Oremus: Absolve, quaesumus, Domine, animas famulorum famularumque tuarum et omnium fide-lium defunctorum, ab omni vinculo delictorum… It was a bleak fall morning when Sam Louis was entombed at Woodlawn cemetery. The sky was filled with tears and the firmament exploded with rumblings of thunder and lighting. Despite the foul weather, a lone crow was hovering in a circle high above the funeral gathering. No one was aware of its presence until it began to caw. Deborah Hernandez glanced up and instantly felt a cold fear gripping her heart. There was something ominous about the bird. …ut in resurrectionis gloria inter Sanctos et Electos tuos resuscitati respirent. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. A large canopy was set up to shelter the assembly. Since there was such a large turnout, many had to stand outside the covering with their umbrellas pushing against the fervent wind and rain. But everyone was oblivious to the nasty weather and was paying hushed attention to the Latin prayers for the dead. Everyone was there. Everyone came to pay their last respects. Everyone, except Deborah’s family. Sam was too ‘country’, they had said. He didn’t measure up. But little did they know. Inclina, Domine, aurem tuam ad preces nostras, quibus misericordiam tuam supplices deprecamur, ut animam famuli tui N., quam de hoc saeculo migrare iussisti… The church members and most of Sam’s friends were standing on both sides of the hollow grave with family members occupying one end and Father Harry O’Connor who officiated the ceremony standing up at the other end. Deborah was standing between a church friend and Alfa Kanaza, a childhood friend. Deborah’s grief was immeasurable, her strength was gone. She seemed to have aged ten years... ... middle of paper ... ...ne as “Mrs. Louis.” Her heart grew weaker and frightened as she began to realize that her life was about to take a new turn for the worse. Sam’s prolonged care had depleted the couple’s savings and she was two months behind in the rent. The word “eviction” was flashing in her mind like a red neon sign and it sent shivers of panic up her spine. Oh, God! What am I going to do? Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu; libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus… Suddenly a cacophony of screams and cries exploded as the casket was lowered into the dark void of eternity. Deborah passed out. …ne cadent in obscurum; sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius. Amen. And the rain kept pouring down unrelentingly.
“The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas” is a document written in ancient Roman times that exhibits the role religion plays in the forming of a culture and the lives of individuals in the ancient world. For her belief in Christianity, they throw Perpetua into jail. Her execution is fighting animals in an arena. She does not renounce her faith in the face of persecution and thus becomes a martyr. This text is a unique key into the past in many ways. Part of it is written by a woman, it gives a detailed account of her martyrdom and gives us some insight into the culture of ancient Rome. For these reasons, this document provides us with valuable knowledge, specifically concerning the purpose for the composing and preservation of this document.
She thought about her family, and the neighbors, and the town, and the dogs next door, and everyone and everything she has ever met or seen. As she began to cry harder, she looked out the window at the stores and buildings drifting past, becoming intoxicated suddenly with the view before her. She noticed a young woman at the bus stop, juggling her children on one side of her, shielding them from the bus fumes.
“…but the raven winging/ darkly over the doomed will have news, / tidings for the eagle of how
Roberts, M. (1988). The Revolt of Boudicca (Tacitus, Annals 14.29-39) and the Assertion of Libertas in Neronian Rome. The American Journal of Philology, 109(1), 118-132. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/294766
Her eyes were heavy, her body weak. As she crawled into the bathroom two feet away, Abby felt her body slowly succumbing to the numbness. All of her pain would be gone in less than 10 minutes, so why would she want to turn back? What about the senior trip Abby had planned with her best friend? What about the chair at the dinner table that would now be vacant? A couple of hours later Abby’s family came home from her little sister’s soccer game. Little did they know what they would find as they approached the top of the stairs. Her little sister, Ali, stood still as she looked down at her feet. There on the cold floor lay her big sister, her role model, and her super hero. Ali was crushed when she saw the pill bottle in her hand and the pale color of her skin. Her mom fell to her knees screaming and crying, wondering where she
Stead, G. Christopher. The Easter Sermons of Gregory of Nyssa. Edited by Andreas Spira and Christoph Klock. Patristic Monograph Series No. 9. Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Patristic Foundation, Ltd., 1981.
If you are one those people who is inclined to believe, as I do, that a bird in a house is a harbinger of imminent misfortune or something white on your feet makes you run faster or that there is a world out there full of omens, superstitions, prophecy, sorcery and other curious mysteries, then before you read further, I must warn you… what you are about to find out here is not only unnerving, but also hard to shake off.
Sextus Pomponius – Enchiridium, 2nd century AD – partly preserved in the Digest of Justinian: Alan Watson, The Digest of Justinian, Volume 1, University of Pennsylvania Press (2011)
The story of "The Crow" (a graphic novel turned movie) is the story of Eric Draven, a handsome young musician living in the dark gloom of a gothic-industrialized city plagued by continual rain. He is set to wed a beautiful girl when she is raped and left to die by a gang of criminals. Upon arriving to witness it in progress (taking place at his own home), Draven is killed as well; pushed out of a window as high as a skyscraper. The story then chronicles his resurrection from the dead in order to avenge their murders. His only lifeline (or shall we say deathline) is through a black crow. The crow is the connection between the dead and the living, providing Draven with the means to be immortal for one night only. If the crow is harmed then Draven will lose his immortality and assume mortality, putting an end to his plans for revenge. The conflict of the story comes as Draven attempts to execute the criminals one by one, but is cut short by the harming of the crow. He fights to overcome this and prove successful in his journey.
The church confesses that it has not professed openly and clearly enough its message of the one God… The church confesses its timidity, its deviation, its dangerous concessions… The church was mute when it should have cried out, because the blood of the innocent cried out to heaven… It did not resist to the death the falling away from faith and is guilty of the godlessness of the
A funeral is a service that is a way to acknowledge, celebrate and honour the life of a loved one who has passed away. This memorial service brings comfort to the people who mourn for the loss of a loved one and allow people to say goodbye, provide a support system for the friends and family and memorialise the deceased person. Within each religion there are a variety of funerary customs including many prayers, symbols and the destruction or preservation of the body. The customs involved in funerals comprise of the complexity of the beliefs and practices used by the religion or culture to respect and remember the dead. Within the Catholic Church, moderate divergence is observed between how the ritual is described and how it is practised, as seen in an interview conducted with an adherent of the Catholic Church. Although John O’Brien follows a reformed position on the continuum, he diverges moderately to the Catholic Church on the criteria: meaning of the funeral, the beliefs of the afterlife in the new world, understood by Victor Turners model, and the symbols used through out a funeral ceremony. Therefore, divergence between how rituals are described and how rituals are practised exists within the Catholic
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
David staggers into the kitchen of the old wooden home where his wife is washing the dishes. As she scrubs a pot he can see that she is raw with exhaustion and jittery with coffee. David holds the letter out to his wife, not wanting to meet her eyes. He stammers that it’s time to move and sell the farm, ashamed that there is no other option. When his wife lifts her head from the notice, the turmoil he was feeling was not reflected in her face.
I invite you to consider the life of an interesting human being with me in this paper. Let us investigate together the man known as Irenaeus of Lyons. We will endeavor to gain an overall verbal portrait of the man who is considered the most significant ecclesiastical witness before Eusebius and the leading theologian in the second century A. D. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both consider Irenaeus to be one of their “holy saints“. The name Irenaeus means a “‘man of peace,’ and the early Christian historian Eusebius honored Irenaeus as a peacemaker in keeping with his name.”
Thank God for this declaration. Jesus is the resurrection and life! To be present in the body is to be absent from the Lord!