HAPPY ST BENEDICT'S DAY

Saint Benedict Detail from a fresco by Fra Angelico - Museo di San Marco - Florence

"Live this life and do what ever is done in a spirit of thanksgiving. Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile. Give up the search for wealth, it is demeaning. Quit the search for salvation, it is selfish. And come to comfortable rest in the certainty that those who participate in this life with an attitude of thanksgiving will receive its full promise."

-- St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543 C.E)

What a lovely way to live, and how often I forget to give thanks, which is the sure defense against falling into a state of cynicism and despair.  Reading the quote this morning brought me up short, because I was in a funk. The words were just what I needed to take me out of myself and mon tristesses.

Image from Wikipedia.

Update from my friend Doug:

"Apparently that lovely quote from St, Benedict that I published earlier today isn't Benedict at all, but from an author of spirituality books primarily for Episcopalians named John McQuiston II."

The words are still wonderful, even if they are not from St Benedict.

  

"IT WOULD...BE ABHORRENT..."

“It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue,” Jan Stevens, 77, said in a telephone interview from his home in Loomis, California, as he prepares for a memorial service for his son next week.

Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, has criticized President Barack Obama for not providing adequate security in Libya, saying the administration has left the country exposed to a deadly terrorist attack.

The ambassador’s father, a lawyer, said politicians should await the findings of a formal investigation before making accusations or judgments.

“The security matters are being adequately investigated,” Stevens said. “We don’t pretend to be experts in security. It has to be objectively examined. That’s where it belongs. It does not belong in the campaign arena.” Stevens said he has been getting briefings from the State Department on the progress of the investigation.

Do you hear, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan?  Will you respect the wishes of Jan Stevens?

H/T to Adrastos at First Draft.