One Midnight, Long Ago

 

I took this photo of the River Shannon in Limerick, Ireland.

One Midnight, Long Ago

Gentle, gossamer wisps of vapor
frame a celestial tableau
amid indigo heavens
illuminated by the faint and distant sparkle
of a beckoning, fiery glow.

The vibrant sky heralds
a world below with hope
that the heat from this angelic miracle
will fuel yearning souls
with the fervor for righteous aim.

In the bitter cold of midnight, 
ardent love and devotion
expressed from a Mother's heart 
to a Newborn's eye
fulfills the prophesy~ a King is born.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this poem, please click HERE.

The Full Moon and 'Sweet Harmony'

 

The full moon rising behind bare branches

“How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!

Here will we sit and let the sounds of music

Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night

Become the touches of sweet harmony." 

~ William Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)

Artistry of a Poet's Hand

An artist is a poet is an artist...Incorporation of art and poetry creates illumination of the human experience.

 

Above left: my own feathered pen and ink bottle

right: an illuminated manuscript of the 13th century narrative poem, Roman de la Rose

Artistry of a Poet's Hand

A fine gold nib gently fits

into a feathered pen.

The well of silver and crystal accepts colorful ink,

carefully poured by the hand of a poet.

This artisan of words dips the golden nib  

into the well, slides it along the neck,

allowing excess fluid to gracefully drip

off its gilded edge.

The poet reflects on placement of each word,

and touching nib to parchment,

propels the filled pen to stroke left, then right,

forming each letter with deliberate flourish.

Ornate illuminations of richly hued imagery

in crimson, amethyst, and beryl green,

penned along the borders of the page,

elegantly coalesce genius with beauty:

the Word, inscribed.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

A Christmas Poem

This Christmas poem was written a few years ago after I overheard a woman in the grocery store concerned that she didn't have enough cloves for her hot mulled wine. (Four bottles of cloves weren't enough? Ha! Oh dear...) I think Mary spoke to me personally that day, whispering into my subconscious, "Jeanne, you have to write this.... now!"  Merry Christmas!

Painting by Andrea Solari, ca. 1507

Sweet Savor

What shall I drink? Egg nog or grog?

What did the Holy Family drink

on that holiest night of nights?

Did Mary lean over to Joseph

after giving birth to Jesus and say,

“Joseph, be a dear and pour me

another glass of Chardonnay?”

To which Joseph replied,

“Mary, Darling, all we have is

a little hot mulled wine left over

from the party last night.”

Or…did a father, proud

after such a long trip

offer his bride a sip

of water to give her joy

upon delivering this

beautiful, healthy Boy?

Did the baby cry

in a humble home

and look to his mother,

so beautiful and warm,

snuggle up  

to her swollen breast

and drink of the milk

from the Mother Blessed?

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

To hear my reading of this poem, click HERE.

"Snow and Wind"

To me, the holiday season includes memories of snow and wind, family gatherings in Michigan, where, no matter how intense the weather, we always gathered at my Grandma's house to celebrate. As an adult, those memories revive with each new 'winter weather advisory,' and, with a lovely fire in the fireplace, all outside hostilities melt away.

Photos taken with my Canon SureShot in Danbury, CT

Snow and Wind

Snow speaks silently,

caresses my heart

with memories,

tickles my soul

with anticipation,

blends with ice

to generate adrenalin

focus.

Howling wind

erases impressions

with its jealous grasp

stings my cheeks

wraps around my bones.

My body shivers

to generate adrenalin

warmth.

Fire beyond the hearth

stoked with trees 

that once shaded, once housed,

once bore sparkling icicles

now draws me into its 

crackling core

to melt adrenalin

dreams.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this poem, click HERE. 

Memorial of Saint Lucia (Lucy): December 13

 

Painting by Francesco del Cossa, circa 1474

The Story of Saint Lucia (Lucy)

from: 

 https://www.stlucy-campbell.org/about-staint-lucy/

December 13th is our patron saint’s feast day! Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia) was a young virgin martyr in Syracuse, Sicily (Italy) in the late 200s A.D. who was put to death in 304 A.D. Excavation in Syracuse revealed a tomb dating to the 4th century with an inscription that it belonged to St. Lucy (her relics were removed hundreds of years after her death and are believed to currently be in Venice, Italy). Beyond this, little factual information is known about St. Lucy. Her name, Lucia in Italian, is believed to be derived from the Latin Lux, a term for “light.” The earliest known written information about St. Lucy’s story is from the late 400s, Acts of the Martyrs, which indicates there was already veneration shown to her by that time. By the 6th century, legends about St. Lucy had spread throughout Italy and other parts of Europe. Although the stories vary somewhat, the common theme in all of them is that St. Lucy dedicated herself to Christ and to serving the poor, which angered the pagan to whom she was betrothed. He denounced her as a Christian to the authorities, who then attempted first to drag her to a house of prostitution and then, when they could not physically move her, to burn her – which was also a failure. Ultimately, they ended St. Lucy’s life with a dagger or sword to her throat.

St. Lucy’s legend holds that her eyes were gauged out and God then provided her with new eyes. This came about, it is said, because her pagan suitor loved her beautiful eyes. In some versions of this story, St. Lucy plucked out her eyes herself and gave them to her suitor; in other versions, her eyes were removed by her persecutors. St. Lucy is often depicted holding a small plate with two eyes on it. She is the patron saint of the blind.

Legend has it that St. Lucy delivered wheat and bread to the poor and homebound, and possibly to Christians staying in the catacombs, often in the darkness of night to avoid detection. She would carry a lamp or wear a crown of candles (to free her hands for carrying food) to light her way. Because of this, the lamp and wreath of candles are symbols of St. Lucy. Hence the lamp that has long been a symbol of our parish.

According to legends of the Middle Ages in a couple different locations in Italy, including Sicily, ships filled with wheat came into harbors on St. Lucy’s feast day, saving the people from a famine. A Sicilian tradition based on this legend is to make a soup and a dessert with wheat berries on St. Lucy’s feast day. In Croatia, Christmas wheat is planted in a pot (indoors) on St. Lucy’s feast day. By Christmas Eve, the wheat shoots have emerged and the wheat is placed next to the manger scene as a gift to Jesus and a reminder for us that God feeds our souls with the Eucharist and our bodies with wheat.

Likewise, according to Scandinavian legend of the Middle Ages, during a terrible famine in southern Sweden and on the darkest day of the year, people saw a boat sailing across Lake Vannern. St. Lucia was at its prow, dressed in white and glowing with an unearthly light. When the boat came to the shore, she handed out enough sacks of wheat for the people to have bread through the winter. Scandinavian St. Lucia traditions include making “Lussekatter,” a slightly sweet saffron breakfast bread shaped in specific ways, and visiting the poor, sick, or homebound to serve the Lussekatter with coffee and to sing the Santa Lucia song.

There are many other traditions associated with St. Lucy in various cultures that were brought to the Americas and are still celebrated today, from the East Coast (Society of St. Lucy of Syracuse in Hartford, CT) to the Midwest (Sicilian Italian-based St. Lucy festival in Omaha, NE) to the West Coast (Scandinavian Santa Lucia service and celebration at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sacramento, CA).   All the traditions incorporate symbolic meaning of St. Lucy as the bearer of Christ’s light in the darkness of winter from her feast day (Dec. 13) until His birth at Christmas.

While it may be hard to distinguish fact from legend surrounding our patron saint, one thing is certain: This 3rd century Christian dedicated her life to Christ and to serving others and is an example to us for how we can use our time, talents, and treasure to carry the light of Christ to others in their time of need.

“To God’s servants the right words will not be wanting, for the Holy Spirit speaks in us. . . All who live piously and chastely are temples of the Holy Spirit.” –Attributed to St. Lucy

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception

by Jusepe de Ribera, 1635

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Many people misunderstand the term, Immaculate Conception, thinking that because this term has been associated with Jesus' mother, Mary, and the Virgin birth, that because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that became the immaculate conception. However, those individuals would be wrong.

Mary was born with her soul in an immaculate state in order to give birth to the Son of God. Thus, Saint Anne, Mary's mother,  conceived Mary as the Immaculate Conception.