Jay Percival

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I have always liked the name Percival for three reasons:

1. It is the name of one of the famous Knights of the Round Table.
2. It means to pierce the mystery.
3. I love Walker Percy.

Today I was doing a little online research about Percival (you guessed it wikipedia) and come to find out he was the knight who found the grail (later with Galahad) and healed the fisher king. The fisher king is the wounded king and his wound has immobilized him and made him impotent to rule. So all he does all day is fish behind the castle. The result is that his kingdom is in ruin and is referred to as The Waste Land. This is what Eliot wrote his famous poem about. Percival heals him by asking him a question: "What ails thee?" or something like that.

This blog is given to that question. What ails thee? Since the fall the sacredness of man has been wounded fatally. Christ has made the hope of restoration real, but only if we will stop fishing and recognize our wound ... the Fisher king was wounded by the sin of pride and his healing ultimately comes from recognizing the reality of the grail that he guards. (His castle is often the same castle as the castle of the graal.)

Percival is not wise in the legends ... he just happens to be there (on the scene) and so he is used for the healing of the king and the healing of the land. He is brave.

Fortitude is proof that the world is fallen ... Fortitude proves that evil exists ... that fact that we must bravely stand for justice (risking loss and death) is proof that there is good and evil. (these are the thoughts of Augustine).

Brothers we must stand with God on the side of justice. We must be brave. Before all of this we must be prudent so our eyes can see justice aright. And after that we must be temperate so that we are not lost in sloth or lust. And we know that steadfast faithfulness will win because of the hope and love in Jesus Christ.

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