July 22: Feast of Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God . . .

Note: Yes, I post this image and caption every year, but this year I invite you to visit my Pinterest board devoted to images of St. Mary Magdalene.

October 15: Feast of St. Teresa of Avila

"To reach something good 

it is very useful to have gone astray, 

and thus acquire experience."

For this and other wisdom,

I thank God for St. Teresa of Avila

kick-butt Doctor of the Church

Image: St. Teresa of Avila by Francois Gerard

July 22: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God...

February 10: Memorial of St. Scholastica

c. 480-543

For the inspiration
this super smart woman still delivers,
I thank God for
St. Scholastica

October 15: Feast of St. Teresa of Avila

"The feeling remains that God
is on the journey, too."

For this wisdom and the red petticoat incident,
I thank God for St. Teresa of Avila,
kick-butt Doctor of the Church

Image: St. Teresa of Avila, Marilyn Moyes

Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

1891-1942
Gassed to death at Auschwitz

My beloved saint
for reasons that should be obvious,
for reasons that are not, and
for reasons still emerging.

For example, I think of Edith Stein whenever one of my sisters and brothers in Christ ask if I'm "still a Jew." And yes, I do indeed get asked this...a lot.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pray for us that we might embrace everything we share as God's creation and reject everything that separates us from one another.

Wise Words for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Loved reading these wise words from Elizabeth Cunningham about celebrating incarnation on this feast day of St. Mary Magdalene. Hope they resonate with you as well:

"I would like to declare July 22nd a feast day to celebrate our incarnation on this earth, something all of us alive and who have ever lived share with all life and life to come. We are made of the same substance; we are subject to the same joys and sufferings of the flesh. From a laboring woman’s body we were born; and the mystery of death awaits us."






Read her entire post here.

Image: Mary Magdalene after Bacciacca from Baroquenheart Gallery

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God . . .

Featuring this image for the 3rd year in a row!
Recommending this brilliant, lusty trilogy about Mary Magdalene
by Elizabeth Cunningham: The Maeve Chronicles

Simone Weil, holding fast...

Never thought I'd hear Simone Weil (1909-1943) mentioned from the ambo, but she was featured during a pre-Lenten homily about spiritual practice of fasting. I thought this somewhat odd.

For one thing, there's dispute among scholars about whether Weil, who died at age 34, had starved herself to death because of an eating disorder or a sense of solidarity with those starving in France under German occupation. Given the current prevalence of anorexia, I feel nervous whenever fasting from food is even remotely glorified by ministers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Weil's.

It should come as no surprise that I highly identify with this Jewish Catholic mystic social anarchist who was as enthralled by the Bhagavad Gita as she was by writings of St. John of the Cross. The collection of her writings titled, Waiting for God, had a profound impact on me when I first read it decades ago before seeking the sacrament of baptism.

No, not the part about George Herbert's poem, "Love," which was quoted in its entirety during the homily. I zoomed in on what Weil wrote to her spiritual director, Fr. Jean-Marie Perrin, about the Roman Catholic church: "What frightens me is the Church as a social structure."

Yeah, me too.

*For a beautiful, clear and sane introduction to fasting and abstinence, see what Concord Pastor has to say.

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God...

So what if it's the 2nd year I've featured this image, I love it -- and them.

Book Review: Bright Dark Madonna

Note: If you're offended by bold novels that whimsically challenge the Canon in ways you never imagined possible, this book is not for you!


Bright Dark Madonna
Elizabeth Cunningham
Monkfish Book Publishing (2009)
Hardcover: $26.00

Elizabeth Cunningham's novels about Mary Magdalene (The Maeve Chronicles) seem to either delight or scandalize readers. Count me as one of the delighted. I love how she uses scripture, legend and myth to invent a back story for the woman to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. First, as in appearing to her before appearing to the guys.

This is gynocentric Midrash at its best. Cunningham's historical research is impeccable and her knowledge of scripture enviable. As for her writing, I'm awed by how Cunningham crafts characters who are lusty, poetic, ribald and elegant -- sometimes all this and more in the same extraordinary sentence. Her artful word play is often laugh-out-loud hilarious.

My unabashed admiration for Cunningham's oeuvre began the summer I plucked The Passion of Mary Magdalen off the "new reads" shelf at my local library. I was looking to escape into a big thick novel. That it was named one of the year's "heretical beach-book" by Belief.net only sealed the deal.* Next, I plunged into Magdalen Rising. And then, I had to wait for Bright Dark Madonna. Worth the wait? Absolutely!

Bright Dark Madonna opens with this warning label: "A note on reading this book, or this is not your mother's Mary Magdalen. Or maybe she is. I don't know your mother."

Since this book is part of a triology, Cunningham provides a few facts about what has already been chronicled, noting upfront that she does not want to reveal too much previous plot. Me either. Nor do I want to reveal the intricate plot lines of this new novel. I will, however, tell you that it offers another version of what happened after the Ascension.

Trust me: rereading Acts of the Apostles in advance will enhance your appreciation for Cunningham's scholarship and interpretive chutzpah. Her portrait of St. Paul is probably what I enjoyed most in this new book which also includes a story line about the divine daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Indeed, Cunningham's St. Paul smack down cheered me up, which makes sense given the amount of focus I had to keep on him while writing Why Is There a Menorah on the Altar? Jewish Roots of Christian Worship.

The Passion of Mary Magdalen will continue to rank as my favorite volume of this trilogy, but Bright Dark Madonna is a scandalously delightful fictional romp through early church history that doesn't pretend to be anything other than just that.



*A friend of mine, one with no shortage of kids, reported being shocked and embarrassed by the sex scenes. I was shocked and embarrassed that she was shocked and embarrassed.

Replacing the Living Goddess

This just in, thanks to the Religion News RSS feed from The Pew Forum:

Nepal's astrologers are reviewing horoscopes to find the replacement for the current goddess, who is 11. (reported in The Independent)

The 11-year old living goddess has to retire before she starts menstruating because menstruation is "inauspicious." I've never quite thought of menstruation that way; other characterizations come to mind but I didn't dwell on them. Instead, my mind leapt to the rights of post-menopausal goddesses who, if you ask me, would probably be more qualified for the position.

Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

1891-1942
Gassed to death at Auschwitz

My beloved saint
for reasons that should be obvious,
for reasons that are not, and
for reasons yet to emerge.

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God...

The Joys of Adult Conversion

Embracing Catholic Christianity as a sentient adult has its blessings. Currently topping my list is the blessing of not having been raised Catholic and therefore unable to do anything liturgical by rote. For me, liturgy is not at all what the symbolic interactionists would call a "world-taken-for-granted." [Note to self: spend some time thinking about how to reconcile prior training in and affection for this phenomenological approach with B16's teachings about the perils of moral relativism.] Okay, back to the Earth plane.

I, for one, could not lip-sync the Mass, although I can recite most key congregational speaking parts in a heartfelt way. I'm not too proud to admit being at a near total loss when expected to proclaim anything other than A or B options for the mystery of faith. Anyone standing near by might wonder if I'm saying, "WhenweeatthisbreadandhumunahhumahJesusblahblahglory." Not to worry all you Cradle Catholics, I'm determined to learn C and D long before it's time for my own funeral Mass.

So can you imagine what happens when I'm asked to be an Altar Server?

Sometimes this happens when I show up to read for the noon Mass. And if you think it's a young priest who invites me to serve him as he serves us, you'd be wrong. I'm granted this privilege by a man who really is old enough to be my father.

I do not take this privilege for granted. I cannot do it by rote. I always think I've messed up something sacred and he always kindly tells me I've done "fine job." I always say, "thank you, Father" and mean it. I also resist adding that I'd probably do an even finer job if I were wearing an alb and a huge pectoral cross and was eight years old.

Catholic Karaoke

Having arrived at the 12:10 Mass as the opening antiphon is ending, I slide into the nearest pew instead of scanning the church. I'll have more to say about church seating maneuvers in another post. This post is about the octogenarian seated in front of me. Feature this: The senior citizen seated in front of me is lip-syncing the entire liturgy.

I notice this especially after the Liturgy of the Word is completed and the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. Yep, no doubt about it. She is not praying the Rosary. She is lip-syncing the entire liturgy. Entire. Liturgy. All the words. In order. Along with the septuagenarian priest.

Try as I might, I cannot place my thoughts elsewhere. I think, "Good thing you're not getting captured on hidden video in the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

So at this point during Mass, as is often the case for many Catholics except I write about it, I'm struggling to pay attention. But hey, at least I am not getting all distracted by screaming infants. No, I am getting all distracted by thoughts about Church history, in part because I'm currently reading Women in Christianity by Hans Küng. I figure I'll get back in line -- so to speak -- when it's time to receive Communion.

It's time to receive Communion. I go up. She stays put and I think, "Wow! Are you excommunicating yourself for lip-syncing the consecration?" I'm dying to ask her -- an idiom I don't at all mind using given my belief in the Risen Lord. Instead, I decide to mind my own beeswax, especially on this feast day for the patron saint of beekeepers.

After the dismissal (which she lip-syncs) she turns to me and asks, "Why weren't you the lector today?" I tell her I wasn't on the schedule and ask, "Why didn't you receive Communion?" She tells me why. By now our hands are clasped together. Christ is present. I decide not to ask her about the Catholic karaoke thing...just yet.