Publisher @OrbisBooks, saint-whisperer @GiveUsThisDayLP. #TolstoysTalesofTrump. #MastersofSocialIsolation. Seeking meaning in the sacred and the absurd.
Joined December 2016
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During a time of isolation our attitude is very different if we focus on the surface of the wheel—lamenting all we have lost or cannot do—rather than embracing the opportunity to move toward the center.
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#MastersofSocialIsolation #9. Severinus Boethius (524) was an official in the imperial court when charged with disloyalty to the emperor and imprisoned for 9 mos. before his execution. In that time he wrote “The Consolation of Philosophy,” a dialogue with Lady Philosophia.
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The master felt sad and envious at the ability of powerful men like Mr Kim to inspire the spontaneous affection of children, whereas he had to bribe or threaten them. #TolstoysTalesofTrump
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Thank you for remembering John Kavanaugh SJ. His prophetic work “Following Christ in a Consumer Society” first published 1981 @OrbisBooks. I worked with him on new editions in 1991 and 2006. He died 2012. How I wish he could write a new ed for these times.
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#MastersofSocialIsolation #8 While awaiting an end to this time of isolation we might envy the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Per ancient legend these 7 young Christian men, escaping persecution under the emperor Decius (251), hid in a cavern, where they fell into a miraculous sleep.
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The emperor ordered them sealed in the cave. There they remained 200 yrs until the cave was unsealed, at which point they awoke, thinking they had only slept a day. When they sent one of their number into town to buy food, he was astonished to discover signs that Christianity—
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...only yesterday a persecuted sect—was now the state religion. They repeated their tale for the bishop, who rejoiced in this miraculous sign. At this point, the 7 martyrs gave up their spirits. Their bodies were placed in golden caskets, and their cave became their grave.
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Granted, Easter is “very special” for the President—but perhaps ask Dr Fauci what he thinks about Pentecost, Feast of the Ascension, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, or even St Crispin’s Day. All very auspicious.
When asked why he chose Easter as a good day to end lockdowns, Trump really said this:
“Wouldn’t it be great to have all of the churches full? …Easter Sunday and you’ll have packed churches all over our country.”
No. It wouldn’t be nice. It’d be deadly.
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Interesting that GOP leaders who bravely talk about laying down their lives for their grandchildren’s prosperity have been unwilling to contemplate the slightest accommodation to mitigate the threat of climate change for the sake of their grandchildren’s survival.
Tx Lt Gov Dan Patrick says grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their grandchildren
Show this thread
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It will be interesting to see how many heroic CEOs, members of Congress, and occupants of the White House will follow Lt (Gov) Dan in pledging themselves as martyrs for the sake of their grandchildren’s prosperity.
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Wonderful! A reminder, as Dorothy Day used to say, that “All times have been dark times”—depending on where you stand.
@RobertEllsberg I humbly offer CURA PASTORALIS for consideration about governing/advising during difficult times. What a lovely treatise that echoes across time. reconciliationpoetry.com/enc…
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“He presses his attack upon the monk about the 4th hour and besieges the soul until the 8th hour. First of all he makes it seem that the sun barely moves, if at all, and that the day is 50 hours long. Then he constrains the monk to look constantly out the windows, ...
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... to walk outside the cell, to gaze carefully at the sun to determine how far it stands from the 9th hour, to look now this way and now that to see if perhaps one of the brethren appears from his cell...He depicts life stretching out for a long period of time, and ...
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...leaves no leaf unturned to induce the monk to forsake his cell and drop out of the fight.” Not just desert monks but writers, artists, parents, and many others are familiar with this demon. Evagrius is compassionate:
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“When we meet with the demon of acedia, then is the time with tears to divide our soul in two. One part is to encourage; the other is to be encouraged.” When the demon strikes, be compassionate with yourself.
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