September 5, 2013

September 5, 2013

 

Here is Cathy with the icon of Eternal Wisdom. there is something infinitely deep about the “writing” of icons, and no one who has dipped ever so slightly into its mystery is left untouched. Cathy has obviously artistic talent, but she had never done icons before coming to  us.

The heart stops, and the breath slows when in the presence of an artistry which makes concrete the work of the Spirit of God in paint, prayer, and self-giving. one can hesitate to say, “her” icon, because the image is so much an expression of the eternal which it represents.

it does not belong to the one from whose body and soul the image has poured forth.

We are a bit startled that September has rushed upon the year. Our current Monsoon Season gave us 8.14 inches of rain, being our year’s total to 9.something. you may not think that is much, but it will provide an abundance of spring flowers, and what is lovelier than our hybrid iris, wild star flowers, peach blossoms, and mimosa?

As you know, our principal industry is the production of Altar Breads. This is a momentous aspect of our life. It consists of a number of steps, all essential to the perfect bread that winds up on your altar. Sister Marg orders the flour; Lupita (mostly) mixes the batter; several of us take turns baking at an up to date baker that turns on a carousel; the breads that come off in sheets are then cut into wafers, which are subjected to the intense scrutiny of quality control. After being bagged, the hosts are packed and addressed by Rita and Bernie, and sent off to the churches that will offer the gift of the Eternal Son to their people. but there is one more, and essential element in this process. We pray.

Not only do we try to keep our minds and hearts resting in the Lord during our labor, but we stop midway to recite together what we call the Little Hours of the Divine Office. When we re-designed our buildings, we included a sacred space next to the Sorting Room. We call it the Oratory, and it gives us a quiet space for this re-insertion into the Churchly Prayer of the Hours. You can see in this picture that Lupita has come from mixing, with her mask pulled down–when you work with flour,  you do not want to breathe it in. Cathy has come from her icon work, and is not wearing the protective cap which the law requires when working with food stuffs.

happy September. More next time!