Weekly Reflection - 12/6/2023
St. Mary's Reflection:Marla Perkins, Music Associate
Comfort
“Comfort Ye!” soars out the lone tenor voice opening G. F. Handel’s Messiah. Then twice more, stronger, longer, with both gentleness and command, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” (Isaiah 40:1)
Eleven minutes into Arcangelo Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto” in G minor, Op. 6, No.8, lies a most tender movement in gently rocking 6/8 time: the birth and miracle of the baby Jesus. (In my opinion often performed too fast and nasally as if early music groups had never heard of a baby. Just saying.)
The wish, the hope, the arrival of comfort in the form of a tiny, naked, vulnerable newborn dependent for his survival on the comfort, food and protection of his tirelessly caring mother and father.
This is not ‘lounging on a sofa curled up under a weighted blanket with a catalogue’ comfort. This is God’s profound comfort: encouraging strength to live on with courage and hope; soothing distress and sorrow; consoling misery and grief; healing and easing illness with relief and aid. This is comfort for the soul weary from the wounds, suffering, and injustices of life. It is strong, loving, and gentle. It is found through prayer, and often administered through comforting, guiding others.
“I, I am he that comforts you.” (Is. 51:12). “He will cover you with his pinions and under his wing you will find refuge...he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all his ways. On their hands they will bear you up.” (Ps. 91:4-11). “The God whose consolation never fails us! He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we in turn may be able to comfort others in any trouble of theirs and to share with them the consolation we ourselves receive from God.” (2Cor 1:3) “Come to me, all whose work is hard, whose load is heavy; and I will give you relief...for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and your souls will find relief.” (Matt 11:28-30)
Rituals, ceremonies, and processions are part of the form in which we bring comfort to each other. They reassure us; they help to settle us when life feels too big to handle alone. They stabilize and draw us into a subtle dance of our souls with God.
During Advent, the Children’s and Youth Choirs present two lovely processions in costume. In the first ceremony they sing a sweet song for Our Lady of Guadalupe in both Spanish and English, then offer her beautiful roses. In the second they carry candles and sing a traditional Swedish song in honor of the light-bearing Saint Lucia. There is comfort and beauty in their sweet voices, often bringing tears to our eyes. Tears are a natural response to both pain and the comfort from relieving it. These ceremonies draw us in from harshness to the soft light and fragrance of our mother, St. Mary, and another caring woman, Saint Lucia. Both women’s love was in action. Both are portrayed in the painting above the altar in our church.
Our Lady of Guadalupe said to Juan Diego “Am I not here, I who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.”
When early Christians in Rome were being persecuted, hiding in fear for their lives, Lucia of Syracuse (d. 304 AD) risked her own life to take them food. She placed candles on her head in order to carry as much food as possible down into the catacombs of Rome to the hungry people hiding there in the dark. Through her invincible faith and courage, Lucy brought them comfort, sustenance, strength, and hope.
In this Advent time of wait and preparation for the birth of the baby Jesus, please join us at St. Mary the Virgin for music, processions, ceremonies, and the prayerful word of God. I pray that your soul may find comfort both profound and joyful.
Marla Perkins,
St. Mary's Music Associate
