Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Nowadays, One Must Be "Woke" About...a Virus
DO - talk about people “acquiring” or “contracting” #COVID19— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 2, 2020
DON'T - talk about people “transmitting COVID-19” “infecting others” or “spreading the virus” as it implies intentional transmission & assigns blame https://t.co/yShiCMfYF3#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/RLfFIvrlo5
I'd feel better if WHO were concentrating on diagnosis and treatment, instead of telling us what words we are allowed to use.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Sojourn #4
“I alternate between thinking of the planet as home - dear and familiar stone hearth and garden - and as a hard land of exile in which we are all sojourners.” ― Annie Dillard
Friday, February 28, 2020
A Sojourner's Prayer #3
This day I ask the Lord to bless the journey that I undertake, that it may profit the health of my soul and body; that I may reach its end; and that, returning safe and sound, I may find all at home in good order. Do thou guard, guide, and preserve us. Amen.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
A Sojourner's Prayer #2
O almighty and merciful God,
Who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us,
command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return;
to clothe us with their invisible protection;
to keep us from all unreasoblge danger; and
finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin,
to guide us to our heavenly home.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sojourn
There is a monastic office known as Diurnum. The word is Latin for "daily" and is the second office of the organized times of prayer according to the traditional hours. When I was a monk, we would read Matins and celebrate the Mass at 8am, followed at noon by Diurnum, when we would spend from 30 to 45 minutes in intercessory prayer.
Like all words, it has traveled some. As Latin descended through the "romance languages", particularly that of French, the word diurnum merged with words from other languages to become sojourner, which literally means "under the day". By the time sojourner entered Middle English, it had become sojourn which, in its noun form, means a temporary stay in a place that is, if not new, at least different.
Since part of my Lenten discipline is to take steps to recover from the medical issues of last fall and the recent, daunting trip through the Pacific Rim and Sub-Continent, I've started walking several miles a day. Since this has been a mild winter, I have been able to avoid the gymnasium and breathe fresher air and abide in nature, a place that isn't enhanced by someone's idea of motivational music. This makes for a more spiritual experience.
It is not really perspicacious of me to note the role of travel in the New Testament, Jesus and company are in what appears to be perpetual motion, and as a metaphor for deliberate prayer. I recall when I was training for a triathlon seven years ago that I would cease being actively conscious while in the middle of a long run or swim in a manner that was all but identical to what happens in prayerful meditation. As I'm slower now, and with less interest in triathlons, I still note the same experience while on a deliberate walk.
So, my metaphor for Lent is that of sojourn. This season, I'm going to travel towards and reside in a place founded on scripture, illuminated by thoughtfulness, and made solid by intention.
In the past several Lenten seasons, I have posted photos of waves with an inspirational text. This year, I'm posting prayers and observations that remind us that intercession, mindfulness, and physical being enable us to walk in beauty, reconciled with God and with a sure and certain hope that we will reach our journey's end in safety.
Like all words, it has traveled some. As Latin descended through the "romance languages", particularly that of French, the word diurnum merged with words from other languages to become sojourner, which literally means "under the day". By the time sojourner entered Middle English, it had become sojourn which, in its noun form, means a temporary stay in a place that is, if not new, at least different.
Since part of my Lenten discipline is to take steps to recover from the medical issues of last fall and the recent, daunting trip through the Pacific Rim and Sub-Continent, I've started walking several miles a day. Since this has been a mild winter, I have been able to avoid the gymnasium and breathe fresher air and abide in nature, a place that isn't enhanced by someone's idea of motivational music. This makes for a more spiritual experience.
It is not really perspicacious of me to note the role of travel in the New Testament, Jesus and company are in what appears to be perpetual motion, and as a metaphor for deliberate prayer. I recall when I was training for a triathlon seven years ago that I would cease being actively conscious while in the middle of a long run or swim in a manner that was all but identical to what happens in prayerful meditation. As I'm slower now, and with less interest in triathlons, I still note the same experience while on a deliberate walk.
So, my metaphor for Lent is that of sojourn. This season, I'm going to travel towards and reside in a place founded on scripture, illuminated by thoughtfulness, and made solid by intention.
In the past several Lenten seasons, I have posted photos of waves with an inspirational text. This year, I'm posting prayers and observations that remind us that intercession, mindfulness, and physical being enable us to walk in beauty, reconciled with God and with a sure and certain hope that we will reach our journey's end in safety.
A Pungent Disappointment
I rather wish politicians and media would not politicize coronavirus. We need clear statements and clear minds to keep everyone informed and educated and to offset unreasonable concern.
In large part, this virus spread because the country in which it originally appeared kept it as secret as it could for as long as it could. Thus was denied any opportunity, in the early stages, to gather the knowledge necessary for proper diagnosis and prognosis. The virus was politicized at its Genesis.
It would be good to turn off the political/media hate and anger machine for a week or so. If only they could temporarily pretend to be servants of the people, rather than of their own grubby needs, we would all be healthier.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
A Sojourner's Prayer #1
O Lord, companion to all who sojourn:
Please walk with us on the journey we take.
Support us with strength and grace.
Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress.
Guide our time so that it may be meaningful and memorable.
Amen.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
It's an Easy Avenue to Moral Superiority, Mostly
Why do our political leaders want to take away our plastic bags and straws? This question is even more puzzling than a related one that I’ve been studying for decades: Why do they want us to recycle our garbage?
The two obsessions have some common roots, but the moral panic over plastic is especially perverse. The recycling movement had a superficial logic, at least at the outset. Municipal officials expected to save money by recycling trash instead of burying or burning it. Now that recycling has turned out to be ruinously expensive while achieving little or no environmental benefit, some local officials—the pragmatic ones, anyway—are once again sending trash straight to landfills and incinerators.
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