Eyes, Ours and God’s
Our Two Eyes
Eyes are precious gifts that we seldom pay attention to unless something gets into them. Recently I visited an optometrist and now have a new pair of glasses. This has focused (!) my mind on eyes as a topic for this blog.
Our eyes are one of God’s intricate and amazing creations.
Your eyes let you be aware of the world around you. They perceive depth and color. Light is a requirement for them to work, as you know if you’ve ever stumbled over something in the dark.
Structure of Eyes
A little research revealed these facts:
The cornea protects your eye and bends light entering it.
The sclera is the white part, which is covered by the thin conjunctiva.
The aqueous humor is fluid that helps keep the eye’s shape.
The iris, which is colored, has muscles that control the pupil.
The black pupil controls how much light enters your eye.
The lens focuses the light and directs it to the back of your eye.
The vitreous is the fluid between the lens and retina.
The retina is the layer of cells at the back of your eyes that converts light into electrical signals. It contains rods that help you see in dim light and cones, which help you see colors. The macula in the retina lets you see details.
The optic nerve carries signals to points of your brain.
Other Eye-Opening Facts
Now if that isn’t complex enough, features of our face contribute to the eye’s protection. Eyelids wipe the eye and spread tears to prevent dehydration. Eyelashes protect the eye from fine particles. In addition, eyebrows keep sweat and debris from falling into the eye socket.
Human eyes only take in a field of 200 degrees wide, although teachers presumably have eyes in the back of their heads.
Eyes of animals and insects vary enormously depending on their environment and lifestyle. Many have better vision than we have. Eagles can spot a rabbit running three miles away. Flies have 360 degree vision. Some animals see more colors than we do and can even see ultraviolet.
God’s Eyes
As a pure Spirit, God has no physical eyes, however, he “sees” all. In other words, God is omniscient, all-knowing. “His eyes are upon the ways of mortals, and he sees all their steps” (Job 34:21). “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and good” (Proverbs 15:3).
Art represents this by the Eye of God, a large eye within a triangle, symbol of the Trinity. This depiction is also called the Eye of Providence.
A little boy was afraid to be in church because of a large stained-glass window showing this Eye of God. But then his teacher explained, “That doesn’t mean that God is watching you to catch you doing something wrong. It means that God loves you so much he can’t take his eyes off you!”
The eye of God appears in the seal of the United States and on the back of one-dollar bills.
The stunning nebula closest to the earth is Eye of God. You can see why.
The Ojo de Dios has roots in indigenous peoples. Today it’s a craft for children.
The Eyes of Jesus
When God became man, he was able to see with human eyes. Jesus first saw the face of Mary, his mother. Then he took in the beauties of creation: the starry sky, Sea of Galilee, Mount Hermon, fields of wheat. He could read Scripture. Most of all, Jesus was laser-focused on the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable. He cured the blind like Bartimaeus, the man cured with mud, and the man blind from birth. He attempted to cure the blindness of the Pharisees, but they resisted.
We can only claim 20/20 vision when we notice people in need. Hopefully, your life will culminate in the Beatific Vision, beholding God face to face.
Thanksgiving is drawing near. You might remember to thank God for your sight.
Myth of Argus
In mythology, Argus had a hundred eyes, and so, like God, he was all-seeing. When Argus slept, a few eyes always remained open. The goddess Hera, Zeus’s wife, had him guard Io (one of Zeus’s loves in the form of a white heifer). While Argus was on duty, Hermes killed him. To immortalize Argus, Hera had his eyes placed in a peacock’s tail.
What is the most beautiful sight you ever saw?
Here is a Gospel favorite:
Halloween Fun
Halloween’s not just for kids. Here in our province center, we celebrate it big time. Each hall in our Health Care is decorated by different departments. It’s a contest. Big leaves hang from the ceiling all down a hall. The giant spider webs were awesome.
Over in our Village the decorations were put up weeks in advance. A giant with a pumpkin head stands in the corner and speaks as you pass him. Pretty scary!
On Halloween, Sisters and employees had a party in the afternoon. Employees came in costume and were judged. The winner was our cook Phil Wetzel, who came as a pig. He provided the photos here.
In the evening, we Sisters had a Halloween supper with pumpkin cookies, orange sherbert, and little candy bars for dessert. For entertainment there were paper and pencil games and “How many pieces of candy corn in a bottle?”
My favorite costume was Sister Ellen’s, which she made herself. For her students, she came as Little Red Riding Hood with a cute wolf puppet on her hand.
I remember one year my dentist had a pumpkin decorating contest for his staff.
Of course, Halloween is the “Eve of the Hallowed (the Saints),” the day before we celebrate All Saints’ Day. I just read that China forbade celebrating it this year.
Beaver Moon
Tonight, Wednesday, is the best night to see the Beaver Moon, the closest full moon since 2019. You may have missed it the past two days. It is one of three Supermoons this year.
Because I have a huge collection of Halloween cartoons, I’m sharing a few with you today:
What was your favorite Halloween costume?
Did you ever distribute something unusual to the trick-or-treaters? Did you ever receive something unusual in your bag?
In honor of the Beaver Moon, here is Andy Williams ….
Are Poor Souls Poor?
The month of November is dedicated to the Poor Souls. This year the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, November 2, lands on Sunday and preempts the Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time. That is how important our bishops consider that day in honor of our “Church Suffering.”
Poor Souls and Us
When I was writing a textbook series, one day a Jewish employee of the publisher called with an odd question. He asked, “How do you spell Poor Souls? Is it pour, poor, or pore?” Purgatory is pretty much a Catholic belief. In fact, it has long been Catholic doctrine. In the Creed, we profess that we believe in the Communion of Saints. This comprises three groups: the Saints in heaven, the people in purgatory, and the believers on Earth. As some wit put it: All Saints, All Souls, and All Sorts!
Notre Dame Recognition of Poor Souls
In our Province Center in Chardon we have a tradition of writing the names of our deceased loved ones on paper. Sometimes these are arranged artistically in our chapel and kept there all month.
In addition, we are invited to display photos of people we love who have passed into the next world. Usually I add this photo of my mom:
Suffering of Poor Souls
Our departed relatives and friends are still present and loving us, although they are invisible. They exist in another dimension, one that we too will be slipping into one day. As holy as these people were on earth, there is no guarantee that they are in heaven (unless the Church has canonized them). Therefore, we don’t call them saints, but poor souls.
Monsignor Moriarty, who was reader/censor for our Christ Our Life series, preferred the term “holy” souls. He pointed out that the people in purgatory were not really poor. Having run the race on earth successfully, they escaped eternal damnation. They are just undergoing purification before living with God in heaven. They were good people, holy people, who just needed to become more worthy of seeing God face-to-face. Their earthly prayers and penances hadn’t sufficiently atoned for their mistakes, their lack of love.
Some theologians propose that purgatory is not fire but the excruciating pain of realizing of our sinfulness once we are face-to-face with God. It happens instantaneously. I wouldn’t count on it.
Relief from Us
Because everyone in the Church is united and share in one another’s good works, we can pray for our brothers and sisters in purgatory that they maybe released. We offer Masses for them, light a votive candle for them, and pray the traditional prayer, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.” One family I know prays this whenever they are traveling and pass a cemetery. Scripture supports praying for the dead. In Maccabees II, we read, “Therefore [Judas Maccabee] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.”
Likewise, the poor souls can pray for us.
It is a good practice to pray for certain groups: those who have no one to pray for them, those who died an early or unexpected death, first responders, priests and sisters, ancestors, and those who committed suicide.
Of course, all of these practices depend on the fact that there is life after death. We take Christ’s word for it. He promised it was true and rose from the dead himself to prove it.
A Surprise
The day after I flew home from a conference, I googled my name. A shocking notice appeared—an obituary for Kathleen Glavich! Did our plane go down? Am I in twilight zone? Am I dreaming? I didn’t feel dead. I clicked on the notice and it took me to the text. Kathleen Edith Glavich had died a few days earlier. My middle name is Ann. Whew! I’m not ready to go yet. Still have books to write on the back burner. Someday my obituary really will appear. Unless I am martyred, I will probably end up in purgatory, hoping that my friends and some strangers will be praying that my purification is over quickly.
Keep your eye on the grand prize and persevere. Remember we were born for another world. I look forward to meeting Kathleen Edith Glavich someday along with my ancestors, family members, and friends . . . but not real soon.
A Prayer
Here is the Litany for the Poor Souls, something I never knew existed:
The Rosary, Interesting Info
Last week I spoke about the Rosary at our Village because October is the month of the Rosary. In preparing, I came across information that I had not known or forgotten. I pass it on to you here.
What famous people prayed the Rosary?
Hadyn prayed the Rosary when he had trouble composing.
Martin Luther prayed it all his life.
Thomas Merton said, “I would ever do without the Rosary.”
Father Patrick Peyton is famous for promoting the Rosary, in particular, his slogan, “The family that prays together stays together.”
Saint Pope John Paul II said it was his favorite prayer. After 9/11, he asked families to pray it every day for peace.
How is the Rosary related to roses?
You hear that flower when you say “rosary.”
The rose is queen of all flowers, the most beautiful, most fragrant. It’s given to beloved ones.
Praying the rosary is like giving Mary a whole garland of roses.
One of Mary’s titles is Mystical Rose.
Why pray to Mary?
We are pleased when someone praises our mother. God is pleased when we praise his mother.
When we honor Mary, we honor her Son.
Mary is our mother Jesus gave us on Calvary.
Mary has power: She prays to Jesus for us like she interceded at the Cana wedding.
Saint Padre Pio said, “In times of darkness, holding the rosary beads is like holding your blessed Mother’s hand.”
What is the origin of the Rosary?
John Smile’s cartoon here is title “the first Rosary.” In the Rosary we call on our blessed Mother no less than 53 times as we pray its Hail Marys.
The Rosary evolved. People have kept track of their prayers for ages using pebbles, notches on wood, knotted cords, and beads.
The word “bead” comes from Old English bede, which means “prayer.”
Muslim prayer beads have 99 beads, for the 99 names of God. When I was in Arabia, I purchased a smaller one. It has 33 beads, three sets of 11. The sets represent “Glory be to Allah,” “Praise be to Allah,” and “Allah is the greatest.”
The Church prays the 150 psalms, called the Psalter. Long ago illiterate people prayed 150 Our Fathers on circle of beads called paternosters. In 1075 Lady Godiva willed her paternoster of gems to a monastery.
Then in the 12th century people prayed 150 Hail Mary’s instead of Our Fathers, “Our Lady’s Psalter.”
What about Saint Dominic?
A legend holds that the rosary began when the Blessed Virgin gave it to Saint Dominic. However, he was born in 1170, after the first rosaries. The legend probably arose because Saint Dominic and his Dominicans promoted it. The mysteries were added in the 15th century by a monk 200 years after Dominic lived.
What are the mysteries?
Praying the rosary, we multitask, praying verbal and mental prayer at the same time—like patting your head and rubbing your stomach or eating while watching TV! The prayers are like background music.
For each decade we think about an event in Jesus’ life. There are four sets, five mysteries in each: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous. In 2002, Saint Pope John Paul II added that last set.
Where did the prayers come from?
The Rosary is “the gospel on beads.” Its prayers are Bible-based. The Hail Mary combines the words of Gabriel and Elizabeth. In 1569, the Church added the rest of this prayer and made it official. Jesus taught us the Our Father.
How did October become the month of the Rosary?
In 1571, the Ottoman Turks were sailing to Italy with 450 warships, aiming to take over Catholic countries. Pope Pius V, a Dominican, asked Catholics to pray the Rosary. The Christian nations won the Battle of Lepanto, and Europe was saved on October 7.
October 7 became the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, which was changed to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
How has Mary encouraged praying the Rosary?
In 1858, when Mary appeared in Lourdes, a rosary hung from her arm, and she and Saint Bernadette prayed it together.
At Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, Mary appeared to three children and called herself Our Lady of the Rosary. She told them to pray for peace. She also gave them this prayer to say after each decade: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.”
How is Saint Pope John Paul II connected to Fatima?
He was shot by an assassin on May 13, Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, the anniversary of the first appearance at Fatima. The bullet took a zigzag path, avoiding vital organs. The pope attributed this to Mary. So he had the bullet placed in the crown of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
What kind of rosaries are there?
There are rosaries made of jewels, metal, cord, and crushed rose petals.
There are rosary rings, bracelets, and strings. God also provided us with ten fingers for praying a decade.
As part of our habit, we used to wear a large rosary at our side.
A Story I Love
A university student on a train seated next to an old man praying the rosary remarked, “I don’t believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the rosary out of this window and learn what science has to say.” “Science? I don’t understand,” replied the man. “Maybe you can explain it to me.” The student said, “Give me your address and I’ll send you some literature.” Fumbling in his pocket, the old man drew out his business card. The boy looked at it and burned with embarrassment. It read, “Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris.”
A Final Comment
You can pray along with the Rosary with EWTN or clicking this Internet address: https://www.mydailyrosary.com/daily-rosary
Sense of Smell, a Fantastic Gift
Our sense of smell is the topic of this week’s blog. This was prompted by an addition to my home. A friend gave me a diffuser that permeates my apartment with the fragrance of a sea breeze with lemon and lavender. Every few days I invert the reeds in the oil to renew the scent.
The Importance of Smelling
Dogs have keener noses than we have. This enables them to detect scents that are very old as well as those that are under water! However, we can still be thankful that our noses can sense almost 20,000 different smells, each with about ten levels of intensity. They warn us about dangers — something burning on the stove, a gas leak, or a skunk nearby. A foul smell also informs us when food, like milk, is spoiled.
Losing your sense of smell due to a cold or Covid, is a serious deprivation. It hurts the quality of your life. You are cut off from a bevy of pleasures, including a savory meal because smell and taste are entwined.
How We Detect Smells
The mechanism for smelling is another ingenious product of the Creator. Our olfactory system consists of thousands of sensory cells in our nasal cavity that detect odors and produce an electrical signal that travels to the olfactory bulb that relays it to our brain through special nerves. Odor molecules also may enter along a path connecting the roof of our throat to the nose. A stuffed nose blocks this path. The part of the brain that interprets these odors is linked to a part that processes emotions and memories.
Good Smells
Odors can release feel-good hormones like dopamine. They also evoke happy memories. The pungent odor of a permanent emanating from our Village salon takes me back home to my mother who gave Toni permanents to neighbors and us daughters. So does the smell of freshly baked bread that reminds me of her mouthwatering loaves and rolls.
Just thinking of an odor, we can imagine it. Because of our noses, we can enjoy these pleasant smells:
Food: an orange, bacon sizzling in a pan, fresh bread, apple cider, pizza, coffee and toast
In nature: Pine trees, a bonfire, a newly mowed lawn, flowers like lilacs and lilies. By the way, flowers have scents to attract bees and butterflies so they are pollinated in addition to making our world more pleasant.
New things: a new bar of soap, new books, new car
Other: perfume, incense, scented candles, talcum powder, hand lotion, shampoo
I especially like certain fragrances. One is occurring now because we are in the season of autumn, dead leaves fill the air with a musky aroma. Then there is the earthy scent of rain on dry soil that has its own name: petrichor.
When I have trouble sleeping, I spray lavender oil on my pillow. This scent’s calming power promotes sleep. As a child, I liked the smell of our garage.
Impaired Smelling
Loss of smell is called anosmia. Another affliction is parosmia in which the perception of odors is distorted, for example, a pleasant odor may smell foul. Then too there is the problem of phantosmia, sensing an odor that isn’t there.
Doctors test people’s sense of smell by using a booklet with beads filled with odors. Patients scratch each page and identify the odor. If you lose your sense of smell, it’s possible to restore it by retraining your brain and sniffing strong scents like peanut butter and peppermint and recalling what they smelled like.
A Poem
One of the poems In my book of prayers and fingerplays for little children titled Heartbeat of Faith, is this one:
My Nose
With my nose I smell things like these:
Bacon, popcorn, and Christmas trees,
Babies, roses, and apple pie.
And this is probably the reason why
My nose has a real important place—
Right in the middle of my face.
For Fun
I couldn’t resist posting this:
What are your favorite fragrances?
What smell triggers a memory for you?
Yes, we are wonderfully made. Here is a moving version of Psalm 139 which celebrates this fact:
