Sunflowers: Mysterious, Meaningful, Glorious, and Useful
Sunflowers mean something special to me. A fourth-grade project was planting a garden at our house that our teacher would judge. I recall that my garden alongside our garage boasted tall sunflowers. That was exciting in itself, but added to that, my teacher came to my home! Now I belong to a religious community for which sunflowers are a kind of mascot.
In Ohio there are several large fields of sunflowers. One notable one is Maria’s Field of Hope in Avon where 477,000 seeds are planted on 18 acres in honor of Maria who died of cancer at age seven. A memorial wall lists other children who passed away.
Sunflowers’ Heliotropism
Right now a stray sunflower is blooming next to our Village building. Perhaps a bird or animal deposited its seed in the soil. Sunflowers with golden ray-like petals resemble the sun, but their colors can range from lemon to near chocolate.
Their faces appear to follow the sun across the sky. During the night they reorient themselves toward the east again, as though knowing where the sun will rise. Science has yet to offer a definite explanation.
The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas. At a gift shop there, the clerk informed me that a whole field of sunflowers following the sun is an awesome sight. The sunflower is also the national flower of Ukraine.
Notre Dames
St. Julie Billiart, the foundress of the original Sisters of Notre Dame, taught that we should be like the sunflower. Our face should always be turned toward God. Even on cloudy days, sunflowers sense where the sun is and face it. Likewise, during our gray and gloomy days, we need to keep our eyes fixed on God for life and hope. Aware of the link between Notre Dames and the sunflower, Loyola Press gave it prime place on the cover of my last book, Cherished by Jesus. Coincidentally, Sr. Melannie’s last book, Sunflower Seeds of Hope, also sported sunflowers. She too is a Notre Dame Sister. I put a large one on the cover of my biography of St. Julie, The Walking Love of God.
This year the editor of my book sent me a card with exquisite quilled flowers, yes, sunflowers.
BBQ
These books and others that Notre Dame Sister authored will be at the Book Nook in NDCL cafeteria this Sunday. You are invited to come to this BBQ and boutique:
Surprising Form
Sunflowers belong to the daisy family but are the giants. One grew to be 30 feet tall. This year a man in Indiana beat this record and cultivated one 35 feet tall to honor Ukraine.
These cheerful flowers have a stiff stem and usually heart-shaped stems—another symbol?
While we regard the whole head as the flower, it actually comprises two different kinds of flowers. The center is composed of myriad five-petaled flowers (disk flowers) that eventually become the seeds. What we call petals are individual flowers (ray flowers).
God amazingly formed the seeds for the most efficient packing mathematically possible. For those who understand math, Wikipedia explains: “Generally, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals, where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other.”
Sunflower Uses
This rich yellow flower, which is native to North and South America, brightens bouquets and arrangements. However, it also has practical uses. Since 3,000 B.C. it has been used for dye, oil, healing skin ailments, and food. Currently a bag of sunflower seeds sits in my kitchen, waiting to be added to salads. These seeds are nutritious, described as “rich in health-boosting compounds.” Each sunflower can produce up to 2,000 of them! You can roast them or grind them into butter.
Sunflowers in Art
Famous Paintings
Fascinated by this flower, Vincent van Gogh produced two series of paintings starring them. In 1987 a Japanese man paid over $39 million for Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
Outhouses
Once my friend, a gardener, planted sunflowers in a garden plot in front of one of our institutions. The boss ordered her to cut them down them because they are associated with outhouses. Photos show this is true.
What role have sunflowers played in your life?
When do you look to God like a sunflower gazes at the sun?
Carey Landry composed this song that conveys St. Julie’s message:
A Book on Mary, Guided by the Spirit
Although May is Mary’s month, this month has a few Marian Feasts. For example, there is her birthday on September 8 and the feast of the Sorrowful Mother on September 16. So it’s appropriate that I blog about my Mary books this week.
All my books came to be in various ways. My first one published, Leading Students into Scripture, was the result of the first talk I ever gave at an NCEA convention. After working on the talk for an entire year, it was disappointing to think it was all over in one day! Therefore, I proposed to a publisher that he produce it as a book. Bingo! I wrote The Holy Spirit because a parishioner asked me to write a book about this Person he didn’t understand. Praying on Empty followed a phone call from a publisher asking if I’d be interested in writing a book by that title. Of course I would!
But the history of my most unique, most popular book, and the one with the most positive reviews on Amazon, Heart to Heart with Mary, makes an interesting story.
The Book’s Genesis
At a writers’ convention, authors were invited to pitch an idea for a book to publishers in hopes that it would be accepted for publication. I told a representative that I was thinking of writing a book on Mary. Immediately she proposed writing a book like the bestselling Jesus Calling but titled Mary Calling. Instead of Jesus speaking to the reader every day, Mary would. I set out to write that book and signed a contract with the publisher with a witness I corralled after Mass.
A Setback
One day a call came from the representative who had had the idea for the book. She said she felt she needed to call rather than email to deliver the bad news. The publisher of Jesus Calling would not allow another publisher to publish a book with the title Mary Calling. So her publisher would not publish my book. I presume they figured that my book would ride on the coattails of Jesus Calling and make millions. Without that title as a drawing card, the book wouldn’t sell. But the contract? The publisher had never cosigned it!
Pros and Cons
Having the book cancelled was a blow. But then I realized that if I self-published it, I could write it the way I wanted to (without an editor’s restrictions) and have the fun of designing the format and the cover myself. That was exciting. The downside was that I would need to market it myself, and this would be difficult because I don’t spend community money on advertising.
The Book’s Title
My first task was coming up with a new title. I asked for advice on Facebook, but none of the suggestions felt right. Then while I was taking a shower, the words “Heart to Heart with Mary” floated into my brain. But I wasn’t sure about it. The next morning my cousin, a Buddhist, called from Massachusetts. She asked, “Kathy, what about ‘Heart to Heart with Mary?’ ” I think the Holy Spirit was working overtime to help me!
The Production
The book was a joy to write. Each page of the devotional began with Mary saying, “Dear Child.” The words seemed to flow. When possible, I correlated the reflections with the day’s feast. For decoration, the monogram for Maria with the letters in her name is on the top of each page. I made the book small and compact. For the cover, I chose a lifelike statue of Mary from our convent chapel.
As an appendix, I added complete directions for a group retreat called “Walking with Mary.” It includes questions for faith sharing and ten Marian activities that can be carried out at any time.
The Reception
People love this book. It has uncanny power to speak to them depending on what is happening on a particular day. One young woman who was sick thought so much of the book that at her funeral it appeared on her casket. In addition, part of it was read in her eulogy. Fans of the book have purchased multiple copies to give to their relatives and friends.
My Personal Experience
I discovered the strange power of my book myself the day I played the piano in front of 176 guests. Only two of us had volunteered to play classical pieces for two hours. For weeks I practiced five songs like Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and one of Chopin’s preludes. On the day of the concert, experts who had been invited to participate played first while I sat for over an hour waiting to be called up to the piano. When I did play, I ruined every single piece! From time to time I stood and made comments like, “You should have been here last night when it was perfect” and “Let’s try that again.” As I returned to my seat, one of the experts said, “Nice try!” I was utterly humiliated. The saving feature was that people liked my humor. They said I was the comic relief.
That day’s reflection in Heart to Heart with Mary was called “Coping with Failure.” In it, Mary says something like, “Sometimes you try something brave and circumstances and people are set against you. You fail. Don’t let that stop you from doing brave things in the future.” Yes, Mother Mary spoke to my heart.
Other Marian Books
The First Book
For ACTA Publications I wrote the book “The Catholic Companion to Mary,” which is an overview of all we know about our Blessed Mother. It concludes with a plan for a Marian concert incorporating passages from this book and Marian hymns. This concert was performed at least once that I know of. St. Dominic Church in Shaker Hts. presented it. When I first saw the cover of the book, Mary looked angry. The publisher had the artist fix this simply by turning up the corners of her lips.
One Catholic bookstore did not want to sell this book because of the way Mary was depicted. She is not blond and blue-eyed!
Another Marian Book
A couple years ago, I gave a talk at the NCEA in Texas on ways to teach about Mary. (For this presentation I taught myself how to pray the Hail Mary in American Sign Language!) Afterwards, I assembled the ideas into the book Leading Young People to Mary. This one is self-published. It contains information about the Mother of God along with related activities for teachers and families to carry out.
What’s Next?
Years ago my Saint’s Kit was a huge success. It was a box of cards, each one with a biography of a saint and related activities. Maybe a publisher would be interested in a Mary Kit….
Did anything surprise you about my publishing adventures?
What do you most admire about Mary?
How do you express your love for your heavenly mother?
What is your favorite feast of Mary?
Hymn to Mary
This is a touching piece of music with a choir and a violin. The only words are “Ave Maria.” It is accompanied by a few art masterpieces. To listen, click on the link here and then enlarge the picture:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka-tZdkv0uc&si=QXVlE1q5ycIVycAU
St. Therese’s Little Way, Simple and Speedy
St. Therese of Lisieux captivated the hearts of many people because of her simple, practical spirituality of the “Little Way.” She accepted the fact that she wouldn’t gain heaven by stupendous feats. Not for her the path of the martyr, missionary, or priest. Instead, she soared to heaven by doing little ordinary acts with great love.
My book on the little saint, who died at age 24, is newly in print. It has quite a few photos of her. (Click on the blue words to see and/or order.) In the course of writing it and by making my annual retreat on her, I learned more about her. Here are some facts I gleaned . . .
Although her parents wished to be religious, that didn’t work out. They met on a bridge and Therese’s mother heard the inner words, “This is the one I have prepared for you.” The couple had nine children but only five girls survived.
Therese was the youngest and pampered. (At school she couldn’t comb her hair because her sisters had always done that for her! ) Her father called her “Little Queen.” As a child, she was super sensitive and cried often. (I could identify with that!)
A Miracle
From birth, Therese was sickly. A neighbor nursed her for 12 months before returning her home. At age 10 Therese was extremely ill. Her mother moved her own statue, Our Lady of the Smile, into Therese’s room. Therese saw the statue change and look at her with a radiant face. From that moment, she was cured. Later, thinking that she lied about that statue, she was in turmoil. But then a few years later, praying before the statue of Our Lady of Victories, she realized it really had happened and she was at peace.
Later, at school, not being used to other children, she suffered. They taunted her, and she kept to herself.
One day when her father wasn’t home, she saw him walking in the garden with his face hidden by a cloth. This vision was a premonition of the time he would be in a mental institution and cover his face with a handkerchief because he was humiliated.
Therese’s goal was to rescue sinners. When a murderer was to be executed, she prayed for his conversion. Nevertheless, he didn’t repent. But then at the scaffold, he asked for the priest’s crucifix—a sign to Therese that her prayers for him were heard.
Therese’s Vocation
When Therese was four, she lost her mother and adopted her sister Pauline as her mother. After Pauline entered Carmel, Therese decided she wanted to be a Carmelite too. When she was fourteen, various people, such as the convent prioress and the bishop, refused her request to enter. So her father took her for an audience with Pope Leo XIII. To look older, she put up her hair.
Although the visitors were warned not to speak to the pope, just receive his blessing, Therese grasped his hands and asked for him to permit her to become a Carmelite. He said to do as the superior say. Finally she did enter when she was fifteen.
As a Carmelite
Therese prayed for and wrote to two missionary priests, which satisfied her longing to be a missionary.
Aiming to show God love in everything, she practiced self-control. When a sister splashed her with laundry water, she didn’t complain. Another example: when a sister praying in chapel kept clicking her teeth, Therese didn’t turn and stare at her. She also practiced being content with things that were not the best.
A woman of many talents, Therese wrote poetry and plays. In her play about St. Joan of Arc, she played Joan. Also, she created intricate liturgical vestments, a gift no doubt inherited from her mother, a lace maker.
One day Therese realized “My vocation is love.” She wanted all her actions to show love for God.
At others’ request, she wrote the story of her life in three parts, which became the popular book called The Story of a Soul.
Three of her sisters were Carmelites with her. For a time, Pauline was her prioress. Another sister joined a Visitation community.
Last Days
Therese suffered from tuberculosis at a time when people didn’t known how to treat it. Unfortunately the doctor didn’t immediately recognize she had the disease, and in the end gave her mercury medicine that only increased her pain.
Before dying, she promised to let fall a shower of roses from heaven. Many people attest to her powerful intercession as they received answers to their requests. A short prayer to her is “Little Flower, in this hour, show your power.”
After being buried in a local cemetery, Therese’s body was exhumed and now is interred in the Carmelite chapel. A crowd of about 30,000 accompanied the body along the walk to the chapel. A wax figure modeled on how she looked in death lies atop the reliquary.
In 1997, the Holy Father declared Therese a Doctor of the Church when there were only two women Doctors: St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Avila. Now St. Hildegarde of Bingen joins the group.
This year, 2025, is the 100th anniversary of St. Therese’s canonization.
St. Teresa of Calcutta chose to be named for this “little flower,” not the big St. Teresa of Avila. Therese saw herself as a little flower. She wrote, “God willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones, and these must be content to be daisies or violets.” In addition she noted, “If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.”
Like St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Therese experienced periods of dryness and a feeling of being abandoned by God. She compared herself to Jesus’s toy or ball that he sometimes leaves alone, and she accepted this.
This website has interesting information about the basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux.
• Have you ever prayed to St. Therese? Did you read her autobiography?
• What fact about her life was new to you?
Carlo Acutis, A Boy Saint
Carlo Acutis will be canonized this Sunday (September 7) in Rome. Dying at the age of fifteen from leukemia, he is one of the youngest saints—the first millennial one.
Originally Pope Francis scheduled this canonization for April 27, but after he died, Pope Leo inherited the job of canonizing this young boy.
Carlo’s Childhood
Carlo was born in London in 1991 to wealthy Italian parents. A few months later the family moved to Milan, Italy. As a child, he was cared for by nannies. A Polish nanny answered his questions about the Catholic religion.
On the way to a school run by Sisters, he would stop to talk to the foreign caretakers of homes. During the summers he stayed with his grandparents and joined older women in church to pray the rosary.
He attended a Jesuit high school, where he was an average student but he became a whiz at information technology and computers. With this skill, he designed websites for his parish and one to promote volunteers, for which he won a national competition.
Carlo enjoyed playing computer games and soccer and taught himself to play the saxophone. A handsome, likable boy, he wasn’t shy about revealing that his goal was to be close to Jesus.
His parents were not religious. But Carlo’s faith brought his mother back to the church. He also converted an immigrant who worked for the family as well as the man’s friend. The boy has been dubbed “God’s Influencer.”
When he was twelve, he became a catechist.
The Eucharist
In particular Carlo had a strong devotion to the Eucharist, which he called his “highway to heaven.” In fact, he created a website for cataloguing Eucharistic miracles worldwide—136 of them. For that reason, he is called “Cyber Apostle.” Carlo’s photo exhibition of the Eucharistic miracles has traveled to every continent, including Antarctica.
Carlo’s Early Death
While in pain in the hospital Carlo offered his sufferings for the pope and the Church. At first he was buried in a local cemetery, but then his body was exhumed and his wish to be buried in Assisi was granted. His tomb is in part of the Church of Saint Mary Major there, next to the site where St. Francis of Assisi shed his clothes to follow Jesus. Carlo’s body is inside a glass case, clothed in jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt. It is covered with a layer of wax molded to look like him.
About two weeks ago a statue of Carlo Acutis was unveiled outside the church.
Canonization
Carlo’s canonization is timely. It seems that today more than ever, youth need a role model, someone their age to inspire them to be their best selves.
To be approved as a saint, a person must have shown heroic virtue. Carlo practiced numerous acts of charity. He gave away personal belongings, bought sleeping bags for the homeless, worked at soup kitchens, and prepared meals for people living on the streets. At his funeral, many of the people he had befriended were present.
• Have you seen the Eucharistic display at a parish? If so, what were your impressions?
• Do you know a young person who shows extraordinary faith?
To learn more about Carlo, watch a video of people who speak about him:
Art for Enjoyment, Inspiration, and Knowledge
Last week I wrote a post about music, one of the fine arts. This week my focus is art.
A Special Painting
Art on the wall of my apartment needed to be shifted since my office things are being relocated. This particular piece has an interesting history. Taking a course at the Cleveland Diocesan Seminary, I learned that a priest living there who was an artist gave the residents his paintings for their rooms. At the time, Sr. Megan Dull, an artist, was my suitemate at Notre Dame College. When I told her what the priest artist did, she invited me to her studio to select one of her paintings for my room.
This is the painting I’ve had hanging in the various convents where I lived. The piece came about somewhat by accident. Sister explained that as she painted a picture on an easel, her paintbrush would collect blobs of paint. She would clean them off by brushing them onto a blank canvas next to the one she was working on. When the project was finished, she took her brush and swirled around the blobs on that extra canvas, creating the painting I have. I love its colors and movement.
Art in My Life
I grew up with art: fingerpainting, oil painting by number kits, coloring books using Crayola crayons (beginning with 8 colors and graduating to 64), and a box of blackline flowers to color. In the fifth grade, our teacher stole time from other subjects to have us create large murals for the big bulletin boards in the halls. These were done in crayon, pressing hard.
When I was in the eighth grade, for Halloween the businesses on Superior Avenue held a contest. Students from neighboring schools were invited to paint a Halloween scene on their windows. My two friends and I painted a fantastic one on the large bank window. Although a judge during a break assured us that ours would be a winner, sadly, it wasn’t. But what fun!
As a grade school teacher, I loved teaching art. Sister Claudette, a master teacher, gave me a slew of ideas for projects that I used with first, third, and eighth grade children. Some of these I later included in my book Jumbo Book of Art Ideas. For that book I asked the Sisters to provide samples of the various art activities. These appear in color in my book. Here are two pages from it:
I’ve done artwork for some of my books. Our Sister Marisa Lilley paints as her full-time ministry. You can see her beautiful work on her blog: https://gracetopaint.org/
She painted St. Peter’s wife for the cover of my book The Fisherman’s Wife: St. Peter’s Spouse:
Famous Artwork
Museums are fascinating places. I love browsing in Cleveland’s Art Museum and soaking in the masterpieces displayed there. On the Internet I can find ones not in its collection.
Who doesn’t love Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”?
Who isn’t moved by Salvador Dali’s crucifixion?
Mary Cassatt’s “Child’s Bath”?
Claude Monet ‘s “Water Lilies?”
To be honest, I don’t understand most of modern art. I prefer realistic art like Norman Rockwell’s.
Art and the Gospel
I think I mentioned this before, but every day a priest emails a piece of art related to the day’s Gospel along with a reflection on both. You can subscribe for this at https://christian.art/
You and Art
Today adult coloring books are popular. You might work in one if you don’t already. Did you know that coloring is calming, reduces stress, aids in sleeping, sharpens the brain, improves motor skills, and provides a meditative experience? It’s worth trying.
You might even register for an art class somewhere.
Or watch a YouTube video teaching art. There are dozens of them. Here is one:
• What is your favorite piece of art, a painting, sculpture, photograph?
• Do you have art hanging or standing in your home? If so, what is it?
• What would you title Sr. Megan’s painting? Why?
