"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."
Saint John of the Cross
Saint John of the Cross
Translation:
At the top: "Dreams of Youth" In the beam of light:"
And then afterwards ..."At the bottom:
"O God, divert my heart from vanity!
... Show me your truth, that sun shining past everything which slips away."
Thankyou, Micki, for the powerful saying from St. John of the Cross and the equally powerful portrayal on the holy card!
ReplyDeleteDiane S.
Micki, my town and home were flooded last year. Your meditation is ironically timely. I'll explain.
ReplyDeleteI spent this past weekend emptying boxes of personal things. As I opened them I was elated and angry and surpised and sorrowful and everything in between, at the things I saw and at things I knew I wouldn't see again and at things that crossed my mind.
Almost all of our belongings, soaked in contaminated mud, made for mountains of roadside garbage. Half of the house had to be demolished, too. While I still deal with episodes of reaction, the overwhelmingly real deal is this, an excerpt from something I wrote a few months after the flood. entitled Reflections on Gratitude.
"I am naturally grateful - but now, more deeply - for the vehicle of prayer, for precious life, for food, clothing and shelter, and for the presence of my spouse and children, and our priest, and for everyone in my community. No one died.
"And, by the grace of God, I am supernaturally grateful in general in reaction to the flood - not for the flood per se, but for the transformations He wrought and, moreso, for the promise of fruit they would bear.
"As all trial can be, the flood was the vehicle for countless and untold transformations and blessings. I have risen in many ways as did many others. ...
"As a flood 'victim,' and losing most of my town and my house and belongings - my job, too - I can, and therefore I am obliged to, at some point, proclaim my awareness that peace is possible, truly.
"The beauty of such peace is that it doesn’t depend on outcome. Such peace is freedom. True freedom. It frees one from what is desired or feared. An old addage, secular as far as I know, says happiness isn’t getting what you want but wanting what you have. Such peace frees one from what might have been or what might be. It frees one to be conscious and attentive to the wonders of what is, right now, every ordinary or extraordinary or essential or luxurious piece of it.
"If memory or thought is disturbing or too occupying, don’t fight it (you can’t). Just accept it. Thank Jesus for it and turn it over to Him for His intended transformation of it and of you. Bring it to Him without all your dialog and words because the enemy permeates them; he uses them against you, powerfully. And also because - Jesus already knows. Just call on Him. Say His Name until it passes. And it will."
Amen.
AspiringFOOL (FriendOfOurLord)
P.S. If anyone recognizes the excerpt above, me as author of it, or the flood I'm talking about, please respect my wish for anonymity for the purposes of 'blogging' and choose not to coment on that. Thanks. In Jesus, AspiringFOOL(FriendOfOurLord)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aspiring FoOL, for your moving account and reflections. I have said a prayer for you to continue to be strong.
ReplyDeleteFriends, here is a translation of the French words on the card. I hope that it is accurate.
At the top:
"Dreams of Youth"
In the beam of light:
"And then afterwards ..."
At the bottom:
"O God, divert my heart from vanity! ... Show me your truth, that sun shining past everything which slips away."
John
Sweet Micki,
ReplyDeletePrecious and so true...it reminds me of "where your treasures are...that is where your heart will be...
You continue to bless me everyday with your precious cards and prayerful quotes and sayings.
Love & Hugs,
Prayerflowers
I just realized that part of the richness of the final words, in French, was lost in my translation. The writer intends to contrast the brightness of God's truth with the dimness of all the "vain" things that temporarily catch our attention. He/she refers to God's truth as a "shining sun" and says that everything else fades away into darkness -- literally "is eclipsed" by that sun.
ReplyDeleteJohn
What a beautiful quote and card!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog - it brings peace, hope and beauty to so many.
Blessings!
A quick note from A Catholic Notebook. . . . you can add your favorite books to the Blogger's Choice Catholic Reading List until Wednesday. The deadline was extended due to some special requests! I can't wait to see and share the results at the end of the week. Come on by!
ReplyDeleteDiane - You are so sweet to always leave such kind words. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAspiring FOOL - You are in my prayers. What a cross to bear. I hope we can hold you up and give you continued strength. God bless you and your family.
John - Thank you. Always a pleasure.
Prayerflowers - You are the one who gives such inspiration to all of us. I do hope other commentors come to see your wonderful blogs.
Soutenus - We are going to have such fun checking out all the books on your blog. Thank you for what you do.
Is it possible to list what language it is underneath each Holy Card, or those which are not in english? thank you
ReplyDeleteHail3n1 - Thank you for your question. I only speak English but a commentor on the blog translates. I will try to list the language as he tells me.
ReplyDelete