Thursday, December 21, 2006

Time to explain the title of the blog. First of all it's a pun on "Onward, Christian Soldiers!" think about the words for just a minute:

Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war
With the Cross of Jesus
Going on before.
Christ the royal Master
Leads against the foe:
Forward into battle,
See, His banners go.

Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God,
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod.
We are not divided,
All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never
'Gainst that Church prevail;
We have Christ's own promist,
And that cannot fail.

Well! It would be pretty difficult to retain the meaning while using inclusive language, yes? And there's no denying we are engaged in a spiritual battle of grand proportions. So, it's a battle cry.

I'm a big fan of the 'armor of God.' There's no way to get through this life with any hope of the next, without the help of the Holy Spirit!

It's also a nod to my Protestant roots, although the more I ruminate on the words of the hymn, I wonder how any Protestant could have been so vain to have written them. I mean, it's got 'Catholic' written in every line!

It's also a sad commentary that the NO has pretty much, at least in my neck of the woods, abandoned the idea of celebrating the Mass facing the East - whether litugical or otherwise. Believe it or not, the sanctuary at my parish ACTUALLY faces East! Whoo-hoo! Light dawns in the east - Christ is the Light of the world.

Soldiers - aren't we the Church Militant? We ought to be on our knees (figuratively if not literally) every day asking for our marching orders. And it's not easy being a soldier of any sort (I know, I was one). Sometimes you're told to do something that you KNOW is right, but takes you WAY OUT of you comfort zone. Oh well, do it anyway. Like me homeschooling my kids. Like I really have time to school them, what with being a single parent, running my own business, and so on. But believe me, I knew it was time, so I just have to trust my God that He will provide - time, energy, whatever I lack He will supply!

So there you have it. Now you know, if you were an inquiring mind. Maybe I've made some of you think - or stop thinking, as the case may be.

Remember, Jesus is the Good Shepherd - he won't leave you out in the cold all alone! He will take care of you!

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