Moments of Autumn Grace

Scents of apple and cinnamon fill my house.  The morning was heavy with storms, dark as night.  I savored sounds of rain while it lasted.  Now, not ready to give up a sense of rainwashed, tea-soothed, quilt-warmed coziness, I turn to my favorite music of all time.  

If there were theme music to my life, this would be it.  Why?   I don't exactly know.

I just know that this piece of music somehow finds its way into every corner of my memory.  Into every shadow of my dreams..... 










This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Monthly Round Up 

(apples photo by Nancy Shuman)

A Call Which Takes Place Now

"In truth we are not called once only, but many times; all through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfill our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us.  Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat; we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place, but mounting towards our eternal rest, and obeying one command only to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again, in order to justify us again and again...

We are slow to master the great truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us follow Him. 

We do not understand that His call is a thing which takes place now...." 
                                                                                                      (John Henry Newman)

Cast Yourself....

Cast yourself 
into His arms
and do not
be afraid.  
He will not
drop you. 

St. Augustine

Listen...

 When it’s
 God
 Who is speaking...
 the proper way to behave
 is to imitate
 someone who
 has an irresistible
 curiosity and who
 listens at keyholes.
 You must
 listen
 to  everything
 God
 says
 at the
 keyhole
 of your heart. 
                    - St. John Vianney

Letters Home

Some years ago, I undertook a little exercise of writing "Letters Home."  These were notes to various saints, talking of life in the world here and now.  I scribbled those somewhere in a long forgotten journal.  It was a helpful exercise of the imagination, but not entirely imaginary (I decided), since the saints are real people whom the Church declares to be in heaven.  We believe they can see us, hear us, and intercede for us before God.   Since I generally express myself better in writing than by talking, it was not much of a stretch for me to write to a saint rather than just "talk to" him or her.

My letters Home were a grace for me in several ways.  Mostly, they helped me remember that earth is not my ultimate destination.  They made me recall writing letters home from school in my teens.  School was not my home; it was where I had gone to learn and grow.

My journal of Letters Home also helped me remember that I live in a mission field.  I'm here not only to learn and grow holy, but also to help others do the same, in whatever little ways I can.

So - how am I doing?  In what ways am I making progress or falling short?  How did I (or did I not) share the love of Christ this week with my neighbor next door, or the woman who cuts my hair? 

I think it will help me to try a few more Letters Home.  And it seems that a blog entitled The Breadbox Letters might be just the place to keep this "mail," although I assure you I won't be doing it on a daily basis.  Maybe once a week, or even once a month?  We'll see how it goes.  And of course I could write directly to YOU, but, well... the thing is.... there are things I can shine up and polish for you if I wish.  But I can't gloss over something I write to a saint. 

I know this has been a long post already, but here goes a first try:

Dear St. Jane de Chantal,
     Just a quick note to genuinely ask your help with this "project" I'm starting on.  It is estimated that you wrote "no less than eleven thousand letters," so I ask you to pray that I write what Our Lord wants in these few I will offer.  You know how much I admire and identify with you, in so many ways.  Especially since, as a laywoman and mother, you envisioned a cloister within your own heart. 
    Eleven thousand letters?!?!!?!  All by hand, of course, and delivered by messengers traveling on horseback.  You should see the system we have here now.  You should see the systems we have of everything, but well, I'll deal with that another time.  About so much in the world of today, you would be frankly appalled.  But of course you do see, and of course you're praying.  May our good God help us to, as you might have phrased it, LIVE JESUS in this world, in this time, in this age of the Church.  
    God be praised!

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Monthly Round Up

Sanctity

Sanctity does not consist

in winning the esteem of men,

but rather in striving only not to offend God.
(St. Teresa of Avila)

(Painting William Adolphe Bouguereau The Harvester)

Sunday Snippets: A Catholic Carnival

Tonight seems a fine one for a carnival.  Here in the northern hemisphere, we sit poised at the edge of autumn; State Fairs are behind us, and Fall Festivals are around the corner.

So I am traveling this week over to This That and the Other Thing, to join in the festivities at Sunday Snippets:  A Catholic Carnival. 

I am bringing with me the following posts:

Blue Velvet Ribbons on Purple Cake

and

All With Hues of Faith

Now I'm headed off to visit the other bloggers!

Blue Velvet Ribbons on Purple Cake

I often sang along with the radio in my preteens, long before most of you were born (really).  Never mind that I was a far from engaging vocalist.  Never mind that I was shockingly oblivious to lyrics as well. 

I croaked along merrily with a soft ballad describing "white on white, lace on satin, blue velvet ribbons on purple cake..."  I even went so far as to discuss this unusual lyric with a friend.  

"Doesn't that sound like the ugliest wedding cake ever?!," I tsk-tsked, never questioning the validity of my perceptions.  Either my friend had the same hearing problem as I, or she was too kind to correct me.  But we seemed to both envision a towering cake of dark purple, ringed round with turquoise bows.  I'm ashamed to admit how old I was before I found out the truth about this, but let's just say that it was my husband who told me.  And we were already married.  "...it's 'blue velvet ribbons ON HER BOUQUET'," he clarified.

Oh.

It seems my hearing lapses were not limited to lyrics.  I learned the Act of Contrition in first grade, and recited it in Confession at least bi-weekly.  I was in fourth grade when the priest on the other side of the dark shadowy veil stopped me just after I'd begun with my usual:  "O my God, I am partly sorry for having offended Thee, and I..."  

He broke right in.  

"Are you only partly sorry?", he asked.  I knelt there in panic.  Well... well, of course!, said I.  That's what the prayer says, that's how I learned it, yes Father I'm sure I must be partly sorry, I'm at least partly sorry and that's a good thing isn't it Father? (am I passing this test?).

Father was kind in his correction.  And I've been heartily sorry ever since.  Although...

There are times when I think about Father's gentle question.   It's not a bad one for an examination of conscience.  I mean - how many times do I confess sins and faults for which I'm only partly sorry?  If I'm really honest with myself, how much thought do I give to what I have done, to the pain it might have caused someone?  To the pain it might bring to Our Lord?

Yes, perhaps I have before me a good point for reflection.  If I said the Act of Contrition right here, right now, and if I were really honest with myself... what kind of sorry would I be? 

"If we are truly humble our sins will infinitely displease us, because God is offended by them"  (St. Francis de Sales)

© 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved. thebreadboxletters.blogspot.com


(Jean Etienne Liotard painting in US public domain)

All With Hues of Faith

"With Christians, a poetical view of things is a duty -

we are bid to color all things with hues of faith,

to see a divine meaning in every event,

and a superhuman tendency."  

(Cardinal John Henry Newman)

(painting: Seaside, JamesTissot)

May the Favorable Wind..

"You are going to take the high seas of the world.... 

Have Jesus always for your Patron, His Cross for a mast 

on which you must spread your resolutions as a sail.

Your anchor shall be a profound confidence in Him, 

and you shall sail prosperously.  May the favorable wind

 of celestial inspirations ever fill

your vessel's sails fuller and fuller

and make you happily arrive

at the port of a holy eternity." 

                                                                             (St. Francis de Sales)

Saturday, September

Air is sultry, silky, weighted;
sauna-hot with steam.
The clock keeps up a steady tick
and chimes into my dream.
Grandson doesn't want
a hug; he's much too big,
says he.  He sucks his thumb
and hides from 'scary' Veggies on tv.

Schoolbooks are all stashed
away; Saturday's for play.
Raindrops splatter blades of
grass, but look: I see a ray
come slashing
through the wall of clouds.

September; Saturday.



                                                                                                                   

Forgetting Gold

The golden age only comes to men

  when they have,

 if only for a moment,

 forgotten gold.

                                                                                                       GK Chesterton

(painting Bruno Liljefors, Portrait of Father, in US public domain)

The Same Light

"As the day breaks we see more clearly in a mirror the spots and stains of our faces.  In the same way, as the inward light of the Holy Spirit enlightens our consciences, we see more clearly and distinctly the sins, inclinations and imperfections that keep us from reaching true devotion. The same light that enables us to see such defects and imperfections inflames us with a desire to cleanse and purify ourselves of them."  (St. Francis de Sales)

"I acknowledged my sin to You, my guilt I covered not.  I said, 'I confess my faults to the Lord,' and You took away the guilt of my sin.  (Psalm 32:5)

(public domain painting)

Archives! We Have Them!

I try to get my house in order from time to time.  Sometimes I have a bit of success, sometimes not so much.  

During a recent "not so much" time, I decided to organize something I could manage without having to, well... move from my chair.  

So I set to work organizing this blog.  I wanted to be able to go back and quickly find, for instance, "that post with my friend Linda's photo of the pumpkin." And the one about J-O-Y ("you have things straight when they're in right order:  Jesus, Others, Yourself").  

The result?  Ta-daaa!  There is now a list of "Topical Archives" on the sidebar to our left.  A click on any topic will bring up a page of links.  As you probably know, clicking on any of those will take you to the post with that title.  At any time, you can click on the word "home" to get right back here to the home page.  And of course, I have put an illustration on each "topics page" (how thankful I am for the beautiful public domain paintings now available!).

So here I sit, nice and organized.  Without having moved from my chair.....

United in One Treasure

I know some of us are watching for the Google Followers gadget to show back up and stay put on our blogs.  But even if mine never does, I know that you, my friends, are here.  Whether or not you've ever put your "face" on that little gadget, we who love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ are together in Him.  Think of the blessing we have, to be able to share His love across the miles!  Even across the whole planet.  O my.......
 
"Never think that distance of place can ever separate souls which God has united by the ties of His love. The children of the world are all separated from one another because their hearts are in different places.  But the children of God, having their heart where their treasure is, and all having only one treasure which is the same God, are consequently always joined and united together."                                                                             

                                                                                                     (St. Francis de Sales)

The Curious Case of the Vanishing Sidebar

Solved.  Yesterday's mystery:  solved.  At least that is my hope and verily, my dream.

There are clues I have uncovered regarding the Curious Phenomenon of Disappearing Blog Sections:  a troubling situation that some of us have noticed during the last few days.

In simplified verbiage, it could be stated as follows:

If part of your sidebar has gone missing, you might try moving the "followers gadget" down the page.

I say.

Yet I am perplexed even in the midst of victory.  Questions linger.  What has happened to the followers gadget?  Shall it ever be recovered?  Is Blogger even now working to solve the problem?  

Having investigated several times since beginning this ridiculous informative post, I see that sometimes "your" faces are there, now placed at the very BOTTOM of the sidebar (lest everything below disappear again).

But more often, alas, the gadget vanishes again.  The Blog Ticker (thank you, Catholic Bloggers' Network) is there, and the Followers Gadget occasionally shows up just below it.  But then it vanishes like a vapor.  And I'm left trusting that you are there, even if unseen. 

And I Shall Not Grruuumph

Anyone else having trouble with Blogger today?  My problem is with losing a large chunk of the sidebar.   Links to various blogs and sites:   gone.  Pictures and followers and gadgets and buttons and who-knows-what-else:  gone.

Temporarily?  One hopes. 

I post this just to let you know that I haven't removed everything deliberately, of my own accord.

Interesting that as I was fretting thinking about this, I came across the following from my friend St. Francis de Sales:  "Bear patiently the slight injuries, the little inconveniences, the inconsequential losses that daily come to you."

"The little inconveniences" of a missing sidebar.

The "inconsequential losses" of a few links 

I am determined (with God's help) not to GRruuuumfffph....

As He Creates..

"It is a great honor to you who are married that God, in His design to multiply souls who may praise and bless Him for all eternity, causes you to cooperate with Him in so noble a work. This is by your production of the bodies into which He infuses immortal souls, like heavenly drops, as He creates them." (St. Francis de Sales)

(William Adolphe Bouguereau painting, 1869, in US public domain)

Sticks and Stones

It was the ultimate comeback to childhood taunts.  I can picture myself now as I chanted it; my head thrown back, my nose stuck proudly up in the air, my voice carrying every speck of authority I could muster:  "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"...

As I grew into my teenage years, not even a suddenly changing public taste for leanness could convince me that it was okay to be the "beanpole" I'd been steadily assured I was.  Add to that the teasing I got about talking too fast, being “smart,” needing glasses (which I refused to wear), not being able to catch a ball (which I couldn’t see...), and I wound up feeling I was well below par. 
 
Sticks and stones had not been thrown, but youthful words had wounded.

I'm now many years past grade school, and my friends are grownups.  We don't throw sticks and stones, and of course adults never hurl wounding words at one another.

Do we.  

I have been thinking lately about what I've seen words do.  Follow me over to Suscipio for a fictional composite of situations I've observed ... and in which I'm ashamed to have participated.  May we accept the grace Our Lord holds out to us.  

May we put away our whispered sticks, our spoken stones. 

(painting Stefano Novo, The Gossips, in US public domain)

That Fortuitous Ooops

I wanted nothing more than to hide out of sight this morning when I turned on my computer.  I discovered that the link-in I'd ALREADY POSTED did not, in fact, lead to the "rest of my story" on the site I was linking TO.  The rest of my story was not on the other end at all.  However, I know you who checked it out found an exceptional post by a woman with a heart-tugging story to share.  What a relief to know that God uses even such things as date mix-ups to accomplish His purposes!

How did my link get posted before the fact?  Well.... knowing that this day could get hectic fast, I'd gone ahead (grabbing a middle of the night posting opportunity when I saw one) and put a link here to a post THERE that I'd thought would be on today.

Oooops. I went to Suscipio today and didn't find my post.

You know what I found instead?

I found a very real sharing about fear, anger, and autism.  Jen writes poignantly about  "Fear of losing my kids. Fear of not being in control. Fear of autism because I don’t always know what to do because he cannot always communicate what he needs, wants, or how he feels....."

I found Jen's story exceptionally compelling.  And I have to thank our good God.  Today He knew (I really think) that someone(s), somewhere(s), needed to find this excellent and very real post.

If you have ever struggled with anger, or fear, or if you know someone dealing with autism, I recommend that you click this line and head on over to Suscipio. 

You might be grateful for my fortuitous ooops.  

Painting: Cinderella, Prinsep, in US public domain)