Within my parish-cloister I behold
A painted Heaven where harps and lutes adore,
And eke an Hell whose damned folk seethe full sore:
One bringeth fear, the other joy to me.— Ballade to Our Lady, François Villon.
“We are against the comfortable life.” Strike the match to light the candle. Hold it at eye level and contemplate the flame, then light the wick. We are not playing with fire; we are making space. Sovegna vos. Shake the hand to extinguish the match with the thumb and forefinger holding it in place, uniting fire and air in the universal gesture that welcomes divine wisdom. Against that which is contra naturam; Piero della Francesca came not by usura. A beautiful life and the comfortable one are evidently anathema. Look around you. No man hath a house of good stone. Sit upright, head above heart, heart above pelvis. Everything made to sell and sell quickly. There is a vested interest in conflating Jews with the market; criticism of the market is forbidden as antisemitic, and hence Jews are made scapegoats for the market (usury was in essence practiced by the Medici bank in the 14th century; the Medici were Christian Florentines). Breathe into your belly. The common man comes thus to despise Jews as he understands them as the market, while the real target, the market — concealed dark intelligence, egregore we continue to feed our life force, weakening our soul’s powers — remains veiled. Enhance your concentration to disconnect from external illusions. The third ditch of the seventh hell is for bankers. Lock your gaze on the flame. And religious brother tears religious brother limb from. We are against indulgence. Hold your gaze. Concentrate on the internal object to find the subject and object are one. Soup and water is enough to sit quietly in service; we have everything we need without bread like stale rags. Balance surrender with rapt concentration. From where comes wisdom? It is through the thinking of men that the soul of God spreads throughout the world. We must work and affirm, without any guess of the value of what we say or do. Hold your focus as the fear of silence rises within. This path is not for the weak. You must cast off all weakness; a saint is only a sinner who never gave up. Remember your reminiscence: the vision is the will externalised. And where there be no vision the people perish.