The Week We Dodged a Bullet
In case you weren't aware, we dodged a bullet this week. It seems it's been some years - maybe decades or eons, who knows? - since the S&P was down every day from Monday through Friday. So I was really on edge all day (not really) wondering, with stocks being down Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - whether they'd close down today. They didn't. Yay! At least now I can relax and enjoy the weekend.
Okay, so I'm being sarcastic. But that really is what the financial media played up this morning, so I figured I'd just play along. Having done so, the truth is, it's really not something I expended a lot of brain power on (such as it is).
You had to switch from the trumped up world of financial "news" to find worthwhile to contemplate. In the course of my regular reading and study, I came across some interesting facts about St. Antoninus. His feast day was observed today in our traditional Catholic liturgical calendar. Why the emphasis on "traditional"? Because a newer, supposedly improved, calendar was foisted on us about a half century ago. And there you don't find St. Antoninus. You do, however, find Damien of Molokai.
If you're still interested, read on...
St. Antoninus was a Dominican priest who lived in the late 14th-early 15th century, based in Florence. He served in monasteries and eventually as Bishop of Florence, interacting with the Medicis. You remember them, don't you? If not, they were the rich and powerful of their day. Antoninus tried to provide spiritual guidance to them. Whatever their worldly ambitions and goals, he put in time and effort to help them keep at least one eye - if not both eyes - on their ultimate goal: Heaven.
But that was just a small slice of his life's work. He wrote much of value concerning theology, also historically valuable writings. As with St. Peter Damian (Look him up; he's quite remarkable.), his varied talents, including administrative abilities, were recognized by his superiors, and he was pressed to serve in more public roles than he would have preferred. His preference would have been to live a ascetic life of prayer and contemplation in the monasteries where he resided and served as prior. But, despite this, he suppressed his personal preference in order to better serve God.
The new calendar brings us Damien of Molokai, a saint whose service to lepers in Hawaii was once taught to children - like moi. Don’t know if they still do that, but it was quite effective then and would be now as an example of selfless, courageous service to Christ and our fellow man.
Damien's service to his fellow man was one of sacrifice. As a result of his work with lepers, he himself caught that horrendous disease. It led eventually to his being canonized a saint. Here's a photo of this remarkable man. As you gaze upon this rather repulsive image, consider that this saint continued to serve lepers, even as he himself gazed upon their horrendous condition day in and day out. You might ask yourself - as did I - whether you'd have the courage to live amongst such afflicted people. I don't know if I could.
I guess that means I don't love God as much as Damien of Molokai.
Okay, so I'm being sarcastic. But that really is what the financial media played up this morning, so I figured I'd just play along. Having done so, the truth is, it's really not something I expended a lot of brain power on (such as it is).
You had to switch from the trumped up world of financial "news" to find worthwhile to contemplate. In the course of my regular reading and study, I came across some interesting facts about St. Antoninus. His feast day was observed today in our traditional Catholic liturgical calendar. Why the emphasis on "traditional"? Because a newer, supposedly improved, calendar was foisted on us about a half century ago. And there you don't find St. Antoninus. You do, however, find Damien of Molokai.
If you're still interested, read on...
St. Antoninus was a Dominican priest who lived in the late 14th-early 15th century, based in Florence. He served in monasteries and eventually as Bishop of Florence, interacting with the Medicis. You remember them, don't you? If not, they were the rich and powerful of their day. Antoninus tried to provide spiritual guidance to them. Whatever their worldly ambitions and goals, he put in time and effort to help them keep at least one eye - if not both eyes - on their ultimate goal: Heaven.
But that was just a small slice of his life's work. He wrote much of value concerning theology, also historically valuable writings. As with St. Peter Damian (Look him up; he's quite remarkable.), his varied talents, including administrative abilities, were recognized by his superiors, and he was pressed to serve in more public roles than he would have preferred. His preference would have been to live a ascetic life of prayer and contemplation in the monasteries where he resided and served as prior. But, despite this, he suppressed his personal preference in order to better serve God.
The new calendar brings us Damien of Molokai, a saint whose service to lepers in Hawaii was once taught to children - like moi. Don’t know if they still do that, but it was quite effective then and would be now as an example of selfless, courageous service to Christ and our fellow man.
Damien's service to his fellow man was one of sacrifice. As a result of his work with lepers, he himself caught that horrendous disease. It led eventually to his being canonized a saint. Here's a photo of this remarkable man. As you gaze upon this rather repulsive image, consider that this saint continued to serve lepers, even as he himself gazed upon their horrendous condition day in and day out. You might ask yourself - as did I - whether you'd have the courage to live amongst such afflicted people. I don't know if I could.
I guess that means I don't love God as much as Damien of Molokai.
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