Mystical Spring

“The task of a Christian is to make the thought of PEACE once again seriously possible.”

It is timely for me to read these words of Thomas Merton, especially as the world appears incapable of understanding the very idea of hard work.

 My mother spent her life working. It was either in the house, at a secretarial job, or in the yard. Her work in the yard she especially loved. She hauled bags of dirt, compost, horse manure at times, and shrubs, plants, and every kind of young tree.

What she showed to both of her daughters was one thing–life is full of hard work and then you die.

I do not say this with any degree of cynicism. This is life–we work our life span and then we end that life span. What we accomplish in between is hard work.

Do we enjoy such work or not is the real question?

I think we all understand that happiness, aka PEACE, doesnt’ come at the end of a gun. When force is used, there is always a loser and that loser fills with anger/resentment/jealousy/ or any number of negative emotions that simmer until payback is accomplished. Justice is required and the defeated see justice denied, therefore, needed and sought after a time.

This attitude of the defeated plants the seeds of future wars. How does PEACE have a chance to bloom?

I have always resented the idea that PEACE is for wimps. That seekers of peace seek an easy way out–one filled with roses and floating angels of sillyness. Those who look at PEACE in such a narrow fashion are ignorant. They have never attempted the intensely hard work that PEACE demands. It is extremely difficult to get your emotions under control, to understand exactly what you need, what you hope for, and what you can’t live without in order to ask for PEACE. If you get this far, you need the stomach and courage to extend yourself in risk.

And that’s where all the military generals and military establishment fall back. They are not trained for such initiatives. They are not aware of how to do it. They are taught in words such as tactics that accompany losses and might/power.

The quick release of a bomb gives such limited satisfaction that those seeking PEACE can only stand by in amazement at such obvious ignorance and stupidity. What a waste of resources (financial and human).

How long can such lazy thinking continue?

Who will have enough strength and courage to stand up to the rigors required for PEACE?

Born into wealth, this great saint of the East was born into an area today known as Turkey. in 330 CE. This means he was born less than 20 years after the Council of Nicea where the Nicene Creed was broought into being. Just imagine what an exciting time that must have been! It was a time when people such as Basil were schooled in the art of rhetoric. What exactly is that and why would anyone be convinced that they should waste their lives going to school for such a thing?

In the ancient world it was considered highly desirable that a young man would enter the world understanding how to make himself clear in what he said, how he argued the positions he held, and that written communication was effective–at times, persuasive. It was important to have an educated person in a household who could go before judges and other authorities and be able to argue effectively on behalf of the family. Studying rhetorical skills could be an effective weapon in a family arsenal who may otherwise have lacked funds or public standing. For Basil, this skill would be used to advance a career among higher authorities as well as among the public.

After concluding his education, he eventually removed himself from public life by entering the monastic world. You can read more about why he gave it all up, if you google New Advent Catholic Encyclepedia online.