The Tao of Pope St. Gregory the Great

http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/dao.html


The Tao of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

The Seven Deadly Sins and Wu Wei.


A rough translation of "The Tao" is "The Way," and this philosophy/religion appears to have originated in China between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D. The broad dating is due to disagreements. It is attributed to Lao Tsu. For now, let us not debate the origins and distortions of Taoism. We will look at one aspect, wu wei, and consider Gregory's list of seven deadly sins (attitudes) from this perspective.

Translations of philosophy from ancient languages to modern often pose a problem. Wu wei can be translated as "no purpose", but the complete phrase is "wu wei and not wu wei." Some translate the whole phrase as "do not act, yet act." Huston Smith's translation: "Don't waste energy." Some translate it as avoiding purposeful action, others as avoiding unnatural, affected actions.

Dante will be our guide, as we will use his sequence for the Seven Deadly Sins, starting with the least hellish attitudes and working our way toward the worst. Think of it as a conversation between Dante, Gregory and Lao Tsu .......

If you want to read more ..... please visit:

http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/dao.html

Prayer Against the Seven Deadly Sins


"If I find Him, I will find myself."

Thomas Merton, "New Seeds of Contemplation," 1961

Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk, 20th Century


http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/sevenprayer.html

Sorry to be off-topic, but what do modern Catholics make of some of the pontiffs of the late ninth century?

Originally posted by Paul Dirac
Sorry to be off-topic, but what do modern Catholics make of some of the pontiffs of the late ninth century?

Such as?

Originally posted by Paul Dirac
Sorry to be off-topic, but what do modern Catholics make of some of the pontiffs of the late ninth century?

Which Popes do you have in mind?

Pope St. Leo IV (847-855) seems like an able administrator. Pope Benedict III (855-858) was a known scholar and holy man. Pope St. Nicholas I (858-867) was famous for his refusal to annul Lothar II's marriage. Pope Adrian II (867-872) was a bit of a weakling. Pope John VIII (872-882) was one of the ablest Popes of the century. Pope Martin II (882-884) didn't do anything of note. Pope St. Adrian III (884-885) aided the Romans during a famine, earning widespread veneration. Pope Stephen VI (885-891) didn't do much of note.

Pope Formosus (891-896) was a controversial character. Pope Boniface VI (896) only lasted fifteen days in office. Pope Stephen VII (896-897) was, of course, infamous for the Cadaver Synod against the remains of Pope Formosus. Pope Romanus (897) only lasted three months. Pope Theodore II (897) revoked Stephen VII's decree against Formosus. Pope John IX (898-900) upheld the decision of his predecessor.

Originally posted by lucifershammer
... Pope Stephen VII (896-897) was, of course, infamous for the Cadaver Synod against the remains of Pope Formosus...

That one especially was one I was thinking of. For those who might be interested, I found just this:

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/popes/stephen-vii/

I was curious if such unflattering biographies are considered at all valid within the Church.

Originally posted by Paul Dirac
That one especially was one I was thinking of. For those who might be interested, I found just this:

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/popes/stephen-vii/

I was curious if such unflattering biographies are considered at all valid within the Church.

Not sure what you mean by "biographies ... considered valid ... within the Church". The Church does not have an 'alternate [unflattering] biography' of Stephen VI, if that's what you mean:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14289d.htm

And, btw, you might want to check the credibility of the sources you cite. No serious historian believes that 'Pope' Joan actually existed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Joan