virgil-in-excelsis

[virgil-in-excelsis]

perpetually stuck on step 0 of the grieving process, where I have to acknowledge that it was important enough to grieve in the first place.

[virgil-in-excelsis]

The LORD will let the people be governed by immature boys.

Isaiah 3:4, TEV

[virgil-in-excelsis]

Let me down gently. Just far enough out of reach that I can't sieze your arm as you turn your back on me and flee.

Fly away, like you always do. Don't give me another chance to convince you to let me back in.

Because if you could let me back in, then it might have been love. And if it was love, then it could be lost. And when it was gone, it would hurt too much to bear.

But if you don't, then it wasn't, and it can't be, and it won't.

[virgil-in-excelsis]

Sooner or later, We all become supporting actors.

Everyone gets their fifteen minutes in the limelight, Glory from the hands of the audience Paid forward in dividends, compounding interest

But sooner or later, our time passes And we fade into the background, But not into obscurity; Just into the open arms of those who came before us, Those giants who told us to soak up the spotlight while we still had time, Who too had their moment, Before fading into the arms of those before them.

And for those who refuse to give up the spotlight, It is ready to oblige. Burning hotter, brighter, More and more sets of eyes, More and more critics. Better do it perfectly, or you might lose your spot On center stage, and how terrible that would be! How terrible it would be To fade into the arms of those who came before you, And rest.

[virgil-in-excelsis]

Live from the heart.

The mind is neat and ordered, perfect in its own eye. While the heart is messy, ugly, volatile, uncontrollable

Live from the heart. For the only correction comes from honesty, and the only honesty comes from a genuine expression.

But who among us knows that the ugly is wrong? That the messy requires correction? That prim and proper is correct?

Live from the heart. Listen for the Lord's correction, not of the beliefs and thoughts of the mind, but of the truth and thoughts of the heart. If we live in our heads all day, how shall the Lord correct who we really are in our hearts? If we pretend to know, how shall we learn what is really true?

Live from the heart. Make your mistakes, O man, having faith in the Lord all the while. For even "when we are faithless, he is faithful".

Relinquish the bonds you have placed on yourself, O man. Hold not to the Law which the mind understandeth, which brings not eternal life, even in its righteousness.

Live from the heart, O man.

[virgil-in-excelsis]

we sleep on mattresses that are far too comfortable

Think, downy clouds that drift up to meet our tired bodies, as we fall into their consuming embrace at the end of a very long day.

Was man really meant to enjoy his existence as much as we do when we lie , unconscious, hardly even participating in it?

Methinks not.

Satin sheets, a thousand thread count! Egyptian cotton! A dozen plush pillows buoy me through my American dreams, so that I never need to leave the safety and comfort of my bed!

I never need to leave my bed.

[virgil-in-excelsis]

Something great is coming

The world waits With bated breath And my bones wait along with it

Redemption arc? Training arc? No; Anticipation arc.

Something great is coming; The Lord Himself has warned us; "You will see greater things than this." "Unimaginable"

Imagine; the unimaginable! How majestic! How awesome! Fearfully and wonderfully made for this, exact, moment.

It is coming quickly. Behold; it is already here!

Praise the Lord! Praise His holy name! The labor pangs are nearing their peak; The film is nearing its climax; The orchestra swells, all in great, unimaginable anticipation

I can hardly control myself, Let alone contain myself! My spirit presses against my very skin, Eagerly awaiting the moment As though at any second, it may burst forth from my very flesh!

Everyone is fucking in broad daylight, they can barely contain themselves BUT their ecstasy does not even come close To the majesty that lies just around the corner! See how quickly it approaches! Feel the excitement, the anticipation, The entire world bursting at the seams, Barely able to contain it! Do not keep us waiting long, Lord! Our very souls long for you, pang for you, cry out for you! The anticipation is palpable, nearly unimaginable, for the truly unimaginable things that are about to come!

Gamblers, leave your dice at the table! Adulturers and lustful men, leave your appetite where it lies! Drunkards and addicts, turn and face the impending radiance! The Lord approaches swiftly! He is nearly here!

Feel the electricity in the air! Feel the butterflies in the pit of your stomach! Feel the anticipation!

Something great is coming quickly! He is nearly here!

[virgil-in-excelsis]

This wretch'd excuse for sin I have observed within my members, mind and heart and soul, as wander I about this Limbo dark;

judging those who claim they are too sick, incompetent to carry out the tasks appointed them by God, their Lord and Master,

the while applying freely to myself the same excuse which, having wisdom none, I penalize against my neighbors all.

Such folly shall be granted back to me; a hundredfold the judgment I now pass against all peoples, friend and foe alike.

O! Callous, wretched heart! Mine own defense I claim, remaining yet another part the punishment which justly I deserve;

O! Wrestle I with God? About my sins I cannot ign'rance claim, nor lack of will, nor knowledge, neither any other part

of mind of Christ, which, having once been giv'n, I tossed away, as Esau once denied the blessings that, by right, belong'd to him.

Gorging now on food and drink, I see my folly, clear as day; A hundred pounds of judgment weigh like anchors tied around the feet.

Who can walk, let alone swim, nor jump, nor fly, nor still ascend to their Creator, when judgment reigns against them, tying them to their sins?

They may repent, but as their neighbors judge them still, their penitence has no effect; the anchors round their ankles keep them rooted down.

Is it not right, then, for that same judgment passed by neighbor to be lifted from the sinner's back and placed up on the judging man's?

Who here on earth can bear the weight of righteous judgment, merciless, tied round their waist, and hands, and feet, and still remain upright?

The strength of man is nothing when, compared against God's measuring stick, it cannot even be perceived against the holy scale.

As evidence, I now submit the not-so-subtle changes here of candor, wit, and language used, from Holy down to prose.

The mind of man, without the Holy Ghost, can nothing write divinely, but instead can only grasp at basic form of thought;

so, too, the body, lacking strength of Christ can neither move nor e'en suppose to move when buried under crushing weight of sin.

Therefore, let I this punishment accept; the anchor weights of all my judgments past be tied around myself in manner like.

Let struggle I against this crushing weight; let cry out to my Savior I, in fear; and let the Lord have mercy on my soul.