How and why dragons almost exist.

culture, history, philosophy, , , , , , ,

I’m anticipating a drive to the mountains next month, during which I want to hear the whole of this podcast, In Full Fire. This morning I only had time for the first few minutes, and was impressed with how fast I was plunged into the vast history of dragons as symbols, starting with listeners’ questions regarding contemporary books and movies that their children and grandchildren enjoy.

It’s a wide range of topics! Dragons in the East and in the West, strange or friendly, and as some stories suggest, superior to humans; dragons as dreadful enemies or sources of strength and creativity. Can dragons be tamed? De-fanged?

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick hosts the Amon Sûl podcast and three others on ancientfaith.com. In this episode he interviews Jonathan Pageau, who has his own website and podcast, The Symbolic World. Even if you are not a huge Tolkien devotee, you might like to sample a few minutes yourself, because more than ever, dragons are everywhere – almost.

Tolkien’s illustration for Beowulf

Spinning out of control.

quotes, saints, world events,

“In all nations, storms are gathering; minds are confused. May God save this poor world of ours that is blowing steam like a pressure cooker! Look at those in power! The schemes they come up with! They throw it all into a pressure cooker and leave it, boiling and boiling; the cooker is whistling now! The steam valve is ready to explode!”

“We have not yet realised that the devil has set out to destroy God’s creation and all His creatures. He has put together an alliance to destroy the world… He has become even more vicious now because he knows that he has but a short time. (cf. Revelation 12:12.) He resembles a criminal, who, when surrounded, thinks to himself, ‘There is no way out; they will get me,’ and he starts destroying everything around him. Or, he is like soldiers at war who, having run out of ammunition, draw their bayonets or swords and start slashing away at everything because they have nothing to lose. They say, ‘We are going to die anyway; let’s get as many of the enemy as we can.'”

“Wherever one turns, one thing is clear: things are falling apart! It’s not, for example, that we have a house, and we need to fix a window or something else. No, here it is an entire house that is in shambles — worse yet, the entire village. Things are spinning out of control. Only God can step in and stop it…. The world has an inflamed wound, full of pus, that needs to be opened and treated. But it’s too soon to open it now; evil must first run its course as it did back in Jericho (cf. Joshua 6.), a long time ago.”

-St. Paisios of Mt. Athos, 1924-1994
From With Pain and love for Contemporary Man

Revolutionaries and conservatives are always wrong.

church, history, politics, quotes, , , , , , , , ,

Vladimir Lossky:

“Revolutionaries are always in the wrong, since, in their juvenile fervor for everything new, in their hopes for a better future, and a way of life built on justice, they always base themselves on theories that are abstract and artificial, making a clean sweep of living tradition which is, after all, founded on the experience of centuries.

“Conservatives are always wrong, too, despite being rich in life experience, despite being shrewd and prudent, intelligent and skeptical. For, in their desire to preserve ancient institutions that have withstood the test of time, they decry the necessity of renewal, and man’s yearning for a better way of life.

“Both attitudes carry within themselves the seeds of death. Is there, then, a third way? Another destiny for society than of always being subject to the threat of revolutions which destroy life, or reactionary attitudes which mummify it? Or is this the inevitable fate of all terrestrial cities, the natural law of their existence?

“In fact, only in the Church can we find both a Tradition that knows no revolution and at the same time the impetus towards a new life that has no end. Her theory (understood in the true sense of the word, namely ‘vision’) is based on a constant experience of Truth. Which is why she is in possession of those infinite resources upon which may draw all who are called to govern the perishable cities of this world. “

From Seven Days on the Roads of France

Father Stephen Freeman posted this quote recently from Lossky’s “account of his flight from the invasion of the Nazis into France in 1940.”

The season we dread.

current events, nature, , , , , , , ,

The California “wildfire season” has gotten off to an early and roaring start. In this era, mailings from the power company and other agencies remind us ahead of time that here, in addition to the usual four seasons, we have Fire, which can overlap both Summer and Fall. Others of you have Hurricane, which is another season that could be nicknamed “Scary.”

I don’t enjoy writing about flames and destruction, loss of buildings and human lives, and I trust that we all see plenty of horrific images of such things already. But because the location on my home page says “Northern California,” you might wonder if I’m okay. Yes, I am. I don’t live in a hilly, woodsy area, and my town has its power lines underground, so generally this is a less fire-risky place to live.

friend on bulldozer

But many of my friends nearby have been evacuated, as the same ones were last year. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the homes of other dear people are in danger, or may be gone. I pray that they are saved! I wrote about that area in a couple of posts here; this one, Bridges and Streams, has the most photos that will give you an idea of the terrain. It’s where my husband and I honeymooned, where his grandma had two cabins at different times, and of which most of our children retain strong memories.

Currently the only direct effect on me seems silly to mention. Smoke drifts through from nearby fires; I keep checking the AirVisual app to see if I am in the “Good” green range, or if the Air Quality Index has jumped past “Moderate” to “Unhealthy.” Daughter Pippin is not close to a fire, but has been suffering from unremitting high smoke levels for days and is on her way to Oregon in hopes of being able to breathe at least a little better up there.

If Green seems likely to last an hour or more and it’s not midday, I open the windows to cool off the house; most homes around here don’t have AC. So far we’ve had a Green period once or twice a day, and the recent heat wave has ended, so all is tolerable. But I did just order air purifiers, so that if evacuees need to come here, it will be a reliable refuge from smoke as well as danger.

This morning I woke thinking of a blogger I’d been missing. When I looked her up on my little phone, for some reason the first post that came up was from April of ’19. This was one of those Divine Meetings that angels can arrange, evidently even by means of WordPress Reader. Because it is about the Notre Dame fire, and includes a video (best to click through from her site) of the people who gathered to sing as they watched the devastation. I knew about that response but hadn’t seen any footage before. It was just what I needed, a connection to the prayers and sorrows of people everywhere, a reminder to sing myself. I know quite a few hymns that are appropriate.

Lord, have mercy!