Ichabod

In sorrow I watch a once-great church slide further and further into apostacy. What was once a glorious expression of Catholic Christianity is no more than a faded imitation of what it was. When Israel was in a similar state, the son of one prophet was named 'Ichabod', meaning ' the glory has departed'.

Ichabod

There be some that dwell in houses,
built in mighty beauty in the sight of men,
built at first in love of God the Father,
built to honor Him who died and rose
and brought salvation
to condemned and lost and hopeless sinning creatures,
creatures who together drink one Holy Spirit,
and one holy pilgrim walk begin to follow,
in the light, toward the light, and unto endless day,
in the Truth, in the Life, and in the everlasting Way.

There be some that dwell in houses such as these,
and decorate with works of holy art before the eyes
and sounds of music solemn to the ears,
filled with a glory beholders must admire,
and yet . . .
within these walls, behind this carven work,
under every seat of singers,
and in the words and hearts of them that preach,
there be worms,
and mold,
and rot,
and though the smoke of incense may be sweet,
the odors reaching to the throne of God,
reek with offal’s awful smell,
and angel faces are distorted in the sensing
of the falseness of the worship that is brought
before the throne.

And God
withdraws His blessing from those houses,
and the beauty of His face departs,
and though the merely human beauty goes on,
emptiness is all that now remaineth,
and where once the power of His mercy reigned,
there is judgment,
and in emptiness the church goes on,

And there be some in humble houses
that hear
and know
and humbly bow
to His will
and His blessing
and go on

(c) 2006 ed pacht