Reflections on Mercy

In this is mercy: that our suffering is not wasted if we unite it to Christ's. There is always reason for it, be it our own purification or the reparation of sins - ours or those of another.

We are never left abandoned to suffering without recourse. God is always present and always provides the grace necessary to carry the cross in union with His Son. Perhaps this is why so many crosses, so many sorrows, in my own life have occured around these great feasts - the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts - because there is abundant grace available to those who venerate the two Hearts.

"I will comfort them in their trials," the Lord says of those who are devoted to His Most Sacred Heart. And in the Diary of Divine Mercy He speaks words of comfort, reminding me that He alone is the Savior: "My daughter, let nothing frighten or disconcert you. Remain deeply at peace. Everything is in My Hands."

Christ: In the Flesh

I am blessed to have an awesome internship in the same city as my college, which means that I get to stay here over the summer and continue with it. Hurray! One cool aspect of the job is that I frequently get to read the writings of the Popes, particularly of Pope Francis.

As I was skimming through Pope Francis’ most recent encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium, in hopes of finding a quote to use with one of the magazine articles I was copyediting, I stumbled across this gem: “God’s word teaches that our brothers and sisters are the prolongation of the incarnation for each of us: ‘As you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me’ (Mt 25:40).”

This is a profound idea—that each person I meet is Christ. Because that’s what Pope Francis means when he says that each one is “the prolongation of the incarnation.” The Pope really isn’t saying anything new, because the Church has always taught that each person is made in the image and likeness of God, but the way that he says this made me stop and think about the idea more fully.

When I desire to experience Christ physically present, my first instinct is to go to the Eucharist, since God has truly shown me that He is present within that tiny host. But if each person that I meet is “the prolongation of the incarnation,” then Christ is also physically present in each human being. Each person shows me Christ in the flesh, in his or her own flesh. That’s what incarnation means.

Like I said before, the teaching that God lives in each person is not a new idea for me or for the Church, but it is one that I am only now beginning to let impact my life. It means that if I want to love Christ, I must love the person right in front of me. I must be convicted that each person is Christ. And I have to act appropriately towards them—with an abundance of love and respect. No person is too small, too poor, too beautiful, too sick, too smart, too talkative, or too anything else for me to love them, since they are Christ.

But I fail at this all the time. So Pope Francis’ words are a challenge for me, a challenge to live out a deeper and more radical love of Christ by loving each person I meet. They are a challenge to seek the face of Christ in every single human being. It’s like a giant “Where’s Waldo?” game. Only with God.

Life as a Costume Elf

During the first semester of my freshman year at college, I was blessed to find the coolest student job ever – sewing costumes for each semester’s theatrical production. Since I have been sewing since roughly age twelve, thanks to the inspiration of my friend L, and because the theatre was my refuge during the crazy years of high school, this was naturally the perfect job for me. The charm of this job has not worn off in the past three years.

After people have asked me where the costume shop is located, the next most common question I get is: “Wait…you make clothes?” Apparently saying that I sew costumes for the theatre isn’t a clear answer. So I respond calmly that yes, I make clothes and that, in fact, I get paid to do it. Sometimes people also ask what it is like to sew costumes for my job.

The first duty of each semester is to wait patiently for a cast. Once that small detail has been settled, we measure the actors – around their heads, their arms, their legs – and we jokingly warn them that the worst is yet to come. Measurements are the easy part; costume fittings, not so much.

During the beginning part of the semester research on the time period of the show is printed out and talked through. Then an exorbitant amount of time is spent sorting through every single stitch of clothing in the costume closet to see if there are any pieces that could possibly be worn in this particular show. Sometimes we get bored and we play dress-up, donning ridiculous hats that we would never wear in real life.

Once we have pulled out all the potential costumes we meet with the student designers and see which costumes are left that we need to make. During this part of the process, lots of time is spent looking through pictures of patterns and conferring with student designers about which fabrics are suitable for which characters based on their temperament and social status.

The next part is the best: we actually make the costumes! We typically cut out the various pattern pieces on the landing of the stairwell, since it is a wide-open space where we can easily spread out the fabric on the floor, and we get the strangest reactions from people who come by to go up or down those stairs. “Oh! I’m sorry.” Or “what are you doing?” Even “what is this for?” It’s a great way to promote the show!

Numerous other tasks go into making each show a success, including last minute scrambling to add drawstrings to pants, hem up skirts, or stitch trim to suit jackets before actors go onstage for the final dress rehearsal before opening night. One of the funniest instances of this was the time when an actor came up to the costume shop on the night of the final dress rehearsal and told me, “I don’t have a costume.” You what? Sure enough, we had a suit for him, but we had never put the appropriate trim on it, or even hemmed his pants. Oops. His suit got done in time for opening night, though.

Once show week rolls around and all the actors are properly clothed and on stage, one of us “elves” is stationed back stage every show in case there are any emergency repairs. This is our reward for all the hard labor of the semester. As I sit in the costume shop and work on homework or clean up the tornado of fabric scraps and threads, I can hear the sounds of the actors’ voices playing over the speakers like an old-time radio drama…

“You lie, in faith; for you are call'd plain Kate,

And bonny Kate and sometimes Kate the curst;

But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom

Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate,

For dainties are all Kates, and therefore, Kate,

Take this of me, Kate of my consolation;

Hearing thy mildness praised in every town,

Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded,

Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs,

Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife.”

― William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

Instant Saint: Just Add (Holy) Water

Sometimes (especially right now) I don’t want to work at things.  If it isn’t going to be quick or easy, then I won’t do it.  Which is why I have not cleaned out my sewing machine and oiled it so that I could sew a present for a friend, and why I have not sat down to read a long book.  I want instant results with as little effort as possible.

In some ways this is definitely a result of the culture I live in.  We get everything we want whenever we want.  That’s why we have microwave popcorn, fast food, instant hot cocoa, text messaging, sports updates on our smart phones, and yes, even Facebook.  All these things give us the desired results with very little effort on our part.

And so, if you are like me, you might become lazy and impatient.  You might start expecting instant results in your relationship with God when you have given Him very little of your time and life.  You might get lazy and thing that just because you are nicer to that one person now, you are a perfect human being.

But that isn’t true.  As St. Josemaría Escrivá said, “Sanctification is the work of a lifetime.”  There is no such thing as instant sainthood.  We can’t wake up one day and automatically be holy.  It takes hard work, discipline, and a continual openness to the grace of God in order to live a life of virtue and to become the saints that He wants us to be, the fullest version of ourselves. God is always calling us to go deeper and to discover more and more about Him (and ourselves).  But it isn’t easy.  We must be patient and we must work hard.  

That's why the New Year always encourages me.  Just like confession, it gives me a chance to start over and to renew my commitment to become a virtuous and holy woman.  So here’s to continuing to work hard towards sainthood in 2013!

St. Josemaría, pray for us!

Preparation

 “Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

- Isaiah 43:18-19

This scripture verse is one that I stumbled across during household retreat (or maybe just before it).  It keeps coming up in my mind.  There is a sense of preparation contained within it.  The Lord says “I am doing a new thing.”  What is that new thing that He is doing in my heart?  I want to know, but I don’t understand yet.  I don’t perceive it.  But I know He is making straight His way in my heart (ref. Isaiah 40:3). 

All the liturgical readings for the season of Advent seem to contain this feeling of preparation, of waiting.  This sense of preparation rings through my heart.  I am waiting. I am waiting for the coming of Christ in the flesh at Christmas; I am waiting for my trip to Austria; and I am waiting for the second coming of Christ as the King of Glory.  All of these are things that require preparation, both spiritually and physically.  And so I have been thinking, what can I do to prepare for these events?  How can I understand what the Lord is doing in my heart?

The answer that I have come to is prayer.  It is so very necessary to pray, because it is how we communicate with God and how He communicates with us.  And if I want to be in union with Him, I must pray.  He will prepare my heart.  He will “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" and I will be able to see where He is leading me.

Just like Fr. Joseph, our associate pastor, challenged us in his homily today, I challenge you to commit to a time of daily prayer, especially in these last few days of Advent.  We want to be ready when the King of Glory comes!  

Switchin' It Up

Don't worry, this is still my blog.  How do you like the new background?  I thought it was time to switch things up a little bit in preparation for Christmas and winter!  Maybe my new background will make it snow...  :)

But don't get too used to this lovely background because I will be switching it up again come next semester.  What would you think of a lovely picture of the snow covered village of Gaming, Austria???

In other news, I am working on a more interesting blog post than this one about...Advent!  It's getting late, but the Advent theme of "preparation" has really been on my heart in the past week or two, so I am going to write a post about it.  I am also hoping to do a Christmas cookie post!  So look out!  

"My heart is stirred by a noble theme,

as I sing my ode to the king.

My tongue is the pen of a nimble scribe."

-Psalm 45:2