Memento Mori

One of the most poetically beautiful passages of Scripture is about death. Death and the process of aging. Look carefully at the images and you will see that they are describing the inevitable slowing-down process of the body.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

The sadness that we experience with aging and the thought of death is an opportunity. First, it gives us the idea of reflecting on our lives. As Gandalf said in the Lord of the Rings: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Secondly, it provides an opening for the theological virtue of hope to become ever more real in the human heart. Here's a hymn that expresses what I mean:

Day is done, but love unfailing,
Dwells ever here.
Shadows fall, but hope, prevailing,
Calms every fear.
Loving Father, none forsaking,
Take our hearts, of Love's own making,
Watch our sleeping, guard our waking,
Be always near.

Dark descends, but Light Unending
Shines through our night.
You are with us, ever lending,
New strength to sight;
One in love, Your Truth confessing,
One in hope, of Heaven's Blessing,
May we see, in Love's possessing,
Love's endless Light!

Eyes will close, but You unsleeping,
Watch by our side.
Death may come: in Love's safe keeping
Still we abide.
God of love, all evil quelling,
Sin forgiving, fear dispelling
Stay with us, our hearts indwelling,
This eventide.

Restless is the heart

Bernadette Farrell wrote a beautiful song a few years back. The antiphon, lyrical and easily learned by the congregation, says "Restless is the heart until it comes to rest in You/ All the earth, all the earth shall remember/ and return to our God." The famous quotation from St. Augustine, convincing in itself, is made even more memorable by the musical setting.

The antiphon is alternated with a quite lovely paraphrase of Psalm 90:

"Make us know our life's shortness
Make us know our life's shortness
That we may gain true wisdom of heart.
In the morning, the morning
Fill us with your love.
Fill us with your love."

As the bridegroom to His chosen

1. As the bridegroom to His chosen,

As the king unto the realm,

As the keep unto the castle,

As the pilot to the helm,

So, Lord, art Thou to me.

2. As the fountain in the garden,

As the candle in the dark,

As the treasure in the coffer,

As the manna in the ark.

So, Lord, art Thou to me.

3. As the music at the banquet

As the stamp unto the seal,

As the med’cine to the fainting,

As the wine-cup at the meal,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

4. As the ruby in the setting,

As the honey in the comb,

As the light within the lantern,

As the father in the home,

So, Lord, art Thou to me.

5. As the sunshine in the heavens,

As the image in the glass,

As the fruit unto the fig tree,

As the dew unto the grass,

So, Lord, art Thou to me.

Johannes Tauler

Trans/adapt. Emma Frances Shuttleworth Bevan

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The furthest possible thing from Groundhog Day. Not the same day, over and over again. Not six more weeks of winter. Instead--something altogether new, yet promised from the beginning. "Lord, now let your servant go in peace. Your word has been fulfilled!"

Hail to the Lord Who comes,
Comes to His temple gate;
Not with His angel host,
Not in His kingly state;
No shouts proclaim Him nigh,
No crowds His coming wait.

But, borne upon the throne
Of Mary’s gentle breast,
Watched by her duteous love,
In her fond arms at rest,
Thus to His Father’s house
He comes, the heav’nly Guest.

There Joseph at her side
In reverent wonder stands,
And, filled with holy joy,
Old Simeon in his hands
Takes up the promised Child,
The Glory of all lands.

Hail to the great First-born
Whose ransom price they pay!
The Son before all worlds,
The Child of man today,
That He might ransom us
Who still in bondage lay.

O Light of all the earth,
Thy children wait for Thee!
Come to Thy temples here,
That we, from sin set free,
Before Thy Father’s face
May all presented be!

We Walk By Faith

I bow my forehead to the dust,
I veil mine eyes for shame,
And urge, in trembling self distrust,
A prayer without a claim.
No offering of mine own I have,
Nor works my faith to prove;
I can but give the gifts He gave,
And plead His love for love.

I dimly guess, from blessings known,
Of greater out of sight;
And, with the chastened psalmist, own
His judgments too are right.
And if my heart and flesh are weak
To bear an untried pain,
The bruiséd reed He will not break,
But strengthen and sustain.

I know not what the future hath
Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlies.
And so beside the silent sea
I wait the muffled oar;
No harm from Him can come to me
On ocean or on shore.

I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care;
And Thou, O Lord, by Whom are seen
Thy creatures as they be,
Forgive me if too close I lean
My human heart on Thee.

John G. Whittier

The Little Drummer Boy

There is so much good in The Little Drummer Boy that it is difficult to begin, knowing that so much must be left out. Just a little on the first verse, then.

"'Come,' they told me." Right away the description is dynamic. "They"--the 3 Kings?--are moving past, on their way. They don't stop, but call the boy to join them. There are two verbs: one is imperative in mood, present in tense. The second is the narrative past. The boy is describing a memory, but one that has a present imperative force. From the first word, the singer is drawn into the narrative.

Note the brief anglo-saxon words that say parr um pum pum pum before the drums even kick in. Come. pum. pum. pum."

A newborn king to see." This sounds weakest of the lines to modern ears, but this is probably because we've lost this usage of the infinitive, perhaps best called the infinitive of intention, or the infinitive of determination. "My true love for to see." It's easily understood, however."

Our finest gifts we bring/ To lay before the king." Again the multiple tenses add layers of dramatic tension to the song. "Bring" is a narrative present--not the narrative past of the drummer boy's present story, but the present of the travellers' past. "To lay"--a softer use of the infinitive of intention: "bring to lay" is the whole verb. We'd say that nowadays.

"So to honor him." The first four vowels are different sounds of the o. The linguistic effect is that of a piccolo, the tune as simple as do-re-mi-mi-mi. Any child could pick it out on the piano, but it's much more pretty to hear them sing.