Sundial Cloister

White

2006-05-16T08:25:00.000+01:00

This blog is about religion, not politics. Peace, Justice, all the components of your person find integral response in the path to God and in people who follow His Wisdom. Honest.

Italian news

2006-05-15T21:31:00.000+01:00

Un tributo all'eccellente Presidente Carlo Azeglio Ciampi ed un ripettoso benvenuto al nuovo Presidente Giorgio Napolitano (biografia probabilmente non aggiornata, ma ufficiale).

A tribute to the excellent President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and a respectful welcome to the new President Giorgio Napolitano.

Edinburgh

2006-05-15T21:30:00.000+01:00

It must be the air. People in Edinburgh are even nicer, this time of the year.

There is a season for everything.

2006-05-15T15:12:00.000+01:00

God only knows their time.

Groan

2006-05-14T13:18:00.000+01:00

After the shocking wave of sunny days that there have been recently, this Sunday the sky is overcast again.
Mother's day in Italy today, sometimes I miss her lasagne. The picture shows that after all, above the clouds, the sun firmly shines.

I remember that day.

2006-05-13T13:13:00.000+01:00

I was watching tv and everything stopped. After some months, speaking with a classmate who had moved from Rome, I learnt that that afternoon, the Police had searched every building in the center of the city looking for Hagca. It was quite a dramatic event.

2006-05-13T13:08:00.000+01:00

The picture reminds me of a prophet.

Ingredients...

2006-05-12T20:47:00.000+01:00

...for a happy and effective Christian life:

(a) Extreme competence in your field (Not easy, not easy).
(b) Humility (The Lord is eternally Other).
(c) Firmness in your fundamental values (Jesus)
(d) The love and support of those whom you love and support.

Theorem 1.1

At any moment in life there is at least one ingredient missing.

Proof: Well, try!

News from Rome.

2006-05-12T09:26:00.000+01:00

Amongst all other studies I will have to read the complete version of Humanae vitae.

Meditation

2006-05-11T19:01:00.000+01:00

Thinking about John3:1-21. I focused my attention to the water.
Certainly, it refers to baptism (so to the flood, to the Red Sea, and to John the Baptist). However thinking about Tobit, it recalled me tears.
Tears of joy, hope, but also of suffering without guilt and, yet, accepted.
That's how a grown up man can be born again.

2006-05-10T14:51:00.000+01:00

Believe it or not I had to wait more than 20 years to take this picture. I am happy I found such possibility here, in Scotland.

On delicate matters.

2006-05-09T22:00:00.000+01:00

Honesty prompts me to make this point clear with my readers.
I don't think homosexuals should have the same rights normal couples have (I am Catholic, remember?).
I could have never imagined the extent of sexual liberties I find here, really (Or maybe I never realised people around me were living their sexuality freely).
However, I have also to say that I think that criminalizing them is wrong: have you ever wondered how many married people are in fact homosexuals?
That's a problem too, and it should be seriously considered: marriage is a sacrament.

Qualities

2006-05-09T13:37:00.000+01:00

Thinking about last Sunday's good shepherd gospel. The idea that a shepherd lays down his life for a sheep is quite repulsive to me.
A human being is qualitatively different from a sheep. However, if I think that I am the sheep, the story changes connotation completely.

2006-05-08T12:21:00.000+01:00

How is it that there is a fantastic sunshine mainly in the days in which you have to sit at your desk doing your studies?

In days like this...

2006-05-07T17:48:00.000+01:00

Fog prevents you from making broad plans. So you listen something interesting on the radio and visit the pleasant Scottish countryside.

Concert

2006-05-06T23:27:00.000+01:00

Nice evening at the Usher Hall.
Vladimir Ashkenazy directed the Philharmonia Orchestra wonderfully. According to Classical Source the conductor "is, amazingly, one of our last performing links with Shostakovich".
And certainly Steven Osborne gave an excellent performance in Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No.2.
Bravi!

Thanksgiving exercise.

2006-05-06T14:02:00.000+01:00

Old picture. There have been a couple of glorious days recently. Thanks to the Lord.

Thanksgiving exercise.

2006-05-05T21:03:00.000+01:00

Thanks o Lord, you give hope to the hopeless. You open the way for people who cannot see any.
You love every woman and every man with a personal love. You want them grateful and fully open to a free response of love.
You are discreet, o Lord, and allow us to walk towards you with a pace unique and mysterious even to ourselves.

Routine

2006-05-05T11:03:00.000+01:00

Time to organise a timetable, stabilise my rhytms, do some revision, and firmly trust the Lord. After a difficulty, there is another one to confront. One step at a time.

The novel of my life.

2006-05-04T09:08:00.000+01:00

Yesterday God gave me the grace to be in the timeless garden. It was important to discover where my heart is.
And given that the loss of heart is my worst enemy at the moment, I decided to read Isaiah.

Further meditations.

2006-05-03T11:29:00.001+01:00

Managing stress is important. Living in a friendly environment, which is what I have been searching for long time, would be the ideal to face the challenges that life requires.
However, let it be as the Lord wants, not as my limited intellect can understand.
One step at a time, I don't know what God is realising for me, I trust Him, He is infinite Wisdom.
Sometimes the only thing you can bring to the altar is disgust, but disgust is dangerous. We, humans, were not made to live in disgust. We were made to live in joyful gratitude towards the Lord.

Further meditations.

2006-05-02T11:44:00.000+01:00

I am pondering the Spiritual invincibility of Jesus in the Gethsemane and how such a Spiritual giant fell on His face under the weight of our sins (mine included, certainly).

Tron (1982)

2006-05-01T22:52:00.000+01:00

Or when the creature wants to substitute the Creator. Note: it's the original version. Somebody is praying for me: thanks with all my heart.

Thanksgiving.

2006-05-01T19:01:00.000+01:00

That is what can heal your past and present wounds. And I have been seriously wounded in this Country by several people.

Altissimu, onnipotente bon Signore,
Tue so' le laude, la gloria e l'honore et onne benedictione.

... and serve him with great humilty.

Feedbacks

2006-05-01T15:50:00.000+01:00

Should be provided to a system in order to correct its errors. I wonder where hermits where getting theirs.

Further meditations.

2006-04-30T15:09:00.000+01:00

Still time of discernment. Nothing in your life must be left ouside the sight of the Lord, nothing. Whatever difficulty or trial the life is offering you.

Meditations.

2006-04-29T15:27:00.000+01:00

It's time to recover energies, relax a little and medidate.
A couple of points to share with you, dear readers:
1. Plan of God and will of man.
I was thinking the expression as referred to what God does for/in people who look for Him as a person in every specific situation, rather than a predefined path in time.
I was asking myself what happens to people who refuse to search God in their lives. Certainly the Lord will make his presence clear in their life at some point, however, His plans for them do change as effect of their choice.
2. Marriage as making the Kingdom of God effective in the language of body (gesture).
Thinking about the specific charisma of the matrimony, and I was thinking to the cathegories of language and gesture to describe the immersion into the Holy Spirit as effect of this important sacrament. Any suggestion?

Junebug

2006-04-29T15:26:00.000+01:00

This film contains sexual references. It is about sexuality as expressed in human relationships nowadays.
Unfortunately my skills in Eglish language must recover some quality since I came back from Italy, so I have to wait the DVD to study it better.
In case any of you, dear readers, decide to watch it, I submit some points on which you could focus:

1. Always think to the relationship small town / big city.
2. What rules / boundaries are defined or trespassed in every decision and action the characters take, scene by scene?
3. What are the motives and/or the desires of the character, scene by scene? What's her/his response?
4. What are the consequences of a specific behaviour in short/long term?

It is a well thought film, ideal to start a reflection on the subject.

Ethics - how to be happy.

2006-04-28T01:06:00.000+01:00

It is such a pleasure to speak to intelligent women. I really hope I'll marry one, one day.
Definitely a different species compared to the individuals for whom I worked so loyally, so loyally, and for all that time.
It is difficult to summarize the whole talk in few lines, it certainly was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I asked the excellent Margaret Atkins the difference between applying the rules in the New and in the Old Testament.
She pointed out that given that the rule of the New Testament is love, as such it requires a referent to be defined, usually a community.
Thank to the Dominicans for the relevant activities they are organising.

Silent no more.

2006-04-27T12:28:00.000+01:00

Yesterday Georgette Forney, co-founder of the awareness campaing, spoke about the consequences of abortion on the psyche of women at the Old College, at an event sponsored by SPUC Scotland and proposed to me by Living Scotland.
From a man's point of view the talk was a surprise: you don't even imagine that an event completely extern to the man's world can destroy the relationship a woman has with herself.
She arrives to despise her own sexuality, and from there to hate her own personality, because "Having an abortion is going against the fundamental vocation of a woman".
The campaing has no direct political purposes, they mean to help women who had an abortion to find healing, and I was happy to hear that the dedicated Ms. Forney, who is president of NOEL, thinks that the best way to act against abortion is through cultural change, by means of persuasion and eventually by a consistent legislation.

2006-04-25T21:20:00.000+01:00

This painting is in a small shrine built in 1611 in the village in which my parents where born and lived for part of their lives.
I am not able to provide further information on the painting.
Saint Antony is the patron saint of the village, and clearly there is a special devotion to him, there.
They call him: "The Saint of the impossible causes".
I think I should ask the protection of Saint Antony right now, and, please don't be malicious, dear readers: I would like to ask Saint Antony to help me finding the wisdom, courage and strenght to bear testimony to the Lord in this difficult moment of my life.

Calls.

2006-04-24T21:32:00.000+01:00

Well, I am called to love. Suffering is the other face of love. There is no love without it and if you don't accept to suffer you will never love.
You end up having to bear suffering caused by other people, but at least you know you are in the right garden.

Memories.

2006-04-24T16:02:00.000+01:00

When things are difficult and you are on the right path, you don't change it. The help of God will arrive at due time.

Just a word.

2006-04-24T14:09:00.000+01:00

According to BBC News last Saturday, after having checked overseas ballots, an appeal court has confirmed the victory of Romano Prodi.
The current president, however, refuses to concede defeat, remaining defiant.
While last Thursday the US followed Britain, France, Germany in recognising Prodi's Victory, that person said that he had no intention of making any formal telephone call to Prodi, conceding defeat, as he believes the new centre left coalition will quickly become unglued.

Clearly, given the way italian politics works, it will take some time to appoint the new President.

Cathedral of Catania

2006-04-23T12:21:00.000+01:00

I have to apologise, but I cannot provide much information about the painting, given that all tourist information points were closed when I visited the Cathedral.
As you know, dear readers, Saint George is the patron saint of England, and, along with Our Lady of Consolation, is the patron saint of the city in which I was born too.

Modern day heresy?

2006-04-22T14:51:00.000+01:00

After having read the article on BBC News.
Here from the interview on l'Espresso, what Card. Martini really said:

C'è poi la situazione particolare di sposi uno dei quali è affetto da Aids. Costui è obbligato a proteggere l'altro partner e questi pure deve potersi proteggere. Ma la questione è piuttosto se convenga che siano le autorità religiose a propagandare un tale mezzo di difesa, quasi ritenendo che gli altri mezzi moralmente sostenibili, compresa l'astinenza, vengano messi in secondo piano, mentre si rischia di promuovere un atteggiamento irresponsabile. Altro è dunque il principio del male minore, applicabile in tutti i casi previsti dalla dottrina etica, altro è il soggetto cui tocca esprimere tali cose pubblicamente. Credo che la prudenza e la considerazione delle diverse situazioni locali permetterà a ciascuno di contribuire efficacemente alla lotta contro l'Aids senza con questo favorire i comportamenti non responsabili

Which I would render with:

There is, then, the specific situation in which one of the spouses is affected by AIDS. Such individual must protect the other and the other must, also, be able to protect (him/her)self.
However, the point is whether religious authorities should promote such means of defense, as if other means which are morally sustainable, including abstinence, should be accounted as secondary, and (so doing) there is the risk to promote an irresponsible attitude. So the principle of the lesser evil, which can be applied according to the ethical doctrine, and the subject who has to publicly express such (means), are two different things. I think that caution and careful consideration of the various local situations will give to everyone the possibility to effectively contribute to the fight against AIDS without encouraging irresponsible behaviour.

I did my best to make the translation clear and faithful to the original. Sorry for (any) mistakes.

2006-04-21T12:20:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday to the Queen.
I have to apologise with my readers, but I don't have any other original photo to post.

Dear friends...

2006-04-20T21:54:00.000+01:00

Currently, there are four links in my 'Fellow Bloggers' menu: CatholicUK, Laodicea, The Shrine of the Holy Whapping, Zadok Romanus.
If you think my blog is worth reading, why don't you blogroll it?

Church of Saint John the Baptist - Leonforte (1611)

2006-04-20T16:14:00.000+01:00

As you know, dear readers, I am Catholic and Italian. The dynamics of this Country are unfamiliar and difficult to understand to me, especially in the way relationship with religion is lived.
Things have changed in Italy, in the last few years: sadly and visibly, people don't go to the Church anymore and have started thinking only to accumulate wealth.
In Britain, it is the fragmentation of Christianity which strikes most, and still appears puzzling to me.
Leonforte, the place in Sicily where Card. Newman had his fever, means 'strong lion'. Here a link to the Wikipedia article on card. Newman and another link with historical information about Leonforte (in English, scrolling down).

The great city

2006-04-19T21:14:00.000+01:00

...where people, myself included, drive on the left. I am getting too used to it and this makes driving in Italy a dangerous change.
Hello dear readers, I hope you all had a happy Easter. I had a good holiday with my parents, more posts and pictures from the south of Italy will follow.

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T17:31:00.000+01:00

... to everybody in the peace of the Lord. And happy birthday to Pope Benedict XVI.

Updates

2006-04-15T13:25:00.000+01:00

Dear readers, I have not disappeared: in a time in which family is attacked and, sadly, divorce advances even here in the south of Italy, I am with my parents, having a break.
Unfortunately I can only use an old PC.
So, please don't expect any pictures for now, and no more than few posts.

2006-04-12T13:23:00.000+01:00

The references to 'gall ' in the Bible are many. It is quite strange that in Tobit it is used with curative effects. The verses in Job are particularly evocative.

Ruminatio (6 of ?)

2006-04-11T15:48:00.000+01:00

As I already said, I consider last encyclic a masterpiece of clarity.
For instance, as a lay faithful, I greatly appreciate par. 29.

We can now determine more precisely, in the life of the Church, the relationship between commitment to the just ordering of the State and society on the one hand, and organized charitable activity on the other. We have seen that the formation of just structures is not directly the duty of the Church, but belongs to the world of politics, the sphere of the autonomous use of reason. The Church has an indirect duty here, in that she is called to contribute to the purification of reason and to the reawakening of those moral forces without which just structures are neither established nor prove effective in the long run.

The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation “in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” [21] The mission of the lay faithful is therefore to configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate autonomy and cooperating with other citizens according to their respective competences and fulfilling their own responsibility.[22] Even if the specific expressions of ecclesial charity can never be confused with the activity of the State, it still remains true that charity must animate the entire lives of the lay faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived as “social charity”.[23]

The Church's charitable organizations, on the other hand, constitute an opus proprium, a task agreeable to her, in which she does not cooperate collaterally, but acts as a subject with direct responsibility, doing what corresponds to her nature. The Church can never be exempted from practising charity as an organized activity of believers, and on the other hand, there will never be a situation where the charity of each individual Christian is unnecessary, because in addition to justice man needs, and will always need, love.

2006-04-10T15:06:00.000+01:00

Dear readers, I apologise but I am really busy at the moment, so do not expect many posts. Here a crucifix which is in the diocese museum in Trento, so beautiful that you risk to forget that originally was a symbol of social rejection.

Interval

2006-04-08T11:52:00.000+01:00

For several reasons I shall temporarily suspend my blog activity. My future, unknown, is in the hands of the Lord; good hands, certainly. Please pray for me.

Speechless

2006-04-06T15:51:00.000+01:00

2006-04-05T15:41:00.000+01:00

On Sunday it's the 21st World Youth Day.
I don't mean to annoy you, dear readers.
The lamp is in the Vatican Museums.

Progress.

2006-04-05T11:07:00.000+01:00

It looks like something is happening in the direction I would like to go.
Please pray for me, dear readers.

To all (wo)men, whom God loves.

2006-04-02T17:01:00.000+01:00

Pope Benedict XVI, today, asked to fast for 2 days from tomorrow, the 3rd and the 4th of April.
The invitation comes from the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church of Babylon, Mar Emanuel III Dally and the bishops of Iraq, and it is meant to obtain the gift of "peace and concord" in Iraq and in the entire world.

One year ago.

2006-04-02T00:29:00.000+01:00

Today is a joyful day. There will certainly be the time in which we will have to offer our sufferings and even our own death to the Lord. However, today is a joyful day: we remember John Paul II.
Here my humble contribution to his memory.

One day of several years ago, I was watching one of his discourses on TV. There was the usual crowd in Saint Peter's square, continually interrupting with enthusiastic rounds of applause.
At a specific point he clearly emphasised the following sentence:

Lasciate parlare Cristo!

and stopped, looking at the crowd. There was no response. Just silence. And he continued with his discourse.

I think that repeating the exhortation again today is important, dear readers. It is addressed to each of us:

Let Christ speak!

Kernel

2006-03-31T14:45:00.000+01:00

I should have published the news yesterday, but latest interview to Vittorio Messori ended up occupying all my spare time.
It's Friday, I've decided to fast from Italian newspapers until the elections.
Here the news according to ANSA: Pope Benedict XVI at a European People's Party...

reiterated the three "non-negotiable principles" which the Roman Catholic Church would like to see become cornerstones of European politics.
Society should be shaped so as to defend human life from conception to its natural end, promote traditional marriage as the basis of the family, and safeguard the right of parents to educate their children, he said.

Once again: note how he clearly stated the minimal set of principles asserted by the Church leaving their implementation to the "faithful creativity" of the listeners.
Clearly, rather than European, they are universal principles.

2006-03-31T00:07:00.000+01:00

Dear readers, please pray for the intentions of Aelianus. I am just a blind man, "I hear men speak, but I cannot see them", my prayer is not enough.

Saint Peter - Rome

2006-03-30T18:46:00.000+01:00

Designed by Michelangelo, the dome was completed after his death.
I am not at all competent in the field and I would not be able to provide an informative description of it. I leave the task of describing and designing similar masterpieces to the current generation of talented architects.
I hope I am not infringing any copyright.

The Periodic Table

2006-03-29T15:08:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's Night Waves programme was quite interesting. For some reason Carmen Calill just avoided to comment on Primo Levi.
Several years ago I was just looking for meaning, as usual, and I really needed to find the central point of my active life, that is how I had to spend my energies without having to rely on anybody else (and I really mean anybody else).
During this search it just happened to me to find Sistema Periodico. I had not read anything by Levi before. I started reading and chapter after chapter I found pleasure and consolation in that consistent, rational prose.
I ended up reading other books written by him (Se questo e' un uomo, of course, La tregua).
It happened several years ago, so I don't really remember much of the Sistema Periodico as a book.
The chapter that I want to mention, though, is Cromo where he describes the way he recovered a considerable amount of paint which had changed state.
It was so fascinating: in general, it is difficult to write about the gratification you feel in a technical field after your repeated efforts succeed.
You really think you have done something useful for everybody and your increased competence gives you self-confidence.
Interestingly enough, from the incredibly detailed biography written by Ian Thomson, which I have not read (yet), I copy the following quotation:

Each of us is three different people: the person we really are, the person we believe we are, and the person other people see us as.

Levi's writings are really worth reading.

Tombs...

2006-03-28T16:29:00.000+01:00

I have to apologise with my dear readers: I started to have my usual (study instead of work)/reading/life-maintenance rhythms. So I cannot dedicate much time to the blog at the moment.
Tobit Chapter 2 yesterday. Note v7

I went and dug a grave and buried him.

and compare with Raguel in 8,18/20

And he (Raguel) made his servants fill the grave in before dawn broke.

I would say: The radical respect that Tobit has for human beings (soul and body) is awarded with an empty tomb.

European licence.

2006-03-27T21:57:00.000+01:00

Some good news in a time of resurgence of nationalisms: according to BBC there should be a European driving licence in a not so far future. It will substitute the old ones between 2012 and 2032.

2006-03-27T21:55:00.000+01:00

Spring is here, temperatures are gradually increasing, although there is still some rain from time to time.

Homily

2006-03-26T12:26:00.000+01:00

Yes, ok, I am spending part of my extra free time reading something in newspapers.
Today's homily by Pope Benedict recalls some of what was intended to be the last homily of John Paul II on the 3rd of April 2005 (Osservatore Romano had already published it).
From Corriere:

All'umanità che talora sembra smarrita e dominata dal potere del male, dell'egoismo e della paura il Signore risorto offre in dono il suo amore che perdona, riconcilia e apre l'animo alla speranza: è amore che converte i cuori e dona la pace.

Which I would render with:

To the humanity that sometimes seems lost and controlled by the power of evil, selfishness and fear, the resurrected Lord offers his love as a gift that forgives, reconciles, opens the soul to hope: love that converts the hearts and give peace.

From Repubblica:

Quanto bisogno ha il mondo di comprendere e di accogliere la Divina misericordia

Rendered with:

Indeed the world needs to understand and welcome the Divine mercy.

Look not behind thee...

2006-03-26T12:03:00.000+01:00

Reading an interesting article on the Independent:

Salt is woven into the practice and symbolism of many religions, given as a blessing or used to keep away evil spirits - the tradition persists that if you throw salt over your left shoulder you will keep away the devil, or at least ward off bad luck.

Interestingly enough there is a similar tradition in the region in which I was born: to keep away the devil you should put some salt in the corners of your house. Definitely superstitious.

Church bell tower clockwork - 1771

2006-03-26T11:47:00.000+01:00

Last Summer, when I was in Trento, I had the luck of finding a very interesting (to me) exhibition on the measurement of time. The section related to the invention of night clocks as a consequence of the insomnia of Pope Alexander VII is probably more interesting to my readers.
Waiting is not easy, but it gives you the clear dimension of your life: everything depends on God.
The image, as far as I know, is not covered by copyright.

Act of grace.

2006-03-25T15:30:00.000Z

According to Repubblica Pope Benedict wrote a letter to Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, asking clemency for Abdul Rahman, the young Muslim converted to Christianity who is risking the death penalty.

2006-03-25T15:26:00.000Z

Daylight saving time tonight.

Simplicity

2006-03-24T21:31:00.000Z

Sometimes I wonder whether Tobit could be a theatrical script.
Tobit 1,20:

nothing was left me but my wife Anna and my son Tobias.

I mean: it's a simple and short sentence, but it means he had to start his life again.
Where did he find the strength and spiritual resources...?
Do I really have to answer?

You learn something new...

2006-03-24T21:11:00.000Z

Shibboleth. What kind of arcane hermeneutics do you need to understand this word...
... It looks like the etymology derives from Judges 12,6.

2006-03-24T21:08:00.000Z

Just hoping to see some sunshine this week-end.

Edinburgh festival.

2006-03-23T16:32:00.000Z

No doubt this year the festival will be very interesting.
I only hope I will still be here...

About happiness.

2006-03-23T16:11:00.000Z

...nam in omni aduersitate fortunae infelicissimum est genus infortunii fuisse felicem.
-- Boethius

That is:

in every adverse change of fortune having been happy is the most unhappy kind of misfortune.

Bothwell Castle and some sunshine.

2006-03-22T18:02:00.000Z

A view of the great hall and the South east tower built in the 15th century.
There has been some sunshine these last days, but the weather is still unstable: today it snowed again for some minutes.
I'm actively waiting for my interview. God only knows how it will result.
Honestly, I feel a bit empty and lacking purpose. Without a timescale it's difficult to plan anything.

Cancelled.

2006-03-22T13:52:00.000Z

The meeting with the Edinburgh University Jewish Society has been postponed, probably. Now I am disappointed...

Still reading...

2006-03-21T22:23:00.000Z

Yesterday was the turn of Tb 10. My eyes stopped at 12/13

Never make her unhappy as long as you live.

The question would be: why is the sentence referring to unhappiness rather than happiness?
It just looks to me that the phrase establishes a boundary under which neither of the spouses should ever go.
On the other hand, there is no limit for happiness and 8,21/24 speaks of restoring the original state: happiness remains a gift of the Lord, always.

Bothwell Castle

2006-03-21T22:20:00.000Z

The donjon was intended as a residence capable of being defended by a small garrison, in case the remainder of the castle fell into enemy hands.
Before being partially destroyed in 1337, it was 20m in diameter with walls 4.6m thick.
The picture shows the original side, that is, the one which has not been re-built.
The castle has been described as

the grandest piece of secular architecture that the Middle Ages have bequeathed to us in Scotland.

by whom, the leaflet does not say.

Saint Joseph

2006-03-19T10:29:00.000Z

Father's day in Italy.
Saint Joseph is the patron saint of people who work. Here an excerpt from today's message of Pope Benedict (from Repubblica):

...è indispensabile che l'uomo non si lasci asservire dal lavoro, che non lo idolatri, pretendendo di trovare in esso il senso ultimo e definitivo della vita.

Which I would render with:

it is essential that man is not enslaved by work, that he does not worship it, pretending to find in his job the ultimate and definitive meaning of life.

And from Corriere:

Occorre vivere una spiritualità che aiuti i credenti a santificarsi attraverso il proprio lavoro...

that is:

It is necessary to live a spirituality that helps the believers to become saint through their work...

Saint Joseph, pray for me, even if you are not my patron saint.

2006-03-18T18:22:00.000Z

This collections of stones from the sea of Galilee is just outside the main door of the Church of the sacred Heart here in Edinburgh. The parish is served by a Jesuit community.

Rules.

2006-03-18T15:29:00.000Z

Yes, Tobit contains the Golden Rule in negative form. Tb 4,15: "Do to no one what you would not want done to you". It is also in the Gospels (Mt 7,12; Lk 6,31 [positive form]). Here a concise Jewish story about the same rule.

Italian troubles.

2006-03-18T14:58:00.000Z

Theatre night yesterday. "The Saint of Bleecker Street" by Gian Carlo Menotti.
It was very Italian indeed, of the post second world war generation.
As far as my experience is concerned they managed to realistically represent the atmosphere existing in a popular italian southern neighbourood (the opera is set in NY, though).
Convincing performance in a difficult role for Annina (yes, this is what I think).
Michele is a controversial figure: the fact that he does not believe in God render his world fragmented. He is split among different forms of love that he cannot unify. He is unable to choose, while all other characters are clearly defined almost since the beginning.
Unfortunately, I could not find the libretto, so I cannot better characterise the conflicts of the opera.
Yesterday was Friday, so here the Cast: Janet de Vigne, Alexander Anderson-Hall, Helen Brown, Emma Morwood, Ivor Klayman, Alison Beck, Philip Moynihan, Damaris Chalmers, Christopher Young, Andrew Fraser, Ginny Wilson, Kenny McLeod.
Bravi tutti!

Roots.

2006-03-17T14:55:00.000Z

Have you ever visited Jerusalem? Well, if you want to understand Monotheism that's an experience that must be done.
Although different, the three religions have lived and interacted together throughout time, until our days.
Knowing each other is more than simply a kind gesture: is understanding how our own faith has developed and why in specific circumstances, specific choices have been made.
Here a site on Jewish history that looks very interesting: it's a database of links selected by people at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It contains scriptural references as well.
I'll be looking for something similar for Christianity and Islam.

De natura Verbi.

2006-03-16T16:01:00.000Z

You don't really expect a treatise on scriptures from me, do you? This is just to say that scriptures cannot be used to predict the future (that's magic, not religion). They are useful to discern the values at stake in your daily life and to decide consequently. Everybody's free will is always respected, so a literal reading of Revelation, for instance, is definitely misleading.

Left or Right?

2006-03-16T15:26:00.000Z

Have you ever seen "The last supper?". It's a surprising film.
I watched it several years ago in Italian on TV.
I imagine it is meant to show that the real problem in politics is to find out who the deceiver is (an interesting variation on "whodunnit"). And this is a problem indeed, in every situation.
Clearly, the director is a woman.
One day, maybe, women will be able to exert their real charisma in politics: demanding sincerity.

It's snowing.

2006-03-16T09:22:00.000Z

Again. It is certainly pleasant if you are at home and have an efficient heating system. However, It should be almost Spring...

λίθον προσκόμματος

2006-03-14T16:34:00.000Z

Thinking about Rm 9. It is astonishing how the scriptures show their meaning in the most difficult moments of your life.
Consistency is important, painful but important, dear readers.

Epilogue?

2006-03-13T16:42:00.000Z

So at the end, I resigned, dear readers.
You cannot work for somebody who does not trust you.
I am writing this because of the good people who still work for my ex-company: I am sorry.
I had the entire week to think about my intentions and the issues I had with the company.
I intended to re-start, but from the discussion (and I have to tell that I discussed thoroughly, with good persons) it was clear that the issues would have not been solved.
What am I going to do now? I don't know yet: I would like to stay in this Country which offers more possibilities than mine for people with my skills.
However, really, only God knows.
Sometimes, the values in which you believe may cost you your job.

2006-03-12T22:25:00.000Z

Not really. It will be at 9.30 pm. This week, Night Waves looks quite interesting. Brace yourself and listen.

Work of God

2006-03-12T12:02:00.000Z

Here we are: the long awaited post. Last Wednesday the Catholic Chaplaincy and the Catholic Students' Union organised a meeting with Mr. Andrew Soane, spokesman of Opus Dei.
Do not run away, please, read the whole post, you may find it interesting. The meeting was about the allegations contained in the book Da Vinci Code.
In actual fact, the meeting was subdivided in two parts, the first one was about the Da Vinci code, the second was more about Opus Dei.
I have not read the book, I will certainly watch the film. I would have expected a puntual refutation of the allegations following the line of the story (which, it seems, is about denying the divinity of Jesus).
Unfortunately, he only outlined some main points (was Jesus married? Were the sacred texts maliciously edited? What's gnosticism?) without much detail and without any further bibliographic references.
An author of fiction can, in her/his works, write whatever (s)he wants.
However, a meticulous author of fiction, usually, sets rules and abides by those rules throughout the entire story. Historical facts are usually researched and faithfully represented in their minimal details. It looks like this book doesn't care much about history.
The second part was more interesting. I had never met anyone from Opus Dei before, and, like you, I have heard many unpleasant stories about their activities so I really wanted to listen to them directly.
Here is what I found out: Everybody is called to holiness (yeees!), and their charism is in offering spiritual (and spiritual only) assistance in order to sanctify the action of their members in the world through their ordinary work ("Which job is better? Whichever is done with greater love for God.").
The founder, Josemaría Escrivá was canonised by John Paul II in 2002 (Wikipedia entry...).
My impression is that they greatly emphasise authority and sacrifice where I am used to a method which is more biased towards consistency awareness and physical activity (as a search for purpose), but considering that they are under the authority of Peter (the Pope), and that their purpose is to become saints rather than to rule the world, I would not multiply useless words about it.
They have been attacked and have the right to reply. Give them the possibility to defend themselves: go and listen to them yourself, thoroughly.
Ah: "There are no monks in Opus Dei, so there are no albino assassins either".

Weak vessel.

2006-03-11T12:16:00.000Z

Another reflection about Tobit. The very book that speaks of life and how the mystery of its source is renewed in every couple of spouses, is, in actual fact, full of references to the negation of life: death.
Here the episodes that I found (if you find more, please let me know):

1,18/21: Sennacherib killed a great number of Israelites
2,3: One of our nation has just been murdered
3,6: Be pleased to take your life from me (Tobit)
3,10: Very dramatic: a suicide attempt. Sarah intends to hang herself. She doesn't do it because this could cause the death of her father.
4,2: Tobit is convinced he will die, I don't think that he expects that God has listened to his prayers, it is more likely that he expects to be punished for what he asked.
6,4-3: The fish is killed
6,14: 7 husbands were killed by a demon
7,9: A sheep is killed.
8,19-20: Two oxen, 4 sheep are killed.

Clearly, you wonder whether you have the right to live, given that even today a great number of people die for various and non-understandable reasons.
My answer: it is not up to you to decide whether you have to live or die. You can only choose how to spend the love you are capable of, and accept the consequences, often bitter and unpleasant.

Malleny Garden - Edinburgh

2006-03-10T22:52:00.000Z

Some days ago I was looking for a quiet place to gather my thoughts.
Well, astonishingly enough, I found it.
In this garden, which is under the care of the National Trust for Scotland, I found this four yews (Taxus baccata), affectionately known as 'Four Disciples'.
They are the survivors of a group of 12 trees, probably planted around 1635.
Unfortunately, 8 of them were felled by a previous owner of the property as recently as 1961.
Dear readers, I am experiencing a cold (what a Lent!), my activities are a little bit slowed down...

Activities

2006-03-09T17:40:00.000Z

Swimming is not a sport: is actually a philosophy. A sort of life-style. It's a way of controlling your body so that it can achieve a purpose.
It is a twofold activity: breathing is the base, it gives you the rhythm, the pace. It allows you to control how you apply your energy.
Then you need to stay focused on your movements. It is not about where you have to go, which is still important, but how you progress, your target is not external, but inside you. The less you manage to resist to the water, the faster you go. The more your movements are coordinated, the more you feel confident in yourself.
I made a terrible mistake in stopping physical activity. Well, I am re-starting.

As a reading:

I don't know the way I was joined to the body, nor how, at the same time, I can be the image of God and a mixture of mud. In actual fact, even when the body is healty, it hurries me, and presses me violently, causing suffering.
I love the body as a friend, but I hate it as an enemy and an opponent; I try to escape it like a prison, I venerate it as a co-heir. If I try to weaken it, I won't find an ally and a collaborator that I can use in the most eminent challenges, not forgetting that I was created exactly for this reason: to ascend, that is, with my actions, to God.
If, instead, I would behave in a more docile way towards the body, that is as with a collaborator, I would not know how to escape its rebellious violence and to avoid going far from God, under the weight of those restraints which stop me and drag me to the ground.
As an enemy, the body is weak, as a friend it is deceitful. How extraordinary this union and contraddiction is! What I fear, I embrace; what I love I fear greatly. Before fighting it, I reconcile with it; before making peace, I quarrel with that.
What kind of Wisdom is this that I am experiencing? What kind of mystery? Maybe God allows this, so that we, being His ownership and coming from Heaven, while we exhalt ourselves and we become proud because of our dignity, don't despise the Creator, and because of that fight and that enmity that exists between us and the body, never distract our eyes from Him.
Consequently, that infirmity that was joined to us slows down and coerces our dignity so that we can understand that we are great and at the same time despicable, earthly and heavenly, perishable and immortal, heirs of light and fire, or of darkness according to which condition we tend.
This our mixture, as far as I can understand, happens so that given that the image of the divine dignity made proud our souls, the dust, instead, depresses them and curbs them...
But now (...), what has to be done, brothers, is to take care of the body as a relative and a friend. Although, in fact, I accused it as an enemy because of those disturbances that it causes to the soul, nonetheless considering He who established and realised such union, I will have to embrace my body as a friend.

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus - Discourses, XIV, on the love for the poors 6-8.

The translation is mine, from this italian version. Sorry for the mistakes.

2006-03-08T22:55:00.000Z

I have started to suspect that the number of my readers is greater than I thought. That does not make me happy: it makes me scared. A cloister is a quiet place for reflection.
I don't have time nor resources nor qualifications to make of this my primary occupation.
This blog is about looking for God in your normal life, humbly and sincerely. Within my time limits and with His help, I intend to continue to submit some of my thoughts.

Talking.

2006-03-08T11:36:00.000Z

Yesterday, I spent a good hour talking to one of the Dominicans at the University Parish.
Do you have any idea of how important speaking with someone who is actually listening to you is?
It looks like the Church, here, has not got much space for unmarried lay people of my age. Sadly, people are not interested at all in spirituality, nowadays.
God Bless you Father. I will definitely be involved in the spiritual activities of your Parish, God willing.

"Remember..."

2006-03-07T13:30:00.000Z

In 1990, when I was still in the Scout movement, which in Italy is mainly Catholic, I had the unique possibility to participate to a Bible camp lead by Rinaldo Fabris.
It was extraordinary: less than 30 people in a picturesque location in North of Italy studying "Music in the Bible".
Toward the end of the activities he told us: "When you feel sad and depressed" - like I am now - "remember the psalm 117, which is extremely concise and joyful".
Here the text from JB:

Alleluia!
Praise Yahweh, all nations,
extol him, all you peoples!
For his love is strong,
his faithfulness eternal.

Hey, il Signore fa bene tutte le cose.

Sea

2006-03-06T22:36:00.000Z

What a fantastic sea, is it not? This is a view of the strait of Messina from Calabria. One day there may even be a bridge there.
Today, after a long time, I went to swim. I needed it. At the end my heart was ruminating: Fiat voluntas tua, Domine. Really.

Versions

2006-03-06T22:31:00.000Z

A couple of days ago I was in prayer, and while in such prayer, suddenly i felt I was praying for nothing.
That's what angels are about: spiritual consolations and desolations, folks.
I have been working for a company which did not hesistate to put me under intense (and unfair) pressure so that I could give the maximum for their ...minimum effort.
What do I want? Well: you have my loyal and qualified service at work: stay away from my personal life!

What a week,...

2006-03-05T17:41:00.000Z

...dear readers, what a week! Those who think that life is boring should start looking for a purpose in theirs.
So, there is still some snow left around so I decided not to visit any new place. Of course I had the usual week-end cleaning and washing to do.
What do you do in days like this, if you want to relax? I watched a film, of course.
Which one? I like Kubrick and I miss the kind of films he was able to make. Is there anyone out there who has inherited his eyes?
Now, I decided to watch Barry Lyndon, which I saw dubbed in Italian many years ago. After these years that I spent in Scotland the film becomes much clearer.
I suppose that it is built so that it can prove that there are no winners in this life, whatever your skills, abilities or talents may be.
Kubrick managed to conjugate the story with an excellent soundtrack. Absolutely riveting.
If you haven't seen it, you should.

Edinburgh - View of the Castle from Princes Street

2006-03-04T17:18:00.000Z

It snowed yesterday. Unexpectedly, I would say. Walking under the snow gives you a strange feeling. I had forgotten it. You are in the same places as before, but everything looks different, a sort of a desert. It's unusual.
The picture was, in actual fact, taken one year ago.

Seeing in the darkness.

2006-03-03T16:51:00.000Z

The 'discipline of Lent' as the intelligent Cardinal o'Brien called it during Ash Wednesday Mass, is particularly useful to discern the beasts of the Soul and everybody has got some.
Speaking of which, Tobit is almost a cinematic experience, vivid and descriptive as the story progresses. Yesterday, reading 11,16, I remembered that somewhere I read of a link between Tobit and guide dogs. Undoubtedly, I need one.

Trento - Cathedral

2006-03-02T19:37:00.000Z

Eia ergo, dear readers. The Chapel of the Crucifixion in the Cathedral of Trento (1682). Here there was the promulgation of the decrees of the Council of Trento.
Easter is one day closer: may the Lord, through His Passion and Resurrection transform our lives in pure joy and thankfulness spent for His eternal glory.

2006-03-02T06:44:00.000Z

There are people who are free to fly. They move with mysterious grace and they can see further than others. Sometimes they are called shepherds. In actual fact, they are flying people.

Eat and drink...

2006-02-27T21:20:00.000Z

So the reading of Tobit progresses. Yesterday, I read chapter 7. It looks like it is the darkest and saddest of the whole book.
The values at risk are clearly stated: the law of God has become a mere contract, there is no longer hope for its fulfilment.
Raguel, Edna and Sarah are full of fear and despair. The entire project of creation seems to be overturned, everything seems to be upside down.
And yet, another Christological symbol makes its apparition: a sheep is killed for the guests.
It has always been difficult to me to accept the fact that the sacrifice of Christ is for each of us.
Thinking that you are on a Cross gives a plain explanation of the challenges everybody of us undergoes in our everyday life.
But it does not work that way: nobody can carry the Cross that Jesus carries, the way He does.
We are not bearing our cross, we are in His Cross and that's what can save us.
Spending your life for someone else is difficult, but accepting someone else's life is even more difficult.
Lent is close. End of the homily.

Listening...

2006-02-26T21:16:00.000Z

Not much to say, dear readers. It was mainly a week-end of reading and tidying up. Yesterday, I went to an engagement party. It was pleasant. It is pleasant to talk to amicable people.
Today I spent some time listening to the radio. Radio is much more discreet than TV. There was a discussion about the impact of visual elements on the other elements of communication, text and music.
The visual elements, it has been outlined, is making narrative fragmentary. Documentaries are now edited like soap-operas (that is with increasingly faster pace) so that the basic rules for transmission of knowledge are simply overlooked.
I like radio.

2006-02-25T12:07:00.000Z

Dear readers, given the books that I am reading and the activities to which I will participate in the next future, the number of posts in this blog could be reduced.
I will try to provide better quality, where quantity will be lacking.