tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post2182398394806230372..comments2024-03-24T19:55:32.537-05:00Comments on The View from This Seat: Encountering the Enigmatic Simone WeilLKSeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-15717741989426773542018-09-03T11:48:28.746-05:002018-09-03T11:48:28.746-05:00This morning, aa Thinking Friend in central Missou...This morning, aa Thinking Friend in central Missouri send the following substantial comments:<br /><br />"Thank you, Leroy, for this enlightening blog. I had heard of Simone but really didn't know a thing about her. What a wonderful woman! <br /><br />"I passed it along to my Bible study class because we were inspired by Phyllis Tickle's book 'Age of the Spirit' to take a long look at the book of Acts. We are going straight through it and noting how the Spirit worked, wondering what ways and why we are not noticing Spirit's work among us today, and inspired as we go along. <br /><br />"One of the things we noticed was the attention given to looking people directly in the eyes and asking them to look into ours, as Peter and John did to the lame man. The Greek word 'atenzio' has had new meaning and example to us. We also notice how human touch and even shadow had power and strength. <br /><br />"This blog spoke to me as an underscoring of those empathetic understandings that we all need in order to stand with the poor and vulnerable." LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-15894628141264059862018-08-30T13:11:45.610-05:002018-08-30T13:11:45.610-05:00Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Tom. As I was...Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Tom. As I was discussing this article with June before writing it, we talked about that very thing, that is, the similar way Lottie Moon's death was partially due to malnutrition because of her giving her food away. I appreciate you pointing that out.<br /><br />Until my study for writing this article, I had not given proper attention to "attention." I am glad you are now seeing the importance of attention, and even though I don't have a lot of years left, I pray that I can give more attention to whom and to where it needs to be given.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-4950463864799454062018-08-29T15:09:49.491-05:002018-08-29T15:09:49.491-05:00Bro. Leroy, one of the reasons I so thoroughly enj...Bro. Leroy, one of the reasons I so thoroughly enjoy reading your comments is finding the window into the lives of others of whom I am unfamiliar. Weil is truly an impressive personality. I see similarities with Lottie Moon, the Baptist missionary, who though living far longer also died because of a refusal to eat instead giving her food ration to hungry Chinese.<br /><br />As I approach retirement one of my "bucket list" goals is to do a more intensive study on the spiritual disciplines. At present I am only gathering resources, but in collecting a list of the disciplines it occurred to me "attention" should be included and perhaps even deemed one of the more important. Some people are born with it almost as a gift. Others like myself must make a conscious effort to show attention. Weil was remarkable to have had such insight at her age.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468602047786863722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-17027097731428948102018-08-28T09:29:22.004-05:002018-08-28T09:29:22.004-05:00Joshua, good to hear from you again!
I was impres...Joshua, good to hear from you again!<br /><br />I was impressed by your use of "On the Right Use of School Studies . . . ." I had not read it prior to the reading of the new (2018) book "Love in the Void," which contains eleven of Weil's essays; "On the Right Use . . ." is the first one.<br /><br />Many years ago I read Weil's "Gravity and Grace," but I don't remember much about it and remembered nothing of "Metaxu," which sounds quite interesting. I just found this quotation from it, which amplified what you wrote:<br /><br />"Two prisoners whose cells adjoin communicate with each other by knocking on the wall. The wall is the thing which separates them but it is also their means of communication. It is the same with us and God. Every separation is a link."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-80971230820198856712018-08-28T08:58:17.773-05:002018-08-28T08:58:17.773-05:00Thanks for your substantial comments, Larry.
Yes...Thanks for your substantial comments, Larry. <br /><br />Yes, I think there are some significant similarities between Simone Weil and Dorothy Day--and, yes, I wish Simone could have lived and been active as long as Dorothy was. <br /><br />When reading/thinking about Simone, I was also reminded some of Francis and Clare of Assisi. <br /><br />It's interesting that you mentioned Camus. I didn't know until preparing for the writing of this article that he reportedly wrote to Simone's mother in 1951, and in that letter he referred to Simone as "the only great spirit of our times." LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-25320263071628739952018-08-28T08:43:44.328-05:002018-08-28T08:43:44.328-05:00Thanks, Anton. -- Yes, if she could have recovered...Thanks, Anton. -- Yes, if she could have recovered from TB by eating adequately, which may or may not have been possible, it is a real shame she chose to die by not eating rather than to eat in order to continue her meritorious work for the poor and oppressed. LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-58962369922240088812018-08-27T16:53:47.684-05:002018-08-27T16:53:47.684-05:00Thanks for posting about Weil, Leroy. Oddly enough...Thanks for posting about Weil, Leroy. Oddly enough, I've been thinking about her a lot lately, especially with regard to two particular points:<br /><br />1) The first reading I assign for every class I teach is her essay, "On the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God." This post is timely, since I will be starting a new teaching term this Thursday, and we will discuss this essay when we meet online. It's a wonderful piece on the art (and spirituality) of attention, and I think it goes well with just about any course subject one might teach in the humanities.<br /><br />2) About six months ago I came across her short essay, "Metaxu," in her book Gravity and Grace. In it, she reflects on the ability of points of separation to also serve paradoxically as points of human connection: "Every separation is a link." Lately I've been considering how the converse is also true. Every point of connection is also a potential separation. We can see this illustrated in the way that human beings are more connected than every before — we walk around with mini-computers in our pockets that can establish instantaneous contact with a person on the opposite side of the planet — and yet rates of social anxiety, depression, loneliness, and alienation have never been higher.Joshua Paul Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03970879028978093230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-74372552603433794742018-08-26T12:26:16.845-05:002018-08-26T12:26:16.845-05:00Simone Weil gets significant attention from Cathol...Simone Weil gets significant attention from Catholics who intensely involved with spirituality and spiritual practice. People are drawn to her, I think, because of intense way she related to others: real attention, real compassion, living out her ideals. With her hard-headedness and concern for the working classes, she reminds me of a French Dorothy Day, although, unfortunately, she did not live as long. How interesting it would have been if her time on earth had been longer. How I would have liked to see what she would have said or done, if in conversation or dialog with other French thinkers of her generation: Sartre, Camus, one of the worker priests, Jacques Maritain, et alLarry Guillothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03551671337168392087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-41109148192493345972018-08-25T17:24:24.243-05:002018-08-25T17:24:24.243-05:00Nice piece on Weil, Leroy. I've read some of h...Nice piece on Weil, Leroy. I've read some of her stuff and have always been inspired by her commitment to workers and the poor; although she was a bit over the top with it by not eating.Anton Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17377655010541153458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-23809151014544536562018-08-25T10:42:48.591-05:002018-08-25T10:42:48.591-05:00Well, I just looked Stein up to see when I might, ...Well, I just looked Stein up to see when I might, conceivably, write about her, and found that she died in Aug 1942 at Auschwitz--so I might write about her next August.<br /><br />And I see now why she was/is highly regarded at Rockhurst. Although she was born into an observant Jewish family, she converted to Roman Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She is canonized as a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church, and she is one of six co-patron saints of Europe.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-68355464322649227852018-08-25T09:29:55.909-05:002018-08-25T09:29:55.909-05:00Thanks for your comments also, Eric.
No, I haven&...Thanks for your comments also, Eric.<br /><br />No, I haven't written about Edith Stein and I know little about her. She seems to be highly regarded in the Religion Department of Rockhurst University. During one of my early semesters when I was teaching there, I saw a reference to her and asked for information about her. But there is much more I would like to learn, and may well choose to do that as some point.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-89499042350794642712018-08-25T09:26:58.131-05:002018-08-25T09:26:58.131-05:00Thanks, Marilyn, for your comments. I was hoping t...Thanks, Marilyn, for your comments. I was hoping to hear from you, and you did not disappoint!LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-20633335213114832472018-08-25T09:26:24.387-05:002018-08-25T09:26:24.387-05:00Here are more significant comments--these from Thi...Here are more significant comments--these from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:<br /><br />"Thanks, Leroy, for bringing Simone Weil to our attention.<br /><br />"Every time I read about Simone Weil, I am deeply moved; she was certainly one of the most remarkable persons of the 20th, or of any, century. Her fusion of mysticism with compassion for the poor and the weak is certainly intriguing and challenging. <br /><br />"The other great female saint of the 20th century, also Jewish, was Edith Stein, who did so much to help the victims, of which she was one, during the Holocaust. You may have written about her in one of your earlier posts.<br /><br />"Both Weil and Stein are stark reminders of our responsibilities to those who are suffering."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-56207539315158500802018-08-25T09:13:15.619-05:002018-08-25T09:13:15.619-05:00Here are significant comments from local Thinking ...Here are significant comments from local Thinking Friend Marilyn Peot:<br /><br />"Thank you for bringing her to our attention. <br /><br />"One quote of hers I have held dear and have it on my desk: 'My solitude held in its grasp the grief of others till my death.'<br /><br />"You picked up her main spirituality which is challenging but 'right on.' The book I have read several times and have scribbled in the margins and underlined is 'Waiting for God.' Her letters to her priest friend are included as well as several essays--two of my favorites are on the 'Our Father' and 'Forms of Implicit Love of God.' <br /><br />"You struck gold!"LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.com