New Thing- Start reading Holy Dying
Inspiration: The Feast of Jeremy Taylor
Time: About 30 mins.
Bottom Line: "Thus nature calls us to meditate of death by those things which are the instruments of acting it; and God, by all the variety of his providence, makes us see death everywhere, in all variety of circumstances, and dressed up for all the fancies, and the expectation of every single person."- Holy Dying
Reflection: Today was the Feast of Jeremy Taylor who wrote the Anglican classic Holy Living and Holy Dying. Here is his wiki bio:
Jeremy Taylor (15 August 1613 – 13 August 1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.
He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic
style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing. Holy Living and Holy Dying is the collective title of two books of Christian devotion by Jeremy Taylor. Holy Living is designed to instruct the reader in living a virtuous life, increasing personal piety, and avoiding temptations. Holy Dying
is meant to instruct the reader in the "means and instruments" of
preparing for a blessed death. Each book contains discussions of theology, moral instruction, often prefaced as "The Consideration reduc'd to practise," and model prayers requesting divine assistance in achieving them.
I read several sections of both volumes in seminary, and always planned on reading more of Holy Dying since I think that there is really a lack of attention to the spirituality of livening such a life that leads to a peaceful death sure in the resurrection. I only read a little bit, but found it to be joyful in its belief that while we are surrounded by death, that reality only helps us to see the holiness of each moment.
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