tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28333593946111563172024-03-17T02:06:45.212-04:00Ashes From Burnt RosesMannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.comBlogger1286125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-60138776676654132332024-03-17T02:05:00.006-04:002024-03-17T02:05:59.857-04:00Sunday Meditation: The Time of Judgement <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Last week we heard Jesus telling us that He
must be lifted up to bring eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He said this in the third chapter of John in a conversation to
Nicodemus, the elder at the Temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was a mysterious comment that is picked up again and elaborated on nine
chapters later, this time to a crowd in Jerusalem who had come for Passover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as a lead in to that, Jesus first speaks
of life and death as a grain of wheat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Some Greeks who had come to
worship at the Passover Feast<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">came to Philip, who was from
Bethsaida in Galilee, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and asked him, “Sir, we would like
to see Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Philip went and told Andrew; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">then Andrew and Philip went and
told Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus answered them, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Amen, amen, I say to you, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">unless a grain of wheat falls to
the ground and dies, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">it remains just a grain of wheat; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but if it dies, it produces much
fruit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Whoever loves his life loses it,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and whoever hates his life in this
world<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">will preserve it for eternal life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Whoever serves me must follow me, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and where I am, there also will my
servant be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The Father will honor whoever
serves me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“I am troubled now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet what should I say?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">‘Father, save me from this hour’?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But it was for this purpose that I
came to this hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Father, glorify your name.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then a voice came from heaven, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“I have glorified it and will
glorify it again.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The crowd there heard it and said
it was thunder; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but others said, “An angel has
spoken to him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus answered and said, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“This voice did not come for my
sake but for yours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Now is the time of judgment on
this world; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">now the ruler of this world will
be driven out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And when I am lifted up from the
earth, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I will draw everyone to myself.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He said this indicating the kind
of death he would die.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Jn
12:20-33</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is a complicated passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is much going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First the Greeks coming to Philip, and him
and Andrew taking them to Jesus; then the grain of wheat metaphor; then the
embracing of death; then the glorification and the voice of the Father; then announcing
the time of judgement; and finally the lifting up description.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will require more than one exegesis to
grasp it all.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">First let’s listen to Brant Pitre to get the
gist of the Gospel reading.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bX1VBnbUpM" width="320" youtube-src-id="-bX1VBnbUpM"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Second, Bishop Robert Barron provides the
more theological implications of the passage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b4nMqD-sHXQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="b4nMqD-sHXQ"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Finally Jeff Cavens provides a connection to
our personal lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P-FG-IJ89pg" width="320" youtube-src-id="P-FG-IJ89pg"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Gosh, I think I have in the past missed the
voice of God the Father, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is so much in this passage that it must
have never sunk in that the Father actually speaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The voice of God enters here to verify His
approval of the glorification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Another striking element to the passage is
that Jesus seems to ignore the Greeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They come to greet Him and what does He say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tangentially He announces the hour has come
for Him to be glorified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the crowd
now understand the lifting up image?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think one can only
understand that after one sees His crucifixion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">So this week I gave you a triple play, but if
you want a grand slam search out Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s homily on this passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s worth watching as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: “Now is the time of judgment on
this world.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-66342885504607865152024-03-12T15:00:00.001-04:002024-03-12T15:00:00.389-04:00Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 5<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is fifth post of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s historical
novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can find Post #1 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Post #2, <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by_23.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Post #3 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by_01800613740.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Post #4 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/03/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://bookcover.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BKC.8.Quovadis.Capa_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://bookcover.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BKC.8.Quovadis.Capa_.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chapters 28 thru 34<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Petronius writes another letter to Vinicuis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is shocked about the recent happenings with
Vinicius, especially of the ability of Ursus to so easily defeat Croton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he cannot understand the Christians and
their religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asks Vinicius to meet
him in Beneventum with the rest of Nero’s entourage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius, now back to his home, feels no
desire to reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is torn about
staying in his home or going back to that Christian abode he was nursed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He rejects going to Beneventum entirely and
writes to tell Petronius that Christian kindness and forgiveness has moved him,
and this has increased his love for Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He tells Petronius that Lygia has run off again because of the
impossibility of their relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
tells him also of meeting another leader of the Christians, Paul of
Tarsus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells Petronius that he is
thinking of embracing Christianity but there is something in him that revolts
at the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells him of the little
crosses Lygia has left for him made out of twigs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He concludes with a confession that the
Christians have changed his soul.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius now lives in his house shut off thinking only
of Lygia and the Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He senses
that Lygia loves him in return, and contemplates receiving baptism to join
their community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At home, his soul
struggles between his life as a Roman and his potential life as a
Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an excursion into the
countryside he meets Chrysothemis, a loose upper class Roman woman, who tries
to seduce him but which he rejects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
time Petronius returns to Rome and tries to get Vincius to travel abroad to
break these doldrums he is in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Vinicius
has no desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius gets angry at
what the Christians have done to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Petronius, as an Epicurean, tries to entice him with other women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even shows him the pleasure he receives
from his woman slave Eunice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But all
this just deepens Vinicius’ desire for Lygia, and he rejects all of Petronius’s
enticements and tells Petroinus they no longer understand each other.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nero, upon returning back to Rome, wants to travel
again and yet can’t, wants to change the buildings of Rome and yet can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has become even more of a
megalomaniac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is now infatuated with
Rubria, the young Vestal Virgin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
conversation ensues where Vinicius tells Nero of how Ursus killed Croton, and
Nero wants to see this barbarian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
asks of Lygia, and Vinicius does not respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But he invites Vinicius to another of his feasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At this feast, held at the pond of Agrippa, on a raft
in the pond, all sorts of entertainment was provided: music and song, dancers,
mock naval battles on the pond, exotic foods, and wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poppea seemed to be infatuated with Vinicius,
who was seated next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At dusk the
raft touched land and all the entourage scattered into the woods where tents
were arranged for illicit wanton liaisons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vinicius too was stirred into lust and ran into the woods, but his
recall of Lygia held him back, and when he was about to get away a masked woman
approached him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She pushed herself on
him and he rejected her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that moment Petronius
approached and the veiled woman ran off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the two could speak privately, Petronius tells him that Nero has
committed the grave sin of having sex with the Vestal Virgin Rubria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius wondering who that veiled woman
could be is told it was Poppaea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled
with disgust, Vinicius wishes to leave Rome.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Afterward, Petronius contemplates the trouble Vinicius
is in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Vinicius succumbs to Poppaea’s
advances, Vinicius will be under Nero’s wrath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If he continues to resist Poppaea, he will be under Poppaea’s
wrath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be safer for Vinicius to
leave Rome altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition he
plans to suggest to Nero that he expel all the Christians from Rome, and so
Lygia would be away from Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hoping to meet again with Lygia, Vinicius rejects leaving Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite Petroius explaining all the dangers
around him, Vinicius can only think of finding Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it turns out, Chilo returns to Vinicius’
house and informs him he knows where Lygia is now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could take her to this new house where she
was staying with a priest named Linus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passion
took Vinicius again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He realized he
could go to this house and seize her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But this would never allow Lygia to love him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt the tension again between his Roman
consciousness and a Christian one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
that moment, Chilo standing before him disgusted him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ordered that he be whipped with three
hundred lashes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Begging, Chilo
pleaded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Vinicius’s Roman heart was
unmoved and his slaves pulled Chilo away to be whipped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo begged “in the name of Christ.” And
while Chilo was being flogged, Vinicius repented, also “in the name of
Christ.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Chilo revived, Vinicius
had him lead to the house where Lygia was staying.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the house, Vinicius finds Miriam, her son, Peter,
Glaucus, Crispus, and Paul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He greets
them in the name of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He explains
to them that his love for Lygia has been a suffering, and that he cannot take
her by force but through Christianity must have her love him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christianity he explains has changed
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though it be unnecessary to ask, he
requests her hand in marriage through them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He acknowledges he has an incomplete understanding of the faith but is
predisposed to accept it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even sees thorough
the misconception of Christianity bringing no joy of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter especially is pleased and welcomes
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia then arrives and is surprised
to find Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter asks her if she
loves Vinicius, and she says she does.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Together in a garden, Vinicius and Lygia express their
love for each other and plan to marry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As they go over the events that led to their initial meeting and their
final betrothal, Lygia points out it was the hand of Christ that had shaped the
circumstances, and Vinicius agrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
envisions them in the future living at his home in Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They plan the wedding and sit to eat with the
others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00012lldpZMJFgY01P3CfDrCWvaHBOcu20E/stephan-wladislawowitsch-bakalowicz-vinicius-and-ligia-(from-quo-vadis).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="368" height="400" src="https://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00012lldpZMJFgY01P3CfDrCWvaHBOcu20E/stephan-wladislawowitsch-bakalowicz-vinicius-and-ligia-(from-quo-vadis).jpg" width="313" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I think Chapter 33 is
just about the midpoint of the novel, and there the conversion of Vinicius is
completed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the main thrust of the
first half is to bring Vinicius from a young, Roman aristocrat and soldier to
his conversion to Christianity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
clearly the hero and central character of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am surprised to find that we see the
Christianity from an outsider’s perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sienkiewicz has done a superb job of credibly creating the ancient Roman
consciousness and worldview and then looking at Christianity through that
worldview, capturing both what would repulse the Romans about the Christians
and what would make the pagan world attracted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And also he’s created a credible love story of what would seemingly be
impossible two to bring together.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michelle’s
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius' conversion was
so wonderfully written. It wasn't an instantaneous light switch, but an ongoing
struggle with him toggling back and forth between the two sides of himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I also started to like
Petronius more by this point. He was genuinely upset about the effect of
Christianity on his nephew's state of mind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin’s
Reply and Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manny wrote: "I am
surprised to find that we see the Christianity from an outsider’s perspective.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
Isn’t this the way most people encountered Christianity at the time? Very few
at the time were born into the Christian faith. We get to discover and explore
what is so special about the faith from the perspective of someone who truly
has never encountered the Christian world view. That’s no small feat, since
we’ve been so inculturated over the millennia we often no longer recognize many
aspects of Western Culture originating in Christianity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Kerstin</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, that is true and
perhaps that is why Sienkiewicz wrote it that way. I was pondering if my
approach to the subject would have gone that way. If I had sat down to write a
novel where the early Christians are the subject I might have written it from
the perspective of a Christian. The novel Ben-Hur is written from the
perspective of a Jew who becomes Christian in Roman times. Sienkiewicz makes it
work because Vinicius is so integrated into both worlds and converts over. If
Sienkiewicz had written this from the perspective of say Petronius, for
instance, I think it would have faced a lot of obstacles. I don't know if it
then could have worked. You would not get a sympathetic view of the Christians.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manny wrote: " If
Sienkiewicz had written this from the perspective of say Petronius, for
instance, I think it would have faced a lot of obstacles. I don't know if it
then could have worked. You would not get a sympathetic view of the
Christians."</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
I agree. Petronius has no reason to look at the Christians in any other way but
as a group of people with strange and questionable beliefs. With Vinicius we
have a young man in love who wants to know everything he can about Lygia and
who she is. His heart is already open. When he finds out that the rumors
peddled about the Christians are not true he is liberated to see and learn what
this religion is all about.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin’s
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The decadence at the
feast at the pond of Agrippa was masterfully done. The whole affair is so over
the top that one gets repulsed by it, and that is long before the lascivious
events of the evening.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://eyesofrome.com/images/diaries/Roman_Feast_top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="800" height="162" src="https://eyesofrome.com/images/diaries/Roman_Feast_top.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt
from Chapter 31, Nero’s floating feast on the Pond of Agrippa:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But the "floating
feast" pleased Cæsar, for it was something new. Besides, such exquisite
dishes were served that the imagination of Apicius would have failed at sight
of them, and wines of so many kinds that Otho, who used to serve eighty, would
have hidden under water with shame, could he have witnessed the luxury of that
feast. Besides women, the Augustians sat down at the table, among whom Vinicius
excelled all with his beauty. Formerly his figure and face indicated too
clearly the soldier by profession; now mental suffering and the physical pain
through which he had passed had chiselled his features, as if the delicate hand
of a master had passed over them. His complexion had lost its former
swarthiness, but the yellowish gleam of Numidian marble remained on it. His
eyes had grown larger and more pensive. His body had retained its former
powerful outlines, as if created for armor; but above the body of a legionary
was seen the head of a Grecian god, or at least of a refined patrician, at once
subtle and splendid. Petronius, in saying that none of the ladies of Cæsar's
court would be able or willing to resist Vinicius, spoke like a man of
experience. All gazed at him now, not excepting Poppæa, or the vestal virgin
Rubria, whom Cæsar wished to see at the feast. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wines, cooled in mountain
snow, soon warmed the hearts and heads of the guests. Boats shaped as
grasshoppers or butterflies shot forth from the bushes at the shore every
moment. The blue surface of the pond seemed occupied by butterflies. Above the
boats here and there flew doves, and other birds from India and Africa,
fastened with silver and blue threads or strings. The sun had passed the
greater part of the sky, but the day was warm and even hot, though in the
beginning of May. The pond heaved from the strokes of oars, which beat the
water in time with music; but in the air there was not the least breath of
wind; the groves were motionless, as if lost in listening and in gazing at that
which was happening on the water. The raft circled continually on the pond,
bearing guests who were increasingly drunk and boisterous. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The feast had not run
half its course yet, when the order in which all sat at the table was observed
no longer. Cæsar gave the example, for, rising himself, he commanded Vinicius,
who sat next to Rubria the vestal, to move. Nero occupied the place, and began
to whisper something in Rubria's ear. Vinicius found himself next to Poppæa,
who extended her arm and begged him to fasten her loosened bracelet. When he
did so, with hands trembling somewhat, she cast at him from beneath her long
lashes a glance as it were of modesty, and shook her golden head as if in
resistance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meanwhile the sun, growing
larger, ruddier, sank slowly behind the tops of the grove; the guests were for
the greater part thoroughly intoxicated. The raft circled now nearer the shore,
on which, among bunches of trees and flowers, were seen groups of people,
disguised as fauns or satyrs, playing on flutes, bagpipes, and drums, with
groups of maidens representing nymphs, dryads, and hamadryads. Darkness fell at
last amid drunken shouts from the tent, shouts raised in honor of Luna.
Meanwhile the groves were lighted with a thousand lamps. From the lupanaria on
the shores shone swarms of lights; on the terraces appeared new naked groups,
formed of the wives and daughters of the first Roman houses. These with voice
and unrestrained manner began to lure partners. The raft touched the shore at
last. Cæsar and the Augustians vanished in the groves, scattered in lupanaria,
in tents hidden in thickets, in grottos artificially arranged among fountains
and springs. Madness seized all; no one knew whither Cæsar had gone; no one
knew who was a senator, who a knight, who a dancer, who a musician. Satyrs and
fauns fell to chasing nymphs with shouting. They struck lamps with thyrses to
quench them. Darkness covered certain parts of the grove. Everywhere, however,
laughter and shouts were heard, and whispers, and panting breaths. In fact Rome
had not seen anything like that before.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A
second excerpt from Chapter 33.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicuis
professes before Peter and Paul that he loves Lygia and is moved to the faith
of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicuis first speaks of his
difficulties with Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He spoke with head erect
and decisively; but still he was moved, and his legs trembled beneath his
mantle. When silence followed his words, he continued, as if wishing to
anticipate an unfavorable answer,— <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"I know what
obstacles exist, but I love her as my own eyes; and though I am not a Christian
yet, I am neither your enemy nor Christ's. I wish to be sincere, so that you
may trust me. At this moment it is a question of life with me, still I tell you
the truth. Another might say, Baptize me; I say, Enlighten me. I believe that
Christ rose from the dead, for people say so who love the truth, and who saw
Him after death. I believe, for I have seen myself, that your religion produces
virtue, justice, and mercy,—not crime, which is laid to your charge. I have not
known your religion much so far. A little from you, a little from your works, a
little from Lygia, a little from conversations with you. Still I repeat that it
has made some change in me. Formerly I held my servants with an iron hand; I
cannot do so now. I knew no pity; I know it now. I was fond of pleasure; the
other night I fled from the pond of Agrippa, for the breath was taken from me
through disgust. Formerly I believed in superior force; now I have abandoned
it. Know ye that I do not recognize myself. I am disgusted by feasts, wine,
singing, citharæ, garlands, the court of Cæsar, naked bodies, and every crime.
When I think that Lygia is like snow in the mountains, I love her the more; and
when I think that she is what she is through your religion, I love and desire
that religion. But since I understand it not, since I know not whether I shall
be able to live according to it, nor whether my nature can endure it, I am in
uncertainty and suffering, as if I were in prison." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here his brows met in
wrinkle of pain, and a flush appeared on his cheeks; after that he spoke on
with growing haste and greater emotion,— <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"As ye see, I am
tortured from love and uncertainty. Men tell me that in your religion there is
no place for life, or human joy, or happiness, or law, or order, or authority,
or Roman dominion. Is this true? Men tell me that ye are madmen; but tell me
yourselves what ye bring. Is it a sin to love, a sin to feel joy, a sin to want
happiness? Are ye enemies of life? Must a Christian be wretched? Must I
renounce Lygia? What is truth in your view? Your deeds and words are like
transparent water, but what is under that water? Ye see that I am sincere.
Scatter the darkness. Men say this to me also: Greece created beauty and
wisdom, Rome created power; but they—what do they bring? Tell, then, what ye
bring. If there is brightness beyond your doors, open them." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"We bring
love," said Peter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Paul of Tarsus
added,—"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not
love, I am become sounding brass." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But the heart of the old
Apostle was stirred by that soul in suffering, which, like a bird in a cage,
was struggling toward air and the sun; hence, stretching his hand to Vinicius,
he said,—"Whoso knocketh, to him will be opened. The favor and grace of
God is upon thee; for this reason I bless thee, thy soul and thy love, in the
name of the Redeemer of mankind." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius, who had spoken
with enthusiasm already, sprang toward Peter on hearing this blessing, and an
uncommon thing happened. That descendant of Quirites, who till recently had not
recognized humanity in a foreigner, seized the hand of the old Galilean, and
pressed it in gratitude to his lips. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Peter was pleased; for he
understood that his sowing had fallen on an additional field, that his
fishing-net had gathered in a new soul. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Those present, not less
pleased by that evident expression of honor for the Apostle of God, exclaimed
in one voice,—"Praise to the Lord in the highest!"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0XOq2oenG0g" width="320" youtube-src-id="0XOq2oenG0g"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The novel is far better than any of the movies. </span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-12549921914393311242024-03-10T14:03:00.008-04:002024-03-10T14:49:49.370-04:00Sunday Meditation: The Son of Man Lifted Up<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This week’s Gospel takes a turn from where to
meet God (the desert, the mountain, the temple) to preparing us for the
crucifixion and Holy Week events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today
we have the famous conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, the elder Pharisee
at the Temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The </span>Gospel passage comes in mid conversation,
but it would behoove you to read the previous thirteen lines of John, Chapter
3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is only the Gospel reading.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus said to Nicodemus:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Just as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the desert, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so that everyone who believes in
him may have eternal life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so that everyone who believes in
him might not perish <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but might have eternal life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but that the world might be saved
through him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Whoever believes in him will not
be condemned, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but whoever does not believe has
already been condemned, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">because he has not believed in the
name of the only Son of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And this is the verdict,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">that the light came into the
world, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but people preferred darkness to
light,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">because their works were evil.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For everyone who does wicked
things hates the light<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and does not come toward the
light, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so that his works might not be
exposed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But whoever lives the truth comes
to the light, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so that his works may be clearly
seen as done in God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: repeat white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Jn
3:14-21</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This week, Bishop Barron has the best
homily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tt5L6REQpVA" width="320" youtube-src-id="Tt5L6REQpVA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">In listening to Bishop Barron, it dawned on
me why we Catholics put a crucifix up in the sanctuary of every church, and why
we put crucifixes in our homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
remember a Protestant woman asking this once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She said Protestants emphasize the Resurrection, and so the cross should
not have the corpus on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I responded
that the crucifixion shows our redemption and the love Christ showed for us,
and that is true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the future I think
I should add to this analogy that Christ makes Himself, that is, just as the
bronze serpent was raised in desert that saved the Jews, Christ raised on the cross
saves us!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9a/e0/a8/9ae0a81287a69e9109c3ddc2109d9e78.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="800" height="273" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9a/e0/a8/9ae0a81287a69e9109c3ddc2109d9e78.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: “Just as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone
who believes in him may have eternal life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://jimmyakin.com/wp-content/uploads/7_brass-serpent-crucifixion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="534" height="225" src="https://jimmyakin.com/wp-content/uploads/7_brass-serpent-crucifixion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-9996439943432678392024-03-07T22:39:00.004-05:002024-03-07T22:54:27.497-05:00750th Anniversary of the Death of St. Thomas Aquinas<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
almost let this day pass by without commemorating the 750<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the death of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas" target="_blank">St. Thomas Aquinas</a>. I have a special love for St. Thomas,
not only because I love all things Dominican and St. Thomas is probably the
most famous of the Dominican friars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
he comes from a town roughly an hour and half north of my family’s home town in
Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he taught at the University
of Naples for a time which is the main city of my region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t say I feel related but he feels like
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">paisan</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTb6IfrHefGDotM4of12g_MJfcOfzS_N5HNuC0F0dOKpu0DXE8XidOc-fA1B3-PVIa5d0W-jXiZLVlWg3wYTfuuSW7Pjk0lBVTWYkK9zq4JXfuwHD6BeASXx0utb_B6hIjPyiyi-vFXI/s666/Saint_Thomas_Aquinas-removebg-preview.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="666" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTb6IfrHefGDotM4of12g_MJfcOfzS_N5HNuC0F0dOKpu0DXE8XidOc-fA1B3-PVIa5d0W-jXiZLVlWg3wYTfuuSW7Pjk0lBVTWYkK9zq4JXfuwHD6BeASXx0utb_B6hIjPyiyi-vFXI/w400-h225/Saint_Thomas_Aquinas-removebg-preview.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One
could write for hours on the achievements of St. Thomas Aquinas, so I’ll just
refer you to his Wikipedia entry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
the preeminent theologian of the Catholic Church and a Doctor of the
Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is commonly referred to as
the “Angelic Doctor.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A procession of
his relic was held in his honor at the Italian town of Priverno, less than 50
miles from his birthplace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the
<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257018/st-thomas-aquinas-relics-carried-in-procession-for-750th-anniversary-of-his-death" target="_blank">Catholic News Agency</a>: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On the eve of the 750th
anniversary of St. Thomas Aquinas’ death, a skull revered as a relic of St.
Thomas Aquinas was carried in a solemn procession through the cobblestone
streets of the southern Italian town of Priverno.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bishop Mariano Crociata
led the procession to honor the medieval philosopher and theologian widely
considered one of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization who died in the
nearby Fossanova Abbey on March 7, 1274.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
find that somewhat remarkable, that a man who had travel all over Europe and
had made many a college town his home would die so close to his home town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also died at the age of only 48, which was
not unusual but his written output for a man of that age is stunning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
article also recites the famous anecdote of how Thomas stopped writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Three months before he
died, Aquinas experienced an intense revelation while offering Mass when he was
nearly finished with his most significant work, the “Summa Theologiae” or
“Summary of Theology.” After experiencing this revelation, Aquinas told his
friend and secretary Brother Reginald of Priverno: “The end of my labors has
come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things
that have been revealed to me,” and he never wrote again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fr.
Gregory Pine, O.P. of the Thomistic Institute provides a succinct biographical
video.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V_FuJXZOy90" width="320" youtube-src-id="V_FuJXZOy90"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-thomas-aquinas-750-years-relevant-social-sciences.html" target="_blank">Vatican News also put out an article</a> of the anniversary where Pope Francis points out
what I think is St. Thomas’s most important insight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pope Francis sent a
message to the academics participating in the conference to mark the 750th
anniversary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The Angelic Doctor was
profoundly convinced that since God is the truth and the light that illumines
all understanding, there can be no ultimate contradiction between revealed
truth and the truths discovered by reason,” the pope wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Central to his
understanding of the relationship of faith and reason was his conviction of the
power of God’s gift of grace to heal human nature weakened by sin and to
elevate the mind through participation in God’s own knowledge and love, and
thereby to enable us to understand and correctly order our lives as individuals
and in society.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Here, Thomas points out,
we see the heart of the Christian life as an act of priestly worship aimed at
the glorification of God and the sanctification of our world,” he added.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To
sum up, Aquinas points out that there cannot be a difference between scientific
(or natural) truth and Biblical and Spiritual truths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There cannot be a distinction between
physical truth and truths of faith, and it is up to the theologian to harmonize
what might appear to a contradiction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">EWTN
News Nightly had a segment on the anniversary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/af4Uvn2KRww" width="320" youtube-src-id="af4Uvn2KRww"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bishop
Robert Barron is a long admirer of St. Thomas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here he is from quite a few years ago, before he was made a bishop I
think, speaking on his love of Thomas and why Thomas was so important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_eyF0PiIY_o" width="320" youtube-src-id="_eyF0PiIY_o"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
this Jubilee year of Thomas’ death (750<sup>th</sup> anniversary) and of his canonization
(700<sup>th</sup> anniversary) Pope Frances has granted a plenary indulgence by
visiting “any church, shrine, or chapel currently entrusted to the Dominican
Order.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The detailed requirements can be
found <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254802/vatican-grants-plenary-indulgence-for-st-thomas-aquinas-jubilee-celebrations" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally,
I want to conclude with St. Thomas Aquinas’s final words from his deathbed after
having taken last rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I receive you, price of
my soul’s redemption. I receive you, viaticum of my pilgrimage, for love of
whom I have studied, watched and labored. I have preached you. I have taught
you. Never have I said anything against you, and if I have done so, it is through
ignorance, and I am not stubborn in my error. If I have taught wrongly
concerning this sacrament or the others, I submit it to the judgment of the
Holy Roman Church, in obedience to which I now leave this life.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His
humble submission to God and the Church is something we all need to model and
uphold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">St.
Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.learnreligions.com/thmb/UHdfGQruz03GC_tchXm0bL9WWMg=/2105x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/StThomasAquinas-926832456-7e8717fad7834b5cb603405637e01733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="800" height="271" src="https://www.learnreligions.com/thmb/UHdfGQruz03GC_tchXm0bL9WWMg=/2105x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/StThomasAquinas-926832456-7e8717fad7834b5cb603405637e01733.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-75883646300194463762024-03-05T14:00:00.001-05:002024-03-05T14:00:00.134-05:00Music Tuesday: Prayer of St. Gregory<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
haven’t had a Music Tuesday post in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I came across this piece on my local classical music station (WQXR, you
can get it on the internet) while driving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had never heard of it, nor of the composer, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hovhaness" target="_blank">Alan Hovhanass</a>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Alan
Hovhanass (1911-2000) was an American composer of partial Arminian ethnicity,
and he would eventually embrace that ethnicity and compose from that cultural
perspective, at least at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would
later expand into other world musical perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His music embraces many international forms
and styles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I probably should be
embarrassed I had never heard of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was immensely prolific—67 symphonies!—with over 500 known compositions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he destroyed over a thousand pages of
youthful compositions which he didn’t consider worthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wrote his first composition at the age of
four!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/alan-hovhaness-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="800" height="334" src="https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/alan-hovhaness-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Prayer
of St. Gregory is a trumpet piece with accompanying strings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an alternate arrangement with an
organ replacing the strings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll embed
both and we can decide which we prefer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Prayer of St. Gregory piece is part of Hovhannas’s opera, <i>Etchmiadzin</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Etchmiadzin is an alternate name to the
Armenian city of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagharshapat" target="_blank">Vagharshapat </a>where the holy <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Etchmiadzin_Cathedral/" target="_blank">Etchmiadzin Cathedral</a> resides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not clear to me whether
the opera refers to the city or the cathedral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Cathedral dates back to the fourth century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Construction is supposed to have begun back
in 303 AD, and attributed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_the_Illuminator" target="_blank">St. Gregory the Illuminator</a>, the founder of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Apostolic_Church." target="_blank">Armenia’s Apostolic Church</a>, which is currently not in communion
with the Catholic Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an aside, I should add that there is
currently an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Catholic_Church" target="_blank">Armenian Catholic Church</a> which is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome and is one of the 23 Eastern
Rite Catholic Churches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Etchmiadzin_cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Etchmiadzin_cathedral.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Armenian Apostolic Church was in 301 the first official Christian religion of a
national state in history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Catholic
Church was still being persecuted under pagan Imperial Rome and would not reach
toleration under the Emperor Constantine until 313 but not made the state
religion of the empire until 380 by the Emperor Theodosius I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Armenia had last been part of the Roman
Empire in 117 under the Emperor Trajan but Trajan’s successor, Hadrian, decided
to not defend it in 118.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parts of
Armenia in subsequent years would both be incorporated and then fall away from
both the Roman and Parthian Empires which were in struggle against each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Christianity took root in Armenia in as
early as the year 40, supposedly under the apostles Jude and Bartolomew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://facecharity.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/St-Gregory-the-Illuminator-2-scaled-pdw3hfaip022i1cafhyuhgfa6ahhooisn6q1y9riiw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://facecharity.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/St-Gregory-the-Illuminator-2-scaled-pdw3hfaip022i1cafhyuhgfa6ahhooisn6q1y9riiw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gregory
the Illuminator, however, is credited with evangelizing the country in the late
third and early fourth centuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prior
to the conversion of the country, Gregory is to have spent fourteen years in
jail</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">for
refusing to sacrifice to a pagan goddess, a jail cell which sounds like it was
not much different than a well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would
eventually be released and then convert the king, and the country
followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am guessing that the Prayer
of St. Gregory is alluding to the prayer Gregory must have made while in the
desolation of the jail pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trumpet solo
voice represents the prayer of desolation, sadness, and appeal of the saint toward
providence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strings (or alternative
organ) establishes the context and ambiance of Gregory’s predicament and
perhaps represents the voice of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
that you will have to judge for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let’s listen first, and then I’ll try to describe what my amateur ears
hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the various orchestra versions
on the internet, I prefer this orchestra version with David Krauss on trumpet
and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (The Met) accompanying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/POpD3AHW-x4" width="320" youtube-src-id="POpD3AHW-x4"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There
are three trumpet entries into the piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think that is the key characteristic in conceptualizing the score’s
structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strings—the first voice—initiates
the piece and sets the context of what feels like prison walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about thirty seconds the trumpet makes its
first entry and plays what I’ll call the desolation melody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phrasing seems to emulate a vocal prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first trumpet entry lasts for about 40
seconds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That diminishing phrase that
concludes the trumpet melody seems to be the defining fragment of the melody and
expresses the emotional core.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
the strings have a short moment of prominence picking up what I think is part
of the desolation melody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In just 20
seconds, the trumpet enters for the second time, again with the desolation
melody but this time the prayer developing to a greater appeal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It reaches a higher pitch of notes with more
dynamism and longer note duration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
energy momentarily surges but then retreats to the melancholy phrasing of the
first entry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
the trumpet goes silent for almost two full minutes, almost 40% of the
piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this stretch, the strings
develop its melody, what seems to me a response to the desolation melody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This second melody seems to pick elements of
the trumpet phrasing but its ebbing and flowing feels like this is a voice of
comfort, or trying to comfort, perhaps even a voice of explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the trumpet comforted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel a tension in the extended silence, and
when it comes in for its third entry the melody has not changed and its appeal
seems even greater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It returns to the
dynamism of the second entry only with even higher pitched notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after its burst of energy the trumpet returns
to its desolation phrasing, but, it should be noted, the piece concludes with
the strings and trumpet ending on an extended harmonic note together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While desolation melody has remained prominent,
the piece does seem to conclude in intimacy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But
these are all my reactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could
make the argument that it ends in an unanswered appeal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is for you to decide.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now
let’s hear the version with organ as accompanying voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wynton Marsalis is on trumpet and Anthony
Newman on organ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This alternate version
is a shade shorter, the forty seconds taken from the trumpet’s silent section.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/amXCXRjQGck" width="320" youtube-src-id="amXCXRjQGck"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Marsalis
is magnificent on trumpet but I have to admit, the organ seems to be lacking in
the response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just not a fuller
voice than the strings, and it doesn’t feel equal to the trumpet voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I definitely prefer the version with the
strings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vfrw7yGRsfs/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vfrw7yGRsfs/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-42563443377924461282024-03-03T16:15:00.001-05:002024-03-04T00:03:34.749-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Temple of His Body<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This week Jesus is neither in the desert nor
on a mountain, but takes us into the city of Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More specifically He takes us to the Temple
Mount and into the Courtyard of the Gentiles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Three places to encounter God in three weeks: the desert, the mountain, and the
temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Year B, the Gospel readings
during Lent switch to the Gospel of John after beginning with the Third
Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Since the Passover of the Jews was
near,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus went up to Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He found in the temple area those
who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">as well as the money changers
seated there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He made a whip out of cords<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and drove them all out of the
temple area, with the sheep and oxen, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and spilled the coins of the money
changers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and overturned their tables, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and to those who sold doves he
said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Take these out of here, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and stop making my Father’s house
a marketplace.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">His disciples recalled the words
of Scripture, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Zeal for your house will consume
me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">At this the Jews answered and said
to him,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“What sign can you show us for
doing this?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus answered and said to them, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Destroy this temple and in three
days I will raise it up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The Jews said, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“This temple has been under
construction for forty-six years, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and you will raise it up in three
days?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But he was speaking about the
temple of his body.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Therefore, when he was raised from
the dead, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">his disciples remembered that he
had said this, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and they came to believe the
Scripture <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and the word Jesus had spoken.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">While he was in Jerusalem for the
feast of Passover, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">many began to believe in his name <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">when they saw the signs he was
doing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But Jesus would not trust himself
to them because he knew them all, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and did not need anyone to testify
about human nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He himself understood it well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Jn
2:13-25</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The most fascinating explanation of the
Gospel, complete with sketches of the Temple, comes this week from Fr. Geoffrey Plant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xhjl91FUEyA" width="320" youtube-src-id="xhjl91FUEyA"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Geoffrey has perfected these videos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells us everything one could think of,
and lots one cannot think of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only
thing to add I think is that Christ’s body is the new temple, the Church that
replaces the Jewish temple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: “Destroy this temple and in three
days I will raise it up.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hn-6lE9ERW4" width="320" youtube-src-id="hn-6lE9ERW4"></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-18662239354100425112024-03-01T21:45:00.004-05:002024-03-01T21:45:40.527-05:00Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 4<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is Post #4 of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s historical
novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can find Post #1 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Post #2, <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by_23.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Post #3 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by_01800613740.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.etsystatic.com/24744613/r/il/31135c/3108836985/il_fullxfull.3108836985_2ssv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://i.etsystatic.com/24744613/r/il/31135c/3108836985/il_fullxfull.3108836985_2ssv.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chapters 21 thru 27<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius at the sight of Lygia is frozen and feels an
immense feeling of love and desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chilo pulls him away and suggests they go to the cemetery gate to
encounter her as she leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
Vinicius, knowing that Croton will be his protection, insists they follow her
home and grab her there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo does not
approve of this plan out of fear and he and Croton bicker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Croton assures them he will protect them
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a very long walk following
Lygia they arrive at a house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius
and Croton approach the house while Chilo hides in an ally to watch.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The house is large with many apartments and inside a courtyard
they spot Ursus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They follow Ursus and
Vinicius commands Croton to attack and kill him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a quick moment Croton puts Ursus in a
wrestling lock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius leaves them
fighting while he barges into the room to find Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also in a quick moment he grabs Lygia and
forcibly pulls her out but when he goes out the door he finds that Ursus has
smashed Croton’s head and is dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ursus
seeing Vinicius abducting Lygia springs toward him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Lygia screams to “Kill not!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meanwhile Chilo outside is wondering what is
happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If something has happened to
Vinicius, he ponders, he will get the authority of Caesar upon the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he sees Ursus come out to dispose of Croton’s
body, and Chilo runs in fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
concludes that Vinicius has been killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After a time, he decides it is best to find out what has happened to
Vinicius and he decides to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he
encounters Ursus in front of his own house as he was about to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ursus beckons Chilo to go to Vinicius.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What had happened to Vinicius when Lygia prevented
Ursus from killing him was that Ursus had pushed him and knocked him
unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he came to there were
people standing above him and he found his left arm broken to the point of
distortion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had come out of the
shoulder socket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius thinking they
were torturing him asked to be killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They did no such thing but tried to heal him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christians Crispus and Glaucus were
trying to put his arm back into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lygia too brought in water and dressings for his wounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christians worry that some retribution
will be taken against them but Vinicius hoping not to lose Lygia promises that
his authority will prevent that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
tells them to bring Chilo so he could arrange it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia convinces Crispus to let them all stay
until Vinicius is nursed back to health.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ursus takes Chilo on that long walk to the house where
Lygia is staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the walk the two
talk about Christianity and Chilo continues to maintain the charade he is a
Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally they get to the bed
where Vinicius lay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius tells him a
lie that Croton had tried to kill Vinicius and the Christians had protected
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then suddenly Glaucus, who Chilo
had betrayed years ago, makes himself known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chilo now convinced he will be killed in revenge drops to his knees to
beg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to Chilo’s shock Galucus
forgives him, and Ursus helps him up and leads him out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius too is shocked that the Christians should
treat Chilo with mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t make
sense to his pagan understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he
lay in bed recovering Vinicius ponders the values of the Christian people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he is being nursed, Lygia explains how
Christians are supposed to act in accordance to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a fever Vinicius goes in and out of
dreams, dreaming of Lygia, the Apostle Peter, and the other Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dreams feel like some heavenly state of
goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he wakes he could hear
Peter telling the stories of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
one point Vinicius feels his soul in a state of upheaval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally he dreams of drowning and being
pulled into a boat navigated by Peter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And when in the dream that boat lands, Lygia takes his hand and leads
him into a glow of light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he wakes
he finds Lygia on her knees praying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next day Vinicius awakes with Ursus nursing
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius inquires about Ursus’
homeland and Lygia’s history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a
king’s daughter and had been given as a child to a Roman commander who in
several transfers was given to Pomponia to raise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ursus’ country was beyond the Danube filled
with heavy forests, and their people are pagan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He and Lygia became Christian through Pomponia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ursus’ awkwardness in feeding Vinicius leads
him to get Lygia to take over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
feeding Vinicius while he is in bed, the closeness between he and Lygia stirs
desires in both of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius tells
her that he will no longer attain her by force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She tells him that she believes Caesar is angry with her and does not
think it wise to be returned to Pomponia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He asks about her Christianity and her happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that moment he could see the difficulties
of a relationship with her, he a patrician Roman, she a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In speaking to him, she was filled with love
for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she too realizes the
difficulties of such a relationship.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She tries to not go near him as much, but when she sees
him delight fills her heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She notices
that Vinicius has subtlety changed for the good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has begun to see all the household as
human beings and not slaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slowly he is
returning to health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christianity still
seems absurd to him but the figure of Christ is paramount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He concludes that he must either love him or
hate him, there could be no indifference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lygia notices how Christianity is breaking Vinicius and she has pity for
him in his struggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he expresses
love for her, she rushes away with her heart aflame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next day she reveals to Crispus that she could not
trust herself any longer near Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crispus, a presbyter, severe in nature, was indignant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could she give in to these passions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was visibly angry and told her he was
disappointed with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crispus’ loud,
angry voice brings the attention of Peter who is then walking into the house
with another apostle, Paul of Tarsus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sobbing, Lygia explains what had happened, and to Crispus’ surprise,
Peter takes the side of Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
explains that Christ had forgiven many women, and that marriage was a normal
thing between men and women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crispus expresses
his contrition, and he too is forgiven.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ocdn.eu/images/program-tv/YmI7MDA_/2701927ae481495438ac0396f0af4f50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="700" height="273" src="https://ocdn.eu/images/program-tv/YmI7MDA_/2701927ae481495438ac0396f0af4f50.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Ursus tells about
his homeland of Lygia, I became curious to see exactly where this place is
located.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it turns out Lygia was the
region of the Germanic tribe the Lugii or sometimes referred to as the Lygii, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugii">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugii</a></span>
inhabiting central Europe “north of the Sudetes mountains in the basin of upper
Oder and Vistula rivers, covering most of modern southern and middle Poland
(regions of Silesia, Greater Poland, Mazovia and Lesser Poland).”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s in Poland, Sienkiewicz’s
homeland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess that should not be a
surprise but it did surprise me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
quite natural for an author to integrate his homeland into a story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In modern Poland, the region would be I think
Lower Silesia, whose capital is Wroclaw, and on the modern map bordering Czech
Republic and eastern Germany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sienkiewicz in the novel mentions the Lygians having battled other
Germanic tribes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Suevi and the
Marcomani are mentioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lygii, the
Suevi, and the Marocmani are all real Germanic people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sienkiewicz did his research well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Replied</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Suebi are the modern
day <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabia" target="_blank">Swabians</a>. I am Swabian :-) They migrated further over the next centuries
finally settling roughly south of the Limes (red line) by the 6th century, if I
remember correctly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Part of the Swabians were
a people called Alamanni, and they settled the furthest south and west into
modern day Switzerland and what is now Alsace in France. This is why the French
call Germany Allamagne. The dialects of both are very similar.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Kerstin</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How cool is that Kerstin.
Italians also call Germans similarly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By the way, I have some
background in the novel as well. The Romans keep talking about going to a city
called Beneventum. That is the modern day city of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevento" target="_blank">Benevento</a>. The town in Italy
where my family is from is not very far from there, maybe a half hour drive and
it's only that long because it's winding roads in hilly areas. I've been to
Benevento and looked at the Roman ruins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you look at a good
Italian map (and you can find it on the internet) my home town is mid way
between Benevento and another small city named Avellino. Actually I was born in
a hospital in Avellino.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Frances
Reply to Me</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I found it, Manny. East
of Naples, on the Sabato River, in a landscape beautiful with rivers, lakes,
mountains and boundless plains. What a heritage!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michelle’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That's terrible!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Michelle</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My father’s brother? Yes.
It’s hard to think of him as an uncle since I never met him. I think he was in
his twenties and my father must have been some ten years younger I’m guessing.
My mother still has a picture of Uncle Federico on her wall. He was supposedly
a strong swimmer too, which supports the claim that more people who know how to
swim drown than those who don’t. Those that know how to swim either take more
chances or come across conditions they misjudge (like under currents) that
might lead to drowning. My father at the beach would swim way out there,
sometimes where lifeguards had to call him in, which is crazy knowing what
happened to his brother. But he never drowned or needed rescue. Me, I am a poor
swimmer and I tell myself every time I’m confronted with bodies of water. I no
longer swim in anything but a swimming pool, and even that has become rare.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I'm having a brain
freeze. Who is Bronzebeard or in some translations called Redbeard? For some
reason my memory is failing me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wait, is that just
another name for Nero? Is that only a slang for Nero between Petronius and
Vinicius?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michelle’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I think someone else
later on in the book referred to Nero as Bronzebeard as well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, it's Nero. In my
translation he is referred to as "Redbeard" all the time by
Petronius.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.mubicdn.net/images/film/28659/cache-19806-1593122442/image-w1280.jpg?size=800x" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://images.mubicdn.net/images/film/28659/cache-19806-1593122442/image-w1280.jpg?size=800x" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt
from Chapter 21, Vinicuis catching sight of Lygia, the end of the ceremony, and
Vinicius, Chilo, and Croton following Lygia to her home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Every drop of blood
quivered in the young patrician at sight of her. He forgot the crowd, the old
man, his own astonishment at the incomprehensible things which he had heard,—he
saw only her. At last, after all his efforts, after long days of alarm, trouble,
and suffering, he had found her! For the first time he realized that joy might
rush at the heart, like a wild beast, and squeeze it till breath was lost. He,
who had supposed hitherto that on "Fortuna" had been imposed a kind
of duty to accomplish all his wishes, hardly believed his own eyes now and his
own happiness. Were it not for that disbelief, his passionate nature might have
urged him to some unconsidered step; but he wished to convince himself first
that that was not the continuation of those miracles with which his head was
filled, and that he was not dreaming. But there was no doubt,—he saw Lygia, and
an interval of barely a few steps divided them. She stood in perfect light, so
that he could rejoice in the sight of her as much as he liked. The hood had
fallen from her head and dishevelled her hair; her mouth was open slightly, her
eyes raised toward the Apostle, her face fixed in listening and delighted. She
was dressed in a dark woollen mantle, like a daughter of the people, but never
had Vinicius seen her more beautiful; and notwithstanding all the disorder
which had risen in him, he was struck by the nobility of that wonderful
patrician head in distinction to the dress, almost that of a slave. Love flew
over him like a flame, immense, mixed with a marvellous feeling of yearning,
homage, honor, and desire. He felt the delight which the sight of her caused
him; he drank of her as of life-giving water after long thirst. Standing near
the gigantic Lygian, she seemed to him smaller than before, almost a child; he
noticed, too, that she had grown more slender. Her complexion had become almost
transparent; she made on him the impression of a flower, and a spirit. But all
the more did he desire to possess that woman, so different from all women whom
he had seen or possessed in Rome or the Orient. He felt that for her he would
have given them all, and with them Rome and the world in addition. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He would have lost
himself in gazing, and forgotten himself altogether, had it not been for Chilo,
who pulled the corner of his mantle, out of fear that he might do something to
expose them to danger. Meanwhile the Christians began to pray and sing. After a
while Maranatha thundered forth, and then the Great Apostle baptized with water
from the fountain those whom the presbyters presented as ready for baptism. It
seemed to Vinicius that that night would never end. He wished now to follow
Lygia as soon as possible, and seize her on the road or at her house. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At last some began to
leave the cemetery, and Chilo whispered,—"Let us go out before the gate,
lord, we have not removed our hoods, and people look at us." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Such was the case, for
during the discourse of the Apostle all had cast aside their hoods so as to
hear better, and they had not followed the general example. Chilo's advice
seemed wise, therefore. Standing before the gate, they could look at all who
passed; Ursus it was easy to recognize by his form and size. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Let us follow
them," said Chilo; "we shall see to what house they go. To-morrow, or
rather to-day, thou wilt surround the entrances with slaves and take her."
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"No!" said
Vinicius. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"What dost thou wish
to do, lord?" <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"We will follow her
to the house and take her now, if thou wilt undertake that task, Croton?" <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"I will,"
replied Croton, "and I will give myself to thee as a slave if I do not
break the back of that bison who is guarding her." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But Chilo fell to
dissuading and entreating them by all the gods not to do so. Croton was taken
only for defence against attack in case they were recognized, not to carry off
the girl. To take her when there were only two of them was to expose themselves
to death, and, what was worse, they might let her out of their hands, and then
she would hide in another place or leave Rome. And what could they do? Why not
act with certainty? Why expose themselves to destruction and the whole
undertaking to failure? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Though Vinicius
restrained himself with the greatest effort from seizing Lygia in his arms at
once, right there in the cemetery, he felt that the Greek was right, and would
have lent ear, perhaps, to his counsels, had it not been for Croton, to whom
reward was the question. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Lord, command that
old goat to be silent," said he, "or let me drop my fist on his head.
Once in Buxentum, whither Lucius Saturnius took me to a play, seven drunken
gladiators fell on me at an inn, and none of them escaped with sound ribs. I do
not say to take the girl now from the crowd, for they might throw stones before
our feet, but once she is at home I will seize her, carry her away, and take
her whithersoever thou shalt indicate." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius was pleased to
hear those words, and answered,—"Thus let it be, by Hercules! To-morrow we
may not find her at home; if we surprise them they will remove the girl
surely." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"This Lygian seems
tremendously strong!" groaned Chilo. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"No one will ask
thee to hold his hands," answered Croton.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BDNu76OJYX0" width="320" youtube-src-id="BDNu76OJYX0"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-36037263336613845952024-02-27T08:00:00.001-05:002024-02-27T08:00:00.155-05:00Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 3<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is Post #3 of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s historical
novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can find Post #1 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Post #2, <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by_23.html" target="_blank">here</a>: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51phZJthouL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="258" height="346" src="https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51phZJthouL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chapters 15 thru 20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The narrative suddenly turns epistolary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First Petronius sends a letter to Vinicius
that he and the Roman aristocracy are in the vacation town of Antium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He provides some of the gossip and some of
the machinations between rivals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
mentions that the pain of little Augusta’s death is still fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius, in Rome, writes back that despite
Chilo’s clandestine excursions into the Christian population, Lygia has not
been found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo has brought back
information that the Christians have prayer services in meeting houses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells Petronius that he too in disguised
has wandered to some of the prayer houses.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The narrative returns with Chilo having been away from
Vinicius for some time, and Vinicius’ emotions toward Lygia gone from love to
anger, but he strengthens his resolve to find her and possess her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally after some time Chilo returns to tell
him though she has not been found she is certainly among them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo mentions that he has found an old
nemesis, an old man named Glaucus who was responsible for Chilo losing two
fingers on his hand and that he had left him at an inn dying of stab wounds
after Glaucus’ wife and child were abducted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He says that robbers had done this to Glaucus, and now Glaucus had
apparently joined the Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vinicius asks him why this should concern him, and Chilo says he must
stay away from Glaucus and can no longer search for Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius is enraged and says he will kill
Chilo himself if he doesn’t continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chilo reluctantly agrees but requests money to have Glaucus killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius advances him a good portion of
Chilo’s fee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo reveals that a
certain Paul of Tarsus, a Christian lawgiver, is due to come to Rome and hopes
that he can locate Lygia in that gathering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chilo again goes undercover to the Christian he has
befriended, the old man Euricius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo
explains his need for protection, and Euricius’ son Quartus puts Chilo in
contact with Demos who is supposed to have laborers who can work as bodyguards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the laborers is a gigantic man named
Urban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo explains to Urban how this
man named Glaucus plans to betray the Christians and must be killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo couches the story into a replay of
Judas betraying Christ, and that Glaucus is a second Judas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Urban tells Chilo he will do it despite that
he feels guilt still for killing another man accidently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Urban also tells Chilo of a big Christian
gathering at Ostrianum, the cemetery outside the city gates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There a great apostle of Christ is supposed
to give a talk and all the Christians will be there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There Urban says he will to kill Glaucus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Petroinus writes another letter to Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells Vinicius to hire Croton to be his
guard as he wanders the streets of Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He will be needed to defend against Ursus when Lygia is found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He goes on about more political gossip and
winds up that at some point he may slice his veins to end his life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chilo barges into Vinicius’ home to tell him that he
has found Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has not exactly
found her but knows where she will be that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will be at Ostrianum with Ursus who has
changed his name to Urban. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo
cowardly says he will not join Vinicius that evening, but Vinicius compels him
with money and with the company of Croton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vinicius now is in wild delight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He will finally possess Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo
explains how Ursus is supposed to kill Glaucus, but wonders if the goodness of
Christianity will dissuade Urban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo
explains the Christian God is one of morality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They all put on cloaks with hoods and head off to Ostrianum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At Ostrianum they watched the Christians slowly gather
in huge numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius noticed that
the Christians relate to their God with love, unlike any religion he had ever
seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not love his Greco-Roman
gods but feared them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He listened to the
Christians sing hymns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally an old
man named Peter stepped up on a rock and blessed the crowd with the sign of a
cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They heard the old man had been a
fisherman once and had been Christ’s chief disciple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter began to speak like a father
instructing his children, imploring them to be good and pure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius notices that Christianity is
different from any philosophy he knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peter even speaks on the merits of suffering and even death like that of
Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius is repelled by this
teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What kind of God is this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He concludes that Christianity is
madness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter goes on to speak of his
witness to Christ, of Christ’s death and how they had found the tomb empty and
ultimately come across the Risen Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vinicius became lost in Peter’s narrative and was torn between belief
and unbelief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter kept saying, “I
saw.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As morning began to rise, Chilo
pulled Vinicius aside and pointed to Urban and the girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius turned and saw Lygia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X5R3PpjdDFlr4z8gQX9cblJlvkyPpPr3NLwn6CdvJ0S_QCSEsGoWssh-Ui3hc0zil_uO2mXTTE_t4E1ewGNzhucfIYB84CTEE2O6g6w6H90cXcxT0T8YFeSM0T3JjwrstH9p-DP0HVg0/s984/Quo9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="984" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X5R3PpjdDFlr4z8gQX9cblJlvkyPpPr3NLwn6CdvJ0S_QCSEsGoWssh-Ui3hc0zil_uO2mXTTE_t4E1ewGNzhucfIYB84CTEE2O6g6w6H90cXcxT0T8YFeSM0T3JjwrstH9p-DP0HVg0/w400-h293/Quo9.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oh my! Was that a
spectacular Chapter 20? I was glued.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Madeleine
Replied</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I agree, Manny. I'm
finding it harder to put down, and really easy to keep up so far. Even though I
read it when I was in high school, I really didn't remember much, so it's a
whole new book this time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is interesting is
that Sienkiewicz waited for almost a third of the novel to get to the
Christians. Up to now we've barely seen the Christians interact and the
anticipation climaxed with St. Peter's sermon. That was highly skilled
plotting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michelle
Replied</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I knew that St.
Peter was about to come onstage I was thrilled!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Joseph
Replied</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I agree with Manny on the
clever construction of the narrative. Sienkiewicz has gone the extra length to
make early Christians seem mysterious to the modern Christian, or at least
culturally Christian, people reading the book and having to place themselves in
the viewpoint of 1st century Romans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Galicius
Commented</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It seems that Sienkiewicz
set himself a goal to present mutual relationship of two worlds pagan—Roman—and
Christian. Sienkiewicz was criticized that his portrayal of Christianity pales
compared to the pagan world in all its splendor of Roman palaces and life of
its citizens, Caesar and his court. We get another description soon of a feast
hosted by Tigellinus for Caesar in Chapter XXXI. It seems to me though that
this is to be expected. Christians in Rome during Nero had to hide underground.
How was Sienkiewicz to portray them in material terms? Christianity as seen by
Vinicius in Lygia is perhaps best explained in Chapter XXXIV: “that beauty of a
new kind altogether was coming to the world in her, such beauty as had not been
in it thus far; beauty which is not merely a statue, but a spirit.” (Sorry for
moving ahead but I do not think I am giving away anything of the story.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michelle
Replied to Galicius</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He might be showing more
of the Roman world, but he also shows how empty it is. Vinicius seems to be
more discontent with Rome as the story continues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Galicius</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, it seems he is
setting out to contrast two world views, but I would disagree with those that
claim the Roman world is presented in splendor. Yes, there are riches and power
dramatized but I think it presents the Roman world as a bunch of overindulgent
egotists who only care about themselves. The old Roman virtues of nobility and
piety are long gone and what is left in this post Republican world is
self-centeredness and hedonism. I don't find this a positive portrayal of the
Roman world. It also feels very true.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Galicius
Replied</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My above remarks were
misunderstood—as if Sienkiewicz was representing Roman culture positively and
purposely belittling the faithful Christians. We will see that this plebeian
Christian culture that is depicted as little and pale compared to the
aristocratic and powerful official patricians will be victorious in the end.
Remember that God and Ursus is with them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Madeleine’s
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I am liking the rich
detail in the novel. Sienkiewicz does bring his characters to life while giving
us the context that envelops their lives. The pagans are definitely more
sensually oriented than the Christians, and I like how Vinicius gradually
begins to understand what is missing in the pagan world. Will he give himself
over to Christ and will he be able to love Lygia with a holy Christian love?
Suspense building here.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin’s
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The roller-coaster of
emotions Vinicius goes through in chapter 16 seems excessive to our
sensibilities. Here is a young Pagan man who has yet to encounter the meaning
of "love your neighbor as yourself". Ligyia is more object to him
rather than a person.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Kerstin</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I thought so too at first
but that's where I saw Sienkiewicz building the psychologies of the pagan world
(with its variety) and the Christian world. I am marveling at how the author is
capturing the psychology of the pagan world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Frances’s
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’d like to recommend Tom
Holland’s excellent study of ancient cultures here. The title is Dominion (with
a superb reproduction of Dali’s ‘’Christ of St. John of the Cross” on its
cover). In it Tom Holland writes of his awakening to the cruelty of the ancient
world: “The more you study the world of the ancient Romans the more alien they
seem to be. Theirs was a culture built on systematic exploitation, an economy
founded on slave labor,” and — to Kerstin’s point — “the absolute right of free
Roman males to have sex with anyone they wanted and in any way they wanted . .
. ‘’</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Frances</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have thought of this
book too while reading Quo Vadis. The central thesis of Holland's historical
book is that there was a stark and lasting change in the world
views/psychologies of the pagan world and the Christian world. I have not read
this book but I have read reviews and heard Holland interviewed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is Holland's book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43885149-dominion?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nLVBtakqs2&rank=1" target="_blank">Dominion: How the Christian RevolutionRemade the World</a></i>. I bet you can find interviews of Holland on YouTube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Frances’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you, Manny. One of
the best interviews I’ve found on YouTube is “Unbelievable? Tom Holland and Tom
Wright: How St. Paul changed the world.” A conversation you’ll want to listen
to again and again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nlf_ULB26cU" width="320" youtube-src-id="nlf_ULB26cU"></iframe></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpts
from chapter 20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius and Chilo
sneak into a Christian ceremony in the middle of the night and witness Peter giving
a homily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to split this into
two parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First Vincius’s observations
of the Christian ceremony.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius had seen a
multitude of temples of most various structure in Asia Minor, in Egypt, and in
Rome itself; he had become acquainted with a multitude of religions, most
varied in character, and had heard many hymns; but here, for the first time, he
saw people calling on a divinity with hymns,—not to carry out a fixed ritual,
but calling from the bottom of the heart, with the genuine yearning which
children might feel for a father or a mother. One had to be blind not to see
that those people not merely honored their God, but loved him with the whole
soul. Vinicius had not seen the like, so far, in any land, during any ceremony,
in any sanctuary; for in Rome and in Greece those who still rendered honor to
the gods did so to gain aid for themselves or through fear; but it had not even
entered any one's head to love those divinities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Though his mind was
occupied with Lygia, and his attention with seeking her in the crowd, he could
not avoid seeing those uncommon and wonderful things which were happening
around him. Meanwhile a few more torches were thrown on the fire, which filled
the cemetery with ruddy light and darkened the gleam of the lanterns. That
moment an old man, wearing a hooded mantle but with a bare head, issued from
the hypogeum. This man mounted a stone which lay near the fire. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The crowd swayed before
him. Voices near Vinicius whispered, "Peter! Peter!" Some knelt,
others extended their hands toward him. There followed a silence so deep that
one heard every charred particle that dropped from the torches, the distant
rattle of wheels on the Via Nomentana, and the sound of wind through the few
pines which grew close to the cemetery. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chilo bent toward
Vinicius and whispered,—"This is he! The foremost disciple of Christ-a
fisherman!" <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The old man raised his
hand, and with the sign of the cross blessed those present, who fell on their
knees simultaneously. Vinicius and his attendants, not wishing to betray
themselves, followed the example of others. The young man could not seize his
impressions immediately, for it seemed to him that the form which he saw there
before him was both simple and uncommon, and, what was more, the uncommonness
flowed just from the simplicity. The old man had no mitre on his head, no
garland of oak-leaves on his temples, no palm in his hand, no golden tablet on
his breast, he wore no white robe embroidered with stars; in a word, he bore no
insignia of the kind worn by priests—Oriental, Egyptian, or Greek—or by Roman
flamens. And Vinicius was struck by that same difference again which he felt
when listening to the Christian hymns; for that "fisherman," too, seemed
to him, not like some high priest skilled in ceremonial, but as it were a
witness, simple, aged, and immensely venerable, who had journeyed from afar to
relate a truth which he had seen, which he had touched, which he believed as he
believed in existence, and he had come to love this truth precisely because he
believed it. There was in his face, therefore, such a power of convincing as
truth itself has. And Vinicius, who had been a sceptic, who did not wish to
yield to the charm of the old man, yielded, however, to a certain feverish
curiosity to know what would flow from the lips of that companion of the
mysterious "Christus," and what that teaching was of which Lygia and
Pomponia Græcina were followers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Second
excerpt is part of Peter’s homily.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The old man closed his
eyes, as if to see distant things more distinctly in his soul, and
continued,—"When the disciples had lamented in this way, Mary of Magdala
rushed in a second time, crying that she had seen the Lord. Unable to recognize
him, she thought him the gardener: but He said, 'Mary!' She cried 'Rabboni!'
and fell at his feet. He commanded her to go to the disciples, and vanished.
But they, the disciples, did not believe her; and when she wept for joy, some
upbraided her, some thought that sorrow had disturbed her mind, for she said,
too, that she had seen angels at the grave, but they, running thither a second
time, saw the grave empty. Later in the evening appeared Cleopas, who had come
with another from Emmaus, and they returned quickly, saying: 'The Lord has indeed
risen!' And they discussed with closed doors, out of fear of the Jews.
Meanwhile He stood among them, though the doors had made no sound, and when
they feared, He said, 'Peace be with you!' <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"And I saw Him, as
did all, and He was like light, and like the happiness of our hearts, for we
believed that He had risen from the dead, and that the seas will dry and the
mountains turn to dust, but His glory will not pass. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"After eight days
Thomas Didymus put his finger in the Lord's wounds and touched His side; Thomas
fell at His feet then, and cried, 'My Lord and my God!' 'Because thou hast seen
me thou hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen and have believed!'
said the Lord. And we heard those words, and our eyes looked at Him, for He was
among us." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius listened, and
something wonderful took place in him. He forgot for a moment where he was; he
began to lose the feeling of reality, of measure, of judgment. He stood in the
presence of two impossibilities. He could not believe what the old man said;
and he felt that it would be necessary either to be blind or renounce one's own
reason, to admit that that man who said "I saw" was lying. There was
something in his movements, in his tears, in his whole figure, and in the
details of the events which he narrated, which made every suspicion impossible.
To Vinicius it seemed at moments that he was dreaming. But round about he saw
the silent throng; the odor of lanterns came to his nostrils; at a distance the
torches were blazing; and before him on the stone stood an aged man near the
grave, with a head trembling somewhat, who, while bearing witness, repeated,
"I saw!"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZAdIwD3QItc" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZAdIwD3QItc"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-57646895350281556082024-02-25T01:22:00.006-05:002024-02-25T01:23:31.705-05:00Sunday Meditation: Onto the Mountaintop with the Prophets<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Last week Jesus took us into the desert with
the wild beasts, but today on the Second Sunday of Lent in Year B, Jesus goes
from the desert to the top of a mountain, and instead of communing with wild
beasts Jesus communes with two prophets from the Old Testament.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus took Peter, James, and John <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and led them up a high mountain
apart by themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And he was transfigured before
them, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and his clothes became dazzling
white, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">such as no fuller on earth could
bleach them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then Elijah appeared to them along
with Moses, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and they were conversing with
Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Rabbi, it is good that we
are here!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Let us make three tents: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">one for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He hardly knew what to say, they
were so terrified.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then a cloud came, casting a
shadow over them; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">from the cloud came a voice, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Suddenly, looking around, they no
longer saw anyone<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but Jesus alone with them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As they were coming down from the
mountain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">he charged them not to relate what
they had seen to anyone,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">except when the Son of Man had
risen from the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">So they kept the matter to
themselves, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">questioning what rising from the
dead meant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
9:2-1</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This week I’m going to provide two sermons (I
can’t say homilies since neither are priests) on this passage since both are
short and to the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First will be Jeff
Cavins, who has I think the better exegesis.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LFWPNK_QUtA" width="320" youtube-src-id="LFWPNK_QUtA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Jeff rightly points out how the almost sacrifice
of Isaac and then replaced by the sacrifice of the lamb projects to the future sacrifice
of Christ, the Lamb of God, on still another mountain, Calvary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Feast of Booths that he speaks of is
called Sukkot, and if you live in a religiously Jewish neighborhood as I do,
you will see the booths built for the week long feast in everyone’s backyards
or decks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">I know people get hung up on how God could
request Abraham the sacrifice of his child, but there is still another way to
look at this from what I’ll call the more “Jewish” perspective. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abraham here at this point is not Jewish; he
is a Chaldean, a Semitic people of the region, and like most (if not all)
Semitic people of the time practiced child sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most famous perhaps are the Carthaginians
of the Punic people who sacrificed infants to the deity Baal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By leading Abraham to the point of
sacrificing his child—and notice Abraham goes along with it as a perfectly
normal request—and then stopping it, God stops the practice of child sacrifice
in the Jewish people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps here with
the ending of the child sacrifice, Abraham has now changed from a Chaldean to a
Jew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So do not think of God as a monster
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were both contemporaneous
and archetypical reasons for God’s request with the intention of ending the
horrific practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t mean to
dwell so much on the first reading, but I think that needed to be said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The second sermon will be from John Michael
Talbot who I think better captures the spirituality of the passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cYoMD0YiJTg" width="320" youtube-src-id="cYoMD0YiJTg"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">JMT points out the community that forms between
Jesus and the three disciples and the two prophets, and that is very insightful
and an element of the transfiguration that I never thought about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think JMT goes far enough
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice that there are two
trinities on the mountain, trinity with a small “t” but perhaps pointing to the
Trinity with a capital “T.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus,
Moses, and Elijah form one trinity, and Peter, James, and John form a second trinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And both “trinity” and “Trinity” is a
community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Could the Trinity be there in the passage as
well?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus, God the Father in the voice,
and the Holy Spirit as the Glory Cloud?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possible,
but I am not quite that knowledgeable to say definitively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps that could be our Sunday meditation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then a cloud came,
casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, "This is my
beloved Son. Listen to him.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How
can we have a sermon from John Michael Talbot and not play one of his beautiful
hymns?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What song would be fitting for the
Transfiguration?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about, “Let Us Kneel
Down.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AfRxw0-oMGk" width="320" youtube-src-id="AfRxw0-oMGk"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-2951997364465054552024-02-23T20:42:00.009-05:002024-02-23T20:42:57.718-05:00Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 2<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is Post #2 of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s historical
novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can find Post #1 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/02/quo-vadis-narrative-of-time-of-nero-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.greg.pl/imgs/covers/500/Quo-vadis_lkoqv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://www.greg.pl/imgs/covers/500/Quo-vadis_lkoqv.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chapters 7 thru 14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the palace, Acte, Nero’s former mistress but now a
palace attendant, was assigned to prepare Lygia for the feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia undesiring to attend fearfully let
Acte dress her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bond formed between
the two of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acte, educated, had
read the writings of Paul of Tarsus, and compassionately advised Lygia on how
to act in Nero’s company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They discussed
the mystery of why she had been brought to Nero’s palace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To Acte’s surprise, Lygia, though lovely
before, had transformed into the most beautiful of young women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">They entered the feast and walked among eminent
noblemen and senators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia was
frightened and wanted to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw
Vinicius come in with Petronius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acte
took her to the dining area and there was Caesar himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius approached her, and she found him
handsome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He pledged to her again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked him why she had been taken to
Caesar’s palace, and Vinicius calmed her by saying he would stay by her, and promised
to take her to his house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sat by her
at table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, drunk, he
grabbed her by the arm, but Acte interfered by calling attention to Nero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lygia had caught Nero’s eye, and Vinicius backed down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Petronius and Nero have a conversation about
Vinicius’s attraction to Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
noblemen join in the conversation, a sort of imperious male talk of life and
women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally Poppaea, Nero’s wife entered
and became the center of attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lygia turned to Vinicius to ask if such a beautiful woman could be Poppaea,
who she had heard as a Christian was notoriously evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Vinicius, even more drunk, grabbed at her
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her once trust in Vinicius had
now turned dread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What stopped him were
the musicians that had come to perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Music, reciting of poetry, and dramatic dialogues became the center of
attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Athletes then came,
wrestlers performing for entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clowns and dancers followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
feast was turning into a bacchanal, and guests were undressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drunken guests were shouting and grabbing at
the dancers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally Vinicius blurts out to Lygia that Nero had
taken her from Aulus for him, and that the next evening he will have her
brought to his home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wildly drunk he
rose and put his arms around her neck and pressed his lips on hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Lygia’s giant guard, Ursus, pulled him
off her and tossed him aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The giant
picked up his queen and took her back to her room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius called for her and then fell drunk
to the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the guests were
also lying about drunk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ursus had taken Lygia to Acte’s apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia and Ursus want to leave the palace
altogether and are ready to return to Aulus’s home, but Acte tells them that it
would be an insult to Caesar in which he would take his revenge on Aulus and
Pomponia, and Lygia would still be forced to go to Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acte tries to convince Lygia to be resigned
to her fate given the power of all the men involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia will not accept it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and Ursus drop to their knees and pray
which moves Acte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After prayer, Lygia
comes up with a new plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Vinicius’
slaves come to take her away, Ursus and scores of other Christians will
intercept the entourage and whisk Lygia away and make their way to the far
reaches of the empire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Acte did not like the plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did not think it would work and could not
understand why Lygia would refuse to be Vinicius’ concubine or perhaps possibly
even wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she marvels at Lygia’s
calm as they rest, Lygia falling asleep while Acte awake in dread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the afternoon, while waiting for evening
for Vinicius’ retinue to arrive and take her away, Lygia and Acte take a walk
in the garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poppaea comes upon them
and noticing Lygia’s beauty wonders if Nero intends to take her for a
mistress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Lygia explains that the
plan was for Vinicius to taker her that evening and implores Poppaea to
persuade Caesar to send her back to Aulus’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relieved, Poppaea tells her that evening
Lygia will be Vinicius’ whore and walks away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Evening comes and Vinicius’ retinue arrives, and Lygia hugs Acte
goodbye.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meanwhile Vinicius was waiting at his house with
Petronius for Lygia to arrive, having prepared to start a feast when she got
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius admonishes Vinicius
about his behavior at Nero’s feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was no way to win over a lady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the
retinue travels toward Vinicius’s home, it is overwhelmed by Christians who
free Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ursus kills a man who tried
to whisk away Lygia, and Ursus and Lygia abscond into the dark streets of the
city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The slaves who had ushered Lygia
in the retinue break the news to Vicinius, and Vinicius in his anger kills an
old slave who had taken care of him as a child.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After flogging the rest of the slaves, Vinicius in his
anger cannot rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He first contemplates
a theory that Aulus and Pomponia had sent a party to attack the retinue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He vows revenge against them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he settles on a theory that Nero himself
had attacked the retinue to take Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here too he vows revenge but then in the reasoning of Nero’s superior
power he resigns to have lost her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He decides
to go to Nero’s palace to discern if she is there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the palace Vinicius finds that Nero has been
occupied with the illness of his newborn child Augusta, and could not have been
the source of Lygia’s escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acte
explains to him that the child was with Poppaea when they came across Lygia in
the garden, and that now Poppaea suspects that Lygia has cast a spell on
Augusta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Augusta dies, both Nero and
Poppaea will blame Lygia and she will be killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also tells him that Lygia had loved him until
his brutish behavior at Nero’s feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That she loved him cut to his heart, and he felt immense guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius and Petronius make a plan to try to find
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They send slaves to watch the exits
of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They send patrols out to
find her and Ursus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They deduce that
only their co-religionists would have gotten together and freed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To relieve Vinicius of his stress, Petronius
offers him his beautiful female slave, Eunice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vicinius has no interest and Eunice resists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius has Eunice flogged nonetheless for
resisting, suspecting that she refused to leave his household because she’s in
love with someone there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next morning, a man who Eunice knows and who
Petronius suspects is the man Eunice loves, presents himself to Petronius and
Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His name is Chilo Chilonides,
a man of many talents and learning, and says he will find Lygia for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They promise to reward him with a small
fortune if he delivers her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His first
order of business is to figure out what is her religion since only
co-religionists would have taken such an initiative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he learns that Lygia had drawn a fish
symbol, he concludes that she might be a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius and Vinicius find it impossible to
believe she is a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hold
such prejudiced notions about Christians and their practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A few days later, Augusta dies, and Nero is in a
rage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius tried to console
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo returns to confirm that the
fish symbol stands for Jesus Christ, the god of the Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilo then reveals that he through his
investigation has “become Christian” himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He tells them the story of how he met with a freedman, Pansa, who is a
Christian, and Pansa brought him to a house of prayer, and that by doing so he
has infiltrated the Christians, becoming friends with an old man named
Euricius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christians seem to trust
him and has been led into their company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through this he hopes to find Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vinicius provides him with the necessary money to maintain this cover.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2013/04/25/20/pompeii.alamy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2013/04/25/20/pompeii.alamy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Celia
Commented</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manny, your summaries are
like gold!! I have read through Chapter 7 so am not reading the summary yet. I
AM loving the book and its message. Lygia reminds me of St Cecilia, my patron
saint. She converted her pagan husband, as I think Lygia will do. I have seen
at least three versions of this book. The one I started with was awful. I could
not follow the story. I am now reading the Kindle Unlimited version which is
easy to follow and well written. Yet a third version is the hardback that I
borrowed to get page numbers. It too is good although I am not reading it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Commented</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sienkiewiecz does a great
job in describing the decadent, crude, and even brutish life of the Roman upper
class without himself using crude language. The contrast to the innocent Lygia
could not be greater.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I do see some types
emerging. We'll see if they hold up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Petronius: He represents
all that is noble in the Pagan world of Rome. He is still a Pagan though, and
so does not have a full understanding of virtues, vices, and morals, which is
only possible in light of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius: He is the
passionate young buck who even from a Roman perspective needs gentling and
civilizing. He spent years fighting in the provinces, not exactly a place to
learn the ways of a gentleman. His attraction to Lygia is not just her outer
beauty, but the inner beauty formed by her Christian faith. He doesn't realize
it yet, but to win her he must undergo a profound change of heart. This will be
quite an uphill climb for him since he messed up so badly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lygia: She represents the
emerging Christianity in all its splendor and beauty. It is her virtue that
beguiles, her meekness and gentleness. At the same time she is a warrior in her
own right, her weapons are prayer and full submission to God. She will not
compromise her values. The newness of Christianity is also a stumbling block
for the surrounding Pagan culture, as it has no reference whatsoever and rumors
abound. Pomponia instructed Lygia how to navigate these obstacles. We will see
how she will fare on her own. Up to now she had been so sheltered and innocent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bruce
Commented</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Regarding Nero, the early
Church historian Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical history recounts, “When Nero’s
power was firmly established, he gave himself up to unholy practices and took
up arms against the God of the universe.” “His perverse and extraordinary
madness led him to senselessly destroy innumerable lives. In his lust for
blood, he did not spare even his nearest and dearest, but in various ways did
away with mother, brothers, and wife alike, and countless other members of his
family,” as well as his former tutor and Stoic philosopher Seneca, “as if they
were personal and public enemies.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Roman historian
Tacitus, in his Annals, says this about Nero’s persecution of the Christians:
“But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and all the
sacrificing to the gods, did not banish the sinister popular belief that the
fire was ordered by Nero. To destroy this rumor, Nero fastened the guilt and
inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations,
called Christians by the populace.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tacitus continues, “At
first, those who confessed were arrested. Then, on their evidence, a huge
multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of fire than for hatred of
mankind. These deaths were accompanied by derision: covered in animal skins
they were to perish torn by dogs, or affixed to crosses to be burnt as torches
when the sun set. Nero offered his gardens for the show and staged games in the
Circus, mixing with the crowd in the garb of a driver riding a chariot,” which
was behavior not befitting an emperor. “This roused pity. Although guilty and
deserving of extreme measures, the Christians’ annihilation seemed to arise not
from public utility but for one man’s brutality.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Bruce</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you Bruce. It seems
the novel is following the history very closely.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt
from Chapter VII, a scene from Nero’s wild and drunken feast where Lygia was
completely out of place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The pulse beat
oppressively in Lygia's hands and temples. A feeling seized her that she was
flying into some abyss, and that Vinicius, who before had seemed so near and so
trustworthy, instead of saving was drawing her toward it. And she felt sorry
for him. She began again to dread the feast and him and herself. Some voice,
like that of Pomponia, was calling yet in her soul, "O Lygia, save
thyself!" But something told her also that it was too late; that the one
whom such a flame had embraced as that which had embraced her, the one who had
seen what was done at that feast and whose heart had beaten as hers had on
hearing the words of Vinicius, the one through whom such a shiver had passed as
had passed through her when he approached, was lost beyond recovery. She grew
weak. It seemed at moments to her that she would faint, and then something
terrible would happen. She knew that, under penalty of Cæsar's anger, it was
not permitted any one to rise till Cæsar rose; but even were that not the case,
she had not strength now to rise.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meanwhile it was far to
the end of the feast yet. Slaves brought new courses, and filled the goblets
unceasingly with wine; before the table, on a platform open at one side,
appeared two athletes to give the guests a spectacle of wrestling. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">They began the struggle
at once, and the powerful bodies, shining from olive oil, formed one mass;
bones cracked in their iron arms, and from their set jaws came an ominous
gritting of teeth. At moments was heard the quick, dull thump of their feet on
the platform strewn with saffron; again they were motionless, silent, and it
seemed to the spectators that they had before them a group chiselled out of
stone. Roman eyes followed with delight the movement of tremendously exerted
backs, thighs, and arms. But the struggle was not too prolonged; for Croton, a
master, and the founder of a school of gladiators, did not pass in vain for the
strongest man in the empire. His opponent began to breathe more and more
quickly: next a rattle was heard in his throat; then his face grew blue;
finally he threw blood from his mouth and fell. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A thunder of applause
greeted the end of the struggle, and Croton, resting his foot on the breast of
his opponent, crossed his gigantic arms on his breast, and cast the eyes of a
victor around the hall. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next appeared men who
mimicked beasts and their voices, ball-players and buffoons. Only a few persons
looked at them, however, since wine had darkened the eyes of the audience. The
feast passed by degrees into a drunken revel and a dissolute orgy. The Syrian
damsels, who appeared at first in the bacchic dance, mingled now with the
guests. The music changed into a disordered and wild outburst of citharas,
lutes, Armenian cymbals, Egyptian sistra, trumpets, and horns. As some of the
guests wished to talk, they shouted at the musicians to disappear. The air,
filled with the odor of flowers and the perfume of oils with which beautiful
boys had sprinkled the feet of the guests during the feast, permeated with
saffron and the exhalations of people, became stifling; lamps burned with a dim
flame; the wreaths dropped sidewise on the heads of guests; faces grew pale and
were covered with sweat. Vitelius rolled under the table. Nigidia, stripping
herself to the waist, dropped her drunken childlike head on the breast of
Lucan, who, drunk in like degree, fell to blowing the golden powder from her
hair, and raising his eyes with immense delight. Vestinius, with the
stubbornness of intoxication, repeated for the tenth time the answer of Mopsus
to the sealed letter of the proconsul. Tullius, who reviled the gods, said,
with a drawling voice broken by hiccoughs,—"If the spheros of Xenophanes
is round, then consider, such a god might be pushed along before one with the
foot, like a barrel." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But Domitius Afer, a
hardened criminal and informer, was indignant at the discourse, and through
indignation spilled Falernian over his whole tunic. He had always believed in
the gods. People say that Rome will perish, and there are some even who contend
that it is perishing already. And surely! But if that should come, it is
because the youth are without faith, and without faith there can be no virtue.
People have abandoned also the strict habits of former days, and it never
occurs to them that Epicureans will not stand against barbarians. As for him,
he—As for him, he was sorry that he had lived to such times, and that he must
seek in pleasures a refuge against griefs which, if not met, would soon kill
him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When he had said this, he
drew toward him a Syrian dancer, and kissed her neck and shoulders with his
toothless mouth. Seeing this, the consul Memmius Regulus laughed, and, raising
his bald head with wreath awry, exclaimed,—"Who says that Rome is
perishing? What folly! I, a consul, know better. Videant consules! Thirty
legions are guarding our pax romana!" <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here he put his fists to
his temples and shouted, in a voice heard throughout the
triclinium,—"Thirty legions! thirty legions! from Britain to the Parthian
boundaries!" But he stopped on a sudden, and, putting a finger to his
forehead, said,—"As I live, I think there are thirty-two." He rolled
under the table, and began soon to send forth flamingo tongues, roast and
chilled mushrooms, locusts in honey, fish, meat, and everything which he had
eaten or drunk. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But the number of the
legions guarding Roman peace did not pacify Domitius. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">No, no! Rome must perish;
for faith in the gods was lost, and so were strict habits! Rome must perish;
and it was a pity, for still life was pleasant there. Cæsar was gracious, wine
was good! Oh, what a pity!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mm.pwn.pl/ency/jpg/583/18/d28i0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="600" height="319" src="https://mm.pwn.pl/ency/jpg/583/18/d28i0012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-32807576536787998942024-02-20T01:00:00.002-05:002024-02-23T20:44:34.180-05:00Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 1<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Catholic Thought book club read the novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)" target="_blank">Quo Vadis</a></i> by the Polish author and Nobel Prize in Literature winner Henryk Sienkiewicz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s novel set in first century Rome—the 60s
to be exact—under the Emperor Nero and of course the early Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may have seen one of several movies based
on the novel, and, while I have not seen any of them, the novel must sure
exceed them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the first post of
which there could be as many as eleven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this first post I’ll give an introduction, but in this and the other
posts I will provide a chapter by chapter summary, any pertinent discussion
from the book club, and one sample excerpt to give a flavor of the writing and
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this to be an
extraordinary novel, and well deserved as Sienkiewicz’s acclaim for Nobel
Prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hS3pKJWlL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hS3pKJWlL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Introduction:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the subtitle implies us, “A Narrative of the Time
of Nero,” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i> is a historical
novel set in first century within the Roman Empire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Quo Vadis” translates to “Where are you
going?” and was published in in Polish in 1896 by Henryk Sienkiewicz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story centers around a love interest
between Marcus Vinicius, a Roman tribune and patrician, and therefore pagan,
and Callina or sometimes called Lygia, a convert Christian and a daughter of a
deceased barbarian king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most
historical novels there are a number of fictitious characters and characters
taken out of the historical time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
the central characters are fictitious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also like most historical novels, there is a vast sweep of events and
many characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read the major
character list on the novel’s Wikipedia entry here: <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)</a></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will recognize the Emperor Nero, deranged
and known for his narcissism and persecutor of Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of Nero we know he was emperor when the great
fire of Rome occurred, and indeed some claimed he set or had the fire himself
and then turned and blamed the Christians and followed up with a great
persecution of Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expect this
will be a scene in the novel.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The character list also includes the apostles Peter
and Paul who were in Rome at the time of Nero’s persecution of the
Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expect their martyrdom
will also be dramatized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i> employs other historical novel
techniques, I expect there will be an alternating between Roman pagan scenes
and Christian scenes culminating in some great climax between the two world
views.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have not read any summary
except of the love interest between the two central characters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Sienkiewicz" target="_blank">Henryk Sienkiewicz</a> was born in Poland in 1846 to a noble but impoverished family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The family still had a coat of arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He started as a travel writer, including
spending time in the United States, and a journalist, and attempted several
fiction efforts early on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shorter
pieces were published but not the novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He finally published his first novel in 1880, a historical novel, and
from 1883 to 1888 went on to write three novels which are known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Trilogy</i>, narrating the major events
in Polish history. Sienkiewicz was of the persuasion that a work of art,
especially a novel “should strengthen and ennoble life, rather than undermining
and debasing it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One would expect that
there is a strong moral element to his works and speak to the “good” in the
transcendentals of goodness, truth, and beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sienkiewicz published <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo Vadis</i> in 1886 at the age of forty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went on to write a number of epic
historical novels, but he seems best remembered for his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Trilogy</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quo
Vadis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>His work was extremely
popular in his day both in his native land and throughout Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He received the Nobel Prize for his “epic
works” in 1905 and lived until 1916 to the age of 70.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a lasting legacy in Poland and in many
European countries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img.theculturetrip.com/768x/smart/images/56-209049-henryk-sienkiewicz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="668" height="400" src="https://img.theculturetrip.com/768x/smart/images/56-209049-henryk-sienkiewicz.png" width="334" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Choosing a Translation:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was reading up on the translations. There are
basically two translations available. The Jerimiah Curtain translation of 1897
and the W. S. Kuniczak translation. Curtain goes so far back that he was a
friend of President Theodore Roosevelt. I don't know when Kuniczak translated
the work but he died in 2000, so much more recent. Both are supposed to be good
translations but Curtain's language is supposed to be dated. Kuniczak I think
was Polish himself, was also a novelist, and translated a number of
Sienkiewicz's works. Kuniczak is probably the one to get, but I too got the
Curtain translation. It was cheap! But despite the language it is supposed to
be a faithful translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has survived
a long time.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Chapters 1 thru 6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We meet Petronius, an older aristocrat, awakening to
the start of the novel, benumbed after having spent the previous night at one
of Nero’s feasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After getting a
message and a bath, his young nephew, Marcus Vinicius arrives, recently
returned from Asia Minor and joins him in the bath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They talk about their mutual travels and assignments,
the recent politics, and common acquaintances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They also talk about life and war and writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Petronius casually mentions Aulus
Plautius, Vinicius tells of having stayed at Aulus’s home when he dislocated
his arm and was nursed by a most beautiful young slave named Lygia, with whom
he had fallen in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius tells
the story of how the Emperor Claudius in conquest of the Lygians had taken the
girl, who was the Lygean King’s daughter as a political hostage and through
several transactions wound up with Pomponia Graecina, the wife of Aulus
Plautius, where Vinicius met her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
expresses his desire to have Lygia and implores Petronius to get Aulus to give
her to him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The two set out to the house of Aulus Plautius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the way, Vinicius tells Petronius of his
two meetings with Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They travel
through the heart of Rome where the city comes to life with activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stop at a book-shop, and Petronius
purchases a book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Satyricon</i>, and
gifts it to Vinicius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius tells
him he is the author, but it is a secret and to not tell anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two arrive at Aulus’s house and are let
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aulus was a general under the
Emperor Claudius in the conquest of Britain, and the three men have a
discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come to where his
little child Aulus and Lygia are playing and then come to Plautius’s wife
Pomponia in the garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pomponia is
dressed in black mourning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Lygia
joins them, Vinicius quotes a love verse from Homer, and Lygia to everyone’s surprise
knows and speaks the corresponding verse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She runs off, but Vinicius follows and woos her and asks her to live
with him in Sicily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile Petronius
and Pomponia are discussing the gods when Pomponia tells him she only believes
in one almighty God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On the way home, Petronius pondered the philosophic
implications of Pamponia’s one God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
speaks of this to Vinicius but Vinicius is focused solely on Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says he is completely captivated by her
and must marry her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius tries to
calm him, and finally tells him he has a plan that if it works she will wind up
in Vinicius’ house.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That evening Petronius goes to have a confidential
conversation with Nero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a few days a
squad of praetorian soldiers headed by a centurion show up in Aulus’ house
proclaiming that the emperor commands to take Lygia to his household since she
is an offered hostage from the Lygian king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The household is in tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
these years at the Aulus’ household, Lygia had become a daughter to Aulus and
Pomponia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But despite the heartbreak,
tears, and anger, Lygia must go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lygia
is consoled that she can take her retinue that came with her from Lygia, and
who share her religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aulus promises
he will speak to the emperor to reverse this.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But Nero denies Aulus a visit, and so Aulus goes to
Seneca for assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seneca laughs
that he could have any sway over Nero, and that it might actually be counterproductive
and Nero deny him in spite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come to
the conclusion that Petronius had put up Nero to taking Lygia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aulus then goes to Vinicius’ home and tells
him that Lygia has been taken away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
enrages Vinicius because he had understood the plan to be that Petronius would
have her sent to his house, not the emperor’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius rushes to Petronius’s home in anger ready to
exact violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believes that
Petronius has betrayed him to keep Lygia for himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius stops him with his own strength but
as Vinicius calms down, Petronius explains that this was part of his plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It required Lygia to spend some time at the
Emperor’s home because Lygia is technically a political hostage, and therefore it
required a justification to take her from Aulus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In time Nero will authorizes her to go to
Vinicius’ home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinicius is mollified
and asks for forgiveness.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/preview/B/B183/B183973_Marcus-Vinicius-visited-Petronius-and-admitted-that-he-had-fallen-for-a-girl-named-Lygia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="512" height="373" src="https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/preview/B/B183/B183973_Marcus-Vinicius-visited-Petronius-and-admitted-that-he-had-fallen-for-a-girl-named-Lygia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Commented</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vinicius is besotted, no
question about it. We normally don't get such unfiltered declarations of love.
I find it quite amusing. Here is the young buck not knowing where his head
stands!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Petronius is a seasoned
courtier. He knows how precariously his life hangs in the balance given Nero's
volatile temper. He has to outsmart him given Lygia's complicated status. He
also has no compunction to let the ends justify the means.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here is a description and
graphics of how a Roman house looked like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://roman-empire.net/society/the-roman-house/">https://roman-empire.net/society/the-roman-house/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Years ago there was a
traveling exhibit on Roman life here in Kansas City, and they had rebuilt an
atrium with the pool in the middle, etc. It was fascinating</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Galicius
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was rather impressed by
how well-grounded Sienkiewicz seemed in the ancient Roman world; dare I say its
“culture.” I looked for his sources on the topography and orientation. The
Wikipedia information is impressive. I found additional information in
Literatura Polska (Literatura Polska, #2) by Julian Krzyżanowski |(Encyclopedic
Guide to Polish Literature, Vol. II N-Z) Goodreads which lists some sources
Sienkiewicz used: Roman historians Tacitus (C. 56-c.120) and Suetonius (c.
69-c.122). He used 19th Century historians such a E. Renan’s “Antichrist”
(1873, A. Giraud, “Flavieau ou de Rome desert” (1835), Ignacy Kraszewski, “Rzym
za Nerona” (Rome During Nero” (1866) and Krasinski „Irydion”. The painter
Henryk Siemiradzki was his friend. Sienkiewicz admired the painting shown on
the Wikipedia page on “Quo Vadis.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sienkiewicz had the idea
about the Lygians from W. Ketrzynski who thought that they were people living
between the Oder and Vistula rivers. This was supported also by studies of K.
Murawski.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Galicius</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I am impressed too
Galicius on how Sienkiewicz captures the Roman mind. I have read that he spent
a lot of time learning the culture and psychology. I think he did a superb job!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So what is interesting is
that I think Sienkiewicz is playing with Greco-Roman stoicism, and how Vinicius
is the very opposite in contrast to Petronius and Aulus who hold to that model
much better. Sienkiewicz goes out of his way to highlight Vinicius' over
abundant emotion and lack of control. Vinicius is a total failure to hold up
this Roman ideal. How this figures in the novel I don't think we've seen yet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Joseph’s
Reply</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There's certainly some
play with Stoicism, but I think Sienkiewicz is setting up kind of a three-way
thing. You have Vinicius who is ruled by his emotions and desires, Petronius
who is so logical as to be coldly ruthless, and the as yet mysterious
Christians Pomponia and Lygia. Pitted against these is the overwhelming figure
of Nero and his unpredictability so we may see a deep dive into how each
character reacts when the winds shift, as it were.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Joseph</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I should correct myself.
Above I said that Petronius was a stoic like Aulus. I think that is incorrect.
He enjoys his life well but he does it with a certain moderation. As pointed
out in the summary, Petronius is the actual author of the ancient Roman novel
the Satyricon. I'm not sure why Sienkiewicz placed in such a prominent position
the author of a Roman decadent satire, but there has to reason. Are the views
of the Satyricon endowed to Petronius? I don't know. I have not read the
Satyricon. Petronius however strikes me more of an Epicurean, one who enjoys
life without the extremes of hedonism but are typically cynical and godless and
amoral.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt
from Chapter Two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petronius and Vinicius
are walking through Rome to go to Aulus’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sienkiewicz marvelously captures the hustle
and bustle of the Roman streets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From the Vicus Apollinis
they turned to the Boarium, and then entered the Forum Romanum, where on clear
days, before sunset, crowds of idle people assembled to stroll among the
columns, to tell and hear news, to see noted people borne past in litters, and
finally to look in at the jewellery-shops, the book-shops, the arches where
coin was changed, shops for silk, bronze, and all other articles with which the
buildings covering that part of the market placed opposite the Capitol were
filled. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One-half of the Forum,
immediately under the rock of the Capitol, was buried already in shade; but the
columns of the temples, placed higher, seemed golden in the sunshine and the
blue. Those lying lower cast lengthened shadows on marble slabs. The place was
so filled with columns everywhere that the eye was lost in them as in a forest.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Those buildings and
columns seemed huddled together. They towered some above others, they stretched
toward the right and the left, they climbed toward the height, and they clung
to the wall of the Capitol, or some of them clung to others, like greater and
smaller, thicker and thinner, white or gold colored tree-trunks, now blooming
under architraves, flowers of the acanthus, now surrounded with Ionic corners,
now finished with a simple Doric quadrangle. Above that forest gleamed colored
triglyphs; from tympans stood forth the sculptured forms of gods; from the
summits winged golden quadrigæ seemed ready to fly away through space into the
blue dome, fixed serenely above that crowded place of temples. Through the middle
of the market and along the edges of it flowed a river of people; crowds passed
under the arches of the basilica of Julius Cæsar; crowds were sitting on the
steps of Castor and Pollux, or walking around the temple of Vesta, resembling
on that great marble background many-colored swarms of butterflies or beetles.
Down immense steps, from the side of the temple on the Capitol dedicated to
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, came new waves; at the rostra people listened to
chance orators; in one place and another rose the shouts of hawkers selling
fruit, wine, or water mixed with fig-juice; of tricksters; of venders of
marvellous medicines; of soothsayers; of discoverers of hidden treasures; of
interpreters of dreams. Here and there, in the tumult of conversations and
cries, were mingled sounds of the Egyptian sistra, of the sambuké, or of
Grecian flutes. Here and there the sick, the pious, or the afflicted were
bearing offerings to the temples. In the midst of the people, on the stone
flags, gathered flocks of doves, eager for the grain given them, and like
movable many-colored and dark spots, now rising for a moment with a loud sound
of wings, now dropping down again to places left vacant by people. From time to
time the crowds opened before litters in which were visible the affected faces
of women, or the heads of senators and knights, with features, as it were,
rigid and exhausted from living. The many-tongued population repeated aloud
their names, with the addition of some term of praise or ridicule. Among the unordered
groups pushed from time to time, advancing with measured tread, parties of
soldiers, or watchers, preserving order on the streets. Around about, the Greek
language was heard as often as Latin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dc/8e/60/dc8e603fd8191f018592e16f3bbd256d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="800" height="236" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dc/8e/60/dc8e603fd8191f018592e16f3bbd256d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><o:p><br /></o:p><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-57463410551333928622024-02-18T01:13:00.000-05:002024-02-18T01:13:00.348-05:00Sunday Meditation: Into the Desert with the Wild Beasts<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">We have entered Lent, and today is the First
Sunday of Lent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all three year
cycles, the First Sunday of Lent has Jesus enter the desert to be tempted by
Satan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of
Jesus’s forty days of temptation similar in that they detail Satan’s forms of
temptations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Mark’s version we have a
general summary of temptations, but he offers two amazing details: Jesus lives
among the wild beasts and that angels minister to Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The Spirit drove Jesus out into
the desert, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and he remained in the desert for
forty days,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">tempted by Satan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He was among wild beasts,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and the angels ministered to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">After John had been arrested, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming
the gospel of God:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"This is the time of
fulfillment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The kingdom of God is at hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Repent, and believe in the
gospel."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
1:12-15</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">It’s noteworthy to observe that Matthew’s
version does include the detail of the angels ministering to Jesus but no wild
beasts, and Luke has neither detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This week Fr. Geoffrey Plant has a fine homily that explains Lent, the
forty days in the desert, Satan. the temptations in the desert and the
association with the temptation of Adam and Eve, and the wild beasts which
allude to the beasts in Isaiah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The calf and the young lion shall browse together,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">with a little child to guide them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The cow and the bear shall graze,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">together their young shall lie down;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the lion shall eat hay like the ox.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The baby shall play by the viper’s den,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">as water covers the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Isa
11:6-9)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUORczWagj0" width="320" youtube-src-id="jUORczWagj0"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"He was among
wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Seek
out Bishop Barron’s homily on this week’s reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s got a different and perhaps more
meditative understanding of the wild beasts and the angels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-41400156534374393722024-02-14T00:17:00.006-05:002024-02-14T00:17:34.365-05:00Poetry: Part III of T.S. Eliot’s Ash Wednesday<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
the past I have posted <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2023/02/poetry-part-i-of-ts-eliots-ash-wednesday.html" target="_blank">Part I</a> and <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2013/02/ash-wednesday.html" target="_blank">Part II</a> of T.S. Eliot’s magnificent poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ash Wednesday</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read <a href="https://allpoetry.com/Ash-Wednesday" target="_blank">the entire poem here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today
is Ash Wednesday, a day of penance, fasting, and meditation on one’s sins and
mortality and <a href="https://aleteia.org/2018/11/10/what-are-the-four-last-things-and-why-are-they-important/" target="_blank">the four last things: death, judgement, heaven, and hell</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eliot’s
poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ash Wednesday</i> really captures
this well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poem is comprised of six
parts, and I’ve already gone through the first two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each year I’ll give you another part to
meditate on on this solemn day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is
Part III.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">III <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the first turning of
the second stair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I turned and saw below<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The same shape twisted on
the banister<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Under the vapour in the
fetid air<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Struggling with the devil
of the stairs who wears<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The deceitful face of
hope and of despair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the second turning of
the second stair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I left them twisting,
turning below;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There were no more faces
and the stair was dark,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Damp, jaggèd, like an old
man's mouth drivelling, beyond repair,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Or the toothed gullet of
an agèd shark.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the first turning of
the third stair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Was a slotted window
bellied like the figs's fruit<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And beyond the hawthorn
blossom and a pasture scene<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The broadbacked figure
drest in blue and green<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Enchanted the maytime
with an antique flute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blown hair is sweet,
brown hair over the mouth blown,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lilac and brown hair;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Distraction, music of the
flute, stops and steps of the mind<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">over the third stair, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fading, fading; strength
beyond hope and despair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Climbing the third stair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lord, I am not worthy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lord, I am not worthy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but speak the word only.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
Part III the narrator is climbing a spiral staircase and at each of the first
three turns he looks down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the
climbing of the stairwell an allusion to a journey through life to salvation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or is it a journey through Purgatory as a
purgative journey to heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or
something else?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t really
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My intuition leads me to think he
is climbing the Purgatorial Mountain akin to Dante’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Purgatorio</i> in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Divine
Comedy.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dante Purgatorial Mountain requires
also spiral climb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there are no
devils in Purgatory, neither in Dante’s Purgatory or in the Catholic doctrine
of Purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could Eliot have been
mistaken or is he suggesting one of the other possibilities?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nonetheless,
go the Church and receive your ashes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make
time to go before the Blessed Sacrament and meditate on your life and death and
your journey hopefully to God.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://oppidanlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Ash-Wednesday-Quotes-Wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="433" height="188" src="https://oppidanlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Ash-Wednesday-Quotes-Wallpaper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-63288090498503753752024-02-11T01:12:00.006-05:002024-02-11T01:12:49.719-05:00Sunday Meditation: Touching the Leper<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This Sunday we complete the first chapter of
Mark’s Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week Jesus completed
His first day of ministry as presented in Mark, and it was a long day of
healings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we saw Him seclude
Himself on a mountain to pray and, when the apostles found Him, He led them to
new towns to preach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In today’s Gospel
reading, in a new town Jesus comes across a leper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A leper came to Jesus and kneeling
down begged him and said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“If you wish, you can make me
clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Moved with pity, he stretched out
his hand, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">touched him, and said to him, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“I do will it. Be made clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The leprosy left him immediately,
and he was made clean.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then, warning him sternly, he
dismissed him at once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He said to him, “See that you tell
no one anything,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but go, show yourself to the
priest <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and offer for your cleansing what
Moses prescribed;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">that will be proof for them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The man went away and began to
publicize the whole matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He spread the report abroad<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so that it was impossible for
Jesus to enter a town openly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He remained outside in deserted
places,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and people kept coming to him from
everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
1:40-45</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">These healings are not just miracles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are symbolic for absolving of sin, and
if the healing is analogous to the absolution, then the illness is analogous of
a sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bishop Barron presents a
wonderful homily explaining it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IQ6TkhS0M-s" width="320" youtube-src-id="IQ6TkhS0M-s"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">“If you wish, you can make me clean,” the
leper says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is he doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is supplicating himself, supplicating
himself in faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supplicating faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you say that in, Latin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fiducia supplicans</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I believe so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Bishop Barron asks, “who are the lepers of
today’s society?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Moved with
pity, He stretched out his hand, touched him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.etsystatic.com/18195780/r/il/cf2b24/2924366397/il_fullxfull.2924366397_5xnq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="643" height="400" src="https://i.etsystatic.com/18195780/r/il/cf2b24/2924366397/il_fullxfull.2924366397_5xnq.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-48368601718755230042024-02-06T07:00:00.003-05:002024-02-06T07:00:00.156-05:00Essay: Why Modernist Poetry Is What It Is.<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This
essay was in response to a question from my Goodreads Catholic Thought book
club on why modernist poetry is the way it is, that is, lacking form and meter,
lacking rhyme, and generally being different than the poetry from the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question came from Kerstin who was
responding to substack post from Anthony Esolen, who essentially says he
dislikes modern poetry.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This morning's <a href="https://anthonyesolen.substack.com/p/jordan-i-cca" target="_blank">blog post by Anthony Esolen</a> starts out like this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I, too, dislike it,”
said Marianne Moore at the beginning of her own poem about poetry, and I’m
afraid that I’d say much the same thing about most of the work that she and her
modernist colleagues produced. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but first they gave
up singing for saying, and then their successors often gave up saying for
grunting, or for a sort of intellectual posing which is just another kind of
grunting, the kind you do at a faculty wine and cheese affair to show other
people that you, too, can be dull and fashionable all at once, <b>and have
nobody understand what you’re saying.</b><br />
<br />
But directness and simplicity in verse can be great virtues, and the best poets
avail themselves of it. “O how unlike the place from whence he fell,” says
Milton, comparing where Satan is now to where he used to be. One sentence, one
line, and that’s that. “’Tis new to thee,” says the elderly Prospero, sadly,
when his daughter Miranda, marveling at the variety of human beings that she on
their desert island has never beheld before, is overcome with wonder. “Uneasy
lies the head that wears a crown,” says Henry IV, who got that crown by shady
means, and has not found it all he had hoped for. “A little learning is a dangerous
thing,” says Alexander Pope, and don’t our current elites prove him right!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
<br />
YES!!!<br />
I have no use for the linguistic contortions mis-categorized as
"poems".<br />
I once had a conversation with one of my husband's grand-nephews on poetry. He
was a senior in high school then and expressed his dislike of them and had no
use for them. I told him that this was not the fault of poetry, but of poorly
chosen examples with which our education system tortures students. Poetry is
the highest art of language, and a poet who understands his art expresses
things clearly in the most beautiful language. If I have to contort my brain
into a pretzel, it not only misses the mark, it is junk.<br />
This is why I love it when we sing old hymns in church. The poetry is
accessible to all and at the same time truly beautiful and it is this beauty
that nourishes the soul.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I guess he doesn't like
Gerard Manly Hopkins then. Or TS Eliot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His examples there that
he likes are from narrative poetry. What he characterizes as not liking in
today's poetry are typically lyric poetry. Narrative poetry usually will climax
to a simple line that carries punch, just like in a novel. Like anything else,
in the age you live in, there is too much to consider and evaluate. The good
poems will rise to the top and the bad will fade. I bet I could pull up poems
from Milton or Shakespeare's age that are awful. Actually I remember having to
do a term paper of a poet who was obscure from Milton's time I think (can't
even remember the name now) and it was an epic poem. It was terrible and the
professor gave me extra credit for taking on such a huge and awful opus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have found <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Moore" target="_blank">MarianneMoore</a>'s poetry to be elegant. She's not Milton or Shakespeare or the best of her age
(Esolen is also not comparing the same level of talent) but she's a good poet.
Here's the poem he quotes. "Poetry" by
Marianne Moore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Poetry<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By
Marianne Moore<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt
for it, one discovers that there is in<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it after all, a place for the genuine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hands that can grasp, eyes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that can dilate, hair that can rise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if it must, these things are important
not because a<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">high-sounding
interpretation can be put upon them but because they are<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>useful; when they become so derivative as to
become unintelligible, the<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>same thing may be said for all of us—that we<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>do not admire what<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we cannot understand. The bat,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>holding on upside down or in quest of
something to<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">eat,
elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll, a tireless wolf under<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a tree, the immovable critic twinkling his
skin like a horse that feels a flea, the base—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ball fan, the statistician—case after case<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>could be cited did<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>one wish it; nor is it valid<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to discriminate against “business
documents and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">school-books”;
all these phenomena are important. One must make a distinction<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>however: when dragged into prominence by
half poets, the result is not poetry,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>nor till the autocrats among us can be<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“literalists of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the imagination”—above<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>insolence and triviality and can
present</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">for
inspection, imaginary gardens with real toads in them, shall we have<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it. In the meantime, if you demand on the
one hand, in defiance of their opinion—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the raw material of poetry in<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all its rawness, and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that which is on the other hand,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>genuine, then you are interested in
poetry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Response</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manny wrote: "I
guess he doesn't like Gerard Manly Hopkins then. Or TS Eliot."</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
I was actually wondering about that. We’ll have to see if these poets will show
up in his blog.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anthony Esolen I believe
is the editor of a magazine called Touchstone, and last year they had a major
article of TS Eliot's The Waste Land. It was definitely a positive review and
the article was so good I kept the issue. He didn't write the article but he is
one of the major editors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Give me a little time.
I'm going to put together a post on why I think modern poetry has evolved to
what it is. You may not still like modernist poetry but at least I think you'll
understand the forces at play that shaped it.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">First,
let’s try to define the era of modernism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Narrowly in literature it’s refers to works produced between the two
World Wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Broadly, however, it goes
beyond that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the subject matter
and themes of post-World War II may have been different, the aesthetics were
not too much different and part of it were a development from that before the
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Post-Modernism is really not that
much different from modernism, and post-modernism is usually categorized from
the Second World War to the end of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are we in now in the 21<sup>st</sup>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve heard it referred to as post-Christian, which I detest, but, since
we’re in the middle of it, a proper term has not been given to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly the aesthetics of modernism stretches
from the First World War to today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
actually its roots go even further back into the middle of the 19<sup>th</sup>
Century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman,
and Gerard Manly Hopkins are pre-cursors to modernism, at least in
aesthetics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s
hard to know exactly what Anthony Esolen is criticizing there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His exemplars are from narrative poetry or
from Shakespeare’s drama which intersperses poetry and speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is his criticism that we don’t have narrative
poetry in drama anymore?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually people
who criticize modern poetry point to its the lack of form and meter as was more
common before the 20<sup>th</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Robert Frost has narrative poems; TS Eliot wrote plays in verse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of examples of poems in traditional
forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people think of modern poetry, they
think free verse, that is, the line simulating natural speech, and they think
of nontraditional forms, if they employ any form at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This conception of modern poetry sticks out,
but by no means is it absolute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is
the poetry that characterizes modernism the way it is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can think of four reasons: mass education,
the addition of new genres, the aesthetics of alienation, and the evolution of
intellectual history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 20<sup>th</sup> century saw an expansion
of people going to universities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
people are learned today than ever before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Literary writers are writing for a public that is more educated than ever
before, on the one hand, but have differences of cultivation: lowbrow poems for
high school educated or less, middlebrow for college educated, highbrow for
graduate or more importantly for the specialized literature reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do poets satisfy their readers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For lowbrow, they might write a “<a href="https://poets.org/poem/casey-bat" target="_blank">Casey At the Bat</a>” poem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a middlebrow a poet might go
with a traditional form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a highbrow,
a poet would want something different or complex or even just more elitist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you consider yourself highbrow—which is
elitist, and frankly there is nothing wrong with that because it reflects a
cultivation and expertise—you want something more sophisticated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So where does the market go for this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, there isn’t much of a market for poetry
(and I’ll explain why in point number 2) to begin with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So a poet either writes ditties for the
common man to read or he writes nuanced poems for a more sophisticated market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how mass education has made poetry evolve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">2.
The 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> centuries each had an innovation that effected
the evolution of poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 19<sup>th</sup>
century saw the mass production of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The novel became the primary literary art form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The public wanted novels; they wanted stories
in a prose language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It spoke more
directly to a person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great writers that
might have been poets, chose to become novelists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there was a reduction in the interest of
poetry; there was a reduction in the talent pool for poets; there was a
reduction in the need for narrative poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why write a narrative poem when you could write a novel or a short
story?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last major narrative poem
that comes to mind is Tennyson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idylls_of_the_King" target="_blank">Idylls of the King</a></i> which was published in part between 1859 to 1885.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writers just choose to not write in
poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tolkien’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lord of the Rings</i> could have been an epic poem, might have been an
epic poem if written in Milton’s day, but in the 20<sup>th</sup> century
Tolkien choose a novel form.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
20<sup>th</sup> century innovation which I think effected the evolution of
poetry was the recording and radio transmission of song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was always song in the past, and poets
emulated song in traditional forms, but the mass production and availability of
songs made poets seek other forms to distinguish themselves for a more highbrow
public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Songs have rhyme and rhythm and
fixed stanzas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mass dissemination of
song form through records and radio in everyone’s ear made poets want to
distinguish themselves from the common form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If a song writer could write these verses, then why did you need a
poet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So poets wanted to differentiate
themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[By the way, as an aside,
there is also a relationship between the novel and film and between painting
and photograph.]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Bob Dylan, a song
writer, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, it was the ironic
culmination of this relationship between poetry and song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">3.
This perhaps is the most significant reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The 20<sup>th</sup> century changed life in ways that were unimaginable
in earlier times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of it started in
the 19<sup>th</sup> century but it really culminated after the First World War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beginning in the 19<sup>th</sup> century we
had industrialization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually it
started at the end of the 18<sup>th</sup> century in some places, but it really
took off in the 19<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
industrialization brought rural migration into cities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was once maybe 90% of people living in a
rural environment became the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Disconnected from land and reliant on technology changed society from
their roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Urbanization increased
social tensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>War was never a good
thing, but with industrialization the ability to kill masses of people became
easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was always capitalism but
industrialization made society more of a consumer society, which made people
integrated into capital like never before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pervasive capitalism brought an opposite reaction of socialism and
communism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this caused
dislocations, which made faith more tenuous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t want to say there was a total loss of faith—even today there are
more people who believe in God than don’t—but faith became less
integrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this added up to a
sense of alienation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the alienation
was perceived from all aspects of society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Looking at it from a simple conservative/liberal perspective, the right
felt alienated because of the loss of institutions, the left felt alienated
because of capitalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s really
simplified but you can see how everyone started to look through the lens of
alienation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have that today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just listen to both sides of the political
and social divide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may point to
different sources of the problem, but everyone feels like the world has gone
awry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Given
dislocation, artists required a new aesthetics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>True artists, whether consciously or unconsciously, shape their art to
reflect their world view, Weltanschauung in German.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare the orderly structure of Dante’s
Divine Comedy, organized into circles and layers pointing to a harmony, with a
Picasso painting, where the order of the subject has been disconnected and
fractured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Picasso is capturing the
alienation, the disconnection, and the shift in Weltanschauung that has
occurred through industrialization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">4.
A fourth variable that shaped modernist poetry is the intellectual history that
runs parallel with the aesthetic changes in art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the middle of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century on we have scientism, psychology, evolution, the spread of liberal
democracy and dissolution of monarchies, the spread of communism, the spread of
colonialism, the fall of colonialism, the fall of communism, race theories
linked to genetics, race theories not linked to genetics, the rise of the
nation state, the rise of individualism, the rise of radical individualism, and
a loss of faith in God where today we are now considered a post-Christian
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly these effected the
subject matter of poetry, but with such radical changes in worldview, in
parallel with the radical changes in life initiated by the industrial
revolution, writers, artists, and musicians strove to find new ways of
expressing themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old ways
didn’t satisfy or, more importantly, implied a continuity with the past that
was manifestly fragmented or, at the most extreme, severed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end this fragmentation accentuated the
alienation from the changes caused by the industrial revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see that I find the industrial
revolution to be at the heart of the modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
what did this mean to the poet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
thing it meant was that the old forms no longer reflected the current worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going from an agricultural, rural milieu to
an urban and industrial based society meant the old forms no longer reflected
the nature of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the general
population preferred (and still does) the benefits of industrialization, the
artists knew that something was now disconnected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humanity was no longer living in a harmony with
nature, with each other, and with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where
rhyme made sense, where order was a norm, it no longer was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The foundations of order had shifted, and art
reflected that shift.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
1920, Ezra Pound, a close friend of TS Eliot, wrote a poem trying to capture
the modernist poet’s worldview, a poem titled “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Selwyn_Mauberley" target="_blank">Hugh Selwyn Mauberley</a>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mauberly was an alter ego of the writer’s in
the poem, trying to create poetry from the new state of his world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a long poem of mixed quality but Part II
states what the new poet is looking to do.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">II<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The age demanded an image<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of its accelerated
grimace,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Something for the modern
stage,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Not, at any rate, an
Attic grace;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Not, not certainly, the
obscure reveries<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of the inward gaze;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Better mendacities<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Than the classics in
paraphrase!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The “age demanded”
chiefly a mould in plaster,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Made with no loss of
time,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A prose kinema, not, not
assuredly, alabaster<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Or the “sculpture” of
rhyme.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As
you can see and in sympathy with Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” Pound is not exactly
endorsing the modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
“acceleration” of life in the modern world is a “grimace” in contrast to “Attic
grace.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attic refers to ancient Greece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poem runs through history and when it
comes the First World War, Pound writes this as Part IV but I’ll extend it into
the first four lines of Part V because I think it’s the central theme.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">IV<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">These fought, in any
case,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and some believing, pro
domo, in any case ...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some quick to arm,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">some for adventure,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">some from fear of
weakness,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">some from fear of
censure,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">some for love of
slaughter, in imagination,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">learning later ...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">some in fear, learning
love of slaughter;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Died some pro patria, non
dulce non et decor” ... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">walked eye-deep in hell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">believing in old men’s
lies, then unbelieving<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">came home, home to a lie,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">home to many deceits,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">home to old lies and new
infamy;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">usury age-old and
age-thick<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and liars in public
places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Daring as never before,
wastage as never before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Young blood and high
blood,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fair cheeks, and fine
bodies;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">fortitude as never before<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">frankness as never
before,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">disillusions as never
told in the old days,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">hysterias, trench
confessions,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">laughter out of dead
bellies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">V<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There died a myriad,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And of the best, among
them,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For an old bitch gone in
the teeth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For a botched civilization.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
First, I hope you can see that a skilled poet can make great use of modern
style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s really good poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, Pound captures the disconnect of the
modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The war, the
industrialization, the money economy (“usury”), and the disillusionment with
what the world promises. The new hero, Mauberly, is an alienated hero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what is at the heart of modernist
poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this goes across all
ideologies and belief systems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ezra
Pound and TS Eliot are thought of as conservatives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flannery O’Connor was not a poet but her
short stories are modernist stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
too was trying to capture this disconnect, this alienation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
let me summarize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was already a
shift with the novel toward prose, capturing the natural voice rather than an
artificially contrived voice in meter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The sound of rhyming quatrains in meter seemed fitted for a distant
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when life started to become
normal a decade after the First World War, musical recordings dominated the
ears of the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A highbrow educated
public who read poetry weren’t satisfied with poets imitating songwriters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fragmented lines and fragmented structures
reflected the disconnect of modern life and the ever shifting intellectual
theories, and it provided a level of sophistication that separated cognoscenti (people
who are considered to be especially well informed about a particular subject or
art form) from the general public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
poet like William Butler Yeats started in the old form but he too felt the need
to transition toward the modern, interestingly from his contact with Ezra Pound
and from the ridicule of James Joyce who laughed at his old forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if Yeats cared that much about
Joyce’s comments, but he eventually felt he had to move toward a different aesthetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There’s
great poetry in modernism, just as there is great poetry in every age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in an age where there is so much
published—what, perhaps a thousand times more than in Shakespeare’s time?—that
there is a heck of lot of poor writing out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poor poetry, and the globs of it, can
paint a negative perception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people
ridicule modern poetry, they are usually pointing to the lesser works, works
that are caricatures of a general style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But there is a heck of a lot of good poetry too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The great modernist poets I would list as TS
Eliot, Wallace Stevens, WH Auden, Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other poets who were lesser in general but had
gems I would point to Theodore Roethke, Hart Crane, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth
Bishop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These come to mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let
me just end with one of my favorite 20<sup>th</sup> Century poems, “In a Dark
Time,” by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roethke" target="_blank">Theodore Roethke</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roethke
suffered from bouts of mental illness, and he captured that alienation in this
poem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
a Dark Time<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By Theodore Roethke<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In a dark time, the eye
begins to see,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I meet my shadow in the
deepening shade;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I hear my echo in the
echoing wood—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A lord of nature weeping
to a tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I live between the heron
and the wren,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Beasts of the hill and
serpents of the den.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What’s madness but
nobility of soul<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At odds with
circumstance? The day’s on fire!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I know the purity of pure
despair,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My shadow pinned against
a sweating wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That place among the
rocks—is it a cave,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Or winding path? The edge
is what I have.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A steady storm of
correspondences!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A night flowing with
birds, a ragged moon,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And in broad day the
midnight come again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A man goes far to find
out what he is—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Death of the self in a
long, tearless night,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All natural shapes
blazing unnatural light.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dark, dark my light, and
darker my desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My soul, like some
heat-maddened summer fly,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Keeps buzzing at the
sill. Which I is I?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A fallen man, I climb out
of my fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The mind enters itself,
and God the mind,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And one is One, free in
the tearing wind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What’s
madness but nobility of soul/At odds with Circumstance?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no better line that captures
alienation than that, but, in the end, Roethke, through this mystical
experience leads to a union with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s one of my favorite poems of all time.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Frances
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manny, when I think of
poetry in connection with modernism, one poem always recurs to me. In it,
Matthew Arnold makes his intellectual statement about life’s suffering by
brooding on the sea. As he goes on, he enfolds us all:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sophocles long ago<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Heard it on the Aegean,
and it brought<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Into his mind the turbid
ebb and flow<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of human misery; we<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Find also in the sound a
thought,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Hearing it by this
distant northern sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Sea of Faith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Was once, too, at the
full, and round earth’s shore<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lay like the folds of a
great girdle furled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But now I only hear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Its melancholy, long,
withdrawing roar,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Retreating, to the breath<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of the night-wind, down
the vast edges drear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And naked shingles of the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ah, love, let us be true<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To one another! for the
world, which seems<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To lie before us like a
land of dreams,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So various, so beautiful,
so new,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Hath really neither joy,
nor love, nor light,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nor certitude, nor peace,
nor help for pain;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And we are here as on a
darkling plain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Swept with confused
alarms of struggle and flight,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Where ignorant armies
clash by night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">— “Dover Beach,” by
Matthew Arnold</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Reply to Frances</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Francis, I was thinking
of that poem too but I just couldn’t remember the title “Dover Beach.” I was
thinking of including Arnold as a proto modernist but when I couldn’t remember
that title I decided to not include him. Thanks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you Manny for this
long explanation! You put a lot of thought into it. There are so many reasons
why we live in a time of alienation from our true nature. From the perspective
of aesthetics, we have experienced much fragmentation and ugliness, and this
gets mirrored in all the arts. Often we don’t know anymore what true beauty is.
Is it any wonder that the literary arts have reflected this?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Given the overwhelming
mass production of books these days on one hand and at the same time the
controlled marketing of carefully chosen titles on the other, that then become
“bestsellers”, how is anyone to find the genuinely deserving article?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our school system has
been scaling down the arts for many decades. It used to be normal to have to
learn by heart certain poems, to recite them when there was a fitting occasion
. Or to compose a poem for somebody with a special birthday or anniversary. We
don’t do these things anymore. I am always astounded how much my mother knows
by heart, and she had an eighth grade education.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Frances
Reply to Kerstin</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerstin, I agree so
completely with everything you wrote. Ironically, when Matthew Arnold wrote
“Dover Beach” (probably in 1851), he was grieving what he saw as the loss of
meaning in the traditions of Western culture. And yet WWI hadn’t happened yet;
Hiroshima hadn’t happened yet. In many ways, ‘’we are here as on a darkling
plain,’’ too; without our Christian faith, we would be exactly where Matthew
Arnold was.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Comment</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By the way, that line
from the Ezra Pound poem, "For an old bitch gone in the teeth," the
"b" word is referring to a female dog, not a woman. I just want to
make that clear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When this conversation
started, I couldn’t remember my favorite Marianne Moore poem, though it was
sort of on the tip of my tongue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
finally remembered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s “What are
Years?” and it has a religious theme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let me share it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
Are Years?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">by Marianne Moore<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is our innocence,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is our guilt? All
are<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">naked, none is safe. And
whence<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">is courage: the
unanswered question,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the resolute doubt—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">dumbly calling, deadly
listening—that<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in misfortune, even
death,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">encourages others<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and in its defeat, stirs<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the soul to be strong? He<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">sees deep and is glad,
who<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">accedes to mortality<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and in his imprisonment,
rises<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">upon himself as<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the sea in a chasm,
struggling to be<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">free and unable to be,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in its surrounding<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">finds its continuing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So he who strongly feels,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">behaves. The very bird,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">grown taller as he sings,
steels<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">his form straight up.
Though he is captive,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">his mighty singing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">says, satisfaction is a
lowly<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">thing, how pure a thing
is joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is mortality,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">this is eternity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Marianne
Moore was devoutly Christian, a Presbyterian her whole life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-66147412888380033172024-02-04T13:34:00.005-05:002024-02-04T13:34:40.404-05:00Sunday Meditation: Peter’s Mother-In-Law<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The long first day of Jesus’s ministry as
delineated in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark continues from last week’s
reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember it is still the Sabbath
and Jesus returns after preaching at the synagogue to Peter’s home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">On leaving the synagogue<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus entered the house of Simon
and Andrew with James and John.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Simon's mother-in-law lay sick
with a fever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They immediately told him about
her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He approached, grasped her hand,
and helped her up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then the fever left her and she
waited on them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When it was evening, after sunset,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">they brought to him all who were
ill or possessed by demons.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The whole town was gathered at the
door.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He cured many who were sick with
various diseases,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and he drove out many demons,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">not permitting them to speak
because they knew him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Rising very early before dawn, he
left <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and went off to a deserted place,
where he prayed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Simon and those who were with him
pursued him<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and on finding him said,
"Everyone is looking for you."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He told them, "Let us go on
to the nearby villages<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">that I may preach there also.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For this purpose have I
come."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">So he went into their synagogues,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
1:29-39</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">There are three parts to this Gospel reading,
and almost everyone focuses on Jesus’s healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the homilies I could find focus on
that, and perhaps that’s because it is the most narratively drawn, and also
because of the all the speculation that Peter’s wife must have existed if Peter
has a mother-in-law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second part of
the reading recalls how after word got out that Jesus was a healer, how after
the Sabbath’s sunset everyone in town brought someone over for healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third passage seems out of place, and
frankly I could not find a homily that brought all three passages
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I will expound on the third
passage after you hear Dr. Brant Pitre explain the first two passages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fDwrQKG8f1I" width="320" youtube-src-id="fDwrQKG8f1I"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">So with the healings at Peter’s door, the
long day ends, and in the morning Jesus secludes himself to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the apostles find him, he tells them to
come with him and continue his preaching in more villages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is this passage connected with the
previous passages?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice, He says that
they are go to other synagogues to preach and drive out more demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">First I want to point that this third passage
summarizes the Dominican (the Order of Preachers) charism succinctly: seclusion
in contemplative prayer but then an outbound meeting of people to preach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dominicans are both contemplative and
itinerant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Second, the prayer serves as a restoration of
energy to perform the preaching and works of mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To use an automotive analogy, one has to fill
the tank in order to travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer
re-energizes the body to meet the demands of ministry. This is a lesson for our apostolates and ministries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Let us go on
to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this purpose have I come."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://st-ignatius.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/jesus-heals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://st-ignatius.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/jesus-heals.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-39737933800506584792024-01-28T13:15:00.002-05:002024-01-28T13:15:45.064-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Holy One of God<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we encounter Jesus’s in His first
stages of ministry. We see Him preaching
with authority and being singled out by a demon as “the Holy One of God.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then they came to Capernaum,<br />
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.<br />
The people were astonished at his teaching,<br />
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.<br />
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;<br />
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?<br />
Have you come to destroy us?<br />
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"<br />
Jesus rebuked him and said,<br />
"Quiet! Come out of him!"<br />
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.<br />
All were amazed and asked one another,<br />
"What is this?<br />
A new teaching with authority.<br />
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."<br />
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
1:21-28</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This is a brilliant homily from Bishop Robert
Barron. Every sentence is incredibly
enlightening. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4-qFpiUC3_s" width="320" youtube-src-id="4-qFpiUC3_s"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I agree the
Deuteronomy quote projects Christ, but here's a devil's advocate question:
couldn't it be projecting any of the prophets, especially Isaiah whose lips
were purified? But it is referring to
Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"What have
you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">That question should not be
taken only as coming from a demon.
I hope you are asking that yourself. </span>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-46101026783672122352024-01-21T00:50:00.007-05:002024-01-21T00:50:51.736-05:00Sunday Meditation: Repent and Believe in the Gospel<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">After Jesus is baptized (see last week’s
Gospel) by John the Baptist, John’s fortunes “decrease” while Jesus’s begins
His ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, in gathering some
of His disciples, He announces the Kingdom of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">After
John had been arrested,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus
came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"This
is the time of fulfillment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The
kingdom of God is at hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Repent,
and believe in the gospel."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As he
passed by the Sea of Galilee,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">he saw Simon and his brother
Andrew casting their nets into the sea;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">they
were fishermen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus
said to them,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Come
after me, and I will make you fishers of men."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
they abandoned their nets and followed him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
walked along a little farther<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
too were in a boat mending their nets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
he called them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">So
they left their father Zebedee in the boat<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">along
with the hired men and followed him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mk
1:14-20</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This week Fr. Joseph Mary of the Capuchin
Franciscans makes you feel the full force of Christ’s call to repent. .<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VuSC3HzLQiQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="VuSC3HzLQiQ"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Joseph Mary does not seem like an
introvert to me, but that may be deceptive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had no idea what menudo is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
never had it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked it up and
yuck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We never do hear how that young
man resolved his anger that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do
you think that young man repented?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
intuition tells me he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"This is the
time of fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kingdom of God
is at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repent, and believe in the
gospel."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A
clip from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Chosen.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SHxKeziyuQk" width="320" youtube-src-id="SHxKeziyuQk"></iframe></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /> </i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-58686748493978457662024-01-17T21:14:00.004-05:002024-01-17T21:20:00.450-05:00Defending Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, Part 3<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Part 3 is the last in the series of the defense of the papal Declaration, <i>Fiducia Supplicans</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You
can read Part 1 of my defense <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/01/defending-fiducia-supplicans-on.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Part
2 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/01/defending-fiducia-supplicans-on_12.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Note: This next section was written
just before Christmas, and I began to have some doubts, as you will read.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Before
I respond to specific comments, and given my schedule before the holidays may
not be timely, let me post Cardinal Fernández’s explanation through an
interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cardinal Fernández is the man
who wrote the document for Pope Francis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He explains the controversial part this in the interview:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">These kinds of blessings
are simply simple pastoral channels that help to express people’s faith, even
if those people are great sinners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Therefore, by giving this
blessing to two people who spontaneously come forward to request it, one can
legitimately ask God to grant them health, peace, prosperity—the things that we
all ask for and that a sinner can also ask for.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">At the same time, since
one can think that in the daily lives of these two persons, not everything is
sin, one can therefore pray for them [to receive] a spirit of dialogue,
patience, mutual help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But the declaration also
mentions a request for help from the Holy Spirit so that this relationship,
which is often unknown to the priest, may be purified of everything that does
not respond to the Gospel and the will of God, and may mature along the lines
of God’s plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As I was saying,
sometimes the priest, on a pilgrimage, does not know that couple, and sometimes
they are two very close friends who share good things, sometimes they had
sexual relations in the past and now what remains is a strong sense of
belonging and mutual help. As a parish priest, I have often met such couples,
who are sometimes exemplary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Therefore, since it is
not a question of the sacrament of confession(!), but of a simple blessing, it
is still asked that this friendship be purified, matured and lived in fidelity
to the Gospel. And even if there was some kind of sexual relationship, known or
not, the blessing made in this way does not validate or justify anything.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Actually the same thing
happens whenever individuals are blessed, because that individual who asks for
a blessing — not absolution — may be a great sinner, but we do not deny a
blessing to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But clearly we have to
grow in the conviction that non-ritualized blessings are not a consecration of
the person, they are not a justification of all his actions, they are not a
ratification of the life he leads. No. No. I do not know at what point we have
so exalted this simple pastoral gesture that we have equated it with the
reception of the Eucharist. That is why we want to set so many conditions for
blessing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
continue to believe FS is theologically sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So where is the disconnect?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
occurred to me this morning waking from a lousy sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must have been turning this over in my
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my claim-dispute-refutation
exercise I said this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute against claim #3:
If you’re blessing a sinner whose identity is integral with a sin, then you are
affirming that sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation #1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">No sinner’s identity is
integral to a sin in the eyes of God. It is wrong for a person to identify
himself as homosexual, for example, because it reduces the dignity of a human
being to a mere act. But it is just as wrong to consider the identity of a
person as such because you are doing the same thing in reducing that person to
a mere act, even if that person identifies himself as that sin. No one coming
before anyone, especially a priest, should be looked at as having the identity
as gay or having an identity of a sin.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">That
refutation may be true but it requires a lot of spiritual growth, a growth not
possible to expect from the general public or even the general Catholic
layman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t even know if I have
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve grown toward it and certainly I
try to look at the sinner as not the sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a lay Dominican I’m pushed toward it through regular prayer, frequent
confession, spiritual retreats, adoration, and such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no way anyone can expect the general
public to not separate the sinner from the sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So this ties in to</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute against claim
#4-1: A gay couple coming before a priest for a blessing de facto implies an
affirmation of homosexual marriage/unions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Unfortunately
to the general public that’s how it will be taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if there will be enough
preaching on the subject to change public perception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gay identity thing is so engrained in
the culture that it will not budge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While it may be theologically sound, it is not practical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Vatican will have to modify <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So
modify to what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think they need to
strip the word “couple” out of it and apply the blessing toward individuals or
large groups (I’m thinking of the priest who blessed the passengers on the
bus.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even that can be abused but at
least the perception goes away.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So
hopefully I answered most of your criticisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have a blessed Christmas if I can’t come back.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Note: This was written after
Christmas, and overcame the doubt and back to supporting FS.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
was somewhat rushed when I put out my last comment, so let me back fill and
also add some further thoughts I’ve had over these last few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i> a fourth time now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
continue to maintain this document is theologically sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The critics of this, it seems to me, make two
errors, either intentionally or by inference-conclusion bias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also a third criticism of the
document which I’ll address as well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
first error is that of conflating union with couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cardinal Muller does this over and over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He beats on a strawman argument.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses the word union throughout his
commentary, and FS clearly states numerous times that no union is being
blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple does not have to be a
union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple, while it may delineate a
bond between the two, in no way delineates a specific relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my wife and I were dating, we were a
couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With my wife and I being in a
married union, we are still a couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The nature of what that couple is has changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s still the word couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A married couple in an irregular union
(divorced and remarried without annulment) is also a couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t know whether they are living in an
adulterous state or as “brother and sister” as they are supposed to live while
the annulment process completes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two gay
men can be a couple in a “union” or in a sexual relationship or in a platonic
relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first two are not
acceptable to the Catholic Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
third is not a sinful state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of
these are couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state of grace in
these souls is unknown to the outside world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of the people in these examples are sinners, including me and if
you’re honest including you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All are in
need of grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From paragraph 31: “a
blessing may be imparted that not only has an ascending value but also involves
the invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon those who—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">recognizing themselves to be destitute and
in need of his help—do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who
beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their
relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy
Spirit.”</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Catholic anthropology
there is no such thing as a gay union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The document only uses the word union to make clear what is not being
blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple are any two
individuals that are approaching for a blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nature of their relationship is
irrelevant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are sinners <u>not
claiming to legitimate their status</u> (whatever that may be) but seeking
healing by the presence of the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you think that gay platonic relationships don’t exist, you’re wrong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
other error I keep seeing concerns the nature of a blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As FS delineates, a blessing has multiple
functions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One function is to provide
favor or affirmation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A boy scout helps
an old lady across the street and on reaching the other side she blesses
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is an affirmation for the good
the boy just did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not the type
of blessing being offered in FS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another
type of blessing is that to a sinner as an imparting of grace for the sinner to
be spiritually strengthened—that is as I’ve quoted from FS above, to be “healed
and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A person not in a state to receive communion
walks up with his arms crossed to receive a blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That blessing is not an affirmation of
anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an imparting of
grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a confessional, the absolution
is a blessing not of what a good job you did but a grace to be
strengthened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact the very first
words you’re supposed to say in the confessional is “Bless me Father for I have
sinned.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All sorts of sinners receive
blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soldiers going off to battle
receive blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People undertaking
arduous tasks, say an astronaut, receive blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Criminals in jail receive blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People on their death beds in a coma receive
blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of these is an
affirmation of any sin past or present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
two paragraphs following par. 31 make this clear:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">32. Indeed, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the grace of God works in the lives of
those who do not claim to be righteous</b> but who acknowledge themselves
humbly as sinners, like everyone else. This grace can orient everything
according to the mysterious and unpredictable designs of God. Therefore, with
its untiring wisdom and motherly care, the Church welcomes all who approach God
with humble hearts, accompanying them <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">with
those spiritual aids</b> that enable everyone to understand and realize God’s
will fully in their existence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">33. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">This is a blessing that, although not included in any liturgical rite,
unites intercessory prayer with the invocation of God’s help by those who
humbly turn to him.</b> God never turns away anyone who approaches him!
Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God.
The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the
transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances
of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live. It is a seed of
the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Do
you see that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FS is quite clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is people’s inference-conclusion
bias—otherwise known as jumping to a conclusion—that is the source of the
confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The document is not confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s people’s reading comprehension that has
them confused.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A
third criticism I see of FS is that the document rests on “legalistic language”
or word contrivance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, welcome to
theology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you tried reading Thomas
Aquinas?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or how about the Council of
Nicaea with the definition of the Trinity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Three separate persons but it’s still one God because they have one will
and are made of one substance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
not “word contrivance”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or how about
transubstantiation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The substance of
bread and wine are changed to the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ but
the material elements of the bread and wine remain the same to the senses?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or
how about outside of Catholicism, because all religions do this, let’s say the
Protestant notion of Once Saved Always Saved?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because Christ was punished for my sins, I can commit any sin I want
because it’s already been satisfied, as long as I believe in Christ?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can go on with lots of examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those looking suspiciously at another’s
theology will always find word contrivance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>FS doesn’t even reach anywhere near the level of word contrivance as any
of those examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact it’s quite
clear that couple is not a union.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As
I’ve ruminated on this over the last few days what I think has happened is that
inference-conclusion bias shaped some readers views and then a hermeneutic of
suspicion took root.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some critics are
commenting in good faith; some are setting up strawmen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said before the holidays, the
theological distinctions will probably go over the general public’s head and
lead to the wrong conclusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would
require a large teaching effort on a subject that most priests and bishops even
now loath to bring up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think FS would
have been less controversial if it has used the word “group” instead of couple,
and two is also a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that
would have minimized the inference-conclusion bias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either they didn’t think of it or the Holy
Father has his reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remain docile to the teaching, faith
seeking understanding.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Before
the holidays I thought the Vatican would have to amend FS in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not so sure now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was always left to the priest’s
discretion, and now the Vatican has made it clear it’s up to the bishops as to
the level of implementation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
flexibility solves all criticism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
suspect they will leave this alone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m
also more hopeful now that I’ve been away from the media on this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This practice could actually be quite
fruitful in teaching the Catholic anthropology of human sexuality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could also be quite fruitful in teaching
of loving the sinner and not the sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was just watching Johnny Mathis on TV singing a Christmas carol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know he’s same-sex attracted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know also he’s a Catholic convert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being almost ninety I doubt he’s sexually
active, but I’m pretty sure he committed sexual sins in his past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever grace has brought him to sanctity
had to do with the presence of the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All this blessing is doing is trying to lay the seeds for the Holy
Spirit in people’s lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think
that’s a bad thing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But
it supposedly took over a hundred years for the public to understand the
Trinity</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Note: This was written just after the
New Year as one last final defense.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
have to laugh when I see a polemicist like Robert Royal admit FS is not
heretical and yet goes on to rant and rave against the Vatican and the
Pope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From his article today in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2024/01/02/by-their-fruits/" target="_blank">The Catholic Thing</a></i>: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And as many of us could
see at the start – and, therefore, were often accused of not having even read
the text – though <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the document was
technically not heretical</b> and even restated Church teaching about real
marriage, there was a wide chasm between what was explicitly said and what was
implicitly communicated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Ha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not heretical, and no you are reading into
what is implicitly communicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody
must have walked him through what an inference fallacy is because just last
week he was saying quite the opposite on TV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no implicit communication in a Magisterial document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What it says is what it say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Royal goes on to even say how the effect of the
document may have persuaded the German bishops to not go into schism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet he rants and raves about how ill-timed
the document is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Polemicists need to rant and rave in order to
get clicks and to remove the egg on their face from previous statements.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
acknowledge that there are sincere people who honestly read FS and come away
with the impression that the blessing of same-sex couples validates a
relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And every time I read
their augmenting logic, I see the same application of the fallacy that a
same-sex couple must by definition be in a state of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know the name of that fallacy, but I
know it’s a fallacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a
conclusion based on an inference, not a fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It wouldn’t even hold up in court.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes,
I know you’ve got a whole list of people who have succumbed to this fallacy,
but there are enough who haven’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First
off the US Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have come out and supported the
document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not seen a single US
Bishop dissent from FS, and that would include all the conservative ones,
notably Cardinal Salvatore Cordileone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bishop Robert Barron, who heads the committee that this would fall
under, came out with a specific statement which included:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The document allows for
the possibility of blessing those in irregular or same-sex relationships.
Despite some misleading reporting in the media, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fiducia Supplicans</i> in no way
sanctions irregular bonds</b> or changes the Church’s teaching on marriage and
sexuality. It further specifies that no liturgical blessing can be offered to
those in such unions, but rather an informal pastoral blessing. This latter
benediction is a calling forth of the divine grace to help those who receive it
to live more fully in accord with God’s will and to enhance whatever is good,
true, and beautiful in their lives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Bishop
Barron’s <a href="https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/clarity-in-confusion-an-approach-to-fiducia-supplicans/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Word on Fire</i> ministry
published a tract</a> (Clarity in Confusion: An Approach to “Fiducia Supplicans”) on the underlying logic of FS, written by a Dr. Richard
Declue, who I have never heard of:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, I think, is another reason for the
confusion: a distinction between blessing a same-sex couple and blessing their
union. What does it mean to bless same-sex couples but not bless their unions?
If you are blessing a couple, are you not blessing their union? In this case,
no! And this is what is understandably difficult for people to immediately
comprehend. It is not intuitively obvious that you can bless a couple without
blessing or condoning their union.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So what kind of blessing
are we even talking about, then? What is the purpose? The document describes
the kind of blessing it has in mind: “These forms of blessing express a supplication
that God may grant those aids that come from the impulses of his Spirit—what
classical theology calls ‘actual grace’—so that human relationships may mature
and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, that they may be freed from their
imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the
ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.” The term actual grace is defined
in the Catechism: “Actual graces . . . refer to God’s interventions, whether at
the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Esteemed
professor of moral theology at The Catholic University, Dr. John Grabowski, who
specializes in sexual ethics, issued a positive statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more significant (at least to me being a
Lay Dominican) is that Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P. was quoted in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.osvnews.com/2023/12/18/experts-vatican-declaration-on-blessings-walks-a-fine-line-on-marriage-pastoral-care/" target="_blank">Our Sunday Visitor</a></i>, the most prolific
Catholic publication: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dominican Father Thomas
Petri, president of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, told OSV News
he agreed with the USCCB’s assessment, saying the Vatican declaration “is
clear.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“There can be no blessing
of same-sex relationships in a way that mimics marriage. There can be no
ritual. No vestments. No liturgy. Nothing in conjunction with some recent civil
ceremony for a couple,” Father Petri told OSV News. “On the contrary, what’s
suggested only as a pastoral guidance is the possibility that in some profound
religious experience, such as on a pilgrimage or at a spiritual retreat, that a
couple striving to live the will of God might spontaneously seek a priest’s
blessing (and) that they increasingly be able to do so.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Dominican House of Studies is the faculty that teaches theology to Dominicans
friars, mostly those in the Eastern Province but accepts widely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are no theological slouches, and more importantly
they are not of the polemical kind, neither polemical of the left nor of the
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But
I also hope you’ll watch this less than ten minute homily by Fr. Terrance
Chartier of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He not only explains FS perfectly and
succinctly and how it should be understood, but he also provides an
understanding of how it should be applied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(He even talks about sin of sowing Church discord, which people should
take seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I myself have taken that
to the confessional more than once.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
makes many of the same points I made throughout this OP, how all Church
documents should be read in in the spirit of docility and not suspicion, and
how the potential of abuse is no reason to not generate anything new. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. Terrance also criticizes those on the
polemical left and the polemical right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/chzrCcjbgjs" width="320" youtube-src-id="chzrCcjbgjs"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">He
even quotes Thomas Aquinas!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father, you
should have been a Dominican!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
sending that video to Cardinal Dolan, the bishop of my diocese with a note it
should be widely disseminated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Now
that I’ve had a few weeks to be away from the issue and certainly been away
from the attacks, let me summarize with my final thoughts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> remains to me
theologically sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Declaration
could have been improved by being more specific that persons are being blessed
rather than a couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the cause
of the confusion, but I think the Vatican has clarified it enough and given
bishops the flexibility to enact it as best fit their diocese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
arguments against are the strawman argument about blessing a gay union, which
is false, or that a same-sex couple innately implies a state of sin or, more to
the point, a lack of desire to amend one’s life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no affirmation of any sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blessing is an imparting of grace to grow
toward holiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That it can be abused
is no argument.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any sacrament can
currently be abused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">That
the blessing of an irregular or same-sex couple can cause the public to
misinterpret Catholic teaching is something that requires attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still I do not feel it warrants
concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The priest will have to use his
judgement, but this now is an opportunity to catechize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blessing is a teaching moment, which in
due time and practice may bring souls to Christ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">With
the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena, patroness of this blog, and my
personal patroness, I pray that it does so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-65721836780323917912024-01-14T23:13:00.007-05:002024-01-14T23:13:49.232-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Lamb of God<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Today we get the great moment where John the
Baptist see Jesus walk by and proclaims those resonating words, “Behold, the Lamb
of God.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">John
was standing with two of his disciples,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Behold,
the Lamb of God."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The
two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus
turned and saw them following him and said to them,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"What
are you looking for?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"where
are you staying?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
said to them, "Come, and you will see."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">So
they went and saw where Jesus was staying,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
they stayed with him that day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It
was about four in the afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Andrew,
the brother of Simon Peter,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">was
one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
first found his own brother Simon and told him,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"We
have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
he brought him to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jesus
looked at him and said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"You
are Simon the son of John;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">you
will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Jn
1:35-42</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is a blurring of passages from different
Gospels, but it does dramatize the moment well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the movie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jesus of Nazareth</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qIFMofe-dzw" width="320" youtube-src-id="qIFMofe-dzw"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week Fr. Geoffrey returns with a thorough
explanation in his homily.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">He also explains
the lectionary cycles and today’s readings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EwxK2kQqDW8" width="320" youtube-src-id="EwxK2kQqDW8"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Geoffrey does such a nice job with his
videos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives a full explanation of
what the “Lamb of God” means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This is worth understanding in detail.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Jesus turned and
saw them following him and said to them, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">"What
are you looking for?"</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-25562355742557282024-01-12T22:34:00.003-05:002024-01-17T21:20:54.982-05:00Defending Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, Part 2<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This is the second post on my defense of the papal Declaration, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Fiducia Supplicans.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You
can read Part 1 of my defense </span><a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/01/defending-fiducia-supplicans-on.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A
statement from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, one of the most conservative of
US Catholic bishops:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“I encourage those who
have questions to read the Vatican declaration closely, and in continuity with
the Church’s unchanging teaching. Doing so will enable one to understand how it
encourages pastoral solicitude while maintaining fidelity to the Lord Jesus
Christ,”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m
sick of the radical semi-schismatic Catholics who have built an anti papal
industry criticizing everything Pope Francis says. They never have a
positive word to say about any pope. They went off on Pope Benedict XVI
and Pope John Paul II as well. Listen to real conservatives, not radical
ones.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And
again, it clearly states that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i> is
not an affirmation of any sin. Any abuse is a condemnation on either the
priest or the recipient, just like taking communion with mortal sins. If
Fr. Martin has led people astray, he will answer for it in hell.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Right,
and I believe the response to that would be that in the current document he’s
defined the difference between a liturgical and spontaneous blessing.
This is why this document is a development and an addition to the
Magisterium. That’s my understanding/opinion but I’m not a theologian.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ll
quote from paragraph 31 again:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In such cases, a blessing
may be imparted that not only has an ascending value but also involves the
invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon those who—recognizing
themselves to be destitute and in need of his help—do not claim a legitimation
of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid
in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the
presence of the Holy Spirit. <b>These forms of blessing express a
supplication that God may grant those aids that come from the impulses of his Spirit—what
classical theology calls “actual grace”—so that human relationships may mature
and grow in fidelity to the Gospel</b>, that they may be freed from their
imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the
ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">SA
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And one specifically
given to a SS couple<i> as such</i>. If it’s not affirming their
couplehood, then what else is it doing? Invoking God’s help in managing
household chores in a Godly manner? Quite a small gnat to strain out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
blessing is a means to receive grace to grow in fidelity to the Gospel.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
understand the concerns. The concerns comes down to (1) can this be
abused and (2) can this lead to Catholics not understanding the Church
doctrine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve
responded to #1 multiple times. Everything can be abused. Every day
someone is abusing the confessional and the reception of holy communion.
This is no different. The sin falls double on those not acting in good
faith, priest or layman, whoever is at fault.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Can
Catholics come to an erroneous conclusion about homosexual acts? Well
look at the information being spread out in these days. The discussion is
all over the place. Nonetheless, if a gay couple doesn’t understand the
intent of the blessing and receive one, at some point if they are practicing in
their faith, they will come across it. It may not be today, it may not be
tomorrow, but at some point if they are consistent in their practice they will
understand. And then they will have to make a decision. The
expectation that those in irregular relationships (I don’t just want to single
out homosexuals) immediately repent is unrealistic. It takes time to live
the faith to submit to the faith. It’s now up to the Bishops to teach the
doctrine of the sin of homosexual acts, a doctrine that has not changed.
If anything this is an opportunity to explain what they have been reluctant to
explain.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">WC
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, or in short form, it
would have been wiser to remain silent and let the Church’s longstanding
position speak for itself. Short of that, every such “blessing” might end with
“go and sodomize (or fornicate) no more.” I guarantee that’s <u>not</u> happening
with Fr. James Martin and co.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Except
that the Belgium and German bishops are trying to implement same sex union
blessings and needed to be stopped. This document clearly outlines what
is proper and what is not for blessings. It was probably necessary.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">SW
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So FS not only relies on
the Church’s perennial doctrine (the definition of marriage and that one cannot
bless sin) but “develops” this doctrine with the “Holy Father’s teaching”. And
what is this teaching based on – well looking at the footnotes, ~65% is based
on what Francis says. He uses no previous Church teachings or quotes from the
Fathers to “develop” this. Instead it relies on the “specific and innovative”
thought of Francis and on his “pastoral” style. As with his muddying the waters
on the death penalty (which changed by him referencing a previous quote of his own),
the blessing of same-sex couples and those in “irregular marriages” changes
based on the pope’s pastoral feelings. FS is a teaching of Francis and Francis
alone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Actually
you reminded me. I meant to go back and look at the footnotes. So I
just did. So there appears to be three documents that is at the root of
the thought: <i>Rituale Romanum</i> (<i>Roman Ritual</i>), <i>De
Benedictionibus</i> (<i>The Book of Blessings</i>), <i>Directory on
Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines</i>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
latter two are self explanatory and seem quite appropriate. Wikipedia’s
entry on <i>Roman Ritual</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The Roman Ritual (Latin:
Rituale Romanum) is one of the official liturgical books of the Roman Rite of
the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. It contains all of the services that a
priest or deacon may perform; and are not contained in the Missale Romanum,
Pontificale Romanum, or Caeremoniale Episcoporum, but for convenience does
include some rituals that one of these books contains.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">That
seems pretty appropriate too. I don’t know what else is needed to make a
rather simple point about blessings. Somehow I suspect there has never
been a Magisterial document that addressed blessings. If you know of an
appropriate document he should have included, please tell me. I’m sure
all the critics out there would have found one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">SW Comment</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Manny</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
I’m sick of the radical semi-schismatic Catholics who have built an anti papal
industry criticizing everything Pope Francis says. They never have a positive
word to say any pope. They went off on Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II
as well. Listen to real conservatives, not radical ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Please give us your
official list Manny of whom we are approved to listen to.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Semi-schismatic
is not anyone’s term. It’s something I came up with on the spot as I
wrote the comment. I was thinking of all those who repeatedly, time after
time, issue after issue, sometimes daily, criticize the Pope, never having a
good word to say about him, and often don’t even use his title but often
disrespectfully call him by other names, including by his birth last name of
Bergoglio, which is to deconstruct him of his title and position as the Vicar
of Christ. I would say people like that are semi-schismatic because their
head may say they are Catholic, may even claim to pray for the Pope, but
clearly their heart is not in charitable sympathy with the Holy Father. I
could give you a list of a few, but now that you have my definition you can
probably identify a lot more than I know. I try not to hang out in those
circles. I’m not fan of Pope Francis. He’s too liberal for me
but I feel an obligation to be in charitable sympathy with him. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">WC
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I just don’t see this
working out the way you do, Manny. I think the German bishops will feel vindicated
by this and will move ahead with their plans. You’re making a distinction
between “same sex union blessings” and “same sex couple blessings.” I think the
rebellious bishops and priests (rebelling against orthodoxy) will see it as a
distinction without a difference and will give their blessings without making
any call to repentance at all, possibly condemning souls to eternal separation
from God. And as my mother always said, the road to hell is paved with the
skulls of bad priests.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">OK,
you’re one of those who believe it will be abused. As I’ve said, anything
can be abused. Will this change the German bishops? Probably
not. But at least now the distinction between a liturgical blessing and a
spontaneous blessing has been defined. It’s clear what they’re violating.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">SW Comment</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Manny Comment</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
But at least now the distinction between a liturgical blessing and a
spontaneous blessing has been defined.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ll post his again,
Manny. Cardinal Muller lays waste to this line of thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">c) The new blessings
proposed by FS would be pastoral blessings,</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> not
liturgical or ritual blessings. Therefore, they would no longer have the
limitation of “ritual” or type “b” blessings. They could be applied not only to
persons in sin, as in “ritual” blessings, but also to things, places, or
circumstances that are contrary to the Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">These “c” type blessings,
or “pastoral” blessings are a novelty. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Not being
liturgical but rather of “popular piety,” they would supposedly not compromise
evangelical doctrine and would not have to be consistent with either moral
norms or Catholic doctrine. What can be said about this new category of
blessing?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A <i>first
observation</i> is that there is no basis for this new usage in the
biblical texts </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">cited by FS, nor in any previous statement
of the Magisterium. Nor do the texts offered by Pope Francis provide a basis
for this new type of blessing. For already the blessing according to the <i>Roman
Ritual</i> (type “b”) allows a priest to bless someone who lives in sin.
And this type “of blessing can easily be applied to someone who is in prison or
in a rehabilitation group, as Francis says (quoted in FS 27). The innovative
“pastoral” blessing (type “c”), in contrast, goes beyond what Francis says,
because one could give such a blessing to a reality that is contrary to God’s
law, such as an extramarital relationship. In fact, according to the criterion
of this type of blessings, one could even bless an abortion clinic or a mafia
group.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">There’s
a lot there. Let me handle these observations one at a time. Up
front, I do not consider Cardinal Muller one of the semi-schismatics.
He’s sound and I don’t find him biased.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s
the “c” blessing that’s in question. Cardinal Muller agrees that this is
no different than anything prior (“For already the blessing according to
the <i>Roman Ritual</i> (type “b”) allows a priest to bless someone
who lives in sin”) except for the part that “goes beyond” the Roman
Ritual. Yes, that is correct. That is why I believe this is new
development in the Magisterium. I have stated a couple of times, the
document in the third unnumbered paragraph states this is new development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The value of this
document, however, is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to
the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of
the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a
liturgical perspective. Such theological reflection, based on the pastoral
vision of Pope Francis, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">i<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">mplies a real development from what has been
said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church.</span></b> This
explains why this text has taken on the typology of a “Declaration.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So
whether it’s in the Bible is irrelevant. That statement actually baffles
me. We all know that Catholic doctrine does not have to be in the
Bible. Against abortion, birth control, the Trinity, the Assumption of
Mary, the Immaculate Conception. None of that is in the Bible. And
I assume that Cardinal Muller is correct, it is not in the Magisterium prior to
this. That’s what makes it a development. I think Par. 35 might
actually be the development: “35. Therefore, the pastoral sensibility of
ordained ministers should also be formed to perform blessings spontaneously
that are not found in the Book of Blessings.” Cardinal Muller and Pope
Francis are in agreement. Unless FS specifically contradicts existing
Magisterial teaching, then it is in Pope Francis’ purview to develop doctrine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Now
as to Cardinal Muller’s statement that because of FS “one could give such a
blessing to a reality that is contrary to God’s law,” that is absolutely not
what the document states. This is the strawman argument that everyone
seems to be making. Par. 5: “Such is also the meaning of the Responsum of
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, <b>which states that the
Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the
same sex.</b>“</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Also
in the fourth unnumbered paragraph:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It is precisely in this
context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in
irregular situations and same-sex couples <b>without officially validating
their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on
marriage.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And
then in Par. 11:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">11. Basing itself on
these considerations, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s
Explanatory Note to its 2021 Responsum recalls that when a blessing is invoked
on certain human relationships by a special liturgical rite, it is necessary
that what is blessed corresponds with God’s designs written in creation and
fully revealed by Christ the Lord. For this reason, since the Church has always
considered only those sexual relations that are lived out within marriage to be
morally licit, the Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical
blessing when that would somehow offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union
that presumes to be a marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice. The Holy
Father reiterated the substance of this Declaration in his Respuestas to the
Dubia of two Cardinals.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
guess part of the confusion is that there are ties in logic back to the 2021
document. I should dig up that document and read it. But I do
believe in that document it calls for sinners to repent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Can
one bless an abortion clinic? Of course not for it’s carrying out of
abortions. That would be blessing a sin. But what if someone
collapses outside with a heart attack and a doctor or nurse from inside rush
out and help the man and save his life using medicine or tools from the clinic,
can the doctor and nurse request and be blessed? According to FS I would
say they can. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">WC Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m <i>begging</i> anyone
still following this thread to watch the first 12 minutes of this conversation
between Matt Fradd (Pints with Aquinas) and my new favorite apologist Joe
Heschmeyer (Shameless Popery (which blog name he got from a Protestant friend
as a joke/ribbing, btw)). <i>Begging you!!<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMlvxpjufas" width="320" youtube-src-id="NMlvxpjufas"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve only watched that
much so far, but I’m in complete agreement with Joe — this document isn’t a
doctrinal change, but it is a “pastoral disaster.” Are you still here <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://ricochet.com/members/manny/">@ manny</a></span>?
Will you agree with that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This
is excellent. Joe H. is great as all those at Catholic
Answers. I think you have to at least go to the 19 minute mark to include
the German issue. The German issue is what has caused the inclusion of
the gay couple blessing. For better or worse. And I like the way
Joe said that you would also not be following Christ if it did not go after the
lost sheep.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
entire hour is worth watching. It was the best unbiased discussion I have
seen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">SA
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you think they are
more likely to do it now than they were before?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Immediately
it’s not going to make a difference. If they live a Catholic life and
understand Catholic teaching and the Biblical scriptures then I think the seed
planted can grow to accept Christ’s obedience over the culture. It’s like
any other sinner. It takes time. St. Augustine – the real St.
Augustine not you…lol – didn’t drop his sexual sinning over night. What
was his famous line? “Lord give me chastity, but not yet” I may be
butchering that a little from memory. But that is what the FS is relying
on. It’s hoping the blessing will plant seeds. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Let’s
break this down piece by piece and maybe we can come to the heart of the
disagreement.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Let’s
start with what we believe FS to state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
are four potential controversial claims of FS that I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I missed any let me know.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">1.
FS allows for a spontaneous blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">2.
FS allows for the blessing of sinners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">3.
FS does not allow for the blessing or affirmation of sin, especially gay marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">4.
FS allows for the blessing of a gay couple as long as it does not affirm their
sin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Now
let me state the disputes against each claim and a refutation of the dispute.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #1: Pope Francis made this distinction up from whole cloth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
don’t know if such a term as spontaneous blessing existed before but it is
evident that the practice of spontaneous blessings have always been going on.
Just in September when we took a bus down to Washington DC for the Rosary
Pilgrimage we had a priest on board and at the beginning he provided a blessing
to the bus load. Such informal blessings happens every day. If such a blessing
had never been defined in the Magisterium, FS has defined it now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It
is within the Pope’s authority to define a new teaching if the new teaching
does not violate anything in the Magisterium. I have not seen one
reference to a previous Magisterial teaching that this spontaneous blessing
definition would violate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #2: You can’t bless a sinner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">How
is the priest supposed to know the recipient is in a state of grace or not? The
very nature of spontaneous blessings would have to be stopped. If a person
sneezed in front of a priest, would the priest have to hear his confession
before he could say God bless you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">People
walk up to a priest and ask for a blessing all the time. There have been
priest’s blessings prior to Congressional openings. We know there are sinners
there. Priests bless criminals in jail. I'm sure on my bus there were sinners
on board when the priest gave a blessing. I know that for sure because I
am a sinner. A priestly blessing is not contingent on a soul’s state. You
don’t even have to be Catholic to receive such a blessing. This claim is not
met in historical practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #3: If you’re blessing a sinner whose identity is integral with a
sin, then you are affirming that sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">No
sinner’s identity is integral to a sin in the eyes of God. It is wrong for a
person to identify himself as homosexual, for example, because it reduces the
dignity of a human being to a mere act. But it is just as wrong to consider the
identity of a person as such because you are doing the same thing in reducing
that person to a mere act, even if that person identifies himself as that sin.
No one coming before anyone, especially a priest, should be looked at as having
the identity as gay or having an identity of a sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS
defines a blessing as not affirming a sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS
clearly states in multiple places that such blessings should be done in a way
to not imply that the blessing is affirming a sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #4-1: A gay couple coming before a priest for a blessing de facto
implies an affirmation of homosexual marriage/unions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As
in the dispute to claim #2, how is a priest supposed to know the couple is a
gay union? If me and my brother, or me and my son, or me and a male friend, or
even me and a female friend who is not my wife approach a priest for a
blessing, how is the priest supposed to know the relationship? Is he supposed
to inquire? You would not want such formality for a spontaneous blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS
clearly states that such a blessing is not an affirmation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #4-2: A gay couple coming before a priest will take the blessing
to be an acceptance of their homosexual union.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">a.
FS clearly states that no blessing of sin is possible and that such a gay union
is not licit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">b.
If the gay couple honestly reaches that erroneous conclusion, then the blessing
will not be efficacious and in time living out a Catholic life they will learn
the truth. Just as beginning Catholics or uncatechized Catholics or exploring
non Catholics eventually learn that one can only take communion in a state of
grace, homosexuals who truly wish a Catholic life will understand Church
teaching on homosexual acts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">c.
If the gay couple dishonestly entices such a blessing for self-affirmation,
then that is clearly a sin and they condemn themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #4-3: A liberal priest can use FS to bless a homosexual union.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Such
a priest would be in violation of Church doctrine and the claims of FS. He
would be abusing his vocation, be committing a grave sin, and subject to
discipline.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A
liberal priest could do that now without FS. It’s irrelevant to FS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #4-4: The appearance of giving a blessing to a gay couple can
cause scandal and lead to a general belief the Catholic Church now approves of
gay marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS
clearly states otherwise. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states
otherwise. No Church teaching would substantiate that claim. Church policy on
marriage is articulated as such and actual implementation of policy would
reject any request for a gay nuptial. It would be generally known but if such
erroneous knowledge starts to take root it becomes incumbent on the bishops to
teach otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Dispute
against claim #4-5: This is a step toward the Church approving gay marriage in
the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#1.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Church
Magisterium has clearly been established that no such definition of marriage
can be accepted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Refutation
#2.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS
clearly affirms the established Magisterial teaching of an acceptable marriage.
Homosexual marriage is just not possible in the Catholic Church.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You can read Part 3 <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/01/defending-fiducia-supplicans-on_17.html" target="_blank">here</a>, the final post in the defense.</p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-56434517771045628222024-01-11T21:57:00.006-05:002024-01-12T22:35:15.056-05:00Defending Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, Part 1<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">On
December 18, 2023 Pope Francis through the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the
Faith—the Church office in charge of teaching the doctrine of faith and
morals—issued a Declaration (a Church document that provides an authoritative
statement) on the nature and practice of blessing couples in irregular married
states and same-sex couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with
anything dealing with homosexuality and religion, a fire storm is certain to erupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The media has had
a field day, misinforming what the document says, and Catholic polemicists,
both those on the left who desire approval of same-sex unions and on the right
who go hyperbolic at any inference of liberality, have also been out with
either a misinformed understanding of the document or a strawman argument of a
distorted understanding, sowing seeds of discontent and frankly scandal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to present a defense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fiducia Supplicans (FS)</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may take more than one post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">First, if you wish you can <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html" target="_blank">read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i> here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is an English translation tab if the
document does not pop up in English.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Second,
the context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Part
of the controversy began back in 2016 with Pope Francis’ publication of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoris_laetitia#" target="_blank">Amoris laetitia</a></i> (The Joy of Love), an Exhortation on how to pastor to families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the subjects it took up was in how to deal with families of
irregular marriages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was an ambiguity
perceived in whether sacraments could be offered to those in a divorced and
remarried state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some bishops questioned
what Pope Francis intended, and so a back and forth went on for several years
until Pope Francis published in 2021 an official response called the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dubio</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of five questions in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dubio
</i>concerned the blessing of same-sex couples, and Pope Francis in response agreed
it was not allowed, but his response in turn was further questioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i>
was a final clarification on this one question of blessings of people in
irregular marriages and same-sex relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Succinctly, could people in such conditions receive a blessing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It required the explanation of what a
blessing is, on what can and cannot be blessed, and how to pastorally
administer such blessings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Also
as part of the context, the Bishops in Germany and Belgium were not only
blessing persons in sinful relationships, but advocating for the blessing of
same-sex unions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bishops in both
those countries—and perhaps in other European countries likely to join
them—were willing to schismatically separate from the Catholic Church over this
issue.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS:</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
document is written by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect (that is, head
of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) and signed by Pope
Francis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though written by Fernández, it
carries the full weight of the Papal office, and therefore Magisterial.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
document is a “Declaration,” and has 45 numbered paragraphs plus five
unnumbered at the beginning under the heading of “Presentation,” which I would
take as providing the context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides
the context, which I have already summarized above, there are three important
sentences in the third unnumbered paragraph: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“The value of this
document, however, is that it offers a specific and innovative
contribution <i>to the pastoral meaning of blessings</i>, permitting a
broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is
closely linked to a liturgical perspective. Such theological reflection, based
on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what
has been said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the
Church. This explains why this text has taken on the typology of a
“Declaration.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This
makes the claim of a doctrinal development in the understanding of blessings,
something new in the 2000 plus years of the Magisterium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do expand a little on this post below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">FS</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> is then divided
into an “Introduction” (three paragraphs) and four parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The four parts are titled:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I.
The Blessing in the Sacrament of Marriage (par. 4-6)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">II.
The Meaning of the Various Blessings (par. 7-30) which is further subdivided:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a. The Liturgical Meaning of the
Rites of Blessing (par. 9-13)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b. Blessings in Sacred Scripture
(par. 14-19)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c. A Theological-Pastoral
Understanding of Blessings (par. 20-30)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">III.
Blessings of Couples in Irregular Situations and of Couples of the Same Sex
(par. 31-41)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">IV.
The Church is the Sacrament of God’s Infinite Love (par. 42-45)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Like
most (if not all?) papal documents, the title is taken from the first few
words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fiducia Supplicans</i> comes from the first
three words of the first sentence, “The supplicating trust of the faithful
People of God receives the gift of blessing that flows from the Heart of Christ
through his Church.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The division and
subdivision titles are self-explanatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It takes the reader through the Sacrament of Marriage—what it is and
what it is not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes on to outline
what it means to liturgically bless, especially of marriage, a short discourse
on the blessings within sacred scripture, and the distinction between the
different types of blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes to
outline when and how blessings of couples in irregular situations and those
with same-sex attraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sums up with
an expansion of the very first sentence, of how blessings flow from the love of
God through the Church.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
must admit I have always wondered what a blessing actually is, and we get a
beautiful explanation in the first thirty paragraphs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The distinctions between blessings will come
out below.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In
hindsight, I’m also seeing the significance of the title <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fiducia Suppicans</i>, “The Supplicating Trust.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definition of supplication: “the action of
asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is at the heart of the declaration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who approach for a blessing are
approaching in supplication, begging out of humility and earnestness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an act of seriousness and honesty to
those that humbly beg for a blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
they are in earnest, they are not trying to “sucker” the church for an
affirmation of their lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
gist of the Declaration is that blessings come in several types.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Church cannot change the nature of
marriage being between a man and a woman, and re-emphasizes this Magisterial
teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It states that the Church does
not approve of blessings of irregular and same-sex unions, nor of affirming
such sinful situations, but it does approve of couples to receive a blessing
that imparts grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the sticking
point with the critics, they insist there is no distinction between a blessing
that affirms (say a marriage) and one that imparts grace to give strength or
improve (say a soldier going off to battle).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any blessing is an affirmation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As I will show, this is just wrong and FS clearly says it is wrong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following is my defense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i>, mostly through a give and take on a
conservative political (not specifically religious) Social Media site called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ricochet</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Participants in the discussion were not all
Catholics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m only going to include my
comments and only include other people’s comments when my response requires the
context of what I’m responding to. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
may be a disjuncture from one paragraph to the next in my comments, but that is
because I’m jumping from one comment to another without providing the
dialogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I did include it all, this
would be a huge post.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
will say I was the solitary defender of the document, and, frankly, frequently
received what I’ll characterize as hostile scourges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a sensitive subject, and conservative
veterans of the culture war (which I am one too) are not pre-disposed to accept
what amounts to a small liberalizing step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This may be a liberalizing step but it’s also a line in the sand to the
limit of same-sex coupling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It offers a
pastoral embrace of the sinner—refusing to alienate—while teaching the sin is
not acceptable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
started defending <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FS</i> from the charges
it was heretical, which it is clearly not, but in doing so I grew to appreciate
it, and think it wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">OB
Comment: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">How does the Church bless
“couples in irregular situations” without expressly condoning the sexual
activity that forms the basis of the “irregular” union?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Did
you read the document? Did anybody here read the document? <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en" target="_blank">Read the document</a></span>. It does no such
thing. The document lays out what exactly is a blessing, why anyone can
receive a blessing, why in no way affirms sin, and the intentions of those
seeking a blessing. It’s only ten pages or so long. Catholics have
an obligation to read it, especially if they are going to spread erroneous
claims.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
first reaction was similar. If an irregular couple (referring to more
than just homosexuals; divorced and remarried are also irregular without
nullity of previous marriage) approaches for a blessing isn’t that a de facto
acceptance of the situation. The document clearly says no. From
paragraph 31:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In such cases, a blessing
may be imparted that not only has an ascending value but also involves the
invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon those who—recognizing
themselves to be destitute and in need of his help—do not claim a legitimation
of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid
in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the
presence of the Holy Spirit. These forms of blessing express a supplication
that God may grant those aids that come from the impulses of his Spirit—what
classical theology calls “actual grace”—so that human relationships may mature
and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, t<b>hat they may be freed from their
imperfections and frailties,</b> and that they may express themselves in
the ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyone understanding this
Magisterium – and the opening paragraphs indicate that this now is Magisterium
– approaching for such a blessing will have to understand what their disordered
lifestyle is and seek to overcome it. A gay couple will have to feel a
sense of compunction that may actually do more for them to seek freedom than to
if no blessing, or even individual blessing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Can’t
this be abused? Well yeah, everything can be abused. What if the
recipients of the blessing lie? So? If someone holds back a mortal
sin during the sacrament of confession, is that a flaw in the sacrament or an
abuse by the sinner, which is a sin in itself? If someone intentionally
receives communion at Mass having a mortal sin on their soul, is that a flaw in
the sacrament or a further sin by the sinner? If one takes a rosary and
uses it to pray to satan, is that a flaw in the sacramental or a flaw in the
sinner? There is nothing different here with these blessings. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This
document is actually intended to repudiate the German bishops who want to give
such blessings to gay unions – that is the union itself. It clearly
denies them the right to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally
I bless people all the time. If I bless you, am I affirming any sin you
committed? If someone blesses me for helping them in the afternoon, is
that affirming any sin I committed in the morning. Of course
not. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And
confirmed by the more conservative National Catholic Register: “<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/vatican-same-sex-blessings-cardinal-fernandez-pope-francis">Vatican
Says Priests Can Bless Same-Sex Couples Without Condoning Their Lifestyles</a></span>“.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
have come to realize that one must be very selective in the media one listens
to when it comes to Catholic news. There is a hermeneutic by which Church
documents and the pope are spun. The secular media have no understanding
of Catholic issues. The radical liberal Catholics want to push the Church
into what is heresy. The radical conservative media want to refuse to
accept any developments (and development in Catholicism has a very specific
meaning, and no it does not mean refuting any past doctrine) that have
arisen. You have to find good conservative Catholic resources to understand
what is doctrinal. There is an industry out there that has cropped up
that distorts what comes out of the Vatican. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
recent discovery of Michael Lofton’s podcast, “Reason and Theology,” has been a
blessing to me. Lofton is an expert on the history of the Magisterium,
all the way from the apostles to today. If you don’t want to read the ten
page document, here Lofton walks you through the document, paragraph by
paragraph, almost sentence by sentence. It’s a little over an hour.
The last twenty minutes is his opining, which you can skip. If you want
to make a good faith effort to at least understand the Holy Father, you should
at least watch this hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RjbqbIIicqk" width="320" youtube-src-id="RjbqbIIicqk"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">No
it is not lawyerly. It’s theological, and I guess you don’t read many
papal documents. This is way clearer than most.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Well,
theologians speak in a particular language. You want to read difficult church
writings, read St. Augustine. It will make your head spin. This papal document
is about as clear as it gets. Other than a few Latin terms, it is completely
straightforward. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">OB
Comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Sum up the message in a
sentence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The recitations of
existing doctrine on marriage comprise a repeated assertion that nothing has
changed which would not be required unless something did. To say clearly
that it is not a formal endorsement of same-sex marriage is not a defense
against the claim that it is in fact an approved means to present a tacit
acceptance of same-sex relationships. It is that tacit acceptance
as I discussed in my previous comment that is the novation being buried under
the verbiage. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">From
Paragraph 39:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">39. In any case,
precisely to avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing
is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed
outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should
never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not
even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing,
gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. The same applies when the
blessing is requested by a same-sex couple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
don’t know how it could be clearer. And that’s not the only place he
states it. At some point it’s you who refuse to accept the words written
on the page.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">SW Comment</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
The document clearly says no. From paragraph 31:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">You left out the most
important part of paragraph 31 Manny, the first sentence:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Within the horizon
outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular
situations and for couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be
fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the
blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">These are not individual
blessings, they are blessings for couples. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">If you’re implying that I
was hiding a key sentence, well you didn’t read my comment that you took the
quote from. Further below I address it head on:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyone understanding this
Magisterium – and the opening paragraphs indicate that this now is Magisterium
– approaching for such a blessing will have to understand what their disordered
lifestyle is and seek to overcome it. A gay couple will have to feel a sense of
compunction that may actually do more for them to seek freedom than to if no
blessing, or even individual blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And did you even read the
sentence you said I left out? Here’s the key part of the sentence: <b>“the
form of which should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid
producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Have you counted how many
paragraphs contain a reference to it not applying to marriage? Of the 45
paragraphs, nine paragraphs contain a reference to it not applying or implying
any form of acceptance of gay marriage. 9 out of 45, a full 20% spends
indicates what you claim it doesn’t.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">###</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="https://ricochet.com/1525640/bless-this-francis/comment-page-4/#comment-7019918" title="View comment in context."><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">SA</span></a> Comment</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Manny</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">:<br />
Anyone understanding this Magisterium – and the opening paragraphs indicate
that this now is Magisterium . . .<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Meaning that it’s
infallible according to Catholic theology?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My
Response:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, I believe so, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">From the third paragraph,
unnumbered introducing the document:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The value of this
document, however, is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to
the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of
the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a
liturgical perspective. Such theological reflection, based on the pastoral
vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said
about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church. This
explains why this text has taken on the typology of a “Declaration.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Apparently
no document in the 2000 years of Church Magisterium has there been an
explanation of what a blessing actually is, what it does, and under what
circumstances it can be given. This is the first. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I
found the explanation on the nature of blessings fascinating. It was
something I had always wondered about.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">End of Part 1. Part 2 can be found <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/01/defending-fiducia-supplicans-on_12.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-55550280324820883232024-01-07T01:49:00.004-05:002024-01-07T01:49:36.684-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Epiphany of the Lord<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday)" target="_blank">Feast of the Epiphany</a> is a manifestation
of Jesus’s divinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a making
known that God is among us, a revelation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The three kings come to find the King of the World.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Where
is the newborn king of the Jews?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We
saw his star at its rising<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
have come to do him homage.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When King Herod heard this, he was
greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Assembling
all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">for
thus it has been written through the prophet:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">are
by no means least among the rulers of Judah;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">since
from you shall come a ruler,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">who
is to shepherd my people Israel.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
Herod called the magi secretly <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
sent them to Bethlehem and said, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Go
and search diligently for the child.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When
you have found him, bring me word, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">that
I too may go and do him homage.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">After
their audience with the king they set out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And behold, the star that they had
seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place
where the child was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
were overjoyed at seeing the star, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
on entering the house<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">they
saw the child with Mary his mother.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
prostrated themselves and did him homage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
they opened their treasures <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">they
departed for their country by another way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Mt 2:1-12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Over the years I have written often on the
Feast of the Epiphany and the visit of the three magi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can access all those posts <a href="https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/search/label/Feast%20of%20the%20Epiphany" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be sure to look through my explanation of T.S.
Eliot’s great poem, “Journey of the Magi,” and my review’s of Fr. Dwight
Longenecker’s book on the Magi, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Mystery of the Magi</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">For a reflection on the Gospel passage this
week I found Bishop Barron’s homily very profound.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F7gZTURkbLk" width="320" youtube-src-id="F7gZTURkbLk"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’ll also add this nice little picture summary
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aleteia </i>of the Three Kings story
with some lovely Middle Eastern music to compliment it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o7zWhc3dpsk" width="320" youtube-src-id="o7zWhc3dpsk"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“They were
overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with
Mary his mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-44385134145246094952023-12-31T01:06:00.005-05:002023-12-31T01:06:34.986-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Presentation<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">There is a lot packed into this Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the Feast of the Holy Family and for
Year B the Gospel takes us to The Presentation of Jesus at the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When
the days were completed for their purification <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">according
to the law of Moses, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">They
took him up to Jerusalem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to
present him to the Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">just
as it is written in the law of the Lord, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Every male that opens the womb
shall be consecrated to the Lord, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
to offer the sacrifice of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">a
pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">in
accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Now
there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">This
man was righteous and devout,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">awaiting
the consolation of Israel, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
the Holy Spirit was upon him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It
had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">that
he should not see death <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">before
he had seen the Christ of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
came in the Spirit into the temple; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
when the parents brought in the child Jesus <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to
perform the custom of the law in regard to him, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Now,
Master, you may let your servant go<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">in
peace, according to your word,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">for
my eyes have seen your salvation,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">which
you prepared in sight of all the peoples,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">a
light for revelation to the Gentiles,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
glory for your people Israel.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The child’s father and mother were
amazed at what was said about him; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Behold,
this child is destined <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">for
the fall and rise of many in Israel,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
to be a sign that will be contradicted <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">—and
you yourself a sword will pierce— <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">so
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">There
was also a prophetess, Anna, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">the
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She
was advanced in years, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">having
lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
then as a widow until she was eighty-four.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She
never left the temple, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">but
worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
coming forward at that very time, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">she
gave thanks to God and spoke about the child <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to
all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When
they had fulfilled all the prescriptions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">of
the law of the Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">they
returned to Galilee,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to
their own town of Nazareth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The
child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
the favor of God was upon him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Lk 2:22-40</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is the second week in a row Fr. Geoffrey
Plant does an amazing job of explaining today’s readings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Umz4r650KhY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Umz4r650KhY"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Plant’s explanation of a mother’s purification
after childbirth as a return to the profane from the sacred is startling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had never heard that before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I questioned it actually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most explanations do not reproduce that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, at <a href="http://Chabad.org">Chabad.org</a>, a religious Jewish
question and answer website, <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/510244/jewish/Ritual-purity-after-birth-of-males-and-females.htm" target="_blank">we do get this</a>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why the difference in the laws of ritual purity between the birth of
males and females?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">By Chana Weisberg<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Question:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">My question is on the subject of cleanness of a mother after the birth
of a male or female (Leviticus 12). The woman is unclean for seven days after a
male birth, and after the birth of a female the mother is unclean for fourteen
days. Why is there a difference between the birth of males and females?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Answer:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">You write the word "cleanliness," when really it is
"ritual purity." A woman's "impurity," or "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tumah</i>" in Hebrew, during her
menstruation is a built-in component of her natural monthly cycle. Her status
of "impurity" demonstrates her descent from a peak level of holiness,
when she had the ability to conceive a precious new life through her union with
her husband.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The status of "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tumah</i>"
is not meant to imply sinfulness, degradation or inferiority. On the contrary,
it emphasizes, in particular, the great level of holiness inherent in woman's G‑dly
power to create and nurture a new life within her body, and the great holiness
of a husband and wife's union, in general. Since a woman possesses this lofty
potential, she, also bears the possibility of its void; hence her status as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tameh</i>, ritually impure. Since she
experienced "the touch of death," so to speak, with the loss of
potential life, as reflected by her menstruation, she enters this status of
"impure."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">After having given birth to a baby boy, a woman must wait a minimum of
seven days before beginning her pure days; while after a baby girl is born, she
must wait a minimum of fourteen days. Since the female child inherently carries
a higher degree of holiness, due to her own biological, life creating
capability, a greater void, or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tumah</i>,
remains after her birth. Thus, the greater <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tumah</i>
after a baby girl's birth reflects her greater capacity for holiness (due to
her creative powers) and necessitates the longer wait to remove this ritual
impurity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Now the question is in reference to the
difference between a the ritual waiting between a boy and a girl child, but explaining,
Chana Weisberg substantiates Fr. Plant’s explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Fc54GDhm3g1y8frlZcXeui9-YeR75pLxJ6S9zuM5GYuMlMKcT2PSn1BvpMy_zMv8LdhpG33HX1ScIFj6wnVkOy9HndbYHmsnGbSwfJHLKfw1IoTkYZ2EEeZu5hOp8nva8E9T24YS5IrG/s786-p-k-no-nu/fra-angelico-presentation-of-jesus-in-the-temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="786" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Fc54GDhm3g1y8frlZcXeui9-YeR75pLxJ6S9zuM5GYuMlMKcT2PSn1BvpMy_zMv8LdhpG33HX1ScIFj6wnVkOy9HndbYHmsnGbSwfJHLKfw1IoTkYZ2EEeZu5hOp8nva8E9T24YS5IrG/s320-p-k-no-nu/fra-angelico-presentation-of-jesus-in-the-temple.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Now, Master, you
may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen
your salvation,”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2833359394611156317.post-28941791461490006392023-12-24T15:51:00.005-05:002023-12-24T16:00:19.068-05:00Sunday Meditation: The Annunciation<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is the last Sunday in Advent and
Christmas Eve all in one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a
strange coincidence of the calendar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Fourth Sunday in Advent is reserved for a Marian Gospel reading, and today’s
reading is the most profound of the Marian passages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The
angel Gabriel was sent from God<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to a
town of Galilee called Nazareth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">to a
virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">of
the house of David,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
the virgin's name was Mary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
coming to her, he said,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Hail,
full of grace! The Lord is with you."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But
she was greatly troubled at what was said<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
the angel said to her,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Do
not be afraid, Mary,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">for
you have found favor with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"Behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
you shall name him Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He
will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
of his kingdom there will be no end."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But
Mary said to the angel,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"How
can this be,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">since
I have no relations with a man?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
the angel said to her in reply,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">"The
Holy Spirit will come upon you,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Therefore
the child to be born<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">will
be called holy, the Son of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And
behold, Elizabeth, your relative,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">has
also conceived a son in her old age,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">and
this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">for
nothing will be impossible for God."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Mary
said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">May
it be done to me according to your word."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then
the angel departed from her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #1f4e79; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">~Lk
1:26-38<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Geoffry Plant does a great job explaining
both ends of the readings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Fr. Plant also highlights a poem by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Levertov" target="_blank">Denise Levertov</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me present it for
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a wonderful poem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Levertov was born in England but immigrated to the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her father was a Hasidic Jew but converted to
Christianity, and Denise grew up under both religions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a young adult she was more or less
agnostic but in mid life she felt a powerful calling back to faith and
ultimately became Catholic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Annunciation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">By Denise Levertov<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">almost always a lectern, a book; always<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the tall lily.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arrived on solemn grandeur
of great wings,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">whom she acknowledges, a guest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">courage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The engendering Spirit<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">did not enter her without consent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God waited.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">She was free<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">to accept or to refuse, choice<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">integral to humanness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>____________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Aren’t there annunciations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">of one sort or another<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in most lives?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some unwillingly<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">undertake great destinies,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">enact them in sullen pride,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">uncomprehending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">More often<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">those moments<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when roads of light and
storm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>open from darkness in a man
or woman,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">are turned away from<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">and with relief.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Ordinary lives continue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God does not smite them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>____________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">She had been a child who played, ate, slept<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">like any other child–but unlike others,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">wept only for pity, laughed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in joy not triumph.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Compassion and intelligence<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">fused in her, indivisible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Called to a destiny more momentous<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">than any in all of Time,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">she did not quail,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>only asked<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">a simple, ‘How can this be?’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">and gravely, courteously,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">took to heart the angel’s reply,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the astounding ministry she was offered:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">to bear in her womb<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Infinite weight and lightness; to carry<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in hidden, finite inwardness,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">nine months of Eternity; to contain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in slender vase of being,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the sum of power–<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">in narrow flesh,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the sum of light.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then bring to
birth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">push out into air, a Man-child<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">needing, like any other,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">milk and love–<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">but who was God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">This was the moment no one speaks of,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">when she could still refuse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">A breath unbreathed,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spirit,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>suspended,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>____________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy,’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">She did not submit with gritted teeth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>raging, coerced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Bravest of all humans,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>consent illumined her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The room filled with its light,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">the lily glowed in it,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
the iridescent wings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Consent,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>courage
unparalleled,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">opened her utterly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">It’s such a beautiful poem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I absolutely love the last sentence: “Consent,
courage unparalleled, opened her utterly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">And this gives occasion for a rendition of “Gabriel’s
Message,” here by The King’s Singers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y28Bv0Wjwh4" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y28Bv0Wjwh4"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meditation: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">"Behold, I am
the handmaid of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May it be done
to me according to your word."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Mannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15396201693030286919noreply@blogger.com0