Publisher @OrbisBooks, saint-whisperer @GiveUsThisDayLP. #TolstoysTalesofTrump. #MastersofSocialIsolation. Seeking meaning in the sacred and the absurd.
Joined December 2016
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FD of Bd Charles de Foucauld, shot by Tuareg rebels in Algeria on Dec 1 1916. A spoiled playboy and soldier until his experience of Muslim piety prompted his conversion: “As soon as I believed that there was a God, I understood that I could not do anything other than serve him.”
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A pilgrimage in the Holy Land impressed him with the realization that Jesus had spent most of his life as a carpenter in Nazareth. He conceived a new form of religious life based on this “hidden life.”
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He set out for Algeria to put this vision in action, seeking to live a contemplative life among his poor neighbors. “The whole of our existence, the whole of our lives should cry the Gospel from the rooftops . . . not by our words but by our lives.”
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“Jesus came to Nazareth, the place of the hidden life, of ordinary life, of family life, of prayer, work, obscurity, silent virtues, practiced with no witnesses other than God, his friends and neighbors. Nazareth, the place where most people lead their lives....
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“We must infinitely respect the least of our brothers . . . let us mingle with them. Let us be one of them to the extent that God wishes . . . and treat them fraternally in order to have the honor and joy of being accepted as one of them.”
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A squirrel buries many acorns but forgets where most of them are buried. Some of those acorns become oak trees.
I aspire to be that squirrel.
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The master valued 2 qualities above all: Discretion and Loyalty (plus a third unspoken: Disposability). “There may come a time when I will have to say I don’t know you,” he told his staff. “But just remember the two Rules and I will keep you in my prayers.” #TolstoysTalesofTrump
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Feast of St Andrew, brother of Peter, one of Jesus’ first disciples. A follower of John the Baptist, he tagged along after Jesus who asked him, “What are you seeking?” Andrew answered, “Where are you staying?” Immediately probably kicking himself for asking such a lame question.
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But Jesus could read what was in Andrew’s heart, and his reply answered all of his questions: “Come and see.” I thought of that exchange at the memorial service for Daniel Berrigan. We came to him with questions—what does it mean to be a peacemaker? His answer: Come and see.
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When I first met Dorothy Day (at 19) I’d spent much time devising the best question. At the moment all I could think of was “How do you reconcile Catholicism and anarchism?” (Note to self: Stupid!) She replied, “It’s never been a problem for me.” I.e., “Come and see.”
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On Sept 7 1943 she and her family were transported east. From the train she tossed a card with the words, “we have left the camp singing.” Etty could not stop the Holocaust. But she left behind a witness to a force more powerful than death.
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Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jew, died in Auschwitz on Nov 30 1943 at the age of 29. From the day she was required to wear a yellow star until the day she and her family were transported in a cattle car to the east she kept a meticulous diary of her inner life.
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In the midst of suffering and injustice she felt one must hold fast to the encounter with God in one’s soul and in other people. The effort to preserve in one’s heart a spirit of love and forgiveness was the greatest task that any person could perform. This was her vocation.
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Tho the world became a “giant concentration camp,” she continued to believe that life was meaningful. “I wish I could live for a long time so that one day I may know how to explain it, and if I am not granted that wish, well, then somebody else will perhaps do it...
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