Feast of Our Lady of All Time

Our Lady, Great Mother & Queen, who has withstood through all time and who will be in the end. Guide me closer to God through your selfless acts of humanity. Heal me as I pray to you in all your names as one. Nourish my Spirit to allow me to see and feel your everlasting epiphany. Forgive me though I had forsaken you. Wash away my past in your cleansing tears of love. Blessed shall always be your names. Amen.

Throughout history there is one thing in religious connections that hasn't changed, the worship of a mother. The first known reference was to Venus of Hohle Fels around 40,000 BCE. From Germany it went to what is now part of the Czech Republic as Venus of Dolní Vestonice in 29,000 BCE. We find her again around 25,000 BCE as the Venus of Willendorf in Lower Austria. Moving forward, we find another transformation and this time she becomes known as Mother Goddess and worshipped throughout the world in different cultures. Some of her names were Gaia, Isis, Ninhursag, Tiamat, 'Ashtart, Durga, Sophia, Great Goddess, and several others. The names continued forward as new female deities were born. It wasn't until one was born around possible 17 BCE that would change the world practice behind female deity worship, and that was Mary.

The Virgin Mary who gave birth to a new world religion and is viewed more over as a modern day Spiritual Mother. She has many names throughout the world from Mary, Queen of Heaven, Lady of Lourdes, Lady of Guadalupe, Theotokos, Madonna, Mother of God, Our Lady, Notre-Dame, Star of the Sea, Nur, and many others. Her image varies depending on where you are and how she is worshipped. The main spiritual purpose is still the same though, Mother of God, bringer of life, and bearer of wisdom.

We have chosen March as our Feast of Our Lady of All Time because it is Spring and represents a time of renewal. All of life that has been in hibernation is beginning to awaken and creating new life, just as we see Our Lady through history. In regards to Mary, Mother of God, March is the time of her Annunciation when she was informed that she will give birth. In some countries today it is called "Lady Day" and marks the New Year for them.

Let us together say the Prayer of Our Lady Through All Time. Allow it's powerful message to live in your heart this month as we celebrate the feast that truly shows our religious unity for over 42,000 years. It is through her that we are guided closer to God. It is through her that we are forgiven and healed with her wisdom. It is through her that our past is truly our past making way for a better tomorrow.

Yours in Faith,
Abp. Isaac L. Kramer

Where Faith Goes to Die

As a minister is it always our biggest fear to be prepared for service and on time to find a room full of empty seats. We dream of it happening to each of us. Why? Because this is a sign that faith has died. Faith in ourselves as a leader; Faith in our beliefs of our religion; Faith in all we stand for. The problem is we had faith and belief. We can not force faith on others though.

Faith is defined as a Belief, Trust, or Confidence, not based on Logic, Reason, or Empirical studies, but based fundamentally on Volition often associated with a Transpersonal relationship with God, a Higher power, a Person, elements of Nature, and/or a perception of the Human race as a whole. Faith can be placed in a person, inanimate object, State of affairs, Proposition or body of propositions such as a religious Creed.

When you look at this definition it appears to be a broad one. But when you simplify it Faith just means believing when all else fails.

As a minister I have faith that my congregation will grow and that I will not let any of them down. This is a huge step for anyone and those who are in my shoes understand what I mean. To be a minister is a full time job without pay mostly nor benefits as most would understand it. The benefits we really see are the change in someone’s life as they found acceptance. The smiles on a sick persons face as you are visiting them. The benefit of helping someone by being there whenever you are needed, including all hours of the night.

We as ministers can have all the faith we want, but the harsh cold reality is, usually not all of our congregation will. Someone will lose faith in us and stop believing at some point in every minister’s career, even the best of us. As a minister this hurts and we look and turn to see what we did wrong. How did we lose that one person? How could we have done it all different? Where did the faith end?

These are questions that sometimes we have to place into the hands of God and allow Him to guide us. We are not Him, and therefore we do not know all of the answers. Was it a test of our faith? Possible. Will it happen again? There’s a good chance.

Faith has died in most of the people today. They have been burned or scorned in some way by religion. As humans we sometimes have a difficulty in differentiating religion and church. We believe that if the church was bad than the religion is bad so now we have no faith. Why you may ask? That’s because we feel that the next church will do the same. God is punishing us for some reason therefore, if I don’t believe in the church the punishment will cease.

This illogical thinking is driving the world today. Faith is diminishing in front of our eyes and the religious leaders are trapped in the middle. Every day a minister looses their way and falls helpless to the same beliefs mentioned. We fall because faith has died in us. We fall because we believed that our seats will be filled one day with members who respect and love us the way we dreamed of loving them. All of us ministers have faith that we will do well and serve well. We can but our congregation must trust us as we trust them. We vow to have open hearts and not judge, but we are human just the same.

So where does faith go to die? It goes to the internet. It goes to the families who have been wrongly hurt by a church. It goes deep inside to wither into nothing but cold, darkness.

I speak with different people almost daily that tell me why they will never return to a church again. My first question to them is a natural one, where did you use to go? They usually tell me very quickly the name of the church and are more than willing to tell me their story as to why they hate all churches now. My next question to them is usually a little bit more of shocking one to them. Did you try another church afterwards? At that point I usually get a look of shock mixed with “are you kidding me?” To which most usually reply, “No, and I never will”

We as humans are quick to lose our faith for this reason. Just by telling you this story you would question your own beliefs and faith in me and God and church. God is not bad; do not lose faith in Him. People can be bad, it’s in our nature. Church is not bad, but sometimes those who lead are. I just ask that if you are going to lose faith in something, please don’t make it the church or God. Make it the people who lead that church and try again.

We have a desire to worship in groups. We long for companionship. We live for social events and gatherings. Why would you deprive yourself of something as valuable as this? When you take these desires away you find that you lack wholeness and Spirit. When you lack in faith you lack in you.

Remember to keep faith in your hearts no matter how difficult a situation may become. Faith is not a bad thing.

Yours in Faith,
Abp Isaac L. Kramer

Feast of Radiant Light

I must admit that procrastination has kept me from actually completing this months discussion on time. I knew 3 days before the beginning of February what I intended to write but as the time drew near I couldn't find the words. The joys of the month overwhelmed me, as they should. We focus all of our time on November through January that many of us miss the true magic of February. Not because of Valentine's Day, but because of what the month is to truly symbolize. The first day of the month is known to the Pagan Community as Imbolc while the second is known as Candlemas to the Christians. It is amazing how both have different names and on two different days side by side but have the same meaning, Renewal of Light.

You see, with Imbolc it is about the rebirth of the Sun (Son). The Earth is starting to come back to life from the cold darkness that winter has brought. Life as we know it begins to be refilled with hope that longer and warmer days are just around the corner. Imbolc is about getting things ready for the year to come. Not just physically but Spiritually as well. We recognize that we aren't alone anymore and trapped in our homes surrounded by snow. The hibernation has come to an end and we must think of our fellow brothers and sisters. Candlemas is much of the same. It is the "Feast of our Lord" as a reminder that the Light has come and darkness is fading away.

There are two songs that immediate come to mind whenever I think of both holidays. The first one is because of a simple line from the song, "Hallelujah light has come". The other which I find more fitting for this time of year, our Festival of Radiant Light, is the song "Light a Candle" by Avalon. The chorus of the song rings true about every aspect this great feast for us.

Light a Candle
Light the dark
Light the World
Light a heart or two
Light a candle for me,
I'll light a candle for you.

We should spend this time turning towards the needs of one another. February through history has a name associated with it's full moon, storm moon. This month was known as a time of hardships for everyone. People struggle with not only catching up on their debts from the Christmas cheer but their depression as well. As one winter storm after another pounds away leaving people to believe that spring isn't going to happen, we look for hope. We long for something from one another in the communities to help us survive.

I believe that all of us should allow the cupids to aim for our hearts and fire away their arrows of love. Once struck, it will allow us to see the love for our fellow humanity and light a candle in their name for their hardships. This in time will only come back around to us. We should remember that we aren't alone in our struggles and that the renewal of light has already happened and Spring is just around the corner for us all. What we need to do is be the crutch for our friends and family now and then in the Spring watch everything blossom together for a life time of not only renewed but, in some cases, new found love and friends. So I ask you to light a candle for me and I'll light a candle for you.

Yours in Ever-loving Faith,
Most Rev. Dr. Isaac L. Kramer, Ph.D. Meta.
Presiding Archbishop