Monastic spirituality in the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

Monastic spirituality in the 21st Century Essay In the 21st Century, it could be said that monastic spirituality in an outdated concept. In the contemporary world we live in today, it has become increasingly difficult to live obedient to the Churches teaching. Some people would argue that there should be no real set of moral codes, and that the Church should not have such high authority. This contrasts to the Celtic Monks belief that Nothing must be refused in their obedience; to be Christs true discipleit will not be pleasing to the Lord. In society today, people dont see a need for a moral code. They make their own subjective decisions about what is right and wrong from them, and dont accept religious or government law. Grove argues People do not see the Church as having a real relevance in their everyday lives, and therefore do not recognise its authority in everyday matters. Some sociologists have said that it is this belief that has led to religious organizations watering down their beliefs to accommodate many beliefs, in the hope that this would make their religion more popular. However, in actual fact this can often lead to the religious organization becoming less popular, as they may lose the devoted members, who arent looking for a watered down religion. Pope Benedict said that relativismdoes not recognise anything as being certainits highest goals are ones own ego and desire. Relativism is the belief that concepts such as right and wrong, goodness and badness, or truth and falsehood are not definite and that they alter in different cultures and situations. It could be described as the cherry picking for faith. An example of this would be ignoring the rule of no contraception, for promiscuous reasons. An other common example would be the issue of sex before marriage. The Celtic monks had a huge sense of Divine Will that had to be obeyed. Saint Columbanus reminded us of this by saying by strict obedience shall the monk show his love of God. Many of these traits, that the monks found so admirable, have been lost in todays society. Monks believed that community was better than the individual, and that when we do something, it should be for the sake of the community, rather than for the sake of the individual themselves. The monks saw obedience as responding to Gods call. We can see a huge lack of obedience to God by looking at the large decline in vocations in recent years. In 2008, in Dublin, only three people were ordained into the priesthood. There are many reasons for this, a main possibility being the recent scandal the Church has been involved in in recent years. In 1968, 95% of Catholics went to mass. By 2004 this amount had dropped to a mere 50% (BBC Newsline). These figures support the view that as Christians, we no longer feel compelled to be obedient to God. This can relate back to what Pope Benedict described as The Culture of Relativism. Another debated issue is the importance of chastity and sexuality in our society today. Saint Columbanus said a monks chastity is indeed judged by his thoughts. He said that they were not only judged by sexual relations, but by the purity of the mind, and the sexual desires that they experienced. This view contrasts greatly to the view of society today. In our modern society, people are often sexually objectified. An estimated average of 75% of prime television shows include content of a sexual nature, and in soap operas it is estimated that extra-marital sex is referred to two out of three times every hour. This is because the television companys know that in todays society, sex sells. It is no longer thought of as a big deal, and there has been a massive increase in sexual promiscuity. This has led to a big increase in sexually transmitted diseases, which are becoming increasingly difficult to control. It also meant a big increase in the amount of unwanted pregnancies. Unlike monastic living which promoted the selfless giving of ones self to the community, we have adopted a hedonistic, narcissistic attitude. We have become our own lust. Michael Maher points out that the standards in Celtic monasteries are severe, particularly in the area of sexual morality. For many today, the idea of chastity is an outdated concept and is problematic for the future of the priesthood in the Catholic Church. This would lead me to believe that in regard to this aspect of monastic life, monastic spirituality could very easily be perceived as outdated in the 21st Century. Brigid of Kildare had a preferential option for the poor. She vowed to the king of Leinster, If I had all your wealth, I would take it and give it away to the poor, So Brigids monastery in Kildare, became known as the City of the poor. Aidan of Lindesfarm also expressed solidarity to the poor, when he gave away the kings gift of a horse to the first beggar he met saying Surely this son of a mare is not more important to you than that son of man. However, the Church didnt always share the same view. Leondardo Boff argues that the Church became an abstract speculation removed from the original spirit of the Gospel message, and out of touch with real life. The Church has been criticised for siding with the vested interest, and in its history has even been involved in colonisation and the removal of land from the peasantry, in its commitment to obeying the laws of the land. Richard Woods reminds us that justice and chastity were the main hinges of Celtic social action. This is another way, in that it could be said that monastic spirituality is an outdated concept in the 21st Century. Views that should be had today have slowly died off, and have left places worse off. However, Bishop Casadaliga reminds us that as long as there are poor people in the world, and as long as there is a God who cares for the poor, there will be a need for a theology of Liberation. The spirit of Liberation Theology is very much evident in Celtic Monasticism in many ways, from the care of the poor and the sinner, to the welcoming of the stranger. Hospitality was always extremely generous in the monasteries, and any stranger who came was very well looked after. In 2004, 19% of asylum seekers were allowed to find refuge in Britain, while 78% were turned away. The Celtic monks in their openness to all, especially the weakest turned no one away. This shows another way that Monastic Spirituality could be considered an outdated concept in 21st Century life. In conclusion, it would appear that Monastic Spirituality is in fact an outdated concept in 21st Century living, with our lackadaisical views on chastity and sexuality, and our selfish views on poverty, it seems that Monastic Spirituality has been lost, and I believe it would be in the Catholic Churches interest to try and retrieve some of this monastic spirit.

The Lunch Time Book Buddies - Pass It On Program Essay -- Literacy Ess

There’s no denying that reading is the foundation for all academic achievement (paths, whether they lead you down the road of a doctoral degree or to the door of parenting). It reinforces language and communication, without it you cannot read a menu, bus schedule, recipe, street sign, bank statement or loved ones letter, not to mention phone texts or discovering a favorite book. Reading navigates us through our day-to-day life and fuels our imagination (and opens up worlds of possibilities: new countries, new cultures, and your own history). However, the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), aka â€Å"Nation’s Report Card†, revealed 34% of fourth grade students in public schools fell below the basic reading level and one in six students not reading proficiently in the third grade do not graduate high school on time. These staggering statistics along with the accountability reforms of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have led scholars and educat ors to look for more effective means of reading instruction and have contributed to the development of alternative, supplemental reading activities and programs to support/bolster literacy improvement. Research shows that the level of reading fluency in third grade is a predictor of future academic achievement. Third grade is when reading transitions from decoding to comprehension of text (Stevens, 2006). These key literacy skills build students’ capacity to learn independently, from all academic fields and social environments (Shanahan, 2010). It is no surprise that reading instruction is such a strong focus of curriculum in pre and early elementary education. Educational trends regarding reading instruction have vacillated between traditional phonics and holistic langu... ...2007). Tips for teaching: Using partners to build reading fluency. Preventing School Failure, 51(2), 52-55. National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2011(NCES 2012–457). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012457.pdf Shanahan, T. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Smith, M. K. (2004). Nel Noddings, the ethics of care and education. The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from www.infed.org/thinkers/noddings.htm Stevens, R. J. (2006). Developing reading fluency: What does the research say? Catalyst For Change, 34(1), 37-44.

Meaning of Life and Poem Essay

Introduction Chinodya is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe. A good writer, he won the first prize in Literature in English in the Zimbabwean Book Publishers Associations’ Award in 1991. He has also published several children’s books in his life. Discussion There is no set garentee to unlock the meaning of a poem. Each poem dictates an individual mode of approach. A useful approach to the analysis or discussion of a poem is to list some of the elements that are foregrounded in the poem. M H Abrams defines foregrounding as follows: `To foreground is to bring something into the highest prominence, to make it dominant in perception’ (Abrams 1993:274). Foregrounding may be achieved in several ways. The writer may repeat certain words or an entire line to draw our attention. Sometimes, the typography (setting of type) and punctuation may be manipulated for effect. Even images, such as visual or auditory, may be heightened for attention. Now that you know the meaning of the term foregrounding, use it sometimes in your discourse of poetry. Just as Banoobhai foregrounds irony in his poem `He’s a Good Boy, This One’. Chinodya foregrounds certain elements in his poem for our immediate attention. Before proceeding any further, list at least THREE elements that are foregrounded in `Recollection’. Your list would probably look like this: . Repetition of words: remember, thorn . Use of sound devices (appealing to the sense of hearing) . Use of colour (appealing to the sense of sight) . Conversational tone . Use of long vowel sounds to slow down the rhythm . †¦ and so on. Try to incorporate some of the above points in your discussion of the poem. The English poet William Wordsworth celebrates the power of the imagination to recall and re-live memorable experiences in his famous poem `I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ (often referred to as `The Daffodils’). Chinodya’s poem is reminiscent of Wordsworth’s poem. The foregrounding of the word `remember’, by its repetition, suggests that the speaker’s memories of his childhood days are vivid. It also induces a nostalgic mood which contributes to the overall effect of the poem. Minute details such as `crouching thorn trees’, `criss-crossing bush paths’ and `coarse crop of grass’ suggest memories that are still alive after all these years. Unlike Wordsworth’s poem, `Recollection’ sketches a past which was not always idyllic (look up the meaning and pronunciation of this word if you are not sure). In the third stanza, the speaker’s description of his childhood days is interrupted by the unpleasant memory of a harsh law: I remember the big sign that said Something about people not being allowed in ? Such memories are indelible and often shape our attitudes as adults. We recall how in our own country apartheid laws restricted Black people (including Indians and Coloureds) free access to public places. Although as a child the speaker was too young to know the significance of the `big sign’, its effect on him as an adult is a lasting one.

Wisdom in Revenge

A Savage Wisdom is a novel that chronicled the fictionalized life of Toni Joe Henry as inspired by the life and crime of Annie Beatrice McQuiston. She was the first and only woman to suffer the penalty of dying in an electric chair at a basement in a courthouse at Lake Charles. She was convicted of murdering a Houston businessman that was her lover.She turned into a cold-blooded murderer because she was consumed with passion and feelings of betrayal. However, at the beginning of the novel she is depicted as beautiful, naà ¯ve, Southern girl that would elicit sympathy from the readers. Because of her naivety, she was taken advantage by Herald Nevers. It is unknown to the girl that Nevers is selling indecent pictures of her. Furthermore, Nevers allowed other men to watch them make love with each other.She then realized that this man has turned her into a prostitute. She was eventually rescued by Arkie Burk. One incident leads her to the killing, while she and Burk were traveling; they encountered a hitchhiker that turned out to be Nevers. Consumed by anger, she lost control and killed Nevers. After the death of her ex-lover, she was imprisoned. While in prison, she had a love affair with a deputy that impregnated her. Before she was executed, she gave birth to a child.The author has been successful in inciting feelings of sympathy towards the protagonist from the readers. That is exactly what I feel towards the protagonist’s predicament.I do not necessarily like and agree to her life’s choices and her life’s decisions; however, she is not to blame. She appears to be a very beautiful, good, and naive girl that deserves love and attention more than what was given to her by Nevers. I pity her because her naivety was taken advantage of by Nevers.Her act of killing him is a kind of revenge for the humiliation that he has done. Women abuse are palpable because of a common belief that women are naturally, biologically, and emotionally weak in relat ion to men. Cases of sexual abuse spawned from another common belief that it is difficult for women to defend themselves.However, this was proven wrong by Toni Jo Henry. Her act of killing Nevers is exemplary. It serves as a model for men and even for women to take heed on the fact that women should not in any way be taken advantage of because they have the capacity to defend themselves by any means. This is where the title of the novel best works. It suggests the wisdom and realization that people get from the incident despite a savage one.While the act of killing may serve a purpose and Henry had a reasonable justification for it, I still believe that she deserves to be punished. I understand that she did the crime because Nevers has done her wrong. She needs to fight for her right as a woman and as a human being that should be respected despite her status in life. But that does not justify the killing itself.I believe that she has to be punished for the crime that she has done. I t was no doubt an act of retaliation and revenge that would not be justified in the eyes of criminal justice. For her to attain justice is to make the law work for her and not against her. A wrong done would not be made right by doing another wrong. I believe she has reasons to kill but those reasons are never justified in the eyes of the law and morals.Works CitedGerman, Norman. A Savage Wisdom. Thibodaux: Thunder Rain, 2008.

Heaneys careful Essay Example

Heaneys careful Essay Example Heaneys careful Essay Heaneys careful Essay The use of words here is effective as these words as the use of the word vacuum in the beginning of the third stanza and the use of the word calm to end the previous stanza calm the reader down from the preceding stanzas expressive instability. Heaney makes use of the words collapsed and hunting to make the heart seem as though it is something that has been searched for once before but has now perhaps been shot down thanks to some external force. The use of the letter h in hunting heart can also be heard as a rhythm similar to a heartbeat. This notion is further expanded with the word hawk, hanging and held in the before and after line 14. This effect is added to the rhythmic impression given by the rhyme scheme throughout the stanza. The rhythm scheme Heaney uses again puts emphasis on the vacillation of the couples feelings.  From lines 15 to 22, the reader is told that the couple:  Preserved classic decorum,  Deployed [their] talk with art  And this exemplifies the manner in which they act given their indecision. It is almost a skill or a game that has to be learnt, where talk needs to be strategically and promptly organized with art. The next few lines:  Our juvenilia  Had taught us both to wait,  Not to publish feeling  And regret it too late  reaffirm the fact insinuated by the title, Twice Shy, that the couple are being cautious to avoid repeating mistakes in the past. Even though this may be uncomfortable for the reader, the characters are deserving of sympathy as they both are thinking the same way. This is also ironic. It is charming for the couple to be working so collaboratively together in order to prevent their relationship from going wrong. Lines 23 to 28 are, indeed, more pleasant-sounding than the earlier stanzas and perhaps this is alluding to how thrilled the couple were at the beginning of their embankment walk but have come to calmly accept the fact that all they can and will do is share nervous childish talk. Heaney carefully chooses to use the old proverb, still waters running deep, to conclusively condense the couples patience and satisfied appearance, and the anxious, excited mood they are in as they walk. I found this poem to be very captivating thanks to Heaneys careful choice of words, use of similes and intended subject, that is, the feelings of adolescent affection. I think that this poem can relate to many people and not just teenagers, for it is a poem that does not take any particular perspective in terms of opinion or viewpoint. With the tranquillity in the first and last stanza, and the swift action and plentiful techniques to look out for in between, although a little short in my opinion, this poem was concise, relevant and an enjoyable read.

Planning, policy and financing of healthcare Research Paper

Planning, policy and financing of healthcare - Research Paper Example A system of monopoly in the provision of health insurance was therefore shifted from Daman, which was the largest player in the UAE healthcare insurance markets to a mix of regional, local, and international players. The shift has yielded positive results since today all people are covered by the mandatory health insurance. Transparency in healthcare funding has also been achieved creating a pathway for sound decisions in healthcare. However, there have been a number of challenges since the public-private partnership created a dominant player in the healthcare market. All in all, Abu Dhabi has set a good example that can be emulated by other cities and nations wishing to make reforms in health care access. Abu Dhabi is a city that has experienced rapid economic growth in the last two decades. Despite being the wealthiest and biggest city among cities in the United Arab Emirates, the government of Abu Dhabi faced a number of challenges. The first challenge was individual’s lack of significant access to healthcare; the city of Abu Dhabi comprises of high, middle and low income earners who are the majority. Given the meager amounts of salaries made by low income earners, access to good healthcare was a challenge. Secondly, government funded healthcare in Abu Dhabi lacked transparency. Consequently, medical services in public health facilities were perceived to be worse compared to services in private facilities. In order to get services in public health facilities, long waiting times were involved. Finally, there was overreliance of healthcare on public funding, whereas the burden could have been easier, if employers in Abu Dhabi helped in providing healthcare to workers. Administrative reform in healthcare in Abu Dhabi was initiated in 2005 when the Abu Dhabi health insurance law was passed. In 2006, by-laws associated with the Abu Dhabi health insurance law were enacted. According to the by-laws, every employer in Abu Dhabi was obligated to

Extinction of Dinosaurs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Extinction of Dinosaurs - Essay Example The disappearance of the dinosaurs is in some ways a great mystery. During the time the dinosaurs lived, many new kinds developed and other older kinds died out. Not all kinds died out at once, but by the end of the Cretaceous period, the last of the dinosaurs had disappeared. Scientists have proposed several theories to explain the disappearance of the dinosaurs. There are two main theories of Dinosaur extinction as follows: the Asteroid Theory. In 1980 the asteroid theory was proposed by Luis and Walter Alvarez. This theory is based on the discovery of unusually high concentrations of the rare metal iridium at rock levels close to the level of the last dinosaur remains. Iridium is more common in meteorites than in rocks found in the earth's crust. According to this theory, a large asteroid crashed into the earth about the time the dinosaurs disappeared. The force of the collision caused a huge cloud of dust to circle the earth. The dust blocked the sun's light for as long as five y ears. This killed many plants, and without food, the dinosaurs died too.