The Transfiguration

The reading today is about the transfiguration (From the gospel according to Saint Mark). As I’m not that knowledgeable I had a hard time to understand what was happening in this text. So I looked around a bit and thought that I could share it with you.

The transfiguration - Raphael

Here’s Mark 9:2-9

And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. And there appeared to them Elias with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear.

And there was a cloud overshadowing them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my most beloved son; hear ye him. And immediately looking about, they saw no man any more, but Jesus only with them. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell any man what things they had seen, till the Son of man shall be risen again from the dead. And they kept the word to themselves; questioning together what that should mean, when he shall be risen from the dead.

To my pleasant surprise it seems that I’m not the only one having a hard time to grasp what was happening here. Even the three apostles seems kind of confused too. So why did Peter say that he should start building tabernacles? Well, lets look at what Jesus, Moses and Elias is talking about.This is described in Saint Luke chapter 9:30-31:

And behold two men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elias, Appearing in majesty. And they spoke of his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem.

My guess is that Peter rather thought of departure than of death. The three holy men talked about Christ’s departure from Jerusalem – which was death – But Peter did not know about Christ’s death and resurrection (as in questioning together what that should mean, when he shall be risen from the dead). He believe he just understand that Jesus will eventually departure from Jerusalem.

I believe this is the reason for Peters sudden outburst of love for carpentry and housebuilding. He finds it seemly to express his respect and love by referring to one of the three great feasts in the Hebrew liturgical calender: the Sukkot – the feast of tabernacles – an ancient Jewish festival in the remembrance of the Exodus (as in departure) and the temporary houses that was build during the great walk through the desert: Peter offers Jesus, Moses and Elias to make them tabernacles.

Isn’t this a nice thought: The great Apostle, the very first pope, was also a simple man, trying his best, and even when he doesn’t really understand, he tries so hard to do the best, and the most fitting, as he can.

- Pray for us, St. Peter, that we can act as humble and fitting as you did, when we do not understand.

 

Learning from kids

Kids are too cute

I went to the University as usual this morning and there was this school class getting on the train. I guess they were seven, maybe eight year olds. I was sitting reading when one young girl couldn’t help herself from informing me that she had skates in her bag.

- Great so you are going skating then?
- No, I will not!!! She replied.
- ???
- She fell last time we where skating, her friend explained.
- Yeah, I brought the skates if I should change my mind. But I won’t change my mind, the first girl said.
- Yeah she won’t, the other girl said.
- Yeah. I won’t. I hurt my tooth.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

The girl gave me a big smile and I saw that one of her front teeth was half cut of, I supposed it happened when she fell. I said I felt sorry for her, but perhaps she could try to skate anyway. She insisted she wouldn’t. The other girl wanted some time in the spotlight too, and said that she had lost a tooth too.

- Look, she said.

I looked at her missing tooth and said I couldn’t see it. She seemed very proud. We went on discussing teeth awhile, then one of the girls asked me, right out of the blue:

- Do you know something about homeless people? They don’t have any toys, you know. If they have children their children have toys, but themselves … Homeless people have no toys.

She lowered her voice:
- That is no toys at all.

…

 

The borders of these kids empathy was not the lack of love, merely their understanding of the world. Who am I to say I understand this world? I really don’t. Who am I not to learn from these kids: – The borders of my compassion suddenly seemed far to mature and judgmental.

 

Why am I Catholic?

Probably most of you have already seen this. But still, it’s a really great YouTube video.

And here’s another one:

 

 

Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary

During the middle ages the devotion to Mary was deep and sincere in Scandinavia. Each prayer in the rosary was imagined to transform into a rose which was given by the heart to the blessed virgin mother.

 

I have previously written some entries on this blog about Swedish medieval church paintings picturing the mysteries.

• The Joyful Mysteries
• The Sorrowful Mysteries
• The Glorious Mysteries
• The Luminous Mysteries

The Rosary have appeared in different versions and with different length through the ages. Already in the eleventh century it was common to pray long sets of Ave Maria. Only the first half was prayed:

Ave María, grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum.
Benedícta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris tui,
Jesus.

Somewhere around the twelfth or thirteenth century it became common to pray the rosary in 150 decades, one for each psalm in the Psalter, (hence the name Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary). In some monasteries, the munk’s contemplated certain events in Mary’s life.

About 1410 St Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers, constructed a version with 50 secrets from the life of Jesus and Mary. In many ways we have the Dominicans to thank for spreading the practice of this prayer. For instance it was the Dominican Alain de la Roche who grouped 50 decades into three series.

In 1545 the second half of the prayer Ave Maria were added by the council of Trent:

Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostræ.

In 1569 Pope Pius V issued an apostolic letter the Consueverunt Romani – Call to Prayer – where he established the official, Church-authorized version of the Rosary which are still used today:

and so Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter, and by the Lord’s Prayer with each decade. Interposed with these prayers are certain meditations showing forth the entire life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, thus completing the method of prayer devised by the Fathers of the Holy Roman Church.
(Consueverunt Romani by Pius V – 17 September, 1569)

Today the Rosary are prayed in different versions. The Fatima apparition added a part which is commonly used by devote Catholics of today.

When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: ‘O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.’ “ (From the Fatima message, 1917)

 

As I have wrote about earlier John Paul II added the Luminious mysterious in the Apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae in 2002. and here’s an instruction on how to pray the rosary from the Vatican: The mysteries of the Rosary

 

 

I got the most of the facts from an article by the Swedish expert Florence Vilén. The article was published in a book called “En bok om Rosenkransen och dess mysterier” from Jungfru Maria Skriftserie by Vettertryck AB.

 

Scandinavian Medieval church paintings – The Luminous Mysteries

This is the third entry on medieval church paintings picturing scenes which can be used when praying the Rosary.

The Luminous Mysteries, the mystery of light, was added by his Holiness John Paul the second. He used parts of the gospel that is a divine fulfillment of the traditional rosary that further deepens our understanding of the gospel and our daily life of praying the rosary.

I believe, however, that to bring out fully the Christological depth of the Rosary it would be suitable to make an addition to the traditional pattern which, while left to the freedom of individuals and communities, could broaden it to include the mysteries of Christ’s public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion. In the course of those mysteries we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God. Declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the Kingdom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands. It is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5).
(John Paul II in the Apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae in 2002)

The added parts where all common spiritual images of the Middle Ages in Scandinavia.

 

 

 

The Baptism

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(Matthew 3:17)

 

 

 

The Wedding

Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.
(John 2:5)

 

 

 

The Proclamation

The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.
(Mark 1:15)

 

 

 

The Transfiguration

The shape of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and glittering.
(Luke 9:29)

 

 

 

The Eucharist

This is my body, which is given for you.
(Luke 22:19 )

 

Scandinavian Medieval church paintings – The Glorious Mysteries

Here is the second entry on medieval church paintings. The pictures are from different churches from Uppland and Västmanland in central Sweden. They are painted by Albertus Pictor (2, 4 & 5) in the late fifteenth century and some are from Dannemora kyrka (1 & 3), from about the same time.

The Ascension is usually pictured as a pair of feet disappearing in a cloud or out of the picture.

 

 

 

The Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord

I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God.
(John 20:17)

 

 

 

The Ascension of Our Lord

He departed from them, and was carried up to heaven.
(Luke 24:51)

 

 

 

The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

And I send the promise of my father upon you.
(Luke 24:49)

 

 

 

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
(Canticles 6:9)

 

 

 

The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth

A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
(Apocalypse 12:1)

 

Scandinavian Medieval church paintings – The sorrowful mysteries

In the middle ages, in Scandinavia, there was a very strong devotion towards Mary. Many of the medieval church paintings depict scenes from the Rosary (as well as , of course, other scenes from the bible.

Here are five images that can be used when praying the sorrowful mysteries.

The first is a painting from the now burned down wooden church in Södra Råda in Sweden. (1490).
The second picture from Ösmo Kyrka in Sweden and is made by Albertus Pictor (1440-1507).
The third image is from Vrå Kirke in Denmark (1510).
The fourth is from Dannemora kyrka in Sweden (1520).
The fifth image is from Vitaby kyrka in Sweden (1300).

 

 

 

The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden

My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done.
(Matthew 26:42)

 

 

 

Our Lord is Scourged at the Pillar

Then therefore, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him.
(John 19:1)

 

 

 

Our Lord is Crowned with Thorns

And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand.
(Matthew 27:29)

 

 

 

Our Lord Carries the Cross to Calvary

And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary.
(John 19:17)

 

 

 

The Crucifixion of Our Lord

And Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
(Mathew 27:50)

 

 

 

 

About writing

 

As a hobby I translate GM Hopkins poetry to Swedish. It’s an impossible task and I will never be able to satisfyingly complete this project. His poetry is far to interlinked with the English language and how he perceived things in his time… But this is why I enjoy it so much. It’s not about accomplish something. It’s about being close to my favorite poet.

Poems and texts are living things and you should keep changing them and letting them evolve until you grasp what was meant to be said. This is my way of keeping his poetry alive. At least for me.

I used to be quite keen on writing my own poetry, but I haven’t for more than a decade. In my previous post on this blog, I finally wrote one… Well this wasn’t much of a poem to start with. It was more one of those things, when you need to formulate something and you don’t now beforehand what will come out.

I guess this one reflects the strange mood I’ve been in lately. I think it’s a response to all that has happened to me and my family this past year. My mothers disease, which have been really hard for us all in the family, (she’s better now) and I guess all other things that has happened, like my conversion, what I’m good at and what I’m not good at, people I met and a lot of thoughts on where I’m heading in life. To me life seems to be an on going lesson in humbleness. I guess thats why I’m where I’m at. I Don’t know if there’s any reminiscence left of this in the text though.

I find that poems have a habit of taking their own turns after a while. There are things that triggers the writer so he/she writes a text. The produced text triggers change to conform to that someone else will read it. This is what I find most interesting. Hopefully this process eventually end up in a text that triggers a reader. Text as interaction.

The title “Comforter, where is your comforting” in my poem is a quote from one of GMH’s “terrible sonnets”. The question – as I interpret it – is not whether there is a comforter, but when, how and where the comforting will come.

Some people misinterpret his late poems as being a record of lost faith. To me this is not grasping the texts at all. Then they would have lost their worth. Hopkins saw Gods beauty and presence in everything, not just in his wonderful descriptions of a God charged nature, as in his most famous poems, but also in patterns of urine in the snow, over a little child’s first communion, the death of five nuns in a shipwreck, in music and paintings, in Duns Scotus and a lot more that we will never know about; until his naked and bare stripped poems from his depression, at the end of his life. His poems do not deal with lost faith at all, as I see it. Rather the opposite. In all of his poems the world is charged with the grandeur of God.

Sometimes it’s like Christians can’t be depressed misfits or rational humans with ups and downs… It’s like we are supposed to be those cheerful, innocuous proper groups of people overfilled with joyful feelings from an ever happy and harmless Holy Spirit.

Measure-The-Presence-Of-Christ-By-The-Smile-On-Your-Face kind of folks… Otherwise someone comes along and tells us that we are doubting our faith.

Well, I was feeling moody late one night, pondering Hopkins, me and my mum, thinking about my faith and my world. Then I wrote this poem and posted it here on the blog. The next day, on the same day we celebrated John the Baptist btw, Ann from Poetry, Prayer and Praise made a reference to John 3:30 in a comment. This clarified a lot to me of what it was about.

And as I spoke earlier of living texts, well, I just had to change the text in the poem.

People often speak of the importance to “kill your darlings” when you write a text. Well, sometimes you have to incorporate them.

So here’s the new and improved comforter poem.

I hope someone will find it enjoyable. It’s alive and kicking.

 

 

 

 

More on the Chaldean Church in Iraq

Since I posted my last post – From the land of the OT – earlier today, I have tried to gather some more information about the Chaldean church. It is one of the ancient churches of the Eastern rite within the Roman Catholic Church. There are a couple of hundred thousand (depending on sources between 380 000 to 800 000) members scattered throughout the world. Their official website is: www.kaldu.org

As recently as in the beginning of this month a priest (Fr Ragheed Ganni) was hit by gunfire in front of his church in Mosul. Three deacons, who served as his aides, were also killed. Before opening fire on Fr. Raghhed Gani and his three deacons, the killers demanded their conversion to Islam. They are truly martyrs and our beloved pope Benedict expressed his deep and heartfelt condolences and called the tragedy a costly sacrifice which will inspire in the hearts of all men and women of good will a renewed resolve to reject the ways of hatred and violence. Read more about it here and here. This was not the first time clergy was killed in Iraq during this war.

Please pray for their souls.

In Asianews I found several articles about the horror the Christians in Iraq faces on a daily base. Somewhat a glimpse of light was the article about Hani Abdel Ahad, another priest who was released yesterday after being kidnapped for 12 days. Read more about it here.

 

The Assault on Assyrian Christians in Iraq

 

I remember a party in the early 90’s. Desert storm was on cnn 24/7. At the party an acquaintance of mine from England met someone else’s acquaintance who was from Iraq. No one had thought of this when we where inviting people. It turned out they both had brothers fighting in the war, one on each side.

Very quickly they became friends. They understood each others situation better than any of us stupid Swedes could. It was amazing to be a witness of this. Friendship comes out of brotherly love and it runs deeper than the hatred that comes out of war. Whenever I hear the expression Brothers in arms I think of this.

Please remember all the people, both civilians and soldiers, Christians and Muslims in your prayers. We are all children of God.

 

From the land of the OT

but currently resided in the UK, comes this interesting blog about the Iraqi Christians. Please don’t forget to pray for all the modern martyrs in the middle East as well as in China and other places around the world.

And by the way: Do you know why there is the letter I, in sin or what the twelve promises of the sacred heart was?

Check out this blog : The dream of a voyage to peace.