Einstien marked the veracity of theories not by how much
they made sense but by their beauty. For me this has to do with simplicity – if
it’s not easily comprehended by my finite imagination then it cannot be true!When
asked how he turned a boulder into something beautiful with ease Leonardo Da Vinci
replied –
“ I see all that should not be there and
quickly carve it off.”
Much of what Rohr, the son of a Kansas railwayman, is saying
is so beautiful that it must be true. We have lost sight of Common sense terrestrial
reality in the West. Although rooted in the Eternal Francis of Assisi
was trying to restore us to our terrestrial roots as early as the twelfth
century. Companions like Brother Death taught Francesco that he was not here
forever. He wanted his brothers to be harbingers of the present moment, the
only thing we have as a finite horizon stretches out ahead of us. He saw that the
purpose of a book was to stretch beyond ourselves, to try and make us immortal and
a vehicle for our limited ideas and warped imagination to endure, challenging
God who only deals with the cardial event of the present. As such the wiry
frame of the Little Man of Assisi was to be seen on the roof of the library
that his uninitiated brothers had constructed. Incandescent with rage he pulled
it down tile by tile.
The juridical farce that was pre-Vatican II Christianity had
at least one thing correct – Pride is the root of all evil. UK Pounds sterling,
“Promise to pay the
bearer on demand.”
In other words
” I give you something
that pretends to be something. You in return give me a material possession which
even further pumps up my ego.”
In direct
contravention to the Spirit of the Beatitudes money makes us believe we have
something when we do not.
In a spirit of misapprehension once again in true Galliean
style Francesco’s brothers brought him money that they had procured. Exclaiming
in disgust Francis took it in his mouth and dropped it in the deep earthen latrine.
It is fascinating that thatcher used a prayer attributed to Francis -
ReplyDeleteLord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
His simple message remained in popular cosciousness. Just before the advent of WWI this appeared in the French magazine La Cloche
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l'amour.
Là où il y a l'offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l'union.
Là où il y a l'erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l'espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant à être consolé qu'à consoler,
à être compris qu'à comprendre,
à être aimé qu'à aimer,
car c'est en donnant qu'on reçoit,
c'est en s'oubliant qu'on trouve, c'est en pardonnant qu'on est pardonné,
c'est en mourant qu'on ressuscite à l'éternelle vie.
20th century harbingers continued to have recourse to him and Mother Teresa offered a version of to the United Nations (Wikipedia). saints, prophets and Boddisatva's understand their religion's conception of human need, that perspective's answer to that need and articulate it in the context of their time.
However I think that the strength of the memory of the luminary is in direct linear relationship to -
1) The level to which they have absolutely personified and carried out their cause
2) The uncompromising fervour with which they have carried it out
In the latter context Latin saints partic interesting. Given that holiness is the degree to which our masculine and femine aspects (head and heart) are fused the more heart centred cultures produce amazing saints.
John Paull II casts an interesting light on this in his ground breaking Theology of the Body when he says that womn are the archetype of humanity because they are made to physiologically and spiritually recieve love.
Men continue to ponder their place.