time on earth as a human at Christmas but when he entered the womb of Mary. It was then that “the Word became Flesh” (John 1:14), for life does not start at birth but at conception. One of the great geniuses of the way the Church Calender is set up is that this falls just before Passion week and Easter. To truly understand the upcoming events, the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord, we must understand – at least in part – the Incarnation. This was prophesied by Isaiah and heralded by an angel (Luke 2:26-38). God, the creator of all things, of the world, the animals, the plants, the angels, and us humans, to redeem us from our own sins and failures, left his glory and took up his residence in the womb of a young girl. This would have been very poignant to the Jews. For the first time since the losing of the Ark, the physical presence of God was with them. Without...