Oct 02 2014
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Feast of the Guardian Angels

Calling All Angels

Clarence

I have, at least twice in my life, felt like someone was assigned to keep watch over me. Both incidents involved automobiles and both played out in near slow motion, as if normal time was suspended and I was somehow caught up in a different pace of motion than everyone surrounding me. A guided meditation many many years ago brought a name to me: Pedro. And since then I have thought, well, if I do have a guardian angel, I think his name might be Pedro.

I don’t know why I’d have a Latino guardian angel, but then again, I don’t know why I wouldn’t. Almost always willing to suspend disbelief, I am all for this proposition. And I am intrigued by the idea of winged beings, although I don’t necessarily think that angels have these wings. Just as I agree that there’s a superhero inside each and every one of us, I would also agree that there’s an angel in each of us, too. Superheroes and angels don’t always look like we expect them to. We’re probably passing by legions of both every day on the streets.

Today, the 2nd of October, we celebrate the Feast of the Guardian Angels. It’s a celebration that goes back to the Fourth Century, with folks setting up altars in their homes in honor of their guardian angels. This is no big celebration––it’s a very quiet and contemplative one, actually––and there are no real traditions associated with it. I think, however, if you are aware of a Pedro in your life, or of any source of protection, this is a good day to honor that being of light in whatever way you see fit.

 

Image: A still from Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946. That’s Henry Travers portraying Clarence, George Bailey’s guardian angel. You know the story.

 

 

Oct 01 2014
2 Comments
Book of Days Calendar

Your October Book of Days

BabyBoo

September is flown and now it is October, height of fall. It’s rare for me to want to be anywhere but where I am right now, but in October, a strong sense of wanderlust creeps up on me. Autumn is just not as spectacular here in Lake Worth as it is in New England or Appalachia or any of the other places I’ve experienced it. Sometimes people from those places come to Lake Worth in October and this is something I do not understand. Why would you leave all that red and orange foliage and blue sky? Why would you say goodbye to all those apples and pumpkins and cornstalks and chilly nights? Just to see more green? Please.

Anyway, if you have all those things this month, know that I am intensely jealous and that in my heart, I am right there. If someone’s telling ghost stories tonight by the fire, pull up a chair for me, if you don’t mind, and pour me a glass of cider. Thank you. That would be a wonderful gift.

My gift to you, meanwhile, is the October Book of Days calendar from Convivio Bookworks. It’s a printable PDF document for those of you who wish to pin it on a bulletin board. Here’s the link again:

http://www.conviviobookworks.com/Images/October2014.pdf

Speaking of ghost stories, I hope to have one for you toward the end of the month, around Halloween, as is only right. Generally, I don’t publish the stories here in the Book of Days Blog; the stories I write about Lake Worth are called Convivio Dispatches and they come to you as an email, and if you don’t get them but would like them, you can sign up for them here:

http://www.conviviobookworks.com/pages/contactus.php

A new dispatch went out last night, in fact. It was called “We are Content.” It has to do with the lingering effects of our town’s original motto, Satis Habemus, and touches upon some local history, too, namely Boutwell Dairy, and though you may have never heard of Boutwell Dairy, if you enjoy half and half in your coffee, you probably owe a huge debt of gratitude to this place. Intrigued? Sign up. I love sharing these stories with you. Why else would I write them?

 

Sep 29 2014
2 Comments
Michaelmas

Bannocks & Brambles

Michael the Archangel

The Earth continues tilting further back in its seat, making the sun appear to sink further south. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the result, now that we are past the equinox, is that darkness has overtaken light. The dark night continues to grow and will do so all the way to the winter solstice in December.

Darkness, of course, has a way of making people nervous. We are creatures of light. Perhaps that is why we call on protectors this time of year. Today is Michaelmas (pronounced mick-il-mus), the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, one of the principal angelic warriors. Michael battled Satan, the dark angel, and as it so happens, he is a protector against darkness of all kinds… including dark of night. This is powerful medicine right about now, as we continue to shave a few minutes of daylight off each passing day, especially in more northern regions. We are running headlong into winter, and we want to make it through once more to light and warmth. It’s good to have a strong protector at your side.

Asters, one of the last flowers to bloom each year, have a prominent role in the day. They are known as Michaelmas Daisies, and our traditional “He loves me, he loves me not” game goes back to an old Michaelmas custom: this was the day each year to perform that particular ritual of plucking petals and learning whether the one you pine for loves you or not. St. Michael’s bannocks are served today in Ireland and Scotland: a scone, basically, made with oats and rye and always served with blackberries or blackberry jam, for the legend goes that when Satan was kicked out of Heaven, he landed in a bramble patch, and he returns each year to curse and spit upon the brambles he landed upon. So it’s best we eat them up, no?

 

Image:  The Archangel Michael by Hans Memling. Oil on panel, c. 1479 [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.

 

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