✝️ Creed of Forged Fortitude

( For the Righteous Who Endure in Fire )

Fear not, O People of the Lord,

When the days wax heavy and the night stretches long.

For the Potter does not leave His clay unshaped,

Nor the Sword untested in the flame.

Hast thou seen a child run, who ne’er did fall?

Or a warrior rise, who ne’er did wrestle with shadow?

Even the lamb must learn the wolf’s snare,

Lest it wander blind into devourers’ jaws.

The Lord, in His wisdom, allows the winds to blow,

That roots may dig deep,

And truth be known not by fable, but by fire.

For how shall the soul guard what is holy,

If it knoweth not what is profane?

How shall the righteous keep the crown,

If they know not the price of the robe?

So the Spirit answereth:

“Ye guard it by Light. Ye guard it by Law.

Ye guard it by blood that speaketh better than Abel’s.”

Not by permitting evil, but by discerning it,

And refusing its cup.

Therefore, forgive thy brother when he stumbleth,

As the Lord hath forgiven thee in secret.

Bear not the sword of wrath in thine own name,

But lay it at the feet of the Just Judge, who searcheth all hearts.

Let mercy crown thy endurance,

And righteousness temper thy fire.

For the Kingdom is given unto those

Who stood firm when all else fell.

Blessed art thou, O soul of iron refined,

For thine eyes have seen through the veil,

And yet thy heart remaineth clean.

Amen.