My father from the Old Country used to say,
the first things said by the new groom to his bride
would set the tone for their entire marriage.
Therefor, it was advised that the groom
who had never been a groom before,
praise
his bride with sincerity for works well done,
for beauty that is inextinguishable,
for her kindness of touch,
for her foresight and hindsight,
for her bringing nurturance and guidance,
for her humor and loving ways.
The new Pope, who calls himself Francis,
politically elected
from a tiny pool of less than 120 men
in a world of over Three Billion men…
began as new groom of the bride of Christ,
that is, one of the oldest names
for the Church: Bride.
Pope began the marriage
by saying to the red suited cardinals,
“He who does not pray to the Lord
prays to the devil…”
…thereby alienating more than 5/6ths
of the entire world– of persons
who know Creator in their own ways,
by their own names,
via their own rituals,
or who live their lives
in good ways…
without the word ‘Lord,”
and without the catholic
concept of “Lord,”
and none of these souls
are less, but rather are
equal in love
and devotion
to one or more ideals
that glow toward them–
and in this,
all are equal
to all others.
My brothers, my sisters, you who are our Brides,
You who are Muslims, Jains, Native American Church,
Our kin who are Jewish, who are Sikhs, and Buddhists,
Our soul kith who are earth religious, and Hindus,
who follow Kabbalah and Sufi traditions,
and those of the ancient tribes and times,
our Mormon familiares, our aetheist good friends,
our agnostic friends, all who walk with the saints
in curanderismo and voudon,
to all beliefs of the innocents,
and to the forests and
flowers and trees and creatures also,
any and all who in a corner of good heart
who praise Creator in their own ways, as well
as those who say they know not and think not…
for many of us, our message to you begowned
in your own rainment like the heliotropic lilies
of the fields, is this…
whomsoever you pray to will hear,
whomsoever you petition will reply,
whomsoever you love or are loyal to
whomsoever you care for in observant ways,
will be made more beautiful because of your love,
their ways will be made more easy
because of your shelter.
Whether you are an old believer or not,
the same warmth of sun
and mirror of moon
chooses you to pour light
and love and tides over and around,
sailing you more near to truths
and care, no matter what names, monikers,
no matter the chants, drums, dances, smoke,
no matter the bells’ rhythms or the spoken
languages, no matter what new or ancient
ways you cleave to–
please be assured
there are many in our time
and time beyond time,
who hold you dear,
as completely human and
completely, in your own ways,
completely holy.
[Re pope’s effort to demonize all other non-Christian based religions, he clearly puts forth an old old racist idea that if one does not pray to [his] “Lord,” that all others thereby pray to the devil– this idea based on and fueled the most egregious invasions, occupations of former sovereignties, and enslavements of human beings throughout Eu, UK, Aus, Island nations and all the Americas re the Inquisitions [plural] and Conquests [land and gold grabbing, and human trafficking under guise of doing so in the name of God and the faux claim that God granted sovreignty over all men by just a few greedy, powermad men]– One phrase that comes to mind from the old believers: In the wedding chamber, if the groom is not sure as a lover, it is better to begin in sweet silence and receptivity, than in condemnation of the bride for the groom’s lack of finesse.]