A deep Catholic faith lies behind the 1970’s allegory ‘Hope for the flowers’
“Hope for the Flowers,” the Christopher Award-winning novel that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, is commonly recognized as an allegory reflecting the idealism of the 1960-70s counterculture movement. But what many people may not realize is that the story of the two caterpillars, Yellow and Stripe, who struggled to climb to the top before realizing they were meant to fly is also rooted in the steady Catholic faith of its author and illustrator, Trina Paulus.
Paulus, a parishioner of St. Peter Claver Church in Montclair, was raised a practicing Catholic in Cleveland, Ohio, who went to Mass on Sunday, attended Catholic schools, and prayed before every meal and at night. She and her three younger siblings even regularly prayed the rosary for the conversion of Russia in response to Mary’s request at Fatima.
Her parents “practiced what they preached,” Paulus recalled, and never spoke negatively about any person, race, or culture. They also encouraged Paulus’ burgeoning artistic talent during her youth. At an early age, Paulus committed herself to her art, but even more so to her faith.
“At about 8, I discovered clay in the stream behind our house that did not crack like mud-puddle dirt when I attempted sculptures,” Paulus said. “My parents supported my love of sculpture, and I began taking the bus to the Cleveland Art Museum and then the Cleveland Art Institute for Saturday and Summer classes.”
By 12, Paulus was working as the assistant to her Cleveland Art Institute teacher, Edris Eckhardt. It was at the same time Paulus made a serious commitment to her faith and began attending Mass and taking Communion every day. (At 91, Paulus said she kept that commitment until the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person Mass was suspended).
During her Catholic high school years in the 1940s, she discovered the Catholic Action Movement, pioneered by Father Louis Putz with a vision to change the world in a Godward direction. She joined a Catholic Action group where, as she described it, “they acted to fix things that violated Jesus’ message of love.” It was also through the group that she learned about The Grail, — an international lay movement that focused on women’s role in society and the Church — and Grailville, a nearby farm community in Loveland, Ohio, for women who were passionate about their faith but did not have a vocational calling.
The Grail movement was founded in 1921 by Father Jacques van Ginneken with a vision that lay women should transform the world. In response to World War II, the 1940s and 50s saw a rise in the lay apostolate movement. The movement made its way to the U.S. in the 1940s.
“[It] spoke to the faithful committed to the service of God and neighbor but did not feel called to the religious life,” Paulus said about the movement.
That concept appealed to Paulus because, although she was passionate about her spirituality, she wanted to live in the world, not a convent.
“During high school yearly retreats, they wanted us to focus on choosing a vocation, which seemed limited to marriage or preferably becoming a nun,” Paulus said. “I felt I was called to do something different and did everything I could to learn about the lay apostolate.”
Women, 18 to 25, would come to Grailville to live and attend its Year School, creating an expanding community of women working towards a vision of social justice and world peace.
In 1949, Paulus gave up two scholarships to area colleges and headed to Grailville in search of deep spiritual formation from the “Catholic liturgical earth harmonious group.”
At the Grailville farm, a group of women — about 50 -100 at a time — lived, worked, farmed, and prayed. Although the farm was run by the women themselves with only a “blessing from the bishop,” Catholic liturgy, prayer, meditation, songs in Gregorian chant, and the Eucharist were a part of everyday life.
“We were a living liturgy,” Paulus said. “It was quiet, beautiful, simple, and sometimes primitive. There was a lot of singing. It became a quiet, peace-filled beautiful space, an agricultural and religious life.”
The “Year School” was a training program for young women “focused on an integrated life of work and prayer, study and fun.” Many came to prepare for marriage, Paulus said, but many came for the program that was heavy on teaching the arts.
During her first year there, Paulus worked in the laundry.
“We were often silent and had time to go deeply into important things like surrender to our Beloved, who calls us each by name,” she said.
Eventually, Paulus aided in building up the Year School’s art center and art production program. Art became a major source of income for the Grail Movement, and Paulus created a lot of it. While at Grailville, she created religious figurines and creches in monochrome white or terracotta, with her signature round-faced characters in a Midcentury Modern style. The displays were mass-produced by Abbey Press and sold in the gift shop at the farm for years. They are now available on eBay and Etsy at times.
One of Paulus’ statues she created years later but with a Grailville influence is a kneeling pregnant Mary, her belly full with child and her arms outstretched in expectation.
It’s reminiscent of Paulus’ favorite time of the year at Grailville — the Advent season. It was a time when the earth was quieter and darker, and they waited “for the further coming of Christ in history, mystery, and majesty climaxing in the magnitude of the revelation to the gentiles in the Epiphany.”
She referred to it as the pregnant time — waiting, not just for Jesus’ birth, but for “the fuller coming of our cosmic Christ into our hearts and the fuller coming of God into our world.”
By 1966, Paulus had graduated from The Ohio State University and was ready to leave Grailville. So, she volunteered to be part of an international Grail team living in a 4,000-year-old city in upper Egypt, where the team helped young girls create an embroidery co-op. She was evacuated in June 1967 due to the Six-Day War and relocated to the International Grail Center in Paris for two years.
Just before returning to the U.S. in 1969, Paulus stumbled upon a book titled “Hope” which she had previously written for the Grail Movement. “Hope” was intended to embody a simple theology of optimism at a time when the Catholic Church was undergoing significant changes due to Vatican II. But after witnessing the poverty of Egypt and the revolutionary spirit of 1968 Paris, Paulus was inspired to infuse the novel with additional themes. The revised version, titled “Hope for the Flowers,” was published by Paulist Press in 1972 to great acclaim.
Paulus has continued pursuing her art in the decades since “Hope for the Flowers” was released, often creating sculptures inspired by her faith and experiences at Grailville. Her piece Abraham and Isaac has sparked interfaith dialogue, yet some controversy over the years. Father and son look lovingly into each other faces while Abraham clutches the knife behind his back moments before either Abraham is going to sacrifice his son or God tells him to stop. Paulus calls it the major sculpture work of her life.
She is also passionate about saving the monarch butterfly from extinction, raising hundreds of caterpillars each year and releasing them at a Monarch Festival held in Montclair every year.
Through it all, “Hope for the Flowers” continues to be celebrated by its legions of fans. It has been published in 23 languages. Most recently, Paulus’ hometown of Montclair commemorated the book’s 50th anniversary with a reception featuring her original sketches on display.
Featured image: Author Trina Paulus stands alongside her artwork and a senate resolution recognizing her achievements, presented to her by state Senator Nia Gill, while holding a copy of the 50th anniversary of her book, “Hope for the Flowers,” Nov. 5. (KATE ALBRIGHT / COURTESY MONTCLAIR LOCAL)
