the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a national holiday in Italy (which i knew, but it still gave me a jolt yesterday when i looked up the hours at the nearest place to get passport photos and saw "Closed - Saturday - Immaculate Conception hours" on Google's main page). and it's an especially important day here at the NAC as Our Lady is the patroness of the United States, and her feast day is the anniversary of the College's founding in 1859. preparations have been going on all week, from Greta's Marian-themed art projects at school, to the decoration and lighting of the Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, to the countless hours of planning devoted to today's liturgy and reception at the NAC.
the royal blue of the cloudless sky today was a spectacular reminder of Mary herself, whose traditional blue garments in iconography symbolize transcendence and mystery. growing up Protestant, i always thought that Catholics made far too much of Mary. those poor misguided souls -- didn't they know that Jesus is the most important?
well, He is. and Mary is important too. Mary, our Mother, to whom we can cling when we need solace as fellow humans, or solidarity as fellow women. Mary Victrix, crushing the serpent under her foot and bearing the Light into the world. we don't worship Mary, but we do honor her, just as we honor our earthly mothers.
Greta wanted to wear her princess dress for the celebrations today, which seemed appropriate (although i had to draw the line at wearing her tiara to mass). the girls and i arrived at the chapel just a minute before the procession began. row after row after row of seminarians and priests walked solemnly in, and Greta leaned over to me and asked, "but where are the bishops?!" i'm afraid we're setting the liturgical bar high for her over here! and then, as the procession continued, she spotted the celebrant, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, with his crosier. in a stage whisper, she said, "Mommy! there's the shepherd!" the seminarians sitting directly behind us all broke into huge smiles, and i gave her a squeeze because she is exactly right.
the liturgy was beautiful; the singing of the seminary choir brought tears to my eyes a few times. Cecilia displayed typical two-year-old behavior (no screaming or tantrum-throwing, but still talking out loud and squabbling with Greta a few times), until miraculously, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, she fell asleep on my shoulder, and i could listen to the choir and pray in peace (that is, until Greta inexplicably tossed a crayon that landed in the row behind us). and later this afternoon, one of the seminarians said the kindest words of encouragement to me. "i just wanted to say that you do such a good job with the girls in mass. i see you pointing out the different parts of the mass to them, and that's really great." given that some days i practically march into the sanctuary as if to war and feel as if i spend the entire hour hissing at them to behave, that was incredibly sweet of him to say! and it's amazing to see what Greta is absorbing. in addition to her comment about "the shepherd", during the reading from Genesis today, she said "i recognize this one!", and her ears perked up every time Cardinal O'Brien (who was rector of the NAC in the 90s!) mentioned the Immaculate Conception. all of this gives me more mental fortitude to keep on keeping on, that it is worth bringing them to mass even when it seems impossible that they are getting anything out of it.
in typical NAC fashion, we went straight from mass to an elaborate feast. one of the NAC employees admired Greta's princess dress, and then told me that an actual princess was in attendance today, sitting at the head table with the Cardinal and other dignitaries! i didn't catch her name, but it was just another one of those "how is this real life?" moments. the whole afternoon was jubilant, with everyone offering the greeting of "Happy Feast!". the luncheon concluded with three champagne toasts: to the Pope, to the United States, and to the NAC. and finally, the prayer we say at every meal, but especially apropos today: Vergine Immacolata, aiutateci! ("Immaculate Virgin, help us!") this prayer became tradition at the NAC as Pope Pius IX, the founder of the College, said it during the wars on the papal states in the 1800s.
the rest of the afternoon and evening we spent quietly at home. Greta wanted to color tonight's Jesse tree ornament -- Joseph's coat of many colors -- herself. so i drew the outline of the coat, and she provided the "many colors". somehow, Cecilia got a hold of it later and added a blue blob, which Greta immediately assured me "could just be his tail". oh, these girls!
and now, to bed. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us!
the royal blue of the cloudless sky today was a spectacular reminder of Mary herself, whose traditional blue garments in iconography symbolize transcendence and mystery. growing up Protestant, i always thought that Catholics made far too much of Mary. those poor misguided souls -- didn't they know that Jesus is the most important?
well, He is. and Mary is important too. Mary, our Mother, to whom we can cling when we need solace as fellow humans, or solidarity as fellow women. Mary Victrix, crushing the serpent under her foot and bearing the Light into the world. we don't worship Mary, but we do honor her, just as we honor our earthly mothers.
Greta wanted to wear her princess dress for the celebrations today, which seemed appropriate (although i had to draw the line at wearing her tiara to mass). the girls and i arrived at the chapel just a minute before the procession began. row after row after row of seminarians and priests walked solemnly in, and Greta leaned over to me and asked, "but where are the bishops?!" i'm afraid we're setting the liturgical bar high for her over here! and then, as the procession continued, she spotted the celebrant, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, with his crosier. in a stage whisper, she said, "Mommy! there's the shepherd!" the seminarians sitting directly behind us all broke into huge smiles, and i gave her a squeeze because she is exactly right.
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| Greta's artwork from school this week |
the liturgy was beautiful; the singing of the seminary choir brought tears to my eyes a few times. Cecilia displayed typical two-year-old behavior (no screaming or tantrum-throwing, but still talking out loud and squabbling with Greta a few times), until miraculously, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, she fell asleep on my shoulder, and i could listen to the choir and pray in peace (that is, until Greta inexplicably tossed a crayon that landed in the row behind us). and later this afternoon, one of the seminarians said the kindest words of encouragement to me. "i just wanted to say that you do such a good job with the girls in mass. i see you pointing out the different parts of the mass to them, and that's really great." given that some days i practically march into the sanctuary as if to war and feel as if i spend the entire hour hissing at them to behave, that was incredibly sweet of him to say! and it's amazing to see what Greta is absorbing. in addition to her comment about "the shepherd", during the reading from Genesis today, she said "i recognize this one!", and her ears perked up every time Cardinal O'Brien (who was rector of the NAC in the 90s!) mentioned the Immaculate Conception. all of this gives me more mental fortitude to keep on keeping on, that it is worth bringing them to mass even when it seems impossible that they are getting anything out of it.
in typical NAC fashion, we went straight from mass to an elaborate feast. one of the NAC employees admired Greta's princess dress, and then told me that an actual princess was in attendance today, sitting at the head table with the Cardinal and other dignitaries! i didn't catch her name, but it was just another one of those "how is this real life?" moments. the whole afternoon was jubilant, with everyone offering the greeting of "Happy Feast!". the luncheon concluded with three champagne toasts: to the Pope, to the United States, and to the NAC. and finally, the prayer we say at every meal, but especially apropos today: Vergine Immacolata, aiutateci! ("Immaculate Virgin, help us!") this prayer became tradition at the NAC as Pope Pius IX, the founder of the College, said it during the wars on the papal states in the 1800s.
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| after an hour and a half mass, followed by a two hour multiple course luncheon, they earned their dessert! |
the rest of the afternoon and evening we spent quietly at home. Greta wanted to color tonight's Jesse tree ornament -- Joseph's coat of many colors -- herself. so i drew the outline of the coat, and she provided the "many colors". somehow, Cecilia got a hold of it later and added a blue blob, which Greta immediately assured me "could just be his tail". oh, these girls!
and now, to bed. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us!
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