My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not. ~Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3 ____________ Desire Sometimes, you look around and realize that you are content. You have a good family, a job, friends, “golden opinions … Continue reading Desire
Stoicism
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are… whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control… whatever are not our own actions. ~The Enchiridion, by Epictetus ____________ Stoicism Stoicism was a popular philosophy in ancient Greece and, later, in Rome. The Stoic Epictetus taught the above dichotomy … Continue reading Stoicism
Education
The value of an education… is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks. ~Attributed to Albert Einstein ____________ Education A wise woman once complained to me that the problem with the education system in the United States is that we no … Continue reading Education
Confirmation
"What do you stand for?" That was the question that Bishop Robert Barron put to the Confirmandees who had gathered to “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It’s a good question for anyone to ask themselves. What do I stand for? ____________ Confirmation Make firm In Confirmation, the Bishop invokes the Holy … Continue reading Confirmation
Adventure
We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! Bilbo, The Hobbit ____________ Some of the best adventure stories are those that involve reluctant heroes. People who were once content with their “normal world” are relatable. Like them, we prefer not to get involved; … Continue reading Adventure
Experience the Good
You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future than some good memory, especially a memory of childhood, of home. People talk to you a great deal about your education, but some good, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education. From … Continue reading Experience the Good
Vanity VS Pride
Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us. Thus from Mary Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It is not a helpful distinction … Continue reading Vanity VS Pride
The Pity Due to Pride
Pride is a barren land; a dead land. A hard land that admits of no softness. Those who live in Pride have no life. ____________ The Pity Due to Pride The root of all evil Pride is one of the largest obstacles in our ship’s journey to happiness. The word “pride” can be used in … Continue reading The Pity Due to Pride
Assume a Virtue
Let’s look at what we said last week from another angle: Shakespeare. Queen: Oh Hamlet, Thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Hamlet: O throw away the worser part of it, And live the purer with the other half. Good night, but go not to mine Uncle’s bed, Assume a virtue, if you have it not. Refrain … Continue reading Assume a Virtue
To Be Clean
We Catholics are in the midst of a liturgical season called “Lent”, the “long days”. This forty day season leading up to Easter is a time of fasting and prayer, a time of renewal and conversion in preparation for the highest feast. It is modeled after the forty days Jesus fasted in the wilderness before … Continue reading To Be Clean
