My Grandmother Wrote a Book!

I just made a wonderful discovery! My paternal grandmother, after whom I was named and in whose steps I have followed, wrote a book! I should say that she wrote another book. The family knew about her first book, a biography of a women doctor in India. None of us knew about this book:

LINSLEY, ALICE WILLIAMS History of the Santa Ana Valley Baptist Association, 1892 to 1956.

Type of binding: Details: Ex-library, rebound in pamphlet binder.

Offered for US$ 7.67 by: Windows Booksellers - Book number: 225871

I found it here. I hope it is still availabe, because I intend to purchase it.

A Causa de mi Papá

The final Spanish short story winner for this year is Anthony Morello, grade 10. Anthony loves to play tennis and used his favorite passtime as an element in his story.

A Causa de mi Papá
Anthony Morello

En Los Angeles vivía un tenista famoso por nombre de Bernardo Cardena. El ganó tres campeonatos nacionales y siempre practicaba en las canchas de un club cerca de su casa.

Bernardo tenía un hijo. Su hijo, Luis, tuvo diez años cuando Bernardo se murió en un accidente. Después de la muerte de Señor Cardena, no había bastante dinero y la familia perdió la casa. Luis estaba muy triste. El quería aprender a jugar al tenis y llegar a ser un tenista famoso como su padre. Ahora los Cardena no vivirían cerca de un club de tenis. Al ver su hijo tan triste, Señora Cardena tomó la decisión buscar un apartamento cerca del club donde practicaba su marido.

Luis y su madre vivían en el apartamento por cinco años. Luis no podía pagar la cuota para hacerse miembro del club. Sin embargo, se dirigía todas las tardes al club y esperaba en la entrada. A veces un miembro necesitaría un oponente y invitaría a Luis a jugar. Luis aprendía a jugar muy bien por esas ocasiones.

Un día, él averiguó que el nuevo campeón de tenis estaba practicando en el club. El campeón, Martin Meléndez, era hombre fuerte con una sonrisa grande. Luis quería jugar con el campeón pero creó que nunca tendría la suerte. Esperaba y esperaba la oportunidad.

Luis fijaba la mirada en Meléndez mientras jugaba, mirando por el alambre de la cancha. Aún recogió y devolvió la pelota. El campeón le dio gracias y continuó a jugar. Después de la juega, Meléndez se acercó a Luis y se presentó.

"Cómo te llamas?"

"Luis."

"Juegas?"

"Sí. Mi padre me enseñó. Quizas le conoció a él... Bernardo Cardena?"

"¡Por supuesto! Era tenista talentoso y hombre bueno."

Luis se enorgulleció. Ojalá que su padre viva todavía.

Meléndez dice, "Voy a practicar aquí hasta la gira comienza. Tienes interés en practicar conmigo de vez en cuando?"

Luis apenas pudo creer lo que escuchaba.

"¡Sí, me encanta la idea! Podemos empezar hoy día?"

El Campeón se rió. "Por qué no? No puedo negar el hijo de Bernardo Cardenal."

____________________________________________

Because of my Dad
Antonio Morello, grade 10

In Los Angeles there lived a famous tennis player by the name of Bernardo Cardena. He won three national championships and he always practiced on the courts of a club near his house.

Bernardo had a son. His son, Luis, was ten years old when Bernardo died in an accident. After Mr. Cardena's death, there wasn't enough money and the family lost the house. Luis was very sad. He wanted to learn to play tennis and become a famous tennis player like his father. Now the Cardenal family would not live near the tennis club. Seeing her son so sad, Mrs. Cardena made the decision to look for an apartment near the club where her husband used to practice.

Luis and his mother lived in the apartment for five years. Luis couldn't pay the membership fees. Nevertheless, he headed to the club every afternoon and waited at the entrance. Sometimes a member would need an opponent and would invite Luis to play. Luis was learning to play very well through these occasions.

One day, he found out about the the new national champion who was practicing at the club. The champion, Martin Meléndez, was a strong man with a big smile. Luis wanted to play with the champion but he believed that he would never be that lucky. He waited and waited for his opportunity.

He watched Melendez play, looking through the wire fence. He even caught and returned a stray ball. The champ thanked him and continued to play. After the game, Melendez approached Luis and introduced himself.

"And what's your name?"

"Luis."

"Do you play?"

"Yes. My father taught me. Maybe you knew him... Bernardo Cardena?"

"Of course! He was a talented player and a good man."

Luis felt proud. He wished that his father were still alive.

Melendez said, "I'm going to practice here until the tour starts. Would you be interested in practicing with me now and then?"

Luis could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Yes! I love the idea. Can we start today?

The Champ laughed. "Sure, why not? I can't refuse Bernardo Cardena's son."

Kelsey Lamb's Spanish Short Story

Mi Tío en un Lío
By Kelsey Lamb

Tengo una familia muy interesante, pero mi tío es especialmente fascinante. Se llama Tío Atom. Él es cientìfico y trabaja en un laboratorio de la universidad. Es un hombre alto y flaco, con pelo color café. Tiene los ojos azules y la barba corta. Es trabajador serio y a veces cómico. A él le encanta hacer investigaciones con quìmicos.

Mi tío no está casado. Su mejor amigo es un perro negro y grande que se llama “Boomer”. Todos nosotros queriamos que viniera a conocer a una mujer.

Aunque no intenta hacerlo, mi tío suele explotar cosas en su laboratorio. Todos los padres en nuestra familia están perocupados de que él pueda lastimarse, pero los niños piensan que él es fenomenal.

Se puede ver muchas pruebas extrañas en el laboratorio. Voy a relatar lo que pasó un día en el laboratorio de mi tío.

Había líquido intoxico corriendo a lo largo de tubos de vidrio a un frasco de cristal. Tío Atom corría de lado a lado sin prestar atención completa a su trabajo. El líquido morado continuó a borbollar en los tubos. Tío Atom tuvo prisa. Quiso acabar las investigaciones antes de la llegada del Director. Señor Horatio Lopez, Director del Laboratorio, iba a inspeccionar. También, Tío Atom se preocupaba porque aquella noche saldría por primera vez con una mujer. Era una mujer muy bonita e inteligente.

Tío Atom miraba del reloj y la solución morada que estaba hirviendo en un frasco. Estaba perdiendo la paciencia. Otra vez Tío Atom se dio vuelta para ver el reloj y en esa acción volcó el Bunsen Burner. ¡De repente todos sus papeles se incendieron!

“¡Ay de mi!” gritó Tío Atom. El intentó apagar el fuego con agua, pero en lugar de agua, agarró un vaso de metanol. El resultado fue un incendio más grande que engolfó la mitad del laboratorio.
Tío Atom agarró ­­­­­­­­­­­­­el extintor y apagó el fuego como hombre loco. En este momento entró el Director. ¡Que desastre! Había un lío. Tío Atom no supo qué decir.

Más tarde, después de bañarse y vestirse, Tío Atom se dirigió al restaurante elegante donde esperaba la mujer bonita. Los dos se sentaron y comenzaron a charlar.

Ella le preguntó a mi tío: “Has tenido un día interesante?”

En respuesto, él dijo: “No. Nada interesante pasó. Todo el día fue normal.”

_______________________________________________

My Uncle in a Mess
Kelsey Lamb

I have a very interesting family, but my Uncle is especially fascinating. His name is Uncle Atom. He is a scientist and he works in a university lab. He is tall and skinny with brown hair. He has blue eyes and a short beard. He is a serious worker and sometimes comical. He loves to perform experiments with chemicals.

My uncle isn't married. His best friend is a big black dog called Boomer. We all wanted him to come to know a woman.

Although he doesn't try to, my uncle usually blows things up in his lab. All the parents in our family worry that he might hurt himself but the children think that he is phenomenal.

Many strange experiments can be seen in the lab. I'm going to tell you what happened on day in my uncle's lab.

There was an intoxicating liquid running the length of some glass tubes to a glass flask. Uncle Atom was running from side to side without paying complete attention to his work. The purple liquid continued to boil in the tubes. Uncle Atom was in a hurry. He wanted to finish the experiments before the Director's arrival. Mr. Horatio Lopez, the Director of the laboratory, was going to inspect. Uncle Atom was preoccupied also because that night he would go out with a woman for the first time. She was a very pretty and intelligent woman.

Unce Atom was watching the clock and the purple solution that was boiling in the flask. He was losing patience. Again, he turned to look at the clock and in that action he overturned the Bunsen Burner. Suddenly, all his papers went up in flames!

"Oh my!" shouted Uncle Atom. He tried to put out the fire with water, but instead of grabbing water, he grabbed a glass of methanol. The result was a bigger fire that engulfed half the laboratory.

Uncle Atom grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire like a crazy man. At that moment the Director entered. What a disaster! It was a mess. Uncle Atom didn't know what to say.

Later, after taking a bath and dressing, Uncle Atom headed to the elegant restaurant where the pretty woman was waiting. The two sat down and began to chat.

She asked my uncle, "Have you had an interesting day?"

My uncle replied, "No. Nothing interesting happened. The whole day was normal."

Victoria Bastin's Spanish Story

El Disastre en el Campo
Victoria Bastin

Todos los años en noviembre mi familia y yo viajamos a la casa de mi Tío Jeff. Hacemos el viaje para cazar el venado, algo que hacemos anualmente. Los que vienen incluyen nuestros familiares del campo que se llaman “rednecks” y nosotros de la cuidad. Para pertenecer a este grupo de hombres, debe llevarse las botas vaqueras y hablar con los mondadientes en la boca.

Mi primera experiencia de este pasatiempo fue cuando tenía doce años. Al llegar en el campo, vi todos mis familiares. Todos ellos, de mi Tía Casilda hasta mi Tío loco, Jeff, estaban allí. Jeff siempre venía a esta reunión en el campo a pesar de tener la alergía de los venados.

Todos estában emociandos y casi no pudieron esperar el día siguiente cuando comenzaríamos a cazar. Las mujeres estaban charlando y sirviendo el té dulce a todos los que lo querían. Los hombres estaban caminando entre las filas de tobaco y hablaban de sus toros recién comprados.

Deshicimos las maletas rápidamente porque quisimos conducir el tractor antes de ponerse el sol. Planeábamos acostarnos temprano, pero primero tuvimos una cena buena que consiste en un pastel de ñame, mi favorito. Después de la cena, escuchábamos la música del banjo que mi Tio Jeff tocaba. El tocaba con gran habilidad y no quisimos dormirnos. Sin embargo, todos se fueron a dormir porque tuvimos que levantarnos antes de las tres en la mañana para salir al bosque.

La mañana siguiente, tomamos el vagón más grande al bosque. Estaba lloviendo pero no nos molestaba mucho. Trepamos por el bosque hasta encontramos un lugar donde pudimos escondernos. Me sentía en el suelo por muchas ahoras y no hablé. Por fin, vi algo… un venado enorme! Mi Tío lo ha visto también. El levantó su arma para disparar pero en aquel momento la alergía le irritó la nariz y … ACHOO!

Mi Tío estornudó y el venado se echó a correr. Jeff disparó su rifle y la bala pegó un árbol en que se escondía mi primo. Mi primo se cayó del árbol y sufrió la pierna rota. Empezó a gritar.

Volvimos a casa mojados y desanimados, sin habiendo matado un venado. Estuvimos de acuerdo que en el futuro Jeff se limitaría a tocar el banjo y no llevaría las armas.

__________________________________________________
Disaster in the Country
Victoria Bastin

Every year in November, my family and I travel to my Uncle Jeff’s house. We make the trip to hunt deer, something that we do every year. Those who come include our redneck relatives from the country and us ‘city folks’. To belong to this group of men you should wear cowboy boots and talk with a toothpick in your mouth.

My first experience of this pastime when I was twelve. When we arrived I saw all my relatives. All of them, from my Aunt Casilda to my crazy Uncle Jeff, were there. My Uncle Jeff always came to this gathering in the country in spite of his allergies to deer.

Everyone was very excited and could hardly wait until the next day when we would begin to hunt. The women were chatting away and serving sweet tea to everyone who wanted it. The men are walking up the tobacco rows and talking about their latest bull purchases.

We quickly unpacked our suitcase because we wanted to drive the tractor before the sun set. We were planning to go to bed early, but first we ate a good dinner that included sweet potato pie, my favorite. After dinner, we were listening to banjo music played by my Uncle Jeff. He is quite the player and we all want to stay up, but we must rise before 3 o’clock to head out early in the morning. He played with great skill and we didn't want to go to sleep. Nevertheless, everyone went off to sleep because we had to get up before 3:00 the next morning to go out to the woods.

The next morning we took the biggest wagon to the woods. It was raining but it didn't bother us much. We traipsed through the woods until we found a place where we could hide. I sat on the ground for hours and I didn't speak. Finally, I saw something... a huge deer! My Uncle has seen it also. He raised his weapon to fire but at that moment his allergy irritated his nose and ACHOO!

My Uncle sneezed and the deer took off running. Jeff fired his rife and the bullet hit a tree where my cousin was hiding. My cousin fell out of the tree and broke his leg. He began to shout.

We returned home, wet and in poor spirits, without having killed a single deer. We agreed that in the future Uncle Jeff would limit himself to playing the banjo and wouldn't carry weapons.

2009 Spanish Short Story Winners

Students Publish Here is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Annual Spanish Short Story Contest. This contest is open to all Spanish 2 students. This year's winners are:

Victoria Bastin, grade 9
Kelsy Lamb, grade 11
Anthony Morello, grade 10

Congratulations to all the winners! Their stories will be published here this week.

This year's theme was family relations. The stories were to include the following:

Spanish names
Description of the character's personality or physical traits
The character's activities and/or experiences
How other family members react to this character
The character's problem and how it gets worse
How the problem is resolved
A satisfying ending

A satisfying ending might involve a surprise, a good laugh, a happy ending, or a cliff-hanger to leave the judges and readers wondering.

The first of the winning stories will appear tomorrow. Enjoy!

A Baptist Pastor on Dostoevksy's Faith

Pastor Dima (Dimitru Sevastian) is the Dean of Theology at the Theological College of Moldova (TCM), and also a Pastor at Bethany Evangelical Baptist in Chisinau, Moldova. He has his MDiv from TCM, and is currently pursuing his doctorate of divinity. This paper is one he delivered recently at a bible conference in Prague. It is part and parcel of his extensive research and work toward his doctorate.

Dostoevsky’s implicit mission to Russian society as a lived out Russian Orthodox Convictional Theology

By Dimitru Sevastian

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to point out some common practical elements in the mission of Baptist and Orthodox Christians in an Orthodox context. My intention is to explore Dostoevsky’s implicit mission in order to suggest some ways in which Baptist and Orthodox Christian can work together in responding to the Missio Dei. The focus is being the theology[1] in terms of lived out convictions[2].

To understand Dostoevsky’s mission, one must ‘hear’ his story, which is linked with the story of the people and with the greater story of God.[3]

Dostoevsky was a journalist as well as a novelist. That’s why in the first section of this paper I am going to examine his perception of the situation of his time as a form of ‘mission as witness.’[4] In the following three sections I intend to explore three elements in Orthodox Church mission: love, life and unity[5] as they are evident in the life of Dostoevsky.

1. Perception of his time situation as ‘mission as witness’

The perception of the situation often begins by defining the threat’ and by ‘the questions of the desirability and speed of the presumably needed social change in the community’.[6]

The situation itself

The 19 century finds Russia in a rather complicated condition. The emperor is reigning autocratically, answerable only to the Lord God.[7]

Not being a man of outstanding morals, Nikolai I abuses his given power, going into violence and immorality.

Just like a squire managed lives and desires of peasants, so was tsar with his servants. He would pay attention… not only to young beauties at his palace – ladies and maids, but to girls he accidentally met while walking. If he liked someone during his walks or in theatre, he would tell it to an adjutant on duty. And, this girl would be under his control. If she hasn’t been involved in any improper activities, then her husband (if she was married) or parents (if she wasn’t married) would be told about enormous honor, which they received… No one ever resisted Tsar’s desires … In this strange country, to sleep with an emperor was considered as a great honor…for parents and even for husbands…[8]

The social situation was very complicated as well. Serfdom-based forms of exploitation were pushed to an extreme, turning a serf into a slave. The Rule of landlords always meant excessive abuse of serfs, endless outrages upon the personhood of serfs, and implied the most impudent, shameless, unprecedented exploitation of serf labor.[9] The gap between the landlord and the slave was so great that the landlord seemed to consider himself made from another material than common folk.[10]

A secret police force was formed to keep everything under tight control. Police controlled all the literature, which made the existence and development of publishing in Russia practically impossible.[11] The Tsar and the head of the secret police became the ultimate censors.[12]French author Marquis Astolf de Custin compared the vast Russian Empire with a prison where the emperor has the key.[13]

Violence in the name of love - a proposed solution to change the society

As a reaction to this existing police-feudal régime we see the appearance of the first secret society starting as early as the first quarter of the 19th century.[14] The members of this society wanted to overthrow the absolute power of the emperor and destroy the existing feudal customs.[15] On the verge of the years 1830-1840 we see the appearance of such ideological currents as “Slavophile” and “Westernism”.[16] Whereas the slavophiles wanted to transform the country by implementing reforms,[17] the westernizers dreamed of a revolution similar to the one in France.[18] The mid 1840's see the appearance of other, more radical socialist circles, members of which were convinced that autocracy and social injustice are the main obstacles in the way of the people’s wellbeing. Thus their main purpose became getting rid of these obstacles, even resorting to violence.

Literary critic V. Belinsky was one of the leaders of the westernist movement. He was a convinced atheist. In his understanding, Russia's transformation would be impossible without eliminating Christianity.[19]

In that time Dostoevsky, also deeply concerned for the lives of his countrymen, became close to Belinsky and often visited some of the illegal, antigovernment meetings. Belinsky preached his socialist-atheist way with such passion that Dostoevsky couldn’t resist. Accepting the socialist teachings of Belinsky, Dostoevsky saw his Christian convictions being shattered. He describes this time as the time of “losing Christ”.[20] “We were infected with the ideas of theoretical socialism of those days!” – Dostoevsky would recall.[21] For his involvement in the antigovernment movement, Dostoevsky was sentenced to capital punishment, which was later replaced with 4 years of penal labor (katorga).

Returning to faith in God as the only way to transform society

In penal servitude, Dostoevsky went through something that he calls “the regeneration of his convictions”.[22] What could have taken place to change his convictions so completely? Dostoevsky himself answers this question by saying, “I accepted Christ in my life, whom I got to know as a child in my parent’s house and whom I have almost lost, when I in turn became a European liberal.”[23]

Dostoevsky began to understand clearly that Russian society's greatest problem was its departure from God. Thus the problem lay not in the social but in the spiritual realm. The social realm is a result of the people's spiritual condition.

Another problem, which could make matters worse, was the intrusion of the socialist atheist teaching mentioned above. From his own experience, Dostoevsky knew the danger and destructiveness of this socialist way, offered by many as the way to reform society. In his letter to M. Pogodin, Dostoevsky writes that ‘socialism and Christianity are antonyms’. [24] The danger of this way, in Dostoevsky’s opinion, was its negation of God and establishment of a new atheistic society.

By means of his novels, articles, and personal correspondence, Dostoevsky warned about the consequences of entering this dangerous path. The tragedy of Rasskolnikov, the main character of the novel Crime and Punishment, shows how easily one can be infatuated with this teaching of “violence for the sake of love”.

Dostoevsky not only warned about the dangers, but also proposed a way to transform society, and openly called the people to come back to God. At the same time he realized how hard it is for a person to pass through this process of doubt and disbelief. In his works Dostoevsky shows this inner struggle which takes place in a person who is on the path of returning to God.

The Diary of a Writer contains an interesting article describing this path. Dostoevsky answers a certain Gradovsky, who is considered by others to be a Christian, on Gradovsky's statement that faith is not related to social ideals and that faith in God cannot transform society. Dostoevsky's first utterance: “It is funny how you understand Christianity!” !”[25] He goes on to explain that growth in Christian faith changes Christians themselves and these changes have an effect upon people in society. He was convinced that even without the abolition of serfdom, slavery would disappear because the landlord and the serf would become brothers. .[26] (Rasskolnikov's sufferings would awaken a new life in him.)

Thus the call of Dostoevsky is towards return of people to faith in God.

2. Love of God as the foundation of missions
According to David Bosch, God’s love expressed in the sacrifice of Christ is the foundation for mission, in an orthodox understanding. The followers of Christ are to display this same love beyond the limits of the flock.[27]

Dostoevsky doesn’t simply call others to the imitation of Christ, but he himself lives as a compassionate person who loves the people. He learned to be compassionate to the poor and needy from his childhood, when he lived in the house of his father in Moscow, in the hospital for the poor.[28]

Being near helpless people, he would go out of his way to help. When still in his teens he once gladly brought water to a peasant lady who accidentally spilled it and had no one to carry it to her child in their village 15 kilometers away.[29]

A. Saveliev, who served as an officer in the engineering school when Dostoevsky was a student, expressed his observations of Dostoevsky’s compassion to the poor:
The feelings of compassion remained in Fyodor Michailovich during his times of studies. They witnessed life of poor peasants in a Staraya Kikenka village. The picture of terrifying poverty, absence of providence, poor clay ground and unemployment was unveiled. The main reason for this situation was a neighboring wealthy property of earl Orlov. Striking poverty, pitiful houses and masses of kids without good nutrition used to increase the level of compassion in young people’s hearts towards peasants of Staraya Kikenka. Dostoevsky and Berezhesky along with their friends used to make fund raising for needs of poorest peasants. [30]

Later Doctor Rizenkampf, who lived in the same apartment with Dostoevsky, spoke on the writer's sacrificial spirit:
Fyodor Michailovich had such type of personality that everyone enjoyed, yet these kinds of personalities were in need themselves. He had been robbed unmercifully, though due to his kindness and trust, he wouldn’t want to get into details or rebuke servants that used his carelessness.[31]

O. Miller states that when in Dostoevsky and Rizenkampf rented an apartment together, ‘this co-habitation with the doctor practically turned out to be a new source of constant expenses. Each poor person coming to doctor for advice he was ready to accept as a dear guest. Often he would come to a point of extreme need of money.’[32] “The new day with the lack of money, new loans, often times with exorbitant interest rates, just to borrow enough money to be able to buy sugar, tea, etc.”[33]

Doctor S. Yanovski knew that Dostoevsky was well paid, but also knew that he was constantly in need of money. Yanovski posed the question, “Where did his money go?” And supplied the answer himself:

I can answer this question correctly, since Fyodor Michailovich was open to me more than to others when it used to come to finances: he distributed almost all of his funds to those who were any poorer than him; sometimes distributed funds to those, who were not poorer than him, but they would receive his money due to his endless kindness. He never gambled, did not have a clue about the rules and even hated card game. He was a decisive enemy of wine and carouse.[34]

The testimony of Dostoevsky's brother Andrei serves as a good illustration for Yanovski’s words. “When there was the first case of cholera and a patient had an attack on the street, brother Fyodor immediately” ran to the patient to give him medication and after that was massaging him when he had convulsions.[35]

Another story came from A. Dostoevskaya, wife of the writer. She tells about Fyodor Michailovich's compassion to poor and sick people:

Having heard about poverty of one widow, who remained with three children of 11, 7 and 5 years after husband’s death, Dostoevsky out of pity has hired her as a servant with all of her children … Fedosya with tears in her eyes shared with me, while I was still a bride, about Fyodor Michailovich’ kindness. According to her, at nights whenever hearing a child coughing or crying, he would come to him/her cover with a blanket, calm him/her down, or at least wake mother up.[36]

Dostoevsky would never turn away those asking for alms. “There were cases” – his wife would say – “when my husband would not have petit cash and he was asked for alms close to our stairs, then he would bring the beggars in and in our apartment they would be given the money.”[37]

He would not pay back evil for evil, but would forgive his offenders. In 1879 some drunk peasant on the street had hit Dostoevsky over the back of his head with such power that he fell on the pavement, resulting in a bloody gash. In the police station Fyodor Michailovich asked the officer to release the offender, as he had forgiven him. However the protocol was already completed and the process could not be reversed. Dostoevsky said to the judge that he forgave the offender and asked for his release. The judge acceded to Dostoevsky’s request, however still fining the peasant 16 rubles for “creating noise and disorder on the street.” Dostoevsky waited for his offender at the exit and gave him 16 rubles to pay the fine.[38]

According to A. Dostoevskaya, Fyodor Michailovich was a man of limitless kindness. He would display it not only to those close to him, but to anyone whose misfortune or crisis he would hear came to his notice. He would not have to be asked, he would offer his help himself.

Having influential friends, my husband used their influence in order to help others. He placed many old people in elderly homes, children to orphanages and helped losers to find their place in society. He had to read and correct many other writings, listen to honest confessions and offer advices on very personal issues. He did not feel sorry about his time or his strength, trying to help to his neighbor. He has helped financially, in case he lacked funds, he would sign bills and had to later pay them off. Sometimes, Fyodor Mikhailovich’ kindness contradicted family interests, and often I would get upset about his unlimited kindness, yet I could not help but delight seeing him rejoice whenever having opportunity to help others.[39]

Dostoevsky was especially concerned for children and paid attention to cases of child abuse that he heard about. He followed closely the trials of parents accused of child abuse.[40]

Towards the end of his life Dostoevsky became a spiritual leader for a great many people. Every day he would receive letters from all across Russia and would agree to see visitors asking for spiritual advice, seeking mentoring, or looking for direction for their lives. This activity of Dostoevsky was similar to the social ministries of staretzes in the monastery, similar to the elder Ambrosi whom he saw in the Optina monastery, or staretz Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov.[41]

Dostoevsky lived so sacrificially because his convictions were deeply founded in Christ's suffering and resurrection. In addition, he was convinced that this was the only way for the Russian society he loved so much to be transformed. Staretz Zosima in the novel The Brothers Karamazov admonishes Aliosha Karamazov to go into the world and to love the people even in their sins. The sacrificial love of Dostoevsky comes from the conviction that “there is nothing more beautiful, deeper, attractive, wiser, more courageous, and more perfect than Christ, and not only nothing, but I say with a jealous love, that there can never be”.[42]

3. Life as the goal for mission
According to Bosch, “For the Orthodox Church - love is the foundation of mission and life is the goal of it. Christ came not first of all to free the man from their sins, but to restore them in their godly image and to give them life”.[43] People are called not to simply get to know Christ; they are called to “share the glory of Christ”. “It is a continuing state of worship, prayer, thanksgiving, adoration, intercession as well as meditation and consideration of the triune God and God’s infinite love.”[44]

We have now many examples of the prayer life of Dostoevsky, of his meditations and ponderings about God and biblical characters.

One of Dostoevsky's early memories is a daily prayer with his nanny before going to bed, when he was 3 years of age. “I put all my hopes in Thee, Mother of God, keep me in Thy care”. This prayer Dostoevsky loved so much that it became part of the prayers which he read to his children at bed time.[45] Also from his early years Dostoevsky listened to bible stories. Remembering those years, Fyodor Michailovich wrote in 1873, “in our family we knew the Gospel almost from earliest childhood.”[46]

In his student years, Dostoevsky displayed a conscious eagerness to talk about God, despite the laughter of his comrades. Soloviov testifies,
Fyodor Michailovich behaved modestly; executive responsibilities and tasks performed meticulously, but were very religious, diligently performing the duties of an orthodox Christian. In his possession you could see both the Gospels and “Die Stunden der Andacht” (Hour of prayer). After lectures of Scriptures by Poluektov Fyodor Michailovich would talk at length to his Scriptures teacher. This was so sharply contrasting with everyone else’s way of life that his friends called him Fotius Monk.[47]

This is an important testimony that from his earliest childhood Gospel reading was not just a form. It made its way deep into his heart, and he loved it. In Dostoevsky’s letters to his brother Mikhail he said “To learn nature, soul, God, love… this is learned with the heart and not with the mind.”[48]

From the time of Dostoevsky’s marriage with Anna Grigorievna we have a number of references to his prayers. We have a letter in which Dostoevsky writes to his wife, “I prayed with tears about you this night”.[49] When the firstborn was due Dostoevsky prayed all night. As the birth of another son, Fyodor, approached, he prayed all day and all night.[50] When his two-year-old daughter Liubovi broke her hand and the bones did not knit well, she had to undergo surgery. “Anya, we shall pray and ask for the help of God, the Lord will help us!” remembers A. Dostoevsky – “we got on our knees and probably never have we prayed with such zeal as in those moments.[51]

Meditating about Christ and desiring to imitate Him in His self-sacrificial spirit, Dostoevsky said to writer D.V. Averkiev, “To understand your existence, to be able to say, I am! – that’s a great gift, but to say I am not, to humble yourself for the sake of others, to have this power is probably much greater”. To which Averkiev objected, “this certainly is a great gift, but no one has it or had ever had except for one, who was God”. To which Dostoevsky answered, “Yes, but also man.” For Dostoevsky Christ was not only God but also man, open to pain and called to go through it.[52]

The book of Job made an especially strong impression on Dostoevsky, with its story of an innocent sufferer, uncomplainingly enduring the difficult tests God sent to him: the death of his close ones, bankruptcy, leprosy, poverty. For that he was healed, restored to his wealth, became again the father of a large family and “died in late years filled with days”. Later he will say to his wife in 1875, “I am reading the book of Job and it creates in me a morbid excitement, I stop reading and walk about the room for about an hour, on the verge of crying…this book, Anya, is strangely one of the first that made a deep impression on me, and I was almost a baby back then!”[53]

The image of Christ who suffered and was resurrected and the image of Job suffering and his ‘resurrection’ to new life served as a model and inspiration for Dostoevsky's walk by faith.

4. Unity and mission
Dostoevsky was part of Russian Orthodox society. A constant love towards Russia and the Russian people, and steadfast Christian ideals, were among Dostoevsky's chief characteristics. Together they gave him a dream of the ‘reconciliation of nations’ in Christ with the help of Orthodox Russia.[54] Dostoevsky's thoughts and dreams on universal reconciliation, fascinating him throughout his life, came to their fullest expression six months prior to his death in his speech in honor of Pushkin, delivered on 8 June 1880. In the end he says with assurance,
Future Russian people will understand all and every single person that this is what it means to be a true Russian: to try to finally reconcile European disagreements once and for all, to show the way out for European boredom in our Russian soul, universal and all unifying, to encompass in it with brotherly love all of our brothers, and finally may be to reach a concluding agreement of all the nations on Christ’s gospel law.[55]

According to Dostoevsky, a divine harmony that would resolve all contradictions would be possible if people would live the life of Christ. He himself understood that this dream bordered on fantasy, yet nonetheless he strived to fulfill it, providing an example for others.

Conclusion
In the center of Dostoevsky’s mission is the image of Christ suffering and resurrected. He warned people of the danger of turning away from Christ, and called upon them to follow Him through the difficulties and hardships to “resurrection for new life”. With all that he would display a personal example of life in Christ in his relationships with Him and the people around.

I am aware that this study does not cover all the elements of Dostoevsky’s implicit mission. I hope that this research of Dostoevsky’s implicit mission to Russian society as a lived-out Russian Orthodox Convictional Theology will help us, as Baptist believers, in our mission to secularized people in European contexts where an Orthodox religious presence predominates.

However what was most evident in Dostoevsky’s life, day by day, was the love of God evident in him and through him because his convictions were grounded in Jesus.

NOTES

[1] According to James Wm. McClendon’s definition, the theology is “discovery, understanding, and transformation of the convictions of a convictional community, including the discovery and critical revision of their relation to one another and to whatever else there is”. McClendon, James Wm. Jr. Ethics. Systematic TheologyVolume1 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986), p. 23.

[2] Convictions are firm beliefs that guide the person. They don’t change so easily, but if we change them, then the person changes as well. (See McClendon, James Wm. Jr. & James M. Smith, Understanding Convictions: Defusing Religious. Revised edition. (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1994), p. 5).

[3] McClendon, James Wm. Jr. Ethics. Systematic TheologyVolume1 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986), p. 356.

[4] Parush R. Parushev and Rolling Grams, Academic Reasoning, Research and Writing in Religious Studies. A Concise Handbook (Librix.eu Tribun EU, 2008), p.19.

[5] David J Bosch, Transforming Mission. Paradigms Shifts in Theology of Mission (Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 1991), pp. 207-209.

[6] Lina Andronovienė and Parush R. Parushev, ‘Church, State, and Culture: On the Complexities of Post-soviet Evangelical Social Involvement’, Theological Reflections, EAAA Journal of Theology 3 (2004), pp. 194-21.

[7] A. Radzinskij, Alexandr II Zhizn’ I Smert’ [Akexander II Life and Death] (М., Izdatel’stvo АСТ, 2006), p. 81.

[8] Ibid, 75.

[9] A. F. Vvoznyi, Policejskij sjsk I kruzhok Petrashevcev [Criminal investigation and the Petroshavski’s group] (Kiev, KVSH MVD SSSR, 1976), p. 25.

[10] Marquis Astolf de Custin, Nikolaevskaya Rossiya [Nikolai’s Russia] (М., Izdatel’stvo politiceskoj literatury, 1990), p. 301.

[11] Kniga dlya chteniya po istorii novogo vremeni Т. IV [New Time History Handbook. Vol. IV] (М., Tipogragiya t-va I. D. Sytkina, 1914), p. 100.

[12] Radzinskij, Alexandr II Zhizn’ I Smert’, p. 59.

[13] Custin, Nikolaevskaya Rossiya, p. 157.

[14] Istoriya Rossii v XIX veke [History of Russia in XIX century] (SPb., Pusskaya Skoropechatnya, V. 1-2, no year.), p. 69.

[15] A. V. Semionova, Velikaya Francuzskaya revolyuciya I Rossiya [Russia and the Great French Revolution] (М., «Znanie», 1991), p. 8.

[16] Rossiya. Ehnciklopedicheskij spravochnik [Russia. Encyclopedia] (М., Izdatel’skij dom “Drofa”, 1998), p. 132.

[17] Russkoe obshhestvo 40-50 godov XIX veka [Russian society of years 40-50 of XIX century] (М., Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1989), p. 10.

[18] Ibid, 13.

[19] F. M. Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 21, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1873 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 21, The Diary of a Writer for 1873.,] (L., Nauka, 1980), p. 8.

[20] Ibid, 9.

[21] Ibid, 130.

[22] Ibid, 134.

[23] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 26, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1880 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 26, The Diary of a Writer for 1880.,] (L., Nauka, 1980), p. 152.

[24] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 28, Pis’ma 1873 god.,M. P. Pogodinu 26 fevralya [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 28, Letters of 1873.,to M. Pogodin from 26 February] (L. Nauka, 1985), p. 471.

[25] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 21, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1873 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 21, The Diary of a Writer for 1873.,] (L., Nauka, 1980), chapter 3.

[26] Ibid

[27] Bosch, Transforming Mission. Paradigms Shifts in Theology of Mission, pp. 208-209.

[28] Ibid

[29] A. М. Rumyanczeva, Fiodor Michailovich Dostoevsky (L., Prosveshhenie, 1971), p. 14.

[30] F. M. Dostoevsky v vospominaniyah sovremennikov v dvuh tomah [F.M. Dostoevsky in reminiscence of his contemporaries in two volumes] (М., Hudozhestvennaya Literatura, 1990), pp. 166-167.

[31] Ibid, 189.

[32] Ibid, 189-190.

[33] Ibid, 191.

[34] Ibid, 235-236.

[35] Ibid, 141.

[36] A. G. Dostoevskaya, Vospominaniya [Memoirs] (М., Pravda, 1987), p. 78.

[37] Ibid, 220.

[38] Ibid, 354.

[39] Ibid, 421.

[40] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 25, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1877 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 25, The Diary of a Writer for 1877.,] (L., Nauka, 1983), pp. 182-187.

[41] N. О Lossky, Bog I mirovoe zlo [God and world evil] (М., Respublika, 1994), p. 19.

[42] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 28, Pis’ma 1854 god., N. D. Fonvizina 20 fevralya [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 28, Letters of 1854.,to N. D. Fonvizina from 20 February] (L. Nauka, 1985), p. 175.

[43] Bosch, Transforming Mission. Paradigms Shifts in Theology of Mission, pp. 208-209.

[44] Ibid

[45] Lossky, Bog i mirovoe zlo, p. 36.

[46] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 21, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1873 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 21, The Diary of a Writer for 1873.,] (L., Nauka, 1973), p. 134.

[47] F. M. Dostoevsky v vospominaniyah sovremennikov v dvuh tomah, p. 163.

[48] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 28, Pis’ma 1838 god., M. M. Dostoevsky 31oktobrya [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 28, Letters of 1854.,to M. M. Dostoevsky from 31 October] (L. Nauka, 1985), p. 53.

[49] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 28, Pis’ma 1867 god., A. G. Dostoevskaya 8 maya [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 28, Letters of 1867., to A. G. Dostoevskaya from 8 May] (L. Nauka, 1985), p. 188.

[50] Dostoevskaya, Vospominaniya, p.78.

[51] Ibid, 144.

[52] F. M. Dostoevsky v vospominaniyah sovremennikov v dvuh tomah, p. 20.

[53] L.Grossman, Dostoevsky (М., Molodaya Gvardiya, 1962), p. 15.

[54] Lossky, Bog i mirovoe zlo, p. 19.

[55] Dostoevsky, Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenij v 30 tomakh, tom 26, Dnevnik pisatelya za 1880 god., [The Complete Works in 30 volumes, V. 26, The Diary of a Writer for 1880.,] (L., Nauka, 1984), p. 148.

Milton on the Rivers of Eden

From Paradise Lost: Book IV
John Milton (1608-1674)

Southward through Eden went a river large,
Nor chang'd his course, but through the shaggy hill
Pass'd underneath ingulf'd; for God had thrown
That mountain, as his garden-mould, high rais'd
Upon the rapid current, which through veins
Of porous earth with kindly thirst up-drawn
Rose a fresh fountain, and with many a rill
Water'd the garden; thence united fell
Down the steep glade and met the nether flood,
Which from his darksome passage now appears,
And now, divided into four main streams,
Runs diverse, wand'ring many a famous realm
And country, whereof here needs no account,
But rather to tell how, if art could tell,
How from that sapphire fount the crisped brooks,
Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold,
With mazy error under pendent shades
Ran nectar, visiting each plant, and fed
Flow'rs worthy of Paradise, which not nice Art
In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon
Pour'd forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain,
Both where the morning sun first warmly smote
The open field, and where the unpierc'd shade
Imbrown'd the noontide bow'rs. Thus was this place,
A happy rural seat of various view.

Pope Gregory on the Christian Life

Pope St. Gregory I was a Doctor of the Church who exercised influence in the shaping of Christian doctrine in both East and West. He was born at Rome about 540 and died in March 604. He is known as Saint Gregory the Great and as Saint Gregory the Dialogist. What follows is a sermon he preached in 604 A.D. It is rich food for thought, but not readily available, so I'm posting it here.


In the world, yet not of it

I would like to urge you to forsake everything, but that I do not presume to do. Yet, if you cannot give up everything of this world, at least keep what belongs to the world in such a way that you yourself are not kept prisoner by the world. Whatever you possess must not possess you; what you own must be under tha power of your soul; for it your soul is overpowered by the love of this world's goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions.

In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal. We should give no more than a side glance at all that happens in the world, but the eyes of our soul are to be focused right ahead; for our whole attention must be fixed on those realities whcih constitute our goal.

Whatever is vicious must be utterly eradicated, wrenched away not merely from being put into action but even from being so much as thought of. No carnal pleasure, no worldly curiosity, no surge of ambition must keep us from the Lord's supper. But further, our minds should merely skirt even the good deeds we perform in this life; in this way, the physical things which give us pleasure will serve our bodily needs without hindering the soul's progress. You see, my brotehrs, I dare not say to you, give up everyting. Yet, if you will, you can give up everything even while keeping it, provided you handle temporal things in such a way that your whole mind is directed toward what is eternal. A man can use the world as if he were not using it, if he makes all external needs minister to the support of his life without allowing them to dominate his soul. They remain external to him and under his control, serving him without halting the soul's drive to higher things. For such men, everything in this world is there for their use, not to be desired. Nothing should interfere with your soul's longing; no created pleasure in the world should ensnare you.

If the object of love is what is good, then the soul should take its delight in the higher good, the things of heaven. If the object of fear is eveil, then we should keep before ourselves the things that are eternally evil. In this way, if the soul sees that we should have a greater love and a greater fear about what concerns the next life, it will never cling to this life.

To help us achieve all this we have the help of the mediator between God and Man. Through Him we shall obtain all this the more quickly, the more we burn with a great love for Him, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.


The text of this sermon is found here.

JRR Tolkien: Hope for the Older Writer

Alice C. Linsley


John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born of British parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa in January of 1892, but moved to England with his mother, Mabel Tolkien at the age of three. Tolkien's father died when he was very young.

In 1904, Tolkien's mother died of diabetes, and the young John Ronald and his brother Hilary went to live with their aunt in the West Midlands. From there they eventually moved to the Birmingham suburb of Edgbaston.

John Ronald and Hilary were brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, and remained devout Catholics throughout their lives. Their parish priest, Father Francis Morgan, visited the family regularly and assumed responsibility for the boys' material and spiritual welfare after the death of their mother.

In 1908, Tolkien attended Oxford and in 1915 he was awarded First Class Honours degree in English Language and Literature.

Tolkien married Edith Bratt in 1916. The couple had four children. John entered the priesthood, and Michael and Christopher both served in the Royal Air Force. Michael later became a schoolmaster and Christopher a university lecturer. Priscilla (born in 1929) was their only daughter. She became a social worker.

During WW I Tolkien served in the army and saw action on the Somme. He returned home suffering from shell shock, and while convalescing he started to study early forms of language and worked on Silmarillion (published 1977). For the rest of his life, Tolkien expanded the mythology of his fantasy worlds.

In 1918, Tolkien joined the staff of New English Dictionary and in 1919 he became a freelance tutor in Oxford. Tolkien then worked as a teacher and professor at the University of Leeds. In 1925, he became Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He was appointed Merton Professor of English at Oxford in 1945, and retired in 1959.

His scholarly works included studies on Chaucher (1934) and an edition of Beowulf (1937). He was interested in the Finnish national epos Kalevala, from which he drew inspiration for some of his imaginary language Quenya. Most of the inhabitants of Tolkien's imaginary Middle-Earth are derived from English folklore and mythology or from a romanticized Anglo-Saxon past.

With C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and other friends, Tolkien formed an informal literary group called The Inklings, which took shape in the 1930s. They all had an interest in storytelling and their Tuesday lunchtime sessions in the Bird and Baby pub became a well known part of Oxford social life. At their meetings, the Inklings read drafts of fiction and critiqued one another's work. Williams died in 1945 and the meetings stopped in 1949.

In the 1960s American paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings began to acquire a following of devoted readers. In 1972 he received CBE from the Queen. Tolkien died on September 2, 1973.

The Hobbit was published in 1937 when the author was 45 years old. He developed the history of Middle-Earth in The Lord of the Rings which was published when Tolkien was over 60. That give me hope as an older writer.

Cardenal's Prayer for Marilyn Monroe

The Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal was born on January 20, 1925. He is considered by many critics to be the greatest living Latin American poet, often compared with another Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío.

Well-known as an advocate for justice, Cardenal served as Minister of Culture under the Sandinista government in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1988. In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II reprimanded Cardenal for promoting a liberation theology that the prelate found divergent from Roman Catholicism. The day before the Pope held mass in Managua, a commemorative service for seventeen Sandinistias was held in the plaza where the Contras killed them – the very same location of the Papal mass. Pope John Paul failed to acknowledge the event or offer condolences to the families of the murdered. He also expressed criticism of Cardenal for resisting his order to resign from the government.

Cardenal was educated at Jesuit schools in Nicaragua and in Mexico. He attended Columbia University where he became acquainted with many English language writers, developing a special fondness for the work of Ezra Pound.

Cardenal was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1965, having received a call to serve the poor. He helped establish a Marxist-Christian community on Solentiname Island in Nicaragua.

In this poem, written in 1965 after the death of Marilyn Monroe, Cardenal offers a prayer that she, and all who live absurd lives, might find mercy before God.

I'm posting the poem here in Spanish, with an English translation below.

Oración por Marilyn Monroe
Ernesto Cardenal

Señor
Recibe a esta muchacha conocida en toda la tierra con el
nombre de Marilyn Monroe
aunque ese no era su verdadero nombre
(pero Tú conoces su verdadero nombre, el de la huerfanita violada
a los 9 años
y la empleadita de tienda que a los 16 se había querido matar)
y que ahora se presenta ante Ti sin ningún maquillaje
sin su Agente de Prensa
sin fotógrafos y sin firmar autógrafos
sola como un astronauta frente a la noche espacial.

Ella soñó cuando niña que estaba desnuda en una iglesia
(según cuenta el Time)
ante una multitud postrada, con las cabezas en el suelo
y tenía que caminar en puntillas para no pisar las cabezas.
Tú conoces nuestros sueños mejor que los psiquiatras.
Iglesia, casa, cueva, son la seguridad del seno materno
Pero también algo más que eso…
Las cabezas son los admiradores, es claro
(la masa de cabezas en la oscuridad bajo el chorro de luz).
Pero el templo no son los estudios de la 20th Century-Fox.
El templo – de mármol y oro – es el templo de su cuerpo
en el que está el Hijo de Hombre con un látigo en la mano
expulsando a los mercaderos de la 20th Century-Fox
que hicieron de Tu casa de oración una cueva de ladrones.

Señor
En este mundo contaminado de pecados y radioactividad
Tú no culparás tan sólo a una empleadita de tienda.
Que como toda empleadita de tienda soñó ser estrella de cine.
Y su sueño fue realidad (pero como la realidad del tecnicolor).
Ella no hizo sino actuar según el script que le dimos
- El de nuestras propias vidas – Y era un script absurdo.
Perdónala Señor y perdónanos a nosotros
por nuestra 20th Century
por esta Colosal Super-Producción en la que todos hemos trabajado.

Ella tenía hambre de amor y le ofrecimos tranquilizantes.
Para la tristeza de no ser santos
se le recomendó el Psicoanálisis.
Recuerda Señor su creciente pavor a la cámara
y el odio al maquillaje – insistiendo en maquillarse en cada escena –
y cómo se fue hacienda mayor el horror
y mayor la impuntualidad a los estudios.

Como toda empleadita de tienda
soñó ser estrella de cine.
Y su vida fue irreal como un sueño que un psiquiatra interpreta y archiva.

Sus romances fueron un beso con los ojos cerrados
que cuando se abren los ojos
se descubre que fue bajo reflectores
¡y apagan los reflectores!
y desmontan las dos paredes del aposento (era un set cinematográfico)
mientras el Director se aleja con su libreta
porque la escena ya fue tomada.
O como un viaje en yate, un beso en Sinapur, un baile en Rio
la recepción en la mansión del Duque y la Duquesa de Windsor
vistos en la salita del apartamento miserable.

La película terminó sin el beso final.
La hallaron muerta en su cama con la mano en el teléfono.
Y los detectivos no supieron a quién iba a llamar.
Fue
como alguien que ha marcado el número de la única voz amiga
y oye tan sólo la voz de un disco que le dice: WRONG NUMBER
O como alguien que herido por los gansters
alarga la mano a un teléfono desconectado.

Señor
quienquiera que haya sido el que ella iba a llamar
y no llamó (y tal vez no era nadie
o era Alguien cuyo número no está en el Directorio de Los Angeles)
¡contesta Tú el teléfono!


Oración por Marilyn Monroe, y otros poemas, Ediciones La Tertulia, 1965, reprinted, Editorial Nueva Nicaragua-Ediciones Monimbo, 1985.


Lord

Receive this girl known around the world by the
name Marilyn Monroe
although that was not her real name
(but You know her real name, that of the little orphan girl violated
at age 9
and the little store clerk who at 16 had wanted to kill herself)
and who now presents herself before You without any makeup
without her Press Agent
without photographers and without signing autographs
alone as an astronaut facing the night of space.

She dreamt as a girl of being naked in a church
(as reported by Time)
before a prostrated crowd, with heads to the ground
and she had to walk on tiptoes so as not to tread on the heads.
You know our dreams better than the psychiatrists.
Church, home, cave, are the security of the mother’s breast
But also something more than that…
The heads are those of her fans, it is clear
(the mass of heads in the darkness beneath the stream of light)
But the temple is not the studios of 20th Century-Fox.
The temple – of marble and gold – is the temple of her body
in which the Son of Man with a whip in hand
drives out the 20th Century-Fox flesh merchants
who made Your house of prayer a den of thieves.

Lord
In this world of sins and radioactivity
You will not blame a little store clerk only.
Like all shop girls she dreamt of being a film star.
And her dream was reality (but the reality of Technicolor).
She did nothing but act according to the script that we gave her
- That of our own lives – And it was an absurd script.
Forgive her, Lord, and forgive us
for our 20th Century
for this Colossal Super-Production on which all of us have worked.

She was hungry for love and we offered her tranquilizers.
For her sadness, as we are not saints,
Psychoanalysis was recommended to her.
Remember, Lord, her growing fear of the camera
and her hatred of makeup – insisting on fresh makeup for each scene –
and how the horror kept building in her
and her late arrivals at the studio became more frequent.

Like every shop girl
she dreamt of being a film star.
And her life was unreal like a dream that a psychiatrist interprets and archives.

Her romances were a kiss with closed eyes
yet when she opened her eyes
she discovered that she was under spotlights
and they turned off the spotlights!
and they take down the two walls of the setup (it was a movie set)
while the Director walks away with his notebook
because the scene was shot.
Or like a yacht trip, a kiss in Singapore, a dance in Rio
The reception at the mansion of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
viewed in the miserable little living room of an apartment.

The movie ended without the final kiss.
The found her dead in her bed with the phone in her hand
And the detectives didn’t know who she was going to call.
She was
like someone who had dialed the number of the single friendly voice
and had only heard the voice of a recording that told her: WRONG NUMBER
Or like someone who had been wounded by gansters
reaching for the disconnected telephone.

Lord
whoever it might have been that she was going to call
and didn’t call (and perhaps it wasn’t anyone
or it was Someone whose number isn’t in the Los Angeles Directory)
You answer the phone!

-- Translation by Alice C. Linsley

Ed Pacht's Latest Chapbook

Ed Pacht has compiled another wonderful chapbook with the title Visions. I'm reading through the pages now and will post some of the poems that appear there with Ed's permission. Here is one that delights the heart of this nature lover! This one was written by Ed's "little sister" who is 63 years old.

Have you ever?
By Virginia Cote

Have you ever patted a Red Squirrel or
held a Chipmunk? Have you ever talked
with a White Tailed Deer for twenty
minutes? Have you ever seen a
Pileated Woodpecker take his turn, with
his mate, to sit on their precious eggs?
Have you ever seen a Chipmunk carry
three peanuts at once?

I have.

Have you ever watched a Nuthatch tuck
a sunflower seed into the bark of a
tree? Have you ever studied a Crow’s
nest up close? Have you ever heard the
snap of twigs and looked up to see a
Moose leaving the trail to avoid you?
Have you ever had a Chippy watch you
work and then inspect your job?

I have.

Have you ever seen a clear foot print of a Bear
that just snuck out of sight? Have you ever had
Chipmunks lead you to the next feed station?
Have you ever seen a Blue Jay with a bald head,
then found out it was a juvenile in molt?
Have you ever followed a Chipmunk home to his hole?

I have.

Have you ever watched a Red Squirrel
chase others out of his territory? Have you ever seen
a Raccoon return to her nest and her baby greet her?
Have you ever seen a full body print of a Red Squirrel
perfectly left in the snow on the trunk of a tree?
Have you ever watched Turkeys mate?

I have.

Have you ever seen Fox, Crow or Deer tracks?
Have you ever watched the Chippies and Squirrels run
along the Critter Highways? Have you ever watched
a woodpecker start at the bottom of a tree and work his way up,
hunting for bugs? Have you ever heard a Nuthatch’s quiet voice?

I have.

Have you ever hand fed a Squirrel or felt a Chippy’s tiny foot?
Have you ever said, “Good Morning” to a crow?
Have you ever seen a bird’s wing imprinted in the snow
and wonder what went on?
Have you ever seen a little Titmouse carry a peanut off?

I have.

Have you ever seen the squirrel tunnels made under the snow?
Have you ever been scolded by a red squirrel? Have you ever
snuck up on a Buck ever so slowly to see how close you could get
and once discovered have him snort and stamp his foot at you
before he leaps away. Have you ever had a Turkey fly over your head?

I have.

Have you ever discovered a Porcupine’s den?
Have you ever watched a squirrel eat the nuts from a pine cone?
Have you ever scared a deer off and then waited
for it to come back just to get one more peek?
Have you ever spotted the eyes of a deer
through the thick forest?

I have.

I walk my trails every day and watch nature.
I learn something new every day.
I smile and know the thrill of discovery.
I love the trust I get from my woodland friends.
Have you ever walked in the woods just for the joy of it?

I have.