The most beautiful thoughts are nothing without good works.
-St. Therese In fact, we could compare beautiful thoughts to fireworks. They light us up and make us feel great, full of inspiration and insight. Yet, even the most awesome fireworks fade away within a few moments, and nothing has changed. If then, we feel inspired to do a good work, let's make sure it travels with two good friends - Decision and Determination.
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"It seems to me that if a flower could speak, it would tell simply what God has done for it without trying to hide His blessings. "
- St. Therese What blessing has God given me today? "To live by love is to go through life sowing peace and joy in hearts."
-St Therese What flowers can I sow today? "In my little way, there are only ordinary things."
-St Thérèse of Lisieux Ordinary things are formative things. My mission is about to begin, my mission is to make God loved as I love him, to teach souls my little way.
-St Thérèse of Lisieux
The popularity of C.S.Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is well-known and well-deserved. Originally published between 1950 and 1956, the Chronicles introduced us to a new world of wonder, enchantment and delight. Now, there is a new guide to these beloved books, a guide that goes straight to the heart of what C.S. Lewis was trying to convey in his stories. The Chronicles of Transformation: A Spiritual Journey with C.S. Lewis, recently released from Ignatius Press, enables Truth and Beauty to “steal past watchful dragons,” those obstacles and attitudes we erect like fortresses, and enter directly into our hearts, minds and souls. It is a perfect invitation to accompany us on our journey through the Eucharistic Revival.
The 253-page book contains seven essays, one for each of the Narnian Chronicles. By way of introducing each essay, poet Madeline Infantine has written “On Knowing Him Here for a Little, A Poem in Seven Parts.” Each of the parts of her poem recall specific events within the books, but they also activate our imagination. Lewis considered imagination “the organ of meaning,” an intuitive response that points us to the Really Real, the land of the True North we are all seeking, our everlasting home. It is our cleansed imagination that gives us glimpses of what is true. However, the imagination must be formed and also transformed – Lewis calls it “a baptized imagination,” as Catholics we would call it “redeemed.” The poem works beautifully with each following essay, combining both imagination and reason to arrive at understanding. The imagination gives us a glimpse of meaning, but then reason, “the organ of truth,” comes in to refine and clarify our understanding. The book also has seven original illustrations by Stephen Barany, which could be used as a type of Visio Divina as you read each essay and poem part. The first essay in the Chronicles of Transformation, written by editor Leonard J. DeLorenzo, is titled “The Power to Thaw Frozen Hearts,” and explores The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by asking “Can you imagine a better way to explain evil to children than to give them a figure who makes it always winter but never Christmas?” Both the child and the childlike can immediately understand the consequences of a world overrun by sin. Each of the following essays take on other questions of faith. “Due North,” the essay on The Horse and His Boy, written by Francesca Aran Murphy, tackles the issue of Joy, which for Lewis is not an emotion but “an experience of deep and blissful longing for an unknown entity.” This essay asks us to consider where we are seeking Joy and uses the animals and characters in the story to show examples of pride and humility, attitudes keeping us from or leading us towards our True Joy, our “inborn, native desire for an unknown or surprising home, where we will fall into the arms of the Father.” The Chronicles of Transformation aims to do just what it says. It takes us on a spiritual journey through the seven Chronicles of Narnia, but not just to sightsee. Instead, there is real spiritual work to be done in wrestling with the ideas presented in the original books. Drawing on Lewis’ insistence on the use of imagination and reason, The Chronicles of Transformation takes us into Narnia so that we can listen with fresh ears to the Gospel story, lifting the veil away from the familiar, in order that when we arrive back in our own world we will see God’s plan and presence with new eyes here and now, right where we are. As Aslan himself tells Lucy, the point of their visit to Narnia is not to escape her own world and its problems. Rather, it is so that “on knowing me here for a little” bit of time, she could come to know him in a much deeper and more intimate way back in her own world. Lewis hopes the same will happen for us. The Chronicles of Transformation, A Spiritual Journey with C.S. Lewis is written for anyone who has ever stepped into a big, wooden wardrobe, sailed upon the Dawn Treader, met a Marsh-wiggle, as well as those of us who wish we had. High School aged readers and up will enjoy it. It is especially valuable, though, to any parents or other educators who would like to journey with their children through Narnia, particularly during these three years of the Eucharistic Revival when we are each called to a personal transformation in Christ. This is a book I am glad to have on my bookshelf, and one I plan to return to again and again. One of the ways we can participate in the Eucharistic Revival is by turning the next three years into a personal pilgrimage. Have you ever been on a pilgrimage? Loaded up a backpack, put on some sturdy shoes, and headed out with the intention of eventually arriving at a specific destination? The answer for all of us is “Yes!” The truth is, every person on earth is on a pilgrimage, all the time. We all put on a backpack, loaded with things we believe are vitally necessary to take, things that we carry with us every day. We dress ourselves in our beliefs and attitudes and we show these to everyone who sees us, for good or for bad. We all have a starting point and we will each arrive at an endpoint, a moment when our journey will be completed. Those of us fortunate enough to be participating in the Eucharist Revival, however, have the ability to elevate our everyday journeying into a holy pilgrimage. We can be intentional about what we carry with us, who we will travel with, how we will travel, and most importantly, our final destination. Pope St. John Paul II said that “All of the spiritual life is a pilgrimage to the heart of the Father.” A holy pilgrimage takes place across three dimensions, sacred time, sacred space and sacred place. We are invited to journey with Jesus in all three areas for the next three years. Sacred Time There are two different ways of looking at time. We are all used to living in chronos time, moving through sequential hours, minutes and seconds. God’s time, however, is called kairos time, meaning the “opportune or appointed moment,” the time for God’s action. In the incarnation of Jesus, both chronos and kairos times are united. The next three years give us an opportunity to unite both chronos and kairos times in our own lives, to use the hours and minutes of our days seeking to make God known and loved more in the world. Sacred Space A sacred space is simply a holy area where we can experience an encounter with God. Sacred spaces are associated with quiet, with being set aside. Think of wide open spaces in nature that inspire wonder and awe, or the quiet, peaceful interior spaces of churches. We are each called to become a holy space ourselves, a place where God resides within, where we can facilitate an encounter with God for others. Sacred spaces are concerned with the spiritual and the unseen. Sacred Place While sacred spaces mediate the spiritual, sacred places are physical. A sacred place is usually reserved for a particular, holy, ritual action, a place set apart to do something special. It might be a place where an action of God was demonstrated in the past, such as the home of a saint or a location where something good happened, or a place of God’s continued presence today, like our churches. Sacred places reveal God in the physical, in specific locations we can visit and see, made holy through specific actions. Taken all together, sacred time, sacred space and sacred place represent the totality of our lives. It is in these three places we are invited to journey in a special way for the next three years. What might that look like? Maybe that means you commit to changing your morning commute into a pilgrimage. Turn your car into a vehicle of pilgrimage by repeating a ritual action, such as prayer or listening to Scripture. Notice the people who are passing by around you and attempt to provide an encounter with God by being generous and patient. Offer the time in your car for a special intention or for the work of God. Or perhaps you can create a dedicated prayer space in your home and commit to using it once a day and invite your family to use it together once a week. Or your pilgrimage might be promising to visit or call a neighbor you know could use extra attention, at the same time each day or week. Pray for this person, even if you don’t pray together. There are so many ways we can create pilgrimages in our lives, of elevating our chronos time, the ordinary moments of our everyday lives, into kairos time, opportunities to be in the presence of God, by intentionally uniting our time, space and place. To help you get started, check out the free online series on Pilgrimage created by Franciscan University, hosted by Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR. What will your pilgrimage be? On June 19, 2022. the Eucharistic Revival officially began in dioceses across the United States. In my diocese of Austin, we kicked things off the morning before on Saturday, June 18, with Mass at 8:30am, presided over by the Bishop of Austin, Bishop Joe Vasquez. After Mass, the Bishop, accompanied by the laity and dozens of priests and deacons, led us out of the church on a one-mile procession through the downtown streets of Austin, holding the Blessed Sacrament high in a monstrance, ending with adoration and benediction at the historic “red doors” on the hilltop at St. Edward’s University. The morning concluded with Bishop Vasquez lifting the monstrance and blessing the entire city of Austin, which was laid out in front of us from our view on the hilltop. It was a powerful and visible way of beginning the Eucharistic Revival, and - literally - going forth and bringing Christ to our community.
What is the Eucharistic Revival? The Eucharistic Revival is a three year invitation and call to renewal that will take place across America. More than simply a series of meetings or events, the Eucharistic Revival is a “grassroots call and a challenge for every Catholic across our country to rekindle the fire of love and devotion for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,” Bishop Vasquez explains. The first year of the revival runs from June 19 to June 11, 2023, and will focus on revival at the diocesan level. The second year goes from June 12, 2023 to July 17, 2024, and will focus on fostering devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist at the parish level. The final year, July 18, 2024 to Pentecost 2025, called the “Year of Going Out On Mission,” will include a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. How Can I Participate in the Eucharistic Revival?
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! |
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