Seasons of Grace

During the Christmas season, it’s so easy to be drawn into the shopping frenzy. It’s easy to become consumed with the search for “just the right gift” or to spend more than you can afford, in order to prove… what?

Last year in “Seasons Greedy”, I reflected on the rampant consumerism which drives us to spend and shop, rather than simply baking cookies and playing board games with the people we love.

This year, my issue has been Time—finding time to spend with family and friends, time to pray, time to reflect on the great mystery of the Incarnation that we celebrate this month.

This is a cute little reflection on the high price of materialism.

In these last harried weeks of Advent, remember to hug your kids, kiss your spouse, and Keep Christ in Christmas!

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In honor of the Marian feast this week, I thought I’d take a peek inside the Virgin Mary’s closet. Sometimes you’d think, from looking at pious representations of the Mother of God, that she was a real fashionista.

Actually, when you think about it, living in such a warm climate, Mary must have had at least a few tunics. But haven’t the artists taken her style just over the top?

Why Did Mary Wear Blue?

First, there’s that closet full of tunics! Classical artists like Botticelli, Raphael and DaVinci frequently depict Mary wearing a red tunic topped by a blue mantle. The Flemish High Renaissance painter Jan Gossaert uses the red/blue scheme in some works, but also envisions her in blue over blue, with a white veil. And of course, there are the apparitions in which Mary wore white (at Lourdes and Fatima, for example); while at Guadalupe, she wore the vibrant colors of Mexican royalty.

Actually, the colors in Mary’s many costumes are not random selections from her walk-in closet—they are aflame with political symbolism. Renaissance painters chose red because it was the color worn by influential Jewish women of her time. Later, scholars decided that red too closely signified a loose or unchaste, “scarlet woman” and that Mary should instead wear blue. And Dan Lynch, in his article “The Amazing Truth About Our Lady of Guadalupe,” explains how the image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph which was read and understood quickly by the Aztec Indians:

1. THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN — She was greater than their dreaded sun-god “Huitzilopochtli”.
2. HER FOOT RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON — She had clearly vanquished their foremost deity, the feather serpent “Quetzalcoatl”.
3. THE STARS STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE — She was greater than the stars of heaven which they worshipped. She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on December 12, 1531, for the stars that she wore are the constellation of stars that appeared in the sky that day!
4. THE BLUE‑GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE — She was a Queen for she wears the color of royalty.
5. THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK — Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son.
6. THE BLACK BELT — She was with child for she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.
7. THE FOUR-PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB — She was the “Mother of God.” The flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity — the center of the universe.
8. HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER — She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.
9. THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE-COLORED GARMENT — She is the “Queen of the Earth,” for she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.

English Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, in his poem “The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air That We Breathe,” compared the air’s blueness to the Virgin’s transparent acceptance of God’s will:

Blue be it. This blue heaven—

the seven, or seven times seven,

hued sunbeam shall transmit

perfect, not alter it.

So God was God of old.

A Mother came to mould….”

But What About the Belt?

In the news recently were reports of as many as 3 million Russians queueing up to kiss a glass-covered reliquary that they believe holds the Virgin Mary’s belt. The relic arrived in St. Petersburg on October 20, beginning a month-long tour of Russian cities. When it arrived, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin was the first to venerate the holy relic, which is usually housed in a Greek Orthodox monastery on Greece’s Mount Athos. Many Russians believe that the relic, considered important within the Orthodox Church, can mystically help to overcome infertility or problems with pregnancy.

Similarly, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico wears a black belt which was distinguishable as an Aztec Maternity Belt. It remains until today the only apparition in which Our Lady appeared as she was during her pregnancy. One of the amazing results of the apparition was that within a short time, infant sacrifice was ended in Mexico.

And at Fatima, Mary wore only a pristine white gown; but at Lourdes, still another outfit: Her white tunic was cinched at the waist with a long, flowing light blue sash.

And Mary’s Veil – the “Sancta Camisia”

In the Cathedral of Chartres, southwest of Paris, is a holy relic called the “Sancta Camisia,” the “holy veil.” A crumpled, faded cream-colored cloth, it’s protected in a glass reliquary. Tradition holds that the Sancta Camisia is the veil of the Virgin Mary—in fact,it’s the veil she wore when she gave birth to the Christ Child.

Was the Sancta Camisia really worn by Mary? Scientific study has confirmed that the veil dates to the first century. It was presented to the Cathedral at Chartres in 876 by Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, upon his return from Jerusalem. It was nearly destroyed by fire in 1194, but the Bishop of Chartres rescued it just in time.

Is it really Mary’s veil? I don’t know—but despite efforts to refute the claim during the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution, pilgrims still come to see it, to kiss the glass and to offer a fervent prayer.

The photos of Chartres Cathedral are from our pilgrimage with members of Legatus in September 2002.

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“I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.”

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Only a gentle snowfall could have improved the evening.

On Friday, Jennifer and I stepped into a Christmas card from the past at “Holiday Nights” in Dearborn’s Greenfield Village.

On eight nights during the holiday season, the Village comes alive with the sounds and smells of Christmas from days gone by. Families of robust children in woolen mittens, young lovers enjoying the romance of winter fireworks, and older folks reminiscing about their own distant childhoods mingle along the candle-lit walks. Costumed presenters celebrate Christmas as it was back in the 1800s.

Visitors can hop into a Model-T for a village tour or climb aboard a horse-drawn wagon, where a banjo player coaxes the riders into a rowdy sing-along. On the agenda: Sipping hot apple cider, singing along with the Main Street Carolers, and presentations by skilled artisans. The young at heart can borrow a pair of ice skates and take a spin around the ice rink.

There are live reindeer—and of course, Santa is there, waving to the children from the second floor of the Robert Frost house in the Village. Ho-ho-ho!

No “Happy Holidays” heard here—no one’s afraid to say “Merry Christmas”! Carolers still share their Christmas joy with songs like “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night.”

I had not had the foresight to make reservations for the spectacular holiday dinner at the Eagle Tavern, the Village’s historic stagecoach stop. Not to worry, though: We feasted on turkey at Taste of History and followed up with Buckeyes, a favorite chocolate-peanut butter treat.

If you’ve never been to this extravaganza of holiday spirit, check it out this year—There are still six “Holiday Nights” before Christmas.

For ticket information and dates, click here.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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I worked in downtown Detroit many years ago, and one of my pleasant discoveries as I wandered the streets during my lunch hour was the unique and vibrant liturgy at St. Aloysius Catholic Church.

St. Aloysius is located on Washington Boulevard, pressed into the space between the historic Book Cadillac Hotel and the Chancery offices. Modeled after the great Duomo in Milan with its lower-level crypt chapel, St. Al’s was the only church I’d seen with both an upper and lower church. On one visit, I found that two masses were proceeding concurrently at its upper and lower altars.

St. Al’s—always beloved by the people of Detroit for its message of welcome and its missionary spirit—has been thrust into the news recently with at least three compelling stories:

• St. Al’s Community Center, located across the street from the church, was located in a decaying building which cost more than $200,000 annually for utilities and maintenance. The Archdiocese of Detroit sold the building to a private firm which now owns the entire side of the street. At this point, the Archdiocese has been unable to locate new space for the center; the new owner has boarded up the building, and it remains to be seen whether it will be demolished.
• Franciscan Brother Al Mascia, one of the brothers who operated the Canticle Café in St. Al’s Community Center, has made the best of the situation. He continues to serve the poor and homeless with an innovative tricycle vendor cart—pedaling to the outdoor waiting area of the Rosa Parks Transit Center to deliver free hot drinks, sandwiches and fruit to the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised in the neighborhood three days each week.
• And now, music minister Aaron Kaleniecki—who serves at both St. Aloysius and St. Patrick parishes in downtown Detroit—has composed a new score for the new Roman Missal. Called the “Mass for the Motor City,” Kaleniecki’s composition includes the Gloria, Sanctus, Amen, and Lamb of God, as well as the Memorial Acclamation for Years A, B and C.

The parish website offers a historical perspective, including a photo tour of the beautiful upper and lower church. Here are just a few photos from that collection.

Check out the St. Aloysius website for additional photos and history.

Each summer, St. Al’s hosts a Block Party for their downtown Detroit neighborhood. The parish has become known as “Everybody’s Church”—and you can see why! Listen to the soulful strains of St. Al’s choir while enjoying scenes from the 2011 Block Party.

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