Hero worship

“ We have repeatedly endeavored to explain that all sorts of Heroes are intrinsically of the same material; that given a great soul, open to the Divine Significance of Life, then there is given a man fit to speak of this, to sing of this, to fight and work for this, in a great, victorious, enduring manner; there is given a Hero,—the outward shape of whom will depend on the time and the environment he finds himself in. The Priest too, as I understand it, is a kind of Prophet; in him too there is required to be a light of inspiration, as we must name it. He presides over the worship of the people ”

“ That passionate need of worship—hero-worship it has been called—is a primal, universal instinct of the heart. Christ is the answer to it. Men will not do; we try to find men to reverence thoroughly, and we cannot do it. ”

“ Parents and teachers should urge upon the young the importance of hero worship, of choosing the highest human ideals. Our lives are molded chiefly after the pattern of the ideals of our youth, and there is no danger of too much hero worship, if only the heroes are worthy. ”

“ But there is something philosophic in the worship of the heroes of the human race, and the true hero is the benefactor. Brahma, Jupiter, Bacchus, were all benefactors, and, therefore, entitled to the worship of their respective peoples. ”

“ Heroes, it would seem, exist always, and a certain worship of them! ”

“ There needs not a great soul to make a hero; there needs a god-created soul which will be true to its origin; that will be a great soul! ”

“ So much of truth, only under an ancient obsolete vesture, but the spirit of it still true, do I find in the Paganism of old nations. Nature is still divine, the revelation of the workings of God; the Hero is still worshipable: this, under poor cramped incipient forms, is what all Pagan religions have struggled, as they could, to set forth. ”

“ Men worship the shows of great men; the most disbelieve that there is any reality of great men to worship. ”

“ 'Wonder,' says he, 'is the basis of Worship: the reign of wonder is perennial, indestructible in Man; ”

“ Was it Christianism; faith in an Invisible, not as real only, but as the only reality; Time, through every meanest moment of it, resting on Eternity; Pagan empire of Force displaced by a nobler supremacy, that of Holiness? Was it Scepticism, uncertainty and inquiry whether there was an Unseen World, any Mystery of Life except a mad one;—doubt as to all this, or perhaps unbelief and flat denial? ”

“ It is by virtue of this sacrifice that the divinely-emancipated soul comes to dwell among men, clothed with a body of flesh, content to dwell among the lowliest and least, and to be esteemed the servant of all mankind. That sublime humility which is manifested by the world's saviors is the seal of Godhead, and he who has annihilated the personality, and has become a living, visible manifestation of the impersonal, eternal, boundless Spirit of Love, is alone singled out as worthy to receive the unstinted worship of posterity. ”

“ And then pass to the next stage, and come to the worship of the human, to the admiration of the highest and finest qualities that are manifested in the lives of men and women. Who is there that is not touched and thrilled by some story of heroic action, of heroic self- sacrifice, of consecration to duty in the face of danger and death? And no matter what this manifestation of human goodness may be, if you can be thrilled by it and lifted by it, then you have taken another step up this ladder of worship which leads you into the very presence chamber of the Divine. ”

“ The spirit of heroic self-sacrifice, and of unflinching resolve that has prompted you to undertake so noble and sacred a mission, and make such a warm and immediate response to his recent teaching call addressed to the American believers cannot but fill all hearts with admiration and praise, and evoke the memory of those acts of unrivalled heroism, of selfless and unstinted devotion that have characterized the lives of the immortal heroes of the Apostolic age of our beloved Faith. ”

“ Victory, in this struggle with the powers of darkness, is the true baptism into the glorious company of heroes, the true initiation into the overmastering beauty of human existence. From that awful encounter of the soul with the outer world, enunciation, wisdom, and charity are born ”

“ Let us leave off pride and envy, covetousness and drunkenness, swearing and whoredom, and let our daily practice be in the divine worship of God with pure devotion and unfeigned piety, let us relieve the poor without grudging, for charity is the brightest glory both in heaven and earth. ”

“ To strive against this demon of the air—for we seem to breathe his spirit in the very atmosphere—is the constant endeavor of my being. To knit art to God as it was joined to him in the olden days, to put honor before wealth, and conscience before success, to raise principle triumphant over interest, is my daily, necessary, but most wearisome task. Many voices erstwhile charmed our nation—that of the warrior, the bard, the monk; the voice of glory, the voice of learning, the voice of holy love. Now one cry alone harshly calls our children together—the cry of gain. ”

“ Then, too, there is the glory of the saints and angels of God. How can frail man refuse to bow before the vision of their power and splendour, as they stand, the royal children of the King of kings, around the heavenly throne, deathless, radiant with love and joy and purity, exalted far above all human weakness and human sorrows? If the holy angels are "ministering spirits," why not the entire community of the Blessed? And what is to hinder us from casting ourselves at the feet of saint or angel, one's own appointed guardian, or chosen helper? ”

“ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, to be feared above all the gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols of devils; but God made the heavens. Glory and praise are before His face, strength and glorying are in the habitation of His holiness. Give glory to the Lord, the Father everlasting. Receive grace, and enter His presence, and worship in His holy courts. Let all the earth fear before His face; let it be established, and not shaken. Let them rejoice among the nations. The Lord hath reigned from the tree." [82] ”

“ Hero-sword on corslet ringing,
When Truth's banner is unfurled;
Youthful preachers, genius-gifted,
Pouring forth their souls uplifted,
Till their preaching stirs the world;
II.
Each must work as God has given
Hero hand or poet soul;
Work is duty while we live in
This weird world of sin and dole.
Gentle spirits, lowly kneeling,
Lift their white hands up appealing
To the Throne of Heaven's King—
Stronger natures, culminating,
In great actions incarnating
What another can but sing.
III.
Pure and meek-eyed as an angel,
We must strive—must agonise ”

“ This is the quality that makes heroes, and this is the quality that makes saints. We are able to pray, but we are hardly able to worship or to praise, to say, “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” so long as in the innermost chamber of our hearts we are self-occupied. ”

“ But we address no invocation to them; we ascribe no glory to them as an act of religious worship. By offering thanks and praise to God He declares that we honour HIM; by offering thanks and praise, and by ascribing glory and honour to angel, saint, or virgin, we make them gods. ”

“ Here amidst the struggles and temptations, the joys and disappointments, the successes and mistakes of his busy life, one hero rose surely to a place above all others, a place that was never usurped—"the man, Christ Jesus," worshipped in the years that were left, not only as the Redeemer of the world, but as his ideal hero. ”

“ How fortunate are we that Heaven has destined us to be governed by a hero who possesses a heart disposed to be deeply and warmly impressed with the majesty of our holy religion, and who aspires only to make it shine forth with new and never-fading splendour! ”

“ So felt the hero who said, in the great faith, “we have our conversation in heaven”—“we sit in heavenly places;” and so felt and thought the reformer who deliberately threw his ink-stand at the devils’ head. The region of the ideal is the fields of the highest heroism, and every life given to the world in noble service and generous sacrifice is living in the spirit sphere in familiar sympathy with the good, and constant strife with evil angels. This faith is the main impulse in all chivalric action; even a heroic poem cannot be created without it. ”

“ But everything surrenders to the grace of God, and to the earnest zeal of His ministers, who consider only the honor of His Divine Majesty—from whom those pious workers received so great strength, that great wonder is caused by the consideration that people so given to witchcraft, cruelty, and injustice should have received the worship of the true God with so great affection and devotion. ”

“ If to this we add the desire which was constantly shewn by the earlier priesthood to persuade the people of their miraculous powers—of the direct interference of Heaven in their behalf—and of the violent conflicts which they were occasionally enduring with the enemy of the human race, there will be no difficulty in marking out the steps by which the ordinary man has become an extraordinary hero. ”

“ These they considered as the emanations of virtue, grounded on a sense of duty, an a veneration for the Supreme Governor of the universe, to whom the dictates of nature teach all mankind to pay homage, and whom they had been taught to worship according to revelation and the divine precepts of the Gospel. ”

“ But vainly thus, in hymns of praise,
⁠We bear a joyful part,
If, while our voice aloud we raise,
⁠We lift not up the heart.
We by a holy life alone,
⁠Our Saviour's laws fulfil;
By those his glory best is shewn,
⁠Who best performs his will. ”

“ He gives new love to the Lord; and the young man finds, together with his increased spirit of honesty, a new feeling of piety within him, a disposition to prayer and trust, a pleasure in services of worship and devotion. Thus is genuine piety the companion of true charity; and both are the result of self-conquest, in the effort to keep the Divine commandments. ”

“ A band of several hundred persons had rejected idolatry, adopted the worship of one great God, and surrendered themselves implicitly to the guidance of what they believed a revelation from Him;—praying to the Almighty with frequency and fervour, looking for pardon through His mercy, and striving to follow after good works, almsgiving, chastity and justice. ”

“ God meant to set a mark of honour on the love that was displayed. I think He would guard the Church against undue estimation of preaching, apostles, miracle-working, deeds of show, gifts; and teach us that beyond all is love. So He singles out not an apostle, not a martyr, but this gentle, kind, womanly life, and crowns it with grandeur and glory, makes it conqueror of death, encircles it with a halo of most wonderful, Divine, loving care. ”

“ It is only our removal—our birth day into the world of glory.—We are joined "to the spirits of the just made perfect"—enjoy the society and that of the angels of God—behold the face of our heavenly Father, and of the divine Redeemer. We rejoice to see you "followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises"—are ready to help you in your work, and to shout God's praises, and unite in songs of triumph, should you come off conquerors, and rise from your humble state of sorrows, sufferings and temptations, to be our companions in glory. ”

“ Such great care did idolaters take for the keeping up of the worship of gods made with hands, while the worship of the true and living God is neglected, and few nations or cities glory in patronizing and protecting that. ”

“ To a Good Hero come our prayers, which soon shall have accomplishment. 10. Inspire him with your holy hymns, the Hero bright and glorious, Him who with might demolisheth even the brood of Susna, and winneth for us the heavenly streams. 11. Inspire him worshipped with fair rites, the glorious Hero truly brave. ”

“ Now if we find reverence, loyalty and all kinds of sacrifices devoted either to a human being or to an image, we are inclined to think of worship. And worship it is. If a Western man should hear me tell you this, he would want the statement qualified, unless he happened to be a philosopher. ”

“ Hope has now dawned; never-dying Hope, if in company still with heavy sorrow. The obscure sojourn of demons and reprobate is underfoot; a soft breathing of penitence mounts higher and higher, to the Throne of Mercy itself. ”

“ Father in heaven, have mercy on us, the work of Thy hands!
Heart of Jesus, have pity on us, for whom Thou hast shed Thy most precious blood!
Holy Spirit, have compassion on us, and sanctify us.
AT THE "GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO"
Glory be to God on High, and on Earth Peace to Men of Good Will
Men of good will are those who give glory to God by loving Him and doing His holy will, by observing His commandments, by faithfully fulfilling the duties of their state of life; thereby they secure for themselves at the same time peace of soul and true happiness. ”

“ The legends of the Fourteen Holy Helpers are replete with the most glorious examples of heroic firmness and invincible courage in the profession of the Faith, which ought to incite us to imitate their fidelity in the performance of the Christian and social duties. If they, with the aid of God's grace, achieved such victories, why should not we, by the same aid, be able to accomplish the little desired of us ? God rewarded His victorious champions with eternal bliss; the same crown is prepared for us, if we but render ourselves worthy of it. ”