“My Little White Dove”
The Rich Biblical
Symbolism of This Name
Liturgically
speaking, the Christmas season ends with the baptism of Jesus in the River
Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist, who insisted he needed to be baptized
by Jesus, not Jesus by him. So why did
Jesus seek out John and his baptism? And
what is the significance of the “dove”
at His baptism? And why does Jesus use
the symbolism of the dove when speaking to Sr. Mildred Marie (Mary Ephrem)
Neuzil, visionary for the Our Lady of
America devotion, in locutions with her in the 1950’s?
John’s
baptism was a baptism of water and repentance which Jesus did not need, as He
was sinless. Jesus participated in John’s baptism to show his identity with
sinners, for it was for these He had come to die and for these He would be led
into the desert to overcome the evil one, definitively! It was for these He had come to bring true
forgiveness of sin and a greater baptism, the baptism of fire and the Holy
Spirit. Jesus submitted to John’s
baptism out of humility and to show the end of the Old Order of law and justice
and the beginning of the New Order of grace and mercy in Himself. His
baptism was a manifestation to the Jewish world of His divinity through the
simultaneous manifestation of the Trinity.
He would thereafter clearly reveal Himself as the Son of God in His
public mission, inaugurated with this baptism, through His teaching with the very authority of God Himself; through His miracles performed with the power of God;
and through His forgiveness of sins
which no one but God can forgive.
Jesus’
baptism was a confirmation of the “epiphany,”
the manifestation of His divinity revealed through the Magi who presented Him
at birth with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, gifts suitable even for a
divine King, the newborn King of the Jews, confessed in the heavens with a
star that led them to Bethlehem and the Shepherd-King of David’s line, the long
promised Savior of God’s people. This
King would be the King of all Kings,
the Eternal High Priest, the
Greatest Prophet to speak for God, for He would be God’s very Word, made
flesh, fulfilling every prophecy ever told, here in the Heart of the Suffering
Servant of Yahweh.
Jesus’
baptism was also a “theophany,”
a revelation of the Most Holy Trinity, for all three persons of the Trinity were manifested to our senses, our human way of knowing, at
this event. See how the heavens
opened and the voice of the Father confirmed His divine Fatherhood of Jesus,
His dearly beloved Son in Whom He is well pleased, thus confirming the divinity
of Jesus. Then a dove came to rest upon
Jesus, (Mt 3:16) the dove
After
His baptism, Jesus was led by that same Spirit into the desert to bind up
Satan, the Strong One, the Deceiver, the Master Liar, and to chain up his power
over God’s people. Satan wages endless
and vicious war against Christ and His disciples,
seeking to rob humanity of its soul and us of our salvation. In our Catholic
tradition the dove is always a sign of the Spirit and is connected to Noah and
the flood and to baptism, with their cleansing and purifying waters and the new
life that follows as the work of the Spirit in both baptism of water and
baptism of fire. While Satan continues
to wage his battle against us, Our Lady
of America comes, offering us “miracles, not of the body but of the soul”
if we would embrace the reform of life she asks for, and turn to her to learn
the true way of love and purity of heart that is the work of her Divine Spouse,
God’s Holy Spirit.
Since
Jesus, in locutions to Sr. Mildred Marie Neuzil, called her “my
little white dove,” it is
necessary to understand the rich biblical symbolism of the dove and its
manifestation of the Holy Spirit in order to understand why Our Lord would use
this symbol in addressing Sister in a message that calls for purification of our lives if we are to
enter into new life in Him.
My little white dove, if the world is dying,
it is because it will not let Me give it life. My
little white dove, do you know what I find most lacking in the world today?
It is FAITH. There are so few
souls that believe in Me and My love. They profess
their belief and their love, but they do not live this belief. Their hearts are cold, for without faith there can be no love. Pray and sacrifice yourself, My child, that faith may once again find entrance into the
hearts of men.
(Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil, Diary, Our Lady of America,
pgs. 4-5, and locutions with Our Lord, May 22, 1954)
The dove is regarded as the most important bird in
Scripture. It is first mentioned per se
in the story of the great flood in Genesis 8.
The dove is also the sacrificial offering of the poor which ensures the
participation of everyone in the required sacrificial
purification rituals outlined in the priestly codes of Leviticus. In the story of the flood, Noah sends the
gentle dove out three times to see if the waters had receded. The first time it returned immediately for
it had no place to rest. The second time
it returned with an olive branch for the waters had receded enough for the trees
to rise above them. The third time it
did not return because it had found something on which to feed and a place to
rest. Just as the flood waters cleansed the earth in Noah’s time, then brought new life, so the waters of the River Jordan
symbolized a cleansing from sin and a rising to new life for those John
baptized. The return of the dove, so
often used with the olive branch as a symbol or harbinger of peace, is the sign
that the purification is over and new life and peace can reign once more over
the earth. In both these purifying waters
we see our own baptism and the peace of Christ it brings and His new life it
gives us as He takes His rest within us.
But
the world is not at peace, for we are not at peace within ourselves. Our Lord spoke to Sister in May and July of
1954 of a necessary purification of this sinful generation, much like the flood
of old, before real peace can come into our world.
My
Father is angry. If my children will not
listen to My Heart, which is a Voice of mercy and instruction, punishment will
come swiftly and none shall be able to stay it. The pleadings of my Heart have held back the
divine justice about to descend on an ungrateful and sinful generation.
(Diary, pg. 6)
I am
the resurrection and the life, and unless souls seek their life in Me, they will find only death and destruction. They fear man-made destroyers of life, yet
destruction is in themselves. Man destroys himself through the evil that is
in him. Implements of war kill only that
which is without. Man kills that within himself which none but he can kill. God is light, man is darkness, and unless he
comes into the light, he will be forever darkness. (Diary, pg. 4)
On
February 3, 1957, Our Lady, always a Mother, focused on peace, telling Sister
that real peace can only come when there is true love of her Son and of one’s
neighbor. Our Lady begged us to come to
her to learn the way of true love.
My
son asks of souls love, that true love willing to sacrifice itself for the One
loved. Man fears to sacrifice himself
because he is selfish. If souls would
place themselves into my keeping, I would teach them the way of true love. If men truly loved my Son, they would not
quarrel with each other and they would have peace in their hearts. Peace is from within, not without. If mankind were at peace with itself, there
would be peace in the world. Man will
only have peace if he has in his heart that true love of neighbor that springs
from a whole-hearted love for my Son.
My sweet
child, if love does not have its roots implanted deeply within the soul, it
will die out or be rooted up by the first storm that besets it. O child of my Pure Heart, tell my children to
come to me and learn this true love of my Son, which is so necessary for their
peace of soul.
(Diary, pgs. 15-16)
Besides
being a symbol of peace and new life after purification, the dove is a symbol
of purity. Solomon in his Song of Songs
speaks of the dove undefiled. Scholars
explain that this love song between the Lover and the Beloved represents the
espousal relationship of Christ with His Bride, the Church, His
Mystical Body. “My love, my dove, my
undefiled…” (Song of Songs 5:2) The dove here is the white dove of purity,
one free of defilement, held firm in the pure, unconditional love of the Other. We are
familiar with the Church’s use of the dove as the sign of purity and love for
the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit is the “ruah,” the very
breath of life of God Himself, Who is
Love, the All Holy, All Pure One.
This song not only speaks to
Christ’s espousal with His Bride, the Church, but also to the espousal
relationship He has with each of us when we are baptized into His Body through
the sanctifying grace of His pure Spirit of Love.
The
dove is not a city dweller for it prefers a more peaceful deserted area where
it can hide away in the clefts of rock.
It becomes a symbol of the pursuit of a hidden life, solitude and quiet,
a symbol of the humble soul reflecting the humility of the Spirit. Considering that Archbishop Paul Leibold, Sr.
Mildred’s spiritual director of 32 years, advised her to enter the cloister and
to remain hidden from the world, the “little white dove” is a fitting
symbol for Sister’s life of contemplation and solitude, religious espousal with her Divine Lord. She models for us our own
call to holiness, to solitude and prayer, to baptismal espousal to our Lord, the Lover of all lovers Who seeks intimacy with us through His Divine Indwelling
Presence that makes us pure and holy as He is pure and holy.
Now
hear the psalmist David cry: “Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
(Psalm 55:7) While Catholic Tradition
views the dove in flight as a symbol of the Ascension of Our Lord, it can also
symbolize the soul’s ascent to the mountain of prayer and rest in the Lord. The little docile dove was a quiet and
unassuming bird that loved to seek shelter away from the noise. What a fitting image for one seeking a life
of contemplation and union with the Lord.
Jeremiah prays: “O
ye that dwelleth in
Hosea
saw the dove as a symbol of innocence.
He said, “Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart:…” (Hosea 7:11) But
his understanding of “silly” as used here was that of innocence. Hosea had seen a dove ensnared because of its
innocence, unsuspecting of that which would ensnare it. Hence, he said “Ephraim is just like
that.” How interesting that Sr.
Mildred’s religious name was “Ephrem.”
She, too, was an innocent one, trusting and unsuspecting of those who
would ensnare her for their own purposes, causing much suffering to herself and
her cloistered companions. But alas, the
dove is also a sign of hope, as David alluded to when he wished he could fly
away “on
the wings of a dove” to a higher, safer place. Sister Mildred Marie’s higher, safer place
was her trust and hope in Our Lady’s promise to her that the message of Our Lady of America would come to
fruition, in time, as She desired.
“But in the end all will come as I desire. Those who oppose you will receive light to
understand.” (Diary, pg.
37) How often Sister
was heard to say, “Our Lady will take care of it” when ugly things appeared on
her horizon. Sooner or later, Our
Lady always did, and still does, take care of them all.
In
Matthew 10:16 Jesus speaks in a similar vein:
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Here Jesus bids us be wise about the things
of God and innocent concerning things that are evil. Sr. Mildred Marie was wise about the things of God because she had a
pure heart and lacked knowledge of all kinds of evil that
raged about her. No wonder our dear Lord so lovingly referred to her as His “little
white dove.” She certainly was
His love, His dove, His beautiful innocent one!
He took delight in her!
But
the symbol of the dove as the pure
sacrificial offering of the poor is the most vital of all. We see poor Mary and Joseph offer a pair of
doves at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple for His circumcision and
Mary’s purification after childbirth.
Though Mary was sinless and had no need of purification, she humbly
submitted to the requirements of her Jewish Faith. The
dove, the pure victim of sacrifice!
It is this dimension that is the most important in understanding Sr. Mildred’s
endearment to Our Lord as His “little white dove.” She became the “pure little white dove of sacrifice” in imitation of our Lord’s
own sacrifice for our salvation, sharing in His passion in an extraordinarily
personal way. Nothing could speak to
this dimension of her sacrifice better than the following passage from Sr.
Mildred’s letter to Father Paul Leibold, her spiritual director and later
bishop of the
J.M.J.
August 16, 1956
Sisters of the Precious Blood
Our Lady of the Nativity Convent
Cloister
New
Rev. and Dear Father,
This
being the eve of the First Friday I am reminded of
some things that should have been mentioned before this. I was as you know,
still out West in June. Well, June 8th ,
Feast of the Sacred Heart, we were allowed to make a night hour, those who
wished to. During this time Jesus made known to me the sorrow of His Heart over
the ingratitude and indifference shown to Him in the Sacrament of His Love.
When I went back to bed, Jesus came to me holding a large cross and a
crown of thorns. He said to me smiling, as though He knew what the answer would
be (He did of course).
“I come with My
cross and My crown of thorns, will you accept Me My spouse?”
You know the only
answer I could give Father. Who could refuse Jesus anything? During the night I
awoke and Jesus said to me,
and He said it with a profound emphasis:
“I have placed you upon the Altar of
Sacrifice.”
On June 14th,
anniversary of my perpetual union with Jesus, He asked me again,
“Bride of My Heart, do you still wish
to suffer all things to give Me to souls?”
I answered:
“Yes, yes dear Lord, I am poor and
wretched, and unworthy, but you know what is in
my heart.”
He said,
“My little white dove, will you then
continue to wear the Crown of Thorns, and permit
yourself to be nailed to the Cross?”
I told him in the
best way I could, how much I desired Him to do with me just as He desired. So
in this way my desires are wholly united to His.
When I received my last Obedience,
Father, it was a bit of a let- down, as you can guess. Yet I tried to rise
above my feelings realizing that God works all things for our good and His
Glory. I am glad that Our Lord is not afraid to use me in any way that He
pleases. There are times when pain blurs my vision a bit, but it is not long
before His enlightening Grace makes me see again with that clear light God
reserves for the lowly and pure of heart. At this time, Father, Our Lord assured me
of His continued help. He said to me that evening after I had received the
Obedience,
“I
will be with you wherever you are, spouse of my Heart. You have nothing to fear”
This was after I had
said to Him,
“Dear Lord, what are You
doing to me?”
Here
are some words spoken to me since. Sometimes He repeats or uses similar
expressions to emphasize the special lesson He wishes to impart. Pride must be the great sin of our times, or at least one of the
great ones, for Our Lord speaks so often about humility.
“My
Heart speaks to the humble. It is they who hear My Voice.”
“Be humble My
children, be humble and pure of heart. Then will I come and dwell with you.”
“My little white dove, how humility
and simplicity are despised by the proud of this
world. Oh what a loss they suffer. For despising the humble, Christ will judge them.”
“By my humility and simplicity of
Heart I glorify My Father more than all the Angels
and Saints together. So it is that the humble soul glorifies God more than all the great of the world.”
Surely
it is obvious why our dear Lord called Sr. Mildred His “little white dove!”
“I have placed you upon the Altar of Sacrifice!” He said.
© Sisters of the
Indwelling Trinity,
*(Some aspects of the dove symbolism are taken from the Catholic
Encyclopedia:
Dove, www.newadvent.org/cathen)