Chapter 12: The Assumption

The Last Chapter!

The story of the Bavarian peasant woman who lost her only beloved son in war and then adopted a little black boy really resonated with me.  Houselander notes the neighbors were amazed and one commented, 'I never would have thought that you would put another boy in your son's place" (Reed of God, pg. 182).  


"'I have not,' she answered, simply: 'There is only one boy, Jesus Christ'"  (Reed of God, pg. 182)


After adopting Abigail so quickly after losing Caeden Michael, I understand this statement.  I'm sure it resonates with many who have lost a child due to miscarriage, death, rebellion, or failed adoption.  It is not that a child is ever replaced, it's that we see Jesus in every child, and in loving our child, we are loving Jesus.  


From the time I could talk, I remember hearing and knowing that Jesus is in my heart- and other people's hearts!  If we love others, we are loving Jesus.  But never has the reality of Christ's presence been so clear to me as when I care for my daughter.  I literally imagine that I am holding the Christ-child.  I am feeding Jesus.  I am lulling Him to sleep.  I change His diaper.  I soothe His cries.  It is so real to me, that I have to be careful not to say this to just anyone!  


In our Christmas cards, I am writing, "After four long years of Advent, we are rejoicing in our beautiful child!"  I almost finished the phrase, "our Christ child!"  


But I didn't want people to think I thought we literally adopted Jesus.  Since 95% of my Christmas card recipients have not read The Reed of God, I changed the phrase to "Our beautiful child!"  (As opposed to "beautiful daughter!")  


It is interesting that Our Lady lost her son, and gained a son in the same day.  


"Perhaps Our Lord took so young an apostle as John into His motley little company in order that he should be still a boy when he took Our Lady home.  Perhaps, too, His very special love for John may have had something to do with the future, in which Christ foresaw John giving His Mother no time to grieve"  (Reed of God, pg. 183)


In fact, it is wonderful to think of her still caring for her son in motherly ways through the apostle John.  When at last she died, the Lord took her, body and soul, into Heaven, lest the body that carried Christ, be corrupted by decay.


I was puzzled and saddened by Houselander's statement, "No wonder that the most astonishing sermons are preached about Our Lady's Assumption" (Reed of God, pg. 184).  I have never heard a sermon that was astonishing on this subject!  In our well-intentioned quest to not offend our Protestant brothers and sisters, have our priests lost the ability or desire to preach a dazzling sermon on Mary's Assumption into Heaven?  




Which brings me full circle...


I began this study in an attempt to better understand devotions to Our Lady.  I explained initially that while I certainly accepted all of the Church's teachings on Mary and honored her, I didn't understand why I should foster a relationship with her, when I could go straight to her son.  


But this book has helped me to better understand that through contemplating Our Lady- whether it is her being, her fiat, her visitation, her losing the Christ Child, or her assumption, I am better understanding Jesus.  As our marriage verse proclaims, Mary MAGNIFIES Christ. Seeing Mary in her humanity helps me understand Jesus in His humanity and divinity.  


My husband lost his mother ten years ago.  I never had the chance to know her.  This has been a real loss to my sister-in-law and me.  Mama Lee could have told us so many stories about my husband- she could have provided insight into his character and personality.  She could teach me to love her son better and more completely.


The same is true for Mary and her son.  She provides insight.  She teaches.  She demonstrates.  


Because of Mama Lee, I have J.  And I love her madly for it.  


Because of Mary, we have Jesus Christ.  And I love her madly for it.  




Thank you, Leslie, for the gift of this book.  Thank you to all the participants.  Any time you pick up the book, please share your reflection on the chapters.  It gets emailed to anyone who has commented previously, and we all benefit from your thoughts!


Dedicated to Our Blessed Mother,

Chapter 11: The Way

It only took me 7 weeks to get back to this study!

We near the end of The Reed of God with only one chapter left after this week.  This book has been such a treasure and is full of beautiful wisdom. 

Chapter 11 begins with the age-old question of why the Lord allows suffering.  She specifically notes several examples of suffering and ponders why it exists.  She writes, "If we understood the courtesy of God, we should not be scandalized by the grief of the world: not, indeed, that God has caused all these evils, or that He wills them, but that He has hallowed them" (Reed of God, pg. 165).  She goes on to note that Christ is the light of the world and, as she has explained in the last few chapters, we are constantly charged to seek Him.

I was stunned by her noting that, "even in sinners He is there in the Tomb, lying dead, awaiting and desiring resurrection" (Reed of God, pg 167).   Later she states, "We should never come to a sinner without the reverence that we would take to the Holy Sepulchre" (Reed of God, pg. 170).  The topic of judging has been on my mind often lately (I plan to blog about it soon!) and I couldn't help but wonder if we approached our fellow sinners with the reverence that she speaks of, would we have a better understanding of loving the sinner and hating the sin?  Would Christians be accused of arrogance and unfair judgement if we saw sinners as those waiting the freedom of the resurrection?  Especially as Houselander points out that even Christ fell under the weight of His heavy Cross.  "He is under the heavy Cross in those who have fallen under the load of debt, loneliness, shame, hardship, temptation" (Reed of God, pg. 171).

This is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful imagery and a call to love and Truth. We MUST love our sisters and brothers enough to stand up for the Truth- even when it is hard.  We must offer freedom to them.  They deserve better!  (Note- I'm also in need of this freedom and want friends who love me enough to tell me when I'm being weighed down by sin.)  More on this topic coming soon.

Chapter 10: Our Seeking

I miss you ladies who were reading this book with me!  Come back!  Only two chapters left!
I had some trouble "getting into" this chapter, but I think it was me- not the chapter.  

"We begin our seeking by making acts of faith in the presence of Christ in our own souls" (Reed of God, pg. 149). 

Houselander see two main ways to practice this contemplation: recognising Christ's presence in US and recognising His presence in OTHERS. 

I love how she describes Mary making an act of faith in believing that Christ was literally, physically in her. 

...she must have felt anew her amazement at the angel's salutation and asked her own soul: 'How can this thing be?' Could it be possible that the tiny little tunic that she was weaving was for God? (Reed of God, pg. 149). 

"My God, I believe that you are within me."  This act of faith brings peace: it silences the noise of distraction, the loud business of fear.  It is the stilling of the waters (Reed of God, pg. 149)

Because He is in the little house of our being, we will learn to control our minds, to gather our thoughts to silence, and to crown them with peace, just as we learn to control our voices and to move softly when a child is asleep in the house of bricks and mortar (Reed of God, pg. 150).

She goes to note "the next act of faith is in Christ in other people" (Reed of God, pg. 151).  She touches on one of the theme of the last chapter here: that it is easy to love an imaginary person, but hard to love our friends and family.

Just as we cannot depend upon feelings to know that Christ is in ourselves, we cannot depend upon appearances to know that He is in others (Reed of God, pg. 152).

In reading Houselander's words on recognising Christin ourselves and others, I suddenly *got* something that I've heard a million times.  "Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others." Col 3:23 When I am cooking a meal or cleaning a bathroom, I should do it with for Christ- because Christ is in my husband and me!  I always thought it was a nice idea- a noble thought- to do something for Jesus, but suddenly I *get* that I really am doing it for Him!  My husband will eat that meal, therefore, Christ in him will be nourished.  When I vacuum and mop the floors, I'm cleaning the home where Christ dwells in me! 

Forgive the number of quotes I put in these posts.  I try to make them my own words, but Houselander just says things so well!  I can't do them justice on my own! 

Chapter 9: Our Lady's Seeking

As I sit down to write this reflection on the Reed of God, I realize that I'm running out of steam.  So come on, commenters!  Share your wonderful insight to make up for my short-comings tonight!  And remember- if you've fallen behind just jump up to this chapter.  Since they're individual essays, it's not necessary to read them in order. 

Two main points and one question:

1) Mary was always seeking Christ.  "Her search did not end when she found Him in the Temple, and it did not really begin when she lost Him on the road from Jerusalem" (pg. 140)

I absolutely loved Houselander's descriptions of Mary's "seeking Christ" in each stage of her life.

• "to believe that he was in her"
• "to believe that this little child whom she rocked to sleep was God"
• "that it was God whom she taught to walk, to speak and to hold a spoon"
• "to believe that it was God who obeyed them"
• to believe it was "God who grew and who increased in wisdom"
• (All of the above quotes are found on page 140.)

I can relate to this idea of seeking Christ in each stage of my life.  (This is good- since the next chapter is titled "Our Seeking"!) 

2) We are called to love our neighbor, which is far more than humanity.  "It was not for a crowd that He was dying, but for each person in the crowd, not for the human race, but for each member of the human race"  (pg. 144). 

"In the face of the multitude- real or imaginary- it is easy to forget the needs of each one in the multitude.  Face to face with one man, we cannot forget" (pg. 145).  This is so true on so many levels.  It's easy to love "the poor".  It's hard to love the stinky, crass man who comes in your shop.  It's easy to love "the hungry".  It's hard to love the man begging for food on the corner.  It's easy to love "the sick".  It's hard to make time to make a meal or watch the kids of a sick friend. 

3) A question.  Pages 142-143 speak of Mary's loss of self at the death of Christ.  I feel I'm not totally getting this.  Do you?  Can you help me?  "Mary found her lost Child on Calvary.  The condition of finding Him was the loss of herself.  She had to die, even out of her self-donation to God"  (pg. 142).  What does that mean? 

I can't wait to read your insights!

Chapter 8: Idols

**Before I dive into this chapter, I've been meaning to mention how this book study has brought the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary to life for me!  I've always been one who needs a written devotional to focus my contemplation as I pray the Rosary, but Caryll Houselander has given me much to ponder during the mysteries of the annunciation, visitation, birth and search for the lost child of Jesus.  It's incredible!!

Picking up on the last chapter, "The Lost Child", Houselander writes

If, instead of using the expression "spiritual life" we used "the seeking," we should set out from the beginning and go on to the end with a clearer idea of what our life with God will be on this earth; and we should be less vulnerable, that is to say, less easily shattered by disillusionment and discouragement.  (Reed of God, pg. 121)

She goes on to explain why we must spend time seeking the lost Child in our life.  To explain, she notes the irony and apparent hypocrisy of Christians and non-Christians.  So often it is the non-Christians who reach out to help others and are concerned with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.  Christians will give large sums of money to missions, yet turn their head to a beggar on the street or spend vast amounts of time serving others in ministry at Church, yet ignore the needs of their own family.  I see this illustrated in the issue of homosexuality.  Christians should stand up for the Truth (which is the Word of God) regarding homosexual tendencies and offer this truth with sympathy, mercy and love.  Instead, those with homosexual tendencies are judged as people (not their actions) and ostracized by Christians, so that they find comfort, support and acceptance in the ranks of non-believers. 

"Above all, how is it that those in whom the Holy Spirit- the Spirit of fire and light, truth, beauty, wisdom, and love- abides can so often be narrow, bigoted, timid, mediocre, dull, and tepid, impotent in spirit, prudish, detached, suspicious, and careful at the very marriage of heaven and earth?" 
"In Christ's own words, 'How is it that thou comest in hither without a wedding garment?'" (pgs. 122-123). 

What should we wear?  Saint Paul tells us,
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,

• heartfelt compassion,
• kindness,
• humility
• gentleness,
• and patience,
• bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another;
• as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also do. 
• And over all these put on LOVE, that is, the BOND of perfection.
• And let the PEACE of CHRIST CONTROL your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.
• And BE THANKFUL."  (Colossians 3:12-15- emphasis and bullet marks mine!)

"Put on Love, that is the bond of perfection."  That seems in direct keeping with what Houselander writes.  We are not called to imitate Christ, but to become ONE with Him.  We are to be bound to Him and in Him.  And yet, who is Christ, that we can become one with Him?  So often, our God is too small. We put God in a box and limit His power, holiness and character.  The famous pastor A.W. Tozer states, what "comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us" (Tozer, Knowledge Of The Holy). 

Houselander explains this beautifully noting that "we usually judge people by our own reactions, fears, and desires.  We do not see them as separate people who possess their own souls and live their own lives, but as part of ourselves and our lives.  We attribute to them motives which we would have in the same circumstances" (Reed of God, pg. 125)

The truth of this statement can be witnessed in marriage.  We can grow to know and love one another more deeply- or gradually stop truly Knowing one another and simply see our image of our spouse.  We fail to see them as a separate person, but as an extension of ourselves who "should" know how to respond to us. 

And so, "we build idols" (Reed of God, pg. 127).  We worship the Lord that we imagine, and we imagine Him through our fears and insecurities. 

Why must we spend time seeking the lost Child in our lives? 

"If we did not, we should not realize that or idols are not God, are not Christ" (Reed of God, pg. 134). 

I love how she pointed out that it is God's mercy that He allows us to feel this sense of loss so that we go looking for the Christ Child.  This last line really struck me, "We know Him only by continually learning Him anew" (Reed of God, pg. 134). 

Lord, show me who you really are and now who I imagine you to be.  I want to worship you in Spirit AND TRUTH.  Don't let me put you in a box, Lord, but help me to see how BIG you really are.  Guide me to continually learn who you are.  Purify my understanding of you, and let me magnify you, as our Blessed Mother magnifies you still.

Chapter 7: The Lost Child

This chapter of the Reed of God was fascinating in relating the feeling of loss, even "loss of Christ" to our own lives.   On page 111, Caryll Houselander describes the loss of God as "the most universal and most purifying."  It reminded me of Mother Theresa suffering her dark night of the soul- as did Saint John of the Cross and Saint Therese the Little Flower.  Never before had I related this time of confusion to our Blessed Mother as she searched for the child Jesus. 

Houselander had several examples of loss in our daily lives.  A convert who is filled with great joy is struck months later realizing that the newness has worn off and complacency taken its place.  Our moods are rhythmic and natural as we share in Our Lady's joy and loss.  We start a vocation with great passion and purpose, and gradually get caught up in the drudge of daily tasks.

It was helpful to read her account of how this is not only natural, but Biblical and grace-oriented.  "It is not a loss but His deliberate going away", she says on page 116.  She also points out that this is not unique to individuals, but happens to nations as well.  She wrote in the 40's and speaks of England's secularization and loss of Christ.  She very well could have written about America. 

The absence of supernatural joy on our feast days shows more than anything else that the Divine Child is absent.  Christmas is no longer Christ's birthday, except to a few people....Good Friday is a holiday and nothing else...(Pg. 118)

And yet, "something remains of the Child's presence: we cherish a kind of gentleness, a tolerance...which springs in its origin from Christianity.  All that is good in our national life started in Christianity."  (pg. 118)

So "we still pray with hope that our Dove will come back to us."  (pg. 119) 

Chapter 6: Et Verbum Caro Factum Est

*NOTE to participants who have fallen behind:  Have no worries!  This book is a collection of essays.  It is not imperative that you read each chapter in order (though it is preferable).  If you have fallen behind, you can skip what you've missed and pick up with us today.  It is easy to go back later and read others comments on past chapters.  I miss reading every one's insight and hope you rejoin us this week!

"AND WAS MADE MAN"

First of all, what fabulous imagery of the grandmother who will leave us her fortune if we respect her hat!  Isn't that true that this is how we so often treat the Church in regards to these Great Truths that she has fought to defend and hands so willingly to us.  The existence of God, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Real Presence of Christ...so often we take these for granted and don't bother to investigate because we assume we will never understand.  True that we will not fully understand in this life, but study and reflection can shed great light upon the issues, and this Light will bring us closer to the Lord and better able to do His will. 

Houselander again shows great insight into why the Incarnation can be troublesome as we operate in a world of two extremes- "the flesh is  wholly bad; the other, that it is absolutely good."  (Reed of God, pg. 91)  As I read her clarifications on the two groups, I struggled to place our current culture into one of the two categories. 

"The flesh is wholly bad" camp:

• Tend to avoid the flesh completely and focus on a "spiritual life"
• their "fear of the flesh" leads them into "hating everything that is beautiful" (pg. 92)
• may acquire a police mentality of looking for sin and punishment
• considers man "an animal only and [thinks] very lightly indeed of violating the body."  (pg. 93)

"The flesh is absolutely good" club:

• "FEEL(s)...that the flesh is is completely good and requires no heavenly visitation, no indwelling Spirit; for it is, they feel, in itself a kind of God."
• idolizing the body tends to want to forget the soul

I tend to think that we're currently surrounded by the second club.  Houselander laments, "There has surely never been an age in which so many people were so particularly preoccupied with their bodies as this age, and yet to so little profit."  (Pg. 93).  She would be stunned by this age.

• Sex
• Diets
• Porn
• Lust
• Fashion
• Working out
• Luxury skin and hair care
• Spa treatments
• Manicures and pedicures
• Highlights
• Body-building
• Health
• Vitamins

AND MORE!  (Note that the items listed are not necessarily inherently good or bad.  Obviously porn and lust are bad.  It is simply a list to point out how focused the world is on the body.) 

I find it fascinating, as Houselander draws attention to the desire of so many to separate the body and soul, that our late Pope John Paul the Great drew attention to the unity of the body and soul in his Theology of the Body!  "And the Word became flesh."  Our bodies have a unique language that points to the Lord!  Our ability to experience pain, pleasure, beauty and suffering each point us to the Lord.  John Paul the Great focused on the language of the body through the differences and unity of a man and a woman, but there are many more ways he could have continued his teaching. 

"Yet, in giving Himself to the world, He deliberately chose to emphasise the body." (Pg. 99)

Christ, Himself, emphasized the body in becoming flesh.  In limiting Himself to becoming flesh and blood, He also experienced life as we do, but to the fullest capacity.  I love how Houselander points out, "No man ever enjoyed life as He did."  (Pg. 101)  It reminded me of the movie "The Passion of the Christ" when Jesus splashes water on Mary while laughing.  I so often think of Jesus as walking around and giving Himself a head-smack, as if to say, "REALLY, Father?  These numskulls are the best We could do?"  :) 

"Christ on earth was a Man in love."  (pg. 102)

WOW.  Everything Houselander describes in being "in love" is so true- the quickening of the pulse, the doubled capacity for joy, the sweetness of life and kindness of strangers...  Yes, I think she is correct that Christ would have been a Man in love.  After all, Christ IS love, and He came and gave up His body to unite Himself to the world- as lovers do. 

And as I reflect upon the great capacity of Christ to experience sorrow, it only makes sense that He likewise had a great capacity to experience joy.  Does one lead to the other?  Does experiencing great sorrow offer the opportunity to know great joy?  After all, we wouldn't know the glory and joy of the Resurrection without the pain and agony of the Crucifixion...

One more thought before I lose you entirely due to the sheer length of this post! 

"I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."  John 10:10

Do we have life abundantly?  Are we walking around truly experiencing the fullness of our hearts, hands, and heads?  Or are we caught in a daze of business, frustration, and daily grind?  John Eldredge wrote one of my favorite books that deals with this exact topic called Waking the Dead.  He focuses on Satan's attempt to steal our joy- to steal our life- one moment at a time.  It is a fabulous book on spiritual warfare that I highly recommend. 

I think Houselander would approve...  :)

Chapter 5: The Fugue

In the past few weeks, I have been amazed at the number of "mothers" my son will have.  He'll have me, of course, but also his birth mother, his God-mother, his Blessed Mother, and the Church as his mother! 

I have found myself wondering about our two images of Mother.  Our Lady is, of course, our Mother, but we also have our mother Catholic Church.  (CCC 757) How do these two go together?  Mary is not the Church, though she is the mother of the Church.  (CCC 963) 

On page 82, Houselander writes, "In wedding her littleness to the Spirit of Love, she wed all lowliness to the Spirit of Love.  In surrendering to the Spirit and becoming the Bride of Life, she wed God to the human race and made the whole world pregnant with the life of Christ" (Reed of God, pg. 82). 

Here again are two difficult images- this time of bride.  Mary is the bride of the Holy Spirit.  The Church is the bride of Christ.  How do these fit together?  Does Mary represent the Church in both regards? 

In a previous post, I wondered about Houselander's comment that "It is in Our Lady, that God fell in love with Humanity" (pg. 32).  She seems to go on and explain it a bit more in this chapter.  I was reminded of Christopher West's explanation of femininity in Pope John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body.  Mary opened her humanity, body, soul, heart and spirit, so totally and completely to the Lord, that she actually Conceived Divine Life within her and was able to bear Him forth to the world.  That is what we are all called to do.  We are all called to open our hearts and receive the Love of God so that we, too, can conceive divine life, eternal life, within us and bear Him forth to the world.  We are called to be Christ to the World!

It is a moment in which the world needs great draughts of supernatural life, needs the Christ-life to be poured into it, as truly and as urgently as a wounded soldier drained of his bloods needs a blood transfusion.

In many souls, for this very reason, Christ will say: "It was for this hour that I came  into the world."

Because only individuals can bear Christ.  (emphasis mine)

Only Christ-bearers can restore the world to life and give humanity back the vitality of love.  (Reed of God, page 85)

No league or conference or committee or group [or government] can put life into the world: it can only be born into the world, and only individuals can give birth.  (my comment added)

We can give birth to Christ only by unity with the Holy Spirit.  (Reed of God, page 86)

This is what it means to be feminine- to receive the love of Christ and bear it forth to the world.  This is what our Lady shows us.  His love is the song that we sing.  A fugue begins with a single voice or phrase that is echoed throughout the rest of the song in various ways and voices.  Click here to hear and see a fugue.  Mary begins the song with her fiat, her words of "Let it be done to me according to thy will".  And we echo its variations throughout the generations- each individual saying "YES.  Let it be done to me." 

Yes, Lord.  Let your will be done unto me. 

Chapter 4: Et Homo Factus Est

"and was made man"

After reading this chapter, I have a new-found appreciation for bowing at these words when we profess the Creed at Mass!

I have heard before that Jesus is the only man ever born in order to die.

We were not made for death, but for life.  But since the Fall we have the consequences of original sin. 

But Jesus?  He does NOT have the consequence of original sin!  He is the one who does not deserve death, by His own merit.  "In giving life to Him she was giving Him death" (Reed of God, pg. 72).  Houselander's reflection and continuation of this thought brings me to my knees.  Mary's fiat ("let it be done") was more than accepting the changes in her life.  She is saying "yes" to more than being the Mother of God.  She is saying "yes" to giving Jesus suffering and death.  She agrees to give Him a body to be thirsty.  She says "yes" to giving Him a heart to be betrayed.  She accepts her task to give Him hands to be nailed to the cross.  "That is what is meant to Mary to give human nature to God" (Reed of God, pg. 73). 

"She knew that this little son of hers was God's Son and that God had not given Him to her for herself alone but for the whole world" (Reed of God, pg. 74).

"This is one of the greatest of all the things that we must learn from our contemplation of Our Lady" (Reed of God, pg. 74).

As my husband and I sort through our feelings about open adoption and who gets to name the child, this is so important to remember, and we can look to Our Lady as an example.  Our children belong to the Lord and are entrusted to us for a time.  We cannot shield them from all risks and pain.  We cannot grasp them too tightly.  We should not idolize them and put all of our hopes in them.  We must have rightly ordered relationships: the Lord, our spouse, and then our children.

My Grandpa, at the end of every meal, looks at my Grandmother with amazing love and says, "Well, you did it again, Nan."  It makes my heart melt!

That is how I felt when I finished this chapter.  "Well, you did it again, Ms. Houselander!"  You reached out and touched my heart EXACTLY where I am.  Thank you for writing this book.  And thank you, Leslie (Espera), for bringing it to my attention!  What a tremendous blessing!

Chapter 3: Advent

Is it just me, or does this woman know how to strike at my very core?  Each chapter she seems to know exactly where I am in life and is able to challenge me as well as give me words of wisdom.  How does she do it?

For the nine months Christ was in His Mother's womb, "She had nothing to give Him but herself.  He asked for nothing else.  She gave Him herself."  (Reed of God, pgs. 55-56)   Houselander's images of Mary preparing "His hands for the nails" and "the Host for the Mass" were so moving to me.  Again we see how to imitate Mary in our ordinary lives by giving Him our hands, our voice, our ears, our very breath.  And in doing so He transforms our ordinary lives into something infinate and permenant- Christ in the world.  As she notes, "To-day Christ is dependent upon men" (Reed of God, pg. 59).

He gives our insignificance, significance; our ordinariness, extraordinariness; our chaos, purpose; our confusion, clarity.  He offers our mortal souls eternal life, and like fools, we wonder skeptically what He really wants. 

Giving Christ time- time to gestate, time to flourish, time to whisper to our souls.  It is not for me to insist upon or expect an immediate answer (from Christ, my husband, for a baby...) but to wait, and wait with tenderness, patience and care as a mother waits for her child to be born, as Mary waited for Jesus.

In this light, this period of waiting for a phone call, an answer, a child in my arms, a finalization from the judge, all of this waiting is a time of Advent.  "In the seasons of our Advent- waking, working, eating, sleeping, being- each breath is a breathing of Christ into the world" (Reed of God, pg. 68). 

Chapter 2: Fiat

Wow. This book just keeps getting better! This chapter was the longest chapter in the book. It is so packed with beauty and insight, that I find myself reading selections several times. I also have the opportunity to practice self-discipline as I stop myself from underlining every sentence!!


This chapter had a special impact on me for two reasons: it prepared me for receiving bad news and echoed and complimented an earlier post I wrote about “Our Fiat”.


Here are some points that jumped out at me:


• Did anyone else wonder about her statement that “It is in Our Lady that God fell in love with Humanity.” (page 32). I’m not sure about that, and would love to hear your thoughts.


• Loved her conclusion that the Lord’s choosing of the humble, little creature Mary “proves that in God’s eyes being something comes before doing something.” (Page 32)


• Love how she pointed out that Mary “was not asked to do anything herself, but to let something be done to her…to renounce anything, but to receive an incredible gift” and that “she was simply to remain in the world.” (Page 33) So often we feel inadequate for doing anything short of opening an orphanage in Calcutta or living a monastic life, but Mary reminds us to embrace the role, job, vocation that we have and to be fully in this moment.


• And love, love, love how she described the marriage to Joseph: “He asked for her ordinary life shared with Joseph. She was not to neglect her simple human tenderness, her love for an earthly man, because God was her unborn child. On the contrary, the hands and feet, the heart, the waking, sleeping, and eating that were forming Christ were to form Him in service to Joseph.” (page 34) What a beautiful image of marriage and picture of the unity of the roles of Mom and wife!


• As I pointed out in this post, the imagery of Christ filling the emptiness described on page 35 has so many implications. In my case, I picture Christ filling my empty womb and arms. He fills the empty crib and the lack of child’s laughter and cries. In other lives He might fill a lonely marriage bed of a widower, the heart of a girl longing for a husband, or a wife wondering why her husband doesn’t fill her every need. He might fill the emptiness of a home where a father is deployed, or the wallet of a family in need. Our lives shape the emptiness in various and unique ways, but Christ can fit every mold and fill us completely.


• My friend Leslie, who suggested this book (thank you, Leslie!), tells me that Flannery O’Conner describes pain as an education. She and Houselander would surely agree. I had never considered that the gift of understanding must involve suffering, but her quote resonates with me, “We shall be obliged to see the wound that sin has inflicted on the people of the world.” (Page 37) It is true, that as we suffer, we come to understand others better and grow in compassion and love. In my case, as I suffer from infertility, I’m able to reach out to others in the same situation, as well as those who reject children as a burden. I can support families who welcome children and rejoice with them.


• Any reaction to the world’s translation of the Beatitudes? I was particularly struck by the last one: “blessed are they when all men respect their rights as citizens and forget that they are men, for their reward will not be very great but they will never be unduly disturbed and they will never disturb the complacency of others.” (Page 38). Can you think of any more worldy beatitudes? Here’s mine: Happy are those who have one boy and one girl and the “magic pill” to prevent further disruptions, for they shall be complacent, luke-warm and completely miss the point.


• I was convicted that I find a false sense of security in money and have my own version of materialism. Yikes. Time for confession.


• I was so happy to see her touch on education. “Education is no longer primarily intended to teach him to serve God, or to enrich his life, but only to give him a passport into the commercial scramble.” (page 45) AMEN!


I feel like I could go on and on, (believe me, I could!) but I have already written too much. Each chapter gets me more excited about the next chapter! Is this book what you thought it would be? Are you enjoying it?

Chapter 1: Emptiness

*Note: If you missed the post about introductions last week, click here!

Emptiness

My first thought as I began the chapter was, "What a strange interesting way to begin a book on the Blessed Mother!"  But after multiple readings, it only seems fitting to begin in this manner! 

Houselander begins her book with an indirect explanation of the source of the title, The Reed of God, by describing the virginal quality as emptiness, illustrated by three metaphors: an empty reed "through which the Eternal Love was to be piped as a shepherd's song", "the hollow in the cup, shaped to receive water or wine...and lifted up in sacrifice", and "emptiness like that of the bird's nest, built in a round warm ring to receive the little bird."  Is anyone else chart-oriented?  Forgive me- it's my left-brain kicking in...

Was anyone else struck by the irony of emptiness that she describes at the top of page 22?  Or did any of you feel warned by her statement on page 23 that being too set on a purpose can falsely fill the emptiness?  I wrote "being a mom???" in the margins.  Did any of you come up with your own imagery of emptiness?  I've been thinking about it and praying the Holy Spirit would reveal some personal imagery to me, but so far Houselander seems to have cornered the market on imagery!  What does emptiness mean to you at this point in your life?

I find that I need to slow down as I read this book to fully enjoy her prose and diction.  She paints beautiful imagery with simple words; if I read too quickly I miss it.  For example:

Our life has been given to us from generation to generation, existing in each age in the keeping of other human beings, tended in the Creator's hands, a little flame carried through darkness and storm, burning palely in brilliant sunlight, shining out like a star in darkness, life in the brave keeping of love given from age to age in a kiss.  (The Reed of God, pg. 27)

Is there anything more to say about that than "WOW"?  Because THAT's what I wrote in my margins: WOW. 

***Don't forget to click "email follow-up comments" when you leave your own comment, so that the discussion will be sent right to your inbox!  I can't wait to hear what you girls thought of this chapter!

The Reed of God- an Introduction

In ONE WEEK we will begin our book club studying The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander.  Every Thursday we will post comments on the corresponding chapter.  If you're just hearing about it, it's not too late!  Go ahead and order it and just start when it arrives.  For more information and to sign up, click here.   

Today's post serves as an introduction- to the book and to you!  Why have you signed up for this book club?  What are you hoping to learn?  Do you already have a relationship with the Blessed Mother or are you skeptical that it would take away from Christ?  Introduce yourselves!

My name is Lauren, and as I explained in the previous post, I've always found Mary to be such a divisive issue with my Protestant friends, that I've tended to shy away from her.  And yet, as a Catholic, I feel like something's missing!  Sure I pray my Rosaries and celebrate my feast days, but rarely do I turn in prayer to our Mother.  "Why spend time asking her to pray for me when I could talk to Jesus directly!" has always been my attitude.  During this study, I'm hoping to understand more about Mary as a person and how she adds to my relationship with Christ, instead of detracting from it.  I'm hoping for the "aha" moment of understanding why I should do move from admiring her as a porcelain doll to embracing her as a favorite stuffed animal. 

I just finished reading the introduction of the book and already I am captivated.  Her childhood memory of trying "never to do anything that Our Lady would not do" is enchanting.  She explains that "I simply could not imagine her doing anything at all" (The Reed of God, pg. 15).  And isn't it true, that the world pictures holiness, not as an active and positive state, but a negative and withdrawn state!  To be holy is to sit kneel in a Church all day long, fasting and offering every ache and pain up to Him.  That doesn't sound appealing to anyone!

Houselander goes on to present the two main obstacles to loving Our Lady: her virginity and lack of "human-ness".  Speaking to the virginity, she notes that "In many minds virginity is associated only with negative qualities, with impotence- impotence of body and mind, emotional and spiritual impotence" (The Reed of God, pg. 16).  The world certainly presents virginity as a loveless and joyless life- how are we to relate to that, much less love someone who represents that?  Furthermore, there is a lack of "human-ness" with Mary that doesn't exist with other saints, namely we know nothing of her personality.  In fact, we know so little of her life at all that we have no clear picture of her in minds, much less hearts. 

BUT!

And let us sign in relief, for there is a BUT!

But, "She is not only human; she is humanity.  The one thing that she did and does is the one thing that we all have to do, namely, to bear Christ into the world" (The Reed of God, pg. 18). 

The little bit that we know about Mary is all that we NEED to know about Mary!   She loved the Lord so completely and opened herself up to him so totally that she literally conceived Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and brought Him into the world. 

Our crowning joy is that she did this as a lay person and through the ordinary daily life that we all live; through natural love made supernatural, as the water at Cana was, at her request, turned into wine.  (The Reed of God, pg. 18). 

And so we catch a glimpse of why Mary is worth knowing.  Because to imitate Mary is to open ourselves up totally and completely to the Lord so that we, too, can bear Christ forth to the world and through ordinary daily life, Know and Love our Savior.

***IMPORTANT TIP!!!*** 

When you leave a comment, click the box that says "notify me when others leave comments" or something like that! That way you'll get to read everyone's introduction. 

And for my non-blogging friends:

1. Underneath this post you'll see the word "comments" with a number next to it.  Click that.
2. It will take you to a new screen that has a large box where you can enter text.  Go ahead and type your comment. 
3. Under that, you'll see a few options to choose your identity.  You CAN click "anonymous" and just enter your name with your comment so we know who you are.  (Just first name.)  OR...
4. I HIGHLY recommend that you create a google account, which you can do right there.  It's free, safe, and will make future comments much easier.  Here's how you do that.
5. Click "create an account" which is under the text boxes for name and password.  It will take you to a new screen with a little info to complete.  You DO NOT have to create a new email address.  (In fact you can't from that screen.)  You can use your normal yahoo or aol (for example) email. 
6. Leave your comment!  Don't forget to click the "get email notifications for further comments" (or something like that).  This way you will receive an email when other people leave a comment.  This will help you follow the discussion with ease!

I'm excited, ladies!