Reflections and Collections. Some of this will be my own writing, usually inspired by something I am reading but much of it will be excerpts from things that moved me which I want to keep close at hand to keep the fire burning.
“technology cannot bring in the century of common man. It can merely reduce man to his lowest common denominator as a consuming animal. If technology is to minister to free men, men must struggle to acquire the practical disciplines related to speech as they have never struggled before. For in acquiring speech men acquire the [more …]
“Our search for the ultimate meaning of our lives is not a matter of a particular intelligence, or some special effort, or even exceptional means. Rather, finding the ultimate truth is like discovering something beautiful along one’s path. One sees and recognizes it, if one is attentive. The issue then, is this attention.” Father Luigi Giussani
Philosophy student to professor: Can you prove that I exist? Professor to philosophy student: Who’s asking? I heard Rev. Kevin O’Neil of the Washington Theological Union gave a talk titled, “What am I Free For? Moral Theology in the Catholic Tradition.” The second point of his talk was in identifying “three questions to encompass the [more …]
A secular-relativists Critique of the New Atheists ala Sam Harris http://www.thenation.com/article/160236/same-old-new-atheism-sam-harris?page=full “More a habit of mind than a rigorous philosophy, positivism depends on the reductionist belief that the entire universe, including all human conduct, can be explained with reference to precisely measurable, deterministic physical processes. (This strain of positivism is not to be confused with [more …]
Martin Buber was a Jewish theologian. He famously distinguishes between what he calls the Ich-Du (I-Thou or I-You) relationship and the Ich-Es (I-It) relationship, and ultimately uses this as a way of describing authentic and non-authentic encounters with God. From wikipedia: Ich-Du is a relationship that stresses the mutual, holistic existence of two beings. It [more …]
Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you’re fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries [more …]
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/hive-of-nerves/ I think you will find comfort that there are people writing articles like this in publications like The American Scholar. I particularly like this article because it is the voice of a Christian speaking to a plurality of listeners – some of whom are people of faith, others not. The ability to speak – [more …]
Dear NYTimes: I am one of those who enjoys the study of both religion and science – as a lay person in both cases. I find great value in both of these, but as the author indicates, these values are of different sorts. Unlike some, I do not find conflict in these two studies. In [more …]
Here is an account of what Mother Teresa supposedly said when questioned about how she prayed. The interviewer asked, “When you pray, what do you say to God?” Mother Teresa replied, “I don’t talk, I simply listen.” Believing he understood what she had just said, the interviewer next asked, “Ah, then what is it that [more …]
I was thinking about our conversation today and it occurred to me that the “I am right and you are wrong” attitude is not an indictment of religion, but of arrogance. I find it frustrating that public discussions of religion are rarely centered around what religion is actually about, what religion actually teaches, such as [more …]
A carpenter and his apprentice were walking together through a large forest. And when they came across a tall, huge, gnarled, old, beautiful tree, the carpenter asked his apprentice: “Do you know why this tree is so tall, so huge, so gnarled, so old and beautiful?” The apprentice looked at his master said: “No, why?” [more …]
Thanks! I enjoy these discussions. On the first point of St Thomas’ proof, CS Lewis says it this way: “That there is anything at all is proof of the original thing.” I like that. The idea of the unmoved mover is from Aristotle, correct? Much, or at least a good portion of what St Thomas [more …]
The highest goal of Buddhism is compassion. The highest goal of Christianity is charity. Both of these are forms of love. But of these, charity is greater. ‘Who can be sure of having ever experienced a true charitable impulse? Who can doubt ever having felt compassion? One must begin with what is easiest, and unfortunately [more …]
…Meister Eckhart would not even admit that God was good….Eckhart’s position was that anything that was good can become better, and whatever may become better may become best. God cannot be referred to as “good”, “better”, or best because He is above all things. If a man says that God is wise, the man is lying because anything that is wise can become wiser. Anything that a man might say about God is incorrect, even calling Him by the name of God. God is “superessential nothingness” and “transcendent Being”…”beyond all words and beyond all understanding. The best a man can do is remain silent, because anytime he prates on about God, he is committing the sin of lying. The true master knows that if he had a God he could understand, He would never hold Him to be God.’
This is from one of the current top ten non fiction bestsellers. I found the title interesting as I have close friends who struggle with food issues, and with finding meaning in their lives. The very first chapter is called “About God.” The experience that is described is the typical religious mystical one, despite the [more …]
Breathing is the holiest of acts. First, remove distractions. Close your eyes and direct your attention to breathing. This act interrupts any thoughts in the mind. As thoughts come back to the mind and you notice that your attention has moved away from this center, which is breathing, simply return your attention to breathing. As [more …]
Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life. for awareness, and for being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent, and infinitely abundant Source. Contemplation is, above all, awareness of the reality of that Source. It knows the Source, obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude that goes beyond reason and beyond simple faith… It is a more profound depth of faith, a knowledge too deep to be grasped in images, in words, or even in clear concepts.
“Excuse me,” said an ocean fish. “You are older than I, so can you tell me where to find this thing they call the ocean?”
“The ocean,” said the elder fish, “is the thing you are in now.”
“Oh this? But this is just water. What I am seeking is the ocean,” said the disappointed fish as he swam away to search elsewhere.
Stop searching, little fish. There isn’t anything to look for. All you have to do is look.
“Our search for the ultimate meaning of our lives is not a matter of a particular intelligence, or some special effort, or even exceptional means. Rather, finding the ultimate truth is like discovering something beautiful along one’s path. One sees and recognizes it, if one is attentive. The issue then, is this attention.”
Father Luigi Giussani
“The person formed by the Liturgy has absorbed in his flesh and blood the notion that he owes a suitable response to every value. He will rejoice in every exalted spectacle of nature, the beauty of the starlight sky, the majesty of the sea and mountains, the charm of life, the world of plants and [more …]