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| Bouguereau (1825-1905) Song of the Angels (1881 A.D.) |
Dear
Family and Friends,
I
pray this letter finds you in good
health and cheer and in readiness to welcome our Savior Jesus Christ.
Oh, He loves you so much!
And it’s for you and me, our family and friends, our enemies even,
that Christ was born. It’s this plan of God becoming Man—the
Incarnation—that Satan hated. Non
serviam. I will not serve. We
can never forget that Satan hates
us and will do anything—witness
the chaos and divisions—to keep
us from our dear Savior.
Let us be like Mary, who crushes the head of the serpent with her
humility. Fiat mihi.
Let it be done unto me. It must really rankle Satan to be defeated by
a mere creature, and a woman at that. But she is full of grace and
happy to supply what we lack. This is why the Hail Mary is such a
perfect prayer: Hail Mary, full
of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and
blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and
at the hour of our death. Amen.
This
time last year, I was in Texas with my brother Mohan. You all will be
happy to know he is doing fine. I tell you, he’s
a cat with nine lives! Mohan’s
illness has brought our family
closer to one another. I
especially enjoyed getting to know my grown
niece Anjali—she has all the best qualities from each of her
parents, Mohan’s analytical mind, Sujata’s artistic bent.
Praise God for all He’s doing.
I am thankful to be home with Michael—we are like hobbits with our
creature comforts. After a lifetime of setting up home in different
continents, countries, states, and
cities, it is
good to finally put
down roots. I remember the
first Mass we heard at Stella Maris Catholic Church 12
years ago on our 17th
wedding anniversary. I wept
because I was home. No other place
has had this effect. We are blessed here.
This year, the biggest blessing was the completion of St. Clare of
Assisi Catholic Church, the jewel
of Daniel Island. We often walk or
bike to church for Adoration or to
hear Mass and
that itself is meditative. It was
an honor to
be invited to sing at the Mass of
Dedication in April. JOY!
Music
has taken over our lives. We
continue to sing in the Latin Mass choir at both Stella Maris and
Sacred Heart but we receive more
than double blessings with double
dose of Scripture :) We love how
Sundays are truly set apart for
worship. We enjoy socializing
after Mass and are often the last ones to leave :) When
my sister Suman came for a visit, she was happy to hear daily Mass
and sing with us. She called it a
spiritual retreat.
My
health has improved significantly by relying on local farmers for
meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. We’re moving away bit by bit
from the medical/industrial food system. Clean living is allowing us
to participate more in community life. Michael and I joined a
recorder group; it’s a lot easier than singing or playing the
piano! It’s such fun to make music together, harkening back to
olden days when music-making was a communal affair. I’ve also
joined a women’s barbershop that’s very challenging. Good for the
brain! We’ve had our first concerts in these new groups and it has
brought the same joy as bringing a book to publication. In the
beginning, writing is a gift for yourself, then upon publication, it
becomes a gift for others. Alas, I’m not writing much but I hope
that as I become more proficient in music, I will have the mental
space for creative writing. Michael is eager to retire and devote
more time to his monkish pursuits—religion, brewing, gardening. He
is such a good provider—look at the bounty from our garden (that’s
still producing despite the cold).
Max
is
the opposite of a hobbit. I get tired just listening to him talk
about his
hectic schedule travelling for
work and play. But I really appreciate the time
he
takes to
be present to family and friends. This year, in
addition to visits home,
we ended up meeting in Chicago. I was visiting my father to celebrate
his 95th
birthday and Max was visiting some friends for July 4th
celebration. So he spent
some time
with my
parents
as well. Such
a wonderful
God-cidence!
Max
is happy
living
and working in DC. He and his housemate Chris continue to host
marvelous Thursday night dinners. They remind me of my thesis advisor
and mentor Lin, who’d prepare seven course meals
for her black-tie dinner parties. She taught me a great deal—good
science, good art, good
cooking—and
I
carry those principles with me. This spring, Jerry arranged a
wonderful 50th
year celebration of their
Membrane
Group. Of course, Lin
prepared a delicious buffet for all 50+ of us. It was lovely
to catch up with old friends and colleagues, some whom I’d lost
touch with. To
see Lin
and Jerry
again was a
great
joy! The last time was 25 years ago at their
restaurant Combray, in Pullman, WA, when we were driving from Purdue
Univ. to Redmond, WA. Max was just an embryo!
How
time flies! Dagny
too has
flown the nest but we see her
weekly for Mass and
choir practice. She tells Max to
move down to Charleston and become a wedding planner :) I think he’d
be very good at it and we’re enlisting his help… because Dagny is
engaged to be married to Ian Jacobs, the handsome boy down the
street! Save the date: Monday,
Dec. 30, 2024. Come
celebrate their Holy Matrimony with us.
We
took a family vacation in Ave Maria for Dagny’s graduation ceremony
in May. We had a wonderful time listening to the inspiring sermons
and speeches, meeting professors, parents, friends. Our Lady truly
took our children under her mantle and formed them in virtue. Deo
gratias! The best part was having downtime at the farmhouse that had
kittens not even a month old. Such delight to pick them up whenever
we wanted. Made it a purrfect and peaceful retreat. May you also have
pockets of peace!
Closing with love and prayers
for a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthful New Year. Pax
Christi!
We celebrate with songs of praise;
