Mother of God Light In All Darkness - For Gaudete Sunday

Mother of God Light In All Darkness : For Gaudete Sunday
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.”
Philippians 4:4-5
Mother of God
Light In All Darkness,
Shelter Him our flame of hope
With your tender hands.
And in our times of
Dread and nightmares,
Let Him be our dream of comfort.
And in our times of
Physical pain and suffering,
Let Him be our healer.
And in our times of separation,
From God and one another,
Let Him be our communion.
Amen
There are two Sundays in the year when the liturgical vestments are rose or pink colored; Gaudete Sunday in Advent and Laetare Sunday in Lent. Rose is the color of Joy and the Church rejoices as Christ is coming at Christmas and Christ is Rising at Easter. Every year we go through the life of Christ; each season offers us a “view with intimacy” so that relating to him, becomes the way or pattern of our lives too. As an iconographer I am also particularly blessed to celebrate all “His Hallows” the almost infinite world of the saints. At times I get to paint images of people who are not canonized saints, but who have had a strong, positive effect on my life; such as Maura Soshin O’Halloran, Rachel Carson, Elijah McClain, Robert A. Johnson, and many more. At this time, for instance ,I am working on another commission of Thomas Merton.
When I was teaching art and theology at Regis High School in Denver, the students introduced me to the musical group Steeleye Span, who sang this robust old English hymn, “Gaudete.” If you google that hymn I think you’ll find it wild and celebratory.
This icon I’m showing you now, is the culmination of my life as a Hospice Chaplain with people dying at the time of the pandemic of AIDS. As an illustrator before I became an iconographer, I did many drawings aimed at the terrible suffering I saw and the violent prejudice we all experienced, being in any way connected to this pandemic. These drawings and one painting, can be seen on my website. So, when I began to paint/write icons, I was commissioned very soon to do an icon not about the suffering and prejudice that those who were sick experienced, but something that would comfort them. I chose to model this icon on the Russian 14th. century, Icon of the Theotokos of Pimen.
I knew from listening to those who during the 80’s were certain of dying, that they felt their greatest suffering was fear. They were inundated with the negative voices in their heads, from the culture around them, that not only were they alone, but also they could not trust anyone from any religious community, who were quite eager to damn them for eternity. At that time, this was a popular theology, and I’m sorry to say, that now we hear this all the time, not just about lgbtq people, but for anyone who dares antagonize the strident voices of the far right or far left. So much so, that I no longer have to explain what this vehement prejudice was like then; because it’s front and center now. I received a lot of help from the late theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book “Dare We Hope?” Meaning, dare we hope that everyone will go to Heaven ? In his book von B says we are all so eager to damn the “other side” to hell, but this is not Christian. We should want, and beg Heaven for our own conversion and that of everyone; even as Jesus told us, our enemies. Just now as I write this I see Trevor Noah on tv speaking of his new comedy Netflix show, about "The End of Days.” We hear this all the time now. I’m not convinced of that yet. Perhaps what I really believe is the convulsions of a new Heaven, new Earth, spoken about by the author of the Apocalypse. This final book of the Bible has been linked to the Beloved Apostle John, exiled to the island of Patmos for his love of Jesus. Tradition tells us he is the only apostle who was not murdered. And that he was given Our Blessed Mother, to care for, by Jesus, dying on the Cross (John 19:26-27). As the late scripture scholar G.B. Caird said, “The end is not an event but a Person.”
In this icon, I have the Holy Child holding a candle. The candle symbolizes the sick person. The Child is too young to have any prejudices so he holds all of us, and his Mother, Our Mother, shelters his flame with her tender hands.
I offer this icon for Gaudete Sunday because for me, this is true joy, in the midst of suffering. I wrote this prayer “thinking musically,” as the prayers I love always have that musical element, like the Irish prayer, “The Breastplate of St Patrick.” Much to my surprise someone from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, did put this prayer to music. I have never heard it performed, but I did see the music sheet, around the time of World Youth Day in 1993. And I must mention that my dear friend Mirabai Starr, did the impossible, by writing 51 astonishingly beautiful prayers, for our book “Mother of God Similar to Fire.” It’s difficult to write one beautiful prayer, but 51 ? That’s a “Holy Spirit-given talent,” and Mirabai’s love for Mary is palpable in each prayer.
My prayer ends with one of our most beautiful words “communion.” We who receive the body and blood of Christ know this word as meaning, the simple host or bread. But this word is so powerful in its meaning of literal togetherness; something we are promised when our soul leaves our body, but something we can experience, at unexpected times, here on earth. I believe in these precious moments of communion, and
A Blessed Gaudete Sunday❗️
Fr Bill McNichols 🎄 December 2022