Of Doorways and Differences

       Have you ever thought about how many transitions we experience each day? They come in all levels of significance from walking through a doorway to losing a job, but all involve change of some kind, letting go of something. Sometimes these go unnoticed because we are focused on the next thing. Other times the letting go is so demanding or painful, it absorbs us completely.

       One of the things that strikes me about these situations is that in each one there is a moment where 2 very different things are held side-by-side as we navigate the transition. In the case of a doorway, it could be two rooms, each having a very different purpose, like cooking/sleeping. In the case of losing a job, it could be the sense of meaning and worth meeting a sense of loss and indignation. The doorway?  trivial and hardly noticed.  The job? This could be overwhelming.

       Strikingly different things side by side usually create dissonance. This disrupts a normal pattern of our existence, sometimes painfully, other times creatively. Artists often use dissonance, aural or visual, in their work to give us another point of reference. Some common examples of differences co-existing include things like vegetable soup, patchwork quilts, or a Bernstein overture. In fact, one important principle in communication theory is called “cognitive dissonance.” This occurs when one apparent truth  is jarred by another “truth” coming in from outside, and I have to decide whether to accept one, the other, both, or neither.

        Yesterday here in KY it was primary election day. There were 4 races for statewide offices, so I did my homework and went to the polls. Last night, watching the results come in, I noticed most of my choices were not winning; I was disappointed but not surprised. This is one of many times where I find my personal choices usually do not match the choices of the majority of the population. My usual analysis concludes that what I value most highly is not what others put at the top of their priority list.

       Making choices is a part of daily life and each is powered by decisions. For each of us, normally these decisions grow out of a highly personal mix of influences shaped by things like education, values, media choices, and friends. We also tend to relate more comfortably with those whose judgments and influences are compatible with our own. This creates for each of us an arena of mutual support and affirmation, a comfort that is shaken when passionate differences crop up; the dissonance can be challenging.

       Sources of dissonance often come down to this: contradicting opinions about what is most important. Isn’t this the situation in a lot business, political, and even personal disagreements? Isn’t this how factions form, whether in the New Testament or today? Isn’t this at least part of how majority and minority groups come to exist?

.It can be very unpleasant to be in the middle of a dissonant situation. Is there anything one person can do? Here are some of my own thoughts on this:
   1) First I need to recognize how often dissonance shows up in daily life, from personal disagreements on food or movies to advertisements that use dissonance to sell products. It’s part of living in a group.
   2) Try to find something in the other position that I do not totally reject; this could turn into a small shared point of view.
  3)  Ask myself what could be the source of the others’ passion about the topic. Even a wrong guess could mellow my own perspective because it means I can see an angle from which to get new insight.
 4)  Decide if it is important to try to get to a point of dialogue right now, or should I leave things as they are until another time.

Differences and doorways can be reminders that dissonance is daily, but handled with thoughtfulness, reflection, and even prayer, they might lead us to be more tolerant of letting go and of change in general.

            Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

  

Quiet, Silence and Solitude

       During a recent conversation I was asked, “How do I see my life as a 17-year old compared to someone who is 17 in 2019?”  I have thought about that question several times since the conversation. Of course, there are differences and similarities, some obvious and some not so obvious.There is however one difference or perceived difference that keeps creeping into my thinking.  

       I think I had a lot more time to be quiet. A few examples will suffice. At home we had a radio and a television. There were no electronic devices in any bedroom.  We walked and worked and read without earbuds. At school we exchanged classes in silence (or at least that was the teachers’ goal).  We had monthly days of reflection consisting of two or three talks and no talking for the whole school day.These practices would be foreign to most 17-year-olds I know.

       The result for me was the ability to experience and to be comfortable with solitude.Taking a walk in the woods or lying on my bed looking at the bare ceiling provided opportunities to be alone with my thoughts and to be alone with God. I had learned to listen for that “Soft Breeze” that brought calm and clarity to life. Fortunately, my foundation was great. My parents were models. Mother had a chair in the bedroom. We knew this was the time to not disturb her. My father was a salesman who travelled do both urban and rural grocery stores. Drive time was quiet time. Even his rosary had a special hanger on the dashboard to hold his place. I am grateful for my opportunities that have made God a friend forever.

       I do worry that this dimension of solitude is minimalized in the current graduates. I hope and pray that in their heightened activities and noise-filled lives there are some pauses that allow God to be found and time spent with God to be nourished. The rewards are tremendous.

            Sr. Mary Rabe, OSB

The Mystery Of The Holy Eucharist As Depicted In The Murals in Our Cathedral

    During this third week of Easter we have been reading from the Gospel of John 3: 25-71 on the “Discourse on the Bread of Life”.  These Scriptures brought back to me the details of an event I was privileged to participate in recently, “An Interpretation of the Frank Duveneck’s Triptych in the Cathedral Chapel.”

     On April 6, 2019 Rev. Msgr. William Cleves, who had been invited by the Northern Kentucky Heritage League, gave his Interpretation of the Duveneck Murals.  There were some fifty folks gathered in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption to hear Fr. Cleves’ presentation. As this year is the 100^th anniversary of Frank Duveneck’s death it was a great way to recognize him and his work. 

      Frank Duveneck (1848-1919) a local artist who lived not far from St. Joseph Church, 12^th and Greenup Streets, at 1232 Greenup St., spent much of his early years observing and assisting the artists of the Benedictine-operated Covington Altar Building Stock Company.   After much training and experience here and also in Munich, Germany and Florence, Italy, he was commissioned in 1905 by Bishop Camillus P. Maes, to create a set of Murals for the 36.6 ft. high wall of the Cathedral’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel.  The bishop wanted a depiction of the historic lineage of the holy Eucharist from the Old Testament to the present day.  It took Frank five years to complete the work, moving the canvases with him to wherever he was working, especially at the Cincinnati Art Academy.  The Triptych was hung and dedicated in 1909.

     Fr. Cleves pointed out that we will see that Duveneck really studied and knew his material very well in order to produce such a gem. After many hours meditating with these murals while he was rector at the Cathedral, Fr. Cleves shared the theological and spiritual significance that he has gleaned.

     “We read the triptych from right to left, in the style of biblical Hebrew manuscripts. We want to see what it says to us now.  There is no past of future time, only the present.  Events were timeless. They entered the event. We step into it and out again.

The Right scene:  We see Arron’s hand is on the altar.  (The altar and pillars are the Cathedral’s altar and pillars.) The cup of blessing and the show bread are near the other hand.  As we read Exodus 28: 1-40, we see that Duveneck painted all of the details, as described in the text, that Arron and all priests are to wear.

 The Middle Panel:  Bottom:  The woman kneels below the cross in pain and is surrounded by symbols of death, even the city is in the dark.  She looks up seeing only the suffering Christ.  The view from below is not what is seen from above.   God sees differently.  God is supporting Jesus in his suffering.  She sees only partially.

Top:  The Trinity is involved.  Angels span all time – unity the whole triptych.  The Central event is the Paschal Mystery:  the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  All is foreshadowed in the Old Testament.  Jesus is the Bread of Life, and his Blood is our Drink. 

Left Panel:  Now we experience this mystery in this Cathedral.  (Note the altar and pillars are what you see around you here.)  These events are timeless.  We enter them - that they might become flesh.  (The deacon’s apparel is modeled after Arron’s dress connecting the old with the new.  The priests are from religious orders of the Church.  Even one of the stained glass windows is painted above on the wall of this panel.)

      All this takes place under the watchful eye of God and the Angels.  Genisis 22: “God sees to it.”    God Provides=God’s Providence.  It takes the eyes of faith to see beyond. We have outward signs of His presence, especially the Eucharist that continues in this very Church. There is no time when we cannot see the presence of God among us – to be revealed by the eyes of faith.” 

     Fr. Cleves closed by quoting Duveneck, “What Good can come from Galilee, that place of shame?  We have seen.”  With the strength of God he created this beautiful sacred art.  It can reveal the depth of God’s love and care of us.

    What a treasure we have in our midst to help us appreciate the Mystery of the Eucharist over the course of history!  Thanks to the vision of Bishop Maes, the artistic ability of Frank Duveneck and the shared interpretation of Msgr. William Cleves.

       Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB

Our Mothers

         Here I am again with a blog assigned for May, so close to Mother’s day! Being a sentimental person who saves things, I once again displayed an Easter card my mother had sent me so many years ago, and I think of her wishing me all those blessings again from her place in eternity.  

We may not all be mothers, but all of us have a mother somewhere. Some are close by and well known to us. Others may be unknown, or far away, but gave birth to us many years ago. And others, like mine, have gone to their eternal reward.

Recently I came across a quote from the musician Charles Gounod that I found so fitting for this day. The Bach/ Gounod “Ave Maria” rivals the Schubert “Ave Maria” as a request for weddings, funerals, and other religious celebrations. Both are a reflection/tribute on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Latin version of the familiar “Hail Mary.”

Gounod had this to say: My story bears witness to my love and veneration for the being who bestows more love than any other earthly creature – my mother! Maternity is the most perfect reflection of the great Providence: the purest, warmest ray He casts on earthly life; its inexhaustible solicitude is the direct outpouring of God’s eternal care for His own creatures.

This quote was a discovery for me, and I went searching for other musicians’ experiences. Poor Mozart! His mother had accompanied him to Paris, got sick and died there, so he had to break the news to his father who was still at home in Salzburg. Somewhere I read that the death of the mothers of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky had a profound effect on the music they were composing at the time.

 Jesus bequeathed His mother to us in His words to John as he hung upon the cross, and earlier He had taught that anyone who “Does the will of my Father is mother to Me.” So how can we be mother to Jesus at this time?

If I can bring Him to birth in the life of someone who has never known Him, that is being mother to Jesus. If I can grieve with those who have lost a loved one to death, to drug addiction, or left the Church, that is being mother to the crucified Jesus. If I can rejoice with those who experience the coming back of the lost loved one, or the birth of a child, that is being mother to the new life of the risen Jesus. But most of all, in the words of Jesus Himself, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister, and my mother.” (Mt. 12:50)

And how blessed are we who have had a mother who leads us to Jesus!

Sr. Mary Carol Hellmann, OSB