A Discerning Table: Seeking "Nazareth-ness"...Today

Been thinking about the Holy Family lately. That's my deepest goal deep down, to have a home and life like the Holy Family did in Nazareth...or as close as we can get to it anyway. That peace, that gentleness, that simpleness, that goodness. A song comes to mind...




I can see the lights of home
Shining brightly o'er the foam;
Beckon to me while I roam
Away from lights of home.

I can see somebody there
loving eyes and silver hair
I can see her kneeling prayer
beneath the lights of home

In that little old sleepy town
Nothing happens when the sun goes down
not a thing but moonbeams run around
in a starry dome ...

When the hands of time for me
let me live my memory
once again I long to be
beneath the lights of home.
--from Beneath the Lights of Home

And i wonder about the Holy Family in their holy home. And i wonder how our Holy Family would look like today. Would their kitchen be basic and simple? Would they cook from scratch? Would there be kindness, peace, quiet, that one could feel so strongly? Would there be a joy you could touch? What church would they be a part of? What would their days look like? What in particular, would Mary's day look like? What would their home look like, feel like? Would there be a computer? Would Mary... blog at all?

Our Blessed Mother's key life events and character in Scripture looks like this: her grace at the Annunciation, her opennesss and joy behind the Magnificat, her marriage to St Joseph, the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of Our Savior, the journey to Egypt, the settling in Nazareth, a life of holy poverty (seen by the poor man's turtledove offering when sacrificing), visits to the Temple, being pivotal at the wedding at Cana, being out in the listening circle with Jesus during at least some of His teaching (can't tell if this was all the time or not), right there at the foot of the Cross to the end, central during Pentecost, taken care of by "the beloved disciple" when Christ ascended, presumably having a lifelong keeping of Shabbat and other traditional Judaic holy customs.... and a wonderfully deep habit of "keeping" what she saw and heared and pondering them in her heart.

Catherine Doherty reflects, that:

"Mary never spoke a useless word. Silence was her dwelling. Silence was her cloak. Silence was her companion....

Her life was a sea of small things so infinitely small that they're almost not worth mentioning. The corn had to be ground, her house swept, the meals prepared; day after day the Mother of God did those things.

From her we can learn the quality of listening, and of taking up the words of others as well as the words of God, holding them in our hearts until the Holy Spirit cracks them wide open and gives us the answer as he did to her as her Spouse."

So...would Mary blog i wonder, or not? I've just been really thinking about that lately.

Another qoute been pondering, from Sister Wendy Beckett:

"Entering into silence is like stepping into cold water. The dust and debris are quietly washed away, and we are purified of our triviality. This cleansing takes place whether we are conscious of it or not; the very choice of silence, of desiring to be still, washes away the day's grime."

I sure don't think blogging is a waste of time, not saying that at all. And i can honestly say i've grown and learned from it, both from writing and from reading the thoughts of others. It has been a precious gift, there's no question. But that still doesnt mean its necessarily the best option. Personally anyway, i'm just not sure i have the gift of alternating this very public form of writing with true silence, i can get carried away and at the expense of that very sislnce. So then what...would Mary do? What would she do if that little home in Nazareth was here today? What would her life look like? And would she write? And if so...What? Pondering this stuff lately, and discerning this blogging thing a bit.

In the mean time i'll probably move some of the old blog posts over here (likely post them on the dates they were originally published, so to see them you'd need to look at older months here). But its the new stuff i'm really discerning...the what? and the if? Just really need to pray on this one awhile.

Whatever comes forth, please know that this blogging journey, and most importantly all who have shared in it, has meant a great deal. Each word kindly said, each experience shared, each prayer offered, has been precious. And i am so thankful.

Well, whatever ends up unfolding....mutual prayers, 'kay : ) ?

(Top picture from Micki at Holy Cards for Your Inspiration. Bottom picture from here)