Haven: Part 1
Did you know I got to meet Maria von Trapp?
Okay…maybe not the real Maria von Trapp…or Julie Andrews who portrayed Maria von Trapp in the iconic movie Sound of Music.
But if there was ever a living person who imitated Maria von Trapp so perfectly, it was the little religious sister who sat with my family during RCIA when I was eight years old.
I didn’t pay a single bit of attention during class…how could I when the kindest person on the face of the planet was sitting next to me? I doodled the entire class, and she acted like my drawings were comparable to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
She helped prepare me for First Communion that very same year, but I don’t remember a lick of what I learned in religious ed class either. The only memory I have was of this sister turning off all the lights at the beginning of each class and lighting a candle. The room would be hushed as this sister whispered quiet prayers with the biggest smile on her face.
Even during Mass, I never paid attention. My parents would sit in the front row of the balcony. This same sister had told me that the entire ceiling of our church had once been painted with the most beautiful mural.
So instead of paying attention during Mass, I would stare at the domed ceiling, wondering what the original mural looked like before it was hidden under that thick layer of beige paint.
(If I wasn’t staring at the ceiling, I was too busy sneaking tissues from my mom’s pocket, ripping them up, and dropping them from the balcony like snow on the people below…sorry mom.)
Why am I telling you all this? Because in a minute, I will be sharing my newest piece with a central theme of children and faith formation.
But I would like you to consider my tiny little testimony first…for what it’s worth!
At first glance, it appears that I learned nothing during my initial faith formation. I never paid attention.
But in reality, I’d dare to say I learned everything I needed at the time.
Because religious formation for our littlest ones is fruitless unless taught with love. Love points toward beauty. And beauty points toward truth.
I may not have paid attention to all the details of our faith (that would come around naturally in my teens).
But one thing I did know through that one little sister, is that with Christ, I was safe.
With Christ, I was secure.
And even when I encountered others who attempted to make my faith seem scary and uninviting, I knew that at it’s core, Our Lord’s beautiful universal Church was rooted in love.
It was home, and I could always rest there.
To whom shall we go? (John 6:68)
And it was all because this one religious sister imitated Christ even better than she imitated the lovely Maria von Trapp ;)
So…without further ado…I bring you my latest piece…
Haven.
When Marian Educational Outreach of Evansville Indiana said they wanted a “Mantle of Mary” themed painting to be created live at their charity event, the wheels in my brain started turning. Within an hour, I had all the symbolism I needed. I’ll attempt to explain the symbolism of “security” within this email. And will loop back around to the symbolism on Mary in next week’s email.
While the symbolism in this piece was created to represent/encourage Catholic School Education, I truly believe these themes can be tailored to education and faith formation within the home as well.
1. The Book: The child reading represents the academic aspect of education. The opportunity to learn about the world around us is such a gift indeed!
2. The Rosary: The child praying the rosary represents the faith-based aspect of Catholic Education. Both the academic child and the praying child are together within Mary’s mantle. Learning about the world through the lens of a Divine Creator helps us to see far beyond facts. Math, science, the human heart…these aren’t just numbers and facts. They point to a divine Creator who truly loves us! Let us never separate our faith from our academics.
Learning about cells in biology? Pretty boring if you ask me (no offense), but when viewing those cells as coming from the hands of a Creator…WOW! How deeply loved we must be for Our God to “knit us within our mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13) down to the tiniest of details…
3. The Child Sleeping: But what about this child resting? Well, I truly hope this child is the one who brings this whole painting together.
This child represents…
Trust.
Safety.
Security.
Home.
As you’ll notice, the rosary is draped over this resting child like a comforting blanket. This child is not living in a state of fear, but of deep trust.
Trust that Christ is who He says He is.
Learning about the genius of God through academics, while also learning about the deep profound Love of God through our faith, this Child can come to trust that our God is good.
He is safe in the hands of His Creator.
He need not fear.
I was struggling to accurately express this profound sense of safety we can find within our faith, until I came across a reflection in Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Bible. My goal was to really take some time to read through the Gospel of Mark this Lent, but here we are…Day 3 of Lent, and I find myself just sitting with Bishop Barron's reflection on Mark 1:14-15.
“When we fear, we cling to who we are and what we have; when we are afraid, we see ourselves as the threatened center of a hostile universe…and fear…is a function of living our lives at the surface level, a result of forgetting our deepest identity. At the root and ground of our being, at the “center” of who we are, there is what Christianity calls “the image and likeness of God.”… When we rest in this center and realize its power, we know that, in an ultimate sense, we are safe….We Can let go of fear and begin to live in radical trust.”
So, here, we have a child feeling safe and secure. Academics and faith formation play a role in this safety. But ultimately, once this child knows who he is to God, he rests safely.
Looping back around to my experience as a child above… I never paid attention.
But here was nun who helped me to see very early on that my faith was a safe place. As I was met with scary twists and turns of life later on, regardless of where I was at, regardless of what parish I was a part of, or who the priest was, etc, I knew that where Christ was, I was safe.
I was home.
So when we approach the education of our children, let it first be done in love to emphasize a sense of safety and security. So even if these children grow up to leave the faith, even if they struggle to grasp the deep mysteries within… may they always feel that sense of “home” when they drive past a Church.
Or when they see a rosary hanging from a rearview mirror.
Or when they simply hear their confirmation saint’s name.
Perhaps they will recognize that sense of home and come running back.
One question I would like to end with is this:
Are we as educators and parents placing more emphasis on career and what our children want to be when they grow up?
Or are we first addressing vocation and asking children whose they want to be when they grow up?
Overemphasis on the former will most likely lead to anxiety at some point or other with no clear remedy.
The latter provides the remedy from the start. Security in Christ.
So where does Mary fit into this sense of security? I’ll bring one more reflection on this piece next week.
Peace to you and yours,
Haley Dessauer
Artist, This Little Fiat
