Sacred vessel

“ As we stood on the strand,
"Unmoor my ship, thou helmsman good,
And steer me back to land;
"For my mother, I know, is sick at heart,
And longs my face to see.
What ails thee now, thou Nautilus?
Art slow to sail with me?
Up! do my will; the wind is fresh,
So set the vessel free." ”

“ To abide in Christ is to be in right position and that is all." Much work is done on board a ship in crossing the Atlantic, yet none of this is spent in making the ship go. The sailor harnesses his vessel to the wind, he lifts his sail, lays hold of his rudder and the miracle is wrought. ”

“ Others calmly breathed their last with their dying eyes fixed upon the cross of Christ, while the anchor of their faith sunk noiselessly into the deep sea of death, and their weary barques were safely moored in that tranquil harbour where neither waves beat nor tempest roared, and where, at last, the "storm-beat vessel safely rode." ”

“ Soon the water rushes out of the scupper-holes like a whale spouting, the vessel gives a last groan, spins round and round, and disappears, forming a vast whirlpool in the ocean, and then all is over, so that in five minutes nothing but the eye of God can see the vessel where she lies at the bottom of the sea. ”

“ The vessel moulded of clay, gains beauty from the water, receives strength from the fire; but if it slips it is ruined, it cannot be afresh renewed. Ye are vessels of grace; be ye ware of it, even of justice, for it grants not two renewals. ”

“ At every plunge of the vessel, as she sinks into the trough of the sea, you might read a volume fluently by that mild radiance; and beautiful indeed is the view from the fore stay-sail nettings, looking down upon the curling wreaths on either side of the cut-water, and the long lines of foam thrown off by the swell as the vessel gracefully breasts the coming wave, all glowing like molten silver intermingled with a thousand diamonds! ”

“ The second is kingship of Service, carrying high
Its casket of frankincense rare,
As ready in glad self-oblation to cast at Love's feet
The vessel fashioned so fair;
In gladness releasing, as incense that floats to the sky,
The odors of sacrifice sweet;
Lest self claim the fragrance that clings to one drop of the nard,
To shatter the vessel so fine to the uttermost shard. ”

“ But, for all that, longing eyes watch the rapid motion of the vessel as it lessens in the distance, and many a prayer is wafted to its white sails by the sighing night-wind. There are lonely hours to remind one that the broad and silent sea is rolling between us and those we love, and we know that it is sometimes treacherous in its tranquillity. ”

“ Another Ship that was close by us, was already dashed to pieces against the rocks. Never was a scene more Gloomy, and cutting than this; for we had seventy Women and Children passengers on board, which put Terror into every Heart: nothing was heard but cries and Prayers. We were in such great dangers that no one had strength to work, and we left the Ship to GOD's mercy, expecting every minute to share the same fate as the other Vessel had. The most affecting sight was to be seen, every soul prostrated upon the deck, calling and exalting their voices for GOD's merciful protection ”

“ By compromise the priests have succeeded marvellously in keeping their vessel intact. The fine contempt for the vessel manifested by the original artists of each new movement is almost as salutary as their sublime belief in the spirit. ”

“ The Lord says—"I will show you that I have had my eye upon you, from before the foundation of the world, to make you a chosen vessel to bear my name where I would not send a man who had never persecuted my Saints." ”

“ Often was seen the fearful sight of a ship lifted out of the sea into the air, swaying and balancing about, until the men were all thrown out or overwhelmed with stones from slings, when the empty vessel would either be dashed against the fortifications, or dropped into the sea by the claws being let go. ”

“ To spread the sails, is to lay ourselves before God in the prayer of simple exposition, to be moved by his Spirit; to hold the rudder, is to restrain our heart from wandering from the true course, recalling it gently, and guiding it steadily by the dictates of the Spirit of God, which gradually gains possession of the heart, just as the breeze by degrees fills the sails and impels the vessel. ”

“ Sea pictures dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, the departure of the vessel, women and children on the beach on their knees during a tempest, the vessel tossed by the waves, and the arms of the sailors extended to heaven; and on their return, the rescued sailors, bending their steps, with tapers in their hands, toward the chapel of Notre Dame; and underneath, touching legends, cries of the soul that implores, humbles itself, or renders thanks. Holy Virgin, save us! Holy Virgin, protect those who are now at sea! Man we see in his weakness, his aspirations, and his hopes—the true man ”

“ And we know that the apostle said of the vessels placed in the great house, "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work." ”

“ We are all anxious to go on shore, to see the ceremonies, and try to save the destined victim; or, if better may not be, to witness the thrilling spectacle of a human sacrifice, which, being partly a religious rite, is an affair of a higher order than one of our civilized executions. But our captain has heard of an English vessel ashore and in distress, a day's sail below, and is hastening to their assistance. While taking our departure, therefore, we can only turn our eyes towards the shore, where a large town is visible, clustered under the shelter of a cocoa-nut grove. ”

“ And here again he saith, ‘This is the will of God, that ye should abstain from fornication:’ that the body be not defiled, ‘that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.’ His vessel, his earthen vessel, as he calls it in another place—for ‘we have this treasure in earthen vessels.’ Thus, then, the body is called a vessel; yea, every man’s body is his vessel. ”

“ At some distance they saw a dark vessel unlike any they had ever seen, for there seemed to be place neither for oars nor sails. It looked rather like the hull of a wrecked ship than a vessel prepared for a long journey. ”

“ Fair gleams the snowy altar-cloth, The silver vessels sparkle clean, The shrill bell rings, the censer swings, And solemn chants resound between.
Sometimes on lonely mountain-meres I find a magic bark; I leap on board: no helmsman steers: I float till all is dark. A gentle sound, an awful light! Three angels bear the holy Grail: With folded feet, in stoles of white, On sleeping wings they sail. Ah, blessed vision! blood of God! My spirit beats her mortal bars, As down dark tides the glory slides, And star-like mingles with the stars. ”

“ The sailors before the engines or behind the guns remember with pleasure what they have just heard. Believers or not, they know that sincere words have been spoken and yield themselves to their influence.
Thus, in early ages, in the clearings or the fields, the apostles must have preached to rude peoples. They sowed the seed that ripened throughout the centuries; their temples were no more splendid than this steel vessel which spends every Sunday traversing the sea. ”

“ The people know it is their pastor. The intelligence has caught, and runs from house to house. Down drop the sails, rattling down the masts; the anchor plunges, and the cable runs, runs rattling and ringing from its coil. Round the vessel swings in line with the breeze, and comes to its repose. We congratulate the missionary on his safe return, while he points us feelingly to the little church and parsonage, just above us on the mossy hill-side, and bids us welcome as long as we shall find it agreeable to remain. ”

“ And this belief of the ancients that by means of these eyes the vessel could see her way was but one article in the general creed still shared by every sailor, amateur and professional alike, that a ship, of all the creations of man, is indeed a living thing. ”

“ And yet, passing that schooner at two miles, one knew, somehow, that no hand was on her wheel. Sometimes I can imagine a vessel, stricken like that, moving over the empty spaces of the sea, carrying it off quite well were it not for that indefinable suggestion of a stagger; and I can think of all those ocean gods, in whom no landsman will [Pg 208] ever believe, looking at one another and tapping their foreheads with just the shadow of a smile. ”

“ Let a man believe, while a ship is being wrecked in a storm, dashing against rocks and billows, and her deck overflowed with water, that there is a Providence in the case, and he will naturally labor with less zeal and effort to save the vessel. ”

“ O Ye, who in some pretty little boat, Eager to listen, have been following Behind my ship, that singing sails along,
Turn back to look again upon your shores; Do not put out to sea, lest peradventure, In losing me, you might yourselves be lost.
The sea I sail has never yet been passed; Minerva breathes, and pilots me Apollo, And Muses nine point out to me the Bears.
Ye other few who have the neck uplifted Betimes to th' bread of Angels upon which One liveth here and grows not sated by it,
Well may you launch upon the deep salt-sea Your vessel, keeping still my wake before you Upon the water that grows smooth again. ”

“ It is most probably called the nave from the Latin navis, signifying a ship, the same word from which we get our English "navy" and "naval." The ship was the favorite symbol of the Church in primitive times. We have the idea preserved for us in the first prayer in the Offices for Holy Baptism: "Received into the ark of Christ's Church ... may so pass the waves of this troublesome world" as {22} finally to "come to the land of everlasting life." ”

“ He should look out for and recommend competent chaplains,—consult with admirals and captains on the best mode of securing the regular performance of the sacred offices,—make inquiry into the state of the ship-libraries, keep them well supplied with religious books and tracts, and direct observation generally to the spiritual wants of ships and ports. He would thus be of infinite use in making religion an object of more and more thoughtfulness to those, who take an interest in the comfort and good conduct of the Navy: two things which always go together. ”

“ Idols are encountered at every step, not merely in the temples, but in the houses, and even in the vessels, where a part of the forecastle is consecrated to them, as the most honorable place. The idol is dressed and adorned with a splendor proportioned to the wealth of the captain of the vessel, and daily receives an offering, composed of flesh and fruits, together with the smoke of perfumes. Besides this regular service, the captain makes a solemn sacrifice to his wooden deity, on all important occasions ”

“ And it was orthodox, too, in its fidelity to the cardinal article of a seaman’s faith, of which it was a single-minded confession. “Ships are all right.” They are. They who live with the sea have got to hold by that creed first and last; and it came to me, as I glanced at him sideways, that some men were not altogether unworthy in honour and conscience to pronounce the funereal eulogium of a ship’s constancy in life and death. ”

“ Of all able and ready at any time to give strict account,
The divine ship sails the divine sea.
2
Whoever you are! motion and reflection are especially for you,
The divine ship sails the divine sea for you. ”

“ Instead of exhausting all the strength of the crew at the pumps in a desperate endeavor to save the ship from sinking, has the time not come, when, with canvas all spread, and the ship sea-worthy, rightly headed and well under way, the main question shall be, how to touch every harbor, explore every river, sail every inland sea, and leave the precious freighting of the Gospel at every port around the globe? ”

“ Fig. 401.—Triumphal Vessel, which was drawn upon a car in the solemn funeral ceremony celebrated at Brussels, upon the 29th of December, 1558, in honour of the Emperor Charles V., who died on the 21st of September, in the same year, at the Monastery of St. Just.—This vessel gives some idea of the shape as well as of the magnificence of the galleys constructed at that period. Three symbolic personages are conducting the vessel towards eternity: in the stern stands Charity (Charitas) , ever glowing with love; amidships is Faith (Fides) , with her eyes fixed upon the image of Christ ”

“ A vessel is held on her course by reason at the wheel, and wind in the sails. The wind impels her to go forward, but if the understanding at the compass did not hold the wind in subjection, there would be no safety for the vessel ”

“ During the service the ship was covered with a great wave, which poured in upon us, and on the deck there was a great cry that the wind had split the one sail which was spread. There was great fright among the people who have no God; the English clergyman was much aroused, ran to them, and preached repentance, saying among other things that they could now see the difference. ”

“ One spreads its white wings on a far-reaching track, With pennant and sheet flowing free; One hides in the shadow with sails laid aback,— The ship that is waiting for me! But lo! in the distance the clouds break away, The Gate's glowing portals I see; And I hear from the outgoing ship in the bay The song of the sailors in glee. So I think of the luminous footprints that bore The comfort o'er dark Galilee, And wait for the signal to go to the shore, To the ship that is waiting for me. ”

“ While the priest is accomplishing the holy rites, you hear in the hold the breathing of the engines, the snoring of the ventilators; above your head, on deck, patter the sailors of the watch; the big Adriatic rollers slap against the hull and the quivering of the rapidly moving cruiser makes the altar tremble.
IV—THE BOOTY OF THE HIGH SEAS
Above the horizon appear the masts, smokestacks, and hull of a ship. Whether her conscience be troubled or at rest, she knows she cannot escape our speed, and does not try to fly. ”