April 29, 2016 – On This Day:
Gabriel Rossetti
1429 – St. Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans defeated the English at Orleans & began the process that ended with England’s complete expulsion from the continent in 1558.
Feast day of St. Catherine of Siena. She was the 23rd child of Jacopo & Lapa Benincasa & grew up as an intelligent, cheerful & intensely spiritual person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, & she was given a room of her own for prayer & meditation.
She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 & spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer & austerity. Gradually a group of followers gathered around her. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction & encouragement for her followers, began to take more & more note of public affairs. Opposition & slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world & speaking with the candor & authority of one completely committed to Christ. Despite the controversy her public influence reached great heights. In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes & putting even saints on opposing sides.
Catherine ranks high among the mystics & spiritual writers. Her spiritual testament is found in her book ‘The Dialogue’.
65 AD – Seneca a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, & humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature, was murdered. He was a tutor & later advisor to Emperor Nero.
1945 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
1945 – The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
1974 – Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
2004 – Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
2016 – Orthodox Good Friday – also: 4th Quarter Moon
~ ~ ~
~Light stands behind
The clouds gifting rain
A question in reflection
Hovers
Moving about in my bones
Rise up I shout
There is work to do
~hag = Hazel Archer Ginsberg
St. Catherine of Siena is such a great inspiration for being committed to a calling no matter what. It takes guts for a woman to go against all that opposition in that era.
Rise up I shout
There is work to do
This must have been St. Catherine’s real voice:))
Thank you Hazel
Marina, you are so perceptive & tuned in!!!
Blessings!
Thank you Hazel! I am so impressed by the amount of work you are gifting us! Such commitment , devotion,…! I have to admit I cannot follow as much as I wish, it is so much to take in. Thank you, it is admirable.
Hi Sophie –
this is part of my daily practice, so far it compels me & i look forward to seeing what wants to come thru each day. i am grateful that you tune in when you can, i know it’s alot to take in. but i am here when you need me…xox
Thank you.
Thanks Katherine for being part of the exchange!