majórem caritátem nemo habet,

 light

    earth continues

to turn

is all

    I know

this morning

Matutinum

1. Ætérna Christi múnera,

1. The eternal gifts of Christ the King,

Apostolórum glóriam,

the Apostles' glory, let us sing;

Laudes canéntes débitas,

and all with hearts of gladness raise

Lætis canámus méntibus.

. . . 

Atonement

כָּל נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרַי וּשְׁבוּעֵי וַחֲרָמֵי וְקוֹנָמֵי וְקִנּוּסֵי וְכִנּוּיֵי, דְּאִנְדַרְנָא וּדְאִשְׁתַּבַּעְנָא, וּדְאַחֲרִימְנָא וּדְאָסַרְנָא עַל נַפְשָׁתָנָא. מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּרִים זֶה עַד יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה. בְּכֻלְּהוֹן אִיחֲרַטְנָא בְהוֹן, כֻּלְּהוֹן יְהוֹן שָׁרָן, שְׁבִיקִין שְׁבִיתִין בְּטֵלִין וּמְבֻטָּלִין, לָא שְׁרִירִין וְלָא קַיָּמִין. נִדְרָנָא לָא נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרָנָא לָא אֱסָרֵי וּשְׁבוּעָתָנָא לָא שְׁבוּעוֹת.

The Kol Nidrei in English

All vows, [self-imposed] prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, restrictions, interdictions, or [any other] equivalent expressions of vows, which I may vow, swear, dedicate [for sacred use], or which I may proscribe for myself or for others, from this Yom Kippur until the next Yom Kippur which comes to us for good, [from now] we regret them all; all shall be hereby absolved, remitted, cancelled, declared null and void, not in force or in effect. Let our vows not be considered vows; let our [self-imposed] prohibitions not be considered prohibitions; and let our oaths not be considered oaths.

And may the entire congregation of the children of Israel, as well as the proselyte who dwells among them, be forgiven, for all the people acted unwittingly.

Pardon, I beseech You, the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your kindness and as You have forgiven this people from Egypt until now. And there it is stated:

And the Lord said: I have pardoned in accordance with your words.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion. [Cong.] Amen.

. . .

Laudes -- Antiphona

Majórem caritátem nemo habet,

No one has a greater love than this: 

ut ánimam suam ponat quis pro amícis suis.

that he lay down his life for his friends.

all I know is 

    light

earth continues

    to turn

                    Bruch: Kol Nidrei ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ 

Mischa Maisky ∙ Paavo Järvi

https://youtu.be/XGzOozXt4ek?si=mtCbRxNxBAQd_jM1

no artificial contrivance

Grey sky Sunday morning solid green mountain but for one tree ruddy violet standing sentinel as Ensō slurps his breakfast. I too am muted, content to feel poorly in this cool final edge of summer sitting in cathedral seat across from Bald and down from Ragged. No gods or goddesses here. Just tire-pressed stone and yellow leaf, old firewood and rusting boat trailer.

The Way does not need cultivation;

Just don’t pollute it.

What is pollution?

As long as you have a fluctuating mind,

Creating artificialities and pursuing inclinations,

All is pollution.

If you want to understand the Way directly,

The normal mind is the Way.

What is normal mind?

It has no artificial contrivance,

No right or wrong, no grasping or rejection,

No ordinariness and no sanctity.

    --Ancestor Ma (709–788)                                                                                                                        (He is most famously known for his two teaching statements: "This Mind is Buddha" (ji xin shi fo 即心是佛) and "Ordinary Mind is the Way."^[2] )

 As a Buddhist I am not in my right mind. As a Buddhist I often fall off the way.

As a Christian I am not aware I have ever (as I recall) seen Christ. As a Christian none of Christ’s brick and morter hostels feels ripe. Only the rare monastic resonance obscurely tucked draws my attention from great distance.

Cars go by. No one knows I'm here. Stillness abides 

Bird caws. I long to be nowhere else. 

The intrigue of the world is barely, vaguely interesting. How long can you watch a suicide pace and fret pointing and obsessing ambivalence with accusation and irrational confusion at the imbroglionic diffusion of the theatrical public proscenium of untalented actors. Such is the performance before us.

Perhaps the ritual of the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist, its own rarified esoteric suicide, has stood so long because the rubric movement, words and gestures, have been exactly prescribed and alteration fiercely proscribed to maintain a conforming continuance forestalling opinionated variance. It is a mystery, they say.

When does Becoming become Being?

The Heraclitus/Parmenides argument continues.

Loading old wood into old Waterford wood stove. First fire of season. Just to take chill off before thinking of furnace. It is 52o in shade. We’ve been sitting outside in chill for hours. We talk about man with Parkinson’s approaching impossible stage of care at home -- the stress and difficulty of it. The wife herself taken to hospital after a dizzying incident falling unconscious. Family faces octogenarian parents.

Panta cat on lap. 

The Way?

Don’t ask.

One foot in front of another.

Monks chant from France.