REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

The Annual Christmas Newsletter via Sacred Ordinary Blog

We all know about those Christmas newsletters telling mostly the good stuff and avoiding the unpleasant stuff. Well, here's mine for anyone who is interested. I personally love these holiday updates and though we don't send Christmas cards and letters as much as we used to, I so look forward to those I receive. I can remember the days when the kids were growing up and every year the card featured them and the newsletter was full of our busy lives. But when the nest is empty, you fill your lives with different things and most of them pretty routine. But you know what has changed as I grow older? I am overflowing with gratitude. My life didn't follow the pattern I had imagined, but what a wonderful life I have, even with its challenges. I hope you feel the same. Merry Christmas to all and happy holidays to those who celebrate different ways.

Remembering Joe Spado's 2010 Our Lady of Guadalupe Dress Post

Earlier in the month, the blogging community lost one of its legends--Joe Spado aka Spadoman who wrote at Round Circle. This is a link to his last post on Nov. 22, 2013. He is greatly missed. 

I knew Joe only from blogging but many of the people who write at Rebecca Brooks site Recuerda mi Corazon knew him personally. Totally synchronistically, I tripped across a favorite 2010 Joe post about buying his wife a Our Lady of Guadalupe dress in Bakersfield while doing a Google search on Guadalupe fabrics. I simply had to link it here because looking back on his generous spirit. I remember this post so distinctly from 2010. In fact, I'm going to repost it here, not just link it. 

The Dress

 

A Virgin a Day
December 11, 2010
Day 11

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

 

In 2008, I volunteered to help out in an event called The Longest Walk II. A March across the USA from San Francisco to Washington DC to remind Americans to protect Sacred sites and quit harming Mother Earth. I went to help out and support this effort. I brought my van and a trailer and hauled the walker’s backpacks from daily camp to daily camp. We went non stop at first, walking miles and miles every day. After a few weeks on the road, we finally got a few days off to rest and resupply in Bakersfield, California. It was on one of these days off that I took walkers that needed to get to a laundromat, bank, store or post office where they needed to go. I did some personal things I needed to get done as well.

 

 

One day, I stopped in downtown Bakersfield for a regular sit-down meal. After lunch, I walked around the downtown area and peeked into the windows of the shops. Passing by this one trendy little women’s wear boutique, I caught a glimpse of a very unique dress in the window. I kept going back and driving by that shop, looking at that dress.

 

Mrs. Spadoman looks fabulous in this dress

 

When I saw it, I thought of how I’d like to buy it as a unique gift to send back home to Mrs. Spadoman. The walk had me away from home for months. I was always thinking of all my family members and buying trinkets or post cards to send home. This dress was special. I had to buy it. 

 

 

It was awkward for me to walk into that store and talk to the two young black clad pierced goth women about buying a dress for my wife. I mean, I’m an old guy. I know I don’t fit the stereotype of someone that would shop in their little boutique. But I did take a deep breath and go in. I don’t know what I was thinking would happen. What? Would they laugh at me? Think I’m a pervert? I was just a little unsure as dress buying, especially an old gray haired Midwesterner dress buying at a trendy chic boutique in downtown Bakersfield, was a lot out of my character.

 

 

When I walked in, there were two women working there and no one else shopping. I had both sets of eyes on me instantly. I wasn’t going to shop around, I was gonna buy, so I walked right up to the front counter where one of the women, the one with the purple hair, was standing. The other, dressed in layers and layers of what looked like rags with sleeves that hung down past her hands that had holes in them for her thumbs,  stepped up quickly. The second one seemed inquisitive, interested in what the purpose of my visit would be. Dominatrix? I mean, just sayin’!

 

I told them I saw the dress and I wanted to know what size it was and how much. They helped me and gave me their undivided attention. They told me how cute they thought this dress to be. It was February, but it was a sun dress. It wasn’t going to worn that afternoon. I told them I was going to send it home to my wife. I did get some accolades for being so bold as to buy her a dress. I got the idea that it’s not too common a practice.

 

 

I’ll let the pictures describe the dress. What brought my eye and interest to it was the bold bright display of Our Lady of Guadalupe prints all over it. “Very colorful,” I thought, and the image of Our Lady on a dress would be very unique. I knew Barb would love its “kitsch” tendencies that bordered on the irreverent. I also knew we both liked the folksy colorful Guadalupe image.

 

I sent the dress home, but before I did. I had it with me when I returned back to base camp. While talking to some of the people I met on the walk about what we did that day, I was asked and I answered with, “I bought my wife a dress.”

 

I had to show people. Some thought it was so cool. I did, that’s why I bought it. A lot of the younger women, the ones with eclectic taste, really liked it. I sent it home after showing it off and returned to the walk.

 

When Barb received it, she told me she thought it was beautiful. It was fun to pull it out in the dead of cold wintry weather yesterday for the photo shoot, (we’re expecting a foot of new snow and temperatures to plummet down to below zero in the next few days). I think Barb looks fantastic in this dress, and seeing her wearing it made me wish the winter will speed by so we can be somewhere in temperatures where a sun dress would be appropriate attire.

 

Truthfully, I was so excited about this whole Virgin Business as I knew I’d have a depiction of Our Lady on a dress. The odds would favor the fact that no one else would have something like this. It would trump every Virgin object, painting, statue and what have you. You can see I am proud of it. But the posts I have seen this past eleven days have been nothing short of magnificent. The art, the reverence, the history and knowledge and the personal outpouring to each other and the blog readers about The Blessed Virgin Mary have reached us all.

 

Gracie Jayne had to have her picture taken for this very special fashion show. Isn't she beautiful

 

That’s my story for today, Day 11 of 12. Tomorrow, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the end of this beautiful, thought provoking inspiring Meme project. I am grateful to Rebecca for coming up with this fabulous idea. It brought so many ideas and people together. Coming away from this exercise, I found I have made some new connections and think about some things in different ways.

 

 ******

We are all thinking about you, Joe, and your wife and family and all your friends. I especially remember you today on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I hope your wife is wearing that beautiful dress you bought her long ago in Bakersfield. 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe via Polyvore

The Twelve Days of Mary hosted by Rebecca at Recuerda mi Corazon have passed by so quickly and today is our last day to gather together, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Imagine my delight when it flashed by me at Polyvore (from Ebay) that an Our Lady of Guadalupe quilt block was offered as a set item. So I embellished the basic, and here is Redondowriter's final offering for our 2013 challenge.  

I saw so many beautiful renditions of Mary and the divine feminine because of the 2013 challenge including the wonderful posts from the points of view of those of us who participated, but also my own Googling to find out information or images that I didn't create myself. Probably the site that made me smile the most was on Facebook: In Guad We Trust. 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 11 - Vicki Hammond's HERstory Art

Only two days are left in our Twelve Days of Mary posts for 2013. Thank you, Rebecca Brooks, for hosting us once again on our wonderful annual journey. On this day and until Dec. 19, Rebecca herself is leading a spiritual art retreat in San Miguel de Allende.

I wanted to feature some work of my friend, and the daughter of very good friends, Victoria Hammond of Portland, Oregon. Her website is HERstory. All of her work uses recycled materials and most of them feature women of every ilk. Vicki is a well loved Portland artist and is active in the Local 14 art group there. Though not a religious woman, Vicki has a huge respect for what I call the divine feminine. She's very playful so I'm not sure she would use that term herself. We'll see what she says if she sees my post. 

These are three of her pieces that speak deeply to me of the divine feminine--and I hope they evoke divinity as well.

Anointed One

Grow, Become

Welcome 

 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 10: Mary at the Church of the Visitation

When I took part in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three years ago, an exceptionally beautiful day excursion was to the town of Ein Karem outside of Jerusalem, home to the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation. To read in depth about the homes of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of John the Baptist, and the visitation to Mary while visiting Elizabeth, go to this link. Ein Karem was so green and lush and so very different from everywhere else we visited in the Holy Land. 

This particular photo is from inside The Church of the Visitation.

The Virgin Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, depicted in mosaic on the façade of this two-tiered church, is commemorated on a slope of the hill south of Ein Karem. Completed in 1955 to a design by Antonio Barluzzi, the artistically decorated Church of the Visitation is considered one of the most beautiful of all the Gospel sites in the Holy Land.

This is believed to be the site of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s summer house, where Mary came to visit her cousin. On the wall opposite the church, ceramic plaques reproduce Mary’s canticle of praise, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) in some 50 languages.

In the lower chapel, a vaulted passage leads to an old well. An ancient tradition asserts that a spring joyfully burst out of the rock here when Mary greeted Elizabeth.

A huge stone set in a niche is known as the Stone of Hiding. According to an ancient tradition, the stone opened to provide a hiding place for the baby John during Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents, an event depicted in a painting on the wall.

In a valley on the south of the village is a fresh-water spring known as Mary’s Spring or the Fountain of the Virgin. Tradition has it that Mary quenched her thirst from this spring before ascending the hill to meet Elizabeth. The spring gives the village its name from the Arabic “ein” (spring) and kerem (vineyard or olive grove). Built over the spring is a small abandoned mosque, another reminder that this was once an Arab village. Southwest of Ein Karem, a Greek Melkit monastery and a Franciscan convent mark the Desert of St. John, a site where John the Baptist is believed to have lived in seclusion.

These sites were on hills and with my decreased lung capacity, it was a real struggle for me personally to reach these sites, but I’m so glad I did. I carry each of them in my heart.

To see more entries of other participants on this tenth day of the Twelve Days of Mary leading up to the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, go to Rebecca’s Recuerda mi Corazon.

 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 9, 1922 Modern Leyendecker Madonna

When Googling modern madonnas a few weeks ago, this front cover of the Dec. 23, 1922 Saturday Evening Post popped up and I saved the image because it fascinated me. I want to do something with it in SoulCollage. In 1922 this was undoubtedly a very avante garde way to portray mother and child in the Christmas issue. This is called Modern Madonna and Child, December 23, 1922, J.C. Leyendecker.

More Googling brought me numerous pages and images and I realize that though I did not really know who this artist was by name, many of his illustrations are world-reknown and I recognized many of them. 

Joseph Christian Leyendecker (JC) was born in 1874 and died in 1951. A book and magazine illustrator and entrepreneur, he pained strong, athletic men and lithe feminine women with equal ease. He was inspired by Norman Rockwell and created long-running chracters like Saturday Evening Post babies and the Arrow collar man and many other magazines and products. He so defined an era of fashion that Richard Amsel paid homage to him in his poster art for The Sting. The thing that startled me was how art deco this particular madonna is and how I also use circles continuously in my own art as backdrops for people's heads. 

And here I thought I was just making madonna art or sharing madonna photos, or referencing famous great master painters of Mary from the past when I signed up for Rebecca's Twelve Days of Mary. Instead, in my own research--and in yours, dear participants of Twelve Days--I have learned a LOT of new things. And for me personally, it's imperative to learn something new every day. 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 8, A Cherished Hummel Figurine

This repaired Hummel figurine is very special to me. She belonged to my late mother-in-law and I have cherished her since 1973 when Blessed Mary Shreffler passed. Unfortunately, several years ago the woman who helps me clean knocked her over and her head fell off and her halo broke. I was so sad but also very accepting because life is like that: peaks and valleys. For a while I kept her in the closet and then one day I made up my mind that a glued-back Mary was better than a hidden Mary. I used E6000 to repair her and then put tiny rose buds on the broken places. Today she stands in front of an angel vase from a long-ago estate sale and it stands in front of another hot pink Mexican hand painted chest I keep my meds in in the bathroom. I move Our Lady from room to room and in different scenarios. Since I decorated the house yesterday I think I will move her today down to the mantel over the fireplace where other Marys are. 

Thank you, Rebecca, for hosting us at Twelve Days of Mary. Immaculate Conception today, then you go to San Miguel de Allende, and on Dec. 12 you celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. Twelve days of Mary indeed. 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 7, Mood Indigo SoulCollage®

When I made this SoulCollage® card several years ago, I named her Mood Indigo. But, in drawing this card today from my deck, I think I would call her Our Lady of the Passion. She is in the Council suit and she reminds me of what a Jewish woman may have looked like in Mary's time. SoulCollage always begins with what we call "I am the one who" statements and ends with a question. 

I am the one who you are celebrating during this Advent Season as the mother of Jesus Christ. I was so young and though I am venerated now, then I was a first-time mom, all alone in a strange place. I'll never forget Joseph and I going across the desert into the town of Bethlehem. I am the one whose water broke even before Joseph was able to convince the inn keeper to let us use the stable. I labored for many hours alone with Joseph. He comforted me as best he could and helped when he could. The Bible makes my birth experience sound so magical and we are portrayed with angels hovering and animals braying, or maybe that's just what artists, musicians and writers have created. It's important for human beings to have a mystical story to help them get through their own peaks and valleys of life, and I accept that.  Believe me, however, it was painful and I was the one who was so young. But I knew my little baby boy was very special. When you were on pilgrimage in the Holy Land three years ago, you visited the place purported to be where I gave birth to Jesus. Touristy, yes, but you were deeply moved putting your hand on the star buried in the floor. It felt hot to the touch, didn't it?  I am the one who millions of pilgrims have venerated as the mother of God and I accept that I am a divine mother to you all. But, looking back, it was so painful then and I was so young. You are the one who needs to reminded that I was a fully human woman even if the story puts me on a pedestal. But I am the one who matured quickly. My little son was a handful! 

A question I would ask of Our Lady of the Passion, "I am old now, my children are grown and two of my six grandchildren are grown, and sometimes I long for those years I was a mother whose kids really needed her. I knew my purpose. They are busy now with their own children and lives, as they should be, and I am busy in my own life.  But can you help me list in my journal some of the blessed ways I can still feel motherly with my grown up babies and grandbabies?" 

This entry is part of Rebecca's Twelve Day of Mary leading up to the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. If you have time, visit the others whose names are listed here because we all relate so differently to the divine feminine in our lives. 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 6, Santa Muerte

I am reposting images from a November post about Day of the Dead to Rebecca Brooks at Recuerda mi Corazon Twelve Days of Mary because I loved this painting so much. 

 

San Pedro's annual Day of the Dead celebration has become a must attend event for locals and I found Reuben Portillo's Santa Muerte to be outstanding at the Nov. 1, 2013 celebration. 

 This creation wouldn't really fit in with my home decor except during the week I display my personal ofrenda for Day of the Dead his Mary so I didn't buy it. But, it fascinated me and I enjoyed speaking with Reuben and his wife. He owns the Paz Gallery , also home of Portillo Sign and Logo at 411 W. 6th St., San Pedro, CA. He said that Santa Muerte is acrylic and paper on reclaimed material that was part of an old door. If you would like to see more of his work, he can be reached at (310) 753-9194. He doesn't have a website, but does have a Facebook page. I'm going to check out his business next time I'm in San Pedro. He told me that he had a strong affection for this particular Mary.

 Today, I just noticed on Rebecca's blog, she is honoring the late Joe Spado as part of Haiku My Heart Fridays. Joe always posted there, so I'm adding this haiku for Joe who built a Day of the Dead altar every year--and the photos I saw were spectacular. 

Santa Muerte for Joe Spado

I never met Joe 

but loved his words, photos

My post is for you. 

 

A Virgin a Day: Advent 5 - El Pueblo de los Angeles and Environs

I was born in Los Angeles and am extremely proud of my heritage. Though highly touristy, a favorite place to visit is the El Pueblo de Los Angeles downtown where Los Angeles began in the 1700s. There are excellent docent tours offered by the L.A. Conservancy. Olvera Street itself is the biggest tourist attraction, but the simple original La Placita Church is also in this square. The mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe below sits near the church and a picture of the church is below Our Lady. 

La Placita is the oldest Catholic Church in Los Angeles. It was first established in 1784 as a chapel. Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles (Our Lady Queen of the Angels Church) or Old Plaza Church as it is also known was completed in 1822. The newer minimalist-style Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is only a few blocks from here as well. Initially opposed to its construction, I love it now as a central gathering place not only for Catholics, but a community resource for all of Los Angeles. It's archtecture and art is a post for another day. By the way, though I later converted, I was not raised as a Catholic child, but all California kids are steeped in our founding traditions. We study California  history in the fourth grade, including the founding of the missions throughout the state. Fourth grade kids for generations build replicas of missions. Incidentally, an excellent exhibit on Father Junipero Serra and the missions is currently on display at the Huntington Library in San Marino. I will definitely visit during the holidays. 

The original La Placita Church still serves as an active parish. Under the leadership of Father Oliveres in the 1980s La Placita declared itself the first Catholic Church to be a sanctuary for refugees from the civil wars in Central America in defiance of the I.N.S. To say this was controversial is an understatement. Although Father Oliveres was transferred to Bolivia in 1990 two new priests, Father Steve Niskanen and Arnold Abelardo, re-declared the church as a sanctuary for immigrants, began the Centro San Juan del Immigrante to give legal and medical aid to immigrants and more in 2002 and later.

There are surveyor posts in front of La Placita Church that mark the first mapped boundaries in 1858 of the village that became Los Angeles. Two Bicentennial Historical Plaques (one in English the other Spanish) were dedicated by then Mayor Tom Bradley in 1981.

I worked downtown for four years in the 1980s and often ate lunch or went to social functions on Olvera Street. I just love the gathering of families there for baptisms, weddings and funerals, many of them colorfully dressed more in the Latino tradition vs. the fashionistas seen on the westside of L.A. Our Lady plays a huge role in early L.A. as well as the L.A. of today. 

Yesterday's Daily Breeze, the local paper, ran a fascinating feature talking about Our Lady's role in the city's culture, "A Timeless Image, Our Lady of Guadalupe Brings Hope to Devotees Around the Southland," if you are interested. 

I adore California, every square inch of it, and Los Angeles is wondrous to me, in spite of the traffic.  We are so much more than our consistently glorious weather and the entertainment industry. I encourage you to visit someday if you haven't already. Thanks to Rebecca for hosting us on our Journey of Twelve Days of Mary leading up to the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.