Posted on 12/28/2018 8:21:41 AM PST by Salvation
In the Office of Readings for December 26th (Feast of St. Stephen, Martyr) there is a meditation by Saint Fulgentius of Respe describing love and forgiveness as the way by which the heavens were opened for St. Stephen. Saint Fulgentius commends the forgiving love of St. Stephen for his enemies and calls love a stairway to heaven:
My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together…. He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey’s end (St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop, Sermo 3, 1-3, 5-6: CCL 91A, 905-909).
This is solid biblical advice, for God is love, and Heaven is union with God. Hence, we must walk in love and become God’s love to enjoy the perfect communion with God that is Heaven.
The 1971 Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven” is among the most popular rock songs of all time. When asked about the lyrics, the author, Robert Plant, said that he thought that their popularity stemmed from the fact that they are an “abstraction.” He added, “Depending on what day it is, I still interpret the song a different way — and I wrote the lyrics” [*].
Some of us back then wanted the almost mystical opening section of the song to have religious meaning. After all, it spoke of a stairway to heaven and of the “May queen.” If there really were a stairway to Heaven but a highway to hell, it would explain life well. However, there are many problems with the song’s lyrics. Its notion of that stairway to Heaven is ambiguous at best and antithetical to religious and biblical teaching at worst.
The lyrics of “Stairway to Heaven” are shown below in bold italics, while my commentary (much of it lighthearted) is presented in plain red text.
There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
One can’t buy a stairway to Heaven with mere gold, and even if it were theoretically possible, we would never be able to accumulate enough. So maybe the lady should be less sure in her gold and more trusting in and dependent on God. Maybe she should concentrate on loving the light that makes her gold glitter rather than the glittering gold itself. There’s an old gospel song that says, “I’d rather have Jesus than silver and gold.”
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
No, actually, she can’t. Only Jesus opens the door, and He will be our judge. No one forces the heavenly gates open. Of Jesus, Scripture says, What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open (Rev 3:7). The woman’s gold is no good in Heaven; all that matters is knowing the gatekeeper, Jesus.
Oh oh oh oh and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
No, she isn’t. She can’t afford it.
There’s a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
’Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving.
To some degree we love ambiguity because it allows us to avoid making decisions and being obedient to what is taught. However, sometimes words are very clear in their meaning and we must decide either to accept and live by them or to reject them and suffer any consequences. This is especially the case with God’s revealed word. As for our thoughts, we love to rationalize and make excuses, but deep down we hear the voice of God echoing; we know what we are doing and whether it is right or wrong.
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
Well, don’t wonder forever. Sooner, rather than later, we have to make some decisions. Do you want what God is offering or not? Do you want to be holy or not?
There’s a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
Don’t look to the west; Look to the east where you will see Christ come again in glory. The west is the land of sunset and darkness. The east is the land of sunrise and light, Jesus, the Light of World. Above all, make sure that when your spirit is leaving it leaves to the east, to the light! Do not yearn for the darkness.
And it’s whispered that soon,
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
Yikes! Don’t ever think that if we call the tune we will be led to utopia. No, no, no! Let God call the dance; let Him set the tune and the path. Utopianism led to the horrifying killing fields of the 20th century. The forests are certainly not echoing with laughter; if anything, they are being consumed by the lustful blazes of a world insistent upon marching to its own tune rather than God’s.
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
Don’t be alarmed now
It’s just spring clean
for the May queen
Well, I suppose that alarming movements in our life can alert us to trouble and summon us to positive change. Let’s let this verse stand, but the May queen referred to here can’t be Mary because she doesn’t need spring cleaning.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on
It is true that there are just two paths; there is no third way given! Conversion is still possible if you’re on the wrong path. But be sure to switch paths only if you’re not walking with Jesus.
And it makes me wonder
Your head is humming and it won’t go
In case you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Danger, Will Robinson! We learned that the piper is a symbol for the world. Do not follow this piper. Ignore his tunes!
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
Ah, here is Mary! See, I told you this is a religious song!
How everything still turns to gold
Oops, where did that come from? I guess this isn’t Mary—unless she’s into the prosperity gospel.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
Now there’s that crazy piper again with his worldly tune, still trying to mesmerize me and give me an earworm of earthly tunes!
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
No, sorry, only God can be all in all. We might all be one, but even together we could never be all. It’s great to be a steady rock, but that is only accomplished by building our house on the solid rock of Christ’s teachings.
And she’s buying the stairway to heaven
No, she isn’t. She can’t afford it—but she can ask Jesus!
Well, I guess we’re just going to have to accept that “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t the religious song we’d like it to be. Whatever “Heaven” is alluded to, it isn’t our heaven.
It’s better to listen to St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, who reminds us that the true stairway to Heaven is the way of love—and not mere human love, but divine love infused in the soul. It is God’s love that animates our actions and lifts us higher as we accept its movements in our heart. This love cannot be bought; it is offered freely.
It does “cost” us, however, as our favorite sins fall away, and our priorities and passions change for the better. As the fruit of love, these changes are accepted not because we must but because we want to.
Yes, love is the stairway to Heaven. An old song, older than this 1970s song says, “Love lifted me … When nothing else could help, love lifted me.” There is our stairway to Heaven, not purchased with gold but with the precious blood of Jesus.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
The Monsignor needs to smoke a doob and listen to it again...
To me he wrote the lyrics like most rock writers write, which is whatever sounds cool to them they leave in, they really don’t give a damn if it makes any sense or not.
Reminds me of this: https://www.elyrics.net/read/t/thin-lizzy-lyrics/the-holy-war-lyrics.html video at link (4:56)
THIN LIZZY
The Holy War Lyrics
If you will adore me
Bow before me and praise my name
If you place no God before me
Then all I have is yours to claim
And if God is in the heavens
Why did God let children die
If you don’t ask these questions
There is no reasons why
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
All the visions shown before you
All the kingdoms and the thrones
All are yours if you bow before me and adore me
All this you can own
There are those that will go to heaven
There are those that will never win
No one knows what will happen
There are those that turn to sin
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
(solo)
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
We are chosen
The devil is in hell with the demons
This is the holy war
They lead us to our temptation
Lead us, take our souls
There is no evil in salvation
There is evil in us all
Just as Satan tempted Jesus
And Jesus slips and falls
He is a station on the cross now
He is dying to save us all
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
We are chosen
We are one
We are frightened of no one
And no one will win this war
This is the way
This is the law
If God is in heaven, won’t you save me now
Oh lord forgive them for what they’ve done
Lost children of Babylon
Oh allah oh no oh no (? )
This is the holy war
“Genesis 28:9-17 NIV
[9] … Jacob’s Dream at Bethel [10] Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. [11] When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. [12] He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. [13] There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. [14] Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. [15] I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. ” [16] When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” [17] He was afraid and …”
Much Poetry is written from the subconscious even and especially that written from drugged rock writers. Symbolism is universal I believe as Jung pointed out.
To me this song has always been depressing and atheist. I agree with Msgr Pope’s analysis.
Denied! LOL LOL LOL! I gotta watch that movie again. “Way! No way! Way!” I actually said that to Lady Ga Ga about 6 or 7 years ago. I was driving a cab in New York city in between jobs and one night around 3am I pulled over on Park ave to take a break and was standing outside leaning against the cab smoking a cigarette and this small girl came around the corner wearing a robe and holding a cup of tea and saucer in her hands, very bizarre and then I recognized her so I said “Lady Ga Ga no way...” and she walked a few more feet then turned around and said “Way!” and then walked into the front entrance of this apt. building LOL!
I tend to agree.
I believe he previously stated that it was respective of the traffic levels in each direction.
“A Whimsical Look at a 1970s Song”
Catholics must have an odd idea of what’s actually ‘whimsical’.
Lol +1
+1
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
That song is torture for me.
Unbelievable that “Stairway to Heaven” is/was the name of a beer.
Stairway to Heaven: A Whimsical Look at a 1970s Song
There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
Yerushalayim shel zahav
v'shel nechoshet
v'shel ohr...
halo lechol shira'ich
ani kinor...
Jerusalem of Gold - Ofra Haza (w/ Hebrew and English subtitles)
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Pro 23.23. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding:
Oh oh oh oh and she’s buying a stairway to heaven:
Perspective 101: the vanishing point. Where heaven meets earth at the top of the ladder.
Heaven and earth "kiss each other" at the horizon. (Har Tzion).
Horizon: rooted in/related to the Greek oros (mountain), a boundary marker. Tzion, from tziyun, a "monumental or guiding pillar:—sign, title, waymark."
There’s a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
’Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion:
2. We hung our harps on the willows in its midst:
3. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song; and those who tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion...
Zion: city of David
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
’Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
There’s a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
an eye still gazes toward Zion;
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope two thousand years old,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Gen 28
11. And he lighted upon a certain place, and remained there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep:
12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it:
Utah’s Transcontinental Railroad 150th Celebration Commission will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the “wedding of the rails” by the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869 on the weekend of May 10 – 11, 2019. The Commission is also engaged in promoting other commemorative events and activities that inspire, unify, educate and advance the legacy of this historic moment.
https://spike150.org/about/
A revolution is a turnover – those at the bottom revolve to the top and those at the top revolve to the bottom.
In Hebrew, the literal meaning of the word “revolution” (מהפכה) is “turnover.” The word has 5 letters and its gematria is 150,
>>>
To affect a revolution we must become fully aware of God’s transcendence, His otherwise hidden surrounding light. He is absolutely above nature (which He created and fills) and by connecting to Him at this level we become able to rise above, to transcend, the confines of the existing regime.
https://www.inner.org/transcendence-and-revolution
"On May 10, in anticipation of the ceremony, Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (better known as the Jupiter) locomotives were drawn up face-to-face on Promontory Summit."
the 150th anniversary of the “wedding of the rails” (railroad rails are called passim, same as the description of Joseph's coat. A pass is a pass, rail sing., which is the way to go beyond/across - the very concept/meaning of Hebrew)
May 10, 2019
5 Iyyar 5779
State of Israel proclaimed
https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=5/10/2019
And it’s whispered that soon,
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
Gen 4.21. And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe:
Jubal = jubilee (יובל)
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
Don’t be alarmed now
It’s just spring clean
for the May queen
Etc., because every detail of human history is Divinely orchestrated.
As such, the other famous song entitled "Stairway to Heaven" is from Neil Tzedaka, which *is* how to "buy" a stairway to heaven.
Well a, well a, well a, heavenly angel
I want you for my girl
When I kissed your sweet, sweet lips
I knew that you were out of this world
Heaven and earth "kiss each other" at Har Tzion.
City of David, city of gold: Sunrise, Sunset
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold. David = 14 = gold.
The certification mark for gold is a "David's Harp" and for silver is a "Pomegranate".
Zech 8:3. Thus says the Lord; I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the Holy Mountain:
Song lyrics are like dreams, each according to its interpretation. Buy the truth, and sell it not.
bump
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