Friday, December 8, 2006

The Immaculate Conception

Everything you need to know about this magnificent feast is at Fish Eaters, including this epitaph from the statue of Mary Immaculate in Vienna, with which the Habsburg Emperor dedicated his realm to the protection of the Empress of Heaven.

To God, infinite in goodness and power, King of heaven and earth, by whom kings reign; to the Virgin Mother of God, conceived without sin, by whom princes command, whom Austria, devoutly loving, holds as her Queen and Patron; Ferdinand III, Emperor, confides, gives, consecrates himself, children, people, armies, provinces, and all that is his,and erects in accomplishment of a vow this statue, as a perpetual memorial. Share

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Of, course, I don't really mean EVERYTHING. It is an inexhaustible mystery we celebrate today.

Anonymous said...

The church in my university town is named the Church of the Immaculate Conception. How fitting for this day!

elena maria vidal said...

Yes, dear Elisa, double blessings for you!

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

Elena Maria,

I am so glad I checked my 'blog again today. Antony has been nudging me to do so for some time, but I was, as usual, slow to respond. I had figured that my usual 'blog friends already knew how they could reach me.

Thank you for leaving that comment. I'm still interested to know the connections between St. John of the Cross and M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, if you still have the time to respond.

My e-mail address is:

altaemoeniaRomae@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Madame, Je me suis fait le plaisir de vous ajouter à ma liste de sites préférés. Un grand merci pour les messages encourageants que vous avez eu la bonté de laisser au mien. Veuillez croire, chère Madame, à l'expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués.
P.S. I just couldn't bring myself to write to Trianon en anglais!

elena maria vidal said...

Bienvenu, mon cher Pere! Un grand merci pour votre message tres charmant. Merci beaucoup et Dieu vous benisse!

elena maria vidal said...

Hi, Enbrethiliel! Glad you found this blog! Yes, we keep playing cyber tag! Yes, I saw lot of St. John of the Cross in "The Village." St John, in his poems and commentaries"The Dark Night" and "The Ascent of Mt Carmel" and even in the "Living Flame of Love" speaks of darkness and blindness as states in which one proves the love for the Beloved. In the film, the blind young girl is the only one able to save her beloved, wounded for love of her. The "Spiritual Canticle" emphasizes the "wound of love." "Why, since you wounded this heart, don't you heal it?" The soul must not fear the "wild beasts" while going through the "woods and thickets" to find healing for the Beloved. Just like the girl trying to avoid the "monsters" in the woods.

In the film, the lovers pledged themselves "in the serene night," "the tranquil night," and in the Village movie the maidens must "stay away" from the "outskirts." The emphasis on solitude in the poems of St John, especially in "The dark Night" where it says "in a place where no one else appeared" was similar to in the film where the young maiden realizes she must make the journey alone. There are other similarities which made "The Village" a spiritual experience for me.

elena maria vidal said...

No, he is not Catholic but I wonder if he read Saint John of the Cross at one point.

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

Thank you, Elena Maria! :)

Or should I say, "Merci beaucoup"? It has been so long since my last French lesson . . .

Anonymous said...

An analogy...

Suppose you are walking through the woods at night down a path you have travelled many times. Unbeknowst to you there has been a hole dug into which, through no fault of your own, you fall. You cry for help, and out of the darkness a hand reaches down and pulls you to safety.

Now lets us suppose that Mary is walking down the same path. But just as she is about to fall into the hole, the same hand reaches out and pulls her back keeping her from falling.

Both have been saved by the same hand, but Mary has not fallen into the hole.

de Brantigny