UNBORN WORD of the day

In our last post, we highlighted Catholic composer, Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992). As we pointed out 2008 is the centenary of his birth and he is being honored all over the world with concerts and symposiums. We went on to highlight one of his works: Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jésus (”Twenty Gazes/Contemplations of the Infant Jesus”) and in particular one composition, ‘Premiere Communion de la Vierge‘. (No. 11, “Virgin’s First Communion”).

This composition represents the Virgin on her knees, worshipping the unborn Jesus within her. Because Messiaen wanted his listeners to be aware of his inspirations and how he constructed various passages, he wrote extensive program notes, which appear as prefaces to his scores or as liner notes for recordings of his music. Here is what Messiaen wrote about the Virgin’s First Communion:

“11. Première communion de la Vierge [First Communion of the Virgin]. A tableau in which the Virgin is shown kneeling, bowed down in the night-a luminous halo around her womb. Eyes closed, she adores the fruit hidden within her. This comes between the Annunciation and the Nativity: it is the first and greatest of all communions. Theme of God, gentle scrolls, in stalactites, in an inner embrace. (Recall of the theme of La Vierge l’Enfant from my Nativity du Seigneur for organ, 1935). Magnificat more enthusiastic. Special chords and durations of two and two in which the weighty pulsations represent the heartbeats of the Infant in the breast of his mother. Disappearance of the Theme of God. After the Annunciation, Mary adores Jesus within her…my God, my son, my Magnificat!-my love without the sound of words.”

These notes with explanations for all 20 gazes/compositions in Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jésus can be found here. If you wish to purchase recordings of his songs or a book on his life here is a link to Amazon. We must mention that he is a modern composer and if you don’t like modern classical music - his compositions may not be your cup of tea.

Olivier Messiaen (December 10, 1908 – April 27, 1992) was a devout French Catholic composer. This year marks the centenary of Olivier Messiaen’s birth. From June 20-24 2008 the MESSIAEN 2008 INTERNATIONAL CENTENARY CONFERENCE is being held in Birmingham, England. Another conference entitled ‘Olivier Messiaen: The Musician as Theologian’ will be held at Southern Methodist University/Dallas, September 25-26, 2008 Among the many Messiaen concerts/series around the world is another being held in England this year, the Philharmonia Orchestra Messiaen Celebrations (February 4 - October 23 ) and one in Chicago at the University of Chicago: 2008 MESSIAEN FESTIVAL October 2-11 Ten Concerts.

One of the reasons that we are highlighting Olivier Messiaen during the centenary of his birth is because of Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, a collection of pieces for solo piano. The French title translates “Twenty gazes/contemplations on the infant Jesus”. It is considered to be one of the greatest piano works of the twentieth century, and the summit of Messiaen’s keyboard writing. The idea of les regards, the spiritual gazes, came from the devotional book Le Christ dans ses Mystères by the Irish-Belgian Benedictine abbot Dom Columba Marmion.

The gaze is a profound moment of passionate contemplation, spiritual communication and two-way recognition: an exchange, to use one of Marmion’s favorite words, in which love and knowledge passed in both directions between God and humanity.

Some of Messiaen’s ‘gazes’ on the Infant Jesus include: Gaze of the Father, Gaze of the Star, The Exchange, Gaze of the Son upon the Son (click here to see all of the pieces)…the piece that touches on our blog’s theme is: ‘Premiere Communion de la Vierge’. (No. 11, “Virgin’s First Communion”) and represents the Virgin on her knees, worshiping the unborn Jesus within her.

Messiaen used his talents to praise God and share through his music his profound enthusiasm for the Truths of his Catholic faith. Many of his pieces were explicitly Catholic: Twenty glances upon the Infant Jesus, Hymn to the Holy Sacrament, The Lord’s Nativity, Three Small Liturgies of the Divine Presence, and the opera St. Francis of Assisi just to name a few.

In an article in the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini writes:

“The dimension of Messiaen’s music that may most set it apart derives from his spiritual life. His faith was innocent, not intellectual. As a child he loved the plays of Shakespeare, especially their “super-fairy-tale” aspects, he said. In the stories of the Catholic faith, as he told Mr. Samuel, he found the “attraction of the marvelous” he had coveted in Shakespeare, but “multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold.” For him the Christian stories were not theatrical fiction but true. Messiaen espoused a theology of glory, transcendence and eternity. Religious subjects permeate his works, though not the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus. His embrace of the wondrousness of faith is reflected in the essence of his compositions.”

Our next post will feature Olivier Messaien’s personal notes explaining the “Virgin’s First Communion” with a link where to purchase this recording. We will also have a link to all his personal notes for Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus ( “Twenty gazes/ contemplations on the infant Jesus” ).

The Annunciation by Nicholas Poussin

Here are some excerpts from a homily that Pope Benedict XVI gave on March 25, 2006.

“In the Incarnation of the Son of God, in fact, we recognize the origins of the Church. Everything began from there.

Every historical realization of the Church and every one of her institutions must be shaped by that primordial wellspring. They must be shaped by Christ, the incarnate Word of God. It is he that we are constantly celebrating: Emmanuel, God-with-us, through whom the saving will of God the Father has been accomplished.

And yet - today of all days we contemplate this aspect of the Mystery - the divine wellspring flows through a privileged channel: the Virgin Mary.

St Bernard speaks of this using the eloquent image of aquaeductus (cf. Sermo in Nativitate B.V. Mariae: PL 183, 437-448). In celebrating the Incarnation of the Son, therefore, we cannot fail to honour his Mother. The Angel’s proclamation was addressed to her; she accepted it, and when she responded from the depths of her heart: “Here I am… let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1: 38), at that moment the eternal Word began to exist as a human being in time.

From generation to generation, the wonder evoked by this ineffable mystery never ceases. St Augustine imagines a dialogue between himself and the Angel of the Annunciation, in which he asks: “Tell me, O Angel, why did this happen in Mary?”. The answer, says the Messenger, is contained in the very words of the greeting: “Hail, full of grace” (cf. Sermo 291: 6).

In fact, the Angel, “appearing to her”, does not call her by her earthly name, Mary, but by her divine name, as she has always been seen and characterized by God: “Full of grace - gratia plena“, which in the original Greek is 6,P”D4JTµXv0, “full of grace”, and the grace is none other than the love of God; thus, in the end, we can translate this word: “beloved” of God (cf. Lk 1: 28). Origen observes that no such title had ever been given to a human being, and that it is unparalleled in all of Sacred Scripture (cf. In Lucam 6: 7)…

In the Second Reading, we heard the wonderful passage in which the author of the Letter to the Hebrews interprets Psalm 39 in the light of Christ’s Incarnation: “When Christ came into the world, he said: …”Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God’” (Heb 10: 5-7). Before the mystery of these two “Here I am” statements, the “Here I am” of the Son and the “Here I am” of the Mother, each of which is reflected in the other, forming a single Amen to God’s loving will, we are filled with wonder and thanksgiving, and we bow down in adoration.”

Here is an interesting quote from Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson on the Last Supper and the Incarnation.

“Thus, in that last emphatic act of the life of His Humiliation He took Bread, and cried, not Here is my Essential Self, but ‘This is my Body which is given for you,’ since that Body was the instrument of Redemption.

And, if the Christian claim is to be believed, this act was but a continuation (though in another sense) of that first act known as the Incarnation. He who leaned over the Bread at that “last sad Supper with His own” had, in another but similar manner, leaned over Mary herself with similar words upon His lips.^“

From Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson, Christ In The Church (published 1913).

Today is Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent. Forty is a number used often in the Bible and is the reason that Lent has 40 days (Sunday’s don’t count). In Noah’s time it rained for 40 days and nights, the people of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years, Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days and most importantly Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.

In the Acts of the Apostles we are told that, after Moses fled Egypt he was in the land of Midian for 40 years: “And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the desert of mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.” (Acts 7:30) So Moses was prepared by God for 40 years before the Burning Bush event, the turning point in his life and a turning point in human history.

But did you know that the Burning Bush has often been seen as a symbol of Mary who carried God within her womb?

“The bush, then (as some hold) is a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary since she made the Savior blossom forth, like a rose growing out of the bush of her human body; or rather, because she brought forth the power of the divine radiance without being consumed by it. Hence we read in Exodus: ‘The Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and looked and behold the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed’ (Ex 3:2) ” Rabanus Maurus (Benedictine Monk d. 780)

St. Gregory, the fourth century Bishop of Nyssa, seems to have been the first to connect the idea of Moses and the burning bush to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Gregory wrote in his On the Birth of Christ that as the bush was in flames, but not consumed, so Mary had God present inside her and was not consumed.

In Eastern Christian tradition the Burning Bush is seen as a symbol of Mary - The burning bush appeared to Moses in Exodus 3:2. In the song of The Burning Bush sung during the month of Kiahk (the fourth month of the Coptic calendar between December 10 and January 8 ) they say:

The burning bush seen by Moses
The prophet in the wilderness
The fire inside it was aflame
But never consumed or injured it.
The same with the Theotokos Mary
Carried the fire of Divinity
Nine months in her holy body.

Again it was said of Christ that He is a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). The fire burning inside the bush is a symbol of Christ and the bush itself symbolizes the Virgin.

Triptych of the Burning Bush, by Nicolas Froment, in Aix Cathedral

The Trinity with Mary and John the Baptist - detail from The Triumph of the Christian Faith fresco by Raphael - Stanzo della segnatura - Vatican

During Christmas season we meditate on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - but in fact, according to Cardinal Berulle (1575-1629), Our Lord had three births. In his book, Discourse on the State and Grandeurs of Jesus, he states:

“We find in the book of life three wondrous births of Jesus, who is the life of God and men. They are his birth in the womb of his Father in eternity, his birth in the womb of the Virgin in time, and his birth in the tomb to immortality.“

The words “Today I have begotten you” (Ps 2:7, Heb 1: 5) are associated with each of these births.

1. St. Paul in the first chapter of Hebrews (Heb 1: 5 ) applies these words to the eternal generation of the Son by the Father. Cardinal Berulle goes on to explain: ‘Through a clever use of words, the present is joined to the past, Today I have begotten you. This expresses him who is forever born and is forever being born and whose procession is such that it is without end or beginning.”

“In these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe…For to which of the angels did God ever say: ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you‘ “ (Hebrews 1:2,5)

2. Cardinal Berulle explains that this phrase found in Psalm 2 and Heb 1 is also used by the Church in its ‘office’ for Christmas day. This Christmas 2007, the Heb. 1 passage was the second reading for Christmas Day Mass (see above). Thus the Church applies these words to Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.

3. He then points out that: “Again Saint Paul guided by the same Spirit of God, …in Acts, chapter 13, presents this same text (Today I have begotten you) and applies it to the resurrection of the Son of God, which is a type of birth for Jesus into immortality.”

“We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you.’ ” (Acts: 13:32-33)

Cardinal Berulle concludes:

“…God who is fecund and fertile in his works and in his words, wished that that this same memorable word be applied in the same spirit to these three different meanings, to these three states and mysteries of the eternal Word: to the mystery of his birth from his Father, to the mystery of his birth from his mother, and to the birth from the tomb, from which he is reborn like a phoenix to new life.”

“He was despised and rejected by men…” Isaiah 53:3

Joseph and Mary (and her unborn baby) approach the Inn at Bethlehem. Humanity is given yet another opportunity to shine, to welcome the poor and accept the pregnant woman in need. The door is shut in their faces. Their need goes unmet. Their prospects for this birth are not bright.

Yet overhead there is a star (Mt 2:2). In Heaven’s “off stage” stood “the angel of the Lord” and “a multitude of the heavenly host” (Lk 2:9-14) waiting impatiently, by Heaven’s standards. Humanity had fallen again in reaching out to God. But this time, God the Father would arrange a special reception for His Son. Beasts, angels and humans would be drawn to the manger in Bethlehem.

But for now, Joseph, Mary (and the Unborn Christ Child) are homeless. As Jesus would observe three decades later: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt 8:20). Joseph and Mary again exercise faith in Almighty God and trust in His Providential plan for their lives, even as they huddle together, looking this way and that, for some idea of where to go next.

The last day of Mary’s redemptive pregnancy is the first day of the rest of our salvation history. A revelation like no other is about to break upon humanity’s shoreline. A great manifestation is about to unfold on earth’s stage. From the hidden uncharted depths of the womb God will come to visit His people.

But not yet! Mary walks slowly, following Joseph’s lead. The sky is darkening now, but still there is that glimmer of a star on the horizon. At this point we can join our prayers with Mary and Joseph, for this Unborn Baby and all unborn babies.

JUST 1 MORE PRAYING DAYS ‘TIL CHRIST’S BIRTH!

Today, November 21, is the feast day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first reading at Mass today is from Zechariah 2:14-17.

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

This makes me think of something John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae:

“The first part of the Hail Mary, drawn from the words spoken to Mary by the Angel Gabriel and by Saint Elizabeth, is a contemplation in adoration of the mystery accomplished in the Virgin of Nazareth.

These words express, so to speak, the wonder of heaven and earth; they could be said to give us a glimpse of God’s own wonderment as he contemplates his “masterpiece” - the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary. If we recall how, in the Book of Genesis, God “saw all that he had made” (Gen 1:31), we can find here an echo of that “pathos with which God, at the dawn of creation, looked upon the work of his hands”.

The repetition of the Hail Mary in the Rosary gives us a share in God’s own wonder and pleasure: in jubilant amazement we acknowledge the greatest miracle of history. Mary’s prophecy here finds its fulfillment: ‘Henceforth all generations will call me blessed’ (Lk 1:48).” #33.

Christ is the light and center point of the Culture of Life. He embodies in Himself the good news of this Culture of Life; He is the Gospel of Life!

To the culture of death, which surrounds us, He is the counterpoint:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined…
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’”

The people of the culture of death are afraid of children and afraid of this Light.

The people of the Culture of Life are emboldened by this Light.
When Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to announce the conception and birth of John, he said: “Do not be afraid Zechariah…” Lk 1:13
When Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the conception and birth of Jesus, he said:“Do not be afraid Mary…” Lk 1:30
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph to announce the conception and birth of Jesus, he said: “…do not fear…” Mt 1:20
When the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem to announce the birth of Jesus, he said: “Be not afraid…” Lk 2:10

As Christ was coming into the world as a baby, a star appeared in the East to lead gentiles to Christ, ‘the Light of the World’ (Mt 2:1-12, Jn 8:12). Christ is our Light and Life today as well. In Christ we find a resounding call to courage, hope and confidence, which strengthens us to proclaim His Gospel of Life and to welcome children into our world.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jn 1:5

Today, September 29 is the feast day of St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel. Gabriel appears to Daniel, Zachariah and Mary in the Bible. Harriet Beacher Stowe in her book, Footsteps of the Master, points to another noteworthy quality found in Mary by comparing her and the Prophet Daniel’s reactions to this awe inspiring Angel, whose name means “man of God,” or “God has shown himself mighty.”

“There is in her whole character a singular poise and calmness. When the Angel of the Annunciation appeared to her she was not overcome by the presence of the spiritual being as Daniel was, who records that ‘he fell on his face and there was no strength in him.’

Mary, in calm and firm simplicity, looks the angel in the face, and ponders what the wonderful announcement may mean. When she finds that it really does mean that she, a poor lonely maiden, is the chosen woman of all the human race – the gainer of the crown of which every Jewish woman had dreamed for ages – she is still calm.”

Today is the Feast day of St. Augustine (354 - 430 A.D.), one of the greatest Fathers of the Church. In the following brief quote Augustine reflects on Christ “as servant” within the womb of His mother and at His birth as well.

We have then proved that the birth of the Son was the work of the Father; now let us prove that it was the work of the Son also. Now what is the birth of the Son of the Virgin Mary? Surely it is His assumption of the form of a servant in the Virgin’s womb. Is the birth of the Son ought else, but the taking of the form of a servant in the womb of the Virgin? Now hear how that this was the work of the Son also. “Who when He was in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking upon Him the form of a servant.” (Phil 2:6-7) “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman,” (Gal 4:4) who was “made His Son of the seed of David according to the flesh.” (Rom 1:3) In this then we see that the birth of the Son was the work of the Father; but in that the Son Himself “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,” we see that the birth of the Son was the work also of the Son Himself.
St. Augustine Sermons (51-60) On Selected Lessons of the New Testament/Sermon 2, point 11

Today, August 22, 2007 is the feast of The Queenship of Mary.

In this age of democracies and wannabe or pretend-to-be democracies, many have forgotten that the New Testament contains numerous references to Christ as “King” (as well as to His Kingdom, His Reign, throne and so on). And again, many dismiss these titles as archaic and irrelevant in a time of such modern sophistication. It’s quite curious that the modern person pretty much disdains the concept of a monarchy.

So when Christians today come across a reference in the Bible to Christ as King many look at it as a mere symbolic concept not a real title connoting Power and Authority. But the personages who appear in the Book of Revelations seem to take His Kingship quite seriously! Christ is King! And we are most fortunate that He is our King!

Enter Mary, the Queen Mother. Does she further complicate the problem or further enhance the sublimity of the reality of Christ the King? The latter I wager. When Martin Luther discussed this briefly in his reflections on the Wedding Feast at Cana he states that the title ‘Queen of Heaven’ “is a true-enough name” but quickly adds that it “does not make her a goddess”. So in this I agree with Luther, the title “Queen of Heaven” is apt and Mary is human not Divine. No argument here. In the Book of Revelations the apostle John shows us Mary pregnant, with a crown of twelve stars upon her head (Rev 11:19-12:17).

By the way, all Christians have a little share in Christ’s royalty just as we have a little share in His Priesthood too. St. Peter says of Christians: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” (I Pet 2:9). Does my tiny share in the priesthood of Christ diminish His Kingship? No, my humble participation is meant to point heavenward to His greater Glory! Does Mary’s Queenship diminish His Kingship? No. it is, in fact, His idea – see Revelations 11:19 -12:17.

The Horror of Abortion - The Icon Explained

There is a powerful threshold-like verse in the Old Testament that is rather striking. Moses, the law giver, speaks the Lord’s words to the people: “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live…” (Dt 30:19)

We today – every day – must also choose life! Here are some of the daily choices that Christians face: God or mammon (Mt 6:24), Christ or Anti-Christ (II Jn.7), Gospel of Life or a so-called gospel of death, a Culture of Life or a culture of death, and finally Incarnation or abortion.

This last choice is purposely posed in unusual terminology for several reasons. Jesus came into the world as an unborn baby, starting His human life at conception like the rest of us. And like the rest of us He was birth-bound, Bethlehem-bound, on a journey of development and growth. But He later put these nine months into a different light when He taught us: “…as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). When a child is conceived, God has an immediate interest in the temporal and eternal welfare of that child (I Tim 2:1-4). When a child is conceived, Christ Incarnate identifies Himself with that little one right from the start. Just as the Incarnation is a gift to all humanity, so the life of a little child is also a little gift to us all.

Today, August 1, 2007 is the feast day of St Alphonsus de Ligouri (1696-1787). Below are a reflection and an excerpt from a prayer written by Alphonsus:

“Consider that the Eternal Father addressed these words to the Infant Jesus at the instant of His conception: ‘I have given Thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation’ (Isa 49:6). My Son, I have given Thee to the world for the light and life of all people, in order that Thou mightest procure for them their salvation, which I have as much at heart as if it were my own. Thou must therefore employ Thyself entirely for the well-being of men: ‘Wholly given to man, Thou must be wholly spent in his service’ (St. Bernard). Thou must therefore, at Thy birth, suffer extreme poverty, in order that men may become rich, ‘that Thou mayest enrich them by Thy poverty’”. (Meditation I, Novena for Christmas)

“O Divine Word, become man for me, though I behold Thee thus humbled and become a little infant in the womb of Mary, yet I confess and acknowledge Thee for my Lord and King, but a king of love…Ah, my infant King, how could I so often rebel against Thee, and live so long Thy enemy, deprived of Thy grace, when, to oblige me to love Thee, Thou hast put off Thy divine majesty, and hast humbled Thyself even to appearing, first, as a babe in a cave; then as a servant in a shop; then as a criminal on a cross?” (Meditation, 1st Wednesday of Advent)

From THE INCARNATION, BIRTH AND INFANCY OF JESUS CHRIST by St. Alphonsus de Liguori.

And from His fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16

“St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that Mary’s fulness of grace increased notably at the Incarnation through the presence of the Word of God made flesh.”

“…Mary was, of all creatures, the one who entered into closest contact with Him in His humanity since He took flesh in her womb. Hence, it was appropriate that she should have received a notable increase of grace at the Incarnation.”

“Speaking of the time when the Body of the Saviour was formed in Mary’s virginal womb, Fr. Hugon says: ‘She must have made uninterrupted progress in grace during those nine months - ex opere operato, as it were - through her permanent contact with the Author of holiness. If her plentitude of grace is incomprehensible at the time of the Incarnation, what must it have been at the Nativity…’”

“As we have said, grace is an effect of God’s active love for his creature…Hence His love for her produces grace in her soul - such an abundance of grace as to be capable of overflowing on souls.”

Father Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P., The Mother of the Saviour and Our Interior Life, 1948