Every great saint had devotion to Mary, but one of the stories which I find impressive is that of St. John Damascene, (d. 749). It is said that during the time of those who sought to destroy icons (iconoclast heresy) the iconoclast emperor betrayed him to the enemy, a caliph who subsequently cut off one of John’s hands as punishment. That night John prayed before an icon of Mary and his hand was miraculously restored. In thanksgiving he wrote an icon known as the "Three Handed Icon" because in addition to Mary’s two hands he included his own restored hand, giving her the appearance of having three hands.* Regardless of the veracity of this story, what is more important is that we recognize St. John’s devotion to Mary demonstrated by his trust in the power of her intercession during his time of suffering. And is this not what a mother does but be present to her children when they suffer, doing all she can to alleviate the pain and heal the wound? Mary’s motherly heart includes everyone; we do ourselves a disservice if we neglect to turn to her when we are in need. Therefore, it is important that we pay attention to the memorial added to the Church calendar in 2018 that honors Mary as Mother of the Church, (celebrated the Monday after Pentecost).** 

The true devotion to Mary of St. John Damascene is evidenced in his moving and insightful comment about her: “she… has captivated my spirit…day and night I see her in my imagination. It is she, the Mother of Virtue, who gives me eloquence.” The description of Mary as the Mother of Virtue is one which invites reflection. Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary, is virtue embodied. As His mother, then, Mary can be seen in such a light as well. But we must also remember that her true Spouse is the Holy Spirit, the giver of graces. (At the Annunciation Mary was ‘overshadowed’ by the Spirit to conceive Jesus.) Consequently, all the virtues that flow from the Spirit can also be attained or enhanced through the intercession of Mary. As one immaculately conceived and always willing to follow the will of God, Mary embodied virtue as well; it is to her that St. John Damascene, a renowned speaker, lovingly attributed his gift of eloquence.

Pentecost Sunday, the memorial of Mary as Mother of the Church, and Trinity Sunday (respectively) are celebrations which provide an excellent opportunity to consider the virtues we have received and how well we utilize them. God freely bestows gifts not only because of His love, but because He wants to offer empowerment so we can accomplish the mission of the Church and be protected from the enemy and his minions. We were given the Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and love at Baptism and so it is important to be conscious of these all the time; it would be good to develop the habit of intentionally utilizing them as we go through the day. Every day we face temptations from the world, arising from the many stealthy ways in which the enemy tempts us to doubt our faith, to subtly move away from gospel values bit by bit, to accept the values and norms of anti-Christian society, and then to lose hope about it all. We are tempted to react in worldly ways that are antithetical to love, such as unforgiveness and putting ourselves and our convenience ahead of others. In all this, we can lose the voice of God because we stop listening; it is not because the Holy Spirit stops speaking. Therefore, we need to use the weapons we have been given, to ‘use every arrow in our quiver,’ in order to keep from falling into traps set to weaken and ultimately draw us into apathy and ‘lukewarmness’ and then to fall away altogether.

In addition are the Cardinal Virtues of justice (giving God and others what is rightly due them), prudence (discerning the correct action), temperance (restraint, balance, moderation), and fortitude (remaining steadfast in the Christian life).*** Also mediated by the Holy Spirit, these virtues strengthen our desire and ability to grow as holy disciples of Jesus, and all four are intimately attached to each other. Cultivating the virtue of justice assists us as we live in a culture which places ‘self’ first, often not caring about God or in direct opposition to Christian values; prudence helps in discerning what is the correct way to act; temperance helps in maintaining restraint so that we forgive when hurt and then aids in resisting vengeful responses; fortitude assists in remaining true to gospel values taught by Jesus, particularly the beatitudes. To not get caught up in sinful responses, but rather to grow in holiness and in love of our Lord, we ought to prayerfully reflect upon them, asking the Sprit to help us better utilize all the virtues. 

Mary ‘captivated the spirit’ of St. John Damascene and many other holy men and women. He obviously loved his mother Mary dearly and held her as his model to live the faith courageously and faithfully according to his call. He turned to her in prayer often, no doubt to ask her intercession so that he could stay strong in the face of his foes. Our adversaries are as numerous, many of them invisible, so it would be wise to also turn to Mary our mother to keep us united in resisting evil, in building the Kingdom, and in glorifying God. With the help of the Holy Spirit and with our caring Mother Mary, we are in good hands.

May our spirits and our hearts be captivated by Mary, our mother! May the Holy Spirit reside in our hearts, assisting with the graces and gifts we need! And may we celebrate our Triune God, the giver of all good things, with joy, glorifying Him with our life! Let us meet in the hearts of Jesus and Mary! Peace!

​                                  ©Michele L. Catanese

* Remember, all icons contain rich symbolism and are not meant to be portraits. If you look closely at the icon, titled The Three Handed Mother of God, (see Images below), you will easily see three hands: one hand holds the child Jesus, another points to Him, and another seems to beckon us to her heart. Though we may never know, one wonders which hand represents St. John Damascene’s restored hand. It makes for an interesting meditation.
** The celebration was added to the church calendar in 2018 by Pope Francis. Previous popes have written about this title of Mary as Mother of the Church, most notably Pope Leo XIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. See https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/mary-mother-of-the-church-memorial/
*** You can find more on the Cardinal Virtues here: https://www.corpuschristiphx.org/blog.php?month=201903&id=381720692&cat=&pg=1&title=The+Four+Human+%26+Cardinal+Virtues

Images:
1. Icon; The Three Handed Mother of God by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This icon can be found at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-three-handed-mother-of-god-102-william-hart-mcnichols.html
​2. Oil Painting; The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. (1889)
3. My photo; Our Lady of the Annunciation, Llubljana, Slovenia. If you look closely you can see the Annunciation in the bottom painting and atop it is Mary as Queen of Heaven. It seemed to symbolically say that Mary's virtues carried her to the heights.
4. Illumination; Prudentia, Justitia, Fortitudo, Temperantia (Prudence, Justice, Courage, Temperance), the Four Cardinal Virtues, found in a manuscript. British Museum Library. 
5. Icon; St. John Damascene. For more on this saint: ​www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-john-of-damascus-675-749-monk-and-defender-of-icons/
6. Icon; The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church; by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This icon can be found at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-blessed-virgin-mary-mother-of-the-church-william-hart-mcnichols.html
​
Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

A few weeks ago the gospel readings during daily Mass were from the Bread of Life discourse given by Jesus. (John 6:22-66) At the end of His teaching, many followers walked away from Jesus because His words were too difficult for them. They were thrilled when He had multiplied loaves and fishes to feed them (just prior to this discourse), but when they had to trust in who He is and what His words required of them, they could not accept it. They loved having their immediate needs met, but when He challenged them with commitment in the face of mystery, they wanted nothing to do with Him. Upon reflection, I realized that often we are keen to ask God to fill our needs, but when He asks something of us we may not respond quite so readily, and sometimes we ignore Him completely. Of course, we should ask God for help when we need Him, but we should also desire to serve Him and do His will, trusting in that which is perhaps mysterious and unknown at the time. However,  a startling question then arose: 'Would you still love God if He never gave you anything again?' While I know God would never stop giving graces, it is a question worth pondering. It is also something appropriate for the upcoming celebrations of the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. Tremendous graces were given when the Holy Spirit descended and gave birth to the Church. Therefore, it is important to reflect upon the mystery and power of God’s gifts of love so that we appreciate them and respond with gratitude and joy.

As we approach the Feast of Pentecost we can begin by prayerfully reflecting on the promises concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit that Jesus made to the apostles at the Last Supper. He said that while He must go, He would ask the Father to “give… another Counselor to be with you forever.”(John 14:17) As He promised, Jesus returned to the apostles after His resurrection, was with them for 40 days, and then ascended into Heaven. Right before He ascended Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem and pray “until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)  As promised, some nine days later the Holy Spirit descended upon them, bringing many spiritual gifts and much joy. Therefore, it would be good to reflect on the magnitude of the gift of the Holy Spirit who remains with us, guiding and empowering us throughout our lives. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the third Person of the Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, “another Counselor... the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) He is the giver of all graces, big and small. Therefore, the gift we have received is nothing less than that of having the Spirit dwell within us (given through our Baptism and fueled by our faith).*

Asking ourselves if we would still love God even if He never gave us anything again is a good way to assess how we value that gift. Remember, in prayerful reflection we can stretch our imagination in order for our truest values and motivations to be brought to light; it also serves to root out our attachments and all that we inadvertently place ahead of God. It can be enlightening to reflect on whether we love God for who He is, (that is, because He is God) or if we place greater value on what He gives when we ask without realizing that this tendency is at play in our hearts. Thus, it is important for us to examine the depth and quality of our love for Him. While we never have to worry about God withholding graces from us, we ought to love Him for who He is, not for what He gives. And this means we need to develop (or continue to develop) a deeper relationship with Him, to spend time with Him in prayer so as to actually know Him and to know His heart; it means developing radical trust in Him and in His promises, especially when things are difficult in our lives. And in spending time getting to know Him, we will discover that His love is real and that it is beyond our imagination. His love is not based on our merits, but rather, it is freely given; He made us for His love and this love is everlasting. **

So while we cannot lose God’s love, we certainly don’t want to take it for granted, either. If we want to grow in perfection, if we truly want to become holy as a response of love to Him, it is important that we reflect upon the question of whether we would still love God if He never gave us anything again or if our love is determined by what we receive from Him. Pentecost is a time of joy in the incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit which we continue to enjoy every moment of every day. While we often fall short in our appreciation and usage of this gift, the Good News is that God knows our weakness; it is precisely why He sent His Holy Spirit to guide us until “the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20); that is, when Jesus comes again. God loves us so much that He wants nothing more than our complete joy, a joy which is only found in Him. 

May we rejoice in the love of God, the Giver of All Good Gifts! May we grow in our understanding and appreciation of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts! And may we grow in our love for the Lord, coming to know Him and to respond more freely and with greater joy! Let us meet in the joy of the Holy Spirit! Peace!

                          ©Michele L. Catanese

*When Jesus says the world cannot receive the Spirit He is referring to all who accept values that are not those of God, especially those who reject Him and all the forces that seek to thwart God’s Kingdom. In short, everything that leads us away from God is "of the world."
**An excellent example is found in the life of St. Teresa of Avila. She enjoyed frequent times during her prayer in which she had complete union with God along with visions of Heaven. Then one day the experiences stopped and she was thrust into complete dryness in her prayer. God seemed distant and totally inaccessible. After many days and even weeks of tears and begging God to reveal what she had done that had caused Him to withdraw from her, God finally broke through. He told her that He withdrew because she was coming to love the gift more than the Giver of the gift. She was seeking the experiences more than the God who gave them to her. She repented of it and learned an incredible lesson which she passed onto others in her writings. 

Images:
1. Painting; Jesus Teaches the People By the Sea (Jésus enseigne le peuple près de la mer) by James Tissot.
2. Fresco painting; Ascension and Pentecost, by Blessed Fra Angelico.
3. My photo; waterfall in Krka National Park, Croatia.
4. My photo; river in Krka National Park, Croatia. The transparency of the water was truly incredible in this river. The rocks in the foreground of the photo are under the water.
5. Image; The Holy Spirit The Lord the Giver of Life The Paraclete Sender of Peace by Fr. William Hart McNichols. You can find this image at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-holy-spirit-the-lord-the-giver-of-life-the-paraclete-sender-of-peace-093-william-hart-mcnichols.html
​
Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time.