Memories of My Father--from India to Chicago

My father died Dec. 10, the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto. I was hearing Mass, offering it for him, at the time of his passing. The Gospel reading from Matthew was so perfect: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." I have prayed and cried many tears for him to receive all the graces necessary to repent and choose our Lord. For I truly desire to meet my father in heaven and know him in his perfection. God-willing. 

On my way home I sang Mendelssohn's O Rest in the Lord (this is a most beautiful recording) and upon arrival home immediately sought out my copy to play on the piano. It brought me such peace to know that I can rest in the Lord and be at peace and continue to pray for the repose of his soul, trusting in God's unfathomable mercy and perfect justice.

O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him,

And He shall give thee thy heart's desires.

Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him,

And fret not thyself because of evil doers.

O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him.

Wait patiently for Him. 

It being the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, whose little house in Nazareth was transported to Italy by Angels, I couldn't help but think of Bouguereau's Soul Brought to Heaven and the last movement of the Requiem Mass: in Paradisum. May the angels lead him to paradise... Music, music--what a balm it is to my soul.
 

I don't have a lot of pictures of us together because we were apart most of our lives. But I am grateful for what he has done--bringing me to baptism in our Lord, bringing our family to the US, and introducing me to folk-dance. He witnessed my marriage and I'm glad he got to meet my children a few times while they were growing up.

These are some of the oldest pictures I have of my father. He's here with his first-born. While I was visiting he spoke about him, how he was a great little man. He died shortly before his fifth birthday so I never got to meet him. But my mom always told stories about him, so I feel very close to him. The family picture was taken after the funeral of my maternal grandfather. My mom is carrying her second son...

This family photo was taken when my father returned from Germany. I have no memory of this, but my sister remembers being sad because she wanted to stand next to my mom. I was clueless. Only my brother was excited!

At my sister's place in Nebraska--her kids are all grown up now. And the day before my wedding at my in-law's place. I've always loved that I look both like my mom and dad and also my stepmother :) 

We lived in Belgium for a couple of years right after we got married. Michael worked for a Belgian machine tool company and I was at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne. My parents came to visit and we had a wonderful couple of weeks together sightseeing. My dad had done a Masters in Germany and has always loved all things German. He was so proud of me for doing my post-doctoral studies at the MPIZ. He was recounting my accomplishments when I came to visit. But the best thing I've ever done is to stay at home with my children--and my biggest achievement was getting them to take a nap at the same time!

We

We made a trip to Chicago to celebrate my dad's birthday (July 4th) with the kids and I just love this picture of Dagny with her stuffed cats. We had a great time swimming in the pool, taking walks, lighting fireworks, and opening presents. 

The summer before we moved to SC, my parents visited us in WA. It would be the last visit they could manage. Since then, we've made a couple of trips to Chicago.  

This is the last picture I have of my father, when my sister and her husband went to visit. Please pray for the repose of the soul of my father, and for his dear, devoted wife, who loved him best. They had 45 happy years together, but now she will face the future without him. However, in marrying my father, she gained a family. I look forward to the time when she can visit us in SC. Today is Gaudete Sunday: Rejoice in the Lord always!

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart

Summer is going by much too quickly. We've been on a spiritual high since Easter, celebrating so many feasts with High Mass (posting links so that I can find them)--Ascension, when our risen Lord Jesus ascends to heaven in glory. He doesn't leave us orphans but sends us the Holy Ghost, which we celebrate on Pentecost. Trinity Sunday comes next when we celebrate that God is three Persons in One. We Catholics are always blessing ourselves with the sign of the Cross in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery as so much of our faith is. But I love how it builds throughout the liturgical year, beginning with Advent and Christmas, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.

All public revelation is compiled in the Bible yet we have many feasts based upon private revelations. For instance, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, we celebrate Corpus Christi--the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Because not only does Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, but in His immense love for us, He allows the priest to turn ordinary bread and wine into His own Body and Blood. He is with us, really and truly, physically, and we eat Him. For My Flesh is true food, and My Blood is true drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him (John 6:55-56). This is a hard teaching for many but Jesus doesn't try to explain it away. Nope. Yet, priests too, can have doubts. And one such priest is given the grace to see a miracle--a bleeding Host. He contacts his bishop and the rest is history.*  Catholics have a very physical relationship with Jesus. He is with us in Word. He is with us when two or three are gathered in His Name. He is present in a special way in the priest (he is in persona Christi at the Altar when he offers the Sacrifice of the Mass and during confession when he forgives sins). And He *is* the consecrated Bread and Wine. We worship Him in the Blessed Sacrament. We do not worship people. 

Although Jesus instituted the priesthood on Holy Thursday, the apostles don't fully realize the miracle until after the descent of the Holy Spirit. So it is beautiful to have a feast after Easter and we did with a High Mass and a Procession afterwards. Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Although a relatively new feast (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received a private revelation in AD 1675  to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart it wasn't put on the universal Church calendar until AD 1856) many saints have had a private devotion to His Sacred Heart. Its history is beautifully documented in Sacred Fire: Practicing Devotion to the Heart of Jesus by Phillip Michael Bulman. It isn't enough to just worship His Body but to specially recognize the seat of Love, His Heart. May the Heart of Jesus, in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored, and loved, with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.

We celebrate the culmination of all these revelations with a High Mass for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). May we grow in our capacity to love!

As if this was not enough, we had the most wonderful time at the Cathedral the last night Max was home, a special celebration, a votive Mass in honor of St. Joseph on Wed., June 2nd. The choir (all professionals!) sang Palestrina's Missa Brevis. Sublime!  

*Blessed Carlo Acutis compiled a list of the known Eucharistic miracles.