the last time i journaled, i wrote about spem in alium. i really did mean to include the words. so, here they are:
Spem in alium nunquam habui,
praeter in te, Deus Israel:
Qui irasceris et propitius eris.
Et omnia peccata hominum
in tribulatione dimittis,
Domine Deus, Creator caeli et terrae,
respice humilitatem nostram.
translation:
I have never had hope
in anyone but Thee, God of Israel,
Thou who grow angry and will hear prayer.
Thou eliminate all the sins of men
in tribulation.
Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth,
look down upon our humility.
this has become my prayer for israel and the unrest in that country. He is the only hope that we have. having been over there, this whole thing touches me so deeply. it's a holy city - it should be a peaceful place - a place of pilgrimmage and awe. i suppose, though, that with all the unrest, the times of peace are treasured more, the city is treasured more. i suppose i'm just sick of all the blame-puting and buck-passing, the killing and retaliation... someone has to stop the cycle! who will be 'man' enough to do it? brings to mind silence - israel was still in the midst of the struggle against other nations when Jesus was born. but that one holy night, the world was calm. i wish that those people who were fighting would remember that those they are killing, attacking, plotting against are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. they bleed red just as you do, they feel pain, they love, they cry, they pray, they dance. they are a person, not some object of hatred.
so often we are guilty of this. think of all the times christians have condemned the sinner and not just the sin. we are to love one another, bear each other up, help each other. we're not supposed to hate each other or kill each other because they're not like us... *sigh* i suppose i just don't understand. i've never hated anyone enough to kill them - i don't care to have the occasion to either.
i hope that no one has reason to remember this, but i have decided what i would like sung at my funeral - Fauré's Requiem. even better to it as a sung mass at my funeral. if you haven't had the occasion to hear it, you should.
Posted by kendra at October 22, 2000 12:00 AM