The Crusader Spirit

[BenevolentManacles 2232]

A Thesis on the Crusader Spirit

Philip Augustus

 

 

“The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is ready to hope in the Lord: His heart is ready, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid until he see his desire upon his enemies.” (Proverbs 3:12-13)

 

In some deepest recess of my mind, I squalor with my pride. I consume myself with my righteousness, and dictate to myself how best my virtue is to make me part of the Lord, and Him a part of me.

 

The sand fills my boot, and I consider then how each step should be a labor. Fire on the mountain, and I contemplate how this fire may be righteous if it is the Lord’s fire, taken form in a trial of our spirit, of my spirit.

 

I wrap myself in an Angel’s banner, and this ethereal warmth becomes my home. The laughter of Novellen, and love of my people, my city, and my family fade away. I am consumed with my own righteousness. I am consumed by my pride. I am not chosen, I am a servant.

 

How best am I to raise the Lord’s sword and strike at the heart of His trials, or His foes? I must know no peace but sleep, where I clasp closely to the dreams where I can walk the paths that wind in the clouds, an endless staircase where the realms of the Lord are yet unknown. I create for myself the bond I have with the Lord in these dark hours, where the mortal realm has no eyes into these trials of the spirit.

 

I create for myself a bond with the Lord in the hours under the sun, with sand in my boots. Here the peace of sleep is ended, and the trials are endless and everlasting. The Lord will promise me his protection as I fight without remorse for His glory, till his machinations deem that I have done what He has asked of me, and my spirit, under the sun, finds the staircase I wander in my dreams.

 

I am resolute, and my spirit is unwavering, though it is also poisoned with sin. The Lord has given me doubt to doubt only me. The Lord has given me weakness, so I may fail only myself. The Lord has given me pride, to test my love for the Word of the Lord.

 

Ten points to the star on my chest, for the Godhead, and a red field, for our sacrifice.  This is not a sign of favor, but a command. I am God’s soldier as much as the cobbler, and both our charges are mundane and worldly. The fire on the mountain is His trial as well, for though the cobbler has no sword, his spirit is at war with his pride, and we both find absolution through sacrifice.

[VIROS 2915]

The High Pontiff reads the thesis favorably, recommending it to the Knight-Regent. “A good summary of the crusader spirit: I think this will inspire the Palatine Guard. It was stirring to see them serve alongside Prince Philip at Al-Faiz, together under the Archangel’s Star.”

[thesmellypocket 1859]

Pius of Sutica writes."If you desire final pervserance and humility, attribute everything you have to God. When you see a criminal being hanged, repeat with Ven. Humbert "there but for the grace of God, I go." Recommend yourself fervently to God. All He desires is loving obedience, not great deeds. The deeds are His work,,done in you through this loving obedience, or perhaps it is His will you do not great deeds, for just as a gardener has little flowers and great buds, so it is with souls: some do little deeds with great love and are therefore small but beautiful. In any case, nothing is small if it is God's work, for He is outside of space and time and counts only in the currency of love.

 

Above all, let nothing distress you. Let nothing afear you. God alone suffices. All is changing. God alone remains."