Meet Alice Meynell

Largely forgotten now, Alice Meynell (1847 – 1922) was admired as a poet and essayist in her time by the likes of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Ruskin, Oscar Wilde, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Walter de la Mare, and G.K. Chesterton. Not bad company.

She was a poet, essayist, co-editor of literary magazines, mother of eight, worked to clean up slums and prevent cruelty to animals, and helped found the Catholic Women’s Suffrage Society. 

Her mother and father were friends of Charles Dickens and were well educated themselves. Her father insisted that she and her sister Elizabeth have a classical education and they were home-schooled. As a teen she began writing poetry, inspired by the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti. She converted to Catholicism in 1868 and her writing took on more religious overtones. She then met Wilfrid Meynell, a publisher and editor and also a Catholic convert, in 1876 and they married the next year. Together they published several journals, including Merry England. The poet Francis Thompson (The Hound of Heaven) sent the Meynells a manuscript of his poetry and they published him in the magazine.

Her poetry was well-received but Meynell always thought her early work immature and preferred her later work in her essays. Although she suffered from ill health most of her life, she did go on a lecture tour for several months to the United States in 1901 and took part in marches for women’s suffrage. 

The first World War took its toll on the Meynells, losing a son-in-law at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Quite frail towards the end of her life, she died in 1922. Her final volume of poetry Last Poems was published the year after her death.

Summer in England, 1914

On London fell a clearer light;

Caressing pencils of the sun

Defined the distances, the white

Houses transfigured one by one,

The 'long, unlovely street' impearled.

O what a sky has walked the world!

Most happy year! And out of town

The hay was prosperous, and the wheat;

The silken harvest climbed the down:

Moon after moon was heavenly-sweet,

Stroking the bread within the sheaves,

Looking 'twixt apples and their leaves.

And while this rose made round her cup,

The armies died convulsed. And when

This chaste young silver sun went up

Softly, a thousand shattered men,

One wet corruption, heaped the plain,

After a league-long throb of pain.

Flower following tender flower; and birds,

And berries; and benignant skies

Made thrive the serried flocks and herds. —

Yonder are men shot through the eyes.

Love, hide thy face

From man's unpardonable race.

Who said 'No man hath greater love than this,

To die to serve his friend'?

So these have loved us all unto the end.

Chide thou no more, O thou unsacrificed!

The soldier dying dies upon a kiss,

The very kiss of Christ.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children that King Herod had murdered in his quest to destroy the Christ Child. Since the Wise Men did not return to inform Herod where Jesus was located, Herod decided to kill all male children under the age of two, just to be sure.

We look at this and think, what a horror! what a monster! How could anyone commit an atrocity such as this?

But don’t we do the same thing every day at abortion clinics all over the world? Aren’t there people who think it’s a woman’s choice to murder her own children? We’ve just cut out the Herod middleman.

This feast shows us that every life is precious in the eyes of God. The Church has designated them martyrs because they were sacrificed for the sake of Christ. There are many people who are still working to bring back the respect for life that is due each human person. One group is the American Life League (see link at the right under Helpful Links), headed by Judie Brown, who has worked tirelessly to bring information to people for years and combat the culture of death.

Access to abortion is the law of the land. What can I do to change that, you may say. First of all, pray. Pray for the victims of abortion, including the mothers who will have to live the rest of their lives with the knowledge of what they have done. Pray for the people who encourage, assist, and perform abortions. Pray that their hearts can be turned back to God. And pray for the people who march, pray in front of abortion clinics, and spend countless hours researching and writing. Consider supporting your local organization that helps women bring their children into the world or a national group such as American Life League. And pray some more.

Merry Christmas

 

A blessed Christmas to one and all!

Lift Up Your Heads!

Another of my favorite Psalms is No. 24. The third stanza of this song is the passage that begins, “Lift up your heads, O gates!” I find myself singing this every time I read it because it is used in Handel’s Messiah. It is actually part of the Easter section (No. 33), but has a connection with Christmas because the first few notes are used as “Joy to the World.”

Let’s look at this joyful Psalm and then listen to the incomparable Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing the selection. Enjoy!

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein; for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah.

Lift up you heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory! The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah.

 

Art of the Nativity

These days you really have to hunt to find depictions of the birth of Jesus amidst all the trees and wreaths, Santas and reindeer, and ads for things you probably don’t need or really even want. If you do find them, it could be something less than a truly religious experience, e.g. the “Nativity” at the Vatican.

In this weary world there are places that still draw the heart and mind to what this season is about, and a quick internet search will reveal them.  From catholichousehold.com comes a post from 2014 “The Birth of Jesus in Art: 20 Gorgeous Paintings of the Nativity, Magi, and Shepherds.” And a feast for the eyes they are. They come from several different schools of painting over a number of centuries. 

The Magi pictures are interesting because some of the kings have removed their crowns, or they have fallen off, showing how these kings now recognize the true King of Kings. When the shepherds come to adore the child they bring some of their flock with them. In number 15 the lamb looks as though it is dead, and indeed, the slain lamb is often used in art to show the future of the babe.

These paintings are full of contrasts like that: the baby and lamb, light and shadow, color and darkness, Heaven and earth. You don’t have to be an art major to enjoy these works of art. You’ll be able to take away something from each of them. 

Click here to go directly to the post. Enjoy!

Psalm 13

Have you ever felt as though your struggles are so severe that it seems God has abandoned you? Is He so silent sometimes that you think He is ignoring you? Many of the saints felt that way sometimes, and so did David, the most famous psalmist. The thing they all had in common was that when these feelings arose, they doubled down on their faith. 

Here, in Psalm 13, David goes from despair to rejoicing in the Lord in three short stanzas. He moans, he prays, and then is comforted because of his belief. Oh, that we all could turn to God in our sorrow and take that leap of faith that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us.

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Wilt though forget me for ever? How long wilt though hide thy face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him”; lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Happy Birthday Beethoven

Beethoven is celebrating his 250th today, so we celebrate with him by listening to one of my favorite pieces – the 2nd movement of the 9th Symphony. This is the scherzo movement, scherzo meaning “a vigorous, light, or playful composition, typically comprising a movement in a symphony or sonata.” (according to Oxford Languages) (And, for those of you old enough, you’ll recognize it as the theme for the NBC Nightly News with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.)

Now, from the famous picture of Beethoven we’re familiar with, you wouldn’t think of him as a barrel of laughs. However, he was the master of the scherzo, transforming it from the minuets of Haydn into a new and even more exciting musical form. (See also the 3rd movement of the Symphony 7)

Here we have Wilhelm Furtwangler performing this with the Berlin Philharmonic. Enjoy!

The Psalms

Through the years, reading the Psalms has brought me comfort and hope. They can be joyful noises or bittersweet laments that are still infused with hope.  No matter what is going on in one’s life or in the world, the Psalms assure us that “God’s got this.”

I’m up to the Psalms in reading through the Old Testament and the first one struck me as good advice – cling to the Lord for evildoers will get theirs. The man who’s “delight is in the law of the Lord” so that “in all that he does, he prospers,” while “the way of the wicked will perish.” Notice that the prayer doesn’t specify that the reward or punishment will take place in this world or the next. It could be that the righteous man stores up spiritual prosperity, even though his earthly life is filled with suffering. The wicked man, whether politician or prelate, may seem to prosper in this world but the ultimate reward will be the eternity of hellfire. God sees all. 

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Kristin Lavransdatter

This is a book that I first came across back in the 70s but couldn’t afford to buy at the time. Fast forward nearly forty years to Summer 2020 when one of the ladies in my book club, which takes the summer off, mentioned that she was going to read Kristin Lavrandatter over the summer. What a great idea, thought I. And so, with some saved up gift cards, I ordered it online and read it during the summer, too.

Here we have three novels as part of one epic story (1144 pages in this version). Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset, consists of The Wreath (published in 1920), The Wife (1921), and The Cross (1922). She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928. The prose is beautiful and poetic in this translation by Tiina Nunnally. She omits nothing, as an earlier translation does, paying respect to Undset’s story and Kristin’s life.

Set in medieval Norway, the story spans the life of Kristin from the time she was a little girl to her death at about age 50. Along the way, she marries, has 7 surviving sons, and endures hardships physical, mental, and spiritual.  

Undset’s characters try their best to live according to their Catholic faith (this is before the Reformation, which split the Church). Since we all are stained from original sin, we all fail sometimes and so do these people. They carry grudges, have children out of wedlock, commit adultery, give in to their jealous natures, and put themselves and others in danger because of their egos. However, they do take their faith seriously and suffer greatly in the knowledge of their sins. They make pilgrimages to holy shrines, seek forgiveness in the Confessional, and attend Mass no matter the difficulty of weather or terrain. They are flesh and blood people, not characters made up to conform to a particular archetype. The story is gripping and Kristin is a compelling heroine, despite her weaknesses. Or, maybe because of them.

The book encourages readers to examine their own lives in light of their relationship with God and the world, and whether it has been a life well lived.

The Way of Perfection

That’s a daunting proposition. An unattainable goal? Perhaps, but St. Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582) thought that even if we couldn’t be perfect, it didn’t mean we shouldn’t try. And it didn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to try even if we failed – a lot. All Christians are called to be saints. We just have to work at it every day. The best way to work at being a saint is prayer.  

St. Teresa wrote The Way of Perfection at the behest of her superiors and much of the first part of the book is addressed to the sisters in her convent. She advises them of keeping the rules of the order so that they can prepare themselves for contemplative prayer and achieving true spiritual union with God. To do this, one must practice self-sacrifice, detachment from worldly things, and humility. Success at these things leads to virtue.

To us it may seem as though the road to contemplative or mental prayer can only be traveled by those cloistered in a convent or monastery. Our lives are much too busy for this kind of prayer. St. Teresa says, “You are right to say that what we have described is mental prayer; but I assure you that I cannot distinguish it from vocal prayer faithfully recited with a realization of Who it is we are addressing.” The prayers that you say every day – the Lord’s Prayer for example – said well, with knowledge of and love for the Father, just as Jesus has, can bring us closer to the Father and the Son who taught us this prayer.

The last section of the book, Chapters 27 – 42, delves into the meaning of each part of the Paternoster (the Lord’s Prayer). This, for me, was the meat of the book. If you read only this part, you will still take away a greater knowledge and love of prayer. And even if you only have five or ten minutes to yourself a day, saying the Lord’s Prayer and really thinking about what each line means, you will be one step closer to a more meaningful relationship with God. To be closer to God is the way of perfection.

How the Grinch Saved Christmas

Politicians in the US and Canada are claiming that Christmas won’t be coming this year. Really? We’ll be skipping from the 24th to the 26th? If you were born on the 25th, will you miss out on your birthday this year? 

Oh, they mean that there won’t be family gatherings or gift giving or any kind of celebrations. I get it. Do they? Do they know what Christmas is really all about?

Sure, we all like the presents and the feasts and the caroling. But would Christmas come if we never had any of these things? You bet it would.

Charlie Brown bewails his failure in finding a good Christmas tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas and asks what Christmas is all about. Linus then quotes from Chapter 2 of St. Luke’s Gospel. “And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” St. Luke’s words bring hope and cheer to a depressed individual and teach a lesson to the rest of the gang.

Dr. Seuss’s Grinch is a malevolent character who is determined to ruin Christmas for all the little Whos who live down in Whoville. He stole their trees and decorations, their toys and gifts, and even their roast beast. He left nothing, not even a crumb for a mouse. Christmas Day dawns and each Who comes out of his house to gather in the town square to sing “Welcome Christmas.” Their faces are radiant as they sing “Christmas Day is in our grasp! So long as we have hands to clasp!”

The Grinch, perched on the top of Mount Crumpet, watches in horror as the Whos celebrate. How could Christmas come when he took all their material goods? He puzzles over this and concludes that “maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” The Grinch, much like Scrooge, has an epiphany, repents, and resolves to amend his life. 

This offer of forgiveness and love is what Christmas is all about, and will be there on Christmas Day, no matter how the world tries to prevent it.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Just as there are carols for Christmas, there are beautiful songs for Advent. Monday I shared Handel’s Comfort Ye My People / Every Valley. Another is Come, O Long Expected Jesus and of course, On Jordan’s Bank. My favorite is still O Come O Come Emmanuel. I love the Latin version but have chosen this one in English because of the beautiful images of the Annunciation and Nativity. The last picture is the most striking – an image of the crucified Christ, because even at Christmas we need to think about the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the reason He was born into this world. 

What Is Advent?

Your family might use an Advent calendar to count down to Christmas. The children might open a flap or a door each day to see the surprise. Or, you might have an Advent wreath with four candles, three purple and one rose. Each week of Advent you light one more candle (the rose on week three) until the last week when they are all lit.

For most of December secular activities pile up – shopping, parties, family gatherings, cookie baking – well, you get the idea. Christmas, as a season, begins right after Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas. We had neighbors who unceremoniously tossed the tree out into a snowbank right after the kids opened presents on Christmas morning. In fact, the twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas and end with Epiphany (January 6). The seasons of Christmas and Epiphany run until February 2, Candlemas. Most people celebrating the religious along with the secular usually wait until after Epiphany to take down their decorations. 

So where does that leave Advent?

The word Advent comes from the Latin “advenio,” meaning arriving or come to. It’s a time of expectation, waiting for the arrival of Jesus. During this time, we prepare for His coming by fasting and praying, and reminding ourselves that as we prepare for His birth, we also need to prepare ourselves for His second coming. In short, it is a mini version of Lent, a penitential season before the joyous season of Christmas.

Let’s prepare ourselves before Christmas to properly celebrate the day and the time after so that we can linger and rejoice in the miracle of this birth.