Monday, May 19, 2008

Meek Living - Realistic?

Blackberry Gathering (1912) - Elizabeth Forbes

A COMMON THREAD among some 20th century Catholics was a desire for a simpler life, dictated in part by liturgy, in part by the rhythm of the day, in part by one's locale and auspices of the land. Tolkien lauded this all his adult life through "the Shire" and its inhabitants, hobbits. Thomas Merton went to his hermitage. Dom Bede Griffiths to his ashram. The Distributists to the teachings of the Church and "subsidiarity". E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful. (Even James Hilton in his Lost Horizon. Though he wasn't Catholic, we won't hold that against him.)

Is it, do you think, too great a promise by Our Lord that "the meek shall inherit the land" [Mt 5,5]?

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