I offer this line from Wallace Stevens’ poem, Sunday Morning, to help us quiet our souls for the day of silence tomorrow for all the victims of the world — including the recent tragic victims of Virginia Tech, but also the countless others throughout history.
One ancient sacrifice which came to mind to me today was that of Francis David (Ferenc Dávid), b 1510 d 1579, founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, who, having dedicated his life to tolerance and peace, had to end his days in a dungeon. Below is a sketch of Francis David and a picture of a flaming chalice with his famous quotation:
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Yes, the ancient sacrifice referred to in the Stevens poem was that of Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, but Jesus would not disapprove I think of a worldwide application of a hush for all victims, and I just pick one of several that Unitarian Universalist’s remember. There are of course countless billions of others thoughout the world and throughout the history of mankind.
Blessed be. In remembrance.
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That was a beautiful post. I’ll definitely be participating in the blog silence.
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hear, hear my friend!
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Sacrifice is the ultimate expression of devotion, it is the object of that devotion that can be scary at times. Foregoing your own personal safety, desires, dreams for another is a decent practice one that should be practiced more often. We are all heroes if we choose to be.
Be well and enjoy the day.
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Thanks, Tisha! Hear Hear! Good to hear from you!
Interesting, Danielle. Yes, are we free to choose? Maybe some of us are too controlled by others or by our own selves to be able to practice forgetting our own personal safety, desires, dreams for another, as you put it so well, to choose to be heroes. But nevertheless, you may be right. Thanks for your thoughts.
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Hi Mardé,
That was a beautiful combined Sunday & One day blog silence post.
I just love that quote; we could use tons of that wisdom in our troubled times.
You taught me about Francis David also; that was the first time that I have heard of him.Bless him.Hey Mard; stop over to my blog when you have a chance. I have a surprise for you.
See ya soon,
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OK, barbara, I love surprises. Be there in a jiffy.
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Thanks, Barbara, for nominating me as one of the five “Thinking Blogs”. I’ll do a post according to instructions. 😀
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