Day 135 of Photo Inspirations -- Royalty Comes With Great Responsibility
Deacon Nelson Sousa's messages always inspire me, but yesterday when he talked about his Portuguese heritage, my ears really perked up. He told how his family migrated here from the Portuguese Islands of the Azores. I was just there a few weeks ago. I immediately had a visual of that beautiful island. I walked the streets, went into the churches and cathedrals, shopped in the little stores, took photos of the treasures there. But what touched me most about his message were the beautiful Portuguese Easter traditions that they brought here with them, and still maintain those customs today.
Those customs are attributed to Portugal's Queen Elizabeth, a Spanish princess given in marriage to King Denis of Portugal in the 1200s. She was well known for going to the countryside and taking food to the poor peasant children, but she'd also take her crown with her for the children to put on. As she placed the crown on their heads, she would remind them that regardless of their situation in life, as children of God, they are royalty because they are members of God's royal family. Queen Elizabeth (St. Elizabeth) became known for practicing this custom throughout her life. It was her way of spreading the Gospel message to simply remind us all that we are God's children.
Every Sunday during the Easter season, the Portuguese children of the church were invited up to the altar -- where they were crowned with the crown of the Holy Spirit. While they were being crowned, the priest would remind them, and everyone else in attendance, the words St. Elizabeth spoke many years ago. "Remember, that as a child of God, you are royalty. You are a member of His royal family."
Nelson heard those words so much that they served as a challenge and as a reminder about the responsibility of a crown-bearer; the appropriate conduct of a child of God's family. He said it personally made him think about the words he used to speak to those he'd encounter. The more he thought about it, the more, as a child of God, he realized that he shouldn't be using words that contained bad language. It caused him to avoid participating in gossip and spreading rumors about others.
And it made me think, WE ARE God's children, and that makes us royalty. Holy Spirit continues to work with us to become good examples of what it means to become one of God's children. Holy Spirit constantly urges us to speak a different language from the world. Royalty doesn't speak "commoner" language. Royalty comes with great responsibility. We represent the Royal Family -- God's Family. Our responsibility is to live our lives as examples of God's language of love, forgiveness, gentleness, kindness, and peace, as well as sharing all of that with others so that they, too, will know they are also royal children of God.
