When I did the year long Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL), I was most taken by the call of Isaiah (Is. 6:1-13). The first reason was my fascination with the Seraphim. Six wings are pretty impressive, and I went on a search for a likeness of this amazing creature. My search eventually landed me at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Picayune, Mississippi. They have beautiful statues of the Seraphim on each side of their altar.
Once I had satisfied my pathological “need to know” about the Seraphim I had to address this business of being “called.” I had already come to understand that not only had God always known me, but also everyone else. Not only had I always existed, but also God had a plan for me, just as He does for each of you, gentle reader. This can be a comforting truth, especially if you think yourself useless.
We’re told quite often our first and most important calling is to be holy. It is through our calling that we work toward our holiness. Some of us will have conspicuous callings and others will labor for the Kingdom of God in a more subdued manner. Not everyone can be the star on the top of the Christmas tree. Some of us have to be little ornaments. But together we make up the whole beauty of the tree.
Believe then, the Word of God. You are uniquely chosen, prepared, and guided. When we pray and ask “Thy will be done”, we are taking the first step toward fulfilling our destiny.
Once I had satisfied my pathological “need to know” about the Seraphim I had to address this business of being “called.” I had already come to understand that not only had God always known me, but also everyone else. Not only had I always existed, but also God had a plan for me, just as He does for each of you, gentle reader. This can be a comforting truth, especially if you think yourself useless.
We’re told quite often our first and most important calling is to be holy. It is through our calling that we work toward our holiness. Some of us will have conspicuous callings and others will labor for the Kingdom of God in a more subdued manner. Not everyone can be the star on the top of the Christmas tree. Some of us have to be little ornaments. But together we make up the whole beauty of the tree.
Believe then, the Word of God. You are uniquely chosen, prepared, and guided. When we pray and ask “Thy will be done”, we are taking the first step toward fulfilling our destiny.
Meditation for the day: Isaiah 6:1-13 The Call of Isaiah and Isaiah 45:1-13 to see how God called Cyrus by name and prepared his ways.
8 comments:
I don't know if you've ever attended a Catholic Mass in an Eastern Rite.
The liturgy specifically mentions these "Six winged, many eyed" creatures. I always smile when the priest says that.
Karen
I have always been fascinated by the "...who calls you by your name..." of Isaiah. To me it implies that there is someting about me - already present in me - that only God knows about. There is a song we sing at Church about our own Resurrection entitled "I Shall Be Living" that incorporates that verse into the music.
It's one of my favorites.
I think if you go to OCP’s website (Oregon Catholic Press) they may have a sample clip. You might need RealPlayer to listen to it.
Tom
Gem – we have an Eastern Rite church quite close to us. If the music at Mass continues to irritate us we may find ourselves attending the Eastern rite – at least some of the time. The Latin Mass is peopled with escapees from our large SSPX community who brought along their nasty attitudes. I can say that because we were caught in that web for about 6 years and I used to be pretty uncharitable myself.
They have just recently moved from our parish church to a space of their own.
Tom – Of course there is something about you only God knows - until you started blogging. Now we all know! LOL
Your song is not as reprehensible as the majority of OCP’s music. Glory and Praise is one of the worst books of church music ever. Read this article and you will have a better idea of why I make that statement.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/january2002/feature2.htm
...still waiting for that patron saint....!!!!
Adrienne-
Tried using your address to OCP critique but it didn’t work. I'm not sure what went wrong with OCP, but suffice it to say that Bob, our choir director, has a knack for picking good music that comes as close to the readings of the day as much as any music can. He is VERY picky about what he chooses and selects our music from a variety of publishers, not just OCP.
And YES, we do several pieces in Latin.
Tom
http://www.crisismagazine.com/january2002/feature2.htm
Tom - the htm was missing off the end of the link. Cut and paste this one - it should work.
Wait Tom -- It's still not there. Let me try this one.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/january2002/feature2.htm
Tom - I emailed it to you.
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