Who Lights Up Heaven?

              Yesterday, during the opening collect at Mass, lights began to fade in the church.  Before the end of the first reading, the altar was only lit by candlelight.  (This was a power loss scheduled by the power company to replace a pole, so it wasn’t a complete surprise.) The silence seemed more pronounced during mass. The candle light was soft and fluid and the pace more leisurely.  I’m sure it was in my imagination, but it gave a different perspective to praising and worshiping God.

               Coincidentally, or not, a quote from the daily reading from Revelation 21 stood out for me.  It said, “The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations shall walk by it light; to it the kings of the earth shall bring its treasurers.  During the day the gates shall not be shut and there will be no night.”   

                   And the reading for this Sunday is also from Revelation and references light in heaven.  Also in Revelation 21:22-23 is says, “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.”

                   These readings made me think of the 6^th grade religious education class that I substitute taught a few weeks ago.  In an attempt to help them think about heaven as a real place, I asked them to draw a picture of what they think heaven will be like.  The results were interesting.  One drew a hotel, another had a place for fishing, and one girl can’t imagine heaven with Chipotle.  We talked about the idea that there will not be any hate or fear in heaven.  “But what about baseball?” asked one young man.   Will we need to sleep or eat? All of this, we did not know.

                   What I do know, from the two passages in Revelations is that there will not be a sun or moon or a night.  The light will come from the glory of God.  And yet in the church yesterday, it was the lack of artificial light that helped me feel closer to the one who has all the glory!

Colorful Leaves and Simple Pleasures

                Last Thursday, I sat in the warm afternoon sun, watching my son’s final high school football game of the season.  It was a beautiful afternoon and I noticed how colorful the leaves were turning on the trees in the background. 

The moment gave me a chance to reflect on the weeks that had passed since the summer time.  I thought back to those mid-August practices with so much heat and humidity.  The days and weeks have flown by so quickly.  My son is now acclimated to the challenges of high school.  We are used to the transportation schedule.  My new clients now are friends. My family has adjusted to the loss of our father-in-law, Jim to complications of diabetes in early August.

How is it that the season has changed, and I am just noticing it?  I know if I don’t take the time to enjoy it, the trees will be barren. The activities of the days blend into each other as the years barrels toward the holidays and the end of the year. 

As I felt the warm sun on my back and looked again at the trees, it dawned on me that was the perfect moment to thank God for these simple pleasures.  They are many! Only God made the trees that turn these beautiful colors.  We truly believe as a family that my son is at his current high school only because of prayer and God's will. My clients have wonderful missions and are making a difference for tens of thousands of children and adults - and I get to be a part of that! My father –in-law is peaceful and not in pain anymore and is enjoying his Eternal reward! My son survived his first year of high school football physically unscathed, and mentally and emotionally stronger.

To God I give thanks and praise for all of these things.  For He “gives us all these gifts. He fills them with life and goodness, blesses them and makes them holy.”[i]  In this crazy-busy world, it I often forget to take time to enjoy simple pleasures.  For today, that simple pleasure is watching 100 fourteen-year-old boys play football, in the warm afternoon autumn sun, while gazing at the beautiful leaves on the trees.  Thank you Lord for these simple pleasures, and for nudging me to enjoy them!

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[i]  From the Eucharistic payer I (Roman canon).

The Luna Moth

This world overflows with creepy-crawly things that in my everyday life generally go unnoticed.  I have become more than familiar enough with the beetles that eat my roses.  My first discovery of them, I was horrified of them and thought them ugly.  After more than 15 years of rose gardening, I think they have their own beauty.  After two decades of gardening, I am tolerant but generally not fond of the vast assortment of the creepy-crawly things. 

Boy Scout camp enhances my awareness of the creepy-crawly things.  The common flies, ants and mosquitoes exist at camp, but it is the diversity of moths, beetles and spiders that enthrall and mesmerize me.  I was not to be disappointed during the week at camp earlier this month.

 Daddy long-legs kept me company in my tent at night, in the latrine, the shower and most any place that I decided to sit.  While I am an admirer of the daddy-long legs, when one decided to make my cot his place to sleep during the day, I escorted him out of my tent unceremoniously!  

The creepy-crawly things are not my favorite part of camp, yet I become fascinated at the variety of these creatures that exist in God’s kingdom.  I tell myself that they exist for a purpose and that they are more afraid of me than I am of them (HA!).

One hot and muggy afternoon, I finally managed to sneak in a shower while the scouts were busy canoeing, climbing, hiking and creating interesting pieces of art.  It felt good to wash off layers of insect repellent, perspiration and dirt. With my personal hygiene complete, I stopped outside the shower house to put on my shoes.

My attention was drawn to something green on the wall.  It was large, about the span of my and from thumb to pinky.   A closer look made me think it was a moth of some sort.  If it was a moth, it was by far, the largest that I had ever seen.  Its wings were substantial, not feathery looking like a normal moth.  It has a tale almost 2/3 of an inch long.  I got as close as I dare and took a picture.  Could it be a pre-historic moth of sorts, I thought as I scurried down the path to the campsite.  I thanked God for the chance to see this beautiful creature.  In the hast of life, even at camp, I managed to stop and admire an exotic and remarkable creepy-crawly thing of some sort.

Every time I took a shower for the rest of the week, I looked for the moth, but didn’t see it. Near the end of the week, I glimpsed the sight of another one of these marvelous creatures.  This one appeared to be injured.  It was trying to move its wings, but was not able to fly away.  Like most insects, it would probably die soon.  I learned from a Scouter who was passing the same way that it was a Luna moth.

Later, I learned that the Luna moth is nocturnal, attracted to light (does it try to fly to the moon?) and it is quite common in the Eastern United States.  While the moth may be a common insect, the mystery of my encounter with it was not diminished.   My encounter with this beautiful creature is one of the highlights of my week at Scout camp this year.  Moreover, a good reminder, in the haste of a busy, hectic life, to take a deep breath and thank God for all of the beautiful, wonderful things on this earth – even the creepy-crawly things.

               

Morning Demons

This morning was an unusual Monday morning.  It is the beginning a summer and, for this week at least, there are no lunches to make or buses to catch.  But it was made more unusual in that my father-in-law  had to be taken to the emergency room at Midnight.  He fragile health condition deteriorated to the point that he couldn't stand up and he seemed to have lost short term memory.

I didn't fall asleep until 1:30 this morning and my husband arrived back from the hospital at 5 am.  Jim had been admitted and he will be in the hospital for a few days.  I spoke briefly to my husband and then fell back to sleep, waking up to the 7 am alarm.

For me, Monday mornings are pivotal to the productivity of the week.  I was somewhat apprehensive about what the day would bring.  I began to pray morning prayers from the Magnificat. In the paragraph before the Psalm it states that "Every morning we arise afresh in Christ our light.  Ancient Christian writers warn against 'morning demons: yesterday's worries and grievances returning to poison the new day."*

I shook my head and thought, how did they know that I thought I might spend my morning focused on the activities of yesterday.  How many mornings have I allowed those morning demons to set the tone for the day?  How much time to I waste thinking about the past?

One of the intersessions for today is a great prayer for any morning: "Grant us fresh hope at the beginning of this day- that we may live it for your glory and our neighbor's good."  What a great way to keep those demons at bay and we celebrate the beginning of a new day.


*Magnificant, Vol 13 No. 4, June 2011, page 288.