When
Eve ate and Adam sinned,
The
Holy Ghost fled away.
The
creation rose in anger,
But
the Lord bid it stay.
It
obeyed, and man its head remained.
All
is naked. The garment of Light is gone.
Man
and woman are alone.
No
beast will befriend them.
Wort
and soil stand aloof.
Hunger
comes. A little food is left,
But
many longing eyes are fixed upon it.
Planting
must begin.
The
man lifts a stone.
With
its bone he stabs
The
body of the earth.
It
shudders, and all the creatures groan.
The
man also weeps as the wound is opened.
The
work is done, but every season
The
ritual is repeated.
After
many ages and spans of years,
When
man through sin had waxèd old,
And
the creation with him too was dying,
The
Godhead broke the yoke of iron:
Mary,
New Eve and Virgin Mother,
With
her blessèd ‘Yes’ brought forth New Adam,
Jesus
Christ, by the Father’s power,
The
Son’s humility, the Spirit’s presence.
In
the God-Man, Heaven has been
Joined
with the earth. Human nature is renewed,
And
the cosmos enlivened through and through.
By
God’s love, the governing laws
Are
set aside: A Maiden begets,
But
is still unwombed. By the wounds of
Christ,
We
are healed. His death brings life.
Human
flesh ascends to Heaven,
And
the Holy Ghost descends to earth.
In
the new creation of the Church,
The
uncreated Light of God
Is
filling every bit of matter.
Water,
oil, wheat, and wine
No
longer delay death merely,
But
are bearers now of God’s own Life.
The
Divine Liturgy
Heals
the scars of earth.
Bitterness
is waning;
The
critters love and serve
Holy
men and women.
And
the while, She watches
Afar
off yonder for tidings
Of
the Great Unending
Banquet
of Her Groom.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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