Saint Louis of France - Secular Franciscan

At his coronation as king of France, Louis IX bound himself by oath to behave as God’s anointed, as the father of his people and feudal lord of the King of Peace. Other kings had done the same, of course. Louis was different in that he actually interpreted his kingly duties in the light of faith. After the violence of two previous reigns, he brought peace and justice.

Louis “took the cross” for a Crusade when he was 30. His army seized Damietta in Egypt but not long after, weakened by dysentery and without support, they were surrounded and captured. Louis obtained the release of the army by giving up the city of Damietta in addition to paying a ransom. He stayed in Syria four years.

Louis deserves credit for extending justice in civil administration. His regulations for royal officials became the first of a series of reform laws. He replaced trial by battle with a form of examination of witnesses and encouraged the use of written records in court.

Louis was always respectful of the papacy, but defended royal interests against the popes, and refused to acknowledge Innocent IV’s sentence against Emperor Frederick II.

Louis was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick, and like his patron Saint Francis, caring even for people with leprosy. He is one of the patrons of the Secular Franciscan Order. Louis united France—lords and townsfolk, peasants and priests and knights—by the force of his personality and holiness. For many years the nation was at peace.

Every day, Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved, in every province of his dominion.

Disturbed by new Muslim advances, Louis led another crusade to North Africa in 1270. Within a month of their landing at Carthage, the army camp was decimated by disease. Louis himself died there at the age of 56. He was canonized 27 years later.

- From Franciscan Media

Pax et bonum

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (Joseph J. Ellis)

Just finished my 50th book for the year - Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis.

It was an excellent book - no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize.

The book gave a reals sense of the spirit of the times in the post-Revolutionary War period. It brought some of the leading characters - Washington, Jefferson, Burr, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, and John Adams - to life. The book explored not only their actions, but their characters.

The book also confirmed that the political battles then paralleled the battles of today. In particular, the issue of slavery reminded me of the issue of abortion.  

It also reinforced my perceptions of many of them - with two exceptions.

My appreciation for Washington grew. We were lucky to have him with his judgment and his steady hand as our first president. Even though he owned slaves, his treatment of them, his setting them free and selling off his land to provide them with money to start their free lives, seemed remarkable given the times.  

But my appreciation for Jefferson decreased significantly. I already had qualms about him because of his slaves and Sally Hemmings. Here, he comes across as a selfish, waffling political opportunist. 

I highly recommend this book for those who like to read history.

Pax et bonum

Joe Morelle supports ...

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Now That The Shakespeare Goal Is Met ...

Now that I've finished reading all of Shakespeare's plays, I turn my attention to other readings goals.

One of them is the read all of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories. I've read several collections already -  The Innocence of Father Brown, The Wisdom of Father Brown, and The Incredulity of Father Brown. I've just started The Secret of Father Brown. After that, I'll take on The Scandal of Father Brown, and three standalone stories, The Donnington Affair, The Vampire of the Village, and The Mask of Midas. 

I'm also working on reading all of Robert Frost's published poetry volumes. So far I have read A Boy's Will, North of Boston, Mountain Interval, New Hampshire, West-Running Brook, and A Further Range.  I still have to read A Witness Tree, Steeple Bush, In the Clearing, A Masque of Reason, and A Masque of Mercy. I've read some of the poems individually before, but not the collections as a whole.

There are other works in the hopper. I'm currently reading a collection of some of the Church Fathers, and a history of the Founding Fathers. But Chesterton's Father Brown tales and Frost's poetry collections are the only ones I've set a goal of reading in their entirety in the near future. (A long-term goal is to read all of Dickens's novel that I haven't yet read!)

Pax et bonum

Romeo and Juliet Sonnets

Juliet at 39 (if the plan had worked)

When I spoke of sweet smelling roses, I
wasn't thinking of the thorns. Nor did
I think that roses could so swiftly die,
or that that sweetness could turn so rancid.
When I held you close that first time, hearing
dawn's herald, the lark, I wished it gone: in
my mind it was. Now I lie in bed fearing
it will not come, and you'll wake up again.
And when I lay within that tomb, for love
of you seemingly dead, I dreamt of our life
together. Now all my dreams are full of
tombs, and my hands reach again for a knife.
Oh churl! Your lips once so warm now seem so cold,
and the life in them, like me, has grown old.

Romeo's lament (if the plan had worked)

A feasting presence full of light? Ha! Now
all you do is feast. Your dancing shoes have
soles of lead; that lead, alas, I must allow
is you. I remember well how you gave
me your hand that first night in prayer:
that was a game. Now your hand is penance.
It holds me back. It crushes all the gayer
aspects of my soul and kills all romance.
And my good name, Oh, what you did to that!
For love of you - if I ever did - I
new named now must live for killing a cat
and a noble youth. I wish I could die.
The sweeter rest, I've learned, would now be mine
had I married not you, but Rosaline.

(Written years ago after teaching the play a couple of times)

Pax et bonum

Shakespeare Goal Met

In 2020 I realized that I had only read 14 of Shakespeare's recognized 38 plays, so I set the goal of reading the other 24 plays by the end of 2022.

A couple of days ago I finished Coriolanus, and today I finished Measure for Measure, the last two of the unread plays.

There are two other plays on which scholars say he collaborated - Cardenio and Sir Thomas More - but they are not part of the official list. I will likely read them at some point.

But for now I can savor a reading goal met!

As for the last two plays, I didn't really like either. I can see why they are not regularly staged, and are not highly regarded by critics and scholars.

Pax et bonum

ANCESTRY! #$#$@%#

Ancestry has updated my results again -

Ireland 42% 
England & Northwestern Europe 35%
Scotland 16%
Sweden & Denmark 7%

It had updated just this past April.

Ireland 39%
England & Northwestern Europe 29%
Scotland 28%
Sweden & Denmark 4%

So now more Irish, English/Western Europe, and Sweden/Denmark, less Scottish. And overall less Celtic. 

They have updated multiple times as they have gotten more people in their data base -

September 2021

Scotland - 57%
Ireland - 33% (with ties to Donegal)
England and Northwestern Europe - 10%.

2020 -

Scotland - 54%
Ireland (with strong links to Donegal) - 29%
England and Northwestern Europe - 13%
Wales - 3%
Norway - 1%

2018 -

Ireland/Scotland/Wales - 58 %.
Great Britain - 36 %.
Scandinavia is now Sweden, and dropped to just 4 %.
Germanic Europe - 2 %.

2014

Ireland - 56 %
Scandinavia - 16 %
Great Britain - 10 %
Iberian Peninsula - 8 %
Western Europe - 5 %
A few odd traces - 3 %

Frustrating and confusing.