NLM: Fr. Anthony Symondson Questions the Borromean Revival

Edit. A response by Michael Sternbeck @ Rorate Caeli.

Korea Times: US Generals Experience Korean Folk Culture

Gen. Walter Sharp, right, commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), and Deputy CFC Commander Gen. Lee Sung-chool pound rice dough together with wooden mallets to make songpyeon, a crescent-shaped Korean rice cake with different kinds of fillings, at Lee’s residence in Seoul, last Friday. Lee invited U.S. generals stationed here and their families to his residence on the eve of the Chuseok holiday to have them experience Korea’s traditional folk culture and games. / Yonhap


Review: Jeon, Ha's Chemistry Give Life to 'Enemy'

B16, On the Message of Lourdes

On the Message of Lourdes

On the Message of Lourdes

"There Is No True Love Without Suffering"

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience held in the Paul VI Hall, during which he evaluated his Sept. 12-15 apostolic trip to Paris and Lourdes.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today's meeting gives me the opportunity to review again the moments of the pastoral visit that I made in recent days to France; a visit that culminated with the pilgrimage to Lourdes on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Virgin's apparitions to St. Bernadette. While giving fervent thanks to the Lord, who granted me such a providential possibility, I again express my sincere gratitude to the archbishop of Paris, to the bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, to the respective collaborators and to all those who in different ways cooperated in the success of my pilgrimage. I also cordially thank the president of the republic and the other authorities who welcomed me so courteously.

The visit began in Paris, where, ideally, I met with all the French people, thus honoring a beloved nation in which the Church, since the 2nd century, has played a fundamental civilizing role. It is interesting that, precisely in this context, the need matured of a healthy distinction between the political and religious spheres, according to Jesus' famous saying: "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17).

If the effigy of Caesar was imprinted on Roman coins, then imprinted on the heart of man must be the mark of the Creator, only Lord of our life. Genuine secularism, therefore, is not to do without the spiritual dimension, but to acknowledge that precisely the latter is, radically, the guarantor of our liberty and of the autonomy of earthly realities, thanks to the dictates of creative Wisdom that the human conscience is able to receive and fulfill.

Framed in this perspective is the extensive reflection on the topic "The Origins of Western Theology and the Roots of European Culture," which I developed in the meeting with the world of culture, in a place chosen for its symbolic value. It was held at the Collège des Bernardins, which deceased Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger wished to re-establish as a center of cultural dialogue, a 12th century building built by the Cistercians, where young people have studied. The monastic theology that gave origin to our Western culture is present there.

The starting point of my address was a reflection on monasticism, whose objective was to seek God, "quaerere Deum." In an age of profound crisis of the ancient civilization, the monks, guided by the light of faith, chose the "via maestra": the way of listening to the word of God. They were, therefore, the great cultivators of sacred Scripture, and monasteries became schools of wisdom and schools of "dominici servitii," "of the service of the Lord," as St. Benedict called them.

The search for God led the monks, by its nature, to a culture of the word. "Quaerere Deum," to seek God, they searched in the furrow of the word and they were to know, in ever greater depth, this word. It was necessary to penetrate the secret of language, to understand its structure. In seeking God, who has revealed himself in sacred Scripture, of great importance were the profane sciences, in order to go deeper into the secret of languages. As a consequence, that "eruditio" was developed in monasteries that made possible the formation of culture. Precisely because of this, "quaerere Deum" -- to seek God, to be on the way to God -- continues to be today as yesterday the "via maestra" and foundation of all true culture.

Architecture is also an artistic expression of the search for God, and undoubtedly the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris is an example of universal value. Inside this magnificent church, where I had the joy to preside over the celebration of vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I exhorted the priests, deacons, men and women religious and seminarians who had come from all parts of France, to give priority to the religious listening of the divine word, looking at the Virgin Mary as sublime model.

Later, in the portico of Notre Dame, I greeted numerous and enthusiastic young people. To them, who were about to begin a long vigil of prayer, I gave two treasures of the Christian faith: the Holy Spirit and the cross. The Spirit opens human intelligence to horizons that surpass it and makes it understand the beauty and truth of God's love revealed, in fact, on the cross. A love of which no one will be able to separate us, and that is experienced by giving one's life as Christ did. After a brief stopover at the Institut de France, headquarters of the five national academies, my being a member of one of them, enabled me to see with great joy my colleagues.

Afterward, my visit culminated with the Eucharistic celebration at the Esplanade des Invalides. Echoing the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, I invited the faithful of Paris and the whole of France to seek the living God, who has shown us his true face in Jesus present in the Eucharist, encouraging us to love our brothers as He has loved us.

Then I went to Lourdes, where I was able to join thousands of faithful on the Jubilee Way, which includes the places of St. Bernadette's life: the parish church with the baptismal font where she was baptized; the "cachot" where she lived in great poverty as a girl; the Massabielle Grotto, where the Virgin appeared to her 18 times. In the afternoon I took part in the traditional torchlight procession, which is a wonderful manifestation of faith in God and of devotion to his and our Mother. Lourdes is truly a place of light, prayer, hope and conversion, founded on the rock of the love of God, which had its culminating revelation in the glorious cross of Christ.

By a happy coincidence, last Sunday the liturgy celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, sign of hope par excellence, because it is the highest testimony of love. In Lourdes, in the school of Mary, first and perfect disciple of Christ, pilgrims learn to regard the crosses of their lives in the light of the glorious cross of Christ. Appearing to Bernadette, in the Grotto of Massabielle, Mary's first gesture was, in fact, the Sign of the Cross, though her hand was trembling.

And so the Virgin gave a first initiation on the essence of Christianity: The Sign of the Cross is the height of our faith, and doing it with an attentive heart we enter into the full mystery of our salvation. The whole message of Lourdes is contained in this gesture of the Virgin! God has so loved us that he gave himself up for us: This is the message of the Cross, "mystery of death and of glory."

The cross reminds us that there is no true love without suffering, there is no gift of life without pain. Many learn this truth in Lourdes, which is a school of faith and hope, because it is also a school of charity and of service to brothers. It is in this context of faith and prayer where the important meeting with the French episcopate took place: It was a moment of intense spiritual communion, in which together we entrusted to the Virgin our common hopes and pastoral concerns.

The next stage was the Eucharistic procession with thousands of faithful, among whom, as usual, were many sick people. Before the most Blessed Sacrament, our spiritual communion with Mary was made even more intense and profound because God gives us eyes and hearts capable of contemplating his Divine Son in the Holy Eucharist. Very moving was the silence of these thousands of people before the Lord, not an empty silence, but one full of prayer and awareness of the Lord's presence, who loved us to the point of being lifted up on the cross for us.

Monday, Sept. 15, liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, was dedicated especially to the sick. After a brief visit to the hospital oratory, where Bernadette received her first Communion, I presided over the celebration of Holy Mass in the portico of the Basilica of the rosary, during which I administered the sacrament of anointing of the sick. With the sick and with those taking care of them, I meditated on the tears Mary shed under the cross, and on her smile that illuminates Easter morning.

Dear brothers and sisters, together we thank the Lord for this apostolic journey enriched by so many spiritual gifts. We praise him especially because Mary, by appearing to St. Bernadette, has opened to the world a privileged place to find divine love that heals and saves. In Lourdes, the Holy Virgin invites all to regard earth as a place of pilgrimage toward our final homeland, which is heaven. In reality, we are all pilgrims, we need Mary to guide us; and in Lourdes, her smile invites us to go forward with great confidence in the awareness that God is good, God is love.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[At the end of the Audience, the Pope greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our encounter today gives me the opportunity to retrace the steps of my recent Pastoral Visit to France. After a warm welcome in Paris, I met with men and women from the world of culture, with whom I reflected on the monastic ideal of seeking God -- "quaerere Deum" -- as the bedrock of European culture. I wished to emphasize that meditation on the Scriptures opens our minds and hearts to the Logos, God’s Creative Reason in the flesh. In the magnificent Cathedral of Notre-Dame, I gathered with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians, sharing with them the treasures of the Holy Spirit and the Cross. My brief stop at the Institut de France was followed by the joyful Eucharistic celebration on the Esplanade des Invalides. I then made my way to Lourdes to join thousands of pilgrims in this Jubilee year commemorating the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette. The Holy Mass near the Grotto of Massabielle providentially coincided with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the perennial sign of the "mystery of death and of glory". The Cross demonstrates that God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son. It teaches us that there is no genuine love without suffering, and no gift of life without pain. Lourdes is thus a school of faith and hope because it is a school of charity and service. I am deeply grateful to God and to all who made this trip a blessed, memorable success. Thank you!

I happily greet the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, including pilgrims from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, Burma, Japan, and the United States of America. God bless you all!

© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Edit. Correction: General Audience of Sept. 17

The last sentence of the 11th paragraph should read, "Appearing to Bernadette, in the Grotto of Massabielle, Mary's first gesture was, in fact, the Sign of the Cross, in silence and without words. And Bernadette imitated her in turn making the Sign of the Cross though her hand was trembling."

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys

Chris Carlsson, Building an Anti-Economy

Building an Anti-Economy
by Chris Carlsson

More and more people, recognizing the degradation inherent in business relations, are creating networks of activity that refuse the measurement of money. They depend instead on sharing skills and technological know-how within new communities, such as the biofuels co-ops that have proliferated in many cities. Networks have grown, thanks to the spread of the Internet and other telecommunications techologies, and new kinds of “families” based on shared values, alternative living arrangements, and non-economic relationships are growing within the old society.

Collectively, I call these projects “Nowtopia.” Rarely do the individual participants conceive of them in political terms; day-to-day issues about how we live, what we do, how we define and meet our needs tend to be understood as outside politics. But all Nowtopian activities are profoundly political.

The Nowtopian movement embodies a growing minority seeking emancipation from the treadmill of consumerism and overwork. Acting locally in the face of unfolding global catastrophes, friends and neighbors are redesigning many of the crucial technological foundations of modern life, like food and transportation. These redesigns are worked out through garage and backyard research-and-development programs among friends using the detritus of modern life. Our contemporary commons takes the shape of discarded bicycles and leftover deep-fryer oil, of vacant lots and open bandwidth. “Really, really free markets,” anti-commodities, and free services are imaginative products of an anti-economy provisionally under construction by freely cooperative and inventive people. They aren’t waiting for an institutional change from on high but are building the new world in the shell of the old.

These practices require sharing and mutual aid and constitute the beginnings of new kinds of communities. Because these people are engaged in creative appropriation of technologies to purposes of their own design and choice, these activities embody the (partial) transcendence of the wage-labor prison by workers who have better things to do than their jobs. They are tinkerers working in the waste streams and open spaces of late capitalism, conjuring new practices while redefining life’s purpose.

Interview with Gus Speth, by Jeff Goodell

From the current issue of Orion.

Change Everything Now
One of the nation's most mainstream environmentalists says it's time to get a lot more radical
Interview with Gus Speth, by Jeff Goodell

JG: In your view, what’s the alternative to pro-growth capitalism? Should we rethink communism?

GS: No, it’s not that at all. But I do believe we should be looking for a nonsocialist alternative to today’s capitalism. I think we do want to make changes that are sufficiently profound that when you look back on them, you will see that it’s no longer the capitalism of the early twenty-first century.

JG: What would a revised capitalist system look like?

GS: Well, let’s take the core of it—the corporation. Corporations right now are mandated to serve and promote the best interest of stockholders, by law. And anything it [a corporation] justifies in the nature of doing well in communities or doing well by society, that’s also got to be justified that it’s in the best interest of the shareholders. And maximizing shareholder wealth is a very fundamental part of the motivational structure of the corporate sector.

I think that needs to change fundamentally, so that corporations really are in the business of serving all of the factors that help generate wealth—all of the stakeholders, in effect. One way to describe what has to happen, and the way that the situation in the future would be different, would be to describe it as a series of transformations. The first would be a transformation in the market. There would be a real revolution in pricing. Things that are environmentally destructive would be—if they were really destructive—almost out of reach, prohibitively expensive.

A second would be a transformation to a postgrowth society where what you really want is to grow very specific things that are desperately needed in a very targeted way—you know, care for the mentally ill, health-care accessibility, high-tech green-collar industries.

A third would be a move to a wider variety of ownership patterns in the private sector. More co-ops, more employee ownership plans, and less rigid lines between the profit and the not-for-profit sectors. I mean, Google is an example of that now, they are moving in that direction, although I think it’s small compared with what they’ve really got going.

JG: Do you think that this kind of change can be had with anything short of a real revolution in America?

GS: Well, I don’t think it can be had without a real citizens’ movement—a grassroots citizens’ movement that shakes up people’s consciousness and forces us to rethink what’s really important, and what our role in the world and in nature really is. I think there is a growing sense that something is out of whack in the country, and that we’re on the verge of losing something very important, not only spiritually but also environmentally. And if we don’t change, we really could pass into some situation where it would be irretrievably lost.

James Gustave Speth - Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Red Sky at Morning by James Gustave Speth
The Bridge at the Edge of the World - James Gustave Speth
Gus Speth - Big Think
Gus Speth Interview | Outside Online

AR: The Effluent Society

The Effluent Society

John Michael Greer, The Archdruid Report

The carnage currently underway in global financial markets is tracing the familiar trajectory of boom and bust. Is the three-hundred-year rise of modern industrial society simply the first half of the same pattern writ large?

(original)

Also via EB: John Michael Greer interview (audio)

KMO, C-Realm Podcast Episode 120
The Long Descent

KMO welcomes author and Archdruid, John Michael Greer, to the program to discuss his new book The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age and explore the possibility that Peak Oil may play out more like a fall down the stairs than like a plunge from a third floor balcony.

Do the worldviews of Peak Oil aficionados, Singularitarians, and Trekkies all spring from the book of Revelations, and are modern visions concerning progress and the human future really just ancient religious myths in secular drag?
(17 September 2008)

mp3

Melinda Briana Epler, How to grow a four-season garden - Part 2

How to grow a four-season garden - Part 2

Melinda Briana Epler, One Green Generation

How to grow food year-round, with special attention to extending the growing season for the fall and winter.

Patrick Deneen, Unraveling

Patrick Deneen, Unraveling

(On Lehman Brothers, the economy, and debt.)

Robert Baer, Washington Is Risking War with Pakistan

I've been looking at the SIECUS guidelines, which were cited by Obama Bill Burton for its kindergarten curriculum last year. Level 1 is what is 'age-appropriate' for ages 5-8--what do you think? Truly age-appropriate?

There is plenty to criticize in the document, which is put forth by an advocacy group which undoubtedly takes upon itself to be an expert on sex education. Look at the discussion of same-sex attraction and the pretense of a morally-neutral sex ed program.

Over at Crunchy Con and other blogs (like Ross Douthat) McCain's attack ad is seen as a salvo in a renewed culture war. One that McCain is exploiting for votes, and probably somewhat effective in strengthening his base of social conservatives.

From 1994: "The Failure of Sex Education," by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead

The Del McCoury Band & The Chieftains - Rain And Snow

Back at Xendom some of us mocked the 'fake Irish' for their devotion to Irish music (and dance), as some of them were not even Irish... Irish culture seemed a bit out of place. Others tried to bring some Italian culture into the mix, starting a celebration of St. Joseph's Feast Day in response to St. Patrick's Day. (I don't know what campus life is like now, it's been 6 years since I was last there.) In retrospect, we were too harsh in our judgment (and perhaps jealous that some were able to celebrate an identity, while we were stuck, far from home and from our own roots). The Irish music and dance were probably better than the Saturday college dances (lots of pseudo-swing plus modern pop), and anything resembling folk music would be much better than the cultural desert that is Californian suburbia.

Having come to appreciate bluegrass music, I'm surprised that there wasn't a move by studenst or faculty to appropriate Southern folk music (is there a native Virginian form of folk music ?). There were plenty of students who liked contemporary country. Some of the students who could play the right instruments, and a few were even interested in bluegrass, but nothing resulted from it, not for St. Cecilia's Night at least. Would it be too much to turn the college into a bastion of traditional Southern culture? I think students from other parts of the country might be more accepting of it than a Yankee would think.

I can't imagine bluegrass becoming popular at TAC, but maybe it could happen... all that is needed are talented and dedicated students who can play instruments and sing.

I discovered Paul Hébert (myspace) through a FB group dedicated to him--

Paul Hébert - Le printemps


Paul Hébert - Pauvres Riches


Paul Hébert - Tu es la seule


Paul Hébert - Bonjour bonheur


Joelle Bizier & Paul Hebert - Notre histoire

Re: Cafe Pro Bono

Re: Cafe Pro Bono

Sorry Sarge, no cute waitresses there tonight. The food was good; I was trying to remember where I had chicken stuffed with cheese last. Was it at Xtendom? Or over in Boston? The chicken was a bit dry, but I wonder if that is avoidable. Would I go there again? I'm not sure... I like Italian food, but it usually is $$, especially compared to the portion size. Service was fine, our busboy was smiling a lot--insincere? Usually, if I am in a bad mood, I would probably say yes. There are still some dark clouds on the horizon, but as I edit this post, I think he may have meant those smiles. I couldn't tell what his ethnicity was (or that of the manager and of our waiter). As for the kitchen--the 'usual suspects.'

I imagine if I were to make use of a Yelp account, my reviews would be standardized. I can't write original reviews, not in a paragraph. I'm just tired of going to restaurants. Watcher seems to be doing fine for himself--I've seen the photos he's posted of his creations, and they look tasty. He should do fine wooing someone, if his food tastes as good as it looks. Hah.

How bad will the economy fall by the end of the year? If it does get much worse, that would at least justify my decision to return to CA. Last night I did a search for "Montana ranches"--some of the properties up for sale are gorgeous--one was 78 miles away from the nearest town. How is one supposed to survive there if one doesn't have $ to pay for gas?

Reminds me of Sean Connery's XO in The Hunt for Red October, played by Sam Neill. "I would like to have seen Montana."

Montana Dude Ranch Association

The Crunchy Con: Subversive orthodoxy & the Benedict Option

Related links: St. George's Farm: Alasdair MacIntyre and St. Benedict
Rod Dreher, Are we Rome?

Hmm. I also found these in the search results:
Fellowship of St. Benedict--FUAQ (Frequently Un-Asked Questions
MacIntyre’s Critique of Modernity

@TAC: Want to Receive The American Conservative For Free?

List for Sarge--Italian restaurants

When you come out here next time...
Bella Luna
Vaso Azzurro
La Strada
Vero
Quattro

We're trying Cafe Pro Bono tonight.

French: Chez TJ

The truth about the Mosuo, which has been touted by the popular media (and even in 'academic' books) as having a matriarchical society? (And apparently some have hyped up the claim for the sake of tourism.)

Some samples--
Matriarchal Marriage Patterns of the Mosuo People of China
Mosuo: A Mysterious Matriarchal Group in China
FRONTLINE/WORLD . Rough Cut . The Women's Kingdom | PBS
TIME Asia: China's Next Cultural Revolution | Minority Report
MOSUO Project Research

More on the Lugu Lake Mosuo Cultural Developmpent Association

"Mosuo Song Journey" Trailer

DVD

PCR, US Economy: Rudderless and Reeling from Direct Hits

Will Lehman's Fate be America's?
US Economy: Rudderless and Reeling from Direct Hits

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS


Edit. Some other links--
Dennis Dale, Too Big to Bail; Kara Hopkins, While Rome Burns

Magister, From Paris and Lourdes, the Lesson of the "Liturgist" Pope

From Paris and Lourdes, the Lesson of the "Liturgist" Pope

On his trip to France, Benedict XVI did not only defend the ancient rite of the Mass. He also explained and demonstrated repeatedly what he believes to be the authentic meaning of the Catholic liturgy of today and always. And, about sacred music, he said...

GL, The minimum tools for small-time garden farming

The minimum tools for small-time garden farming
Gene Logsdon, Organic To Be
One of the chief advantages of the small garden farm based on grassland farming with pasture and crop rotations is that only a small portion of the total farm is cultivated, and of that cultivated part, only an even smaller portion needs to be cultivated at any one time. To ascertain your power and tool requirements on such a farm, you do not look at total acreages, but rather the number of acres that necessarily have to be cultivated in any one day.
archived Sep 16 2008

(original)

Earl Scruggs & Steve Martin - Foggy Mountain Breakdown

A different performance:


Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka Banjo HDTV The Crow


And I thought he was just a comedian...

The Chieftains & The Corrs - I Know My Love

Sinead O'Connor & the Chieftains- The Foggy Dew


Earl Scruggs & The Chieftains - Sally Goodin'


PCPL said it best regarding friendship: "It takes two hands to clap." For PCPL...

I like the Transition Towns project, but is Transition Town Cupertino, or any other city in the Bay Area (with possible exceptions of Marin County), really feasible?

From the CSM article:

US size, car dependence are hurdles

The fact that, unlike the UK, most US communities were built around the car is a challenge for the Transition movement in the US. Another is the na­­tion’s sheer size. “It’s difficult to know how best to organize,” says Pamela Gray (Jennifer’s mother), a trustee of the Transition Network, whose focus is building resilience into healthcare systems. Britain has a strong, cohesive media that reaches a broad audience, she notes, whereas in the US it’s more diffuse.

Perhaps someone can do a sustainability study of the Bay Area and prove me wrong, but I don't think it is, not with the current population level.

Embracing the radical option is very tempting.

From Amish America: Settlements that failed: California dreaming

D. Orlov, Survival of the nicest?

Survival of the nicest?

Dmitry Orlov, ClubOrlov

Collapse, for you, is likely to turn out to be a deeply personal experience. Furthermore, if you manage to survive it, chances are, you will be none to eager to divulge the details of how you made it, for they will not be edifying.

(original)

Carl Etnier, Survival 101: They don't teach that in most colleges, and there's a dilemma

Survival 101: They don't teach that in most colleges, and there's a dilemma

Carl Etnier, Barre Montpelier (Vermont) Times Argus

Can a young person risk going to college these days? If you're 18 and college-bound, you may be skilled at computers and driving a car; know how to take the second derivative of a quadratic equation in calculus and have learned about electron orbits in chemistry; and may be able to discuss Shakespeare and "To Kill a Mockingbird" intelligently. But do you know how to kill and dress a chicken, or find and prepare wild edible plants in every season, or keep a goat healthy so it produces milk and meat?

D*mn straight!