Happy Birthday to Our Lady

Chers Amis,

Friday, September 8 is the Feast of the Nativity of Mary the Mother of God. It was her birthday, so of course, we had to make a cake! I had promised Caddie and Scarlett that we would make a special gateau for Mary, buuuut, as the day rushed past and the "To Do" list lengthened, the cake became a pre-packaged muffin mix purchased for Sunday morning breakfast. After a late trip to the library, I had decided that dinner would supersede any and all adventures in baking. "It is 5:47 after all and I'm just now mincing garlic for dinner," I told myself. "There is NO time for cake preparation at 5:47!"

"It is 5:47 on Mary's birthday and what is time?" came a little voice, that quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit. True. "So, let the baking begin," I joyfully intoned. The Holy Spirit is a powerful guy. (If you know me well, this is not my normal reaction facing culinary deadlines.) Down came the cream blue-striped mixing bowl, out came the flour, frosty from the freezer. Where did the almond extract get off to? Do we have any good olive oil? Baking powder or baking soda? "Ladies," I announced to two surprised and glowing faces, "Go to it, make this cake!" Would that such joy and enthusiasm could be bottled and distilled! After dinner - yes, I did finish dinner - we made a blueberry sauce to remind us of Mary's blue, served her birthday cake with far too much whipped cream, and relished the almond scented delice. Was it all about a cake? No, it was about making our faith real and the center of who we are and what we do, and about trying to live in the moment according to His will.

I have been re-reading The Gift of Faith by Father Tadeusz Dajczer for my meditations. Friday morning this quote (pg. 25) struck me, "Time is the Presence written with a capital 'P'. It is the presence of Christ in our lives. It is the personal presence of God, revealing Himself as the One who expects something from us. God reveals Himself to us through his will. But what is His will? It is always that which is best for us, because God is Love. Every moment of your life is a moment of meeting with the Presence that is loving you. Someone has said that time is the sacrament of the meeting between man and God. This means that every moment is an evangelical gift, since it is the Presence that calls us to do something." Sometimes that means making a cake.

-- Marjorie