The Statue of Liberty

A recent magazine cover had a drawing of the arm of the Statue of Liberty holding the lamp.  The flame has been extinguished and a wisp of smoke rises into the air.

Here's the end of Emma Lazarus' poem (November 2, 1883) that is on the base: 

"From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome....

 Give me your tired, your poor,

 Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

 The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

 Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

 I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

We pray that all Americans extend this invitation.

A New Birth of Freedom!

President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863, Gettysburg:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  We are met on a great battle-field of  that war.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.  It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground.  The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of  freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.  She appeared to Bernadette, a poor peasant girl, several times over a month.  During one of the apparitions a spring began flowing out of the ground and continues flowing today.  Many healings there have been verified.  

I went on a military pilgrimage to Lourdes in May, 2014.  With more than 20,000 there from all over the world there was a strong sense of world unity and the possibility of peace.   This river added to the gentleness of the place.  I couldn't keep up with all the ceremonies, so I went across the river and spent some time alone in prayer.  I took this picture from there.  A friend whom I prayed for there in a specific way has survived throat cancer.

I pray to Our Lady today for a friend who has a deadly disease and another who is today in the hospital.

Mystery's Self-Communication

How does Numinous Presence, Ultimate Mystery, get through to us limited human beings in our very material world?  It was not through God's finger writing on stone tablets.  Numinous Presence chose the Israelites in the desert and in  exile to begin a dynamic process involving centuries of telling stories, writing them down, later editing, copying in scrolls, and, finally, as a community, determining which of these belonged on the approved list of sacred writings, Scripture.  We have the Jewish people to thank for being receptive to this Divine process and for giving the world a glimpse of Who is calling us into loving relationship. 

Feeling Down?

If this picture of happy people on a hot day in the tropics doesn't cheer you on this very wintry day, maybe this advice from St. Thomas Aquinas on today's calendar will:

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep,
  a bath, and a glass of wine."

(calendar from the gifted sisters at Ministry of the Arts)

The Depths of God

St. Paul wants to make it clear to the Corinthians that he is preaching to them, not just using human reason, but letting the Holy Spirit use him to help us glimpse the mystery of God.  "To us God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the depths of God."  We want to know God better so that we can love God better.  Surrendering to the Spirit ushers us into the Mystery.

First Be Reconciled

"So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering."  This quote is from Matthew 5:20-26, a passage in which Jesus warns us how anger disrupts our relationship with God.  As I meditated on it this morning, I thought of relatives and friends with whom I am not at peace and also of public figures whom I find it hard to love.  Is my offering at the altar a true surrender of my heart?