What We Owe

[winterblood 11181]

Spoiler

 

 

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

🕂

“We’ve each our own place

Within the gardens of divinity,

And within our hearts it is secretly known;

True name of Making,

Who yet comes to us

 with different forms and faces.”

🕂

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

 

It is often spoken of what the role of a shepherd entails.  Most certainly and literally, a shepherd is a guide seeking to lead their flock toward healthy pastures and shield them from predators.  In the eyes of many, the shepherd is wise and knowing, and treads upon a lonesome journey to serve those who are prone to aimlessness without such leal direction; those who would be laid bare and vulnerable to corruption and ruin.

 

Yet error is commonly made in this distinction, for many make the false assumption of singularity to roles.  A facet of independence and individuality is placed upon the name of Shepherd, who will persist in their mission without fault no matter what.  A sense of pride and immense honor is cemented in such a name, and it is done in mistake for how drastically it ascends the bearer of the name above the rest.

 

For the truth exists, that there is little division to be had between shepherd and flock; they remain two sides of the same coin; two horns upon the same goat.  Two concepts wholly dependent upon the other.  The stark fact shall always stand, that they exist as a cohesive concept; as one.

 

Those who believe themselves capable of removing themselves from these moulds are only deceived by their own desires.  No measure of power–fervently acquired through knowledge, birthrights, nor occult ritual–may carve our shapes out of this sacred garden of existence, nor permanently command the tides of fate and the Creator’s will.  To understand and embrace this fact will deliver one to harmonic existence.

 

Through our seeking of fate, we must not forget the owed duty of tending to the garden of our living.  A duty and mission which will see no end due to the nature of the wheel.

 

Where there is the shepherd and the flock, there is also the gardener and the garden itself.  The latter serves better for descriptions of existence and our place within it, for it establishes greater connections between purpose and the importance of duty in tending to our fellows and the world which surrounds us all.  Each soul to tread upon this realm of the Material abides by this, knowingly or not.

 

Many hold the belief that our upheld duties are in preparation for the moment in which our immortal souls depart from this realm in the death of the Material vessel.  While it is vital to maintain a virtuous spirit in our mission, our fate and purpose isn’t such a solitary matter - nor should it be treated and measured so selfishly.  Not all of the Creator’s devotees pass through the Garden so swiftly in shortened lives as us humans, nor are all destined for the Skies upon birth.

 

Warriors who devote themselves to the emboldening flames of Malchaedial in the name of the Light, yet sacrifice their seats within the sacred heavens for their service; Elves who persist in life throughout the centuries still remain dedicated to seeing the Garden of the World free from corruption; there exists more niche variables of differing fates and immortal forms of life, who yet remain dedicated to the upkeep of our existence.  Yet there remain some who would utilize the wisdom of their long years to breach the limits of making, and seek to govern the garden themselves.  And others, who delude themselves in the illusion of a higher rank of shepherd leering over the flock.

 

Yet just as each soul is bound to sin, they are also bound to rise after the flame of Virtue; the mark of death and deliverance determines naught of the soul’s integrity - but how we bide our time within the rolling hills of the Creator’s gardens.

 

Sister Solene

[Nectorist 12869]

Without those to guide, the priest is without purpose. Without a priest, those to be guided shall be lost.

 

It is the difficult work of the parish priest to understand the nuances of the community they serve. They must be sensitive to local beliefs, practices, hierarchies, and other facets of culture and society that will necessarily filter their understanding of the Holy Scrolls and any teachings made from them. A community aggrieved by the lack of tact displayed by those who claim to guide it is one that is dually-deprived, the first of a spiritual leader, the second of the necessity of the teachings of God, communicated through the trained voice of His clergy.

 

However, God may exist without the flock and without the shepherd, for He is all things, and should all the things in the world die, He will remain.

 

While care must be taken to attend to the needs of the people a priest serves, they must not be so lenient as to permit fundamental violations of the Faith. Although our mission is to serve, we do so at the behest of God. Although we are to respect the Faithful, we are to be commanded by God. Although we must show a willingness to renegotiate our methods of instruction in order to reach the hearts of the many, we must not deviate from the truth. Should their be a total incompatibility with the instructions of God and the wishes of the many, we must be unwavering in our choice of the former. 

 

Take the example of the parish priest who services a town that is God-fearing and pious, adhering to the laws of the Faith and attending mass frequently. If this town were to have a festival that contains an element that relates to some pagan elements of the past, it would be understandable if the priest was discomforted, but if this town were not treating these elements as central to their religion, and rather quaint remembrances of past culture, it would be unwise of him to attempt to forbid them. Instead, he would be better-served by continuing to serve them and celebrating the good that they do, while allowing old customs to remain.

 

However, if a parish priest in a neighboring town were to find himself among a people who decry the name of Owyn, in respect to a local tradition that can be heralded back to a time when they opposed the Faith, it would be the foremost duty of that priest to rebuke this, for it is a profanity upon the Faith that they adhere to, and a blaspheme against the Ex. Owyn. Their souls would inhabit sin by this deed, and its toleration would only serve to alienate them from virtue, even if in all other respects the priest attempts to ensure they are good and faithful, for no right deeds that are done can wash out the ill that is wantonly done.

 

The balance between what is right for the people and what is necessary for the soul is difficult. It is the hallmark of a good priest to know how to maintain it.

 

HIS HOLINESS, CAIUS II

 

High Priest of the Temple of the True Faith, Successor of Clement and Evaristus, High Pontiff of the Church of True Faith, Servant of the Servants of Heaven, Servant of the Holy Flame, Apostle of Saint Lucien, Envoy of Aeldin, High Servant to the Prophet’s Testaments, Humble Servant of the Faithful and Vicar of GOD