"My mother was a Candian Greek, Lucas thought..." (p. 145)
Sickened by the slaughter of children, Lucas quotes:
"Whoso shall offend one of these little ones..." (p. 146)
- a Biblical quotation that we have not noted before:
Lucas is between two women although we think that we know which one he is going to wind up with.
Turning the page, we find that the opening passage of Chapter XI covers several weeks and is replete with historical and geographical references that we will address either today or tomorrow although first and right now we will have to satisfy the inner man.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that Biblical quotation of Lucas--and of how aghast En Jaime was! Unlike too many of his fellow Catalans his faith was not simple, naive, unreflecting fanaticism. Rather, En Jaime thought about the Christianity, and he must have seen how badly he and the Grand Company failed to live up to them. I think he would have been far happier being one of the Knights Hospitaller.
Btw, the current Grand Master is an American.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
And the Pope. I think?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, Leo XIV is American born, from Chicago--a city which features in some of Anderson's stories.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
At University, three students became Knights of Malta, two for worldly reasons, one for spiritual reasons. The third guy told me that the Knights represented a kind of spirituality that is rare these days and added that there are spiritual privileges. Astounded at the idea of spirituality as a realm in which there are such things as privileges, I asked what these were. He replied that there were certain Indulgences...
What I get from Buddhism is a meditation practice with some associated teaching and guidance but not a set of beliefs about supernatural events. Once, I was so bothered about my own wrong actions that I asked for my name to be included in a list of people requesting "transfer of merit" on the ground that it could at least do no harm. The monk who visits our group noticed that my name was on the list and offered to listen if I wanted to talk about anything.
I did not notice any particular experience after getting my name on the list. I did once experience exaltation after meditating.
This is all spiritual practice albeit in very different traditions.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Now, I'm puzzled, were these three men truly members of the Hospitallers? I did some quick checking, the Order is divided into three classes: 1. Knights of Justice, 33 members who take monastic vows, plus six priests/bishops who are Professed Conventual Chaplains. 2. Next 541 Knights and 137 Dames in Obedience, who make a special promise of obedience. 3. Last, there are 12,395 Knights and Dames who are lay people who make no special vows/promises, except to live according to the teachings of Christianity.
I might be wrong but that third category doesn't seem to be more than an honorary distinction. These three men you met might belong to that class.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The 3rd group.
Paul.
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