St. Cecilia at the Organ by Carlo Dolci.It's my birthday!
I've been thinking a lot lately about one of my most dear patron saints, St. Cecilia. There's a story about how we first met.
The primary turning point of my conversion to Catholicism came at a Christmas Eve midnight Mass in 1991. I was there with my friend Keith and a handful of his friends, and before Mass began one of them asked me when my birthday was, and I answered November 22. They all tried to remember whose feast was celebrated that day, but none could remember. On the morning of the 27th, having surrendered my heart to the Lord's presence that I experienced that night at Mass just the evening before (after two whole days of trying desperately to ignore what His presence meant to me), I entered a Catholic bookstore. I was seeking a breviary, because one of Keith's friends had given me a magazine that contained an article about lay people praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I thought it was incredible to have a book with which I could pray in union with Catholics everywhere every day. But after locating what I came for, I was drawn to a corner of the store that held all sorts of saint stuff. At that moment, the Communion of Saints was one of the most difficult Catholic doctrines for me to stomach. I just really didn't understand how honoring human beings did not detract from the worship of God. Everything had taught me to think these two were mutually exclusive. But I remembered what Keith's friends were trying to remember about the saint whose feast was on my birthday, and I found some sort of a saint-of-the-day book, and began to search November. I found November 22, and read St. Cecilia, Patroness of musicians. I was overcome. For the first time in my life I had this sense, deep down in my soul, that my life, my coming into existence, had not been a mistake, an error, a goof. It was as if St. Cecilia said to me "Welcome! I've been praying for you for a long time. And I have so many people to introduce you to!" It was the beginning of a whole new way of looking at relationships for me within the Body of Christ.
So, even though we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King today, I wish all of you also a happy feast of St. Cecilia.
I've been thinking a lot lately about one of my most dear patron saints, St. Cecilia. There's a story about how we first met.
The primary turning point of my conversion to Catholicism came at a Christmas Eve midnight Mass in 1991. I was there with my friend Keith and a handful of his friends, and before Mass began one of them asked me when my birthday was, and I answered November 22. They all tried to remember whose feast was celebrated that day, but none could remember. On the morning of the 27th, having surrendered my heart to the Lord's presence that I experienced that night at Mass just the evening before (after two whole days of trying desperately to ignore what His presence meant to me), I entered a Catholic bookstore. I was seeking a breviary, because one of Keith's friends had given me a magazine that contained an article about lay people praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I thought it was incredible to have a book with which I could pray in union with Catholics everywhere every day. But after locating what I came for, I was drawn to a corner of the store that held all sorts of saint stuff. At that moment, the Communion of Saints was one of the most difficult Catholic doctrines for me to stomach. I just really didn't understand how honoring human beings did not detract from the worship of God. Everything had taught me to think these two were mutually exclusive. But I remembered what Keith's friends were trying to remember about the saint whose feast was on my birthday, and I found some sort of a saint-of-the-day book, and began to search November. I found November 22, and read St. Cecilia, Patroness of musicians. I was overcome. For the first time in my life I had this sense, deep down in my soul, that my life, my coming into existence, had not been a mistake, an error, a goof. It was as if St. Cecilia said to me "Welcome! I've been praying for you for a long time. And I have so many people to introduce you to!" It was the beginning of a whole new way of looking at relationships for me within the Body of Christ.
So, even though we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King today, I wish all of you also a happy feast of St. Cecilia.
2 comments:
Happy Birthday Marie! I hope you have a great celebration!
Happy birthday! I always think of C.S. Lewis on this day, but given our household, it's also good to know when the Feast Day of the patron saint of music is. And I'm glad you found healing through the discovery of sharing your day with St. Cecilia.
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