July 17, 2010 marks the 92st anniversary of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Here is a prayer of the eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga:Send us, Lord, the patience, in this year of stormy, gloom-filled days, to suffer popular oppression, and the tortures of our hangmen. Give us strength, oh Lord of justice, Our neighbor's evil to forgive, And the Cross so heavy and bloody, with Your humility to meet, In days when enemies rob us, To bear the shame and humiliation, Christ our Savior, help us. Ruler of the world, God of the universe, Bless us with prayer and give our humble soul rest in this unbearable, dreadful hour. At the threshold of the grave, breathe into the lips of Your slaves inhuman strength — to pray meekly for our enemies.More about the tragic anniversary, HERE.
11 comments:
The prayer is beautiful and especially touching coming from the lips of royalty.
A beautiful prayer and deeply moving; showing why the Grand Duchess had a reputation for being the most "soulful" of the Emperor's daughters. I finished reading Helen Rappaport's excellent book "Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs" on a flight back from New York last week and it brought home, once again, the full horror and tragedy of what happened 91 years ago.
Absolutely beautiful! Elena, Mastterhorn has an excellent post on Olga- be sure to check it out- it's priceless:)
I added a link to it, Lucy, thanks! Thanks, everybody! She was a sweet girl whose life was robbed from her.
Thanks for the links. She was such a special person.
This beautiful family were just part of the millions of innocents slaughtered to further the ill begotten aims of Communism...and for what!! Most certainly they have joined with other martyrs of Communism in blessed repose at the feet of our Lord.
The families of Louis XVI and Nicholas II were alike in their unwavering faith in God that helped them in their trials. I always wished that the Grand Duchesses at least could have been spirited away to England, similar to Marie-Therese's release. The Bolsheviks showed themselves even more barbaric than the French revolutionaries in that regard.
I'm very sorry, I think I made a mistake here. I was reading in the "Last Days of the Romanovs" that the poem actually seems to have been composed by the lady-in-waiting Countess Hendrykova, but Olga definitely transcribed it into her notebook, and seems to have taken it very much to heart.
Matterhorn, for what it's worth, I did a little bit of research and it seems that there is some confusion about whether or not countess Hendrikova had composed it or simply written it down after the Grand Duchess had recited it herself. So there is still a very strong likelihood that the author was in fact the Emperor's eldest daughter.
Very interesting, thank you, Mr. Russell. In any case, I am sure it expresses the sentiments of the whole family and those martyred along with them.
I second Mr. Russell's recommendation of Rappaport's book--especially her analysis of what happened at that last Divine Liturgy attended by the family, when the Deacon wondered what had happened to them and how they had changed. I don't have the book in front of me, but it had to do something with a gesture they made during the prayers for the dead. It was chilling to read about, as was the prolonged horror of the treatment of their remains.
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