A happy 4th Sunday of Advent to you all - and a Merry Christmas when the day comes around. Here as usual the reflection for those who need to run it through a translator. There is something that I hear quite often: Listen Father, I respect you and all - especially because of your sumptuous beard in which you so elegantly preserve food and crumbs..., but I myself am spiritual not religious. I think I can understand what people often want to express when they say this. They want to indicate that they believe in something higher, that is meaningful to them. But either none of the religions out there really embody what they "feel to be true" or "what they feel" or they want to put some distance between themselves and the very fallible members of particular religions. In the Western context the latter may come down to: I'm down with Jesus but not with the Church. Which sounds nice. You apparently get to keep the cool stuff but rid yourself of all that church history, the failings, in short: the human element In the coming weeks I want to share some thoughts on this. Hopefully some of you will find them helpful. And for that I want to start with the most basic question: What is religion? When it is contrasted with spirituality in the way I hinted at, religion often refers to something organized - hence also the talk of organized religion as something negative in this context. Such a religion involves rules, rites, constraints. And all this puts a damper on exploration and creativity, on feeling your way through it. We will look at this particular point later. In this first reflection I want to start with something basic: how religion was understood by the ancients, the Greek philosophers. And there religion actually appears in relation to something we probably all can get behind - even if we are neither spiritual nor religious: the attempt to lead a good life. When it comes to the quest for a good life, the ancients got it right. It is us moderns that have it wrong. For we think of a better life very often in terms of technological progress. A new iPhone, a new vacuum, a new electric car, a net-zero home, new medical therapies, larger TVs, drone delivery, colonizing Mars, updating humanity - optimizing humanity - with integrated technology as enthusiastically promised by trans-humanists. Now, some of these things may be goods. They can improve aspects of our life. In that sense they make life better. BUT: they do not make US better. They do not make US good. To be fair the technocrats also dream up utopias of world peace and human goodness - best managed by experts and elites. But that is only possible because these grandiose futuristic visions with robots, universal basic income and space travel forget one tiny detail: human nature, which in its core is utterly unaffected by all that bling. And that is why the Greeks were right after all. Their first question was not a technological one: how do I make a bigger sword. It was not even: "How can I wield it more efficiently and to my advantage". The most pertinent question was: when is it just to wield the sword. My point is not that people didn't fancy swords. Neither that they could not differ or even err in the question on when to use them. My point is that unlike us modern technocrats they recognized as the most important question - a question of philosophy and not technology, that is:"When and how should I act?" That is why their quest for the perfection of humanity was fundamentally not about the conquest and subjugation of the cosmos, even though Alexander the Great set out to do exactly that. Rather it was about what Alexander's teacher, Aristotle, had proposed: not to conquer the world but to conquer oneself. And this is why Alexander the Great is a chapter of history, but Aristotle's thought is not. For it is very much alive. So let us look then at Aristotle's proposal, a proposal concerning the wielding of swords called virtue ethics. Virtue ethics departs from the following simple fact: there are certain powers within us. We have, for example, the power of reason. With it we can grasp and understand the things around us. We have the power of the will. The will is a power that inclines us to what we perceive as good in some way. We can be mistaken about the good, but if we perceive it as good, our will inclines us to it. It may even be something bad, but we choose it only insofar as we perceive some apparent good in it, something we desire. We have further an appetitive power that inclines us to things that evoke pleasure in the senses. This power serves the preservation of the individual through things such as food and the preservation of the species through things which I will call pro-creation here - to avoid a more straight forward term that youtube might fret over. And then we have a power directed at goods that are not pleasurable - at least in the short term - a power aiming at the difficult good despite obstacles and dangers. All of these are what the Greeks called the "powers of the soul". Reason and will are the defining powers as they render our particular nature rational. But this does not mean that we always act rationally. We may be influenced by our passions or emotions. E-motions can move us to action - or inaction. That can be a good thing. Or it can be problematic if the emotions take over the reigns from reason. Fear, for example, is an emotion. Fear is good. It will prevent you from risky business on a cliff's edge. But if fear takes control we are in trouble. Fear may paralyze us or let us act irrationally in some other way. So the emotions are good, but need to be ordered by reason. Alright. So we have the powers and the passions or emotions. That's all great. Continued in PART II below
PART II Now having the powers is one thing. Using them another. And using them in a good way is obviously where rubber meets the road. The Greek thinkers figured out that the best way to use them is a kind of mean between deficiency and excess. But with this they did not mean mediocrity but an optimum. This will be clear from the following example. Take sports. You want to be a runner. You could train 2 minutes a day or you could train 20 hours a day. One way of training would be too little, the other would be too much. But somewhere between 2 minutes and 20 hours lies your optimum, which the Greeks called "arete" meaning excellence. The Romans came to call it "virtus" from the Latin for a particular kind of strength. And from that the English language has taken the word virtue. A virtue is possessed by the person that habitually and thus with greater ease exercises a particular power in an excellent or optimal way. And each power is understood to be perfected by one such chief virtue. The power of practical reason, the question of which is "what should I do" is perfected by the virtue of prudence. The will is perfected by justice seeking the right relation to others. The virtue of the appetitive power directed to sense goods is called temperance and the power concerning difficult goods receives its excellence through fortitude. These four virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude are called cardinal virtues to underline their importance. Annexed to them are many particular virtues relating to particular objects or situations. We don't have to go into further detail here, except for justice. Simple justice is: rendering another their due according to equality. Ok. But there are circumstances where the other is not equal and yet the demands of justice still apply. An officer or teacher, for example, might be equal to you inasmuch as both of you are human. But their office, when rightly exercised on behalf of a legitimate authority, creates an inequality. To illustrate: a police officer can fine you for speeding, enforcing a law that the community through its elected representatives has agreed upon to serve the common good. Karen from next door cannot fine you. The police officer and Karen from next door are equal as persons. But they do not have the same authority. In that point they are unequal. The virtue annexed to justice that concerns this particular inequality can be called respect, meaning you owe the police officer a respect that you don't owe in the same way to Karen. Take another case: There are your parents without whom you would not be here. In that sense you are not equal to them. You owe them your life. And thus - despite their human failings - it is right and just to give them honor - whatever that may look like in the concrete case. Honoring your parents is a virtue annexed to justice in this particular case of inequality. Lastly, all of us find ourselves in the most un-equal of all relationships from the get-go: our relationship with God. You might say: hang on, hang on. I don't believe in a God. And I would say. Ok. We can talk about arguments for or against the existence of God. But it is not necessary to do so here. To understand our current exploration of Greek thinking, you don't need to believe in God. You just need to understand what happens if you held that there was a God - or gods. In that case justice obviously requires to render to God - or the gods - what is due to them. Now if that deity has created the entire universe with you in it, everything is due to it. That God owes you nothing. You owe that God everything. So how can you give God what you owe? Well, you can't - because of the sheer inequality. But it seems reasonable that any person that could be called just, would at least seek for ways to give to God what is due in some measure. We will look at our feeble human attempts at this in the next episode. In this very basic consideration the only point is this: Anyone who believes in a deity and desires to be just, will try to give the deity its due. And this virtue the Greeks called: religion. We are not taking here about particular religions or the actions that are associated with it across cultures. We are only talking about the general demands of the virtue of justice. And one such demand for the person believing in a higher power is the virtue religion, which is annexed to the virtue of justice on account of this particular inequality. What does all this mean with regard to our opening question concerning religion and spirituality. If we understand religion in the sense laid our here, then religion - that is, religious action - is a demand of justice. For the virtue of religion, being a part of justice, regulates my relationship with the divine. It responds to the claim that the Divine has on me. It responds to a debt and obligation that I have to the Divine. And any just person will seek to address this debt in some manner. Now let us contrast this with spirituality - at least as the word is often used in the West today. Spirituality is rarly viewed in terms of a debt - something I owe in justice to a higher power. More often than not it is a kind of "extra thing" - a kind of tapping into something deeper, a potential. It's often connected with my well-being - for example how meditation or certain forms of yoga bring me peace and calm. Spirituality is really often about me and how I want to feel about myself. Now it is quite possible that you, dear viewer, use spirituality in a different sense and with a lot more qualifications. But if I'm on the right track, there is a core difference between the two approaches that religion and modern spirituality propose. And in the end it might go back to the question: is the divine something that transcends me, the source of my being, the giver of life, the fountain of all, whom I owe everything? Or is the divine something that I tap into, that I use; some energy that I can indeed make subservient to my needs, desires, wants and well-being.
@@donjojohannes Happy 4th Sunday of Advent, what a joy the video, thanks for the reflections. Pater, I would like to contact you, how can I do it? Cura ut ualeas Juan +
@@donjojohannes I agree that many people use the term "spirituality" as you explain it, but I use it to describe what I experience as my connection to, or resonance with, the universe, which, I agree with Spinoza, is God. I believe God created the universe (God created itself) to know itself. From that belief, it follows that we are all sons and daughters of God, and our purpose is to learn about the universe; we are agents of God coming to know itself. Then I do feel a debt, as you describe it, because I see I am responsible for doing my part during my life to increase God's knowledge of itself. My moral philosophy and my ethics are my religion then, and another part of my debt is to continually work to improve, and live by, my moral philosophy and ethics. My morality and ethics are pretty much those of the eightfold path of Buddhism. I see Jesus as a Buddha, which means enlightened being.
There must be some remarkable secret in such a place, that two of our most interesting philosophers would land within a few hundred meters of each other independently.
I’m so glad you’re back! Your discussions are most thought-provoking and give us all time to stop and ponder….and in these times, very much appreciated. Thank you…
So good to have you back. Even though I'm a Protestant, I love your theological thoughts and wisdom. Love and peace...From one Christian brother to another .
I am a full time Diocesan Hermit Nun in Indianapolis Indiana, USA. I am awestruck with the beauty of your hermitage. Thank you for the fine teaching on the virtues. Blessed Christmas to you! Ave Maria!
I'm really in this realization of naming my first baby boy Johannes Martjin. The reason is obvious and I cant be thankful enough for having a redirection in life.
Happy to see again, Johannes ! I always think of you every time I watch your neighbor's films. I do miss your calm, philosophical and spiritual monologs , and your pleasant presence on the side of the sunny hill. Heavenly beautiful indeed ! Merry Christmas Johannes and a happy and meaningful New Year ! looking forward to seeing you again, soon.
Fr. Johannes, you are an excellent teacher. You effectively weave Philosophy into many aspects of life in a nearly seamless manner. I am looking forward to your talks!
Thank you Father. Welcome back. In the 90's I was a Catholic Missionary living in the Black Forest in Germany, and in amazement learnt that you could give a German a paper bag and they would build a beautiful house out of it !!!!!! I see you have this talent. What a beautiful bell tower and how lovely to hear it in a world that has mainly silenced Church bells. God bless and look forward to more of your videos. I'm now Sr Mary-Louisa Gerard - an old hermit Nun in New Zealand.
You are such profound thinker, Father. Your explanation between religion and spirituality is very needed for times such as these...I am so happy that you decided to continue with your series. THANK YOU!
Thank you, father, for your insight and guidance. It’s certainly something I will think about until your next episode - which I eagerly await. I also enjoyed seeing you construct the retaining wall, brick by brick. This matched very well, your points. Truly wonderful and enlightening!
As Gandhi once said, "I'd be a Christian if it weren't for Christians." That quote speaks to me loudly. I look around and see churches and church-going people who propound intolerance and hatred and I'm utterly turned off. I have no use for institutions which spread misery. I love your videos since you seem to live a life of love and acceptance. I think you are an exception, and are far from the rule. So please keep being you and talking about your perceptions of religion and spirituality. They are worth listening and aspiring to. I can't promise you'll lead me back to the church but you will make me think.
Reminds me of the rejection of Jesus Christ by the Pharisees. He came for the outcasts, for the poor, for the “unworthy” and was crucified by those that were in positions of religious authority. I don’t hold God responsible for the acts of humans. You find your own path. I found mine to the Catholic Church.
The Christians you see in churches should all be there for one reason: Jesus. The Prince of Peace, love incarnate. A spotless victim. We Christians are called to walk in the footsteps of the Lord and to imitate him. But of course we often lose track of the footsteps and end up walking into thorns, and get lost in the fog of our sins and those of the world. But if we truly love Christ we recognize that we strayed from the path (intolerance, hatred) ask for forgiveness and return to the loving embrace of Jesus. We are not perfect but we try. unfortunately it’s the imperfections that we get judged on instead of the efforts we make to struggle against the current of the world. If you do go back to Church, don’t go for the sinners, but for Jesus. He is there waiting for you with open arms and with the grace to abandon judgement and the grace to love those who need it the most.
Your rock wall is lovely. Thank you for sharing your insight into humanity. As an American I struggle with the ethics of organized religion. In the American South it's long been a tool wielded to justify hate, exclusion and other atrocities. My only peace is in solitude and nature.
My first thought was, "I am not sure how the neighbors will like the bell." But then I remembered all of the animals that pass your place with their bell's around their necks clanking away.
One of the very many things I love about your beautiful videos is that you put the names of the creatures and plants up which is great for those of us who like to know these things, especially when we live in other countries. Happy new year for 2025 and may you have a little more time at your hermitage. Cheers Cheryl 🙂
Great to have you back. You were missed. You affect my soul very much and make me think of things and synthesize ideas that I have never had. Thanks and God Bless You
My wife and I feel so blessed to have been introduced to your channel through MD’s. Your message resonates with us even days after watching. Buon Natale🎄
Johannes thanks for sharing your thoughts… I value your insights and the explanations you’re giving… starting from the Greek philosophers is very helpful …
...which, in its Core (human nature) is utterly unaffected, by all that being. Perfectly stated... all my life telling my mum, I want peace for Christmas, not toys, I want love. Looking forward to you sharing , Fr. Johannes Maria. You have a way with words that speaks to the many, upon feeling whole. Happy Winter Solstice
I am so glad to hear you back :) I was born, christened, baptized catholic - then my parents got divorced and I was raised protestant but always Christian. I love your words of wisdom and the little glimpses into your life. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us.
BEAUTIFUL vid Father! Welcome back! Just know that when you are far from this blessed little retreat home...you are pondering every inch of it and what 'needs' to be improved. What talents you possess....never lose a moment without 'gratitude'. For 'gratitude is the attitude of be-attitude' How interesting on Martijin's last vid to see you back at your hermitage, discussing roof shakes. The 'both' of you are very talented artists and possess a deep love and appreciation for beauty and silence.You are not neighbours without reason(s). Thanks 4 sharing...health and blessings!
Wonderful start for the series, thank you! I certainly agree with all you say about religion but think that spirituality is not necessarily only about oneself. In Eastern philosophies, the idea is that 'I' is not an independent entity, it is a portion of the whole universe and there's nothing that is really only about myself. As a yoga practitioner, I abide (the best I can) by the Patanjali's sutras. The Yamas and Niyamas in particular offer ethical guidelines for personal conduct and spiritual development, and the virtues they refer to are quite similar to Christian ones. For example, Ishvara Pranidhana is akin to the Christian idea of surrendering to God’s will and having faith in divine providence.
Thanks for your thoughts. Please note that the setup for this series is not so much spirituality as an eastern concept - or indeed a vital concept in both east and west, but in the sense of "modern western spirituality" which I understand to be more of a "cheap" substitute for religion (and viewed in contrast to it). I hope the following episodes help to work out this contrast in more detail. Cheers
@@donjojohannesI hope so too. That you can bring forward your ideas of honoring…. so I don’t feel so guilty about my spirituality. Dang I guess that’s another self thought on my part. Glad you’re home for a bit. I very much appreciate your expressions and sharing.
Merry Christmas, Johannes. Really grateful for your talk. I can imagine you are preparing your text while working in your garden. In a way your creations in your hermitage constitute your gift to what is due to nature and are therefore a metaphor for religion - giving to God (or gods) to what He is owed.
Thank you, Fr. Johannes, was happily surprised to see your new video. Yours is my all time favorite channel on TH-cam. Your carpentry/painting/gardening talents are only surpassed by your clear mind and generous Christian heart. I look forward always to your upcoming videos as long as you’re able to continue. Merry Christmas, and may the coming of our Savior bring peace to this world!
How nice to wake up to seeing you again. I'll ramble on in excitement... Most important is best blessings to you and yours, for this special Christmas in the Love and Peace of God. Shine like a star, dear, into a new season. ❤😊
Hi Johannes,😊 Happy Saturday!! Episode 1 Bells & Walls... Taking a Hike Thru Your Breathtaking Mountains!! ❤ In the Springtime, Beautiful Flowers, Birds, & Insects!!❤ Building a Gorgeous Bell Tower for Your Hermitage, I Love That!! 💖 I Appreciate When You Name the Flowers, Insects & Maybe Birds!! I Love the Stone Wall You Made for the Soil to Not Get Washed Out!!💖 Your Closing Reflection, Is Always a Calming Effect...So Thank You!!❤ Have a Blessed Christmas🎄 & Have Peace, Health, & Happiness in the New Year!!❤✝ Love Barb from Rantoul, Illinois USA ❣ I Will Share Your Video to Facebook/Newsfeed
Spectacular morning views! Thank you for giving us those gifts through your thoughtful words and lens, Fr Johanne. Merry Christmas, and a very Happy upcoming New Year.
I was so happy to see you posted again. I will have to read through below (several times) what you were discussing to understand. It is very complex to listen to. The wall is fantastic, and the little bell house.
A happy 4th Sunday of Advent to you all - and a Merry Christmas when the day comes around. Here as usual the reflection for those who need to run it through a translator. There is something that I hear quite often: Listen Father, I respect you and all - especially because of your sumptuous beard in which you so elegantly preserve food and crumbs..., but I myself am spiritual not religious.
I think I can understand what people often want to express when they say this. They want to indicate that they believe in something higher, that is meaningful to them. But either none of the religions out there really embody what they "feel to be true" or "what they feel" or they want to put some distance between themselves and the very fallible members of particular religions. In the Western context the latter may come down to: I'm down with Jesus but not with the Church. Which sounds nice. You apparently get to keep the cool stuff but rid yourself of all that church history, the failings, in short: the human element
In the coming weeks I want to share some thoughts on this. Hopefully some of you will find them helpful. And for that I want to start with the most basic question: What is religion? When it is contrasted with spirituality in the way I hinted at, religion often refers to something organized - hence also the talk of organized religion as something negative in this context. Such a religion involves rules, rites, constraints. And all this puts a damper on exploration and creativity, on feeling your way through it. We will look at this particular point later. In this first reflection I want to start with something basic: how religion was understood by the ancients, the Greek philosophers. And there religion actually appears in relation to something we probably all can get behind - even if we are neither spiritual nor religious: the attempt to lead a good life.
When it comes to the quest for a good life, the ancients got it right. It is us moderns that have it wrong. For we think of a better life very often in terms of technological progress. A new iPhone, a new vacuum, a new electric car, a net-zero home, new medical therapies, larger TVs, drone delivery, colonizing Mars, updating humanity - optimizing humanity - with integrated technology as enthusiastically promised by trans-humanists.
Now, some of these things may be goods. They can improve aspects of our life. In that sense they make life better. BUT: they do not make US better. They do not make US good. To be fair the technocrats also dream up utopias of world peace and human goodness - best managed by experts and elites. But that is only possible because these grandiose futuristic visions with robots, universal basic income and space travel forget one tiny detail: human nature, which in its core is utterly unaffected by all that bling.
And that is why the Greeks were right after all. Their first question was not a technological one: how do I make a bigger sword. It was not even: "How can I wield it more efficiently and to my advantage". The most pertinent question was: when is it just to wield the sword.
My point is not that people didn't fancy swords. Neither that they could not differ or even err in the question on when to use them. My point is that unlike us modern technocrats they recognized as the most important question - a question of philosophy and not technology, that is:"When and how should I act?" That is why their quest for the perfection of humanity was fundamentally not about the conquest and subjugation of the cosmos, even though Alexander the Great set out to do exactly that. Rather it was about what Alexander's teacher, Aristotle, had proposed: not to conquer the world but to conquer oneself. And this is why Alexander the Great is a chapter of history, but Aristotle's thought is not. For it is very much alive.
So let us look then at Aristotle's proposal, a proposal concerning the wielding of swords called virtue ethics.
Virtue ethics departs from the following simple fact: there are certain powers within us. We have, for example, the power of reason. With it we can grasp and understand the things around us. We have the power of the will. The will is a power that inclines us to what we perceive as good in some way. We can be mistaken about the good, but if we perceive it as good, our will inclines us to it. It may even be something bad, but we choose it only insofar as we perceive some apparent good in it, something we desire. We have further an appetitive power that inclines us to things that evoke pleasure in the senses. This power serves the preservation of the individual through things such as food and the preservation of the species through things which I will call pro-creation here - to avoid a more straight forward term that youtube might fret over.
And then we have a power directed at goods that are not pleasurable - at least in the short term - a power aiming at the difficult good despite obstacles and dangers.
All of these are what the Greeks called the "powers of the soul". Reason and will are the defining powers as they render our particular nature rational. But this does not mean that we always act rationally. We may be influenced by our passions or emotions. E-motions can move us to action - or inaction. That can be a good thing. Or it can be problematic if the emotions take over the reigns from reason. Fear, for example, is an emotion. Fear is good. It will prevent you from risky business on a cliff's edge. But if fear takes control we are in trouble. Fear may paralyze us or let us act irrationally in some other way. So the emotions are good, but need to be ordered by reason.
Alright. So we have the powers and the passions or emotions. That's all great. Continued in PART II below
PART II Now having the powers is one thing. Using them another. And using them in a good way is obviously where rubber meets the road.
The Greek thinkers figured out that the best way to use them is a kind of mean between deficiency and excess. But with this they did not mean mediocrity but an optimum. This will be clear from the following example. Take sports. You want to be a runner. You could train 2 minutes a day or you could train 20 hours a day. One way of training would be too little, the other would be too much. But somewhere between 2 minutes and 20 hours lies your optimum, which the Greeks called "arete" meaning excellence. The Romans came to call it "virtus" from the Latin for a particular kind of strength. And from that the English language has taken the word virtue. A virtue is possessed by the person that habitually and thus with greater ease exercises a particular power in an excellent or optimal way. And each power is understood to be perfected by one such chief virtue. The power of practical reason, the question of which is "what should I do" is perfected by the virtue of prudence. The will is perfected by justice seeking the right relation to others. The virtue of the appetitive power directed to sense goods is called temperance and the power concerning difficult goods receives its excellence through fortitude. These four virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude are called cardinal virtues to underline their importance. Annexed to them are many particular virtues relating to particular objects or situations. We don't have to go into further detail here, except for justice.
Simple justice is: rendering another their due according to equality. Ok. But there are circumstances where the other is not equal and yet the demands of justice still apply. An officer or teacher, for example, might be equal to you inasmuch as both of you are human. But their office, when rightly exercised on behalf of a legitimate authority, creates an inequality. To illustrate: a police officer can fine you for speeding, enforcing a law that the community through its elected representatives has agreed upon to serve the common good. Karen from next door cannot fine you. The police officer and Karen from next door are equal as persons. But they do not have the same authority. In that point they are unequal. The virtue annexed to justice that concerns this particular inequality can be called respect, meaning you owe the police officer a respect that you don't owe in the same way to Karen.
Take another case: There are your parents without whom you would not be here. In that sense you are not equal to them. You owe them your life. And thus - despite their human failings - it is right and just to give them honor - whatever that may look like in the concrete case. Honoring your parents is a virtue annexed to justice in this particular case of inequality.
Lastly, all of us find ourselves in the most un-equal of all relationships from the get-go: our relationship with God. You might say: hang on, hang on. I don't believe in a God. And I would say. Ok. We can talk about arguments for or against the existence of God. But it is not necessary to do so here. To understand our current exploration of Greek thinking, you don't need to believe in God. You just need to understand what happens if you held that there was a God - or gods. In that case justice obviously requires to render to God - or the gods - what is due to them.
Now if that deity has created the entire universe with you in it, everything is due to it. That God owes you nothing. You owe that God everything. So how can you give God what you owe? Well, you can't - because of the sheer inequality. But it seems reasonable that any person that could be called just, would at least seek for ways to give to God what is due in some measure. We will look at our feeble human attempts at this in the next episode. In this very basic consideration the only point is this: Anyone who believes in a deity and desires to be just, will try to give the deity its due. And this virtue the Greeks called: religion. We are not taking here about particular religions or the actions that are associated with it across cultures. We are only talking about the general demands of the virtue of justice. And one such demand for the person believing in a higher power is the virtue religion, which is annexed to the virtue of justice on account of this particular inequality.
What does all this mean with regard to our opening question concerning religion and spirituality. If we understand religion in the sense laid our here, then religion - that is, religious action - is a demand of justice. For the virtue of religion, being a part of justice, regulates my relationship with the divine. It responds to the claim that the Divine has on me. It responds to a debt and obligation that I have to the Divine. And any just person will seek to address this debt in some manner.
Now let us contrast this with spirituality - at least as the word is often used in the West today. Spirituality is rarly viewed in terms of a debt - something I owe in justice to a higher power. More often than not it is a kind of "extra thing" - a kind of tapping into something deeper, a potential. It's often connected with my well-being - for example how meditation or certain forms of yoga bring me peace and calm. Spirituality is really often about me and how I want to feel about myself.
Now it is quite possible that you, dear viewer, use spirituality in a different sense and with a lot more qualifications. But if I'm on the right track, there is a core difference between the two approaches that religion and modern spirituality propose. And in the end it might go back to the question: is the divine something that transcends me, the source of my being, the giver of life, the fountain of all, whom I owe everything? Or is the divine something that I tap into, that I use; some energy that I can indeed make subservient to my needs, desires, wants and well-being.
@@donjojohannes Happy 4th Sunday of Advent, what a joy the video, thanks for the reflections.
Pater, I would like to contact you, how can I do it?
Cura ut ualeas
Juan +
Oh, how good to see and hear you again. :)
Happy 4th Advent Sunday. Welcome surprise and timely. Thank you 🇦🇺
@@donjojohannes I agree that many people use the term "spirituality" as you explain it, but I use it to describe what I experience as my connection to, or resonance with, the universe, which, I agree with Spinoza, is God. I believe God created the universe (God created itself) to know itself. From that belief, it follows that we are all sons and daughters of God, and our purpose is to learn about the universe; we are agents of God coming to know itself.
Then I do feel a debt, as you describe it, because I see I am responsible for doing my part during my life to increase God's knowledge of itself. My moral philosophy and my ethics are my religion then, and another part of my debt is to continually work to improve, and live by, my moral philosophy and ethics.
My morality and ethics are pretty much those of the eightfold path of Buddhism. I see Jesus as a Buddha, which means enlightened being.
There must be some remarkable secret in such a place, that two of our most interesting philosophers would land within a few hundred meters of each other independently.
I’m so glad you’re back! Your discussions are most thought-provoking and give us all time to stop and ponder….and in these times, very much appreciated. Thank you…
Oh, what a gift you've given us with your post....days before the 25th❣️. You have been sorely missed. Thank you, thank you. ❤💚❤️
I so agree! Thank you and Blessings to You! 🙏❤️😊
So good to have you back. Even though I'm a Protestant, I love your theological thoughts and wisdom. Love and peace...From one Christian brother to another .
I am a full time Diocesan Hermit Nun in Indianapolis Indiana, USA. I am awestruck with the beauty of your hermitage. Thank you for the fine teaching on the virtues. Blessed Christmas to you! Ave Maria!
So happy to see your video today. Thank you for taking the time to make this for us.
In these stressful and turbulent times, we need your channel even more. Thank you so much my dear Father Johannes❤
Greetings from Brazil 😊
Your comment mirrors my thoughts.
@ ❤️❤️
I'm really in this realization of naming my first baby boy Johannes Martjin. The reason is obvious and I cant be thankful enough for having a redirection in life.
Finally! We have missed your gentle voice and sparkling wit. What a wonderful gift you have given us at the end of the year. ❤
Thank you, thank you, thank you! What a joy to spend some time with you Sir! Merry Christmas and God bless you!
Thank you for printing the text of the reflection. God has led you to this numerous & diverse congregation.
Happy to see again, Johannes ! I always think of you every time I watch your neighbor's films. I do miss your calm, philosophical and spiritual monologs , and your pleasant presence on the side of the sunny hill. Heavenly beautiful indeed ! Merry Christmas Johannes and a happy and meaningful New Year ! looking forward to seeing you again, soon.
Fr. Johannes, you are an excellent teacher. You effectively weave Philosophy into many aspects of life in a nearly seamless manner. I am looking forward to your talks!
I am very happy to see you again, Fr Johannes! May l take this opportunity to wish you a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Fr. Johannes, thank you for this gift of insight, understanding, and guidance. Merry Christmas from Tennessee, USA.
Thank you Father. Welcome back. In the 90's I was a Catholic Missionary living in the Black Forest in Germany, and in amazement learnt that you could give a German a paper bag and they would build a beautiful house out of it !!!!!! I see you have this talent. What a beautiful bell tower and how lovely to hear it in a world that has mainly silenced Church bells. God bless and look forward to more of your videos. I'm now Sr Mary-Louisa Gerard - an old hermit Nun in New Zealand.
You are such profound thinker, Father. Your explanation between religion and spirituality is very needed for times such as these...I am so happy that you decided to continue with your series. THANK YOU!
Thank you, father, for your insight and guidance. It’s certainly something I will think about until your next episode - which I eagerly await. I also enjoyed seeing you construct the retaining wall, brick by brick. This matched very well, your points. Truly wonderful and enlightening!
I imagine lots of flowers hanging over the side and growing through the stones in the wall, and lots of happy bees.
You’re back 👏👏 - Deo Gratias. Merry Christmas Father 🇻🇦🇮🇪
OH......SO GLAD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU.
Illuminating and thought-provoking. Thank you.
As Gandhi once said, "I'd be a Christian if it weren't for Christians." That quote speaks to me loudly. I look around and see churches and church-going people who propound intolerance and hatred and I'm utterly turned off. I have no use for institutions which spread misery. I love your videos since you seem to live a life of love and acceptance. I think you are an exception, and are far from the rule. So please keep being you and talking about your perceptions of religion and spirituality. They are worth listening and aspiring to. I can't promise you'll lead me back to the church but you will make me think.
Reminds me of the rejection of Jesus Christ by the Pharisees. He came for the outcasts, for the poor, for the “unworthy” and was crucified by those that were in positions of religious authority. I don’t hold God responsible for the acts of humans. You find your own path. I found mine to the Catholic Church.
The Christians you see in churches should all be there for one reason: Jesus. The Prince of Peace, love incarnate. A spotless victim. We Christians are called to walk in the footsteps of the Lord and to imitate him. But of course we often lose track of the footsteps and end up walking into thorns, and get lost in the fog of our sins and those of the world. But if we truly love Christ we recognize that we strayed from the path (intolerance, hatred) ask for forgiveness and return to the loving embrace of Jesus. We are not perfect but we try. unfortunately it’s the imperfections that we get judged on instead of the efforts we make to struggle against the current of the world. If you do go back to Church, don’t go for the sinners, but for Jesus. He is there waiting for you with open arms and with the grace to abandon judgement and the grace to love those who need it the most.
Your rock wall is lovely. Thank you for sharing your insight into humanity. As an American I struggle with the ethics of organized religion. In the American South it's long been a tool wielded to justify hate, exclusion and other atrocities. My only peace is in solitude and nature.
My first thought was, "I am not sure how the neighbors will like the bell." But then I remembered all of the animals that pass your place with their bell's around their necks clanking away.
That wall looks like a smile on the mountainside,thank you for sharing.
One of the very many things I love about your beautiful videos is that you put the names of the creatures and plants up which is great for those of us who like to know these things, especially when we live in other countries. Happy new year for 2025 and may you have a little more time at your hermitage. Cheers Cheryl 🙂
So very glad you are back.
Great to have you back. You were missed. You affect my soul very much and make me think of things and synthesize ideas that I have never had. Thanks and God Bless You
I'm very glad you are back dear Padre.
My wife and I feel so blessed to have been introduced to your channel through MD’s. Your message resonates with us even days after watching. Buon Natale🎄
Johannes thanks for sharing your thoughts… I value your insights and the explanations you’re giving… starting from the Greek philosophers is very helpful …
...which, in its Core (human nature) is utterly unaffected, by all that being. Perfectly stated...
all my life telling my mum, I want peace for Christmas, not toys, I want love.
Looking forward to you sharing , Fr. Johannes Maria. You have a way with words that speaks to the many, upon feeling whole.
Happy Winter Solstice
May our Lord bless you Father Johannes!
father Johannes! How wonderful to see you again!
I'm so happy to have your teachings again. What a blessing, thank you 🙏
Wonderful surprise, this video! Thank you 🙂
I am so glad to hear you back :) I was born, christened, baptized catholic - then my parents got divorced and I was raised protestant but always Christian. I love your words of wisdom and the little glimpses into your life. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us.
Food for the soul, father Johannes! Thank you so much to see you back!
A towering mountain supporting a towering spiritual being...:-)
Thank you Father for the early Christmas Present. Wishing You and Yours a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you and merry Christmas. Your reflections are absolutely wonderful
True artistry. Welcome back. Your art and words inspire. Thank you, Johannes.
BEAUTIFUL vid Father! Welcome back! Just know that when you are far from this blessed little retreat home...you are pondering every inch of it and what 'needs' to be improved. What talents you possess....never lose a moment without 'gratitude'. For 'gratitude is the attitude of be-attitude' How interesting on Martijin's last vid to see you back at your hermitage, discussing roof shakes. The 'both' of you are very talented artists and possess a deep love and appreciation for beauty and silence.You are not neighbours without reason(s). Thanks 4 sharing...health and blessings!
Interesting use of angle brackets, embedded in the wood. I had not seen or imagined such a scheme.
Nice to see you back making beautiful videos and reflections. Have a Blessed Christmas.
Wonderful start for the series, thank you! I certainly agree with all you say about religion but think that spirituality is not necessarily only about oneself. In Eastern philosophies, the idea is that 'I' is not an independent entity, it is a portion of the whole universe and there's nothing that is really only about myself. As a yoga practitioner, I abide (the best I can) by the Patanjali's sutras. The Yamas and Niyamas in particular offer ethical guidelines for personal conduct and spiritual development, and the virtues they refer to are quite similar to Christian ones. For example, Ishvara Pranidhana is akin to the Christian idea of surrendering to God’s will and having faith in divine providence.
Thanks for your thoughts. Please note that the setup for this series is not so much spirituality as an eastern concept - or indeed a vital concept in both east and west, but in the sense of "modern western spirituality" which I understand to be more of a "cheap" substitute for religion (and viewed in contrast to it). I hope the following episodes help to work out this contrast in more detail. Cheers
@@donjojohannesI hope so too. That you can bring forward your ideas of honoring…. so I don’t feel so guilty about my spirituality. Dang I guess that’s another self thought on my part. Glad you’re home for a bit. I very much appreciate your expressions and sharing.
Father this is indeed a gift. Such masterful photography. Such beautiful sky. Peace be upon you
Yay! So glad you're back Father Johannes.
What a nice surprise ❤ a Christmas gift for us all!! I love the sound of the birds 🐦
Thank you. Very happy to see you back!
Welcome back, listenable message worth embracing. May your CHRISTMAS be a blessing 🌲. 🎶🎶🎶 Blessings be yours for the coming year 2025 📯🎺🎷🇬🇧.
You’re back! Woohoo!!
Fröhliche Weihnachten, Vater! Möge Gott Sie reichlich segnen!
Glad that you share your thoughts again with us. Thank you for that!
Merry Christmas, Johannes. Really grateful for your talk. I can imagine you are preparing your text while working in your garden. In a way your creations in your hermitage constitute your gift to what is due to nature and are therefore a metaphor for religion - giving to God (or gods) to what He is owed.
Thank you, Fr. Johannes, was happily surprised to see your new video. Yours is my all time favorite channel on TH-cam. Your carpentry/painting/gardening talents are only surpassed by your clear mind and generous Christian heart. I look forward always to your upcoming videos as long as you’re able to continue. Merry Christmas, and may the coming of our Savior bring peace to this world!
So nice to have your work back up in here!
Thank you Johannes for being on Earth in this strange times. And thanks for sharing your words, your other work. Enjoy your Holy Days!
May you be blessed Fr. Johannes🙏
So good to see and hear you again, you have been missed, Thank you and Merry Christmas 🙏🏻🧙🏻♂️🎄
So glad you’re back Father. Merry Christmas and may God continue to bless you and your work in His Church.
Thank you from Australia. Loved the viewing.
Thank you for you and GOD for blessing us with you
How nice to wake up to seeing you again. I'll ramble on in excitement...
Most important is best blessings to you and yours, for this special Christmas in the Love and Peace of God.
Shine like a star, dear, into a new season. ❤😊
Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the scenery, critters, your building and the message.
It's rather like a homecoming ❤.
Lovely to see your vlogs again. Thank you so much. The wall is beautiful.
Seasons Greetings Father Johannes and thank you for gifting us again with your reflections and part time hermitage life in the Alps.
Much love from the USA! ❤
Father, welcome back ! I so much enjoy these videos and your closing reflections. Very enlightening. All the best !
Good to have you back, we missed you. Have a blessed Christmas ✨
So happy to have you back! God bless and have a wonderful Christmas! ❤✝️
It's so good to see you back for a little while at least! Blessing and Peace be yours in the New Year 😊
Yay, what a treat to see you again. Merry Christmas 🙏🏻🎄
The rock retaining wall, looks great! Love how it divides the terraces and makes your land more usable! Great work!
❤ So happy to see you.
Welcome Back...Father....I missed your refletions on the path of live..a greeting.
Thank you, Father. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you.
Hi Johannes,😊 Happy Saturday!! Episode 1 Bells & Walls...
Taking a Hike Thru Your Breathtaking Mountains!! ❤ In the Springtime, Beautiful Flowers, Birds, & Insects!!❤
Building a Gorgeous Bell Tower for Your Hermitage, I Love That!! 💖
I Appreciate When You Name the Flowers, Insects & Maybe Birds!!
I Love the Stone Wall You Made for the Soil to Not Get Washed Out!!💖
Your Closing Reflection, Is Always a Calming Effect...So Thank You!!❤
Have a Blessed Christmas🎄 & Have Peace, Health, & Happiness in the New Year!!❤✝
Love Barb from Rantoul, Illinois USA ❣ I Will Share Your Video to Facebook/Newsfeed
Very happy your back, I thought you had gone forever. Wonderful to listen to you, thankyou from Canada.
Hace dias que recordaba sus videos y pensaba en Ud.Padre; creo la intuición me avisaba, de su pronto regreso.Bienvenido y Gracias.
Your videos exude peace, so thank you. I also love seeing the abundance of nature around your hermitage.
God bless you .
I was missing you and your reflections. I'm so glad you're back. Hugs from Brazil.
I am going to listen to this a second time…I absolutely love your videos the are a blessing to me 😊❤
Johannes,
I'm happy you are here again.
Merry Christmas!!!❤
Thank you SO much for blessing us with another year in your life! You have been missed. Happy New Year! 😊
Good to have you back. Saluti dalla Scozia 🏴 👍
I'm so glad you're back! Merry Christmas and thank you for another insightful video🎄
So good that you have afforded us time again, I can assure you that it is time well appreciated and well spent... thank you
Love this, warms the soul, graize mille, gur a mhile maith agat, from Ireland
TH-cam just became enlightened!! Merry Christmas!!
Thank you for your reflections on religion. I love to listen to you.
Merry Christmas. May God bless you in abundance.🎄🕯️🙏❤️
Wonderful solstice gift, blessed Christmas to you and your loved ones
excellent, thank you , Merry Christmas monk, priest man, look forward to more, it helps
Spectacular morning views! Thank you for giving us those gifts through your thoughtful words and lens, Fr Johanne.
Merry Christmas, and a very Happy upcoming New Year.
I was so happy to see you posted again. I will have to read through below (several times) what you were discussing to understand. It is very complex to listen to. The wall is fantastic, and the little bell house.
Thank you for that reflection.