Acolyte's Thesis - On Marriage

[JoanOfArc 4604]

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Acolyte’s Thesis

On Marriage

Scribed by Acolyte Griffith

 

Oywn’s Light

1770

An icon depicting a husband and wife fighting against the tides of this world in an effort to get to the Seven Skies together.

Exalted Horen is seen calling them both up from above.

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    “So the Sons were raised up as kings, and each became more concerned with the World than the Skies.  All took concubines, except for Horen, who took only one wife. Her name was Julia, and they kept their union holy.”

- Gospel 2:2-4

 

Glory to you, our Lord GOD. Let the words I speak be true and just, my GOD. Let them be remembered in the hearts and minds of all who read this if they are so, and let them be forgotten if they are not so.

 

The soul you possess, my beloved,  is in ever want of purpose and truth. Our sinfulness leads us astray from this true purpose and truth that is GOD. We chase after this world, and not after Him. However, this is often misinterpreted that all all things of this world are not of Him. A dualistic notion that implies the material plane is inherently evil and corrupt for it is not immaterial like GOD.  That is to say,  we all are fully sinful and wrong. That we have no goodness in ourselves. And this notion is prelevant over all of the Orenian Empire.

 

I was asked on the streets of Helena a question by a young elven woman the other Saint’s day that I will share with you. She asked, “I wish to be holy and serve GOD, but must I become monastic  to do so? I wish to be married and to have children.” This question begins with a misunderstanding of what asceticism and marriage is.  For being  an ascetic, you must love GOD and wish to be in constant communion with him through prayer. To be married, you love GOD, and by loving him, you show that love by loving your spouse.

 

 You see, beloved, for marriage is a form of asceticism .The underlying principle for husband and wife in marriage is denial of one’s self to the spouse. To deny yourself and be a  husband, you offer yourself up as protector and provider of your wife. To deny yourself and be a wife, you offer yourself up as caretaker and lover of your husband. You love your spouse to the point you are willing to give your life of pleasure for them, another person. You begin to truly care for another individual other than yourself. This is a virtue outlined in the Scrolls of Virtue which is humility. You showcase this very virtue and trait of humility by thinking of yourself lower than the other person and serving them.

 

Marriage itself is even  spoken of in the Holy Scroll of the Gospel. As it is written in verse above, in the Holy Scroll of Gospel, the marriage between Exalted Horen and the Mother of Mankind was deemed holy by the Lord GOD. How then, beloved, can we claim that you must only be a brother or a sister of a monastery to be made holy when this sacrament of marriage is deemed holy by GOD? As it has been told in the Catechism of Canonism, to be married is to emulate the holy marriage of the Exalted Horen, the King of Humans, and of St.  Julia, the Queen of Humans.  The emulation of the holy ones through this way leads yourself to be holy in the process, as you are displaying their virtues through yourself.

 

With marriage as well, you furthermore are able to more deeply correct faults of your own and faults of the other person. You see, a friend may see the life and show you put on, but a spouse will see the good and evil deep within you. In the comfort of home, the true self of you is always brought into the open. Every lustful notion, every cruel and vain thought brought onto you, is on display for your spouse. And while a stranger or friend may attempt to correct you, nothing is more painful and true than to hear the correction from the one you spend your life with.

 

But there is also deep goodness in marriage that the Lord GOD offers through marriage and correction. Companionship. Throughout the struggle of our life, we will suffer many hardships, unable to allow us to cope with it alone. Through marriage however, we may find rest and peace in the bosom of our spouse. For while one is to be alone, two is to offer close love to one another. The sweet smile of your wife or the kind hug from your wife will reinvigorate you. Though there may be trials in the marriage, the Holy High Pontiff St. Lucien has offered intercession in restoring a marriage to it’s good state. For he is married to his wife, Juianna, and it pains for him to see a marriage that is not loving unlike his own.

 

I should note, Exalted Horen had one wife as well. For while the other Brothers took concubines, Exalted Horen took only his wife St. Julia. And there is a good reason for this. While there were many women the Exalted Horen could have chosen to be a concubine of his, he chose to keep one wife only and not let his lust overwhelm him. As Exalted Horen is the first true man of GOD, He has set an example that all Canonists should follow. And there is no pain in having a single spouse either, for your spouse may satisfy you through their goodness and blessings they bring upon you. To spoil that goodness and blessing you receive from your one spouse, is to create a twisted and perverted form of marriage. You must only serve one woman or one man. To serve more is to split up your attention and lack the true good of love you may attain. Your love will also grow and grow, reaching with the intent to aim for the Seven Skies together, protecting and loving one another, and straightening the both so they may achieve true Virtue.

 

And once both have passed into the next life, the marriage to be fruitful will be turned into one of glory. For you see, beloved, marriage does not end in this life nor the next one.  It, like all sacraments, are eternal. You shall see the beautiful spouse you call your own there, in the heavenly Seven Skies, more beautiful and righteous than you have ever seen. You shall be eternally with them in a union that is everlasting. How wonderful would it be to see your love in this glorious form? How wonderful shall it be to see your love like this for the rest of your life?

 

Thus I say unto man or woman of GOD, with this good gift given to us by GOD- the gift of the holy sacrament of marriage- you shall display true holiness if you are zealous in taking care of it. You shall display a holiness that rivals that of the monastics, for to love your Lord GOD through your spouse, is like to love the Lord GOD directly.

 

May we all be blessed in the vocation we have taken, whether monasticism or marriage. May the Lord GOD bring clarity to our mind in our issues and lead us to him unto the  ages of ages.

Through the intercessions of the holy Exalted prophets, the Queen of Mankind Saint Julia, High Pontiff Saint Lucien I, and all the saints. Amen.

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[rukio 8924]

Elene Swint smiles upon reading the thesis, thinking back on the life she has had up to this point with her husband. She offers a silent prayer, thankful for their life together and praying that they may have many more years together in life before they reunite in death.

[thesmellypocket 1859]

 

Pius of Sutica says the above.