During the early part of the Christian era, the monastery at Scete became a center where many people gathered. After renouncing everything they had, they went to live in the desert surrounding the monastery. Many of the teachings of these men have been collected and published in numerous books.
The town on the far side
A hermit from the monastery of Scete went to Abbot Theodore:
- I know precisely the objective of life. I know what God asks of man, and I know the best way of serving Him. Even so, I am incapable of doing everything I should in order to serve the Lord.
Abbot Theodore remained silent for a time. Finally, he said:
- You know that there is a city on the far side of the ocean. But you haven’t yet found the ship, nor have you loaded your bags, nor crossed the sea. Why spend time commenting on what it is like, or how one should walk through its streets?
“Knowing the objective of life, or recognizing the best way of serving the Lord is not enough. Put into practice that which you think, and the way will be revealed all by itself.”
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Today, I found this article in the IHT by Caroline Brothers. I wanted to share with you this pathetic news.
European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to allow countries in the bloc to hold undocumented migrants in detention centers for up to 18 months and ban them from EU territory for five years.
Approved in this medieval French border city, which is home to a significant population of North Africans and Turks, the legislation establishes common rules for expelling foreigners who are detained on EU territory without permission to be there.
Described by critics like Amnesty International as “severely flawed” and an erosion of human rights standards, but by supporters as a balanced approach, the so-called return directive passed in the European Parliament by a vote of 369 to 197, with 106 deputies abstaining.
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Cimade released a statement Wednesday saying that it deplored the passage of what civil liberties groups have called “the directive of shame,” and said it was studying the possibility of contesting it before the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights.
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The vote came a day after António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, said that the world was dealing with “a complex mix of global challenges” that could threaten even more forced displacements than the 37.4 million people last year.
How is changing your relation to the world? Are you becoming optimistic or pessimistic? Why?
Injustice exists and I can’t pretend to have an answer for that. I’m not a guru and I can’t explain why bad things happen to honest people. It’s also true that evil is much more visible than good. See how easy it is to destroy and how laborious it is to build. Nevertheless I think that we are all responsible if the world is the way it is. That’s why instead of looking for the guilty, we should look at our attitudes and ourselves. We cannot set out to change the world but we can try to change ourselves. If we are capable of that: of mending our ways, of being generous to life, then we will be able to see that good is everywhere. There’s a wide range of heroes that work in silence and that try to enhance the state of the world.
less than 30 minutes ago I recorded this small video about the making of a cover.
Next week, the italian newspaper Corriere della Sera will be dedicating the cover of its magazine to me and I wanted to give you an insight of the making of.
