The radiant Light of the Holy Cross
Divides the epochs of man: Slavery
To the passions, before, and death; after,
A new mode of human life has appeared,
Mankind wondrously united to God.
St Wilfrida, feasted before the day
Of the Cross’s Elevation, obeyed
Her carnal lust and served young King Edgar
As his concubine; repenting her deeds,
She renounced the world, in time becoming
A wise abbess of Wilton Abbey,
Dying in holiness.
Her daughter,
St Edith, she raised with her in Wilton.
St Edith, celebrated just after
The Exaltation of the Sacred Cross,
An epiphany of the new humanity:
Virgin, artist,
Friend of the poor;
Tender toward
Wild animals;
Prayerful, active,
And renouncing
Thrones of worldly
And spiritual
Authority.
Her young death at twenty-three made even
St Dunstan weep, but her miracles
Made the English forget their sorrows.
And we too may know unending life and joy
By the transformation of our human
Nature through the Grace of God flowing
From the Cross, His Life saturating ours.
***
The lives of Sts Wilfrida and Edith may be read here:
https://orthochristian.com/97360.html
The Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross is celebrated on 14 September. The details surrounding it are here:
--
Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
No comments:
Post a Comment