Soldeus | Works of Mercy

Najwalaylah

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May 28, 2020
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This is part of the ancient canon of the Church of Soldeus in Nave.
Authors were Malachi & Najwalaylah.

It's oriented toward Practical Roleplay. In action, it takes the form of various things you can actually do in Mortal Online games. It's designed to be congruent with and ret-conned along with game systems.

The Seven Corporeal Works of Mercy

Seven Good Works
are aimed at relieving the bodily distress of our Heavenly Father’s children.
  • These deeds are love made visible.
  • These are the foundation upon which the many and varied temporal duties of holy friars and other clergy are based.
  • These merciful acts are not just the province of His Churchmen, but of all the faithful children of Soldeus.

Those who have done these merciful deeds shall be reunited with the Radiant Lord and those who have failed to work them may well fall forever alongside Umbra:


1. To feed the hungry & give drink to the thirsty;

Are there limits to the fulfillment of this?​
Yes; we may feed the truly needy​

from our own supply,​
to the limit of our ability to provide good care for those in our charge and so as to fulfill our duty to those to whom we are strictly beholden. No man need starve his children to feed a stranger, nor give from the store of his master that portion which falls under his hand, unless his master approves.​
-It is always best to remember that nothing of food or drink is so truly blessed as when it is shared.​

2. To clothe the naked & to offer sanctuary to the innocent endangered;

Are there limits to the fulfillment of these deeds?​

The Radiant Lord in His own Mercy requires no man or woman to offend his or her own modesty (according to common usage) to clothe another. (You can keep your own pants & the shirt off your back is optional.)​

Sanctuary is a sacred trust, between giver and receiver.​
Holy places may offer sanctuary as part of that trust, and none should seek to violate it. It is an offense against the place and the faithful.​
The temples of the Church are clearly sacred to Soldeus. But the first altar raised by all the kinds of men was the hearth of the home; the place where they baked their bread & sheletered their children. In its way, such a home is also sacred; either nobly by virtue of the Sacraments of Marriage and Baptism or simply by the presence of the innocent. Even the heathen and the stranger often respect it as such.​
[here are those who may perpetrate certain ingrained evils, and one does not rightly admit them at all to homes, nor even to temples excpet as a means of confinement.​
After common & ancient usage, a man once granted sanctuary may be beholden to behave according to certain rules of temple or household, or be cast out therefrom.​

3. To heal the sick & the wounded;
(There would be a limit to thiis if there were contagious illness in Nave, but there isn't.)​

4. To guide the lost & guard the guest;

Are there limits to the fulfillment of these deeds?​
It is truly said, that the blind cannot lead the blind, lest both fall into the pit.​
(It was left unspecified whether there are any circumstances in which you ever turn over a guest to anyone else, including Lictors. As they sometimes say in the real world, "Well, if you've got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in.")​

5. To still the tongue & stay the hand of rage;
"Rash and hasty speech and vengeance are both to be stayed when they would be delivered without thought; righteous anger and true justice after calm deliberation and by due process are not."​
(Just good advice not to get real mad, and not to rage or flame. To talk someone out of rage really is a mercy.)​

6. To pardon & protect the innocent;
"In this deed, we emulate the behaviour of Soldeus Himself when he sheltered and cleansed the body of Nave from the defilements of Umbra."​

7. To decently & in good order dispose of the dead.

(That means no cannibalism of any of the Kinds of Man, and no making hairy breeches or other leather goods, emalj weapons, bone tissue armour, or trophies out of them, either. Nothing spedific was said about turning in their ears, etc., for bounties; consult your conscience, of course.)

Want to kick it up a notch? Here's the list of

The Seven Spiritual Works Of Mercy

St. Jude taught us that the salvation of man is the most important work of the Church, Her crown and glory; these deeds bring the doer no less than the one for whom they are done into the illumination of the Radiant Lord, and it is from these works that priests base their holy duties and obligations:
(Note: You don't have to do these unless you're a clergy-man.)

They are:

1. To instruct the unlearned, and to counsel the uncertain;


2. To admonish sinners, and uphold the righteous;


3. To bear wrongs patiently, and to forgive willingly;


4. To comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable;


5.. To bless the good and to curse the wicked, in the Name of Our Radiant Lord;


6. To administer, celebrate and solemnize the sacraments of Our Radiant Lord;


7 To pray for the living and the dead.


Glossary:

1. Instruction in any of the arts & sciences of the world may be to the glory of Soldeus and His Creation, but instruction in His Word & Precepts for the guidance of men's consciences is the very fulfilment of this work.

2. In the Spirit of Divine Justice
From those who are benighted in ignorance or blindness of inequity, Our Lord demands that we remove the hoodwink.

From those to whom much is granted, much is demanded, by the Grace of Our Radiant Lord; therefore, speak truth to worldly power and lend eloquence to the simple man in the face of it, and let not fear or embarrassment hinder you.

3. We may forgive anyone who has sincere and complete remorse for his sins, acting with recognition of his shortcoming, detestation of his transgression, and demonstrable desire to turn from evil and toward good, and to make what restitution can be made. When we do so, we ourselves must not despise what Our Radiant Lord rejoices in.

4. That all, both rich and poor, high and low, can be reminded that a Just and Generous God exists.

5. The Blessing, or the Cursing, done in His Name shall accomplish nothing which does not please the Lord God. In ourselves alone, we have no power but to share His Will.

6. These (Sacraments) are the signs of the presence of the Lord of Light in the lives of all kinds of folk:

- Reconciliation, by which the darkness is purged and the conscious will made whole;​

(Confession, which is always a lot of fun or at least full of surprises, public or private. Oh, and penances, if desired.)
- Communion, the Holy Meal of Sacrifice, by which the soul is fed;​

(Bread & Wine are good for this. We had a virgin make some bread out of all the different kinds of grains together, and salt, with Elaiva Oil-- but that was centuries ago.)
- Unction, or Anointing of the Sick, which heals physical, mental, and spiritual illness;​

(This could pretty easily be a Heal or a Purify, or a Potion for either of those, or just the Priest giving you some Oil to rub on the sore place if he's not a Mage. A bandage is not out of the question. One or both of you is bound to feel a little better by the time you're done.)
- Baptism, which celebrates and enacts His embrace of the Inner Spark through the flesh of His Creation;​

(Dunk them in Water, or brand them with Fire. Casilda had a Fire Baptism, herself, but always used Water (dunking) to Baptise other folks, under the rubric of 'do no harm'. Having had this done, a character is a member of the Church on a noobie level.)
- Confirmation, which deepens the commitments and gifts of Baptism;​

(If the character shows that he understands and particiaptes in the Church RP, Confirmation is a great excuse for a party. Everyone who wants to become a Priest should do both some kind of Baptism and Confirmation, first.)
- Marriage, an Ordination by which two become one, and the servants of Soldeus for the purpose of sustaining a family, in His Grace and in emulation of His Union with Nave;​

(In the Church of Soldeus, this can be officiated by a Priest -or- not. It's actually the Spouses who give each other this Sacrament, and in the absence of a Priest, they can do so by sincere mutual consent to a vow of fidelity, and then making the fact of their marriage known to the community.)
- Holy Ordination, by which one becomes a servant attuned to Soldeus's purpose of Reunification with All His Sparks.​

(This takes a few similar forms; usually lots of praying, maybe a vigil, some laying on of hands, dancing and taking Communion recommended.)

7. Prayer is the breath of His Flame that burns within us all.

(There's probably an emote or several that would fit this activity, but my choice would be 'Praise The Sun!' Unfortunately, I think the /iconsidermysins slash command was lost along with Murder Counts, but it didn't have an animation anyhow.)

----
So, there you go That's the Core of the religion of Soldeus since ancient times.
People who worship Umbra & Seth hate us 'cause they ain't us.