The Crypt, pt 6
The Unconscious Region
a)
How near are the departed? How close are they to those of us who love
them? There have been times when God has permitted them to leave some
sign, to speak with us in our dreams, to even appear momentarily. Such is
of God's doing. As for any attempt to call up the dead through seances,
channeling, etc. is not of God's doing -- that such activities are
dangerous for we expose our souls to demons if we seek out psychic
readers. This is why it is a blessed thing to pray for
the departed: not that they are in any agony but that they will be
closer to us in Christ. To ask Jesus to make us closer to Him that we
may also be closer to our Christian departed. It is not unlawful,
when we begin our prayers, to ask the holy and departed soul of one
precious to our memory to pray for us. "Dad, pray for me as I pray this
prayer." Or, "Lord Jesus, let me know how close paradise is and place
within me a desire to see You with my beloved family when this is all
over down here."
This is, I suppose, within the real of what the great C.G. Jung referred to as the Unconscious. We cannot know the many dimensions beyond this three dimensional existence of ours except through reverence and devout prayer. The Unconscious Region is fraught with its own dangers, much of the demonic activity that plagues our world has come from there. But recall that Holy Angels inhabit this region as well . . . our Guardian Angel is with us to lead us safely from the invisible evil to our Home which is in Paradise and will be, after the General Resurrection, in Heaven itself. Our attention, our hopes, must all be upon our only Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, and it is a good practice to make the sign of the cross when we sense the presence of anything that is unseen to mortal eyes.
When we look upon a grave, whether in a cemetery or in the crypt of our own Cathedral-souls let us take comfort in these words from Robert Louis Stevenson's moving poem, Requiem:
b)
Twice, perhaps three times in my life, I have momentarily experienced
the presence of the departed loved ones. They were fleeting moments and
were not of my seeking. I am convinced that there is in the dimension
beyond this, an invisible world which, where God to raise up the curtain,
we would be most perplexed at the incompleteness of what we presently
call full reality. After Nancy died, I awoke one morning to see her at
the foot of my bed smiling a most heavenly sort of smile. I could see right
through her, but that it was her I could never be mistaken. In my most
startled state of mind I blurted out: "What are you doing here?" She slowly
disappeared with that same beatific smile, those same loving eyes upon me.
Another notable experience was back home in Greensboro. I was reading late at night at mom's house. Suddenly there came knockings at the bedroom door. Since our dog, Bear, and I were the only ones in the house, I was perplexed, and yet strangely, not frightened. No, rather it came to me, "It's Daddy!" As I opened the door and walked into the next room there was such a coldness about that space that Bear's hair stood up on end. Mom and my brother Jerry had heard him one night long before, going through one of the drawers where he kept tools and such. Perhaps this was the dear man's "purgatory", and I say that lovingly, for it was a blessed sort of waiting until mom could join him.
Then, together, they went to the Paradise where, knowing dad, he had been helping Jesus build a special mansion for Mommy. Oh blessed, blessed thought. Please do not forget me when I must depart, but pray the prayers of our beloved Prayer Book (even if by then they've taken it from our churches).
c)
O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of
thy servant N., and grant him an entrance into the land of light and
joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our
Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
O God, whose beloved Son did take little children into his arms and bless them: Give us grace, we beseech thee, to entrust this child N. to thy never-failing care and love, and bring us all to thy heavenly kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
O Almighty God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, who by a voice from heaven didst proclaim, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: Multiply, we beseech thee, to those who rest in Jesus, the manifold blessings of thy love, that the good work which thou didst begin in them, may be made perfect unto the day of Jesus Christ. And of thy mercy, O heavenly Father, grant that we, who now serve thee on earth, may at last, together with them, be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, we yield unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy saints, who have been the choice vessels of thy grace, and the lights of the world in their several generations; most humbly beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow the example of their steadfastness in thy faith, and obedience to the holy commandments, that at the day of the general resurrection, we, with all those who are of the mystical body of thy Son, may be set on his right hand, and hear that his most joyful voice: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Grant this, O Father, for the sake of the same thy Son Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of those who depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We give thee hearty thanks for the good examples of all those thy servants, who, having finished their course in faith, do now rest from their labors. And we beseech thee that we, with all those who are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Remember thy servant, O Lord, according to the favor which thou bearest unto thy people; and grant that,. increasing in knowledge and love of thee, he may go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in thy heavenly kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray thee to set thy passion, cross, and death, between thy judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living, pardon and rest to the dead, to thy holy Church peace and concord, and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead: We give thee thanks for all thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and light of thy presence; and give us such a lively sense of thy righteous will, that the work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.
O God, the King of saints, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all
thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear; for
the blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles,
and martyrs; and for all other thy righteous servants, known to us and
unknown; and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their examples, aided
by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits
of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next The North Arm, Angelorum Chapel