Christian Finds Grave for Boston Bomber: "Jesus Says Love Our Enemies" →

Thank you.

G. M. Hopkins, “Heaven-Haven” →

A nun takes the veil

I have desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And a few lilies blow.

And I have asked to be
Where no storms come,
Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,
And out of the swing of the sea.

(visit link for commentary - just finished cleaning it up, hopefully it is clear and easy to follow.)

"In a way, how “we think” traces back to an “I;” political phenomena are traceable, in some strange way, to self-knowledge. This linkage is almost useless for practical purposes and highly suspect theoretically. Consider the “big letters” vs. “small letters” metaphor of the Republic, that if one looks at the city carefully, one sees the written law as an indication of the soul. That would mean if the Torah is written on one’s heart, it should be visible in the larger community. The Bible and Augustine and a million others are rightly cynical about the whole of a civilization reflecting the truth of an individual. Socrates joins that skepticism and is also not clear whether a thorough examination of one soul can tell us anything about politics, about humanity. And yet, something about this link between “we” and “I” is indispensable."

Leo Strauss, “Memorial Remarks for Jason Aronson” – Rethink.

(Editing this, adding some neat stuff, hoping people have the patience to work through it carefully).

St. Nektarios (by Rublev’s Pupil)

In Church (after Cavafy)

From silver vessels
to the bronze of candle bases,
an illumined space
with iconic windows of gold -
well, I like church.

In the Greek church
arises the aroma of incense;
a chanted liturgy
brings mouths to harmony.
The priests’ majesty
in splendorous vestments
dazzles, then gestures
set rhythm solemn
as if all our history was that motion,
the great glory of Byzantium.

Tantric Buddhist Statue from the Crow Collection in Dallas, Texas - photo credit Mark Alonzo

(Source: )

thepaintedbench:

Hand painted and hand crafted door of Tibetan Monastery

Might also be of interest - something I wrote about Tibetan Tantric Buddhist statues seen recently.

(via interzonestolen)

Let’s talk about the ways fundamentalists can abuse each other and create a society of 10 year olds →

Guys, this is important. A certain group is basically bullying others at the school I attend. I don’t know how cruel they mean to be - I actually think many are trying to be well-meaning - but they have no idea what they’re doing or how others actually feel.

I’ve always felt the greatest problem with where I go to school is that there is little or no outside scrutiny. Heck, nearly everything I write gets thrown back in my face because I’ve blogged for so long. The culture of my school, on the other hand, gets to revel in its absurdity, accountable to virtually no one. Now that I’m watching people publicly berate each other over what to wear, I know this has to stop.

I hope you’ll visit my rant, click the link there to the editorial I find objectionable, and see for yourself what I’m talking about.

"What is so striking about the next generation of conservatives, from what I can see, is an almost endless amount of self-absorption. As if morality were only a personal code of conduct – as if “love thy neighbor” was an option."

Let’s talk about the ways fundamentalists can abuse each other and create a society of 10 year olds

No comment. →

This is the campus I attend, no joke. I don’t think the author meant to be so bullying, but here’s what she said:

I encourage you to take it upon yourself to become a “long skirt.” “Long skirt” is traditionally used as a derogatory term to describe devout women who wear ankle-length skirts; however, although I do not own a single long skirt, in writing this article I will be lampooned as a “long skirt.” Therefore, “long skirt” signifies more than a daily clothing choice; it is a frame of mind that values modesty for the sake of holiness. You can be a long skirt, and you should encourage all the women in your life to adopt the modesty and prudence of long skirtness for the sake of their beauty and the benefit of everyone who has to look at them. Modesty does not always entail long, flowing garments, but it is perennially amenable to good taste and high class.

Faure, “Cantique de Jean Racine” →

In praise,
the palpable sense of loss.
How the heart – a void –
allows its echo escape
still mystifies me.

The nerves, raw, break -
after formal feeling,
numbness ensues. Too much,
no basis. No sense of

standing, communicating.
The pity of others just that.
Our hopes ours alone,
as what we were is gone.