2024: wrath or peace, hope
29
Dec
In 2023 we saw an escalation of wars: the war in
Ukraine intensified, after a terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel, the war there broke out and intensified, the threat of a dispute between Guyana and Venezuela which is now returning to the issue of sending from an English warship to the area.
The climate is far from being seen with possibilities of peace, in Ukraine, Russia carried out intense attacks at the end of the year and Poland accuses that there were missiles from Russia that violated its airspace, Hezbollah began an escalation of attacks on Israel, and Venezuela says it will respond to the British warship with “defensive” military action.
As if that weren’t enough, the election now in January in Taiwan puts pressure on China since conservative parties are in the lead and the defense of the territory that China considers its province is one of the mottos for the election and the provocations in Taiwan’s territorial waters are frequent (photo).
There is always hope, there are many forces that seek to demonstrate the senselessness of wars, the deaths of innocent people, the immense damage to national economies, and the first thing that is lost in all wars: the truth about the real interests in conflicts , are never what they proclaim: interests in defending “the people” and the most fragile who are precisely the biggest victims.
In the midst of the great conflict, what can happen is what they try to hide: the great clearing of consciences, not only collective ones, but mainly individual ones, countries and economies in ruins, poverty everywhere and on an individual level, what we are and what that we do around our personal conscience in the face of serious situations around us.
Although my personal hope is small in relation to war, it is great in relation to the individual plan, in great conflicts and great scourges, great men and great leaders appear who march in the opposite direction to the powerful and arrogant.
Those who have experienced great scourges and conflicts are those who witness the horror of wars.
Chardin’s universal vision
28
Dec
For a certain time, Chardin’s vision of a universe
formed from a divine intention, its evolution within a geosphere, then a biosphere and finally the current stage that is a noosphere (noon – spirit) was considered heretical, but at the time few were changing, many philosophers and theologians began to study him, his works were being published and acceptance by the church was being considered, to the point of even thinking about his beatification.
One can think in the current controversies, without serious doctrinal meaning in my opinion, that this is due to a certain heretical “modernization” of the church, but the most diverse theological thoughts within the church reflect on the validity of this vision that updates Christian thinking and gives a great opening to what modern man has discovered and continues to discover about human life on earth and the cosmos.
In a homily by Pope Benedict XVI, on July 24, 2009, in a homily in Aosta, Benedict XVI quotes Teilhard de Chardin, as a positive illumination: «The function of the priesthood is to consecrate the world so that it becomes a living host, so that the world becomes liturgy: that liturgy does not pass by the reality of the world, but that the world itself becomes a living host, becomes liturgy. This is the great vision that was later also that of Teilhard de Chardin: in the end, we will have a true cosmic liturgy in which the cosmos becomes a living host.”
And this is not a new doctrine, although Chardin brought it closer to Science, the Second Vatican Council in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes (nº 5), in fact, declares: «In short, the human race passes from a basically static notion of the order of things to a more dynamic and evolutionary conception: this gives rise to a huge new problem that requires new analyzes and new syntheses.”
And in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 310), we read: «God freely wanted to create a world “in a state of progress” towards its ultimate perfection and Jesus will come in his glory, after wars, pestilences and other civilizational difficulties, to save him, says eschatology.
Thus, not only does original sin, the expulsion from paradise and the human future open up to a new perspective consistent with the doctrine, but it also clarifies controversial points historically, we would say due to the Copernican revolution, man and the world are neither geocentric nor heliocentric, at the center of the galaxy is a black hole, so we could say that it is noocentric,
GRONCHI, Priest Maurizio. In the thoughts of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. « J’étudie la matière et je trouve l’esprit. », L’Osservatore Romano, 29 December 2013.
Original sin for Chardin
27
Dec
It was not the fact that Chardin reconciles the
creationist view of the origin of the universe with the evolutionary view of the Big Bang, although also controversial, it was the original sin that gave rise to a view of distrust regarding Teilhard Chardin’s view of the noosphere.
In an article published on 06/05/2018 by Edward W. Schmidt, S.J., in America magazine, he wrote: “The discovery and publication of Teilhard’s work filled a gap with valuable documentation in the history of the scholar”, and spoke of the question of original sin.
His work caught the attention of the Jesuit Curia and the Holy Office (predecessor of the current Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and there he had to sign six declarations on points of his thought that the Holy Office understood as conflicting with the traditional teaching of the Church, since From the Council of Trent to the First Vatican Council, the declaration that Chardin signed said that “the entire human race has its origins from a proto-parent, Adam”, with difficulty he signed, but with the addendum “with faith alone”.
The Six Propositions were lost until 2007, when they were discovered by Jesuits in Rome who had access with authorization from Pope Benedict XVI. They also found a letter from Teilhard to the Superior General of the time, Wlodimir Ledochowski, in which the French Jesuit explained what he defended. on original sin, in Portuguese: “Note on some possible historical concepts of original sin”.
When the “monitum” (a kind of correction) was revoked in 2017, the Italian historian Alberto Melloni, professor at the University of Modena-Reggio Emilia and director of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna wrote: “Today the Pontifical Council for Culture asks that the monitum on Chardin be revoked: a fair and easy request. On the contrary, it was less easy to revoke a mentality that deluded itself into exorcising with condemnations the risk of connecting and disconnecting faith and cultures, offering the gift of hope.”
Without going into the merits of Chardin’s propositions, there is a reference by Pope Benedict XVI, on the occasion of the feast of the Holy Trinity, to Chardin’s concepts: “In everything that exists, the “name” is printed, in a certain sense. of the Holy Trinity, since all being, down to the last particles, is being in relationship and in this way, Creative Love ultimately transpires” and further on it says that “the human being has in his own “genome”; a profound seal of the Trinity, of God-Love”.
The divine medium and the mass of the world
26
Dec
Complete 100 years since the Mass on the
World by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), he was a philosopher, paleontologist, Jesuit priest and French mystic, among his outstanding works are “The place of man in nature”, “The divine environment” and days celebrated 100 years of the Mass of the World.
In the scientific world, after graduating in Paleontology, at the Natural History Museum in Paris, he wrote his doctoral thesis: “The mammals of the French lower Eocene and their sites”, he was professor of geology at the Catholic Institute of Paris in 1920 during the period of his doctorate at the Sorbonne.
For Chardin, after the emergence of life in the period of cosmogenesis and geogenesis (formation of the universe), the biosphere is formed. ).
On one occasion when he was in the Ordos desert, in Mongolia, and had neither bread nor wine, he said that without being able to celebrate mass, he instead composed the Mass About the World, a mystical account in certain parts, but not far from the doctrine Christian, where he refers to the “Omega Point” and the “Cosmic Christ”, essential aspects of his thought.
There are excerpts from Laudato Si that recall this “mass”: “At the height of the mystery of the Incarnation, the Lord wants to reach our innermost being through a piece of matter. He does not do it from above, but from within, so that we can encounter Him in our own world. In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved, being the vital center of the universe, a center overflowing with love and endless life. United with the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the entire cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed, the Eucharist is, in itself, an act of cosmic love’ (Laudato Si’, 236)
True joy
22
Dec
The word used for “joy”, in the original Greek, is
χαρά (chara), which is related to the words χάρις (charis), which is usually translated as “grace”, and χάρισμα (charisma), which means both a gift of grace, without cost, as coming from grace.
Thus there is something of “grace” in joy that differentiates it from happiness, due to the distance in understanding this term with an unnatural and objective aspect, there are those who prefer happiness as something more “solid” in times of liquid reductionism consecrated by a certain type of thought and that has even entered religious environments and thus seek it and what is objective, solid and which comes from idealism and Eurocentric thought.
Joy, peace and true asceticism are only found in hearts that have found true and divine wisdom.
The appeal to earthly goods, human achievements and all types of fleeting happiness, increasingly common in the idealist narrative, has nothing to do with joy, and if there is happiness it is fleeting and will have a cost.
Christmas and the end of the year festivities can be part of this fleeting happiness or give space to the hearts and souls that have already found perennial and eternal joy: the divine in the midst of the human.
Confidence and humility
21
Dec
In moral philosophy there are two types of trust:
trust, which is characterized by the deepest interpersonal relationship, which involves good will and vulnerability, and reliability, a more basic type of trust that refers to the functioning of the world and things.
A good interpersonal relationship cannot be established without respect, and respect requires humility, simplicity and true relationships. Reliability also involves humility in learning how the world and things work and finding balance in social relationships.
There is an epistemological concept that works on the issue of trust, it involves testimony, it helps knowledge both in personal relationships and in reliability.
Interpersonal conceptions propose a use of the concept of trust based on analogies, and can be applied to epistemological debates without neglecting the moral issue.
This neglect due to an excessively objective and even positivist conception that still strongly influences epistemic approaches is common. An interesting proposal to be analyzed is from Richard Foley (2001).
The use of moral concepts in epistemology (LOCKE, 1975; CHISHOLM, 1966) worked in moral philosophy to resolve epistemic questions, but it is questionable whether the simple reduction of epistemic concepts to moral is valid, Firth (1978) defends the irreducibility of epistemic concepts , saying that although they can be conceived in an analogous way, and may even be similar, they are not irreducible to each other, which can cause theoretical confusion.
So because they are analogous and relevant, because many of our daily beliefs (not necessarily objectively scientific concepts) are acquired by the speech acts of other human beings in everyday relationships, the problem then is precisely knowing how to accept these speech acts as epistemic sources, as they are in different cultures and on a large social scale.
Foley uses the concept of self-trust, but the relationship we establish with our own faculties is a relationship of reliability. If we look for the origins of both concepts, we will find considerable differences between rely and trust, but they are used as synonyms and ignore the differences.
Foley’s mistake is precisely because he disregards the moral characteristics of trust, and it is important to be studied because of this, in everyday life we forget that trust involves moral aspects, including a fundamental one, which is humility in recognizing the speech of the Other.
CHISHOLM, R. (1966) Theory of knowledge. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
FIRTH, R. (1978) Are epistemic concepts reducible to ethical concepts? In: GOLDMAN, A. I.; KIM, J. Values and Morals. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
FOLEY, R. (2001) Intellectual trust in oneself and others. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
LOCKE, J. (1975) An essay concerning human understanding. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Humility and power
20
Dec
Polarizations and assertions of power are growing, this does not lead to symmetry, respect and goes in the opposite direction of humility, not that corny text typical of power, but that wisdom of those who know what they are and where they come from, the dust or humus, where the word comes from.
Humus is the Greek word that means earth and that updated in Portuguese became fertile land, from this same word the words “man” and “humanity” originate, and if it can be opposed to an idea of power, on the other hand it is not opposite to the idea of strength and wisdom.
For Hannah Arendt, power is inherent to any political community, but true leaders result from the human capacity to act together, under the consensus of all, and Byung Chul Han, who is a reader of Hannah Arendt, establishes that only symmetry where respect exists, which is the foundation of the public sphere, and where it disappears, it collapses, he writes in his book “The Swarm” which examines culture in the new social media.
Based on these recipes for power exercised in favor of and with the public sphere, it is possible to think of a power relationship with humility, true empowerment is not the exercise of force or even violence, but its suppression and the reestablishment of balance, dialogue and if possible, from consensus, true leaders seek this.
Yes, it is contrary to everything we are seeing and witnessing in the public sphere, the imposition of people, structures and ways of oppressing one part of the population in response to another that claims to be the owner of true privileges due to the violence suffered, however, that is, a vicious circle where violence is justified and perpetuated.
It is not by chance that wars grow with or without weapons, but considering that it is possible to subjugate the opposing group by this means is a delusion, since anyone who is subjected to some type of deprivation, without the humility that results from wisdom and fortress, will respond in kind and the principle of all war is exactly this.
We spoke in the previous post about matris in grêmio, generator of divine wisdom and strength, in the biblical text it says that the powerful looked at “the humility of his servant”, but even leaders and religious currents understand this “power” as the worldly one that oppresses the Other, which is the origin of so many apostasies and bad doctrines, not by chance end in abuse of power.
T he angel who announces the divinity of Mary’s conception (the name Conceição comes from there), is Gabriel which means fortress of God, in a society where arrogant, arrogant power predominates and which turns into dictatorial, it is understandable that the power of a fragile virgin and docile the divine will is incomprehensible, nothing more contrary to the oppressive false “power”.
Matrix in gremio
19
Dec
It is curious that an atheist philosopher
(Peter Sloterdijk wrote Post-God) made a reference to Mary as the mother of Jesus in his book in his digression 10, where he analyzes the text De humanitae conditionis in miséria by Lothair of Segni (1160 -1216) who would become Pope Innocent III, who states that the interruption of Mary’s menstruation during the pregnancy of the divine child caused a different diet.
The text, which ignores the dogma of maintaining Mary’s virginity, says Soterdijk “there is no doubt that Jesus, even in gremio (meaning in his mother’s womb) must have been provided with a different dietary plan” (Sloterdijk, 2016, p 557) and uses Question 31 of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, where this noogenesis also implies the connection of two hearts.
Thomas Aquinas says: “… therefore, by the action of the Holy Spirit, this blood is collected from the Virgin’s lap and formed into a fetus. And that is why it is said that the body of Christ was formed by the most chaste and pure blood of the virgin” (Aquino, Summa Theologica III, 31, 5, 3, SP: Loyola, 2001-2002), remember that in Christian dogma the Holy Spirit conceives the child and not Joseph her husband, at the time only promised by Mary’s family.
In the biblical text, Mary, promised in marriage to Joseph, who had not yet married her, receives the news from the angel and asks: “How will this happen if I don’t know any man?” (Luke 1:34), and receives the answer that will be through the action of the spirit, under the shadow of the power of the Most High.
Now this connection between the two hearts, the sacred heart of Jesus and the divine heart of Mary also has a secondary connection, in the visit to Elizabeth, her cousin, who had also conceived in a miraculous way, since she was old and not fertile, This relationship between the two hearts will also result in the connection to the heart of the child in the womb of Elizabeth, John the Baptist, which is related to fetuses and infects Mary.
This second “matris in grêmio”, not cited by Sloterdijk, already reveals an initial action of the sacred heart of the boy and another heart in the womb of another mother Isabel, foreshadowing the relationship of the divine heart with men and all humanity, curiously an atheist corroborates the idea of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus”, a popular devotion.
The author says, even without being a believer, when commenting on a sculpture (from the Cluny Museum in Paris, dating from the end of the 14th century, in the photo above), that “it is the very matrix of God who miraculously offered the sculptor the material of his sculpture, and to God the material to become man…” (Damasceno apud Sloterdijk, 2016, p. 558), a curious exegesis for a non-believer author.
SLOTERDIJK, P. (2016) Esperas I: bolhas (Spheres I: bubbles). São Paulo: Ed. Estação Liberdade, Brazilian Edition.
Wars, narratives and cruelty
18
Dec
It was scary that in times of pandemic there were
groups, people and even leaders who cared little about the sudden death of people who were infected by the COVID-19 virus. An increase in solidarity and compassion was to be expected, but it did not happen.
Now with the wars that are escalating and reaching countries that orbit around ideologies, they awaken a feeling of hatred, revenge and terror that borders on psychopathy, not having sympathy for the brutal death of a human being, whoever it may be, has a certain psychopathy.
There is no shortage of narratives, even apocalyptic fatalism, as if human evil was justified by some sincere religious feeling, everything that is not love and compassion should never be linked to a divine connection or a sincere humanitarian feeling.
Chinese social media giant Tik Tok released data on fake accounts that spread disinformation about Russia’s war with Ukraine last Wednesday (12/13) in an attempt to “artificially amplify pro-Russian narratives,” the report says verbatim .
The site directed videos to Ukrainian, Russian and European users, falsely labeled as official news outlets, seeking to confuse the real data of the war.
Also regarding the war against Hamas, the data released is not always what witnesses, not only pro-Palestinian, but also bodies present for humanitarian aid in Gaza, report that there are deaths of civilians and cruelty also against the population, which is not all Muslim and not pro-Hamas, does not in any way mean justifying Hamas’ terrorist acts, but simply establishing the truth.
Fortunately, the conversations between the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana (photo), despite there being no agreement on the disputed territory of Essequibo, the dispute was agreed in the diplomatic field without involving military forces, we hope that the word will remain.
The United States once again moves maritime forces close to North Korea due to intercontinental ballistic missile fire, which caused an immediate American reaction.
The year-end scenario is worrying due to the forces involved, so far countries such as Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Syria and Yemen, potential allies against Israel, remain in diplomatic threats, while Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt still remain in conflict. diplomatic pressure, an all-out war in the region would be catastrophic and trigger a global war.
Smooth the paths
15
Dec
All of reality seems like a huge mess, and in fact it
is without a meditative perspective (the vita contemplativa that we posted last week) and without a prophetic vision that goes beyond factual reality, which is almost always dualistic because it only sees through one aspect. guys.
There will be wars, revolutions, people against people, everything that overwhelms false prophets, soothsayers and bad biblical readers, announcers of themselves and not of divine reality.
Yes, the biblical reading is this Mt 24,7-8: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; but all this is the beginning of sorrows” yes, but this “will not be the end” and the reading does not stop there: “many false prophets will arise and deceive many”.
Although we are experiencing a great civilizational crisis, the Bible speaks of the “great tribulation”, all of this is in reality a “straightening of the paths”, as John the Baptist did at the time of the coming of Jesus.
They asked him if he was the Messiah or Elijah (John 1:22-24): “They then asked: ‘Who are you after all?’ We have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ Then John declared: “I am the voice that cries in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord plain’” as said the prophet Isaiah”, who prophesied that God would send light and joy through a child , and who would break the “yoke of his burden” (Isaiah 9:4) and would be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (verse 6).
It is indeed a civilizational crisis, models of society in shock, dangers of wars in limits and proportions never imagined, but all of this is also “smoothing the paths of the Lord”, the coming of a New Civilization, not that of false prophecies, but the kingdom of peace.
Beware of false prophets, with promises of paradise that do not come true, they also feed on crises, cruelty and wars, but do not propose peace and justice, or they don’t build them.
