They in glory shine!For all the saints: past, present, and future
your Name be blessed, O God
For their humanity and their holiness
your Name be blessed, O God
For their humility and fortitude
your Name be blessed, O God
For their burning zeal and tender compassion
your Name be blessed, O God
For their bold witness
your Name be blessed, O God
For their diversity of gifts
your Name be blessed, O God
For their companionship and prayers
your Name be blessed, O God
In your great mercy, O loving God, grant us such a measure of faith and faithfulness that we may, in our time, embody your love and saving power, passing on the faith of your friends so that new generations may rise up to know you and praise you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, is the glory of the saints. Amen.
10 comments:
A deeply moving litany. Thank you for sharing this. It reminds us we aren't alone though often we can't see certain realties in this realm (aren't we the ones professing "We believe in one God ... maker of the heavens and the Earth, and of all things visible and invisible"?) There is power in numbers. Our numbers tally quite high.
Thank you so much. One more reason I made a lousy Baptist: my deep sense that the Communion of Saints is very real and very important. Perhaps this explains why my homes have looked like vast iconostases.
Careful with the icons! They're often called "windows into heaven," but remember ... windows work both ways ... others are looking back in at us (ie, the communion of voyeurs). Next you'll awaken with an overwhelming urgency to serve up leaven bread soaked in wine on a spoon to the multitudes!
[Imagine quirky grin here.]
I am very aware of the presences through the icons, which is the whole point, yes? I am evidently too shameless to turn them to the wall. They, and my stuffed animals, have seen it all. Since I am still capable of actual shame I rather think that I have a very childlike trust that it is better to be who I am than pretend with those who see deep within.
One can do far worse than obey the command to feed Christ's sheep.
No no no. You don't turn the icons to face the wall. That's unorthodox. Simply drape each one with a black veil. Stuffed animals are Western innovations so we've no rubric what to do with them.
Ah, thanks for the clarification. I had heard of turning icons to the wall if doing something you didn't want them to watch but it seems so disrespectful. I am relieved to know it is a heterodox practice; perhaps my instincts kept me from doing such a thing.
If you have read The Velveteen Rabbit, you know something of at least one (dare I use the term western after our previous discussions?) tradition about how such things become real, viz., by being loved. That, of course, is how we all become real for our reality is grounded in the infinite love of the Holy One. Thus my "kids" are named, loved, cherished. I greet them in the morning after my first prayers and say goodnight to them before my bedtime prayers. I may be the only pre-glorified human in this house but I am never alone.
Yes, Paul, I know I used the word "Western," perhaps tongue-in-cheek (my bad). The Velveteen Rabbit is a great tale of grounding something or someone in reality. But for the sake of your "kids," maybe sunglasses, at least, lest they incinerate as your metamorphosis from glory to glory illumines the house?
LOL. I am unaware of any developed, or undeveloped, theology of theosis for stuffed animals, nor would I assert one. However, since all creation participates in and benefits from the redemptive work of Christ, I would hesitate to assert that my metamorphosis in any way precedes that of my Zotney (who is pure of heart and thus certain to behold God). His devotion to the Theotokos assuredly places him under her veil of motherly care. I only aspire to Zotney's level of faith.
Speaking of glory to glory, I will be leading a series in January on "The God Encounter: Theophany, Epiphany, and Transformation." It will be a great opportunity for me to share with Episcopalians many of the passages for the Theophany from the Festal Menaion. I do love the glorious feasts!
Now, if I could just find my copy of Romanos....
A beautiful litany, padre.
But I gotta say, it's gettin' a holy and stuff around here.
Not to worry, Padre. My silliness may be a drop in the bucket compared to God's goodness, but it still feels limitless to me.
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