Padre's Corner - Eternal source of light divine
June 28, 2022 - Lt(N) David Jackson, Chaplain, 3 Cdn Div HQ
On April 5, 2020, Her Majesty the Queen released a message to the people of Canada on the COVID‑19 pandemic in which she said:
As the people of Canada experience profound and rapid changes to their lives, we are all concerned about the future. It may be difficult to remain hopeful when faced with loss and uncertainty, but Canadians have many reasons for optimism, even in the most trying times.
Across Canada, countless people continue to care for the most vulnerable and to provide essential services for their fellow citizens. I am thankful for their dedication and for the hope it offers.
In the coming weeks and months, the people of Canada will need to continue to work together to ensure the health and vitality of our communities. I know that Canadians will remain optimistic and will rise to the challenges ahead.
The past two years have indeed been “trying times” with very few opportunities to celebrate due to health restrictions. In fact, celebrations involving in-person gatherings of people have been extremely challenging during the pandemic. Many special occasions, whether religious or civic, have had to be either cancelled, postponed or modified in order to curb the spread of the COVID‑19 virus and protect life. This has not been easy. However, Canadians across the country have worked hard to get through these difficult times while remaining optimistic.
This year, as Canadians and people across the Commonwealth celebrate Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years as Queen of Canada and her other realms and territories, we have reason to rejoice and be hopeful. As part of these celebrations, beacons were lit across the United Kingdom, as well as in all capital cities of the Commonwealth, including Ottawa. There is a long tradition of celebrating royal jubilees, and other royal celebrations with the lighting of beacons. A beacon chain was once used as a tool for communication, but has now become a symbol of unity across the Commonwealth as a central point of focus for any outdoor gathering or celebration.
Caption
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery during their tour of duty as members of the Queen’s Guard in 2021.
Photo by Capt Natasha Tersigni
The light provided by a beacon is also very much a symbol of hope. Many cultures and religions have themes of light overcoming darkness – a theme and symbol we very much need in the dark times of the pandemic we have been experiencing. So, as we celebrate the Queen’s 70 years as our sovereign, may we focus on this theme of light and hope. We are not out of the pandemic quite yet. However, this too shall pass, for there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the Queen said in her address to the Commonwealth on the COVID‑19 pandemic in April 2020, “take comfort… better days will return” and “we will meet again.”
May Her Majesty have a happy and glorious Platinum Jubilee, and may we ever “sing with heart and voice, God save the Queen!”
To conclude I leave you with the opening words of a song composed by G.F. Handel in 1713 for the Birthday of Queen Anne following the accomplishment of the Treaty of Utrecht to end the War of the Spanish Succession:
Eternal source of light divine
With double warmth thy beams display
And with distinguish'd glory shine
To add a lustre to this day.