Today's saint lived a remarkably intense but rather short life, full of fantastic visions and visitations that were documented by both herself and her brother, who, by all accounts, was a bit overbearing and tended to color her experiences through his own more formal and florid lens. There are volumes of prose written by her and, evidently, you can tell where her brother began to write them for her because of the change in language and tone. Her language was more simple and direct.
Well known and powerful men of that time tended to follow what she said in the many letters that she wrote to them.
I was really impressed with the gorgeous photos that someone named Ana St. Paul has included on her blog site, Ana St. Paul. I don't know who she is or where she got her research, but her blog is beautifully done, and if you are interested in this particular mystic, you can go to Ana's blog and have a look. I really could not do any better.
Saint Elizabeth of Schonau and Copyright Law
There are quite a few web sites that talk about this saint, and most of them appear to have plagiarized an original, using the exact same language, such as that this saint was able to "transcend the traditional gender roles of the time." (I suspect that Ana St. Paul is the original writer and that others have stolen her work for their own blogs.)
I wish that people were more respectful of copyright law. They have the weirdest ideas about it.
Anyone who writes anything using their own creativity has an immediate "copyright" that lasts at least until 75 years after their death and unless you have specific written permission from the author to use their words, you are guilty of theft if you use anything but a short quote - but that quote MUST be a very small amount in comparison to the original work and you MUST also give credit in a specific format.
This "fair use" varies, depending on the significance of the part stolen. For instance, in a poem, it could be a word or two that is significant to the theme. (Recently, I had to chivvy another writer who stole a haiku theme from me, using a pivotal word in relation to the same subject. She was obnoxious about it and I had to ask her to leave a writing group I started. Who wants to associate with someone who steals from you and demands that you sit still for it?)
Most of these "writers" who have put something online about Elizabeth of Schonau appear to have copied the ENTIRE work of the original writer without giving any credit whatsoever, which is both illegal and unethical and, frankly, a bit creepy.
When I have told people about this in connection with my own writing (which is FREQUENTLY stolen, especially in the genealogy field, in which I am a minor expert), I usually get a volatile reaction. This is an age in which people feel remarkably ENTITLED to do whatever they damn well please, even if it infringes on the rights of others. I call it "the era of the bully."
The Era of the Bully
There are virtual battalions of martinets stomping around the world, demanding that everyone else make them comfortable, cater to them, entertain them, and make them happy. Don't dare confide anything but "positivity" to these petty little blackmailers because it is everyone else's responsibility to make them feel good. We are all prisoners in an interpersonal gulag. This tendency makes itself known very much on the internet.
I am just sick of the raft of Facebook memes advising people that no one is worth keeping around unless they make you "happy." Ayn Rand, the author of "The Virtue of Selfishness" and the head of an organization devoted to that idea, would just LOVE the current social construct in which selfish pleasure seekers flounce around the internet, demanding to be coddled.
Recently, I was put onto a mailing list without my permission. Ostensibly the organization exists to promote devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, which is a favorite apparition of mine, but I keep getting emails from them telling me I must join their campaign against one thing after another. The tone modulates between strident and absolutely hysterical. Fight against this. Fight against that. Stop this. Stop that. This organization has decided that its mission is to force the rest of the world to please them. The mere existence of another religion or philosophy appears to make them feel personally slighted. Instead of alluring people to The Lord, they're stomping around with a litany of resentments. Too much.
Toxic Positivity vs. Christian Love
This emphasis on pleasure and entertainment is toxic. I do what I can to let people know that I do not expect it of them. Everyone who enters my world can be assured of, at the very least, some simple sympathy when life kicks them in the teeth. I do what I can to love my neighbor.
I believe that, at the very least, Christians should welcome authenticity in others, which includes expressions of sadness, disappointment, grief, and other modes of distress.
It is not the job of every human to make me feel good. It is nice when it happens, but my criteria for friendship has to do with values and character, rather than selfish enjoyment. I am friends with some angular and, at times, difficult people who are hard to be around. It doesn't matter. They're good people with hearts of gold, and I am happy to call each one "friend."
Contentment With my Simple Life
Today is the 3rd or 4th day since my 2nd booster shot and, although the arm still aches a good deal, the other reactions have subsided and I have begun to feel more normal, though I am still not sleeping very much.
At first, I was very concerned about the insomnia but I am reminded of my guru who only slept 4 hours at night, and then a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. He lived into his 90's and, by all reports, kept his sharp mind and his customary schedule. This is the approximate schedule that I myself am keeping at the moment, but I have recently started taking melatonin at the suggestion of one of my doctors, so we shall see if my schedule changes. I suspect that, like my guru, it has become my 'natural' state and that, for someone who meditates a good deal, this is probably normal.
Today my little dog and I took a ride across town to pick up a container of half-and-half that I use for my afternoon tea. Janie had gotten it for me but it did not make it back into her car when she brought over the other groceries, so I opted to do a "drive by" and get it from her. I do enjoy a leisurely drive, though the price of gasoline limits that to the status of a luxury these days. I told Charlemagne that we were going to see his "Auntie Jane" when we were a block away and he started shrieking. He just loves her like crazy, and it is so cute.
I feel so grateful today for my simple life, despite all the pains and pitfalls. I am feeling the love and care of The Lord very much these days, as well as the attention and company of Our Blessed Mother, as well as my family of saints in heaven. They are with me in a way that I perceive with great love. What a blessing!
May we all be blessed!
Sannyasini Kaliprana
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