Color, A Beautiful Gift
When I was a child, I saw the Wizard of Oz movie at our neighborhood theater. What a joy it was to have the black and white screen suddenly turn into technicolor! But color is not confined to fantasy worlds. Our real world is in full color. Thank goodness! Can you picture a sunrise or sunset in black and white??
From our earliest days we learned about the primary colors and how mixing them magically became secondary colors, and then tertiary colors. But every basic color has many hues. It took the movie studios almost a week to decide on the shade of yellow used for the yellow brick road! You may have faced a similar dilemma as you chose paint for your living room.
It was Isaac Newton at the age of 23 who discovered that light is composed of colors. He used a prism to break up a single ray of light. He went on to name the seven basic colors and invent the color wheel.
How We See Color
We perceive color because of cells in our eyes called cones. The three types of cones pick up the light reflected by objects ad transmits it to our brains. It’s said that normal human beings can see about ten million colors. Some people, called tetrachromats, have an extra cone in their eye that enables them to see up to 100 million colors! Birds and butterflies see even more colors.
Colorful Treats
Autumn up here in the north provides a feast for our eyes. The amazing trees with leaves changing to red, orange, and gold and the every-changing skies a mix of white, blue, slate, and dark grey are sights to behold. Once when I needed to stay overnight in Vermont, the hotels and inns were packed full of “leaf-peepers.” So I spent the night in a family’s home.
God delights in color. Consider the flowers that come in various colors, birds’ feathers and butterflies’ wings.
One of my favorite poems: “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.
Click this to see a collection of poems about color on the Internet.
Getting Acquainted with Color
Recall the joy of using colors to produce artwork. As we aged, crayola boxes went from 8 to 12 to 24 to 64 to 120 different colors. Then too there were paints: Prang watercolor paint, tempera paint, and oil paint. We learned the colors of the shimmering rainbow by Roy G. Biv.
Now adult coloring books are all the rage. Click here to see a site that offers Thanksgiving coloring pages.
Five Little Crayons by Unknown
Five little crayons colored a scene.
Yellow, blue, orange, red and green.
“Look,” said Yellow, “My sun is bright!”
Blue said, “Great! My river’s just right”
Orange said, “Flowers! I’ll draw something new”
Red said, “Great, I’ll add some too!”
“Sigh,” said Green, “I’m tired of trees,
And grass and bushes and tiny leaves.
I think I’ll draw a big green cloud!”
“A big green cloud should be allowed!”
The crayons all smiled and didn’t think twice.
A big green cloud sounded rather nice!
We Sisters wore black and white habits, then progressed to gray. Now we are free to wear clothes from the whole array of colors. What joy! Someone from the Color Me Beautiful company gave us a presentation about what colors we would look best in, depending on if we were a winter, autumn, summer, or spring person. My friend was disheartened to learn that she looked best in black and white!
Differences in Colors
Most people have a favorite color. I think God’s is blue because that is the color of the whole sky and all the bodies of water that reflect it. That is also my favorite color.
Colors reflect moods. The warm colors are happy. The cool colors are peaceful. We associate certain colors with holidays: red and green for Christmas, orange for Halloween, purple and yellow for Easter, red and pink for Valentine’s Day.
We associate colors with emotions: Saw red. Green with envy. In a black mood. He was yellow. She woke up blue. The combination red and yellow induces hunger!
Colors have different meanings.
Another Poem about Color
Color
Christina Rossetti
What is pink? a rose is pink
By a fountain’s brink.
What is red? a poppy’s red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro’.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
What is your favorite color?
What is the most beautiful, colorful scene you have witnessed?
Who is your favorite painter? What is your favorite painting?
For an interesting video about choosing colors:
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
