#and therefore placed all of his faith in those he believed to be Wholly Good
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I love Canon Remus and all of his flaws. Enough of this "Casanova of Gryffindor Tower" BS, Remus is the cowardly lion of Gryffindor tower. He values bravery because it is something that he lacks and yet still strives to be. He has an ingrained sense of shame and self-loathing and an inferiority complex that stems from society's contempt and marginalization towards Lycanthropy, a condition he was cursed with from a very young age. He wasn't a leader, he was a follower. A blind follower who believed to his core that he was unworthy of love and respect because of what he was.
Which opens the door to what I believe to be Remus' greatest flaw: His unwavering, unquestioning devotion to Albus Dumbledore.
I think Remus saw Dumbledore as the perfect encapsulation of Good. He was everything that Remus desperately wanted to be, everything that society was determined to believe a werewolf could never be. And maybe, if Remus could earn (and cling to) Dumbledore's favor and make him proud, he would prove to the world and himself that he is Good, too, in spite of his lifelong curse.
Remus felt that he owed Dumbledore a debt he could never hope to repay for allowing this chronically ill little boy into his school when no werewolf before him had ever been given such an opportunity. So many of Remus' choices in canon stem directly from this imagined debt that he had dedicated his life to paying. Hell, he didn't even hold a grudge against Snape for OUTING HIM to the entire wizarding world simply because Dumbledore trusted him.
Remus trusted Dumbledore wholeheartedly. And Dumbledore personally saw to Harry's placement with the Dursleys. Why should Remus have considered, for even a moment, that Harry wasn't safe? Certainly far safer than he would have been with a monster in close proximity, as Remus believed himself to be. In his mind, staying away from Harry was what was best for Harry. Until Dumbledore needed a favor, that is.
It's reductive to suggest that Remus failed Harry (and by extension, James) for putting his trust in Dumbledore to do right by Harry. James and Sirius trusted Dumbledore, too. They all did. Stripping away all of the nuance and blaming the abuse Harry suffered on Remus is simply unfair. NO ONE helped Harry, not even those who were fully equipped to do so, and Remus was the farthest thing from being equipped to take that on, what with being an impoverished werewolf living in a society that reviles his very existence. The only person who could have saved Harry from the abuse was the very man that placed him in that home, the very man that Remus revered with blind conviction.
#canon Remus is so complex and interesting#he's spineless and soft and consumed by self-loathing and fear#I think he was drawn to Sirius and James and Gryffindor House in general for the same reasons he was devoted to Dumbledore#He was quick to believe that Sirius was guilty because he had no confidence in himself to make his own judgement#He considered himself to be an inherent monster battling endlessly to supress his evil nature#and therefore placed all of his faith in those he believed to be Wholly Good#Reducing his character to “selfish manipulative coward” is a disservice#Also erasing these flaws in favor of the Fanon cocky asshole alpha male wattpad werewolf Remus is a massive disservice#remus lupin#marauders#character study#Canon Remus Defense Squad#i could rattle on and on about this topic for hours
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Book Sandor is irredeemable ll
Oooh, hmm, depends on how we define redemption! I am not a religious person so I don't really have strong views on sin as it were, and therefore I feel a bit at a loss as to what can "pay back" for sin specifically and what the objective authority is on that (and of course I would say ASOIAF is similarly undecided).
I don't think that you can ever erase the bad things you've done, though I don't think that's what paying back sin means anyway. In a modern (universal?) context, I do believe in restorative justice, I think you can seek forgiveness from those you have wronged and it's possible that you would be forgiven. I don't think that is likely to happen in ASOIAF, I don't see Sandor going to people he's hurt and asking to be forgiven. Maybe he will feel regret, maybe he already does (I mean I would guess that he already does, whether or not we the reader have directly seen it). He's cynical but his cynicism is torturous to himself, IMO, and that means something. He is still capable of acting in ways that could be argued to be "equal and opposite" of his sins and of making those actions a way of life for himself (in other words, devote himself to good deeds). But he would have to have enough faith in ... existence in general ... to decide to do that in the first place.
I'm a bleeding heart and I tend to believe everyone is capable of change and worthy of more chances. At the same time, not everyone will make those changes, and then there is the issue of whether or not Sandor would ever feel like the society he lives in accepts that he has changed. That would take a lot of visible heroism, and Sandor would have to get over any frustration at having to prove himself to a society of flawed hypocrites if he wanted their acceptance. Really, I'm not sure whose acceptance Sandor wants, and that is part of his tortured nature, he is hurt by things he says he doesn't believe in. If he could decide what he believed in, the next step would be to have the courage to stick to that, regardless of what anyone else said. This is actually a very big thing, just said in simple words. There are always going to be hypocrites, and judgmental people who don't know your specific history, or even much about life in general. Ultimately you have to move past them, and not care if they credit you or not. If Sandor believes that he will never be credited by the authority that counts, he is never going to behave in redemptive ways, and will lose out to despair. It takes a certain courage to believe that you are redeemable, after all.
So I guess my tl;dr is that he is not irredeemable, but that isn't enough to guarantee that he will behave "redemptively", and personally I come from a place of religious agnosticism saying this. I have focused on forgiveness and good behavior as (additive? substitutive? IDK!) qualifications for redemption, reflecting my vague identification with secular humanism. I hope this isn't a wholly disappointing answer! It is a very deep question and I am possibly not a sufficiently deep person 😬
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The END is near, Judgement is coming. Repent; Trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Those who repent and place their trust and faith in Jesus Christ alone by His Word can receive God's mercy and grace for forgiveness of sin, and salvation unto the kingdom of heaven.
All have fallen short, if anyone says they are without sin, they are liars. There is none good, only God is good.
God is right and just to judge every man according to all their evil in open and in secret as God put it on every man's heart to know God, and to do His Will. Because of man's wickedness, and desire to do evil rebelling from doing good, our sin separates us from God.
But the Godhead made a way that we can be forgiven of our sin, which is doing wrong and not doing right. The Father sent his Son to dwell among us in the flesh, whom we call Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of the world, rising again the third day, that if we might believe this, on His name, and that He IS the Lord abd Savior in truth, we will receive God's mercy and grace for forgiveness of sin, and salvation unto the kingdom of heaven.
For those who trust in Him in truth, He has sent the Holy Spirit, to those who trust in Him, that they might be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive the peace of God that surpasses all fear and understanding.
Only God is worthy of all honor, praise, worship, and reverence. The works of the flesh will die as the flesh dies. But those that love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves, will live with God in heaven.
To those who claim Christ Jesus:
God commands us all to repent of our sins, in open and in secret, and to pick up our cross and walk. Love is patient and kind, but love does not love sin. Love without truth and correction, even of esteemed leaders, is not love. Those that love God, hate sin and their sin which is in open and secret. Those that trust in Christ believe His Word, and love Him above all things.
The love of God leads to obedience to His Word, and correction. Those who live for the world are the same who live in disobedience of God's Word. Those that love Christ, preaching Christ to the World that they may be the light of the world. But those that love darkness, do not love Christ as the love of Christ, who is God in the love, is not the love of darkness. There is no darkness in the Lord.
The love of God is not the love of money, pleasure, works, or friendship with the world: those in the world must choose to repent and live in and for Christ, or they will perish. Therefore, those that trust in Jesus Christ will be saved from an everlasting Hellfire, for an eternity in the kingdom of heaven where there is no sin or death.
If anyone think they are without sin, they are a liar. There is none good, no not one. God alone is good. The man who believes he must not repent, is a man deceived, as repentance is a gift from God given to them who trust in Jesus Christ wholly.
Trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and forgiveness of sin.
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jan 8
attributes of God - part 2
6. God Is omnipresent – He Is always everywhere
“where can i go from Your spirit? or where can i flee from Your presence? If i ascend to heaven, You are there; if i make my bed in sheol, behold, You are there. if i take the wings of the dawn, if i dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.” psa 139:7-10
to be omnipresent is to be in all places, at all times. yet, it is important to understand that for God “to be” in a place is not the same way we are in a place. God’s being is all together different from physical matter, He exists on a plane wholly distinguishable from the one readily available to the five senses.
this ought to bring deep comfort to christians who struggle with loneliness and deep sorrow. in a very real way, God is always near us, “closer than our thoughts,” writes tozer. “the knowledge that we are never alone calms the troubled sea of our lives and speaks peace to our soul.”
7. God is wise – He is full of perfect, unchanging wisdom
“oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” – rom 11:33
wisdom is more than just head knowledge and intelligence. a truly wise person is someone who understands all the facts and makes the best decisions. a wise person uses his heart, soul and mind together with skill and competence. but even the wisest man on earth would never come close to being as wise as God.
indeed, when we see wisdom like this, we realize just how much our limited, finite wisdom compares with the limitless, infinite wisdom of God. and how comforting and wonderful this is for man to dwell on! the fact that God can never be more wise means he is always doing the wisest thing in our lives. no plan we could make for our lives could be better than the plan he has already crafted and is carrying out for us. we might not understand His ways today, but we can trust that because God is infinitely wise, He truly is working all things out in the best possible way.
8. God is faithful – He is infinitely, unchangingly true
“know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." - deut 7:9
the fact that God is infinitely, unchangingly faithful means that He never forgets anything, never fails to do anything He has set out to do, never changes His mind or takes back a promise. and His faithfulness pours out from his love, so we can trust paul’s word that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
of course, we don’t always understand or see how his plan is faithful. in our limited understanding and finite minds, God’s faithfulness might look a lot like abandonment. for how could a faithful God allow his children to suffer, to hurt, to die? but Christians can take comfort in these moments by remembering these attributes of God, for when we go through hard times, we know that God is nevertheless unchangingly faithful, good, always with us and wise. faithfully trusting in who God says he is a great comfort. “for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. now i know in part; then i shall know fully, even as i have been fully known.” 1 cor 13:12
9. God is good – He is infinitely, unchangingly kind and full of good will
“o, taste and see that the Lord is good” – psa 34:8
as with God’s other perfect attributes, christians find it easier to affirm the goodness of God when things are going well. when life takes a nosedive, though, that’s when we begin to question God’s goodness to and for us.
the psalmist covers that topic for us. "i would have lost heart, unless i had believed that i would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." psa 27:13 we just need to take heart and believe we will see His goodness - yes, even in the land of the living.
10. God is just – He is infinitely, unchangeably right and perfect in all He does
"the Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” – duet 32:4
in light of God’s other attributes of goodness, mercy, love and grace, there are some who might, in error, say that God is too kind to punish the ungodly. but to believe this means we dull the reality of his infinite, unchanging justice. God will have justice for sin, either from Christ’s atoning death or, for those who will not accept it, eternal wrath in hell.
“let’s assume that all men are guilty of sin in the sight of God. from the mass of humanity, God sovereignly decides to give mercy to some of them. what do the rest get? they get justice. the saved get mercy and the unsaved get justice. nobody gets injustice” - r.c. sproul
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if you will bear with me for one more day, i will attempt my best to limit (at least in my writing) the glories and majesty of our God. they certainly cannot and would not be limited any other way. "one thing i have desired of the Lord, that will i seek: that i may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." psa 27:4
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Suicidal Misunderstanding XXV
Part I - - - - - - - - - - Part XXII - - - - Part XXIII - - - - Part XXIV
Star Wars Time Travel AU #27
The nature of the Jedi Temple was such that years could pass unnoticed within the ethereal, eternal walls—and then a number of factors would converge simultaneously, and wreck all that.
In this case, dawn, rumors, and Quinlan Vos were all meeting in an abrupt and tremulous clash.
Rumors and daylight, of course, were well known for their power to occupy multiple spaces at the same time. Quinlan Vos’s apparent ability to do so (for nothing else could explain his gentle but thorough interrogation of padawans in the sallies, his generous provisions of drinks for over-wrought nocturnal jedi, and his unauthorized access to closed off personal quarters, all in an impossibly short period time) was far more inexplicable, and therefore technically admirable.
Master Gallia did not feel admiring at the moment. She felt tired.
“Where. Is. Obi-Wan?” Quinlan repeated.
Adi Gallia danced around him, continuing on her stroll of the temple grounds. She released a flash of irritation into the force—of course Masters Koon, Windu, and Yoda all were shipped off for their own (admittedly grim) assignments, leaving her responsible for ‘local’ issues. She had accepted the possibility of intense political fallout, of course. She was prepared to soothe the worries of those still in-temple, who were just starting to pick-up on the certainly-not-an-evacuation. She had been less ready to deal with an incensed psychometric interfering in matters beyond his understanding.
“Classified,” she repeated, as neutrally as ever.
“Do you really want to have the rest of this conversation in front of the whole Order?” he hissed. “I went to his quarters, I felt—” Vos shuddered.
Gallia sighed, tension headache growing. “Come with me.”
She glided serenely to her personal office space, Vos trailing her like the irritable shadow he was.
The door clicked.
“I know he tried to kill himself,” he said bluntly. The Councillor winced slightly; even knowing the context didn’t change the very real and tragic brush with death. “I saw Skywalker see it.”
Master Gallia didn’t reply—there was no point in denying, and every point in gaining information.
“Do you know what Obi-Wan felt?” he asked manically.
The Tholothian Master took an involuntary step back. Part of her thought it would be more expedient to simply bring the man into the fold, but another part hesitated at trusting the already thinly stretched secret to a man who was, by Master Kenobi’s own admittance, far closer to falling than anyone realized. It was scarcely his fault—shadow work was dangerous, even when the galaxy wasn’t in the grips of a Sith-engineered galactic war, but still—
“Nothing!” he cried, slaming his palms on her desk in an alarming loss of control. “A brief feeling of panic when his hand was on the vibroblade and then fucking serenity as he tried to stab himself in the heart!”
“Master Vos—” she tried to say placatingly, but he was having none of it.
“Please,” he begged. “I know I can get through to him, just tell me where he is.”
“Quinlan Vos—you’re just going to have to trust the High Council to have Master Kenobi’s best interests in mind.”
He stared at her for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. “You lost him, didn’t you?”
“Quinlan—”
The Kiffar barked out a laugh, pointing a finger in outraged accusation. “He woke up, half the galaxy felt that—and then he ran off, and now he’s somewhere, hurt, and the Council can’t spare the resources or the pride to help him!”
She hesitated—that was the cover story, one that would conceivably spread; but it felt deeply cruel to leave the Kiffar floundering in it. If only he was slightly less angry...
Vos took a deep breath. “Fine,” he said shortly. “The Council wants to keep his status under wraps—that’s fine; he wouldn’t want everyone knowing he’s vulnerable, anyway. Just give me what you have, and I’ll track him.”
Adi Gallia drummed her fingers on her rattled desk for a moment, before letting go of a half-truth. “We suspect he’s going after Count Dooku,” she said finally, suppressing any guilt she felt for the half-lie, or for causing Quinlan’s expression to twist tighter, when she could so easily relieve him of his burden.
“And?” he pressed.
Adi looked away. “Knight Skywalker’s with him, in some capacity,” she grit out.
Quinlan snorted. “Obviously.” Gallia’s lips tightened.
“Is that it?” he asked exasperated. “You’re not going to even give me his file?”
“You don’t have it already?” she asked drly.
“I’ve got the bathashit official one you gave to the Chancellor,” he admitted, immediately and unrepentantly. “Where you all but threw him under a moving speeder,” he added hostily.
Master Gallia winced. “Master Vos,” she tried again. “The Council has a plan. I regret that I cannot tell you it, but I beg of you—have faith in us for a little longer—don’t go after him.”
Quinlan’s expression tightened. “Is the plan for the good of Obi-Wan, or the good of the Council? Because sure, I know which Obi-Wan would prefer, and so do you—and I. Don’t. Agree.”
Gallia rubbed her temples, skull throbbing with tension. “And that’s why I can’t trust you with anything else,” she admitted, completely honest.
Quinlan nodded sharply. “May the force be with you, Master Gallia.”
“And with you, Quinlan Vos,” she replied sadly.
Quinlan stalked out, and Gallia took a brief moment to pity the both of them before returning to work.
- - -
Ventress skulked in the corner of a dingy bar, cursing Kenobi once again. A few hours on this miserable planet and all she had were rumors to go on. Obviously something had happened to the golden boy, but the underworld seemed even more puzzled than the kriffing Jedi. It was only a matter of time before the public caught wind, and then the gossip would become hopelessly entangled with the actually important whispers.
Sneaking into the Temple itself would be a worthy test of her skills—but if she was captured...well needless to say there would be no aid from Dooku. Had she not felt the Negotiator’s presence during the flight she might have believed this were some irritating test of her Master’s but this...
The Dathomori grimaced into her drink. If nothing else, Kenobi was a fearsome adversary—anything that could have riled him—possibly defeated him once in for all...Ventress hated to admit but she might be out of her depth.
“Is this seat taken?”
She looked up in irritation at a human male with a cocky grin, a gold face tattoo, and skin as dark as hers was pale. The idiot was already pulling out the seat, apparently utterly oblivious of her open contempt— not to mention the chill of the dark side she was deliberately projecting around her.
“Yes,” she snapped. “Now leave, before I remove you. Violently.”
He grinned wider, leaning in. “Oh don’t be like that. Now, what’s a beautiful woman like yourself doing in a place like this?”
The fool then had the audacity to reach over, lightly brushing her hand. She grabbed the wrist, pinning it to the table. “Do. Not. Touch Me. You vile worm.”
“Aah! Okay, okay!” he babbled in panic. “Sorry, my mistake, thought you seemed hot and a little lonely, that’s all, miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, you know? Wasn’t trying to cop a feel or anything I swear! I’ll go now, promise.”
She felt an odd tingling sensation run through her, starting at the single point of contact between them. She frowned, unable to classify it. He smiled charmingly. and she released him as if burnt.
“You’re a Jedi,” she hissed, hand dropping to the sabers beneath the table. The tingling sensation faded. “What was that?”
The open panic disappeared, wholly replaced by the earlier smirk. “And you’re a Sith.” He flexed his hand before tucking it into a pocket. “Nothing to worry about. Just needed your help with an investigation.” He stood, bowing mockingly. “Thank you for your time.” And then he was gone, fading into the shadows.
She leapt to her feet, running outside and snagging him from his hiding spot behind a crate.
“What sort of Jedi shadow walks?” she asked, pressing him to the wall at bladepoint, careful not to allow any other point of contact between them. He looked at her as though she were an idiot, and her cheeks heated slightly.
“You do realize I have to kill you now, right?” she snarled. “Can’t exactly have a Jedi Shadow telling people where I am”
“You’re not my mission, darling,” he replied, flashing teeth. “Far as I’m concerned, this never happened.”
She narrowed her eyes, digging the tip of her knife into his throat. The Shadow looked deeply unconcerned. “But you thought I might be?” she questioned slyly.
He shrugged. “Sith Apprentice, half a galaxy away from the front off the war? Figured you might be up to trouble, yeah. Fortunately for both of us—as I’m sure an actual fight would be a massive and mutual inconvenience—whatever trouble you’re here for has nothing to do with me. I’ve got bigger fish to fry, you’ve got bigger fish to fry. I’d offer to buy you a drink but I’m fairly certain you’d throw it in my face so...”
He delicately pressed a finger to the knife at his edge. Bemused, she allowed him to push it away.
“And you got all that from touching my hand,” she asked incredulously, curious of his power despite herself.
He waggled his digits playfully. “Magic fingers.”
She scoffed. “Even if you were a psychometric—” She cut herself off, eyes flickering to the face tattoo.
“Kiffar,” she breathed. “Of course. My gloves—but it was just a moment, what—ah.” She smirked. “Kenobi. You just wanted to know if I had been around him.”
“And now I know you haven’t.” He shrugged. “Anyway, have fun on Coruscant; good luck not getting arrested.”
He started to amble away at a deceptively casual stroll. She fell into lock step.
“You’ve lost him,” she accused.
He shrugged. “Sure, why not,” he agreed mildly. She narrowed her eyes.
“Some of the Jedi fear their golden boy might have fallen,” she guessed with absolute confidence, but neither his face nor his force presence gave anything away—and she was following him to a secondary location like a fool.
Ventress lunged but the Jedi was dancing backwards, slipping into a nearby shadow. He fell into it sideways—completely, but crudely. She wheeled around, scanning the perpetually dim alleyway. One shadow grew darker—she threw a dagger and a patch of dark detached, hissing and bleeding a satisfying scarlet.
“Is there a point to attacking me,” he asked impatiently, saber finally appearing in his hand, though it stayed unlit. “I already told you that I don’t care what you’re doing here. What possible advantage could you gain in picking a fight with me? Even if you win, don’t you think the Jedi would notice if a shadow went missing on Coruscant?”
“You really have no problem letting a Sith run around your precious Core world?” she asked skeptically, throwing another dagger. He dodged it, and it lodged itself in the brickwork. A random passerby immediately stole it—kriff she hated this world— but Asajj couldn’t chace after the parasite now, because the Jedi was throwing a—rock?
The window behind her shattered as she dodged the wild shot, and an incoherent roar spilled out, along with foul smelling water, and eye stalk, and the first few of what looked many tentacles.
“Oh you play dirty,” she breathed, reluctantly impressed. He hit her with a two fingered salute, disappearing again, this time by swaggering slowly around a corner. And then she had to focus on fighting a pissed off Dianoga whose tankhome had just been vandalized.
By the time she mortally wounded the garbage squid, the trail for her first and best lead on Kenobi had nearly gone cold.
Nearly.
Part XXVI
#star wars#star wars fanfiction#quinlan vos#asajj ventress#star wars au#my au#suicidal misunderstanding au#star wars au no 27
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Help from On High
a prayer by Charles Spurgeon
O Thou who art King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship Thee. Before Jehovah’s awful throne, we bow with sacred joy.
We can truly say that we delight in God. There was a time when we feared Thee, O God, with the fear of bondage. Now we reverence, but we love as much as we reverence. The thought of Thine omnipresence was once horrible to us. We said, “Whither shall we flee from His presence?” and it seemed to make hell itself more dreadful, because we heard a voice, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.” But now, O Lord, we desire to find Thee. Our longing is to feel Thy presence and it is the heaven of heavens that Thou art there. The sick bed is soft when Thou art there. The furnace of affliction grows cool when Thou art there and the house of prayer, when Thou art present, is none other than the house of God and it is the very gate of heaven.
Come near, our Father, come very near to Thy children. Some of us are very weak in body and faint in heart. Soon, O God, lay Thy right hand upon us and say unto us, “Fear not.” Peradventure, some of us are alike and the world is attracting us. Come near to kill the influence of the world with Thy superior power.
Even to worship may not seem easy to some. The dragon seems to pursue them and floods out of his mouth wash away their devotion. Give to them great wings as of an eagle, that each one may fly away into the place prepared for him, and rest in the presence of God today.
Our Father, come and rest Thy children now. Take the helmet from our brow, remove from us the weight of our heavy armour for awhile, and may we just have peace, perfect peace, and be at rest. Oh! help us, we pray Thee, now. As Thou hast already washed Thy people in the fountain filled with blood and they are clean, now this morning wash us from defilement in the water. With the basin and with the ewer, O Master, wash our feet again. It will greatly refresh. It will prepare us for innermost fellowship with Thyself. So did the priests wash ere they went into the holy place.
Lord Jesus, take from us now everything that would hinder the closest communion with God. Any wish or desire that might hamper us in prayer remove, we pray Thee. Any memory of either sorrow or care that might hinder the fixing of our affection wholly on our God, take it away now. What have we to do with idols anymore? Thou hast seen and observed us. Thou knowest where the difficulty lies. Help us against it and may we now come boldly, not into the Holy place alone, but into the Holiest of all, where we should not dare to come if our great Lord had not rent the veil, sprinkled the mercy seat with His own blood, and bidden us enter.
Now, we have come close up to Thyself, to the light that shineth between the wings of the cherubim, and we speak with Thee now as a man speaketh with his friends. Our God, we are Thine. Thou art ours. We are now concerned in one business—we are leagued together for one battle. Thy battle is our battle and our fight is Thine. Help us, we pray Thee. Thou who didst strengthen Michael and his angels to cast out the dragon and his angels, help poor flesh and blood that to us also the word may be fulfilled, “The Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
Our Father, we are very weak. Worst of all we are very wicked if left to ourselves and we soon fall a prey to the enemy. Therefore, help us. We confess that sometimes in prayer when we are nearest to Thee at that very time some evil thought comes in, some wicked desire. Oh! what poor simpletons we are. Lord, help us. We feel as if we would now come closer to Thee still and hide under the shadow of Thy wings. We wish to be lost in God. We pray that Thou mayest live in us, and not we live, but Christ live in us and show Himself in us and through us.
Lord, sanctify us. Oh! that Thy spirit might come and saturate every faculty, subdue every passion, and use every power of our nature for obedience to God.
Come, Holy Spirit, we do know Thee. Thou hast often overshadowed us. Come, more fully take possession of us. Standing now as we feel we are, right up at the Mercy Seat, our very highest prayer is for perfect holiness, complete consecration, entire cleansing from every evil. Take our heart, our head, our hands, our feet, and use us all for Thee. Lord, take our substance, let us not hoard it for ourselves, nor spend it for ourselves. Take our talent, let us not try to educate ourselves that we may have the repute of being wise, but let every gain of mental attainment be still that we may serve Thee better.
May every breath be for Thee, may every minute be spent for Thee. Help us to live while we live, and while we are busy in the world as we must be, for we are called to it, may we sanctify the world for Thy service. May we be lumps of salt in the midst of society. May our spirit and temper as well as our conversation be heavenly. May there be an influence about us that shall make the world the better before we leave it. Lord, hear us in this thing.
And now that we have Thine ear, we would pray for this poor world in which we live. We are often horrified by it. O, Lord, we could wish that we did not know anything about it for our own comfort. We have said, “Oh! for a lodge in some vast wilderness.” We hear of oppression and robbery and murder, and men seem let loose against each other. Lord, have mercy upon this great and wicked city. What is to be done with these millions? What can we do? At least help every child of Thine to do his utmost. May none of us contribute to the evil directly or indirectly, but may we contribute to the good that is in it.
We feel we may speak with Thee now about this, for when Thy servant Abraham stood before Thee and spake with such wonderful familiarity to Thee, he pleaded for Sodom, and we plead for London. We would follow the example of the Father of the Faithful and pray for all great cities, and indeed for all the nations. Lord, let Thy kingdom come. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth. Chase the old dragon from his throne, with all his hellish crew. Oh! that the day might come when even upon earth the Son of the woman, the Man-child, should rule the nations, not with a broken staff of wood, but with an enduring sceptre of iron, full of mercy, but full of power, full of grace, but yet irresistible. Oh! that that might soon come, the personal advent of our Lord! We long for the millennial triumph of His Word.
Until then, O Lord, gird us for the fight and make us to be among those who overcome, through the blood of the Lamb and through the word of our testimony, because we “love not our lives unto the death.”
We lift our voice to Thee in prayer, also, for all our dear ones. Lord, bless the sick and make them well as soon as it is right they should be. Sanctify to them all they have to bear. There are also dear friends who are very weak, some that are very trembling. God bless them. While the tent is being taken down, may the inhabitant within look on with calm joy, for we shall by-and-by “be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven.” Lord, help us to sit very loose by all these things here below. May we live here like strangers and make the world not a house but an inn, in which we sup and lodge, expecting to be on our journey tomorrow.
Lord, save the unconverted and bring out, we pray Thee, from among them those who are converted, but who have not confessed Christ. May the Church be built up by many who, having believed, are baptized unto the sacred name. We pray Thee go on and multiply the faithful in the land. Oh! that Thou wouldst turn the hearts of men to the Gospel once more. Thy servant is often very heavy in heart because of the departures from the faith. Oh! bring them back. Let not Satan take away any more of the stars with his tail, but may the lumps of God shine bright. Oh! Thou that walkest amongst the seven golden candlesticks trim the flame, pour forth the oil, and let the light shine brightly and steadily. Now, Lord, we cannot pray any longer, though we have a thousand things to ask for. Thy servant cannot, so he begs to leave a broken prayer at the Mercy Seat with this at the foot of it, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.
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I know it’s really stupid of me but I was kind of hoping for a redemption arc for Faustus. 😅😢
It’s not stupid, not at all! It’s natural to want to see the best in people, particularly when you believe they can be better than what they are now, so it’s completely understandable.
And, ya know, if the show gets picked up - he may have one yet still, we don’t know!
To me, this season really highlighted what the purpose of Faustus’ character is supposed to be, imo. Thinking of episode 4, we’re shown three different levels of corruption through three different characters.
The first is Harvey. Pure, sweet, golden boy Harvey is revealed to have some deep-seeded hatred of witches. Does he have any reason to hate witches? Well, let’s check - he lost a brother, got manipulated, controlled, and lied to by his first love, and has been in an endless cycle of extreme danger for the past year of his life. I think it’s fair to say we all understand that prejudice is not okay, but is it equally understandable why Harvey has some hang-ups about magic and witches? I personally think it is. (Not to the point of joining a literal witch hunt or angrily accusing your distressed best friend of killing your dad at her 17th birthday party 🙃, but understandable nonetheless.)
I personally think the intention with Harvey’s character being a cadet in Blackwood’s army was to demonstrate how, even when we believe someone to be morally good and just, they can become someone else when they endure pain and that pain is never properly addressed.
Did Sabrina apologize to Harvey for everything that happened between them? Yes. But did she repeat the same troublesome behaviors in different ways after that? Also yes. She didn’t demonstrate change in her actions, and a loootttt more happened with Harvey and the witch world in a negative way beyond his relationship with Sabrina, so the mistrust he feels isn’t entirely unjustified.
Then - “oh wow, oh my God, my second love has also hid being a witch from me, can I catch a fucking break here? Why should I ever trust another witch in my life?”
Answer: because they are humans, none being wholly good or bad, and they love you.
Roz talks to Harvey, tells him she believes he’s good, and demonstrably proves her own “goodness” by sacrificing herself to save others at Dr. C’s. Roz shows Harvey that she means what she says and her feelings for him are real - that she is a scared, broken human like him, just trying to do her best with what life has given her. Hence, when the moment of truth comes - Harvey remembers his humanity and proves his own “goodness” by saving her. But if Roz had never spoken to him, never acknowledged what he’d been through and that his feelings were valid... if no one had ever truly cared about his pain? It seems apparent that Harvey would have continued down a very dark path.
Which brings us to...
Mary. Mary has been literally murdered, had her identity hijacked by a demoness, her fiancé is dead, she doesn’t remember several months of her life, and her previous favorite student is a witch who has seemingly performed magic more than once on her.
Mary has every right to fear witches at this point. She has had zero trustworthy interactions with the witch world and from her perspective - her entire life has been stolen and no one cares. No one checks in on Mary, no one validates her pain, and as a result - no one in the witch world seems to have any compassion, humanity, or kindness in them. Enter the Pilgrims of the Night, who recognize her pain and fear without even knowing her, acknowledge it, and offer her solace in their congregation on the basis that her experience with witches is shared by the Reverend Lovecraft and his flock.
They prove themselves to her when the advice the Reverend/Faustus gives her (“let the dark in”) saves her life. My God, someone finally seems to care if she lives or dies!
People who care about others are good, so the church and the reverend’s mission must be good, too. Therefore, she is absolutely invested in whatever is asked of her and will blindly follow their lead in order to protect others from experiencing what she has. To me, Mary in the perverted universe represented the crossroads of corruption - where you truly believe what you’re doing is the right thing, even if it hurts others because those “others” have hurt you... and they will surely hurt again if you don’t stop them.
However, I think if Mary was finally told the truth - the full truth - and Lilith herself apologized for being the first piece in the puzzle... along with all the other witches... AND they showed that they actually cared about her well-being... Mary could find her way back through forgiveness. Or, at the very least, she could understand and process everything so that she could find a way to heal that doesn’t involve persecuting others.
And now, there’s Faustus. We aren’t entirely clear on Faustus’ history altogether, but we do know he’s had many experiences of being slighted by the churches of darkness (despite following the rules to a T).
He was rebuked by Edward for wanting to marry Zelda after mentoring him for who knows how many years, lost the office of high priest to him, and when he finally gets the title - here comes Edward’s self-righteous brat to fuck him over again. There he is trying to carry out the Dark Lord’s request to get Sabrina to sign her name in the Book of the Beast, even though she insults their doctrines and faith at every turn, and the coven and academy he’s had working like a well-oiled machine for the past 16 years is being slowly ripped apart. Why is the Dark Lord allowing this? Why is he having to endure a meddlesome child’s antics? Why is he not being rewarded for doing exactly as he’s been asked and returning the Church of Night to stability after Edward nearly destroyed it altogether? Like hello Dark Lord, can you throw me a fucking bone here?
Small victories - he finally secures Zelda’s hand in marriage and an audience with the anti-pope. This is what his life should’ve looked like two centuries ago, but no matter. He’s correcting it all now and by Satan, nothing is going to stop him this time.
But then...
Oh cool, Sabrina is here to intervene again and has presented the text of his old rival for consideration along with his (clearly superior) manifesto. What’s that, you say? Oh, she’s also gonna crash my wedding, accuse me of murder, and spread claims about my manifesto without having even read it? Wow, ahaha, sounds hilarious... except why am I not laughing?
He arrives in Rome and gets an inkling that the Dark Lord may finally be taking action about this heretical little monster because he’s offered the title of anti-pope by the unholy high council themselves. Finally, some appreciation! He just needs to hang on a little longer, eliminate these small meddlesome threats, and soon he will reside over a peaceful kingdom far removed from anymore mortal nonsense.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, what do you mean Sabrina convinces the council he’s unfit to be anti-pope? This is bullshit, man! You know what? Fuck this place, I’m gonna make my own damn church and ensure no other headstrong witches like Sabrina Buzzkill Spellman can ruin it. That’ll finally return things to ord- MY WIFE KEPT MY OWN CHILD A SECRET FROM ME?! WHAT THE FUCK?! Alright, that’s it, The Spellmans are clearly here to poison others (ironic foreshadowing) - time to wash my hands of them completely, I am so over thi- what’s that? The Dark Lord’s here? GOOD. About time this asshole showed up to set people straight and remind them that the values of his unholy church, which Faustus has exemplified perfectly, must be respected.
You mean for me to bow down to whom now? The halfbreed brat who has been directly and willfully wreaking havoc on the congregation he’s patiently and painstakingly lead back to greatness? Are you fucking serious, m8? No. Absolutely not. No. I’m getting out of here, and since I won’t have the little twat poison anyone else, I will literally poison them instead. Be free, sheep!
It’s up until this point that I believe Faustus was still mostly at the crossroads stage, same as Mary. He believed everything he was doing was the right thing, based on the teachings from the religion he devoted his entire life to, and that he’d be rewarded for serving the Dark Lord so faithfully - until the Dark Lord proved several times in succession that his religion was all a lie. That three+ centuries worth of groveling and abiding and waiting has meant absolutely nothing.
So now we have the Eldritch terrors. Beings more powerful than the oldest gods. He spends 15 years isolated in a time bubble purifying himself, devoting everything to them, and won’t it be so glorious when they welcome him into his ranks? He’s set them free now, after all, they owe it to him.
But doing the same action over and over and expecting a different result is what? The definition of insanity, friends. Of course the Eldritch terrors reject him, too... of course Sabrina gains their attention and veneration instead... of course he should have tried to seize their power for himself a long time ago... so, fuck it all, he’ll do that now. There is no right and wrong, there is no observed justice - if there was, he would have been rightfully recognized for all the time, effort, and pain he’s endured only to receive nothing in return.* No one ever acknowledged his pain... no one ever even considered it. Over time, that takes its toll.
(*Clearly, I mean this to be from Faustus’ perspective and not my own.)
Of course, he has inflicted more than his fair share of pain himself and I am of the personal belief he needed to pay for that, but... equally imagine being hurt over and over and watching those who did it walk away, not only without reprimand, but with the belief that they were right and just to do it? Could it slowly drain on one’s soul to watch the rules apply to some and not others? Debatable, I suppose, but I personally think yes.
So... I say all of this only to point out that there is still potential to acknowledge his pain. And thus, there is imo still potential to understand, communicate properly (I am very interested in any conversations he and Sabrina may have had during their training - I know he said she took a vow of silence, but clearly some talking occurred for Sabrina to learn so much about the void from him), grow, and finally - for him to be given the chance to repair everything he had a hand in breaking. It wouldn’t be an easy or painless task to get to that point, and no one would be faulted for not trusting him to do so, but I think there is potential for it. If they get picked up and they want to finally allow the characters some time to reflect and process shit, they could include Faustus in that.
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Let the games begin. To go off on: Mia. To explore changes, potential, concerns, etc: Jill.
Oh! Cooperation is lovely! Thank you, Anonymous! This may be a bit longwinded... We'll give Mia a go first.
My Thoughts on Mia Winters:
I make no secrets that my analysis on Mia will be full of speculation. Quite honestly, though she's been in more games than some of our series protagonists, there isn't much that is truly known about her (Ha, I put "it" and had to correct myself). She is full of mystery, and while that functionally works for Ada and her behind-the-scenes mischief, there is something that absolutely irks me about the enigma that is Mia's purpose.
I think this is why: While Ada ends up being beneficial in some circumstance, Mia finds herself in need of rescuing. We are two for two, at this point. Her presence in both games is inconsequential. Everything that happens involving Mia could have been just as easily expressed in a memo or through cutscenes. Those of you who enjoy her will defend that she did not ask Ethan to come and rescue her in Seven, but truly I am not entirely convinced nor sure of how much of Mia's actions are the E-001 mould or are her own. Therefore, we cannot pick and choose.
We can, however, analyse what Mia was like prior to the E-001 infection.
Let us talk first about the organisation she finds herself involved with. The Connections, founded by Brandon Bailey, who you may recognise from memos in Five- a protégé of Dr. James Marcus. From what I can tell, The Connections does not have much to do with anything other than the E-series. They (he?) attempted partnership with HCF in the early 2000s, but the only bit of information I can find about what they did states that they only managed to "revolutionise" mind-control experiments through the use of fungus. Fungus which they obtained from Miranda under the false pretense that they would use it to resurrect Eva. Right, then- Mia joins them in 2010.
The timeline is a bit wonky in this bit, but stick with me as I try to make some sense of it. Mia and Ethan date in Texas (video games tell me that the most awful things happen in Texas) in the early 2000s, and marry in 2011. Therefore, it is (hopefully) assumed that their relationship was at least somewhat serious prior to Mia joining The Connections in 2010. One would assume that they engaged and Mia celebrated by becoming a bioterrorist. I understand, though. Weddings are expensive.
Mia keeps her job a secret from her to-be, and later- current, husband. She tells him she works as a "worker for a trading company", which- shame on Ethan for not asking more questions to uncover that elaborate ruse. That story falls apart if you brush it with a feather. She even calls the transport and handling of Eveline a "babysitting job" in her video to Ethan at the beginning of Seven. Oh, Ethan, you absolute moron. We should expect that he does suspect something, at least, as in her second video that she attempts to send she states "You're right, I have been lying to you". In October 2014, Mia and Alan spirit Eveline away, intentionally across the Atlantic,
and presumably transporting her to Miranda, because the BSAA uncovered the facility (I am unsure where the facility Eveline was conceived in is located. I assume Texas, as Mia joined The Connections in Texas, and Louisiana is on the way from Texas to Romania). I am aware that some articles state that the Annabelle was headed to Central America, but I cannot find citation of it in a memo, nor remember it in my playthrough of Seven. She is "killed" (fails at containment) whilst "trading goods" (smuggling a sentient bioweapon). Ethan presumably moves on with his life, all the better for no longer having Mia as a spouse. ... Until July, 2017. All bad things happen in July in this series. Arklay, Lanshiang, now this.
As we cannot be certain that Mia is not lying, due to her track record, I will state that we cannot be sure that she did not lure Ethan to Dulvey, and therefore is entirely involved in the events of Seven, from transport to finality. Mia, canonically, unfortunately, is "cured" with the serum and evacuated from the Dulvey Estate by Blue Umbrella (which I take absolute issue with).
I've said this timeline is a mess, and my thoughts are equally messy, so I apologise again. We'll move on to Village and the bulk of what I suspect is Mia's covert (if you could call it covert) allied relationship with Miranda. Previous to October 2014, Miranda travelled to The Connections facility that was housing Eveline. There, she met and conversed with both Mia and Alan. Both were working in tandem for and with The Connections, and both were intimately involved in the E-series.
Back to the whole transporting Eveline across the ocean bit, because I've just had a thought, just WHO approves of transporting a BOW of Eveline's calibre without containment measures and protocols? Oh, yes, it could not possibly backfire that we've given everyone out of the know the impression that this is a family with a not-at-all-dangerous small child. Yes, a gun will fix it. Perfect. Whose idea was this? Mia? Alan? Brandon? Whomever, you're thick.
Anyhow- I wholly and fully believe that Mia's involvement in Village and, by proxy, with Miranda, is willful. They had met before, and by extension had worked together, on the E-series project in specific regard to Eveline and the moulded. Rosemary is born to Mia and Ethan, and the BSAA relocates the Winterses (this still makes me laugh as it does not, at all, roll off the tongue) to Romania. I am not one hundred percent certain how this comes to be the location, as I have faith that Mia would know that Miranda operates nearby. There is too much happenstance for it to not be purposeful. That, however, involves Chris in some fashion and I cannot make that connection in a way that I enjoy it. I like to imagine that Mia simply expressed that she had always wanted to visit Romania, and the BSAA bungled it accordingly.
A bit more on the BSAA in this whole instance:
While I do find them entirely insufferable, an utter joke at times, I do believe that some of them are at least somewhat competent. Yes, even Miss Valentine. Canonically, The Connections has a mole in the BSAA. The Connections, who hired Lucas Baker as Head Researcher in the E-series project. The Connections, who trusted Mia to transport a sentient BOW without containment measures. Has a mole. In the BSAA.
Sure.
Anyhow, this "mole" provides Miranda with intel of where the Winterses are living, that they've just had a baby, that both Mia and Ethan are living fungal colonies, and therefore, perhaps, maybe, Rosemary may be a suitable substitute for Eva. Bit of a leap of logic there, but I digress.
This "mole" in the BSAA must absolutely be Mia. I do not think so much it's that she's in the BSAA so much as that she is privy to whatever intel they would have regarding her family because she is a part of it. Again, she would have know they were close to Miranda. "Remember that mouldy pseudo-child BOW that my organisation promised you? Have I got news for you- my husband and I have gone stale, I've got a daughter, and I'm right in the neighbourhood!"
It ultimately makes more sense in the whole of how the universe operates that Mia and Miranda would be in league with one another. One does not simply make connections in... Well, The Connections... For all this to be coincidence.
Miranda takes Mia's forme and then goes on to impersonate Mia for days, her confrontational attitude goes unnoticed by Ethan because Mia's mould-type is of the toxic variety. Allegedly, Mia is captured and holed up in Miranda's lab having been experimented on. The only supporting evidence to Mia having been experimented on is in Eugen's Diary, stating that Miranda asked Eugen to bring her medical equipment and drugs on Wednesday, 3 February 2021. On Friday, 5 February, Miranda had taken Mia's place. And, of course, Mia's claim that she was experimented on and held hostage. I have one question of all of this:
Why would Miranda need to experiment on Mia if she is infected with the same E-series mould that Miranda already has samples and an unlimited supply of due to her proximity to the megamycete? Mia does not state that she is special after being rescued by Chris, only that Ethan is special. I would argue that both are rather run-of-the-mill, but again, I digress. Simply put, I don't believe that she would need to. Us scientists are not in the habit of wanting to perform experiments for the sake of using up supplies.
Furthermore, when Chris finds Mia in Miranda's lab, she is "imprisoned" in oddly the same way as she was in Seven. Behind bars, but unrestrained. In Village, Mia even has relative access to a weapon which she tries to attack Chris with. While Miranda is a mimic, after having obtained target DNA, I do not imagine that it would be easy to have mistaken Chris for Miranda. Unless Miranda regularly comes down to her lab as other people, which would be rather amusing- though setting up for a massive security issue.
If you were to imprison someone for experimentation, it's likely you wouldn't give them anything they could possibly use to attack you with. At least, that's how I would do it in the off chance that for whatever reason I became interested in imprisoning someone against their will for the purpose of science. (Do not read into this, Christiana.)
I believe that Mia intended to attack Chris, and after failing miserably, played the damsel card.
I will end this rambling on this note: She is entirely rude, confrontational, and hostile for someone who has just been rescued from imprisonment and had their baby saved. Honestly, if this is her default personality, who could fault Ethan for not noticing his wife being replaced for three days?
In short: Ethan should have saved Zoe instead. Mia Winters is a false-protagonist who has found herself in more than a few suspicious situations, has proven from the beginning to be a liar, and already has the connection with Miranda that might foster her involvement in the events of Seven and Village.
I'm certain I've missed something further that would be worth discussing. We will cover Jill in another entry as this has run much too long already, and it is time for my job as a worker at a trading company.
#Thoughts on Mia Winters#False protagonist#I quite hate her actually#No one shouts at Chris and gets away with it
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Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Review & Analysis
What a weird, wonderful movie. Miracle on 34th Street is quite possibly the oddest Christmas movie I’ve ever seen. In part this is due to the fact that some stuff just doesn’t age well. How many old, strange men are you willing to let your seven-year-old daughter hang out alone with, Ms. Doris Walker?! But also it’s weird because because despite its typical Christmas-movie themes of faith/belief, true love, family, etc… it’s a wholly unique film that doubles as a legal drama!
This was my first viewing of the perennial classic, a film which started as a story by Valentine Davies and was adapted for the screen and then subsequently directed by George Seaton. Though baptized a Roman Catholic, Seaton himself grew up in a Jewish neighborhood of Detroit. He even had a bar mitzvah. I wonder how much of Seaton’s upbringing affected the final product we see. The central theme of holding faith in something that doesn’t make sense to those around you probably resonated strongly for the director who as a kid who became interested in a religion that was foreign to both of his Swedish immigrant parents.
From a direction standpoint, it’s fairly by the books and of its time, with a few notable exceptions, one being the opening credits sequence which shows a lone man walking slowly about the NYC streets from behind. He’s dressed in all black and we have no idea who he could be. He could literally be anyone in the world. Then all of a sudden, like magic, his face is revealed: the man we’re following is Santa Claus! Or, at least it looks a whole lot like him. What is Santa Claus doing in New York? Is this even Santa Claus?
These are questions that end up being central to the movie and just straight up never get answered. I loved that writing choice. The writing is the first of the film’s three big stars. This film won the Oscar for both best story and best adapted screenplay and it deserves every ounce of those awards. The story is so sublimely clever. Put shortly, the movie is about a man who claims to be Santa Claus and due to his uncanny resemblance to the jolly holiday figure, his natural aptitude for talking to children, and his almost savant-like knowledge of toy stores in Manhattan, he gets hired to be the mall Santa for Macy’s flagship Manhattan store. However, not everyone is as convinced that he is the real Kris Kringle. Certainly the Macy’s company psychologist does not. An uptight and unpleasant man, he (like others) thinks Kringle is utterly delusional but (unlike others) he also thinks these delusions presage future violence whenever inevitably others may challenge Kringle on this delusion. The psychologist thus schemes to get Mr. Kringle committed to *cue thunderclaps* Bellevue!
What ensues is a legal battle. I can’t imagine any other Christmas movie whose climax ends in a courtroom but it’s an incredibly satisfying thing to watch. We have the idealistic lawyer, Mr. Fred Gailey, who believes that Kringle, while clearly delusional, poses no actual threat to the community and actually does the community a great service in spreading kindness. Nevertheless, has to prove that Mr. Kringle is legally THE Mr. Kringle lest Kringle spend the rest of his life in the looney bin. Note… I have a very healthy and “modern” view of mental health, and would never use the term “looney bin” to describe today’s mental health hospital… but I use the term here because the images we get in the film of Bellevue’s inpatient psych ward are of sedated men in all-white clothing… in other words the movie certainly thinks of being in a psych ward as a looney bin, which adds a bit of dramatic tension to the story.
There’s certainly some not-so-subtle condemnation of psychology going on this movie (at least of the kind practiced by the Macy’s psychologist, Mr. Sawyer (a snivelling Porter Hall)). This was coming at a time when increasingly science was taking the place of religion, so it makes sense that psychology would be an enemy in a movie about faith and clinging to things that don’t make sense. The trial over the existence of Santa Claus almost serves as an inverse Scopes Monkey trial; Kringle even ironically compares his lawyer to Clarence Darrow, the lawyer on behalf of science.
What this movie nails so absolutely perfectly is that honestly… I don’t know if Kringle really isn’t Santa Claus. I’m not claiming that Santa exists in the real world, but in the world of this film, it’s really not obvious whether the film leans one way or another. That’s an ambiguity that tends to make art shine when it’s present. We see through Gailey’ legal maneuvering that the legal defense for Santa Claus’ existence is tenuous at best. At one point he calls the prosecutor’s child to the witness stand to argue that Santa Claus must be real since that is what his Dad (the prosecutor) has always told him. Therefore it seems like the film’s psychological explanations are probably the most likely. Yet at the same time… when a little Dutch girl comes to see Santa at Macy’s because she can “just tell” he’s the real Santa… why else would Kringle know Dutch songs about Santa off the top of his head? Why does an old man who lives in an old folk’s home on Long Island know so much about Manhattan’s toy stores?
And then there’s the more practical questions about Santa lore. Why is Santa in New York? He says he was born in the North Pole… so why did he leave? If he’s real, then why does he need to direct parents on where to buy the best toys? Is it merely that the world has outgrown him?
There’s also a whole economic piece of the script that I won’t even fully touch on. But basically Kringle in attempt to do right by parents, doesn’t merely recommend toys from the Macy’s toy department, but lets them know about better deals on toys that are located in stores elsewhere in Manhattan, including those that are rivals of Macy’s! This policy is such a hit with customers, it ushers in a revolution in department store policy, with department stores across the nation vying to extend more goodwill to customers. As I said, there’s something in there about the power of the free market and how capitalism doesn’t have to be evil... but I’ll leave it there and return to the central questions of the film. Like... does Santa Claus exist?
I don’t know! But the film raises really interesting questions and just leaves them there for us to sit with. Everything that the film tells us points us to the common sense conclusion that this man is NOT the genuine Jolly fellow… yet we want to believe there’s something more and that’s what makes this film so special. We literally as the audience go through the same mental charades as the characters in the film.
Thus far, I’ve attributed this brilliance to the plot, but there’s another absolutely vital element: the performance by Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle. This guy deserves every ounce of his Oscar for his performance. There’s not a second that he’s on screen that he doesn’t ooze charisma and charm. This whole movie would fall apart were it not for him, good plotting be damned, since we need to believe, even for mere fits and flitters, that this man is Santa Claus.
Never is he more convincing than when he interacts with children. There’s the absolutely magical scene with the little Dutch girl I mentioned above, but it’s when Kringle chats with little Susan Walker (played to heart-melting perfection by nine-year-old actor Natalie Wood whose got a stink face that never ceased to make me chuckle) that this movie achieves greatness. Though the trial scenes put the theme of faith vs. psychology at the forefront, the real heart of this movie is the conflict of faith vs. practicality. Little Susan is raised by her mother (and her Black nanny/house-caretaker who gets depressingly little credit… or screentime), and her mother Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) is a thoroughly practical women. She’s a high-up exec at Macy’s, and seemingly one of the only women to be in such a position. As such, she’s a unique character for her time. Rigidly pragmatic, she eschews any and all attempts at fun and imagination for her daughter (as well as for herself). We get the sense that a different film, a different story, might dive deep into Walker’s struggles as a single mother in the 1940’s trying to be taken seriously in the business world. In a sense, she’s a forerunner to Faye Dunaway’s character in Network. She was clearly hurt by romance in the past (she and her husband divorced, which I imagine was rather scandalous at the time), and this fear of getting hurt by romance is what compels her to teach her daughter to avoid the stuff completely.
Clearly, there’s some cool gendered stuff going on here. Imagination, romance, faith: these are all things that are stereotypically more female-coded, while business, pragmatism are more male-coded. You inherit your father’s name but your mother’s religion as the old tradition went. And in our society at least, the latter (pragmatism/business) is supposed to make you successful and get you places… the former (faith/romance) does not. Yet in this movie, we have idealism and romance of our male lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne) and the pragmatism of our female businesswoman Doris Walker. It’s a fun play on typical gender norms, but more interesting is to see how this duality plays out in the development of little Susan under the dual influences of her mother and the combination of Misters Gailey & Kringle.
Natalie Wood goes down in the pantheon of all-time great child actors, up there with the kid from Kramer vs. Kramer. She’s precocious but not in a way that’s off-putting. The way she evaluates the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in such a matter-of-fact way is hilarious, and as I mentioned the stink eye she gives Kringle when he tries to tell her that he’s Santa is nothing short of perfect. Over the course of the film, we see her more harsh nature melt away and she becomes a kid. It’s a beautiful reminder of that childhood only comes once in a lifetime. If this movie shows us nothing, it’s how hard it is to maintain a sense of levity once one becomes an adult. We have to start worrying about what our bosses might think, what the press/public might think, what voters(!) might think. Never again will it be fully OK to have your heads in the clouds and believe in nonsense, so why take that away from children.
As much as this is a perfect film, I could have done without the romance plot. Mostly because it seems unnecessary. Doris seems to change in her attitudes towards Kringle and towards raising her daughter that constitute enough character growth thata having her all of a sudden fall head over heels for Gailey just seems forced. For that matter… Gailey’s a weird dude. This movie romanticizes a weird, creepy type of romance where Gailey spends time with a small girl just to get time with that girl’s mother. Walker and Gailey are such opposites and share no on-screen chemistry, that I just didn’t buy the plot.
But that’s OK. It’s a small blemish on an otherwise wonderful film. It hits different emotions than, say, It’s A Wonderful Life, but it’s magical all that same, and one that I can actually imagine children wanting to watch. It’s unceasingly clever plot, matched by a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Edmund Gween as Kris Kringle and a great child actor performance from Wood make this a must-see movie for any holiday movie fan.
***/ (Three and a half out of four stars)
#miracle on 34th street#edmund gwenn#maureen o'hara#john payne#natalie wood#george seaton#christmas movies
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Sorry I don’t have a tumblr or I’d respond directly. Re: Young anakin being returned to Tatooine, I don’t wholly disagree with you but I do think the council would be in a stickier situation that the one you described. If I’m wrong about any lore, I’d love for you to let me know. I’m pretty sure the Jedi are officially very against slavery, and rogue Qui-Gon as per usual put them in a pickle when he, technically, bought a child slave as a representative of the Jedi Order. (cont’d)
(cont’d 2) Legally Shmi had no claim on Anakin to begin with. Selling her with her child seems to be considered a courtesy on Tatooine; Watto has no problem splitting them up. He feels bad about it in the comics, but like, he does it. Returning Anakin to his mother would effectively, legally be returning him to his slave owner, which I’m sure everyone on the council would feel strongly against. It would also reflect badly on the Jedi Order. (cont’d)
(cont’d 2) Legally Shmi had no claim on Anakin to begin with. Selling her with her child seems to be considered a courtesy on Tatooine; Watto has no problem splitting them up. He feels bad about it in the comics, but like, he does it. Returning Anakin to his mother would effectively, legally be returning him to his slave owner, which I’m sure everyone on the council would feel strongly against. It would also reflect badly on the Jedi Order. (cont’d)
(Anakin Tatooine anon) Sorry about the long message, hope it makes sense. Very nervous about sending it in lol, so for the record, I mean no disrespect & good vibes only!
Hey!!! Don’t worry, it’s okay. I totally get where you are coming from :)As from where I get the idea that they would return Anakin to Tatooine, it’s from Dooku.
“Nine years old,” Palpatine said when he could. “Surely too old to be trained.” “If the Council shows any sense.” “And what will become of the boy then?” Dooku’s shoulders heaved. “Though no longer a slave, he will probably be sent to rejoin his mother on Tatooine.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]
This is before Dooku left the Order and became a sith, so here he still has inside information on the Council’s decisions and knew exactly how they operated. he knew enough of the Jedi Order to guess what they would probably do with a force-sensitive too old to train. We also know that the rule was to NOT to bring any force-sensitive too old to train back to Coruscant. All the kids they found should be left where they were found:
There was a deep, aching regret in the child’s voice. Looking at her, Taria realized Greti understood she was trapped here. For a moment she was furious with Obi-Wan, for waking the girl’s potential when he knew he’d have to leave her behind. And then she sighed. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Siege]
We also saw it happened to Anakin and Ventress, who were both deemed too old to be trained and, in her case, she was not welcomed to Coruscant even though she was living on a planet plagued by crime, slavery and poverty. Anakin was the exception, not the rule. Force-sensitives found too old to be trained were left where they were found, they weren’t rescued. The only other force-sensitive they “rescued” was Baby Ludi but she was still an infant, therefore, not too old to trained (and we all know what a shitshow that was)
As for the jedi being very against slavery…nope! On paper, yes they condemned it but in reality they did very very little to fight slavery. In fact, the two times the Jedi Order disrupted major slavery rings was because Anakin got personally involved and broke a few rules.
I should have done it before now. Wasn’t that my other childhood dream? Become a Jedi and free the slaves. Instead I became a Jedi and let myself forget. Let them convince me that it’s not our job to remake the Republic. The Jedi were keepers of the peace, not legal enforcers. That was the Senate’s job. How many times had he been told that? He’d lost count. But the Senate was falling down on the job, wasn’t it? What was the use of having anti-slavery laws if the barves who broke them never paid for their crimes? It was enough to shake his hard-won and harder-kept faith. If scum like Watto and Jabba and the other Hutts kept on making their fat profits on the backs of living property—and if the Senate continued to turn a blind eye—how could anyone believe in the Republic? How could he? Padmé says she understands, but she hasn’t pushed for a Senate hearing. And Palpatine—he’s promised he’ll tackle the problem but nothing’s been done. It’s too political. Too corrupt. Too complicated. There are credits in slavery—and credits trump justice. Always have. Always will. And the Jedi? They didn’t want to get involved. Even Qui-Gon… Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth
“I am Condi, from the planet Zoraster. I am not a pirate. I am a slave. As are my companions. Stolen from our home worlds by Krayn. Under penalty of death, we have been assigned guard duty aboard the ship.” Condi looked at him eagerly. >“Thank the moons and stars, we have rescue in our grasp at last.” Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber. The naked desperation on Condi’s face unnerved him. It was mirrored in the faces of his companions. All of them had obviously suffered great deprivations. “I am sorry,” he said. “I have not come on a rescue mission.” Condi’s face fell, then brightened. “But you can take us with you. We will help you fight.” “I cannot.” Obi-Wan felt these two words were the most difficult he had ever said. “I have only a small ship, big enough for me and my companion.” He wanted to promise them he would return, but how could he make that promise? If he got off the ship safely with Anakin, Krayn would be gone. The ship could hide anywhere in the galaxy. He believed too strongly in a Jedi promise to make one he did not know if he could fulfill. [Jude Watson. Path to Truth]
Beside him, Anakin muttered something. Not in Basic. His outrage was palpable, a red shimmer in the Force. Oh no. Not now. “Anakin …” “Look at them!” Anakin retorted, low-voiced. “They’ve been turned into slaves!” “I know. It’s irrelevant Focus on why we’re here.” [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
Anakin looked uncomfortable. “If they win, they free their sister. She’s a slave.” “I see.” Obi-Wan nodded at the two brothers. “I wish you good luck. Anakin, may I speak with you a moment?” He drew Anakin aside. “You know this is wrong,” he told his Padawan with a frown. “I’m sure you are helping for the right reasons. But this is not our mission. We have more important things to do. And may I remind you that Podracing is illegal?” [Jude Watson.Dangerous Games]
“We have more important things to do” that’s the usual jedi take on the subject of slavery. Something else always took precedence and they only acted after they got themselves trapped in the mess. They took no measures against it unless it directly affected Republic’s interests. And the fact Tatooine was ruled by slavers would be considered irrelevant when compared to the Order/Republic’s best interests, as we saw it clearly when they sacrificed a lot of man power and resources to rescue ONE child that happened to be a slaver’s son.
So, no, I don’t believe they would show much concern for Anakin’s situation if he were to be returned to Tatooine. Hell, they were fine with Luke – their last hope – growing up there and were quite dismissed of how it traumatized Anakin (someone who they watch struggled with those traumas for years):
“As close to kinfolk as the boy can come,” Yoda said approvingly. “But Tatooine, not like Alderaan it is—deep in the Outer Rim, a wild and dangerous planet.” “Anakin survived it,” Obi-Wan said. “Luke can, too. And I can—well, I could take him there, and watch over him. Protect him from the worst of the planet’s dangers, until he can learn to protect himself.” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]
Yes, Shmi had no legal claim over Anakin but to take a kid from his mother by promising you would take care of him and them put him somewhere else for adoption is cruel. Especially after recognizing Anakin’s bond to his mother.
And, as far as orphanages go, it seems the GFFA doesn’t really have them. The only mentions of them I could find in the original canon were from one game. Considering the amount of kids that end up with or as criminals, I’d say the GFFA doesn’t have the best child protection laws and agencies. Even if they had an orphanage in Coruscant or Naboo, again, leaving Anakin in one without Shmi’s knowledge would be cruel. And if that were to happen, I don’t see Padmé making such donation. Not because she’s selfish, but because she unaware of how daily life works when you are not a happy Naboo. In her mind, as long as the government is working, everything is fine. I mean, if Anakin is in a government-run place and the government has a budget for it, he’d probably be fine, right?
Padmé trusts the Jedi. She has no reason to believe they wouldn’t put a child’s interests ahead of their own. That’s why she never checked on him after the Battle of Naboo in canon. He was with the Jedi so he was fine.Also, we can’t forget Padmé was a 14 years old girl who had a planet to rebuild. It’s not fair to put this on her, Anakin was never her responsibility nor should he be. When I remove Padmé from the situation, it’s not because I think her bad or selfish but because she’s a kid and, realistic, not old enough to understand what it took to raise a kid and definitely not experienced enough to feel responsible for the well-being of another child. If the much older and wiser Jedi – the peacekeepers of the galaxy – tell you they will take care of the kid, you believe them. At that point, she would have no reason to double check their efforts and, realistically, all that excludes the possibility of her doing anything beyond showing her gratitude.
PS: thanks so much for sending an ask even though you don’t have a blog. wow! how cool!
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The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 9-16: Chapter (1) God's Purpose for His Church
The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God's plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to “the principalities and powers in heavenly places,” the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10.
Many and wonderful are the promises recorded in the Scriptures regarding the church. “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” Isaiah 56:7. “I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” “And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord God. And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 34:26, 29-31.
“Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses.” “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 43:10-12; 42:6, 7.
“In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them. And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be exalted....
“Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:8-16.
The church is God's fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.
Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.
During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.
“Whereunto,” asked Christ, “shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?” Mark 4:30. He could not employ the kingdoms of the world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God's church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts and endowed with the Holy Spirit. The members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless.
Wonderful is the work which the Lord designs to accomplish through His church, that His name may be glorified. A picture of this work is given in Ezekiel's vision of the river of healing: “These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:... and by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:8-12.
From the beginning God has wrought through His people to bring blessing to the world. To the ancient Egyptian nation God made Joseph a fountain of life. Through the integrity of Joseph the life of that whole people was preserved. Through Daniel God saved the life of all the wise men of Babylon. And these deliverances are as object lessons; they illustrate the spiritual blessings offered to the world through connection with the God whom Joseph and Daniel worshiped. Everyone in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life.
God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God's will. In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because “they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, ... their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption.
But the people of Israel lost sight of their high privileges as God's representatives. They forgot God and failed to fulfill their holy mission. The blessings they received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages they appropriated for their own glorification. They shut themselves away from the world in order to escape temptation. The restrictions that God had placed upon their association with idolaters as a means of preventing them from conforming to the practices of the heathen, they used to build up a wall of separation between themselves and all other nations. They robbed God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example.
Priests and rulers became fixed in a rut of ceremonialism. They were satisfied with a legal religion, and it was impossible for them to give to others the living truths of heaven. They thought their own righteousness all-sufficient, and did not desire that a new element should be brought into their religion. The good will of God to men they did not accept as something apart from themselves, but connected it with their own merit because of their good works. The faith that works by love and purifies the soul could find no place for union with the religion of the Pharisees, made up of ceremonies and the injunctions of men.
Of Israel God declared: “I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?” Jeremiah 2:21. “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.” Hosea 10:1. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
“And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant: and He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.” Isaiah 5:3-7. “The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” Ezekiel 34:4.
The Jewish leaders thought themselves too wise to need instruction, too righteous to need salvation, too highly honored to need the honor that comes from Christ. The Saviour turned from them to entrust to others the privileges they had abused and the work they had slighted. God's glory must be revealed, His word established. Christ's kingdom must be set up in the world. The salvation of God must be made known in the cities of the wilderness; and the disciples were called to do the work that the Jewish leaders had failed to do.
#egw#Ellen G. White#Christianity#God#Jesus Christ#Bible#conflict of the ages#the acts of the apostles#church#ministry#prophecy#God's promises#service#witness#persecution#God's love#symbolism#God's law vs. man's laws#type meets anti-type#misinterpretation of prophecy#idolatry#faith and works#Israel's rise and fall#preaching the gospel
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DEI VERBUM: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
The aim of this document is to “set forth authentic doctrine on divine revelation and how it is handed on, so that by hearing the message of salvation the whole world may believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping it may love.” (DV 1)
God chose to reveal himself as a friend by living among human beings and inviting them “into fellowship with Himself” (DV 2). God revealed Himself through Words and Deeds: the deeds refer to the things He did through history that have added credibility to the spoken Words. Since God chose to reveal Himself most powerfully through Jesus, Jesus becomes “both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation” (DV 2).
God the creator, offers human beings a glimpse of Himself in the created realities around them (cf. Rom 1:19-20). Knowing that nature itself wasn’t revealing enough, He chose to reveal Himself personally to humankind. The first chapters of Genesis record this initial revelation. The Great Fall gave humankind hope that God’s promise of salvation would be fulfilled. God carefully guided the human race and offered ‘eternal life to those who persevered in doing good.’ Through the patriarchs like Abraham the prophets from Moses onwards, “He taught this people to acknowledge Himself the one living and true God, provident father and just judge, and to wait for the Saviour promised by Him, and in this manner prepared the way for the Gospel down through the centuries” (DV 3).
Finally, God chose to speak to human beings as one among them and therefore “He sent His Son, the eternal Word” who came as ‘a man to men’ speaking the words of God and completing the work of salvation (DV 4). “Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth” (DV 4). Jesus through all of these actions confirmed what God had been revealing all along, namely that He is with us and wishes to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to give us eternal life. Since God revealed Himself fully through Jesus, we ought to expect no further new public revelation until Jesus manifests Himself fully and finally at the end of time.
God’s revelation requires “the obedience of faith” (Rom 16:26) by which human beings commit themselves wholly and freely to God. This act of faith cannot be exercised without Divine Grace and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in the understanding of revelation by strengthening faith through His gifts. (DV 5)
“Through divine revelation, God chose to show forth and communicate Himself and the eternal decisions of His will regarding the salvation of men” (DV 6). This simply means that God wanted human beings to know and love Him that is why He revealed Himself to them. God can be known by human reason and reflection on created reality but through revelation we are able to grasp “those religious truths which are by their nature accessible to human reason…with solid certitude and with no trace of error” (DV 6).
God wanted that His revelation reach all people and all nations “in its full integrity.” Therefore, Jesus commissioned the Apostles to preach the Gospel “which is the source of all saving truth and moral teaching and to impart to them heavenly gifts” (DV 7). The Gospel was foretold by the prophets and was fulfilled by Jesus. The Apostles faithfully carried out the Divine mandate by their preaching and some of them, along with other inspired persons “committed the message of salvation to writing” (DV 7). The Apostles appointed Bishops as their successors and charged them with the authority to preserve the Gospel and its tradition and teach in their own settings. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are like the two lenses with which the Church looks at God.
In order to ensure faithfulness to the tradition, the Apostles would offer exhortations and teachings either through their preaching or through letters. “What was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes” (DV 8). This tradition is guided by the Holy Spirit evidenced by the fact that there is a growth in understanding revelation. The teachings of the Fathers of the Church and the successors of the Apostles (bishops) are drawn from and influence the life of the Church. Tradition has given us the canon of sacred books and also provides the background for understanding and interpreting them. God continues to reveal Himself to the Church through the Scriptures.
Scripture and Tradition are closely connected since they spring up from the same Divine source and culminate in the same end. Scripture is the Word of God since it is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit while Tradition takes the Word of God and hands it down from generation to generation faithfully and purely. Thus, both of them have “to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence” (DV 9).
Both of them together form “one sacred deposit of the word of God.” (DV 10). Both the clergy and the laity participate in faithfully observing and practicing the heritage of the faith. The task of authentically interpreting the word of God is entrusted exclusively to the ‘teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ (Bishops). This teaching office is not above the Scriptures but serves it by teaching only what has been handed down and what is inspired by the Holy Spirit. This widens the deposit of the word of God to also include the teaching authority of the Church which is also called the Magisterium or teachings of the Bishops.
The Church holds that scripture in its entirety (Old and New Testaments) was written under Divine inspiration by human authors who used their own abilities to write down everything that God wanted them to. Thus, the Church considers the scriptures to be without error with regard to those things pertaining to God. (DV 11).
However, since God chose to communicate through human authors, those who desire to understand and interpret Scripture must pay careful attention to “what God wanted to communicate… (and) should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended” (DV 12). In order to better grasp the intention of the writers, it would help to pay attention to ‘literary forms’ among other tools. In order to get a better idea, “due attention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of felling, speaking and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the patterns men normally employed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another” (DV 12). In doing this, one must not neglect looking at a particular passage within the context of the whole of scripture. The tradition of the Church must also be taken into consideration.
Scripture reveals to us the humility of God who chose to convey His truth and identity through human language; in a similar fashion, he chose to share human nature (DV 13).
In order to initiate His plan of salvation for the whole human race, the Lord of infinite wisdom chose a people for Himself to whom He entrusted His promises. Through Abraham and Moses, He entered into a covenant with the people of Israel. He manifested Himself to them through words and deeds. This history is recorded in the Old Testament and therefore remains “permanently valuable” (DV 14).
The principal aim of the Old Testament was to prepare for the coming of Christ. The Old Testament reveals “the knowledge of God and of man and the ways in which God, just and merciful, deals with men” (DV 15). The Old Testament with its limitations shows us “true divine pedagogy” (DV 15). “These same books, then, give expression to a lively sense of God, contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way” (DV 15).
God, the divine author, wisely chose that the New Testament be hidden in the Old. The Old Testament is fulfilled by the New and help by shedding light on the New Testament and explaining it. (DV 16). The New Testament is a witness to the revelation of God in the person of Jesus. Jesus’ words and deeds and the fulfilment of His work by His death, resurrection and ascension are all contained in the New Testament. (DV 17). The Gospels hold a central place among all of the Scriptures even among the New Testament because “they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our saviour” (DV 18). The Gospel is the ‘foundation of faith’ and is ONE though fourfold, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The four gospels faithfully hand on the story of Jesus which was enriched by their witness of Christ’s life and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They wrote the Gospels, “selecting some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches and preserving the form of proclamation but always in such fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus” (DV 19). Besides the Gospels, the New Testament contains the epistles of Paul and other apostolic writings which deal with matters concerning the Church and Christ the Lord (DV 20).
The Church venerates the Scriptures as she venerates the body of the Lord. Through the liturgy she offers the faithful both ‘God’s word and Christ’s body.’ The scriptures offer the word of God Himself and make the voice of the Holy Spirit heard in the words of the prophets and Apostles. Therefore, all preaching must be founded on Scripture. Through the Scriptures, “the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life” (DV 21).
The Church desired that the Scriptures be easily accessible to all the faithful. For this reason, she accepted the very ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint while also giving due honour to the Eastern Latin translation known as Vulgate. Keeping in mind her responsibility for providing correct translations into other languages, the Church is careful in approving translations and recommends certain translations (DV 22). The Church desires to arrive at a deeper understanding of the Scriptures so that she can offer her children more solid food to use a Pauline expression. To this end, she encourages the study of the writings of the Church Fathers both Eastern and Western. She directs Catholic exegetes and students of sacred theology to “devote their energies, under the watchful care of the sacred teaching office of the Church, to an exploration and exposition of the divine writings” (DV 23). The aim of this should be to equip people to be ‘ministers of the divine word’ who are able to effectively enlighten people’s minds, strengthen their wills and set their hearts on fire with the love of God.
“Sacred theology rests on the written word of God, together with sacred tradition, as its primary and perpetual foundation” (DV 24). Theology should scrutinize the truth contained in them with the light of faith and in turn be rejuvenated by them. Since the scriptures contain the word of God, their study forms the soul of theology. “By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction, in which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a healthy way and flourishes in a holy way” (DV 24).
All clergy must engage in ‘diligent sacred reading and careful study’ of Scripture especially priests, deacons and catechists who are active in the ministry of the word. This is important so as to avoid becoming empty preachers who preach without practicing. The Church encourages all its faithful but especially the religious to “learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures” the knowledge of Jesus (DV 25). It is important that every Christian keep in touch with the word either proclaimed in the liturgy or read personally. Prayer should always accompany the reading of scripture “so that God and man may talk together” (DV 25). It is the responsibility of the Bishops to give to the faithful instructions regarding the use of divine books especially the New Testament and the Gospels in particular. Editions of the scriptures with suitable footnotes could help the faithful and other Christians to “become conversant with the Sacred Scriptures and be penetrated with their spirit” (DV 25).
The reading and study of scripture will ensure that “the treasure of revelation, entrusted to the Church, may more and more fill the hearts of men” (DV 26).
#deiverbum#vaticanii#sacred scripture#tradition#faith#revelation#prayer#spirituallife#preaching#teaching#study#Jesus
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by Joseph Philpot, 1845, excerpts. Click for full article.
“He is no longer able to shelter in his own wisdom, righteousness, and strength.
The pleasures of the world and the pursuits of business, that alternately amuse and engross the great bulk of mankind, have lost for him their interest. He can no longer find his element in these things. The inward teachings of God the Spirit have driven him out from them all by laying the things of eternity with weight upon his soul; and thus he has become a wanderer.
But there is another idea connected with a wanderer--that he has lost his way. When he was in the world, he had no difficulties--the path was so broad that he could not mistake it. But when the work of divine grace begins in a sinner's heart, he loses his way. He cannot find his way into the world--God has driven him out of it, as he drove Lot out of Sodom. He cannot find his way to heaven--because he at present lacks those clear testimonies, those bright manifestations whereby alone he can see his path.
This is his experience, then, that he has lost his way--having turned his back upon the world--and yet unable to realize those enjoyments in his soul that would make heaven his home. He has so lost his way, as to be often unable to go backward or forward; so lost his way, that whether he turns to the right hand or the left, he has no plain landmarks to show him the path in which his soul longs to go.
This is a mark peculiar to the child of God--that the path by which he travels is, in his own feelings, a solitary way. This much increases his trials, that they appear peculiar to himself. His perplexities are such as he cannot believe any living soul is exercised with; the fiery darts which are cast into his mind by the wicked One are such as he thinks no child of God has ever experienced--the darkness of his soul, the unbelief and infidelity of his heart, and the workings of his powerful corruptions, are such as he supposes none ever knew but himself.
It is this walking ‘in a solitary way’ that makes the path of trial and temptation so painful to God's family. To be without any comfort except what God gives, without any guidance but what the Lord affords, without any support but what springs from the everlasting arms laid underneath--in a word, to be in that state where the Lord alone must appear, and where he alone can deliver, is very painful. But it is the very painful nature of the path that makes it so profitable. We need to be cut off from resting upon an arm of flesh--to be completely divorced from all props to support our souls--except that Almighty Prop which cannot fail.
The Lord's people are very apt to lean upon one another--they will rest upon anything (so prone is our nature to look to and rest upon something visible) before they will lean upon the invisible God. But the mark of the believer is, that he has to do with invisible realities--that he is supplied with invisible strength, and upheld by an invisible hand. Were it not, then, that the people of God had to walk in this solitary path where none but the Lord can support or comfort their souls, they would cease to deal with these invisible realities, and lean more upon those things which sense and reason could comprehend.
But the Lord will take care that his people shall deal only with himself; that they shall have no real comfort but that which springs from his presence, and no solid testimonies but those which are breathed into their conscience from his own lips. And thus he puts his people into, and keeps them ‘in a solitary way,’ that they may receive communications out of Christ's fullness into their souls, just as much as though there were no other believers on the face of the earth.
How many a gracious person is utterly unable to communicate the feelings of his heart to any one! And sometimes this burdens us. We desire sympathy, pity, and compassion from men. But the Lord will not often allow us to find this pity or compassion; or if we find it, he will not allow us to rest upon it. His object is to draw us away from the creature; to take us off from leaning on human pity and compassion; and to bring us to trust implicitly to himself, ‘whose compassions fail not’--to lean wholly and solely upon him, who is ‘full of pity, and of tender mercy.’ Thus the very circumstance of having to walk in a path of peculiar temptation and sorrow, which makes it to be ‘a solitary way’" is the very reason why that solitary way is so profitable.
But there is another expression added, which helps to fill up the description of the solitary wanderer--’They found no city to dwell in.’ Man is, by nature, a restless creature, and he desires some place of rest. The world rests in the shop, the farm, the pleasures and vanities of the passing day--men in a profession of religion without the power, rest in a name to live. But the Lord has determined that his people shall find no rest but in himself. He is a jealous God. He will not allow us to find any solid resting-place for our souls but in the Son of his love.
Do you not find this in your experience, that there is an aching void in your souls, which nothing but the presence and love of God can fill? Are you not often restless at home, restless abroad--restless alone, restless in company? Is there not a desolate vacancy in your soul that the world cannot satisfy? Is not all confusion without the Lord's presence--all darkness without the Lord's light; and a feeling of dissatisfaction generally prevalent, except the Lord lift upon you the light of his countenance? This is a sure and infallible mark of the life of God in the soul.
But the Lord has a special purpose in all this. It is his object that their souls should faint within them. It was so with Jonah. ‘When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came in unto you, into your holy temple.’ (Jonah 2:7) We must be brought to the fainting point. And so with spiritual hungerings and thirstings; they must go on until the soul faints; this is the intention of them. Until the soul faints, it does not desire support--the everlasting arms are slighted--the bosom of Jesus is not leaned upon. ‘Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples,’ cries the Bride. Why? Because she was swooning away--not indeed, in her case, of hunger, but of love. ‘He gives power to the faint--and to those who have no might he increases strength.’ (Isa. 40:29)
But what makes them cry? It is this solemn feeling in their hearts, that they have no other refuge but God. The Lord brings all his people here--to have no other refuge but himself. Friends, counselors, acquaintances--these may sympathize, but they cannot afford relief. There is no refuge, nor shelter, nor harbor, nor home into which they can fly, except the Lord. Thus troubles bring us to deal with God in a personal manner. They chase away that half-hearted religion of which we have so much; and they drive out that notional experience and dry profession that we are so often satisfied with. They chase them away as a strong north wind chases away the mists; and they bring a man to this solemn spot, that he must have communications from God to support him under, and bring him out of his trouble.
If a man is not brought to this point by his troubles, they have done him no good. They have been like the clouds that have passed over the desert, and transmitted to it neither fertility nor fruitfulness; they have been like the rain that drops upon the pavement, and is evaporated by the sun, producing neither fruit nor flower. But the troubles that God sends into the hearts of his people are like the rain that falls upon the fertile soil, causing them to bring forth fruit, and every grace of the Spirit to deepen and fructify in their soul.
Manifestations, testimonies, revelations, and gracious discoveries--these are all nothing to a man except he be in circumstances to need them. What is Christ, with all his glorious offices, what is his blood, what his righteousness, what his love, what his sympathy, to a man settled upon his lees, and at ease in Zion? There is in him no felt necessity for these heavenly realities. There is no groan and cry after them. There is therefore no precious communication of them. It is but a delusion, a deceit of Satan, to think that we can have deliverance except we are in troubles and trials out of which God alone can set us free.
Now, when the soul cries to God in his troubles, he is sure to deliver it out of its distress. But we must not always expect very bright and conspicuous deliverances. I know that such alone can fully satisfy a troubled soul; but we must not think there is no deliverance when it falls short of a powerful manifestation. The Lord does not confine himself to one way; and perhaps the very way to which we are looking for deliverance, is the very way by which it will not come. It is a deliverance when the Lord supports the soul under trouble. It may not come with great peace and joy; but when there is a solid support that the soul can rest upon, and it feels a measure of dependence and leaning on the everlasting arms--that is a deliverance.
What is deliverance? It is a bringing out of captivity. If, then, we are in distress, and any measure of relief is given in that distress, that is a deliverance. If we are in a state of felt weakness, and must sink without support--if there be a measure of support given, that is a deliverance. If we are in a state of rebellion, and a measure of meekness and submission is given--that is a deliverance, because it is a deliverance out of our carnal, worldly state. If in trouble the Lord secretly assures the soul that these trials are working together for its good; gives it faith to believe the word of promise, though sense, nature, and reason fight against it--and enables it to rest upon divine faithfulness, in the very teeth and in the very face of nature, sense, and reason--that is a deliverance, because it is a deliverance from leaning on our own strength, and trusting to our own wisdom.
His object in bringing them into trial may be not to raise, but to lower; not to give them sweet testimonies of his love, but to discover to them more and more of the depth of their corruptions; to clothe them with humility; to stamp upon them more of the mind and image of Jesus.
By faith, then, only can we understand how it is ‘a right way.’ And when faith is in exercise, then it is known to be ‘a right way.’ Your losses, your crosses, your trials in providence, your afflictions of body, your perplexities of mind, your sorrows of heart--all are then to you ‘a right way.’ 'Once,' you say, 'they were a labyrinth--I could not find my way through them--they were an enigma, which I could not unravel. But now I see that those things, which so puzzled, perplexed, and tried me, led to my greatest blessings. I could not see the hand of the Lord at that time--but how plainly do I see it now? In that sickness, that painful dispensation, that agony of soul, that trouble of mind, that distressing path, how plainly do I see now that the Lord's hand was leading me!'”
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So I guess it’s that time of day where I get up on my soap box to once again talk about the incongruities and gaping chasms in the Netflixvania plot that have yet to be addressed, specifically those that strengthen the case for why shoehorning Leon into this mess divorced of his supporting cast and story is probably a Bad Idea.
TL;DR I am perpetually tortured by the fact nothing makes sense right now so I am going to whinge exhaustively in a post to exorcise myself of misery and potentially spare my poor friend’s ears.
So. The show’s version of the origin story has not been properly detailed in any meaningful length except for the fact that a) Leon is indeed the patriarch of the Belmont family and b) he entered Wallachia specifically to hunt for Dracula. Sounds like the same story beats from LoI at face value, but just like everything else about this house of cards, it completely falls apart under the faintest bit of scrutiny. I’ve beat the dead horse of Mathias no longer being canon enough as it is, but Mathias is arguably the most pivotal character in the entire story. You cannot make a Castlevania adaptation that excludes his history and expect it to make actual sense. If you remove Mathias, you dismantle every facet of the plot in one fell swoop, especially if you’re going to try and wedge Leon Belmont into your story without him. The two are mutually exclusive, you cannot have one without the other unless you completely rewrite the canon to follow a wholly different trajectory that is free of those trappings (i.e Lords of Shadow, which I do not like, but I appreciate that it was trying to do something totally different and therefore don’t take great issue with it.)
And I would have accepted this level of reimagining was the show’s intention, if Leon wasn’t paid such a heaping dose of aggressive lip service to indisputably assert him as this universe’s Belmont patriarch as well. But put in context with the rest Ellis’ interpretation as is, this just ends up making no God damn sense.
Dracula has been explicitly stated to be the first vampire to exist in this universe. That solidly affirms that Mathias is not canon, so therefore Leon’s history with him is also non existent. So in turn, that logically means Walter Bernhard also never existed, Mathias never hatched that elaborate plot with him to betray Leon, Sara was never kidnapped, Leon never had to rescue her, she was never bitten by Walter, her soul was never sacrificed to make the Vampire Killer. So what did happen, then? If Dracula was never Mathias, then what the fuck was he up to in the 11th century? Getting his distance mirror apparently, which he made an oddly specific point of mentioning he acquired 400 years prior to the events of season two, which would have been approximately 1075. This would leave us 19 years prior to Lament of Innocence, so presumably Dracula was already a vampire when Leon was just a child. Which in itself just more effectively dispatches any expectations of their history together being the same or even just similar to what it was in LoI.
Albeit, Trevor treats us to some pretty loaded exposition in saying that the Belmont family hailed from France, moving to Wallachia when “the dark things all moved into the east”--followed by Alucard affirming that Leon was in Wallachia looking specifically for Dracula. So Dracula and his monsters were obviously in France at some point in this canon causing a stink that attracted Leon’s notice--we also have evidence of this with one of the storyboard artists drawing Leon in his knightly garb slaying said monsters. But if Dracula was never Mathias in Ellis’ interpretation, what was he even doing dicking around in France in the first place? And furthermore, what did he do to convince Leon to chase him into the east as well as devote his life and the life of every Belmont after him to killing Dracula specifically? Because it’s gonna be a pretty weak downgrade in motivation from the original story if he just wants to kill Dracula because Vampires Are Evil ™, or Dracula just offhandedly killed someone important to him without nary a drop of history behind them to give it weight.
Also another discrepancy between these two canons is Leon is still a knight when he goes into the east whereas he gave up his knighthood in the games; this is quite boldly showcased by his depiction in that big ass painting as well as the fact his sword is present in the Belmont hold--which is also coincidentally the thing that kills Dracula, not the Vampire Killer. And oh yeah, how the fuck is the Vampire Killer here if the whole plot behind its existence has been effectively erased? I repeat, it’s going to be a weak downgrade if it came from anything less than the tragedy of Sara Trantoul’s sacrifice--which its starting to seem like it will be, based on everything else that’s been exorcised from the show canon.
There’s just no sensible way to knit these two interpretations together at this point if Ellis is going to dig in his heels and maintain that Dracula’s history as Mathias is not part of his vision, so I really can’t say I’m sure what in God’s name he’s going to inject into the story to fill this gaping hole he’s gnawed into the canon. I strongly believe Leon should just have been quietly excluded if the most vital elements of his story have been erased along with Mathias as well. I would not be here complaining about this at all if Leon hadn’t been forced into this version of Castlevania unnecessarily, which then just opened up a black hole of inconsistencies. Why even add him? Why have your main cast keep talking about him? Why sprinkle in fresh lore about him? Why make his sword the thing that kills Dracula? Why do all this if he’s going to be either a non-entity in the future of the show, or you’re going to just ignore the entirety of the canon that he is inextricably attached to?
This is why I’m kind of in a purgatorial relationship with the show right now as we wait for season three; I have no idea if there’s going to be even a molecule of exposition showing off the “New and Improved” vision for Leon’s and Dracula’s backstory--a part of me finds their constant chatter about Leon a little too heavy-handed for his character and history to just be swept under the rug thereafter, but another part of me is pretty solidly convinced the show isn’t even going to attempt to address that elephant in the room from here.
However, if Alucard’s going to be left by his lonesome with nothing but his father’s castle and the Belmont library, then he better be busting his ass down there reading up on some Belmont family history. Because honestly? There really is no other purpose his character can serve when isolated from the rest of the cast, the action and the plot, besides acting as a vehicle for exposition. I’d like to believe that this was the intention behind that very sudden and very off-handed plot point of Trevor bestowing his family’s library upon him in season 2. Why else do that and then just leave him there? If Alucard is just going to be steered back into the fray early into the new season, then what was even the point of having the team go their separate ways?
Anyways. I’ve said before I really wouldn’t mind if the staff decided to rewrite Dracula and Leon’s history together a little due to the bizarre and convoluted nature of LoI’s plot which definitely needs a fresh coat of paint, and I still maintain that; but they seem to be both borrowing the outline of the premise while erasing the primary facets that made it work, and I’m entirely confused about how they’re going to actualise such a shaky narrative structure. Not very well, judging by this janky mess of plotholes they’ve dug for themselves--if they don’t just conveniently forget to ever address it again, I’m half sure their answers to these questions are going to be some wacky nonsense that probably even further diminishes the symbolic importance of the story as a whole.
If the show completely erases any meaningful relationship between Dracula and Leon as well as the gravity behind the Vampire Killer’s origins, then it will have truly sunk to a whole new depth. These are the only things I am begging Ellis not to fuck up. You know, the entire crux of Castlevania’s plot as we know it, and the entire reason this story is even playing out in this universe the way it is.
There’s no shortage of us already frustrated with his treatment of the canon as it is, and its a damn shame. I really like a lot of things about the show. The animation is still gorgeous, the music is wonderful, the atmosphere is great, and I felt genuinely moved by some of the scenes they curated for us. I appreciate the hard work the team as a whole has poured into it in the limited time frame they have to complete every season. There’s no taking away from the fact that the show has value in many areas. But Ellis to date has sadly cocked up more facets of the story than he has improved, which is what is consistently holding the show back. As much as I crave answers from this series though, I’m equally as afraid that I am not going to like them when I get them. Or that Leon’s character is going to get dragged backwards through a thorn-bush should he ever appear in the flesh.
I would love nothing more than season three to blow me away and restore my faith in the future of the series but at this point, I’d honestly settle for a few minutes of icon material and whatever answers there are so I can finally leave this bespoke Silent Hill Ellis’ writing has crafted for me, amen and good night.
#⚜ :: OOC┊Person of Sinterest#{sin complains; the thrilling novel you didnt know you needed}#{you dont need it LMAO BUT I HAVE TO SCREAM INTO THE VOID BC THIS IS DRIVING ME INSANE}#{u know that conspiracy theory meme from always sunny thats me}#{s3 or any consequent seasons will probably never answer my questions tbh ill just have to live here in this hell forever}#{also god damn please just release season 2's ost so i can enjoy that if nothing else}#{i hope s3 airs on my birthday so i can just really be kicked in the balls}
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Help from On High
O Thou who art King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship Thee. Before Jehovah’s awful throne, we bow with sacred joy.
We can truly say that we delight in God. There was a time when we feared Thee, O God, with the fear of bondage. Now we reverence, but we love as much as we reverence. The thought of Thine omnipresence was once horrible to us. We said, “Whither shall we flee from His presence?” and it seemed to make hell itself more dreadful, because we heard a voice, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.” But now, O Lord, we desire to find Thee. Our longing is to feel Thy presence and it is the heaven of heavens that Thou art there. The sick bed is soft when Thou art there. The furnace of affliction grows cool when Thou art there and the house of prayer, when Thou art present, is none other than the house of God and it is the very gate of heaven.
Come near, our Father, come very near to Thy children. Some of us are very weak in body and faint in heart. Soon, O God, lay Thy right hand upon us and say unto us, “Fear not.” Peradventure, some of us are alike and the world is attracting us. Come near to kill the influence of the world with Thy superior power.
Even to worship may not seem easy to some. The dragon seems to pursue them and floods out of his mouth wash away their devotion. Give to them great wings as of an eagle, that each one may fly away into the place prepared for him, and rest in the presence of God today.
Our Father, come and rest Thy children now. Take the helmet from our brow, remove from us the weight of our heavy armour for awhile, and may we just have peace, perfect peace, and be at rest. Oh! help us, we pray Thee, now. As Thou hast already washed Thy people in the fountain filled with blood and they are clean, now this morning wash us from defilement in the water. With the basin and with the ewer, O Master, wash our feet again. It will greatly refresh. It will prepare us for innermost fellowship with Thyself. So did the priests wash ere they went into the holy place.
Lord Jesus, take from us now everything that would hinder the closest communion with God. Any wish or desire that might hamper us in prayer remove, we pray Thee. Any memory of either sorrow or care that might hinder the fixing of our affection wholly on our God, take it away now. What have we to do with idols anymore? Thou hast seen and observed us. Thou knowest where the difficulty lies. Help us against it and may we now come boldly, not into the Holy place alone, but into the Holiest of all, where we should not dare to come if our great Lord had not rent the veil, sprinkled the mercy seat with His own blood, and bidden us enter.
Now, we have come close up to Thyself, to the light that shineth between the wings of the cherubim, and we speak with Thee now as a man speaketh with his friends. Our God, we are Thine. Thou art ours. We are now concerned in one business—we are leagued together for one battle. Thy battle is our battle and our fight is Thine. Help us, we pray Thee. Thou who didst strengthen Michael and his angels to cast out the dragon and his angels, help poor flesh and blood that to us also the word may be fulfilled, “The Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
Our Father, we are very weak. Worst of all we are very wicked if left to ourselves and we soon fall a prey to the enemy. Therefore, help us. We confess that sometimes in prayer when we are nearest to Thee at that very time some evil thought comes in, some wicked desire. Oh! what poor simpletons we are. Lord, help us. We feel as if we would now come closer to Thee still and hide under the shadow of Thy wings. We wish to be lost in God. We pray that Thou mayest live in us, and not we live, but Christ live in us and show Himself in us and through us.
Lord, sanctify us. Oh! that Thy spirit might come and saturate every faculty, subdue every passion, and use every power of our nature for obedience to God.
Come, Holy Spirit, we do know Thee. Thou hast often overshadowed us. Come, more fully take possession of us. Standing now as we feel we are, right up at the Mercy Seat, our very highest prayer is for perfect holiness, complete consecration, entire cleansing from every evil. Take our heart, our head, our hands, our feet, and use us all for Thee. Lord, take our substance, let us not hoard it for ourselves, nor spend it for ourselves. Take our talent, let us not try to educate ourselves that we may have the repute of being wise, but let every gain of mental attainment be still that we may serve Thee better.
May every breath be for Thee, may every minute be spent for Thee. Help us to live while we live, and while we are busy in the world as we must be, for we are called to it, may we sanctify the world for Thy service. May we be lumps of salt in the midst of society. May our spirit and temper as well as our conversation be heavenly. May there be an influence about us that shall make the world the better before we leave it. Lord, hear us in this thing.
And now that we have Thine ear, we would pray for this poor world in which we live. We are often horrified by it. O, Lord, we could wish that we did not know anything about it for our own comfort. We have said, “Oh! for a lodge in some vast wilderness.” We hear of oppression and robbery and murder, and men seem let loose against each other. Lord, have mercy upon this great and wicked city. What is to be done with these millions? What can we do? At least help every child of Thine to do his utmost. May none of us contribute to the evil directly or indirectly, but may we contribute to the good that is in it.
We feel we may speak with Thee now about this, for when Thy servant Abraham stood before Thee and spake with such wonderful familiarity to Thee, he pleaded for Sodom, and we plead for London. We would follow the example of the Father of the Faithful and pray for all great cities, and indeed for all the nations. Lord, let Thy kingdom come. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth. Chase the old dragon from his throne, with all his hellish crew. Oh! that the day might come when even upon earth the Son of the woman, the Man-child, should rule the nations, not with a broken staff of wood, but with an enduring sceptre of iron, full of mercy, but full of power, full of grace, but yet irresistible. Oh! that that might soon come, the personal advent of our Lord! We long for the millennial triumph of His Word.
Until then, O Lord, gird us for the fight and make us to be among those who overcome, through the blood of the Lamb and through the word of our testimony, because we “love not our lives unto the death.”
We lift our voice to Thee in prayer, also, for all our dear ones. Lord, bless the sick and make them well as soon as it is right they should be. Sanctify to them all they have to bear. There are also dear friends who are very weak, some that are very trembling. God bless them. While the tent is being taken down, may the inhabitant within look on with calm joy, for we shall by-and-by “be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven.” Lord, help us to sit very loose by all these things here below. May we live here like strangers and make the world not a house but an inn, in which we sup and lodge, expecting to be on our journey tomorrow.
Lord, save the unconverted and bring out, we pray Thee, from among them those who are converted, but who have not confessed Christ. May the Church be built up by many who, having believed, are baptized unto the sacred name. We pray Thee go on and multiply the faithful in the land. Oh! that Thou wouldst turn the hearts of men to the Gospel once more. Thy servant is often very heavy in heart because of the departures from the faith. Oh! bring them back. Let not Satan take away any more of the stars with his tail, but may the lumps of God shine bright. Oh! Thou that walkest amongst the seven golden candlesticks trim the flame, pour forth the oil, and let the light shine brightly and steadily. Now, Lord, we cannot pray any longer, though we have a thousand things to ask for. Thy servant cannot, so he begs to leave a broken prayer at the Mercy Seat with this at the foot of it, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.
a Prayer by Charles H. Spurgeon
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10th May >> (@ZenitEnglish By Virginia Forrester) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli Address: On Fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus says: ‘Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled’. ‘Have Faith in Me’ and ‘I Go to Prepare a Place for You’ in Heaven.
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today, before and after praying the midday Regina Caeli from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace. At the end of the Regina Caeli, the Pope appeared at the window of his study and imparted his Blessing.
* * *
Before the Regina Caeli:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
In today’s Gospel (Cf. John 14:1-12) we hear the beginning of Jesus’ so-called “Farewell Discourse.” They are the words He addresses to the disciples at the end of the Last Supper, just before facing the Passion. In this dramatic moment, Jesus began by saying: “Let not your hearts be troubled” (v. 1). He says it also to us, in the dramas of life. But what can one do not to have one’s heart troubled, because the heart does get anxious?
The Lord points out two remedies for anxiety. The first is: “Have faith in Me” (v. 1). It seems to be somewhat theoretical, abstract advice. However, Jesus wishes to say something precise to us. He knows that in life the worst anxiety, agitation, is born from a feeling of not making it, of feeling alone and without points of reference in the face of what is happening. This anguish, in which difficulty is added to difficulty, cannot be overcome on one’s own. We are in need of Jesus’ help and, therefore, Jesus asks us to have faith in Him, namely, not to lean on ourselves but on Him, because freedom from anxiety passes through entrustment. To entrust ourselves to Jesus, to make the “leap.” And this is freedom from anxiety. And Jesus is risen and alive precisely to be always by our side. So we can say to Him: Jesus I believe You are risen and are by my side. I believe You listen to me. I bring to You what is disturbing me, my cares: I have faith in You and I entrust myself to You.”
Then there is a second remedy for anxiety, which Jesus expresses with these words: “In my Father’s house there are many rooms. [. . . ] I go to prepare a place for you” (v. 2) See, what Jesus has done for us: He has reserved a place for us in Heaven. He took our humanity upon Himself to take it beyond death, to a new place, in Heaven, so that where He is we can also be. It is the certainty that consoles us; there is a place reserved for each one. There is a place also for me. Each one of us can say: there is a place for me. We don’t live without an end, without a destination. We are awaited; we are precious. God is in love with us, we are His children. And He has prepared for us the most worthy and beautiful place: Paradise. Let’s not forget it: the dwelling that awaits us is Paradise. Here we are passing; we are made for Heaven, for eternal life, to live forever. Forever: is something that we are not even able to imagine now. However, it’s more beautiful to think that this forever will be wholly in joy, in full communion with God and with others, without more tears, without resentments, without divisions and anxiety.
However, how can Paradise be attained? What is the way? Here is Jesus’ decisive phrase today” “I am the Way” (v. 6). Jesus is the way to go up to Heaven; it is to have a living relationship with Him, and to imitate Him in love; it’s to follow His steps. And I, a Christian, you, a Christian, each one of us Christians can ask ourselves: what way do I follow?” There are ways that don’t lead to Heaven: the ways of worldliness, the ways of self-assertion <and> the ways of selfish power. And there is the way of Jesus, the way of humble love, of prayer, of meekness, of trust, of service to others. It’s not the way of my prominence; it’s the way of Jesus, protagonist of my life. It’s to go forward every day saying to Him: “Jesus, what do you think of this choice of mine? What would you do in this situation, with these persons?” It will do us good to ask Jesus, who is the Way, the pointers for Heaven. May Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, help us to follow Jesus, who opened Paradise for us.
© Libreria Editrice Vatican
[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
After the Regina Caeli:
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
My thought goes today to Europe and to Africa: to Europe, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950. It has inspired the European process of integration, making possible the reconciliation of the peoples of the Continent, after Word War II, and the long period of stability and peace, of which we benefit today. May the spirit of the Schuman Declaration not fail to inspire all those that have responsibilities in the European Union, called to address in a spirit of concord and collaboration the social and economic consequences caused by the pandemic.
And my look goes also to Africa because, forty years ago, on May 10, 1980, Saint John Paul II, during his first pastoral visit to that Continent, gave voice to the cry of the populations of the Sahel, harshly tested by drought. Today I congratulate the young people that are working for the “Laudato Si’ Trees” initiative. The objective is to plant at least one million trees in the Sahel region, which will form part of the “Great Green Wall of Africa. “ I hope that many can follow the example of solidarity of these young people.
Celebrated today in many countries is Mother’s Day. I wish to remember with gratitude and affection all mothers, entrusting them to the protection of Mary, our Heavenly Mother. My thought goes also to mothers that have passed to the other life and who accompany us from Heaven. Let’s have a bit of silence for each one to remember his/her mother [silent pause].
I wish you all a happy Sunday. Please, don’t forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and goodbye.
© Libreria Editrice Vatican
[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
10th MAY 2020 16:50ANGELUS/REGINA CAELI
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