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December 10, 2006
Cool Beyond Words
Contents to Archaeologia Hibernica: A Hand-book of Irish Antiquities
Cromlechs, raths or Duns, Stone circles, cairns, oratories, churches, crosses and round towers. With illustrations!
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Henry James on the U.S.
The American Scene, by Henry James
From Boston to Florida, the impressions of Henry James on a trip through America. I don't think I realized that he had written about Florida. 1907 publication.
An excerpt from his disquistion on St. Augustine:
from The American Scene
Henry JamesThat perhaps was all that had been the matter with it in presence of the immemorial legend of St. Augustine as a mine of romance; St. Augustine proving primarily, and of course quite legitimately, but an hotel, of the first magnitude--an hotel indeed so remarkable and so pleasant that I wondered what call there need ever have been upon it to prove anything else. The Ponce de Leon, for that matter, comes as near producing, all by itself, the illusion of romance as a highly modern, a most cleverly-constructed and smoothly-administered great modern caravansery can come; it is largely "in the Moorish style" (as the cities of Spain preserve the record of that manner); it breaks out, on every pretext, into circular arches and embroidered screens, into courts and cloisters, arcades and fountains, fantastic projections and lordly towers, and is, in all sorts of ways and in the highest sense of the word, the most "amusing" of hotels. It did for me, at St. Augustine, I was well aware, everything that an hotel could do--after which I could but appeal for further service to the old Spanish Fort, the empty, sunny, grassy shell by the low, pale shore; the mild, time-silvered quadrilateral that, under the care of a single exhibitory veteran and with the still milder remnant of a town-gate near it, preserves alone, (460) to any effect of appreciable emphasis, the memory of the Spanish occupation. One wandered there for meditation--it is not congruous with the genius of Florida, I gathered, to permit you to wander very far; and it was there perhaps that, as nothing prompted, on the whole, to intenser musings, I suffered myself to be set moralizing, in the manner of which I have just given an example, over the too "thin" projection of legend, the too dry response of association. The Spanish occupation, shortest of ineffectual chapters, seemed the ghost of a ghost, and the burnt-out fire but such a pinch of ashes as one might properly fold between the leaves of one's Baedeker. Yet if I made this remark I made it without bitterness; since there was no doubt, under the influence of this last look, that Florida still had, in her ingenuous, not at all insidious way, the secret of pleasing, and that even round about me the vagueness was still an appeal. The vagueness was warm, the vagueness was bright, the vagueness was sweet, being scented and flowered and fruited; above all, the vagueness was somehow consciously and confessedly weak. I made out in it something of the look of the charming shy face that desires to communicate and that yet has just too little expression. What it would fain say was that it really knew itself unequal to any extravagance of demand upon it, but that (if it might so plead to one's tenderness) it would always do its gentle best. I found the plea, for myself, I may declare, exquisite and irresistible: the Florida of that particular tone was a Florida adorable.
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December 11, 2006
A Voice Cries Out in the Wilderness
I love this reading because of the productive ambiguity that stems from ancient sources having no consistent means of punctuation. Shall we read this
A voice cries out
In the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord?
Or shall we read it
A voice cries out in the wilderness
prepare ye the way of the Lord?
Either is a valid way to read it. One more directly refers to the mission of John the Baptist; but the other may be more appropriate for life in the modern world. People in the modern world live in the wilderness of modernism and postmodernism. They live in the wilderness of self-aggrandizement and self-promotion; a wilderness of self. They live in a wilderness, wandering alone, without God.
It is given to those who know God, however slightly, to proclaim Him in this wilderness, to make a way for Him in the midst of selfishness and blight, to prepare souls to receive Him.
This is done by welcoming a child, with all that comes from such a welcome--openness, genuine love, joy, peace, tranquility. In a season that the modern world has come to make the apotheosis of disorder, disunity, and chaos, it is time to recreate the still, calm pool that was that night at Bethlehem when Mary bore us all a son.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it,
and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
We are privileged to be the courtiers of the great King, the servants of the Most High, of this Prince whose reign is over all forever. We have seen the great light, and like mirrors we are called to reflect and multiply it in the darkness that we live in. We do this in His own wisdom and strength, in His own virtue.
We await His coming, we await the little Child and He who is to come in Glory, treading of the clouds and separating sheep from goats, wheat from chaff. He who is to come, who loves and desire all to come to Him. O, Lord Jesus, come swiftly.
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December 12, 2006
Our True End
It is in forgetting our true end that most people make the most grievous mistakes in the spiritual life.
While I can't say must for Fr. Simon's verbal felicity or style, the home truths he tells are worth hearing again and again:
from Hammer and Fire
Fr. Raphael Simon O.C.S.O.Through persevering mental prayer, the obstacles to our happiness in God are overcome. These are, on the part of the intellect, forgetfulness of our end and purpose, of eternity and the eternal truths, and forgetfulness or ignorance of ourselves, of our motives, desires, and preoccupations, which, more than we may realize are weaning our heart from God and turning hearts unduly to the things of the world.
Besides these obstacle on the part of the intellect, others on the part of the will and affections are also overcome by unremitting mental prayer. Beside the light to know our Supreme Good and ourselves we need the strength to redirect our energies to this Good and away from what is useless, harmful or dangerous to us. We need to overcome worldliness, the undue love of honor, dignity, power, riches, comfort and all forms of selfishness and sin. This mental prayer accomplishes through arousing in us our natural and supernatural powers by directing them to their true ends and objects, and by drawing divine help and strength into our minds and hearts.
In a word, selfishness is the greatest obstacle to peace in God. Selfishness is a very natural condition, a condition in which humanity finds itself not from desire but from uncertainty. It takes a great spiritual maturity to even begin to step away from selfishness. Moreover, even a small step is impossible without the constant aid and support of grace.
The great Saints may have grown to the point where they were able to toddle unaided; but most ordinary people never reach the toddler stage in the spiritual life while here on Earth. That is part of knowing ourselves. Of ourselves we can do nothing, neither stumble nor even crawl toward Grace. We can only choose to fall. But with God all things are possible. He wrought salvation out of a quarrelsome, fragmented, conquered, and humiliated people. He brought a child forth from a Virgin's womb, still preserving in every way her virginity. There is nothing that is beyond Him, and we wait to look upon his face, to see Him as that precious child born more than 2000 years ago in a conquered state amongst an oppressed people.
Come, Lord Jesus. Do not delay.
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December 14, 2006
The Feast Day of St. John of the Cross
If time permits, more about this later.
I suppose it is politically incorrect to continue a fast on a feast day. I'll have to look it up. On the other hand, could there possibly be a better way to honor this great Saint? (Other than to immerse oneself in contemplation--which is a dicey proposition at best when viewed as a goal.)
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:37 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The World and God's Love
from Sayings of Light and Love
St. John of the CrossThe Lord has always revealed to mortals the treasures of his wisdom and his spirit, but now that the face of evil bares itself more and more, so does the Lord bare his treasures more.
On the community of believers:
Source as noted above
7. The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.
8. Those who fall alone remain alone in their fall, and they value their soul little since they entrust it to themselves alone.
9. If you do not fear falling alone, do you presume that you will rise up alone? Consider how much more can be accomplished by two together than by one alone.
Although originally written for cloistered nuns, I think the truth of these statements resonates for every Catholic.
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More from St. John of the Cross
From "Sayings of Light and Love"
13. God desires the least degree of obedience and submissiveness more than all those services you think of rendering him.
Too often I want to "do things for God," when, in fact, what God requires and desires is that I simply listen to Him and obey Him.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 2:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One Last Word from St. John of the Cross
For those who wish to know the "intimate" St. John of the Cross, you probably could do no better than to read the very brief, but very rich "Sayings of Light and Love" from which the quotation below is extracted.
16. O sweetest love of God, so little known, whoever has found this rich mine is at rest!
Where your heart is, there is your treasure. Where your treasure is, so you will find your heart. I can think of no greater treasure than the love of God, and yet my heart dwells there so infrequently.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 2:20 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
On the Death Penalty
Let me make it resoundingly clear, I am opposed to the death penalty and I believe that in general the Church is opposed to the death penalty, although certainly not to the point of total exclusion.
That said, I find the concerns expressed in events like these to be totally out of proportion. We're told that the person subjected to this "suffered unduly," and yet what did his victim suffer? This disproportionate concern for the suffering of the guilty seems misplaced. Yes, it is terrible that he suffered. It is even more terrible that he took it upon himself to make another suffer and die as well. Is it possible to suffer unduly under such circumstances? Is it not just possible that he is working out a bit of purgatory on Earth (assuming of course that he sought and found God's grace). I think this focus on the guilty tends to suggest that what he did to another is not so very bad after all.
I oppose the death penalty, but not for reasons of clemency toward the guilty so much as for reasons of the dignity of the individual and other reasons that I think the Church is careful to delineate. And I wonder, are a few moments, or even minutes, of discomfort more suffering that thirty or forty years of slowly deteriorating in a prison? I don't know. But if we want to talk about undue suffering, perhaps the whole picture should be put into perspective.
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December 15, 2006
The One True End
from Hammer and Fire
Fr. Raphael Simon O.S.C.O.From this account of prayer, we can readily understand its subsidiary value as mental hygiene, and for the resolution of certain mental and emotional problems.
. . . It makes us understand how sublime and noble this end is, and how efficacious are the means. From this comes a spirit of security and confidence, based not upon our own strength but upon the omnipotence and mercy of the Father and upon the help of His grace.
Everything in our life and contacts falls within the compass of this purpose without any distortion or unreality. . . because the purpose of our existence and the existence of the universe is the union of our soul with the Father. The wholehearted pursuit of an end that is able to integrate our entire life makes for an integrated personality and mental health.
[boldface is my own emphasis.] (Go tell Tom that you want Hammer and Fire for Christmas)
Our end, the end of every single person is wholehearted love of God. And it is mind-boggling--the universe exists that this end might be achieved. In thinking about the Christ who is to come, and the Child who already sanctified time, it is awe-inspiring to think that all that is is so that we might love Him better.
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The Iliad
Not so much a review as a rant. I'm only a short way into it and I remember why I found it such difficult going the first time.
I know I'm going to get blasted for it, but I'm going to lay it on the line. Was there ever another group of whining, self-involved, petulant, petty, pugnacious, undisciplined, unlikable people in all of literature. From Achilles who goes off to sulk in his tent until his friend is killed and then emerges to slaughter Troy's finest and do his darnedest to disgrace him (thank Heavens Thetis missed a spot), to lying (aka wily) Odysseus, and arrogant, egotistical and ultimately useless Agamemnon (once again, one finds oneself cheering Clytemnestra on). Ultimately what Achilles succeeds in doing is showing us what a belligerent, bellicose boor he is. As for Odysseus, wily Odysseus, the less said the better.
What an unpleasant lot, thoroughly deserving of whatever is dished out. Add to that quarrelsome, petty, ignorant, and foul-tempered gods, goddesses, minor nymphs, seers, you name it.
Indeed, a thoroughly unpleasant exploration of a thoroughly repugnant side of human nature.
And absolutely perfect for Advent because it shows a glaring, harshly revealing picture of humanity in the depth of the fall with no sign of the redemption we know so well. And what is frightening to me is the way modern society seems to be assuming more and more of the characteristics of the foul society that Homer praises.
At least The Odyssey had monsters and witches to take your mind off of how really awful Odysseus is as a person.
I know, I just got drummed out of the Classics clique and have lost all my credentials--but I sure get tired of being told how really great this is (and it undoubtedly is) without the clear picture of how really repugnant nearly everything Homer writes about is.
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Manly Wade Wellman
Most excellent.
John the Balladeer in several delectable versions. For those interested in American Fantasy, this is a must-read. (Also for those interested in the South and Appalachian folklore.)
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