Entertain this thought~ If the most beautiful violin music is played for you, by the world's best artist, on a $32 million Stradivarius, would you walk by without stopping?
Over a thousand people did just that, during 45 minutes of the D.C. morning rush in January, 2007, when Joshua Bell posed as a busker. Less than 1/2 of one percent took notice. About a dozen dropped money in the till. A mere handful stopped long enough to listen some. And only one woman recognized him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0KdAXLSO0Y&feature=related
The Washington Post experiment posed the question, if beauty were on display in a banal envornment, at an inopportune time, would it transcend the mundane?
Worth thinking about. By the way, the man who sells out concerts at $100 per seat-- took in a total of $32.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A 5th Century Saint foresees the Modern Age
I have to share this~ Call me crazy, I don't care, just read this post. Without explanation I can say we're living in "strange times," and you'd nod your head, "YES!" But did you know an obscure saint of ancient times had a remarkably clear vision of the era we are living in? It's a little heady, but read it all anyway. It's definitely food for thought. Thanks!
PROPHECY OF ST. NILUS
Realizing that St. Nilus is scarcely known to a large part of the Church, a brief sketch of his life, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911 copyright edition), is related below:
St. Nilus was one of the many disciples and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. He was an officer at the Court of Constantinople, married, with two sons. While St. John Chrysostom was patriarch, before his exile (398-403), he directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in works of piety. St. Nilus left his wife and one son and took the other, Theodulos, with him to Mt. Sinai to be a monk. The Bishop of Eleusa ordained both St. Nilus and his son to the priesthood. The mother and other son also embraced the religious life in Egypt.
From his monastery at Sinai, St. Nilus was a well-known person throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and correspondence, he played an important part in the history of his time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down wrote to consult him.
St. Nilus must be counted as one of the leading ascetic writers of the fifth century. His feast is kept on November 12th in the Byzantine Calendar; he is commemorated also in the Roman Martyrology on the same date. St. Nilus probably died around the year 430, as there is no evidence of his life after that.
Now the prophecy:
"After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, people's minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger.
Then the world will become unrecognizable. People's appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left.
At that time, the morals and traditions of Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.
At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism and equally of remorse.
The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all. Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints.
And all this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be Lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other. At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist. And, the impious one! – he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in three hypostases.
Then the All-good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible... then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants."
Didn't Jesus ask in the Scriptures, "But when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"
We can trust Him to do His job. I, for one, deeply flawed human that I am, had better get busy doing MY job! Keeping faith alive in my home and family, and community. Thanks for reading!
Source: www.olrl.org/misc/ (Our Lady of the Rosary Library, online)
PROPHECY OF ST. NILUS
Realizing that St. Nilus is scarcely known to a large part of the Church, a brief sketch of his life, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911 copyright edition), is related below:
St. Nilus was one of the many disciples and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. He was an officer at the Court of Constantinople, married, with two sons. While St. John Chrysostom was patriarch, before his exile (398-403), he directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in works of piety. St. Nilus left his wife and one son and took the other, Theodulos, with him to Mt. Sinai to be a monk. The Bishop of Eleusa ordained both St. Nilus and his son to the priesthood. The mother and other son also embraced the religious life in Egypt.
From his monastery at Sinai, St. Nilus was a well-known person throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and correspondence, he played an important part in the history of his time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down wrote to consult him.
St. Nilus must be counted as one of the leading ascetic writers of the fifth century. His feast is kept on November 12th in the Byzantine Calendar; he is commemorated also in the Roman Martyrology on the same date. St. Nilus probably died around the year 430, as there is no evidence of his life after that.
Now the prophecy:
"After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, people's minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger.
Then the world will become unrecognizable. People's appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left.
At that time, the morals and traditions of Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.
At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism and equally of remorse.
The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all. Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints.
And all this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be Lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other. At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist. And, the impious one! – he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in three hypostases.
Then the All-good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible... then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants."
Didn't Jesus ask in the Scriptures, "But when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"
We can trust Him to do His job. I, for one, deeply flawed human that I am, had better get busy doing MY job! Keeping faith alive in my home and family, and community. Thanks for reading!
Source: www.olrl.org/misc/ (Our Lady of the Rosary Library, online)
Friday, January 2, 2009
I wish you Success in 2009
The following is one of my favorite quotes~ A definition of success by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I added boldface to some of the words for emphasis.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
May I ask, what is success to you? Is it riches? Power? Receiving accolades, awards and praise? Having the most toys, the nicest house in the best neighborhood? Is it winning at all costs?
I hope it's broader than any of those things. More aligned with the definition above.
Success is authentic living from the heart-- with the ever-present memory that we are God's creation; that we are loved into existence every day, and that we are blessed, whether we feel it or not.
When we know this in our core, we can begin to think about each day as a gift and an opportunity to love. And before we know it, we will naturally be doing each one of Emerson's Success Ideas.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
May I ask, what is success to you? Is it riches? Power? Receiving accolades, awards and praise? Having the most toys, the nicest house in the best neighborhood? Is it winning at all costs?
I hope it's broader than any of those things. More aligned with the definition above.
Success is authentic living from the heart-- with the ever-present memory that we are God's creation; that we are loved into existence every day, and that we are blessed, whether we feel it or not.
When we know this in our core, we can begin to think about each day as a gift and an opportunity to love. And before we know it, we will naturally be doing each one of Emerson's Success Ideas.
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