WYD Front Row

Watching World Youth Day 2011 from ‘front row seating’ (as we like to call it here at OLAM - via EWTN), one cannot help but stand in awe at the immensity, not only of the event itself and the faith it proclaims, but the action of grace at work. As we were staring intently at the screen with this event unfolding before us, soaking in the power of the Holy Father’s message, we were also half engrossed in the ordinary routines of opening mail, folding stacks of library cards and sorting basil. Yet these little tasks suddenly opened out onto the extraordinary vista of WYD – mail and the Pope, basil and a million souls in prayer, cheers of ‘Viva Il Papa’ and silent adoration, God and the world. You may have seen the staggering view of more than a million gathered with the Holy Father and Christ Himself in the Eucharist. What an amazing sight, drawn further into the heart as one by one, individuals’ faces are seen. Here we are – sons and daughters of the one Father, brought together by one faith, one Lord, one God. In these souls, and in all those united in prayer before Jesus truly present, is the field, the soil where the Holy Spirit is at work. The silent heart present to God, attentive to His word, seeking to find and serve Him in one’s neighbor – this is where faith can take firm roots! That means the possibility for all of us to bear fruit abundantly. Whether we are in Madrid, starting classes, looking for work, taking care of little ones at home, paying bills… the life giving fruit that brings goodness to the lives of others, hope in suffering, and unabashed joy in the midst of contradiction all starts with Christ, with silently gazing at Him. And by faith we see that He too is gazing at us.

Milestones in the Making

Yesterday on August 15^th, Mother Angelica celebrated her 67^th anniversary of entrance into religious life!! The solemnity of the Assumption, already a day of unique and triumphant beauty, is a vastly significant day to give thanks for Mother’s own ‘fiats,’ throughout these many years. Incidentally it was also the 30^th Anniversary of the inception of EWTN, Mother’s unforeseen apostolate to literally preach the Gospel to the nations. More incredibly this proclamation of truth and love would be for you – for each individual looking to find and know God and the hope to which He has called us. It is completely fitting that these momentous occasions coincided with the Assumption of Mary, our Mother who has gone where we are called and headed, precisely because she lived the Gospel with her whole being and was preserved from original sin. Like Christ, who has gone to prepare a place for us, she has preceded us and is the one who lives in the fullness of our destiny. Not least of all, yesterday our Sr. Mary Michael celebrated 60 years since she first walked through the enclosure door, and Sr. Mary Regina reached 49 years in service to the Church! We give thanks for each of these spouses of Christ and all they have given to God. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love Him! (1 Cor. 2:9)

Above pictured: Mother Angelica with Sr. Mary Joseph of happy memory, Sr. Mary Regina, and Sr. Mary Michael

Our Little Portion

On August 11^th, in solidarity with our worldwide Poor Clare family, we celebrated the Solemnity of our Holy Mother Clare during the 800^th centenary of her flight from nobility and wealth to humble obscurity and poverty. Under the auspices of the Little Poor Man of Assisi, Lady Clare’s beginnings in the aptly titled “Little Portion” chapel (Portiuncula) inaugurated a way of life that would inspire countless young women to follow the poor and humble Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Our Holy Mother Clare’s hidden life of contemplative prayer is an image of bridal love, which is itself representative of Christ’s relationship to His Church.

Clare, often called the “Little Plant” of Saint Francis, began her radical Gospel life at the feet of Francis in the Portiuncula. Kneeling on the rude stones put in place by Francis himself, she renounced the trappings of nobility and donned the bridal splendor of her Savior: poverty, chastity, and obedience. Far from narrowing her vision of the world by leaving it, she paradoxically enlarged her life dramatically by living inside the Gospel.

Sister Mary Paschal of the Lamb of God, following eight years of prayerful discernment, embraced “with her whole heart” this simple but profound example of our Spiritual Mother. What was true for Clare in the Middle Ages carries equal veracity for Sister Mary Paschal in the 21^st century. Our sister, in leaving “houses [and] brothers [and] sisters [and] father [and] mother… [and] lands”, (Matthew 19:29-30) has become spiritually rich in her poverty, loved in her solitude, and liberated in her obedience. Like Clare, her world has become infinitely larger by virtue of her inhabiting the Gospel. The cloister walls, because they contain a Christocentric life, defy reason: the Real Presence of Christ makes our cloister larger inside than out.

This truth was illustrated in a concrete way during the party thrown before Sister Paschal’s pre-profession silent retreat. In a case of art imitating life, one of the props used for the party marvelously illustrated a theological truth. A replica of the façade of the portiuncula, handcrafted by the sisters, featured a doorway through which the sisters had to enter. Our tall Sister Paschal had to bend low to enter the room, which was made in the image of a chapel. What profound truths from such small actions! It was a concrete lesson in how we all must enter the presence of the King: humble and aware of our smallness, effacing ourselves as we bring our hearts into the Presence of the Beating Heart.

Below, we share with you the poem composed for the occasion. Enjoy!

Behold, the end of our travels,

But not the least of the marvels!

Though called the “little portion, this is something of a paradox;

This dwelling was for the friars so much more than a pile of rocks.

The poverty and humility of its surface

Concealed the grandeur and nobility of purpose.

Oh Paschal of statuesque beauty, bend low—it’s the only way!

For you to enter the King’s domain and receive your corona virgine!

For the King rests inside, infinity inside the finite,

But to our human minds, that math is not quite right.

For you can search all over in lands far and wide,

But you’ll never find something else that’s bigger in than outside!