Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Monday in this final week of autumn. Just a couple more days reflecting on the topic of death before I turn my attention to the O Antiphons and the prophetic messages concerning Christ. Today’s offering is a spiritual exercise on dying—an issue most modern people avoid. It is taken from a book of spiritual exercises by Fr. Anthony De Mello. Few think of their own death or of the loved ones in their lives who could one day be gone. While I don’t obsess about death, I do think of it often, since I must accept that reality in ministry. I am very mindful that I could go today—not planning on it, but many today will pass unprepared. Memento mori reminds me to be thankful every day for the gift that is in front of me. It reminds me to appreciate today and, especially, to often tell that to the people who matter in my life. Off to the exercise! Happy Monday, my friends!
THE CONCLUSION
I imagine that today I am to die. I ask for time to be alone and write down for my friends a sort of testament, for which the points that follow could serve as chapter titles.
1. These things I have loved in life:
Things I tasted,
looked at,
smelled,
heard,
touched.
2. These experiences I have cherished:
3. These ideas have brought me liberation:
4. These beliefs I have outgrown:
5. These convictions I have lived by:
6. These are the things I have lived for:
7. These insights I have gained in the school of life:
Insights into God,
the world,
human nature,
Jesus Christ,
love,
religion,
prayer.
8. These risks I took, these dangers I have courted:
9. These sufferings have seasoned me:
10. These lessons life has taught me:
11. These influences have shaped my life (persons, occupations, books, events):
12. These Scripture texts have lit my path:
13. These things I regret about my life:
14. These are my life’s achievements:
15. These persons are enshrined within my heart:
16. These are my unfulfilled desires:
I choose an ending for this document: a poem—my own or someone else’s; or a prayer; a sketch or a picture from a magazine; a Scripture text; or anything that I judge would be an apt conclusion to my testament.
tombstones-Shannon M Hicks - Pixabay
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
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