Queen for a day?
Power is fleeting. Worldly rulers are on top one day, ousted the next. But the Queenship of Mary endures. A traditional prayer declares: “We need a Mother and a Mother’s Heart. You are for us the luminous dawn which dissipates our darkness and points out the way to life. Grant that all hearts, homes, and nations may recognize your rights as Mother and as Queen.” Traditionally Mary was “enthroned” in homes on this day by displaying her image and presenting her with flowers. When you need a Mother’s heart to take you in, Mary always has room for one more.
THUS, THE LAST WILL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST WILL BE LAST.
"Everything is connected. Every thing has an effect on everything else. Nothing is in isolation. If I touch a flower that is springing from the earth, I am at the same time touching a star in the heavens above". (Sister Rita Larivee, SSA)
Our world is getting smaller. We rub elbows with people of many languages, cultures, and beliefs. Do we owe their unfamiliar creeds any respect? The church says we do. The 1965 Second Vatican Council “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” states: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions . . . . Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture” (no. 2).
I AM A FRIEND TO EVERYONE WHO RESPECTS YOU AND TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS YOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES. Psalm 119: 63
North Shore Elder Services is launching a for-profit to support its non-profit services, called The Longevity Connection (TLC). When a Face Book page for it was started, all employees who "liked" it were entered into a contest, and I won! Tickets to North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly. Jack and I went to the Matinee today. Elvis! 1950s! Lots of energy, great dancing, awesome voices! I may not have picked this particular show, but we had a great time!
This evening I attended this event at Merrimack College. Seriously impressive! The program I'm attracted to is the MEd in Community Engagement. I am attracted to this program, and even more now that I've been on campus and met some of the faculty and administration. I brought home material for both my husband and me to look over, to pray over.
J
ust not too sure about graduate school at this stage of my life. Maybe a certificate program, a certification in something that will be useful to me, not just for work, but for church, family, whatever else I may be doing in the years to come?
And what will that be? A few years ago I worked long and hard on creating a Mission Statement for my life and work, using THE PATH by Laurie Beth Jones. I came up with this, as a work in progress:
MY MISSION IS TO BELIEVE THAT INDIVIDUALS AND SYSTEMS CAN CHANGE, AND TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT THEIR TRANSFORMATION.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" quoth Juliet as she was falling in live with Romeo; they both knew their families were enemies to one another.
Interesting about names....... about The Name that God Himself gives..... I have been wondering about mine, if I have one, aware that God gives that name to someone at a moment of change, of calling.... and that the name has meaning and purpose, speaks of that meaning and purpose, destiny.
That is, for example, what happened to Jude (from the Haven in Woonsocket). In some ways it doesn't seem a total change, as her name was Judith, some called her Judy (which she did not care for) but JUDE was specific, time, place, and calling.....
Dvorah is MY birth name and confirmation name. I have thought much about the Biblical Deborah through the years, sitting under that tree, judging the people of God, mediating disputes. I am mediating disputes and like that now as an ombudsman sometimes..... "Bee" as in busy. Productive. (And funny that my adoptive name of Beverly refers to the Beaver, which is also seen as "busy")
Have always admired the Biblical Abigail. Always had a notion that once David took her as one of his wives, she was one equal to him somehow in shrewdness and intellect, one he could confide in, not just for playing games with. "My father is joy" is what Abigail means.
Hannah is a personal favorite of mine. I was godmother to a Hannah, long time ago. Things have not been good for that little girl, now a young adult. She has several psychiatric diagnoses, many issues.... no real surprise, considering her heritage and upbringing, Sicilian and generational strega, which means Witch in Italian. And yet..... Grace. Wonderful quality, wonderful name.
My most beloved kitty cat is Gracie; she had been given to me by Jude at the Haven in 2003 when she was six months old, for my birthday. A most unusual cat, she's been my companion, resident pet therapist at the Haven, companion and comforter for my mother when she lived with me, and now getting fairly "senior" herself, she is my "baby".
Ruth. Love the name, love the story in the Bible, one of my personal favorites. And Ruth means "friend", also a favorite word, concept, actuality. Once upon a time God said I was "a friend, a true friend". (Had an aunt Ruth, the most unpleasant, most negative person I have ever known.... unfortunately. Married to Ingvar, also unpleasant, negative, they were two of a kind. From the adoptive family. Now I've met so many of the birth family, there's an aunt Ruth there too, also unpleasant, negative. What's with that?)
Don't know the Hebrew for Rose, but that is also a favorite--- the beauty, the time of year it blooms, the scent, the thorns.... Thinking of an old Swedish hymn one line translated as "Thanks for roses by the wayside, Thanks for thorns their stems contain!" If my son Carl had been a girl we were going to name her Lina Rose. Lina is for a Swedish hymn writer who lived 1832-1903. As a Covenanter I grew up with her songs, in English and Swedish. And Rose... is Rose.
Sort of a stream of consciousness going on here.... I love words and names and meanings.
As to my adoptive name Beverly--- a tribal name, it is from the Anglo Saxon and means "Beaver Meadow". Birth name Deborah, from the Hebrew meaning "Bee". But I'm not convinced either is my "real" name, the one from God.
I love gardens, so maybe my Real Name has to do with a gardens or gardening. Wish I had some dirt, which living in an apartment and now a condo I do not. Wish I had a porch at least, as I'd have buckets and hangings as a garden. Oh well, maybe someday. I mean in this life, as I believe we'll be going Back to the Garden, so to speak, one day.
I've gotten quite plump and middle-aged. No surprise that I'm a "Nana" to someone, and hope to be to more. Hey, Nana is another name!
