The Epistle reading for Sunday, August 14th included the verse,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

This has always been a favorite verse of mine, and this past week, I’ve been reflecting on the great cloud of witnesses. I am reminded of those who we can learn so much from by looking at the The Lectionary Page’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts, and additions from A Great Cloud of Witnesses.

Monday, August 8th was the feast of St. Dominic and I spent a little time reading about the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order. Tuesday, August 9th was the feast of Herman of Alaska, “a Russian Orthodox monk and missionary to Alaska”. Wikipedia goes on to say “All biographers agree that at Valaam, Herman studied under Abbot Nazarius, previously of Sarov Monastery, who was influenced by the hesychastic tradition of Paisius Velichkovsky.”

This lead me to do a little reading on Hesychasm, or stillness in prayer. As I spent time reading related topics, I found my way to The Ladder of Divine Ascent. I found a translation online, but I haven’t found a recording of the translation I can listen to on my commute.

August 10th was the feast of Lawrence of Rome and August 11th was the feast of Clare, Abbess at Assisi. A quote for St. Clare has been making its way around the Internet recently:

"We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God´s compassionate love for others."

This fits nicely with the thoughts about the cloud of witnesses. We become more like what we love as well as like those around us who love the same thing.

August 12th was the feast of Florence Nightingale. Working in health care, I try to observe this health day, as well as get people to recognize other aspects of her life, around statistics, social reform, and theology.

August 13th was the feast of Jeremy Taylor who “is sometimes known as the ‘Shakespeare of Divines’ for his poetic style of expression, and he is frequently cited as one of the greatest prose writers in the English language”. Part of his writing is recorded on Librivox, so I may listen to some of this later on.

August 14th was the feast of Jonathan Myrick Daniels, an Episcopal Seminarian martyred during the civil rights movement. I thought of Daniels as I prayed for Milwaukee.

Another part of the crowd of witnesses can be found, starting off with this article: Science Says If You Go To Music Festivals, You’re Happier Than Most People.

Can partying be spiritual? Maybe.

The fact you can feel more connected to people around you while enjoying good music is a great reason to actually go to festivals

The article puts it into context by bringing in Emile Durkheim

The phenomenon of shared energy at festivals is attributed to what French sociologist Emile Durkheim calls “collective effervescence.” It’s basically what happens when a group of people get involved in something that allows them to communicate the same thought simultaneously while participating in the same action.

Wikipedia talks about Collective effervescence as “the basis for Émile Durkheim's theory of religion as laid out in his 1912 volume Elementary Forms of Religious Life.”

The Elementary Forms of Religious Life is available on Project Gutenberg, but not on Librivox. It goes onto my reading list.

Collective effervescence, the cloud of witnesses, and becoming like that which we love all has implications for churches. It also has implications for each of us in our daily life, and perhaps especially, in our online interactions.