Tiananmen Square – becoming flame

Nothing New

There is nothing new under the sun.

What we bemoan now we bemoaned seventy years ago
Seven hundred years ago

What we give away now, we gave away then

The freedom Jesus promised
To burn at the stake
To defy a tank
To hang on the cross

For the truth

p.s.

I posted this earlier in response to a quote from Thomas Merton about how we are so inclined to go along with whatever group(s) we want to belong to.

Nothing New (2022)

This time, I’ll add another quote:

“You are a king then? ” Pilate asked.

“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

“What is truth? ” said Pilate.

_{Gospel of John, chapter 18. Christian Standard Bible. CSB Reader’s Bible (p. 1603). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.}

Grace and peace to you…
dw

Nothing New

I cannot make good choices unless I develop a mature and prudent conscience that gives me an accurate account of my motives, my intentions, and my moral acts.

The immature conscience is one that bases its judgments partly, or even entirely, on the way other people seem to be disposed toward its decisions. The good is what is admired or accepted by the people it lives with. The evil is what irritates or upsets them.

The immature conscience is not its own master. It is merely the delegate of the conscience of another person, or of a group, or of a party, or of a social class, or of a nation, or of a race. Therefore, it does not make real moral decisions of its own, it simply parrots the decisions of others. It does not make judgments of its own, it merely “conforms” to the party line.

It makes true love impossible. For if I am to love truly and freely, I must be able to give something that is truly my own to another. If my heart does not first belong to me, how can I give it to another? It is not mine to give!
Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island, “Conscience, Freedom, and Prayer”