Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing.
Flannery O’Connor’s Androgynous Prayer from the Emory University collection.
Oh universe which is the all of being–reverence to you–your rule be known–and acceded to in darkness as in light. Feed us by the truth of our need. Let us not be deluded that we may transgress or be transgressed upon. Deliver us from the violence of the false. Amen.
I was reminded of this when I read a 1949 Time article about Death Be Not Proud. The author’s dying son comes up with an “Unbeliever’s Prayer”:
Almighty God forgive me for my agnosticism; For I shall try to keep it gentle, not
cynical, nor a bad influence. And O! if Thou art truly in the heavens, accept my gratitude for all Thy gifts and I shall try to fight the good fight. Amen.
Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one.
Flannery O’Connor, Southern writer (of the novel Wise Blood and short stories) – died this day in 1964, aged 39, from lupus…
Photo of Flannery in front of her self-portrait w. peacock…
This photo was taken by AJC photojournalist Joe McTyre, by the way. Love me some Flannery.
I have one of those food-chopper brains that nothing comes out of the way it comes in.
Mark Larson 