The Palace of the King

Adopted out of poverty
And brought to Holy Halls,
Though not by birthright, still a prince
At home within these walls.
With recourse unrestricted to
The Lord of Everything,
What Joy it is to live within
The Palace of the King!
 
Called to a mission higher than
I could have dreamt alone,
To be a messenger for Him
Between His world and throne.
And if my duties I discharge
A thousand souls will sing,
“What joy it is to live within
the Palace of the King!”
 
And in these Holy Halls I met
A maiden pure and fair.
Who sang to me what she desired:
Her life with me to share.
Resplendent Mother! Full of Grace!
Most Blest the world has seen! What joy it is to live within
The Palace of the Queen!
 
With me she’ll go into the world
Proclaiming His good news:
“The wedding feast is now prepared!
There is no time to lose!
So leave behind your fields and cows,
Your garment with you bring!
What joy it is to dine within
The Palace of the King!”
 
And Finally at a time unknown
He’ll say to me, “Well done,
My good and faithful messenger,
How many souls you’ve won!
Come with me to eternal rest
Where death has lost its sting,
And dwell with Me forever in
The Palace of the King!”
 
 
One of the most beautiful things about being in seminary is having a chapel downstairs. The King of the Universe, as we celebrated Him on November 22, lives two floors down from my bedroom! At any time, I can go down and talk to Him. I can thank Him for all He has done for me, ask His advice, share with Him my joys, sorrows, and concerns, or simply be with Him. This reality inspired me to write this poem.

The first stanza of the poem refers to my entrance into seminary and my joy at having unrestricted access to the presence of Jesus, but on a deeper level also refers to baptism, where we all become adopted children of the Father and receive the indwelling Trinity into our hearts. We have unrestricted access to Him there.

The second stanza is about the call to the priesthood. I reference the title of the book, To Save a Thousand Souls, which played a part in my discernment. Being a messenger of God is of course only one aspect of the priesthood, but it is the one I focus on as it ties into the scriptural reference in the fourth stanza. It also is not a mission restricted to the priesthood. At baptism we all receive a call to witness to the Gospel and go on mission for Christ in our own particular ways.

The third stanza, as well as the beginning of the fourth, is about Mary’s role in the life of the baptized Christian, but especially of the celibate priest. She is the woman in the life of the priest. The priest takes Mary into his home—just as the angel commanded Joseph, and as Christ commanded John at the Cross. She is the priest’s helpmate in his mission and the mother of his spiritual children.

The fourth stanza returns to the priest’s mission and relates it to the parable about the wedding feast ((Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-24). Finally, the fifth stanza is about the goal of it all: to live forever with Jesus. The joy of living so close to the Blessed Sacrament on Earth is only a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. Words from the Gospel of Matthew (which I allude to in the last stanza) sum up well this joy: “Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21).

Mr. Snyder is a College IV seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington.