Magnificat Covers: Beautiful Art for Meditation

One of my favorite things about the Magnificat prayer book is the lovely religious art both on the cover and the art article in the back. This month the cover is particularly lovely; Can't We Dream by Pierre-Marie Dumont. Art provides such fruit for meditation. And this painting is truly an invitation to dream and meditate on the Holy Family in Nazareth and on motherhood which seems especially appropriate as we approach Mothers Day.

Consider how moms create memories for their children and share their dreams for the future. Mary stands on the bottom step looking back which I think of as remembering the past, the strong heritage of family. "Remember, Jesus, that you are descended from kings and warriors. You are a king and will fight the enemy like David to save your people."

Behind her the steps climb up. Is that the temple of Jerusalem in the background? Do the steps climb up to Jesus' ministry climaxing in Jerusalem? Do they prefigure the climb up Calvary Hill? Perhaps, but at this moment captured by the artist, they are shrouded in a misty light clouding the future. Each step will have its own challenges; they will not be climbed all at once.  And Mother Mary will be there at each stage of the journey with her Son, the model for all moms who never stop accompanying their children and grandchildren on the adventure of life.

If you are fortunate enough to have your mom still with you, why don't you call her today and tell her you love her! Why wait until Sunday? She may die from the shock, but she'll appreciate it for sure! And to all you mothers out there, Happy Mothers' Day a few days early.

Magnificent Magnificat

I love my Magnificat monthly prayer book! Not only does it have the Mass readings for each day, but morning, evening, and night prayer, a daily meditation, a section on a Catholic art masterpiece, and more. What a treasure! Sadly, I don't use it as effectively and fully as I should, but even in my lax way I receive so much from it - certainly more than the cost of the subscription. The daily meditations are pearls. Here's one I pulled from the book (August 30) to save. It was written by St. Claude de la Colombiere (+ 1682), spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

God could not give us little, he could not restrict his liberality to small things without doing us grave harm....Let me show you a good way to ask for happiness even in this world. It is a way that will oblige God tolisten to you. Say to him earnestly: either give me so much money that my heart will be satisfied, or inspire me with such contempt for it that I no longer want it. Either free me from poverty, or make it so pleasant for me that I would not exchange it for all the wealth in the world. Either take away my suffering, or -- which would be to your greater glory - change it into delight for me, and instead of causing me affliction, let it become a source of joy. You can take away the burden of my cross, or you can leave it with me without my feeling its weight. You can extinguish the fire that burns me, or you can let it burn in such a way that it refreshes me as it did the three youths in the fiery furnace. I ask you for either one thing or the the other. What does it matter in what way I am happy? If I am happy through the possession of worldly good, it is you I have to thank. If I am happy when deprived of them, it gives you greater glory and my thanks are all the greater.

Wow! What a wise man. And now I'm not afraid to pray for things I think of as unpleasant because if God gives them to me, he will do it in such a way that my happiness is secured. Thanks, Magnificat, for this wonderful selection and all the others that enrich my day!