All Saints' Day
The Angel of the Lord tarrieth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste, and see, how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye that are his saints; for they that fear him lack nothing. The lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good.
-- from Psalm 34, Benedicam Dominum
-- from Psalm 34, Benedicam Dominum
posted by johnk at
8:39 PM
3 Comments:
Do you think we really fail to believe this? I know I have in the past, but now I'm really starting to wonder.
By
Christopher, At
6:58 AM
Absolutely. It seems to me that's the whole reason for keeping the feast of All Saints' (I took the psalm from yesterday's Psalter reading in the Breviary). The Early Church wasn't fascinated with the martyrs for macabre reasons; they looked to the meaning behind such a life, "a lifetime's death in love" (TSE). The saints trusted and feared God, even to the point of death. They lacked nothing and suffered no hunger, in so far as they hungered after and possessed God. Our tendency is to equate those things which are "good" with comfort, warm cozy feelings, etc. We then "seek the Lord" only when it's convenient and pleasant. The stark contrast between my life and that of, say, St. Paul demonstrates just how far I have to go...
On the other hand, as with all of the Church's feasts, All Saints' has more than just a didactic purpose. Yesterday highlighted in a special way the great community of Christians (living and dead) to which we belong. We look to the lives of other Christians, sacramentally, that we might participate as they did in the life of Christ.
By
johnk, At
12:40 PM
Stong words, but good!
By
Christopher, At
5:02 PM
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