Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Notes on Our Lady While Sick in Bed

Notes on Our Lady While Sick in Bed

Last updated on: January 4, 2018 at 8:51 pm by Mary Pezzulo

Notes on Our Lady While Sick in Bed 2018-01-04T20:51:34-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Which ones? The standard mantilla-and-long-dress modesty standards of, say, Italy? A woman from the 1950s United States who realized she forgot her pillbox hat and wore her husband’s fedora or a folded bulletin on her head for the liturgy? Catholic Inuit women who have always worn trousers, even in the 1950s? And what do you mean by “at least the 1950s?” Would you be more pleased if she went back further in time? What about in the first century AD when everyone wore robes without underpants, and men and women were baptized in the nude?

Must be open to either a certain kind of Traditional Latin Mass (I can explain later) or Eastern Divine Liturgy. Love of the truth and open to the idea of conspiracy and deception of the Masses.

Well, which is it? Do you love the truth or are you open to conspiracy and deception of the Masses? Or did you mean “masses,” lowercase, lots of people, and not trying to pull one over on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

Speaking of which, it’s not called a “traditional Latin Mass.” I’ve written about this before. It’s called the Tridentine Mass or the Tridentine Liturgy or the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. I could even handle it if you called it The Missal of Saint Pius the Fifth (although you’re supposed to be using the revision issued under John XXIII). Since every liturgy, be it Ordinary or Extraordinary form Latin Rite Liturgy, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysosotom or the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil or whatever other valid liturgy, is a liturgy that arises from a certain tradition, you’re expressing nothing. It’s tautology, like saying “tuna fish” and “morning sunrise.”
And while we’re on the subject, the Divine Liturgy is not a form of larping for conspiracy theorist Latin Catholics – in fact lots of people who use that liturgy aren’t even in communion with Rome. It’s worship, not a fancy new method to signal that you’re better than people who like the Novus Ordo. Come to it as worship. Come with attention and reverence. Come because you like the aesthetics (it is sublimely beautiful), or because it helps you concentrate better on the prayers than the Latin liturgy does, or because you want to see what it’s like. But for mercy’s sake, don’t come because it’s “traditional” in a way that other liturgies aren’t. Nothing good can come of that.

I am both dreading and curious about the parenthetical “I can explain later.”

Someone who sees the good in me, trusts my spiritual leadership and loves me for it. I tend to be attracted to ladies who have at least investigated religious life.

I am not available to play The Sound of Music with you, young man. No way Josie. It isn’t Marian.

I quickly tired of the Catholic dating website discussion and went back to Tetris.

Maybe there’s a way that we can all be Marian– not as the conspiracy theorist suitor on the dating website thinks of Mary, perhaps, but by the grace of God we can all be Marian.

The most compelling thing to me, about Our Lady, is the way she exemplified perfect love in any situation. And she found herself in a lot of situations. Tradition tells us that she grew up in the temple, did her duty there and was perfectly loving, in the temple. Then she left and was perfectly loving, as the wife of Joseph. She loved perfectly, as a temporarily homeless person forced to give birth in a cave in overcrowded Bethlehem. Then they fled for their lives, fugitives and refugees headed for the border under cover of darkness, and Our Lady loved perfectly as a fugitive and a refugee. She loved perfectly as a disciple, a bereaved mother and the mother of the risen Christ. She does so now as the Queen of Heaven.

It seems to me, the way to be Marian is not to take on the dramatic persona of a deified June Cleaver– which is fortunate, because most of us can’t do that. I sure can’t, not when I’m sick in bed all the time.

I think that the true way to be Marian is to love perfectly, wherever life takes you. Strive to love perfectly as a mother, and you will be Marian. Strive to love perfectly as a friend, and you will be Marian. Make perfect love your goal as you work, in whatever capacity you work, and you will be Marian in your work. Love perfectly whether it’s your vocation to make pecan rolls, instruct in the making of pecan rolls or watch annoying videos about pecan rolls. Love, even if you’re stuck bed playing Tetris a week out of every month. I don’t think you’ll look like a traditionalist conspiracy theorist’s idea of the Blessed Mother, but you will be Marian.

That’s my insight for the day.

Now I’m just going to go back to watching recipes online. Actually I’ve already started.

(image via Pixabay)

Go back

catholic conspiracy alarmism

Previous Post

January 1, 2018

A Parade of Novel Ideas

Next Post

January 5, 2018 A Winter Request from the Friendship Room

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did God confuse to stop the Tower of Babel from being finished?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The people’s language The weather Their tools The bricks