subject: The Year of the Rainbow (5) [print this page] The Year of the Rainbow (5) The Year of the Rainbow (5)
St. Peter In Chains
As Mom had promised, I secured a new ministry. I was at St. Peter In Chains in Hamilton,Ohio, very near Cincinnati. I was to be Director of Religious Education, and another sister of St. Francis was to be pastoral minister. She wanted me to live and work with her, but before this could happen, she became very ill and could not take the position. After checking with Father Joe, I asked my good friend, Sister Mary Ellen, to cometo live and work with me. So Mary Ellen and I moved into the convent where three Franciscans who worked in the school lived. Although we ate with them, we had our own little end of the hall with each of us having a small bed room and small sitting room. There was a lovely chapel on first floor where we had daily Mass and people from the parish would join us.
The Mystery of the Sabbath
During the day, I was busy planning and executing my new ministry, but at night my subconscious would make me aware of the great losses which had been a part of my recent life. For example, in September, I was given what I called the "Sabbath Dream".
I was hugging Mom as I knelt on the bed. I told her how much I loved her and that I knew she was in heaven. I told her that things were different at home. I wanted to know how to handle them. She told me it was like the Sabbath.
This seemed like a strange answer to me. I did not understand it at all. After much research and prayer, I decided that the Sabbath day of rest was also the day of celebration of resurrection and paschal mystery. I was reassured that the difficulties I was experiencing would someday be resolved in the newness of life. It was a paschal event. The pain would lead to the joy of new life.
The Blue Frog
Frogs are associated closely with water, which makes them symbols of the unconscious. Because of the widely know story of the prince whowas turned into a frog and then back again when he had expeerienced love, frogs also represent transformation.
Frogs sing the songs that bring the rain and make the road dirt more bearable. Frogsteache us to honor our tears for they cleanse the soul. We can call to the frog and find peace in the joy of taking time to cleanse ourselves of any person, place or thing that does not contribute to our state of serenity and replenishment. So it was not surprising that in October, I was visited by a frog.
There was a Blue Frog on the bed. I was trying to get rid of it for a second time. As he reached the foot of the bed, he talked to me about familiar places. As he came around to the head of the bed, we talked again. He kissed me and said,"I love you" I returned the kiss and said," I love you too." We exchanged a few more words. Then he departed with the words, "Goodbye, my bible of sense."
The Wounded Bird
Mom was sat home. I wondered at her health--how long could she keep up her pace. I seemed to realize a former reality,but made no ferenence to it. There wa a bird with a wounded foot. It would get on my finger.
The wounded bird seemed to be me, wounded by the loss of my mother. Knowing a former reality, but not being able to reach it, I took comfort in a poem called Safely Home. It spoke of the pain of our deceased loved ones being over and of their great joy to be with the Lord Jesus. It remeinded one of the great ove they still have for us and that when our work is completed, we too will join in the joy to come. I recommited myself to complete my work on earth and hoped that my mourning periood would soon come to an end.
The Carrot Tree
My prayers seemed to be answered by the beautiful dream of December 4,1982 which reminded me of the many gifts which my parents had given to me and which remained with me throughout life.
Mom and Dad and I were storing dirt and roots and using them for food. Mom filled my cup with good warm stew. It was filled to the brim. I went out back where I saw that Dad had grown a carrot tree for me.It was beautiful with bright green leaves and bright orange carrots reaching with their roots to the sky. I screamed with delight and laughter as I awoke. It were as if bells were ringing.
Dreams have many layers of meaning. One of the very special interpretations of this dream was that it symbolized for me the roots of my existence and the joy I experience in being alive. My mother certainly did fill my cup with warmth and filled it to the brim. Dad often todl me that if I ate carrots I would have good eyesight. What a remedy for spiritual blindness.
Two scripture quotations enabled me to absorb the many layers of meaning from the dream message. One was that of Ezekiel: " There were many trees on each bank of the river. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails. They will bear new fruit every month because this water comes fromt the sanctuary and their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal." This seemed to speak to me of healing and of the future fruitfullness of my ministry. I was grateful for the water which came from the sanctuary of my parents.
The other scripture was from Revelation: "If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is sayng to the churches: those who prove victorious, I will feedfrom the tree of life set in God's paradise." I believe that each of us can find that particular Tree of Life for us.My mother had a dream a few days before she died. l She was in a beautiful meadow where children were playing beneath a large apple tree. She was no longer sick, but could climb the tree to pick its extra large and delicious fruit. Trees have a beauty and dignity all their own. They have inspired poets and artists throughout the centuuries. If we allow them, they speak to us of courage and steadfastness. I was very grateful for the wisdom and guidance of the dreams of the Year of the Rainbow and was eager to begin a new chapter in my life with a new symbol.
