The Importance of Mary

So, I was reading Frederica Matthews-Green's book The Open Door. In the chapter I'm reading, she talks about the icon of the Theotokos and, from that, what Orthodox Christians believe about Mary She says: "[Mary] did in a literal way what we each hope to do spiritually, to be filled with Christ's presence. Often in ancient hymns she is compared to the Burning Bush, wholly on fire with the presence of God and yet unconsumed. Though the power of the Most High has overshadowed her, she is still fully herself, intact and uncompromised."

This terminology - that of the presence of God and being unconsumed - brought the myth of Semele to my mind. The woman Semele, having learned that her lover was in fact the great god Zeus, went to him and demanded that he show her his full glory. When Zeus was forced to comply, however, his glorious radiance destroyed her.

And I thought how much these two stories contrast. Before Christ's miraculous conception, mankind is incapable of enduring the glorious presence of God. But with the Theotokos, all that changes. Men can now bear the glory of God and not be consumed. They can remain intact in His presence. We do not now have the weakness of Semele; the Theotokos has shown that we can bear God and still remain whole. We can touch the divine and not be destroyed.

And that is a blessing beyond anything else we could be given.

Oh, the Belated Humor of it All!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." This quote from Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities could be used by Admissions Counselors to describe college. They tell you about the wonderful friends you'll make, the challenges your professors will give you, the maturity you'll gain as you fight through life's struggles. The mix of gravity, joy, and troubles you'll encounter - these every college student will hear about before he enters college.

But nobody tells you how funny college is.

Not how funny your friends or professors are; how funny living at college. Come on, whoever invented the idea of roommates must have been the world's biggest practical joker. I admit, most of the humor cannot be appreciated till after the fact; the hilarity of the ravings of someone late for class can only be recognized after class has been reached in time. But really, when viewed in retrospect, a lot of college isn't profound or earth-shattering. So much of it is just so funny.

Here is an example from my own life.

I have been fighting a bug which really wants to become a full-blown cold. But a great deal of energy and will-power on my part are neutralizing this bug's effect. Yesterday, I was feeling worse than I am now, so my energy levels were low to begin with. And of course, yesterday I had my only midterm for the whole week and I had an additional lecture in the evening.

So after suppressing a freak-out session over my midterm all morning, I run from Greek class (Classics professors have this idea that time has nothing to do with them. Thus, classes never end on time and I always have to run across campus to my next class), no small feat with my energy levels dipping lower and lower.

I get to my midterm, sit down at the table, and begin to write furiously (Once again, two 1 and 1/2 page essays in 50 minutes is not exactly ideal in conditions such as this). 3:55. "Oh Shoot!" I think, "I've got to get over to Lynch for that lecture, NOW!". So, I quickly hand in my exam, grab my bags, and book it to Lynch Auditorium where I slip into a seat up front (Unfortunately, the back seats are always the first to go when young people are involved).

The lecture is really good, but after an hour and a half, I'm feeling really tired. So I grab some cafeteria dinner to go - no meat, since it's a fast day - and sit in my room. I try laying down, but the god of sleep seems to be somewhere else.

Now, being the kind of person of I am, I decide to head back over to the second half of the lecture starting at 7. It is supposed to be one of the Marshalsea's professors responding to the earlier talk. What could go wrong.

Two hours of interminable questions, that's what.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for academic discussion. I find it invigorating and inspiring, provided that I'm not running on empty. I confess, the question of justice in the Iliad has never seemed belabored. By the time I was out of there, I thought my brains had been sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.

So, the conclusion of this rather long anecdote? College can be really belatedly funny. Though none of this felt funny at the time, it retrospect it just cracks me up. I was one of the few students who cared about coming to this lecture, yet I was the one who was too sick to fully enjoy it. 

I mean, what are the odds?

Prayer from a Tired Soul

Holy Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Have mercy on me, a weakened and battered soul. The life you have bestowed on me is hard to bear. The love which it requires of me is beyond my capabilities for loving. My soul grows weary. My passion is not strong enough to uphold the ideals you have blessed me with. My abilities are far beneath the life you have accorded me.

So Lord, build up my passion till I can fulfill my duties well. Order my mind so my thoughts are clear and my words are as honey.

Christ is in our midst!

Stultitia

I grew up in very imaginatively practical home. Girls in my home were taught to imagine a life that was good, not a life with a boy. We learned to see ourselves for what we could be, not what we could be with a man. We did not fear men or despise them (well, much :-), we simply didn't think much about them at all, and the thought of actually needing one in order to survive was completely foreign.

And so, I must share a revelation which I daresay most have already experienced but which was shocking to me.

Apparently, some girls flirt with boys (I shall not deign to give them the name of men) by 'playfully' demeaning them. About two hours ago, I was in the company of someone who I know has "a crush", as it is pathetically called, on the boy with her. And for the half hour or so that they were in my company, I heard her call him "stupid", "annoying", and other such unfriendly names every two minutes. It got downright frustrating. What stupidity, or stultitia, as the Romans say!

I hereby make a promise to all men I know and will know. I will not call you stupid or anything else in order to get your attention on me. If I call you stupid, you can be assured that I will really mean it.

I'm just messin' wich ya. :-)

For Those who Care

I haven't time to write a real blog post, as I am currently working on my second of three papers for this next week. But I thought I'd make a quick note and say that if you're in the mood for something absolutely gorgeous, something that is very special to me, read John Keats's poem Sleep and Poetry. It's an incredible poem, and it really encapsulates so much of what I am thinking and feeling right now. If at some point in my life I can find the time, I shall definitely memorize it.

PS. Perhaps a quote or two from said poem will appear on my blog at a time not too distant from the present. Perhaps.