The Prayers of That Great Cloud of Witnesses
Christina Rossetti: A Compendium Entry.
You are never alone in your journey with Jesus. The book of Hebrews describes our journey as a race. After a chapter-long recitation of Biblical characters who persevered through the ups and downs of following Jesus, the writer describes following him as a race where we are running individually, yes, but surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…1” The faith of those who have gone before us, as expressed in their prayers, is a great source of encouragement for us as we persevere through the ups and downs that are inevitable in every human life.
Each Monday, for the rest of this year, I will post a prayer reflecting the faith of one of our cheerleaders. The post will also include a short biography, examples of their other writings, what can be learnt from their prayers in constructing our own, and some ways to further engage with them.
The first person cheering us from the bleachers is Christina Rossetti.
Here is a prayer she wrote in remembrance of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.
O God the Holy Ghost
Who art light unto thine elect
Evermore enlighten us.
Thou who art fire of love
Evermore enkindle us.
Thou who art Lord and Giver of Life,
Evermore live in us.
Thou who bestowest sevenfold grace2,
Evermore replenish us.
As the wind is thy symbol,
So forward our goings.
As the dove, so launch us heavenwards.
As water, so purify our spirits.
As a cloud, so abate our temptations.
As dew, so revive our languor.
As fire, so purge our dross.
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She was born in London to Gabriele Rossetti, a poet and a political exile from Italy, and Frances Polidori. Frances, whose native language was English, was also an accomplished speaker of both French and Italian. She played a fundamental role in the education of their four children. Her son Dante Gabriel became an influential artist and poet. William Michael and Maria both became writers as well.
Christina’s education at home included religious works, classics, fairy tales, and novels. As she grew up she enjoyed the poetry of Keats as well as the writings of Sir Walter Scott, Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis. She was also influenced in her writing by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch and other Italian writers whose works filled her home. By the age of twelve, Rossetti had written poetry which was privately published by her grandfather.
At first, London was a wonderful home for her creative development. The family lived within easy reach of Madame Tussauds, the London Zoo, and the newly opened Regent's Park, which she visited regularly. The Rossetti household was regularly visited by Italian artists, scholars and revolutionaries. But when Rossetti was 13, her father was diagnosed with persistent bronchitis, possibly tuberculosis, and faced losing his sight. He gave up his teaching post at King’s College and suffered from depression and ill health for the remaining 11 years of his life. The family faced financial troubles. Her mother and older sister began working to support the family, often leaving Christina alone at home. At 14 she suffered a nervous breakdown followed by depression and related illness. It was during this period that her mother and sister became involved in a renewal movement in the Anglican church, and through her family’s hardships religion began to play a major role in her life.
In 1847, when she was 17, Christina began experimenting with verse forms such as sonnets, hymns and ballads, while drawing on narratives from the Bible, folk tales and the lives of saints. Her early pieces often meditate on death and loss in the Romantic tradition.
In Rossetti’s poem, Up Hill, her firsthand knowledge of the challenges of life and the comfort Jesus offers find powerful expression.
Does the road wind up hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin?
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labor you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
14 years later, in 1872, she wrote some lyrics expressing her heartfelt faith that, in full, became the Chrsitian hymn he know as In the Bleak Midwinter.
What can I give Him, Poor as I am? —If I were a Shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man I would do my part, —Yet what I can I give Him, — Give my heart.
There is a structure to her Pentecost prayer which can help us in the development of our own prayers:
Prayers for different seasons on the calendar: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost as well as New Years, key days in our journey with Jesus and even our birthday.
Basic structure: in her case notice how “Evermore/Thou” structures the first section (see lines 3-9) while the latter is built around “As/So” (lines 10-16). Try this structure out using your own words and then consider a different structure of your own.
Reflecting on themes of the Scriptures related to God’s presence and the Holy Spirit:
Rossetti continued writing for the rest of her life, mainly devotional work and children's poetry. In the years just before her death, she wrote The Face of the Deep (1892) a devotional commentary on the book of Revelation (1892).
She died late in 1894 of cancer and was buried in the family grave on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.
Before she passed Christina Rossetti wrote a poem that guides us in our remembrance of her life and faith entitled, Remember.
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Christina Rossetti: Fun Facts and Further Readings
Rossetti worked voluntarily from 1859 to1870 at the London Diocesan Penitentiary. 8
Acccording to Wikipedia, Rossetti was one of the first female stamp collectors, beginning her collection in 1847, just seven years after the first stamp was issued.
Though Rossetti had three serious relationships (with two painters and a linguist), she remained single. However she kept a wide circle of friends all of her life.
One of her most well-known writings is Goblin Market.
Two books about Christina Rossetti
Hebrews 12:1
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Godliness, Fear of the Lord derived from Isaiah 11:1-3
Mt. 3:16, Mk 1:10, Lk 3:22.
John 7:37-39.
Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Mt. 17:5-6,
Hosea 14:5.
Acts 2:1-4.
The London Diocesan Penitentiary, also known as the St. Mary Magdalene “house,” was a house that provided a home and sought to rehabilitate women caught up in prostitution. It was located in North Hill, Highgate. Christina Rossetti’s poems such as “Cousin Kate” and “Goblin Market” engage with themes of prostitution and sisterhood.
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