Monday, 16 March 2026

"Be not solicitous for the morrow."

The Life of Saint Anthony
Saint Athanasius
The Newman Press
1950


















Introduction

Saint Anthony's end
was to be an ascetic
in the eyes of God. 
Prayer, fasting, and manual
labor were the daily means. 

Prologue

Anthony's strife is
the ideal pattern for the
ascetical life. 
Demonic temptations are
the rule, not the exception. 

Birth and Youth of Anthony

1.
Egyptian by birth,
Anthony came from both good
and well-to-do stock. 
He did not take to schooling,
and sought not companionship. 

Friday, 13 March 2026

φιλοκαλία I

The Philokalia
The Complete Text
Volume One
Faber and Faber
2010


















St Isaiah The Solitary

On Guarding The Intellect: Twenty-Seven Texts

1.
In your natural
anger do not sin in thought,
in word, nor in deed. 
But like Job, be angry when
thinking, speaking, and acting. 

2. 
We must never leave
our God-given mystical
city of refuge. 
It is the secret weapon
of perpetual praying. 

3.
Our conscience is an
adversary for our good
(it opposes sin). 
If ignored, it delivers
us to evil enemies. 

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Drudgery Divine (2026)


















January 2026

Thursday January 01, 2026
December the eight, 
nineteen eighty, was the day 
Our Lady met him. 
The Solemnity of the 
Immaculate Conception.  

Friday January 02, 2026
He must learn to see 
the Blessed Virgin in all 
the women of Eve. 
The ACB interview 
was a subtle reminder.  

Saturday January 03, 2026
"I'm gonna love you 
till the wheels come off, oh, yeah" 
(dear Terror of Hell).  
As he sat in Rumi's field,  
he repeated this refrain. 

Sunday January 04, 2026
He was once punished 
but he was not doomed to die, 
all thanks be to Thee.  
The no-man's-land of language 
ends in Marian silence.  

Monday January 05, 2026
Because they don’t care 
what he thinks, nor reads what he 
writes, he ended it.  
It became an exercise 
in polished self-indulgence.  

Tuesday January 06, 2026
Ian Ker’s Newman 
on Vatican II might be 
a framework for him.  
He just needs to work out all
the grammatical details.  

Wednesday January 07, 2026
We contain neither 
our first principle nor our 
final end in life.  
We live, and we move, and we 
have our being in Being.  

Thursday January 08, 2026
To the Lord belong 
all of the poles of the earth: 
He gives and He takes.  
He must not be left to the 
vice of his own devices.  

Friday January 09, 2026
He is a poet 
who produces book reviews 
using structured verse. 
It is his way of whacking 
two birds with one stoned waka.  

Saturday January 10, 2026
It is the German 
(and not the Polish) Pope that 
resonates with him.  
Mediatrix, Saint, and Pope 
are now the circle of three.  

Sunday January 11, 2026
“There is no sense in 
reading nonsense” (so says Saint 
John Henry Newman). 
“Pay close attention to your 
nonsense” (so says Wittgenstein). 

Monday January 12, 2026
Joseph Ratzinger 
makes the Second Vatican 
Council sensible.  
This is a commentary 
on his own fear and trembling. 

Tuesday January 13, 2026
He was reminded 
yesterday that Newman can 
dwell where he cannot.  
This is an occasion for  
renewal, not repentance.  

Wednesday January 14, 2026
Civil discourse has 
become less than civil and 
beneath his concern.  
He refused to dignify 
it by engaging in it. 

Thursday January 15, 2026
He said he was too 
postmodern to become an 
Oratorian.  
Those were wise words then, but now 
he is not modern enough. 

Friday January 16, 2026
The latest silence 
from the picture in a frame 
song remains the same.  
He felt inspired to play 
it despite expectations.  

Saturday January 17, 2026
And just like that it 
all suddenly stopped and felt 
insignificant. 
When it is removed, you are 
left with what is required.  

Sunday January 18, 2026
He does not have a  
continuing city here 
(he seeks it beyond).  
He rejects words of plunder 
and accepts works of wonder.  

Monday January 19, 2026
Undistracted prayer: 
the highest intellection 
of the intellect.  
Prayer is the ancient ascent 
of the intellect to God. 

Tuesday January 20, 2026
He has received the
Orthodox order of the 
CGOCA. 
It is a variant of 
the Catholic SSPX. 

Wednesday January 21, 2026
Saint Agnes of Rome 
was offered for husband a 
Roman nobleman. 
She answered that she had found 
a far superior spouse.

Thursday January 22, 2026
He is a poet 
writing verse for the glory 
of the Triune God.  
Masculinity compels 
him to continue Eastward.  

Friday January 23, 2026
"Being" is rather 
the very darkest of all 
words in our grammar. 
The word is an entity,  
but the sinn of it is not.  

Saturday January 24, 2026
The greatness of Saint 
Anthony consists in his 
generosity.  
Without him he would not know 
about Saint Paul the Hermit.  

Sunday January 25, 2026
“Do congregations 
make us crazy, will we get 
better on our own?” 
Because of our history, 
some of us go it alone.  

Monday January 26, 2026
Heidegger’s task of 
destroying the history 
of ontology? 
The ironic sine qua 
non of my orthodoxy.  

Tuesday January 27, 2026
What would be the point 
of continuing to post 
his personal verse? 
He is a sanctuary 
for God’s holy hiddenness.  

Wednesday January 28, 2026
He too has taken 
up his staff and searched for God’s 
will in the desert. 
And like his namesake, he found 
it and wrapped it in a cloak.  

Thursday January 29, 2026
He has walked away 
from people, places, and things 
(never to return). 
He does not deserve to live 
among the monks of Athos.  

Friday January 30, 2026 
While growing wiser 
he groveled to the mountain 
of mysticism.  
It is here that he shall stay 
to the very end of days.  

Saturday January 31, 2026
He reads the Scriptures, 
he studies the Junker Jörg,
and prays the three Prayers.  
Much complexity produced 
this three-fold simplicity. 

February 2026

Sunday February 01, 2026
He was baptized as 
Protestant, and was confirmed 
as Roman Catholic. 
He then entered into the 
desert of ἡσυχία.  

Monday February 02, 2026
He will no longer  
use elaborate schemas 
to order his life. 
He will use the Great Schema  
Monks for his inspiration. 

Tuesday February 03, 2026
Deciding to change 
the dedication to him 
was deliberate. 
Resonation requires 
this kind of recognition.  

Wednesday February 04, 2026
He will pray his way 
into the stillness of the 
Philokalia.  
The consequences of his 
prodigality remain.  

Thursday February 05, 2026
“Don’t forget about 
me” simultaneously 
functions in two ways. 
One way is one that he wants
to do his best to forget.  

Friday February 06, 2026
He is not worthy 
to be an Orthodox or 
Catholic monastic.  
He remains as he's always 
been (a protesting hermit).  

Saturday February 07, 2026
Das Unbedingte 
and Vorgriff have their being 
within Sein und Zeit.  
The sine qua non of both 
is Heidegger’s gift to us.  

Sunday February 08, 2026
He is trying to  
define "protesting hermit"
now that he can hear. 
Here is his definition: 
repentant prodigal son.  

Monday February 09, 2026
"And after that no 
one dared ask Him any more 
questions to test Him." 
He is always the measure, 
never the One that’s measured.  

Tuesday February 10, 2026
He gets hypnotized 
by the music before he
retires each night.  
He snaps out of it once he
remembers her history.  

Wednesday February 11, 2026
Luther’s De Votis 
Monasticis explains why 
he is not a monk.  
The protestant principle 
never ceases to amaze.  

Thursday February 12, 2026
Barthianism 
is Dialecticism 
dressed in Calvin’s drag.  
You shall know them by their fruits 
(and not by their institutes).  

Friday February 13, 2026
Today he was told 
he needs to avoid each and 
every one of them.  
This is how he will learn his 
many Lutheran lessons.  

Saturday February 14, 2026
Today marks the one 
year anniversary of 
her painful fracture. 
He does not regret choosing 
to end his independence.  

Sunday February 15, 2026
His manly mentor 
is Mihailo Tolotos 
(pure orthodoxy).  
You can’t live with them, but you 
can live without seeing them.  

Monday February 16, 2026
He's experienced 
both of these worldly systems: 
marriage and divorce. 
This prevents him from being 
seduced into them again.  

Tuesday February 17, 2026
Around and around 
in confessional circles 
... until he lets go.  
He bows his head and prays: "I 
beg you, show me your glory."  

Wednesday February 18, 2026
Aristotle is 
“the master of those who know” 
(and we are many). 
It’s Dante's way of saying:  
compared to him, we’re all hacks.  

Thursday February 19, 2026
Every day is like 
the movie Fifty First Dates 
(redux edition).  
The day is spent informing 
them, then they fall back asleep.  

Friday February 20, 2026
“There was a man sent 
from God, whose name was John” (Lord, 
have mercy on him).  
All things work together for 
good for those who have been called.  

Saturday February 21, 2026
In his thumos he 
won’t sin against them, despite 
their maliciousness.  
Penitential repentance 
restrains the beast within him.  

Sunday February 22, 2026
The year he was born 
determined his place within 
Catholic history.  
His history is shaped by the 
Second Vatican Council.  

Monday February 23, 2026
Charles Taylor is 
a Catholic philosopher 
worth admiring.  
In nineteen sixty-four he 
published his very first book.  

Tuesday February 24, 2026
He remains confused 
over the state of Roman 
Catholicism.  
This is why Saint Paul of Thebes
is such an inspiration.  

Wednesday February 25, 2026
In the darkness, the 
“I feel a sin coming on” 
post was a warning.  
He remains a sinner in 
the hands of an angry God.  

Thursday February 26, 2026
Because hell hath no 
fury, he buries himself
in bureaucracy.  
Dreams remind him why he stopped 
paying attention to them.  

Friday February 27, 2026
“At this stage, they can 
all go fuck themselves, as far 
as I am concerned.” 
This is one way of saying 
that he lives in indifference.  

Saturday February 28, 2026
The saintly “Doctor 
of the Church” argument rears 
its head when he's lost.  
His only consolation 
is that the strife gets shorter.  

March 2026

Sunday March 01, 2026
It was Orthodox 
Monasticism, then the 
Jesuit Order.  
This process confirms he is 
an Oratorian Man.  

Monday March 02, 2026
Reaching out rather 
than simply reacting will 
be the end of him.  
Another day, another 
relational lesson learned.  

Tuesday March 03, 2026
The war in Iran 
caused his position to drop 
thousands of dollars.  
He wonders whether he will 
recover from this result.  

Wednesday March 04, 2026
Someone once said that 
Vatican II is a “get 
out of jail free card.” 
If this means that it sets the  
captives free, then so be it.

Thursday March 05, 2026
“It’s not right for us 
to neglect the word of God 
to serve at tables.” 
There are many if any 
ways to serve, and to be served.  

Friday March 06, 2026
He goes back and forth 
when it comes to disclosing 
his words to the world.
His latest Buddhist musings 
made him publish everything.  

Saturday March 07, 2026
On the sixty-sixth 
day of the year his father 
kindly reminds him. 
He will never forget where 
he was, nor where he now is.  

Sunday March 08, 2026
There is a reason 
why shots are fired at doors 
in public places. 
Is it terrorism? No.
It's a protest against it. 

Monday March 09, 2026
Living on borrowed 
time is now the new normal 
for the old oblate.  
He will eventually  
end his life like he began.  

Tuesday March 10, 2026
He is living through 
the last two vows that he made 
to God years ago. 
This is why he is slowly 
disappearing from the world.  

Wednesday March 11, 2026
Last night he knocked on 
a closed door that must never
be opened again. 
Thankfully, the key that he 
used no longer worked for him.  

Thursday March 12, 2026
As he slowly walked 
away from the closed door, he 
threw away the key. 
It sank to the bottom of  
the Holy See (never seen).  

Friday March 13, 2026
It just might be his 
hypersensitivity 
that made him retreat. 
The nocturnal muse does not 
care about his privacy.  

Saturday March 14, 2026
All educated 
Christians enter on this path, 
but few pursue it.  
Only those who are given 
this task finish what they start.  

Sunday March 15, 2026
“After that thou shalt 
come to God’s hill and be changed 
to another man.” 
He needs to be both old and 
gayhaired before this happens. 

Monday March 16, 2026
Having two columns 
on every page brings him back 
to the beginning. 
Is this another instance 
of cynical nostalgia?   

Tuesday March 17, 2026
In such a quiet 
state the unmoved and humble 
spider lives his life.  
Not even Pythagoras 
could outmatch his detachment. 

Wednesday March 18, 2026
The West has betrayed 
him; he must begin at the
beginning again.  
Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit is 
his Orthodox eulogy. 

Thursday March 19, 2026
The everyday life 
of that womanless land can
withstand their weakness. 
Maximos the hut-burner 
only loved Theotokos. 

Friday March 20, 2026
Rose was critiquing 
ecumenism in his 
letter to Merton.  
It was an otherworldly 
plea for asceticism.  

Wednesday, 18 February 2026

The Master of Those Who Know

Aristotle's Theology: The Primary Texts
Aristotle
Hackett Publishing Company
2022


















0. Introduction

Aristotle is 
“the master of those who know” 
(as Dante put it). 
This was his way of saying:  
compared to him, we’re all hacks.  

1. Early Intimations

De Interpretatione 4.17a3-4

Prayer is a sentence 
that is neither true nor false 
(it is something else).  
So, truth or falsity is 
not found in every sentence.  

De Interpretatione 13.23a23-24

The activities 
sans potentialities 
are very unique. 
They are designated as 
the primary substances. 

Prior Analytics 1.36.48b35-37

The opportune time
for a god is opportune,
but is not needed.
This is because for a god
nothing is ever needed. 

Topics 1.11.105a5-7

Those who so puzzle
over whether snow is white
lack clear perception.
Those who so puzzle over
honoring a god must pay. 

Topics 2.2.109b33-35

Since a god cannot
be harmed, he also cannot
suffer injustice. 
This truth is found by asking
"What is doing injustice?"

Topics 2.11.115b30-35

All will say with no 
exception that honoring
a god is noble. 
But some will say it’s noble 
to sacrifice one’s father.

Topics 4.5.126a34-b1

A god and a good
person are both capable
of doing base things. 
But they are unlike the base
because they do not choose them. 

Topics 5.1.128b19-20

A man is only
a rational animal
(brighter than the brutes).
A god is an animal
too, but an immortal one. 

Topics 5.4.132b10-11

What can truly be
said of a god that also
can be said of men?
They share in scientific
knowledge as living beings. 

Topics 5.6.136b6-7

Since all living things
are perceptible, this is 
not a special thing. 
So, being intelligent
is not special for a god. 

2. The Immovable Mover

Physics 8.1.251a8-252a5

We say that movement
is the activation of
what is movable.
For each movement, there are things
that are capable of it. 

Physics 8.4.255b31-256a3

All things that are in
movement, are moved by something
and not by nothing. 
They are moved by nature or
not by nature but by force. 

Ménage à Trois

Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict
Christiane Tietz
Oxford University Press
2021


















"At this very time we are witnessing the beginning of the end of Protestantism, the breaking of that bubble of 'Bible-Christianity.'" (Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman)

“The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim Him with their mouths and deny Him with their actions is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.” (Karl Rahner SJ) 

Barthianism is Dialecticism dressed in Calvinist drag. And considering what Christiane Tietz has disclosed about Karl Barth's private life in her 2021 biography Karl Barth: A Life in Conflict, we can no longer take his gesticulated words at face value, let alone give him the benefit of the polygamous doubt. It is now clear in hindsight that his thirty-year long deliberate engagement in adulterous spousal abuse (what Tietz describes as the troubling “Ménage à Trois” between him, his wife Nelly Barth, and his mistress/assistant Charlotte von Kirschbaum), is nothing but the reductio ad absurdum of the “White Whale” (his Kirchliche Dogmatik) that is now beached and continues to rot on the sinking sand of modern protestant theology.










In fact, Barth’s mother demonstrated far more theological discernment than he did when she confronted him about his domestic triangle and asked: “What good is the most discerning theology when it suffers a shipwreck in your own home?” His dialectical handwaving about what he called the notgemeinschaft (the "emergency association" between him, his wife, and his mistress), and his all-too-convenient use of what he called a “boundary case” as applied to the seventh commandment (neither marital fidelity nor adultery), clearly demonstrate that it is (almost) good for nothing, except perhaps to show how absurd it is.

For example, in a letter to Nelly in which he attempts to explain how their notgemeinschaft is an instance of an ethical "boundary case" he writes: “each one - bound and not bound in a particular fashion with the other two - has a special place, a special security, but also a special burden and pressure, without having to end our marriage legally and outwardly, and without having to deny and suppress that which connects me to Lollo.” How sentimental of him ("Lollo" was his pet name for his mistress). And how dialectical of him (there is no either/or here, only neither/nor). I leave it to the reader to assess the persuasiveness of this disturbingly self-serving apologia for adultery. "Your problem does not become my emergency" comes readily to mind as the appropriate response. 













Barth tried and failed to theologically justify the "permanent crisis" of the ménage à trois he forced his wife and his mistress to endure for over thirty years while the three of them lived and moved and had their being under the same roof (along with his and Nelly's five children). And to add intimate insult to ironic injury, the three of them were ultimately buried together in the same "family” plot in the Hörnli Cemetery in Basel, Switzerland, according to Barth's wishes.


















Tietz's biography could be used to both condemn Barth's polygamy and defend his theology. His critically realistic dialectical narrators have used versions of this divide and conquer strategy ever since Eberhard Busch intimated about Barth's intimacy with his mistress in his 1976 biography Karl Barth: His Life From Letters and Autobiographical Texts. However, Tietz's book can be put to much better use.

The real value of her work consists in giving us very serious pause over whether the entire vocabulary of Barth's theology is still worth using. His abuse of words like "emergency association" and "boundary case" suggests not. To borrow and theologically apply Gottlob Frege's context principle from his Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik is helpful here: one must never ask for the meaning of a theological word in isolation, but only in the context of a dogmatic system. Hence the reductio

You shall know them by their fruits, and not by their own version of the Institutes (speaking of Calvinist drag). Of course, Barth's dogmatics is not the only protestant instance of this brand of dialectical absurdity. Tillich's apologetics also suffers from a similar ultimate concern in the shadow of his sadomasochism (but I digress).

Saturday, 24 January 2026

Love of the Beautiful

The Philokalia
The Full Text
Volume 1-5
Virgin Mary of Australia and Oceania
2024















Saint Nikodemus the Hagiorite

Preface

We must keep our minds 
completely unshaped and pure 
while praying the prayer.
Doing so is the only
way to attain theosis

Saint Anthony the Great

Advice on Human Morality and Virtuous Life in 170 Chapters

1. 
Rational people
do not take pride in knowing
the ancient teachings. 
For us rationality
consists in humility. 

2.
The rational soul
has one concern: to obey
and glorify God. 
Regardless of position,
we train for this perfection. 

3.
It's foolish to think
everything happens without
reason or purpose. 
This is what the mad man means
when he says there is no God. 

4.
Those far worse than us 
rely only on human 
words and worldly wealth. 
They gesticulate about 
the medium of exchange. 

5.
'Love' is another
word for paying attention
(we must love ourselves).
Loving is living a cost
benefit analysis.