Living In His Word
I love how God takes care of all the little details. The day before Thanksgiving, we had an amazing gift given to us and it followed so well the readings from the Liturgy of the Word on that day.
We were still in the exciting Book of Daniel where we read or reflect upon the story of King Belshazzar’s feast. During the feast, the guests were drinking from the gold and silver vessels that had been stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem. This displeased the Lord and He sent a startling message to the King and the guests. The fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing a message on the wall which left the King, understandably, very shaken. Daniel interpreted the message for him and basically it was an accusation and prophecy due to the sacrilege of profaning and disrespecting the sacred vessels. Next, our responsorial psalm was, “Give glory and eternal praise to Him”. The Holy Gospel stated Jesus’ words that His followers would be persecuted and despised because of His Name. How perfectly He brought these three alive for us that day!
In our main chapel on the grounds of SHRH, there is a side vestibule which contains our statue of the Infant of Prague. Our new handcrafted wooden shrine arrived today very worthy of our dear Infant King.
Here is a quick history for those who are not familiar with this Carmelite devotion. In the 16th century the original Infant of Prague was a wedding gift given to a Spanish woman marrying a Czech nobleman. After 60 or more years, it passed eventually to the Carmelite friars in Prague. You would recognize the statue. The left hand of the Infant Jesus holds a miniature globe, surmounted by a cross, signifying the world-wide kingship of the Christ Child. The right hand is extended in blessing. The first two fingers are upraised to symbolize the two natures of Christ.
The Carmelites developed and promoted this devotion. During the next century, the Thirty years War ensued and the friars had to escape. The mercenaries who overtook their monastery threw out the statue behind the altar. In 1637, after the friars returned, Fr. Cyril found the statue broken and in disrepair. It is said that the Infant appeared to him saying, “Have pity on Me, and I will have pity on you. Give Me My hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.”
This last sentence is the central spiritual message that has gained world-wide devotion. Fr. Cyril raised the funds to not only repair the statue but a shrine was built to honor the Infant King of Heaven.
In both the reading and Gospel, we see how the world century after century will treat Christ’s followers and those items we hold sacred and set apart (consecrated) to the worship of God. The statue of the Infant is not God or “a” god. Sacred images or sacred art moves our hearts, our spirits, beyond the limitations of the material world to reach out in praise and honor to our eternal King and Lord. May our new shrine lift up the hearts of all who enter our chapel trusting that He desires to reign in our own hearts and fill us with abundant blessings always.