THE WAY OF THUNDER, THE ROAD TO HEAVEN The Story of Celeste in Foggia

A Play by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR written in 2005 for the

250th Anniversary of the death of Ven. Maria Celeste Crostarosa, from:

The Autobiography of Venerable Maria Celeste

Narrated - Sr. Illuminata, Celeste, Male voice = Jesus, Alphonsus, Gerard, Priest

The Way of Thunder, the Road to Heaven 

J.      Go To Foggia.

 

N.      That is what our Beloved Lord told my dear younger sister Julia.  Who is Julia?  Oh, you know her as Sr. Maria Celeste Crostarosa.  She was our Holy Mother Prioress of the Order of Most Holy Redeemer here in Foggia, Italy.  I know you heard the wagging tongues that followed us here from Scala ever since Celeste made known her revelations from the Beloved of His desire for a new institute; one which would have for its law and rules His very life.  She has been called the ‘Mad Mystic,’ ‘the Witch!  Yes, she was strong, and spoke the truth from her heart, but she was really the humblest daughter of the Divine Will.  She was expelled from the monastery in Scala, you know; we were given no alternative than to leave with nothing but borrowed clothes on our backs and her name expunged from all the records.  That took place in 1733.  But our loyal and faithful friend, the saintly Alfonsus de Liguori knows well the whole situation. Ah, but that is another story.

But I can’t help thinking on how life was not easy for my dear sister.  Another disturbing incident occurred the year before we came to Foggia: Celeste and I, Illuminata, were interrogated by the Inquisition in strict secrecy as witnesses in an information gathering process against our dear friend Sylvester Tosquez who believed in my sister’s revelation and was instrumental in procuring for us an original copy of the Most Holy Rule. The outcome produced no charges against the pious gentleman but the relationship between Celeste and the Abbot, who at first invited her to establish a house in his baronial territory now found it no longer conducive to establish a permanent foundation there. 

C.      Go to Foggia!

N.      Yes, Celeste, we went to Foggia!  I remember it like yesterday.  It was the spring of 1738 and it rained!  The thunder!  The lightening!  But Celeste rejoiced as we traveled to Foggia and in ecstasy cried out with joy:

C.      This is a way of thunder for humanity. We are all being carried along this road as if to heaven!  We are in flight toward the Divine Being! And all humanity with us!’

N.      As we neared town some pious people came out to welcome us. They made us get out of our carriages that we might make a solemn entry into Foggia.  We covered our faces with our black veils and put on our crown of thorns.  We hung our crucifixes round our necks and they fell over blue mantles. We sang the Te Deum as we made our procession through town into the cathedral. There we offered ourselves to God and placed ourselves under the special protection of the Most Holy Virgin.  Needless to say, we attracted a large crowd.  Nobles, as well as the poor, gathered around.  We were a great novelty!   

Then we were led to our new dwelling.  At the foot of the stairs we knelt and kissed the feet of the Monsignor who welcomed us. He simply blessed his us and congratulated us on our endeavor, then took his leave.

C.      ‘The house was nothing but four walls. No chairs.  A few benches and a table, and a few earthenware jugs meant for the refectory. We had to borrow saucepans and other kitchen utensils, and other necessities from our neighbors.  And there are ten of us including two little girls! Yet the merciful God saw to our needs.’

N.      Yes, two children.  Celeste was our Prioress, I, Illuminata, was the Vicar, six young women came to join our foundation and two little lay girls. We called them ‘Educandes,’ as they were put in our charge to educate. On account of their age they were incapable of any work and useless to us other than the pension they brought in.  But we loved them and taught them of God.

          Oh, we had enough to live on; by means of the six choir sister’s dowries and the children’s meager pension we were able to feed ourselves and furnish the rented house.  Now that was a real miracle!  But almost immediately rumors spread throughout the town that we were dying of hunger.  That was not so.  However, our real hunger was for the Blessed Sacrament.  

C.      ‘We were much grieved.  The bishop would not consent to our having the Blessed Sacrament in our house until it was our own. Without this sweet company we felt ourselves like bodies without the soul.’

N.      We came here at the invitation of Canon Joseph Tortora, who was a great spiritual friend of Celeste while she was reforming the Dominican monastery in Nocera.  His invitation was to make a foundation for the girls of the merchant middle class of Foggia. Canon Tortora took note of the rumors and gossip about the welfare of the educandes and became determined to buy a place for the new foundation.

C.      ‘Soon we found a large house in Foggia which had once belonged to the Sisters of St. Claire. It had a beautiful view over looking the countryside. It had a church and a choir and all the necessary offices. 

And such a pretty little garden!  By the grace of God we moved into the Monastery of the Most Holy Redeemer on October 4^th 1739 and the Blessed Sacrament was placed in the Church at once and we began to pray the Offices in public. We also put into practice all the Rules which the Lord had originally given me while in the monastery of Scala.’

N.      Yet we did not have leave from Rome for the enclosure.  Because our protector, Canon Tortora, feared that the rigor of our rule might cause the parents of the few educandes we had to take their children away. The only way to obtain permission for the enclosure from the Canon was that we had to wait until we had the requisite number of nuns. 

          Sadly, evil tongues continued to persecute the work of the Lord.  And then, to make matters worse, in the spring of the following year a neighboring tower fell on the Monastery killing the poor niece of the Canon and injuring another girl.  All the inhabitants of Foggia rushed to the monastery to remove the debris under which lay the children. On seeing the ruin and the lifeless child all the parents wanted to take their children home.   With tears in her eyes Holy Mother Celeste spoke solemnly with the panic-stricken people.

C.      ‘The Eternal Decrees of God are at once adorable and unfathomable. This tragedy is the work of the devil.  Take your children if you must for the Lord will easily send those souls whom he had chosen as His Spouses.’

N.      With such, and other kindly words, the parents’ hearts were softened and they left their daughters in the Monastery.  The Lord even inspired other persons of good families to place their children in the convent and thus the Lord slowly began to establish the new foundation.

C.      ‘This little, newly planted garden became for the Lord one of very sweet perfume, so great was the love of retirement, and of a holy and hidden life!’

N.      Mother Maria Celeste gave the young and tender souls in her care daily instruction to form them in Religious life with spiritual lectures and meditations.  She enlightened our minds on the points of the Holy Rule by sharing with us her mystical conversations with her Beloved Spouse.

C.      Let me share with you what I have heard from my Divine Master about the Three Treasures of Perfect Love.  The First Treasure is Zeal for Souls.  At Communion time my Beloved said:



Sacred Heart Dali

 J.      I awaited you most anxiously. With my right hand I press you to My Heart. Enter into My Heart and consider the beauty of all the souls which I have created in My Image.   I wish you to love them with the same burning love that I do.  Love Me in them.   Just as I thought more of them than Myself when I was on earth, so you must forget yourself and think of these souls whom I love so dearly.

C.      I felt Your Heart within me.  I could hear it beating! I also heard the beating of all the hearts of those which You have created and redeemed enclosed within Your Heart. And my heart also was with them in Your Heart.  My Beloved, henceforth, I will bind within my heart all the souls You love with cords of charity.  

N.      Thus, in this union of hearts the Divine Master revealed the Second Treasure of Perfect Love:  Abandonment.

J.      Contemplate what you are in truth: a child at its Mother’s breast. Desire nothing except what comes from this breast which nourishes you.  Rest in the arms of My Divine Providence and seek rest there in all difficulties: in pain, in doubt, in humiliation. Sorrow cannot penetrate this enclosure. Do not judge My plans from a human point of view, nor strive to understand more than I show you.  Abandon yourself to My good pleasure.  Live a life of love as a child at My Breast.

C.      My Beloved, I abandon myself to you. May I comport myself in your presence with the candor of a child with its mother.  Teach me to pass over every human judgment in this life that I may be pure in memory, pure in will, pure in the functioning of the senses, pure in love.   Yes, my Love, I yearn to drink of You to the point where my soul becomes inebriated with Your Divine Love.  Oh how I am fed with Your love when I rest in Your Presence! 

N.      Finally, the Third Treasure of Perfect Love is found in union with the Love of the Cross.

J.      Listen to me from the pulpit of the cross which I have planted in your heart.  Contemplate only Me crucified in yourself:  crucified in your body with its weakness and infirmities, crucified in your soul by its aridities and loneliness, crucified in its sadness and loss of human consolation. There you are united to me on the cross.  Desire me day and night and whatever be your crosses, they will always come from God for your good. Know this and you will find happiness and eternal joy.

C.      Oh, how great is the beauty which I see on this Mount of Calvary! I see a river of blood which waters and gives life to tender grass and fresh flowers.  These flowers are those who are suffering a martyrdom of love and the mortification of the cross.  Oh my Beloved, grant me a place among these flowers where I may spend the rest of my days with you on this Mount of Love.

N.      In 1742 we were finally able to obtain enclosure for our growing community.  It was during Easter week that by the Will of God the first educande along with seven others took the habit. Five were choir sisters, they were from the bourgeoisie, and three were lay sisters.

C.      Canon Tortora, our Ordinary Confessor, did all the ceremony: cut the hair of the newly professed Sisters and sang the solemn Mass to the joy and consolation of all, and to the greater glory of God. 

N.      In 1745 fifteen Redemptorists, under the direction of their Blessed Father Alfonsus, came to preach a mission in the four parishes of Foggia.  While preaching on Our Lady with his usual fervor, Alfonsus fell into ecstasy when a ray of light came forth from the Madonna’s face and illuminated the features of the holy preacher.  He extended his arms towards Mary and was raised a few inches above the floor of the pulpit as though he were about to fly to his beloved Queen.  The immense crowd in the cathedral witnessed this!  Such was the holiness of our dear friend. 

C.      Alfonsus called on us during this mission to condole with me over past sorrows while admiring the fervor of the Monastery.

N.      And the virtues of the foundress Maria Celeste, whom the whole town of Foggia now venerated as a saint. 

C.      In his goodness of heart, on seeing how humbly we lived in our new foundation and of our financial difficulties, Alphonsus sent out one of his Father’s to beg alms from the wealthy families of Foggia on our behalf and we all rejoiced greatly in heart when he was wonderfully successful.

N.      Early in the year of 1747 Alfonsus, wanting to assist another monastery in a delicate matter, told his correspondent, a nun, to …..

A.      Give your letter privately to Mother Maria Celeste.  Tell her that it comes from me and that, for the glory of God, she should pay for the letter and send it on to its destination. 

C.      Our holy friendship never ceased to exist between us.  He was a great consolation to my heart and a protector of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer.  In 1752 dear Alfonsus sent a humble, saintly lay Brother to be our spiritual director.  He loved prayer and chanted the Office with us whenever he came and was often transported by a mysterious power would cry out in ecstasy:

G.      Oh. riches, oh Wisdom, oh unfathomable depths of Divinity! How unsearchable are Your Judgments, O Lord!  Sisters, love God, let us love God!

N.      Yes, my sister Celeste had another beloved friend among the Redemptorists:  Gerard Majella.  His spirit matched her own in the desire to be constantly united to God and the desire to do everything for the love of God.  Their saintly friendship was founded on mutual esteem. On each of his numerous journeys to Foggia Bro. Gerard looked upon his visits to the Monastery of the Most Holy Redeemer as a privilege.  For Gerard, to be sitting in the parlor with Maria Celeste was to be in intimate union of soul with her.  They so enjoyed their spiritual conversations!  And how they exhorted each other to the greatest perfection!  Bro. Gerard held Celeste’s direction in such high regard, he called her Venerable Mother, that he made it his business to procure subjects for our Monastery. 

             

C.      During Holy Week in the year of our Lord 1755, Bro. Gerard felt an irresistible urge to spend that week in our Monastery.  He had a premonition that a supreme trial was at hand.

N.      In truth, Bro. Gerard wanted to be near the Venerable Mother, that he might find light and strength from being at prayer with Celeste who had her self gone through so many great trials. 

          A few weeks after Easter we heard, indeed, that the holy Brother was in disgrace and relegated to the solitude of his cell.  My sister would not hear of any calumny against him and imagined he had been, again, giving away too much in charity.  Celeste wrote him a little note:

C.      We are sorry to learn that you are suffering through your own over-generosity and that it prevents you from coming to edify us.  May God’s Will be done! We are praying constantly for you, and trust the powers of evil will not gain the victory.  Wherever we may be, let us seek only God.  Let us go to Him by doing His adorable Will.  And then let us love Jesus Christ, Who has so loved us!

N.      Praise be the Most Holy Name of Jesus for Bro. Gerard was cleared of all wrong doing. Yet he fell ill, as did my dear sister Maria Celeste. 

For years now she had been writing down all her spiritual experiences as poems, Dialogues with her Spouse and Exercises of Love for Everyday.  As Celeste felt her death approaching she wrote:

C.      How beautiful death is after a life lived well, in a life of dying and in a death which brings Life.  Death is but a most peaceful sleep in which the soul makes its final journey to its homeland so as to arrive at its true Center and at the moment of death is the possession of the Beloved Good.  That is why there are no tidings more happy or joyful for a soul that loves and takes delight in death at the hands of its Beloved than one who is secure in possessing Him through His mercy.

N.      On September 14, 1755, Bro. Gerard lay on his deathbed.  He turned to the brother attending him and smiled weakly,

G.      I have just seen the soul of the Venerable Mother, Sr. Maria Celeste, wing its flight to heaven like a dove.  She has gone to enjoy God.

N.      It was true.  On the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, September 14, 1755, my dear sister Maria Celeste’s last wish was to hear the Passion of her Beloved Spouse read.  All the Sisters were gathered in vigil around her bedside. When the priest read,

P.      It is finished.

N.      She sighed her last breath and became the possession of her Beloved Good.  We tolled the bells in our church tower announcing her death and a cry went up in Foggia, ‘The holy Prioress is dead.  The saint is dead.’

In her breviary I found this prayer written in her own hand, wrinkled and yellowed from much use over the years.  It read:

C.      Oh may Your word, like a fiery arrow, pierce my soul to wound it forever with Your Divine Love. You have told me to be like a flaming torch, always burning before You to enlighten souls.  But how can I be so, since of myself I am only darkness? I will be a torch, a sun even, if You will always remain united to me.  I beg of You, by Your infinite mercy, that it may be so.

N.      We, her Daughters, took these words to heart. One hundred years later we celebrated with all of Foggia the anniversary of our Most Venerable Mother Maria Celeste’s death. And because of it inquiries were made from Scala and we were joyfully reunited with our Sisters in the first Monastery under our beloved Rule.  Now, two hundred and fifty (six) years later we rejoice with all our Sisters in every corner of the world in the life of Maria Celeste Crostarosa, the Servant of God.

C.      This is a way of thunder for humanity. We are all being carried along this road to heaven!  We are in flight toward the Divine Being! And all humanity with us!

 Reflection Questions:

1. The Lord asked Celeste to begin a new foundation in Foggia. Not an easy task.  Where in my life is the Lord asking me to move?  How does that feel?

2. The Three Treasures of Perfect Love:  The Lord said the First Treasure was Zeal for Souls.  Celeste felt the beating of all hearts in the Heart of Jesus.  Do I hold all souls in ‘cords of charity?’

3. The Second - Abandonment: the Divine Master asks Celeste to be like a child at its mother’s breast.  Do I have that kind of trust in God’s Divine Providence? What holds me back?

4. The Third Treasure – Love of the Cross.  From the cross Jesus told Celeste that all ‘crosses come from God for your good.’  Does that bring you ‘eternal joy?’ 

    5.  Celeste enjoyed the spiritual friendship of St. Alphonsus
         and St. Gerard.  How important are spiritual friendships
         to me?

Kite Flying

When was the last time you flew a kite?  I don’t think I have since I was a little kid, or perhaps with a niece or nephew.   These last days of summer are perfect for kite flying!

Being a disciple of Jesus is like flying a kite.

Sometimes we are the kite.  Sometimes Jesus is the kite.  It is all about awareness, consciousness.  The first thing you do is pick up your kite, Jesus, and run with it to catch the wind: the Holy Spirit. 

Dietrich Bonheoffer said in his The Cost of Discipleship ‘Follow me, run along behind me.’   That is what we do, that is what the disciples did.   When John the Baptist pointed out the ‘Lamb of God’ to his disciples they followed Jesus. Jn 1:35-40 When Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee he called Peter, James and John to follow him and immediately they left their boats to follow him. Mt 4:18-22.  And when Jesus walked by the tax collector’s booth he called Matthew to do the same, and he followed him. Mt 9:9Each of them had some kind of new awareness, a faith-filled awakening that made them run along behind Jesus to follow.  They caught his wind!  Have we?  Attentiveness to Jesus, the Word as given to us in scripture brings us to a deeper consciousness with Jesus Christ.   We call this Lectio Divina: the holy and contemplative prayerful reading of sacred scripture where we let the Word touch us.  We consider its meaning in history AND ponder its meaning in our lives today and let it awaken our consciousness.  Sometimes it consoles us or inspires us.  Sometimes it challenges us and invites us to go beyond what we know.  The Word is ever alive and active in the follower of Christ.

Putting Jesus in the center of our lives is similar to the tension in the string attached to the kite.   If we keep the string taut the kite will stay up.  If we relax the tension the kite  falls to the ground.  If we loose our hold the winds tosses the kite all over the place.  If you remember from your childhood, it isn’t easy to keep a kite aloft.  Only with practice and attentiveness (prayer and faith) do we gain the skills to fly it high.

So it is as being a follower of Christ.  We are called to be disciples in our particular life calling whether it is as a Religious or as an Associate in all our life circumstances of community, family, friends, work, ministries…  Jesus is the center that touches everyone and everything else in ones life.   Bonheoffer said, ‘Christianity without the living Christ is Christianity without discipleship.  Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.’  We care called from a ‘cheap grace:’ an easy, comfortable feel good Christianity, to a ‘costly grace,’ one that means ‘to take up your cross and follow me.’  Mt 16:24

When we get the tension right, kite flying is still challenging but it is also freeing, beautiful: a Spirit-filled experience.  How do we attain these skills of holy kite flying?  ‘Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’ Mt 21:22

This reflection springs from the presentation given to the Associates by Rev. James Gilmour, CSsR on their Commitment Day September 11, 2011.

Commitment Sunday

COMMITMENT

Being here                   

for the commitment    

as an Associate           

of the Order

of the Most Holy Redeemer           

brings with it                 

gratitude for             

the many years         

we have been here   

in this Chapel      

Much has happened     

during these years    

but what has not changed

is our striving          

to grow                    

in our own spirituality   

guided by

the Redemptoristine Nuns   

Changes will come     

during the coming year;  

but may our faithfulness

to our commitment   

and our community    

continue and grow

as it has until now 

Elizabeth Jeszeck 9-11-2011

 



Sr. Moira Quinn OSsR December 2000



MEMORIAL

 

We remember that day

ten years past                 

An ordinadry day

rising,

greeting family,

friends,

going to work.

They were called upon

to display

courage                                       

in spite of their fear

to help the fallen,

to fight to live.

In the space of an hour

lives were changed forever.

Calling their families,

sending love and goodbye

by cell phone.

They met God together

That day—

The Three Thousand

in two towers.

We remember that day

TODAY.

Elizabeth Jeszeck 9-11-2011

Fumbling Toward Heaven

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17

The other day I woke up with this phrase in mind, ‘fumbling toward heaven.’ It didn’t seem to be connected with a dream or anything – it just was there in my mind.

But it got me thinking about football. A fumble is when someone on the opposite team makes you drop the football and recovers it for their side. 

I am going to stretch this metaphor so run with me on this one. 

Jesus is the football we carry through life tucked under our arm close to our heart.  When we are advancing downfield through the game of life toward our goal; heaven, certain circumstances of everyday life dislodge Jesus from our heart and make us drop the ball. How do we get it back?  In the second letter to Timothy St. Paul writes, ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but rather a spirit of power, and love and self-discipline.’ 2 Tim 1:7   

Relying on the Spirit of Jesus we gain the power of the practice of self-discipline to scoop up the ball of Love and continue to carry it to our final destination. If we are Jesus to each other, and the world, as is written in our Constitutions, it shouldn’t be so hard to stoop down to lift up Jesus, to lift up one another.

Sometimes, we feel like we drop the ball constantly but thank goodness we have fans to cheer us on whether we are in possession of the ball or not.  Who are our fans?  Family, friends, the Redemptorists, our Associates, the Sisters of the Metropolitan Association of Contemplative Communities and even the Communion of Saints and the Blessed Virgin are all our fans cheering us on!  Most of all, our team, the Redemptoristine community who offers up prayers and lends support to one another, especially when the everyday cares and set backs get us down. 

To all eyes, Jesus’ death on a cross seemed like the biggest fumble ever.  But those who gathered below his cross: his mother Mary, John and Magdalene, his biggest fans, believed in him and hoped for salvation; the eternal life Jesus promised us.  And we know their hope was not in vain. 

So, let us not be like Lucy who whips the football away just as Charlie Brown comes up to kick it.  Let us be like Charlie Brown who, even though he is timid, he always believes and hopes.  Let us never give up on one another.  Let us continue to fumble our way to heaven believing in Him who comes to save.

The Wayfarer

Follow Me

It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done
To be so in love with you and so alone.

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me

Follow me up and down all the way and all around

Take my hand and say you’ll follow me

It’s long been on my mind
You know it’s been a long, long time
I’ve tried to find the way that I can make you understand
The way I feel about you and just how much I need you

To be there where I can talk to you
When there’s no one else around

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all around
Take my hand and say you’ll follow me

You see I’d like to share my life with you
And show you things I’ve seen
Places that I’m going to places where I’ve been
To have you there beside me and never be alone

And all the time that you’re with me

We will be at home

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way

Take my hand and I will follow you

                                          John Denver

                             Ven. Maria Celeste and the Wayfarer

Written July 10, 2010

Next Sunday is the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer: the Title of the Order of the Redemptoristines and the Congregation of the Redemptorists.  So when I was thinking about a topic for this month’s meeting, naturally, the Redeemer came to mind.  But what about him?   I got further inspiration for the topic last month when I heard the John Denver song, ‘Follow Me’ on the radio. I loved that song. It took me back to my younger days.  I found myself humming it the next few days.  When I reflected on why it touched me so, I realized the refrain of the song: ‘Follow me, where I go, what I do, and who I know, make it part of you to be a part of me. Follow me up and down all the way and all around.  Take my hand and say you’ll follow me,’ was an invitation to follow Jesus. 

Also touching is the introduction to that song.  He sings, ‘It is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, to be so in love with you and so alone.’  I always thought he was saying, ‘for so long.’     But either way it gave me pause because it speaks to me of the call to fidelity in life.   When I reflected on the song as a whole it seemed it could be a dialogue between two lovers. Which one is ‘so alone’? 

To me, it sounds like both; it is hard for each one to be in love and longing for the other, wanting to ‘make it part of you to be a part of me’ and trying to figure out how, despite difficulties, to find a way to be together. The last line of the song resolves the situation by one surrendering to the other.  Before, one was saying to the other ‘take my hand and say you’ll follow me’ but now the one says, ‘Take my hand and I will follow you.’ 

The invitation to follow in any relationship, including our relationship with God, always comes with a call to surrender.  Even Jesus, the Man-God, surrendered his life to the Father – think of Jesus in the Garden saying, ‘Not as I will but as you will.’ Lk 22: 42   Jesus gave his all for love – love for God and love for you and me. 

Being visual person, an image came to my mind to illustrate this invitation to follow Jesus; the statue in front of our monastery in Foggia, Italy (which I love) entitled, ‘The Wayfarer;’ one of Celeste’s favorite titles for our Holy Redeemer.  The statue of the Wayfarer portrays Jesus standing there with arms outstretched.  What does his stance say to you?

To me it looks like he is about to place his hands around my shoulder, and on the shoulder of who ever is on the other side: you, you, you…each one of you. That made me think of a yoke; as in Jesus saying,  ‘Come to me all who labor and are heavy burdened, and  I will give you rest, take up my yoke and learn for me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.’  Mt. 11:28 (When the image of the yoke came to me, I suddenly heard or read that Gospel passage over and over again. Synchronicity? A God-incidence?  An invitation?

I reflected on the image of the yoke. I’ve only seen pictures of a yoke of oxen. The yoke is a curved piece of wood that fits over the shoulders of two draft animals so they can work together.  That is what Jesus is like: He is the yoke that holds us together and guides our lives in a gentle manner; not by force but by love and an invitation to go with him, follow him.

What is a Wayfarer?  A wayfarer is one who travels by foot.  Who is the Wayfarer?  Jesus, the Man-God is the Wayfarer: the one who traveled the road of life ahead of us; inviting us to follow him. In the Gospel of Luke we read:  “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’  And Jesus replied to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’” Lk 9:57-58    That doesn’t sound very inviting.  Why would one want to follow a Wayfarer?  St. Paul writes about those who do follow Christ, ‘For here we have no lasting home, but are looking for the home that is to come.  Heb 13:14     Remember the Gospel story of the rich good man who wanted to inherit eternal life?  And Jesus told him, ‘You lack one thing: go sell what you own and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ And the man went away sad.   Mk 10:17-21    

This invitation to follow the Wayfarer didn’t intimidate our Foundress, Ven. Maria Celeste Crostarosa.  On the contrary, this aspect of Jesus as Wayfarer inspired Celeste to leave everything, to give her all, to follow the one she loved.

When did Maria Celeste Crostarosa first receive the invitation to follow Jesus?  In her autobiography Celeste tells us she was about five years old when Jesus first spoke to her heart.   Celeste was baptized Julia on All Saints Day, the day after her birth, October 31, 1696. She was the tenth child of an even dozen siblings in Naples, Italy.

From that early age on Julia enjoyed an interior dialogue with Jesus.  As she matured in years the urge to follow Jesus led her to religious life where she offered her whole being to her Beloved Spouse.  When she entered the Visitation monastery in Scala in the Kingdom of Naples at the age of 27 she was given the name Sr. Maria Celeste. 

As a novice Jesus continued to speak within her soul, particularly at Communion time.  It was then that he planted in her heart the idea of following the Wayfarer when she came to understand the words of scripture, ‘I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.’ Jn 14:6    Jesus ‘showed her the stupendous work which he accomplished by the union of his divine and human natures as the Man-God, while here on earth as a Wayfarer.’ And how ‘He becomes again a Wayfarer on earth with those who are united to Him through true union and through love, holy works and through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  (see MWR pg 24 *   MWR= The Mystic Who Remembered by Fr. Joseph Opptiz, CSsR)

Here is the principal element of Maria Celeste’s spiritual message, ‘Christ lives again, today, as a Wayfarer in His believers…where there is a transformation of self involved at the very level of being.’  (MWR pg 25)     From this Celeste developed her concept of being a Viva Memoria, a living image of Christ’s redemptive presence in this world. (MWR pg 67)

While still a novice Celeste received a ‘shattering revelation’ (MWR pg 26) on April 25, 1725, wherein Jesus made her understand that she was to be the instrument to bring about a new Institute ‘which would have for its laws and rules His very life.’ (MWR pg 27)    Can you imagine going to  your Novice Mistress, Prioress and ultimately the Bishop, with this astounding news?  But she did it.

After initial interest on the part of the community to a new Rule trouble began when Bishop Falcoia, the Spiritual Father of the Nuns in Scala, heard of this, he called Celeste ‘a dreamer, a mad-woman.’  (MWR pg 30)    

It wasn’t until about five years later, that after much wrangling and travails and heartache in regards to the new Rule, and to Celeste herself, one of which being Celeste being banished to the monastery attic for a time, of the arrival of St. Alphonsus Liguori to Scala. 

After interviewing all the Nuns and repeatedly examining Celeste and her revelations, Alphonsus recognized the ‘authenticity of the revelations and the feasibility of a new Rule and Institute.  Thanks to his powers of persuasion, all the Nuns finally agreed to accept the new Rule, and the Bishop of Scala’s good graces were won.’  (MWR pg 37)  So, on May 13, 1730 the Nuns began to live spirit of the new Rule.

But the heartache was not over because Celeste was still at odds with their Spiritual Father Falcoia over the letter of the Rule which, in turn, sent the whole community into turmoil.  Throughout this time, Celeste followed the Wayfarer in humility and surrender, renouncing all: her visions, failures, desires… putting everything in God’s hands.  Celeste says, ‘I shall follow him and glorify him, and he shall be content, and nothing that is his shall be taken away.’  (MWR pg 46)   She is asserting here that this new Rule, if it be God’s will, will come about not by any action on her part but of that of Jesus, whom she saw at that time transfixed on the cross.   He spoke to her, ‘... Listen to me on the Cathedral of the cross which I have placed in your heart so that I may live my life in you as a Pilgrim (Wayfarer) Crucified in this world. I shall bring this about in such a way that everything will be for you both a cross and peace. ... Gaze upon me with a look of the love Crucified in you. You shall always behold this sight for it is in this way that I give you my compassion.  (Florilegium pg 138)

In 1733.Celeste needed to feel this compassion; she and her two siblings who had entered with her found themselves true wayfarers after being expelled from the monastery in Scala.  It wasn’t until 1738 when ‘Celeste felt herself completely healed and restored of all the wounds of the Scala tortures (MWR pg 51) that she was able to start afresh founding a new monastery in Foggia where ‘she was able to put into practice the full, regular observance of the complete and original Rule’ (MWR pg 52) revealed to her by the Wayfarer.  It was there that she took her full name in religion, Sr. Maria Celeste of the Holy Redeemer. 

Here are a few examples of Maria Celeste’s understanding of the Wayfarer as found in her writings.   In the introduction to the new Rule Maria Celeste wrote the Intent of the Father, God’s Loving Plan of Redemption and its salvific intent by means of on-going redemption.   This is made possible by the continuing existence of Christ as Wayfarer in a real union between him and the soul.’  (MWR pg 67)   This explains why Celeste writes about Jesus in the present tense: He is dying, he is rising, he is continually ascending. By our participation-union with his very being Christ can say of us, his followers, ‘I live through them, with them and in them.’ (see MWR pg 68)

Celeste was a prolific writer, especially during her years in Foggia.  In the ‘Garden Enclosed’ she wrote out the three virtues the spiritual soul should exercise that ‘were the perpetual exercise of Jesus Christ, Man-God, while he was a Wayfarer on earth:

The first: to live among creatures only to help them to act well and to gain eternal salvation.

The second: to seek only the glory of God and the good of your neighbor in thought, word and deed

The third: to live only in God.’  (Florilegium #35)

That  third ‘perpetual exercise,’  ‘to live only in God,’ made me think of our conversations last month about Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth; letting go of ego, and Bro. Lawrence’s living in the now by ‘Practicing the Presence of God;’  to direct our entire mind, heart and will to doing what is loving in God’s sight.  Celeste let go of her ego and lived in the now because she realized it wasn’t about her, so she could remain, at a deep level, at peace, despite the heartache, knowing she was loved by God.  That was the fruit of her union with the Wayfarer.

In the Spiritual Exercises for December she wrote: ‘Everything my divine Providence has ordained for you, both adverse and favorable, should be loved and accepted by you with love while you repose like a babe in its mother care; sleeping peacefully without any worry or preoccupation about itself and its interests.

There is the Paradise of souls wayfaring on earth united by love to my beloved Son…  Because by ceasing to be led by your own will in everything, you will enjoy an anticipated Paradise…and will not be disturbed by sufferings and crosses.’   ( see Florilegium #68)

That all seems to me like a strange juxtaposition: sufferings and crosses and anticipated paradise.  But it reminded me of Good Luck Bad Luck!

The Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

The next week, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?   Who knows?

Did Celeste have good luck or bad luck in following the Wayfarer?  Both, to be sure; she was tremendously blest to have such an intimate relationship with her Redeemer throughout her life, yet it cost her dearly with all the struggle of implementing the new Rule and all the heartache that accompanied it in her attempt to follow the Wayfarer’s lead.  Yet, all this she surrendered.  In following the Wayfarer Celeste practiced the virtues of the Man-God ‘on his Pilgrim Way.’
 
God tells her, ‘All these (virtues of his) are transformed into your soul and become yours by your union with him; all your feelings and passions become sanctified by him and transformed into his feelings and your body transformed into his.’  (Florilegium #74. Spiritual Exercises for December, med. 18)

Think of the caterpillar being transformed into a butterfly and the metamorphosis that transpires; the surrender and dying to self that takes place throughout its life cycle.  When any of us follow the Wayfarer, as Celeste did, we surrender our very lives to be transformed into ‘new creatures in Christ.’ 2 Cor.5:17  ‘to form that perfect being who is Christ come to full stature.’  Eph 4:13   

Celeste tells us when we are at prayer it is a special time of union with the Wayfarer. She was instructed by Jesus that when you pray,  ‘… join that praise of yours to the Praises which I, while I was Wayfarer on earth, offered to God my Father, and live as though I, not you, lived in yourself. Thus all the graces, gifts, and spiritual consolations which you receive from my Love, receive them not in yourself but in me.’ (Florilegium pg 96 Garden Enclosed)

Celeste spent many hours in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament and was always amazed at how the God-Man, with patience and mercy ‘stamped on himself’… ‘the humiliations and contempt of self’ which the Wayfarer displayed in not exalting his ‘divine perfections but kept them submerged’.  She continues, ‘He submerged his divine immensities beneath an admirable hidden silence while on earth as a Wayfaring Man, and not only that, but now while hiding – in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar beneath the accidents of bread – his divine grandeurs… to unite us with him and transform us into God, he has made himself the real food of man.’   (Florilegium pg 29) 

As followers of the Wayfarer we are called likewise to accept humiliations and have contempt for self.  What does this mean?  To me it means we are to be ‘living eucharists for the Church and for the world.’ (Associate Constitutions #6)   We are to humble ourselves just as Jesus ‘humbled himself, taking on the form of a slave, (to become) human like one of us’ (Phil 2:7) so we might follow his example and empty ourselves of our ego so that God can fill us with divinity that we may, by our union, participate in Christ’s on-going redemption in the here and now.

         

In Celeste’s Autobiography Jesus tells her, ‘You are my friend and my delight and, therefore, I keep you in my Kingdom of the Cross and of Glory, in the Kingdom of my Peace and Rest, in sufferings and afflictions, just the way I lived as a Wayfarer on this earth.

‘Do not be troubled, you already know how much you have to destroy the self so that this Work (namely, this Work that is totally mine) may be carried out.’ (Florilegium pg 135)

‘This Work’ that Jesus was referring to is the foundation of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer – but he could well have been speaking to us about our life in him today.  We are the Works of His hands. Christ has no hands on this earth but ours, no voice on earth but ours, no heart but ours…  Therefore, we are his friends, his delight, at peace and rest in the Kingdom of the Cross and of Glory.  And in turn ‘he is the light of our faith, the strength of our charity and the source of our hope.’ (Associate Constitution #13) 

Jesus, the Wayfarer was the love of Celeste’s life! She followed him in her own time and place. Our call, as Redemptoristine Nuns and Associates, is the same.  Our constitutions say, ‘The more we strive to live the love of Christ, the more the thoughts and feelings of Christ will fill our spirit and our heart, the more we will become His faithful images and the more also we will be able to be true witnesses of the love of Him who is our Beginning and our End, our Way and our Life.’  (Associate Constitutions #5)

Like Celeste, let us each be a ‘Viva Memoria,’ the living memory of Jesus the Wayfarer; a participant in God’s loving plan of redemption.  Do you hear the Wayfarer’s invitation?

Follow me where I go

What I do and who I know;

Make it part of you to be a part of me.

Follow me up and down all the way
Take my hand and I will follow you.

Questions for reflection:

Celeste was called at a young age. Do you remember when you were called to follow the Wayfarer?   

How are you following Jesus, the Wayfarer, today?

Have you ever felt deep peace in following the Wayfarer in times of humility and surrender?  

When have you experienced ‘Gook Luck’ being turned into ‘Bad Luck’, and vise versa, in your life?    What graces did you receive?

What has been ‘destroyed’ in you that a ‘new creation’ could be born for the on-going redemption of the world?

July 10, 2009