“ We shall glorify the Lord of the heavenly armies with holy song, the guardian of the heavenly kingdom, and love Him, the author of life, and to Him be always the glorious victory ”
— Excerpt from The Kentish Hymn
The Old English word wuldrian means ‘to give or receive glory,’ or simply, to glorify. It was distinctly used within the context of glorifying God; wuldor meaning glory.
It is placing myself beneath the shadow of this long-dead word that I intend to abide by its meaning, even if imperfectly. In all that we do, and all that we do not, always should it be within the context of wuldrian—whether or not we are giving, or we are receiving, glory from the Divine.
Never would I have anticipated walking the path I walk today as a Roman Catholic, nor would I have been particularly pleased to have learned that I would become Catholic prior to converting. However, through countless incidences of far-too-coincidental providence, I find myself today being unable to comprehend how my life could have gone in any other direction.
In 2021 I was affected by a tragedy that drove me to seek spiritual consolation. It was then that I first spoke with a Catholic Priest. Although we had scheduled thirty minutes, we spoke for over two hours. I hadn’t felt consolation such as I had felt in that discussion prior to it. With a curious mind, I began to explore Catholicism.
When an individual is baptized and confirmed within the Catholic Faith, they select a Patron Saint to protect and guide them in Heaven, forming a close spiritual bond. (It is more metaphysically accurate to say that the Patron Saint in Heaven preeminently chooses you as a subject long before you ever choose them.)
My Patron Saint is St. Olaf, Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, the Norse King who consolidated Norway into a single Kingdom. I had not heard of Olaf Haraldsson prior to my conversion, but it would seem upon close inspection of my life that he has known me for some time. I chose him as my Patron in honor of a friend.
Through my writing and in my work, and truly my life as a whole, what I have come to value most, and what I most care to accomplish, is wuldrian.
NOTICE: All articles published on this substack were written entirely by myself without the use of any AI tools.
