text:
Theology · Philosophy
Apophatic
Ascetical
Cataphatic
Divinization
Neoplatonic
Hesychasm
Quietism
People (by era or century)
Ancient African
Gregory of Nyssa
Pseudo-Dionysius
Desert Fathers
Paul of Thebes
Anthony the Great
Arsenius the Great
Poemen
Macarius of Egypt
Moses the Black
Syncletica
Hilarion
John Cassian
11th · 12th
Guigo II
Dominic de Guzmán
Anthony of Padua
Jacopone da Todi
Angela of Foligno
Richard Rolle
Walter Hilton
Margery Kempe
Beatrice of Nazareth
John of Ruysbroeck
Johannes Tauler
Henry Suso
Bridget of Sweden
Catherine of Siena
Ignatius of Loyola
Francisco de Osuna
John of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila
Catherine of Genoa
Pierre de Bérulle
Jean-Jacques Olier
Louis de Montfort
Charles de Condren
John Eudes
María de Ágreda
Anne Catherine Emmerich
Veronica Giuliani
Francis de Sales
Dina Bélanger
Catherine Labouré
Mélanie Calvat
Maximin Giraud
Conchita de Armida
Luisa Piccarreta
Mary of the Divine Heart
Thérèse of Lisieux
Gemma Galgani
Therese Neumann
Alexandrina of Balazar
Faustina Kowalska
Sister Lúcia of Fátima
Edgar Cayce
Contemporary papal views
Aspects of meditation
(Orationis Formas, 1989)
Reflection on the New Age (2003)
Literature · Media
Lingua Ignota
Ordo Virtutum
Scivias
Ascent of Mount Carmel
Spiritual Canticle
Way of Perfection
Abbey of the Holy Ghost
A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart
The Glories of Mary
The Imitation of Christ
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Revelations of Divine Love
The Story of a Soul
Theologia Germanica
Devotio Moderna
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
Sol de Fátima
The Consolation of Philosophy
The Mirror of Simple Souls
Sister Catherine Treatise
Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii
The Vision of Adamnán
Divine Comedy
Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity (both the Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox traditions).
The attributes and means by which Christian mysticism is studied and practiced are varied. They range from ecstatic visions of the soul's mystical union with God to simple prayerful contemplation of Holy Scripture (i.e., Lectio Divina).
Mystic marriage of Christ and the Church.
"Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μυω, meaning "to conceal",[1] and its derivative μυστικός, mystikos, meaning 'an initiate'. In the Hellenistic world, a "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion. "Mystical" referred to secret religious rituals[1] and use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental.[2]
In early Christianity the term mystikos referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative.[3] The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures.[1][3] The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ at the Eucharist.[1][3] The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.[3]
Life of Francis of Assisi by José Benlliure y Gil
Bernard McGinn defines Christian mysticism as:
[T]hat part, or element, of Christian belief and practice that concerns the preparation for, the consciousness of, and the effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God.[4]
Presence versus experience
McGinn argues that "presence" is more accurate than "union", since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about
...new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts.[4]
William James popularized the use of the term "religious experience" in his 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience.[5] It has also influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge.[1]
Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique. It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential.[6]
Resurrection of Jesus, Matthias Grünewald.
McGinn's emphasis on the transformation that occurs through mystical activity relates to this idea of "presence" instead of "experience":
This is why the only test that Christianity has known for determining the authenticity of a mystic and her or his message has been that of personal transformation, both on the mystic's part and—especially—on the part of those whom the mystic has affected.[4]
Other critics point out that the stress on "experience" is accompanied by favoring the atomic individual, instead of the shared life on the community. It also fails to distinguish between episodic experience, and mysticism as a process that is embedded in a total religious matrix of liturgy, scripture, worship, virtues, theology, rituals and practices.[7]
Richard King also points to disjunction between "mystical experience" and social justice:[8]
The privatisation of mysticism - that is, the increasing tendency to locate the mystical in the psychological realm of personal experiences - serves to exclude it from political issues as social justice. Mysticism thus becomes seen as a personal matter of cultivating inner states of tranquility and equanimity, which, rather than seeking to transform the world, serve to accommodate the individual to the status quo through the alleviation of anxiety and stress.[8]
Transformation has particular importance in the theology of Origen.[9]
Mystical experience is not simply a matter between the mystic and God, but is often shaped by cultural issues. For instance, Carolyn Walker Bynum has shown how, in the late Middle Ages, miracles attending the taking of the Eucharist were not simply symbolic of the Passion story, but served as vindication of the mystic's theological orthodoxy by proving that the mystic had not fallen prey to heretical ideas, such as the Cathar rejection of the material world as evil, contrary to orthodox teaching that God took on human flesh and remained sinless.[10] Thus, the nature of mystical experience could be tailored to the particular cultural and theological issues of the time.
The idea of mystical realities has been widely held in Christianity since the second century AD, referring not simply to spiritual practices, but also to the belief that their rituals and even their scriptures have hidden ("mystical") meanings.[4]
The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers, who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation.[2]
In subsequent centuries, especially as Christian apologetics began to use Greek philosophy to explain Christian ideas, Neoplatonism became an influence on Christian mystical thought and practice via such authors as Augustine of Hippo and Origen.
Jewish antecedents
Jewish spirituality in the period before Jesus was highly corporate and public, based mostly on the worship services of the synagogues, which included the reading and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures and the recitation of prayers, and on the major festivals. Thus, private spirituality was strongly influenced by the liturgies and by the scriptures (e.g., the use of the Psalms for prayer), and individual prayers often recalled historical events just as much as they recalled their own immediate needs.[11]
Of special importance are the following concepts:[12]
Da'at (knowledge) and Chokhmah (wisdom), which come from years of reading, praying and meditating the scriptures;
Shekhinah, the presence of God in our daily lives, the superiority of that presence to earthly wealth, and the pain and longing that come when God is absent;
the hiddenness of God, which comes from our inability to survive the full revelation of God's glory and which forces us to seek to know God through faith and obedience;
"Torah-mysticism", a view of God's laws as the central expression of God's will and therefore as worthy object not only of obedience but also of loving meditation and Torah study; and
poverty, an ascetic value, based on the apocalyptic expectation of God's impending arrival, that characterized the Jewish people's reaction to being oppressed by a series of foreign empires.
In Christian mysticism, Shekhinah became mystery, Da'at became gnosis, and poverty became an important component of monasticism.[13]
Transfiguration of Jesus depicting him with Elijah, Moses and 3 apostles by Carracci, 1594
The Christian scriptures, insofar as they are the founding narrative of the Christian church, provide many key stories and concepts that become important for Christian mystics in all later generations: practices such as the Eucharist, baptism and the Lord's Prayer all become activities that take on importance for both their ritual and symbolic values. Other scriptural narratives present scenes that become the focus of meditation: the Crucifixion of Jesus and his appearances after his Resurrection are two of the most central to Christian theology; but Jesus' conception, in which the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, and his Transfiguration, in which he is briefly revealed in his heavenly glory, also become important images for meditation. Moreover, many of the Christian texts build on Jewish spiritual foundations, such as chokhmah, shekhinah.[14]
But different writers present different images and ideas. The Synoptic Gospels (in spite of their many differences) introduce several important ideas, two of which are related to Greco-Judaic notions of knowledge/gnosis by virtue of being mental acts: purity of heart, in which we will to see in God's light; and repentance, which involves allowing God to judge and then transform us. Another key idea presented by the Synoptics is the desert, which is used as a metaphor for the place where we meet God in the poverty of our spirit.[15]
The Gospel of John focuses on God's glory in his use of light imagery and in his presentation of the Cross as a moment of exaltation; he also sees the Cross as the example of agape love, a love which is not so much an emotion as a willingness to serve and care for others. But in stressing love, John shifts the goal of spiritual growth away from knowledge/gnosis, which he presents more in terms of Stoic ideas about the role of reason as being the underlying principle of the universe and as the spiritual principle within all people. Although John does not follow up on the Stoic notion that this principle makes union with the divine possible for humanity, it is an idea that later Christian writers develop. Later generations will also shift back and forth between whether to follow the Synoptics in stressing knowledge or John in stressing love.[16]
In his letters, Paul also focuses on mental activities, but not in the same way as the Synoptics, which equate renewing the mind with repentance. Instead, Paul sees the renewal of our minds as happening as we contemplate what Jesus did on the Cross, which then opens us to grace and to the movement of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Like John, Paul is less interested in knowledge, preferring to emphasize the hiddenness, the "mystery" of God's plan as revealed through Christ. But Paul's discussion of the Cross differs from John's in being less about how it reveals God's glory and more about how it becomes the stumbling block that turns our minds back to God. Paul also describes the Christian life as that of an athlete, demanding practice and training for the sake of the prize; later writers will see in this image a call to ascetical practices.[17]
See also: Christian mysticism in ancient Africa and Catholic spirituality
The texts attributed to the Apostolic Fathers, the earliest post-Biblical texts we have, share several key themes, particularly the call to unity in the face of persecution and internal divisions, the reality of the charisms, especially prophecy, visions and Christian gnosis, which is understood as "a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to know Christ" through meditating on the scriptures and on the Cross of Christ.[18] (This understanding of gnosis is not the same as that developed by the Gnostics, who focused on esoteric knowledge that is available only to a few people but that allows them to free themselves from the evil world.[19]) These authors also discuss the notion of the "two ways", that is, the way of life and the way of death; this idea has biblical roots, being found in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Torah. The two ways are then related to the notion of purity of heart, which is developed by contrasting it against the divided or duplicitous heart and by linking it to the need for asceticism, which keeps the heart whole/pure.[20] Purity of heart was especially important given the real threat of martyrdom, which many writers discussed in theological terms, seeing it not as an evil but as an opportunity to truly die for the sake of God—the ultimate example of ascetic practice.[21] Martyrdom could also be seen as symbolic in its connections with the Eucharist and with baptism.[22]
Hellenism
The Alexandrian contribution to Christian mysticism centers on Origen and Clement of Alexandria. Clement was an early Christian humanist who argued that reason is the most important aspect of human existence and that gnosis (not something we can attain by ourselves, but the gift of Christ) helps us find the spiritual realities that are hidden behind the natural world and within the scriptures. Given the importance of reason, Clement stresses apatheia as a reasonable ordering of our passions in order to live within God's love, which is seen as a form of truth.[23] Origen, who had a lasting influence on Eastern Christian thought, further develops the idea that the spiritual realities can be found through allegorical readings of the scriptures (along the lines of Jewish aggadah tradition), but he focuses his attention on the Cross and on the importance of imitating Christ through the Cross, especially through spiritual combat and asceticism. Origen stresses the importance of combining intellect and virtue (theoria and praxis) in our spiritual exercises, drawing on the image of Moses and Aaron leading the Israelites through the wilderness, and he describes our union with God as the marriage of our souls with Christ the Logos, using the wedding imagery from the Song of Songs.[24] Alexandrian mysticism developed alongside Hermeticism and Neoplatonism and therefore share some of the same ideas, images, etc. in spite of their differences.[25]
Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish Hellenistic philosopher who was important for connecting the Hebrew Scriptures to Greek thought, and thereby to Greek Christians, who struggled to understand their connection to Jewish history. In particular, Philo taught that allegorical interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures provides access to the real meanings of the texts. Philo also taught the need to bring together the contemplative focus of the Stoics and Essenes with the active lives of virtue and community worship found in Platonism and the Therapeutae. Using terms reminiscent of the Platonists, Philo described the intellectual component of faith as a sort of spiritual ecstasy in which our nous (mind) is suspended and God's Spirit takes its place. Philo's ideas influenced the Alexandrian Christians, Clement and Origen and through them, Gregory of Nyssa.[26]
See also: Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers
Inspired by Christ's teaching and example, men and women withdrew to the deserts of Sketes where, either as solitary individuals or communities, they lived lives of austere simplicity oriented towards contemplative prayer. These communities formed the basis for what later would become known as Christian monasticism. Mysticism is integral to Christian monasticism because the goal of practice for the monastic is union with God.
The Eastern church then saw the development of monasticism and the mystical contributions of Gregory of Nyssa, Evagrius Ponticus and Pseudo-Dionysius. Monasticism, also known as anchoritism (meaning "to withdraw") was seen as an alternative to martyrdom, and was less about escaping the world than about fighting demons (who were thought to live in the desert) and about gaining liberation from our bodily passions in order to be open to the Word of God. Anchorites practiced continuous meditation on the scriptures as a means of climbing the ladder of perfection—a common religious image in the Mediterranean world and one found in Christianity through the story of Jacob's ladder—and sought to fend off the demon of acedia ("un-caring"), a boredom or apathy that prevents us from continuing on in our spiritual training. Anchorites could live in total solitude ("hermits", from the word erēmitēs, "of the desert") or in loose communities ("cenobites", meaning "common life").[27]
Monasticism eventually made its way to the West and was established by the work of John Cassian and Benedict of Nursia. Meanwhile, Western spiritual writing was deeply influenced by the works of such men as Jerome and Augustine of Hippo.
Stigmatization of St Francis, by Giotto
The Early Middle Ages in the West includes the work of Gregory the Great and Bede, as well as developments in Celtic Christianity and Anglo-Saxon Christianity, and comes to fulfillment in the work of Johannes Scotus Eriugena and the Carolingian Renaissance.
The High Middle Ages saw a flourishing of mystical practice and theorization corresponding to the flourishing of new monastic orders, with such figures as Guigo II, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Victorines, all coming from different orders, as well as the first real flowering of popular piety among the laypeople.
The Late Middle Ages saw the clash between the Dominican and Franciscan schools of thought, which was also a conflict between two different mystical theologies: on the one hand that of Dominic de Guzmán and on the other that of Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, Bonaventure, Jacopone da Todi, Angela of Foligno. Moreover, there was the growth of groups of mystics centered on geographic regions: the Beguines, such as Mechthild of Magdeburg and Hadewijch (among others); the Rhenish-Flemish mystics Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Henry Suso and John of Ruysbroeck; and the English mystics Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Julian of Norwich. This period also saw such individuals as Catherine of Siena and Catherine of Genoa, the Devotio Moderna, and such books as the Theologia Germanica, The Cloud of Unknowing and The Imitation of Christ.
With the Renaissance came the Protestant Reformation, which in many ways downplayed mysticism, although it still produced a fair amount of spiritual literature. Even the most active reformers can be linked to Medieval mystical traditions. Martin Luther, for instance, was a monk who was influenced by the German Dominican mystical tradition of Eckhart and Tauler as well by the Dionysian-influenced Wesenmystik ("essence mysticism") tradition. He also published the Theologia Germanica, which he claimed was the most important book after the Bible and Augustine for teaching him about God, Christ, and humanity.[28] Even John Calvin, who rejected many Medieval ascetic practices and who favored doctrinal knowledge of God over affective experience, has Medieval influences, namely, Jean Gerson and the Devotio moderna, with its emphasis on piety as the method of spiritual growth in which the individual practices dependence on God by imitating Christ and the son-father relationship. Meanwhile, his notion that we can begin to enjoy our eternal salvation through our earthly successes leads in later generations to "a mysticism of consolation".[29]
But the Reformation brought about the Counter-Reformation and, with it, a new flowering of mystical literature, often grouped by nationality.
Spanish mysticism
Main article: Spanish mystics
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
The Spanish had Ignatius Loyola, whose Spiritual Exercises were designed to open people to a receptive mode of consciousness in which they can experience God through careful spiritual direction and through understanding how the mind connects to the will and how to weather the experiences of spiritual consolation and desolation;[30] Teresa of Ávila, who used the metaphors of watering a garden and walking through the rooms of a castle to explain how meditation leads to union with God;[31] and John of the Cross, who used a wide range of biblical and spiritual influences both to rewrite the traditional "three ways" of mysticism after the manner of bridal mysticism and to present the two "dark nights": the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the soul, during which the individual renounces everything that might become an obstacle between the soul and God and then experiences the pain of feeling separated from God, unable to carry on normal spiritual exercises, as it encounters the enormous gap between its human nature and God's divine wisdom and light and moves up the 10-step ladder of ascent towards God.[32] Another prominent mystic was Miguel de Molinos, the chief apostle of the religious revival known as Quietism. No breath of suspicion arose against Molinos until 1681, when the Jesuit preacher Paolo Segneri, attacked his views, though without mentioning his name, in his Concordia tra la fatica e la quiete nell' orazione. The matter was referred to the Inquisition. A report got abroad that Molinos had been convicted of moral enormities, as well as of heretical doctrines; and it was seen that he was doomed. On September 3, 1687 he made public profession of his errors, and was sentenced to imprisonment for life. Contemporary Protestants saw in the fate of Molinos nothing more than a persecution by the Jesuits of a wise and enlightened man, who had dared to withstand the petty ceremonialism of the Italian piety of the day. Molinos died in prison in 1696 or 1697.
Lorenzo Scupoli, from Otranto in Apulia was an Italian mystic best known for authoring The Spiritual Combat, a key work in Catholic mysticism.
Sculpture of Our Lady of Lourdes in Valais
Main article: French school of spirituality
French mystics included Francis de Sales, Jeanne Guyon, François Fénelon, Brother Lawrence and Blaise Pascal.
The English had a denominational mix, from Catholic Augustine Baker, to Anglicans William Law, John Donne and Lancelot Andrewes, to Puritans Richard Baxter and John Bunyan (The Pilgrim's Progress), to the first "Quaker", George Fox and the first "Methodist", John Wesley, who was well-versed in the continental mystics.
An example of "scientific reason lit up by mysticism in the Church of England"[33] is seen in the work of Sir Thomas Browne, a Norwich physician and scientist whose thought often meanders into mystical realms, as in his self-portrait, Religio Medici, and in the "mystical mathematics" of The Garden of Cyrus, whose full running title reads, Or, The Quincuncial Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the ancients, Naturally, Artificially, Mystically considered. Browne's highly original and dense symbolism frequently involves scientific, medical, or optical imagery to illustrate a religious or spiritual truth, often to striking effect, notably in Religio Medici, but also in his posthumous advisory Christian Morals.
Browne's latitudinarian Anglicanism, hermetic inclinations, and Montaigne-like self-analysis on the enigmas, idiosyncrasies, and devoutness of his own personality and soul, along with his observations upon the relationship between science and faith, are on display in Religio Medici. His spiritual testament and psychological self-portrait thematically structured upon the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, also reveal him as "one of the immortal spirits waiting to introduce the reader to his own unique and intense experience of reality".[34] Though his work is difficult and rarely read, he remains, paradoxically, one of England's perennial, yet first, "scientific" mystics.
Similarly well-versed in the mystic tradition was the German Johann Arndt, who, along with the English Puritans, influenced such continental Pietists as Philipp Jakob Spener, Gottfried Arnold, Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf of the Moravians, and the hymnodist Gerhard Tersteegen. Arndt, whose book True Christianity was popular among Protestants, Catholics and Anglicans alike, combined influences from Bernard of Clairvaux, John Tauler and the Devotio moderna into a spirituality that focused its attention away from the theological squabbles of contemporary Lutheranism and onto the development of the new life in the heart and mind of the believer.[35] Arndt influenced Spener, who formed a group known as the collegia pietatis ("college of piety") that stressed the role of spiritual direction among lay-people—a practice with a long tradition going back to Aelred of Rievaulx and known in Spener's own time from the work of Francis de Sales. Pietism as known through Spener's formation of it tended not just to reject the theological debates of the time, but to reject both intellectualism and organized religious practice in favor of a personalized, sentimentalized spirituality.[36]
Pietism
This sentimental, anti-intellectual form of pietism is seen in the thought and teaching of Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravians; but more intellectually rigorous forms of pietism are seen in the teachings of John Wesley, which were themselves influenced by Zinzendorf, and in the teachings of American preachers Jonathan Edwards, who restored to pietism Gerson's focus on obedience and borrowed from early church teachers Origen and Gregory of Nyssa the notion that humans yearn for God,[37] and John Woolman, who combined a mystical view of the world with a deep concern for social issues; like Wesley, Woolman was influenced by Jakob Böhme, William Law and The Imitation of Christ.[38] The combination of pietistic devotion and mystical experiences that are found in Woolman and Wesley are also found in their Dutch contemporary Tersteegen, who brings back the notion of the nous ("mind") as the site of God's interaction with our souls; through the work of the Spirit, our mind is able to intuitively recognize the immediate presence of God in our midst.[39]
Mystic traditions
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity has especially preserved a mystical emphasis in its theology[40] and retains a tradition of mystical prayer dating back to Christianity's beginnings.
The practice of Lectio Divina, a form of prayer that centers on scripture reading, was developed in its best-known form in the sixth century, through the work of Benedict of Nursia and Pope Gregory I, and described and promoted more widely in the 12th century by Guigo II. The 9th century saw the development of mystical theology through the introduction of the works of sixth-century theologian Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, such as On Mystical Theology. His discussion of the via negativa was especially influential.
As part of the Protestant Reformation, theologians turned away from the traditions developed in the Middle Ages and returned to biblical and early church sources. Accordingly, they were often skeptical of Catholic mystical practices, which seemed to them to downplay the role of grace in redemption and to support the idea that human works can play a role in salvation, and which also seemed to come from post-biblical sources and practices. Thus, Protestant theology developed a strong critical attitude, oftentimes even an animosity towards Christian mysticism.[41] However, Quakers, Anglicans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Pentecostals and Charismatics have in various ways remained open to the idea of mystical experiences.
Marian apparition while praying by Thomas Georg Driendl (1888)
Historically, Christian mysticism has taught that for Christians the major emphasis of mysticism concerns a spiritual transformation of the egoic self, the following of a path designed to produce more fully realized human persons, "created in the Image and Likeness of God" and as such, living in harmonious communion with God, the Church, the rest of world, and all creation, including oneself. For Christians, this human potential is realized most perfectly in Jesus, precisely because he is both God and human, and is manifested in others through their association with him, whether conscious, as in the case of Christian mystics, or unconscious, with regard to spiritual persons who follow other traditions, such as Gandhi. The Eastern Christian tradition speaks of this transformation in terms of theosis or divinization, perhaps best summed up by an ancient aphorism usually attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria: "God became human so that man might become god."[42]
Threefold path
Going back to Evagrius Ponticus, Christian mystics have been described as pursuing a threefold path corresponding to body (soma), soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma). In 869, the 8th Ecumenical Council reduced the image of the human to only body and soul but within mystics a model of three aspects continued. The three aspects later became purgative, illuminative, and unitive in the western churches and prayer of the lips, the mind, the heart in the eastern churches.[43] The first, purification is where aspiring traditionally Christian mystics start. This aspect focuses on discipline, particularly in terms of the human body; thus, it emphasizes prayer at certain times, either alone or with others, and in certain postures, often standing or kneeling. It also emphasizes the other disciplines of fasting and alms-giving, the latter including those activities called "the works of mercy," both spiritual and corporal, such as feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.
Purification, which grounds Christian spirituality in general, is primarily focused on efforts to, in the words of St. Paul, "put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 8:13). This is considered a result of the Spirit working in the person and is not a result of personal deeds. Also in the words of St. Paul, "...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Epistle to the Philippians 1:6). The "deeds of the flesh" here include not only external behavior, but also those habits, attitudes, compulsions, addictions, etc. (sometimes called egoic passions) which oppose themselves to true being and living as a Christian not only exteriorly, but interiorly as well. Evelyn Underhill describes purification as an awareness of one's own imperfections and finiteness, followed by self-discipline and mortification.[44] Because of its physical, disciplinary aspect, this phase, as well as the entire Christian spiritual path, is often referred to as "ascetic," a term which is derived from a Greek word which connotes athletic training. Because of this, in ancient Christian literature, prominent mystics are often called "spiritual athletes," an image which is also used several times in the New Testament to describe the Christian life. What is sought here is salvation in the original sense of the word, referring not only to one's eternal fate, but also to healing in all areas of life, including the restoration of spiritual, psychological, and physical health.
It remains a paradox of the mystics that the passivity at which they appear to aim is really a state of the most intense activity: more, that where it is wholly absent no great creative action can take place. In it, the superficial self compels itself to be still, in order that it may liberate another more deep-seated power which is, in the ecstasy of the contemplative genius, raised to the highest pitch of efficiency.[45]
The second phase, the path of illumination, has to do with the activity of the Holy Spirit enlightening the mind, giving insights into truths not only explicit in scripture and the rest of the Christian tradition, but also those implicit in nature, not in the scientific sense, but rather in terms of an illumination of the "depth" aspects of reality and natural happenings, such that the working of God is perceived in all that one experiences. Underhill describes it as marked by a consciousness of a transcendent order and a vision of a new heaven and a new earth.
The third phase, usually called contemplation (or Mystical Contemplative Prayer [46]) in the Western tradition, refers to the experience of oneself as in some way united with God. The experience of union varies, but it is first and foremost always associated with a reuniting with Divine love, the underlying theme being that God, the perfect goodness,[47] is known or experienced at least as much by the heart as by the intellect since, in the words 1 John 4:16: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him." Some approaches to classical mysticism would consider the first two phases as preparatory to the third, explicitly mystical experience, but others state that these three phases overlap and intertwine.
Mystical Contemplative Prayer is the blessing for which the Christian mystic hopes. No human effort can produce it. This form of prayer has three characteristics. (a) It is infused (i.e. implanted by God in the soul, not the result of human effort.) (b) It is extraordinary (i.e. indicating that the intellect operates in new way). (c) Moreover, It is passive (i.e. showing that the soul receives something from God, and is conscious of receiving it.) It can manifest itself in one of four degrees. The four degrees are the prayer of quiet, the prayer of union, ecstatic union, and transforming deifying union.[46]
Underhill's five-stage path
Author and mystic Evelyn Underhill recognizes two additional phases to the mystical path. First comes the awakening, the stage in which one begins to have some consciousness of absolute or divine reality. Purgation and illumination are followed by a fourth stage which Underhill, borrowing the language of St. John of the Cross, calls the dark night of the soul. This stage, experienced by the few, is one of final and complete purification and is marked by confusion, helplessness, stagnation of the will, and a sense of the withdrawal of God's presence. This dark night of the soul is not, in Underhill's conception, the Divine Darkness of the pseudo-Dionysius and German Christian mysticism. It is the period of final "unselfing" and the surrender to the hidden purposes of the divine will. Her fifth and final stage is union with the object of love, the one Reality, God. Here the self has been permanently established on a transcendental level and liberated for a new purpose.[48]
Types of meditation
Within theistic mysticism two broad tendencies can be identified. One is a tendency to understand God by asserting what He is not and the other by asserting what He is. The former leads to what is called apophatic theology and the latter to cataphatic theology.
Apophatic (imageless, stillness, and wordlessness) -- e.g., The Cloud of the Unknowing, Meister Eckhart; and
Cataphatic (imaging God, imagination or words) -- e.g.,The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Dame Julian, Francis of Assisi,[49] This second type is considered by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite [50]
Scholars such as Urban T. Holmes, III have also categorized mystical theology in terms of whether it focuses on illuminating the mind, which Holmes refers to as speculative practice, or the heart/emotions, which he calls affective practice. Combining the speculative/affective scale with the apophatic/cataphatic scale allows for a range of categories:[51]
Rationalism = Cataphatic and speculative
Pietism = Cataphatic and affective
Encratism = Apophatic and speculative
Quietism = Apophatic and affective
Ascetic practices
Many mystics, following the model of Paul's metaphor of the athlete, as well as the story of the disciples sleeping while Jesus prayed, disciplined their bodies through activities ranging from fasting and sleep-deprivation to more extreme forms, such as self-flagellation.
Sensory experiences
Many mystics experience visions. But other sensory experiences are common as well. For instance, Richard Rolle heard heavenly music and felt a fire in his chest.
Ecstasies
Religious ecstasy is common for many mystics, such as Teresa of Avila, whose experience was immortalized in the sculpture Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini.
Physical transformations
One of the most familiar examples of mystical physical transformation is the appearance of stigmata on the body of the mystic, such as those received by Francis of Assisi and Padre Pio. But other transformations are possible, such as the odour of sanctity that accompanies the body of the deceased mystic, such as Teresa of Avila and Therese of Liseaux.
Some mystics are said to have been able to perform miracles. But for many mystics, the miracles occurred to them. In the Middle Ages, one common form of mystical miracle, especially for women, was the Eucharistic miracle, such as being able to eat nothing other than the communion host. Catherine of Genoa was an example of someone who experienced this type of miracle.
Influential Christian mystics and texts
Greek influences
The influences of Greek thought are apparent in the earliest Christian mystics and their writings. Plato (428–348 BCE) is considered the most important of ancient philosophers and his philosophical system provides the basis of most later mystical forms. Plotinus (c. 205 – 270 CE) provided the non-Christian, neo-Platonic basis for much Christian, Jewish and Islamic mysticism.[52]
Justin Martyr (c. 105 – c. 165) used Greek philosophy as the stepping-stone to Christian theology. The mystical conclusions that some Greeks arrived at, pointed to Christ. He was Influenced by: Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle as well as Stoicism.
Origen (c. 185 – 254): On Principles, Against Celsus. Studied under Clement of Alexandria, and probably also Ammonius Saccus (Plotinus' teacher). He Christianized and theologized neo-Platonism.
Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296/8 – 373) - The Life of Antony (c. 360)[53]
Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – after 394): Focused on the stages of spiritual growth, the need for constant progress, and the "divine darkness" as seen in the story of Moses.
Augustine (354 – 430): De Trinitate, Confessions. Important source for much mediaeval mysticism. He brings Platonism and Christianity together. Influenced by: Plato and Plotinus.
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 500) - Mystical Theology
Middle Ages and Renaissance
Meditative mystical image of the Trinity, from the early 14th-century Flemish Rothschild Canticles, Yale Beinecke MS 404, fol. 40v.
John Scotus Eriugena (c. 810 – c. 877): Periphyseon. Eriugena translated Pseudo-Dionysius from Greek into Latin. Influenced by: Plotinus, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius.
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153): Cistercian theologian, author of The Steps of Humility and Pride, On Loving God, and Sermons on the Song of Songs; strong blend of scripture and personal experience.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179): Benedictine abbess and reformist preacher, known for her visions, recorded in such works as Scivias (Know the Ways) and Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works). Influenced by: Pseudo-Dionysius, Gregory the Great, Rhabanus Maurus, John Scotus Eriugena.
Victorines: fl. 11th century; stressed meditation and contemplation; helped popularize Pseudo-Dionysius; influenced by Augustine
Hugh of Saint Victor (d.1141): The Mysteries of the Christian Faith, Noah's Mystical Ark, etc.
Richard of Saint Victor (d.1173): The Twelve Patriarchs and The Mystical Ark (e.g. Benjamin Minor and Benjamin Major). Influenced Dante, Bonaventure, Cloud of Unknowing.
Franciscans:
Francis of Assisi (c.1182 - 1226): founder of the order, stressed simplicity and penitence; first documented case of stigmata
Anthony of Padua (1195 - 1231): priest, Franciscan friar and theologian; visions; sermons
Bonaventure (c.1217 - 1274): The Soul's Journey into God, The Triple Way, The Tree of Life and others. Influenced by: Pseudo-Dionysius, Augustine, Bernard, Victorines.
Jacopone da Todi (c. 1230 – 1306): Franciscan friar; prominent member of "The Spirituals"; The Lauds
Angela of Foligno (c.1248 - 1309): tertiary anchoress; focused on Christ's Passion; Memorial and Instructions.
Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274): priest, Dominican friar and theologian.
Beguines (fl. 13th century):
Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1212 - c.1297): visions, bridal mysticism, reformist; The Flowing Light of the Godhead
Hadewijch of Antwerp (13th century): visions, bridal mysticism, essence mysticism; writings are mostly letters and poems. Influenced John of Ruysbroeck.
Rhineland mystics (fl. 14th century): sharp move towards speculation and apophasis; mostly Dominicans
Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1327): sermons
Johannes Tauler (d.1361): sermons
Henry Suso (c.1295 - 1366): Life of the Servant, Little Book of Eternal Wisdom
Theologia Germanica (anon.). Influenced: Martin Luther
John of Ruysbroeck (1293 – 1381): Flemish, Augustinian; The Spiritual Espousals and many others. Similar themes as the Rhineland Mystics. Influenced by: Beguines, Cistercians. Influenced: Geert Groote and the Devotio Moderna.
Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380): Letters
The English Mystics (fl. 14th century):
Anonymous - The Cloud of the Unknowing (c. 1375)—Intended by ascetic author as a means of instruction in the practice of mystic and contemplative prayer.
Richard Rolle (c.1300 - 1349): The Fire of Love, Mending of Life, Meditations on the Passion
Walter Hilton (c.1340 - 1396): The Ladder of Perfection (a.k.a., The Scale of Perfection) -- suggesting familiarity with the works of Pseudo-Dionysius (see above), the author provides an early English language seminal work for the beginner.
Julian of Norwich (1342 - c.1416): Revelations of Divine Love (a.k.a. Showing of Love)
Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556): St. Ignatius had a number of mystical experiences in his life, the most significant was an experience of enlightenment by the river Cardoner, in which, he later stated, he learnt more in that one occasion than he did in the rest of his life.[54] Another significant mystical experience was in 1537, at a chapel in La Storta, outside Rome, in which he saw God the Father place him with the Son, who was carrying the Cross. This was after he had spent a year praying to Mary for her to place him with her Son (Jesus), and was one of the reasons why he insisted that the group that followed his 'way of proceeding' be called the Society of Jesus.[55]
Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582): Two of her works, The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, were intended as instruction in (profoundly mystic) prayer based upon her experiences. Influenced by: Augustine.
John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes) (1542–1591): Wrote three related instructional works, with Ascent of Mount Carmel as a systematic approach to mystic prayer; together with the Spiritual Canticle and the Dark Night of the Soul, these provided poetic and literary language for the Christian Mystical practice and experience. Influenced by and collaborated with Teresa of Ávila.
Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663): An Italian Franciscan friar who is said to have been prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstatic visions that left him gaping.[56]
Jakob Böhme (1575-1624): German theosopher; author of The Way to Christ.
Thomas Browne (1605-1682): English physician and philosopher, author of Religio Medici.
Brother Lawrence (1614–1691): Author of The Practice of the Presence of God.
Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664): Puritan mystic; author of Looking Unto Jesus.
Angelus Silesius (1624 – 1677): German Catholic priest and physician, mystic and religious poet.
George Fox (1624–1691): Founder of the Religious Society of Friends.
William Law (1686–1761): English mystic interested in Jakob Böhme who wrote several mystical treatises.
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772): Influential and controversial Swedish writer and visionary.
A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him".[57]
Domenico da Cese (1905-1978): Stigmatist Capuchin monk.
Maria Valtorta (1898-1963): Visionary and writer.
Mary of Saint Peter (1816–1848): Carmelite nun and mystic.
Marie Lataste (1822–1899): Visionary, nun and writer.
Marie Martha Chambon (1841–1907): Nun, visionary and mystic.
Marie Julie Jahenny (1850–1941): Mystic and stigmatist.
Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925): Founder of the Anthroposophical Society, Bio-dynamics, Waldorf Education, Threefold Social Order, Eurythmy, writer and mystic.
Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering (1863–1899): Sister of the Good Shepherd and mystic.
Berthe Petit (1870–1943): Visionary and mystic.
Frank Laubach (1884–1970): Evangelical missionary, author of Letters by a Modern Mystic.
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968): Friar, priest, stigmatic and mystic.
Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889–1929): Evangelical Indian missionary, ascetic and mystic.
Claude Newman (1923 - 1944), Black American mystic.
Maria Pierina de Micheli (1890–1945): Visionary and mystic.
Thomas Raymond Kelly (1893–1941): Quaker mystic.
Carl Albrecht (1902-1965): a German physician and phenomenological philosopher. His methodological groundbreaking research of the mystical consciousness effected a personal conversion also: the positivistic scientist and sceptic turned into a Christian mystic eventually.
Alexandrina of Balazar (1904–1955): Writer and mystic.
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961): Swedish diplomat (Second Secretary General of the United Nations). His posthumously published spiritual diary "Vägmärken" (Markings) gave him the reputation of having been one of the few mystics in the political arena.
Mary Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938): Polish nun, mystic and visionary.
Eugenia Ravasio (1907–1990): Italian nun, mystic and visionary of God the Father.
Simone Weil (1909-1943): French writer, political activist and ecstatic visionary.
Flower A. Newhouse (1909-1994): American clairvoyant and mystic.
Carmela Carabelli (1910–1978): Italian writer and mystic.
Pierina Gilli (1911–1991): Italian visionary and mystic.
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963): Christian and Missionary Alliance mystic; author of The Pursuit of God.
Thomas Merton (1915–1968): Trappist monk, writer and mystic.
Sister Lúcia (1907-2005): Portuguese mystic, 1917 Fátima apparitions participant, nun and prophetess.
Bernadette Roberts (1931–): Carmelite nun, writer and mystic, focusing on no-self states.
Richard J. Foster (1942-): Quaker theologian and mystic; author of Celebration of Discipline and Prayer.
James Goll (1952-): Third Wave mystic; Kansas City prophet; author of Wasted on Jesus and The Seer.
John Boruff (1985-): Wesleyan Pentecostal mystic; blogger; author of How to Experience God.
Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality
Main article: Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality of the Diocese of Limburg
In Frankfurt, Germany in 2007 the Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg. In and by the centre different kinds of church services are offered like for example with elements such as expressionist dance, moreover days of exercises of christian mysticism, meditative singing, meditation courses, contemplative prayer, Zen-meditation courses, days of reflection, spiritual exercises and retreats[58]
Christian mysticism in ancient Africa
Christian mythology
Christian soteriology
Esoteric Christianity
Jesus Prayer
Christian views on astrology
Orthodox gnosiology
Pauline mysticism
Quietism (Christian philosophy)
1 2 3 4 5 Gellman, Jerome, "Mysticism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
1 2 Parsons 2011, p. 3.
1 2 3 4 King 2002, p. 15.
1 2 3 4 McGinn 2006.
↑ Hori 1999, p. 47.
↑ Sharf 2000, p. 271.
↑ Parsons 2011, p. 4-5.
1 2 King 2002, p. 21.
↑ Trigg, Joseph W. (2012). Origen. The Early Church Fathers. Routledge. ISBN 9781134815258. Retrieved 2015-01-04. For Origen, [...] Paul was the apostle of spiritual transformation - the transformation of human apprehension of God from the oldness of the letter to the newness of the Spirit and the transformation of believers into the image of Christ.
↑ Bynum, Caroline Walker (1988). Holy feast and holy fast: the religious significance of food to medieval women. U of California Press. pp. 64,253. ISBN 978-0-520-06329-7.
↑ John Barton, "The Old Testament", in The Study of Spirituality, ed. Cheslyn Jones, et al., Oxford University Press, 1986. pp. 47-57.
↑ see Barton and Holmes
↑ Holmes pp.15
↑ Holmes p.14-16
↑ Holmes p.17
↑ Holmes pp.19-20
↑ Healey p.2
↑ Healey p.8-9; Holmes pp.20-21
↑ Healey pp. 3-4; Holmes p. 21
↑ Healey pp.4-6
↑ Holmes p. 22
↑ Holmes 26-28
↑ Holmes pp. 23-25
↑ Holmes 125-127
↑ Holmes pp.99-102
↑ Sencourt R., Outflying Philosophy: A Literary Study of the Religious Element in the Poems and Letters of John Donne and in the Literary Works of Sir Thomas Browne, Ardent Media, 1925, p.126
↑ Julian Huxley in 'Religion without Revelation (1967).
↑ Holmes pp. 136-137
↑ Holmes, pp. 138-139
↑ Holmes, pp. 139, 140
↑ See Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of The Eastern Church
↑ CORNUZ, Michel: Le protestantisme et la mystique. Genève 2003.
↑ Literally, "God became man so that man might become god." Here, man is understood as human and no debate exists within the Church concerning a contrary interpretation.
↑ Evelyn Underhill,"Mysticism:a study in the nature and development of Man's Spiritual Consciousness",1911, Part II chapter 3
↑ Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness by Evelyn Underhill (Public Domain)
1 2 Lehodey, "The Ways of Mental Prayer", 1960
↑ Theologia Germanica, public domain
↑ Greene, Dana, "Adhering to God: The Message of Evelyn Underhill for Our Times", Spirituality Today, Spring 1987, Vol. 39, pp. 22–38
↑ McBrian, Richard P., Sheldrake, Philip, eds., The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism: Mysticism, Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1995, p. 901.
↑ B.P. Holt Thirst for God: A brief History of Christian Spirituality, Fortress Press, 2005, p 75
↑ Holmes pp.4–5.
↑ Bruce B. Janz, Who's Who in the History of Western Mysticism
↑ V, The Life of Antony
↑ Life of Ignatius
↑ St. Ignatius
↑ Pastrovicchi, Angelo (1980). Saint Joseph Copertino. TAN Books and Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-135-7.
↑ The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer by Liz Kelly 2004 ISBN 0-8294-2024-X pages 79 and 86
↑ "Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität – Programm September 2016 bis Juli 2017" (PDF) (in German). Heilig Kreuz – Zentrum für christliche Meditation und Spiritualität. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
Hori, Victor Sogen (1999), Translating the Zen Phrase Book. In: Nanzan Bulletin 23 (1999) (PDF)
King, Richard (2002), Orientalism and Religion: Post-Colonial Theory, India and "The Mystic East", Routledge
McGinn, Bernard (2006), The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, New York: Modern Library
Parsons, William B. (2011), Teaching Mysticism, Oxford University Press
Sharf, Robert H. (2000), The Rhetoric of Experience and the Study of Religion. In: Journal of Consciousness Studies, 7, No. 11-12, 2000, pp. 267-87 (PDF)
Tito Colliander: Way of the Ascetics, 1981, ISBN 0-06-061526-5
Samuel Fanous and Vincent Gillespie, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Mysticism, Cambridge University Press, 2011
Richard Foster: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, 1978, ISBN 0-06-062831-6
Charles J. Healey: Christian Spirituality: An Introduction to the Heritage, St. Paul's, 1999, ISBN 0-8189-0820-3
Urban T. Holmes, III: A History of Christian Spirituality: An Analytical Introduction, Seabury, 1980, ISBN 0-86683-890-2
Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright and Edward Yarnold, eds.: The Study of Spirituality, Oxford University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-19-504170-4
Bernard McGinn: The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century, 1991, reprint 1994, ISBN 0-8245-1404-1
Bernard McGinn: The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great through the 12th Century, 1994, paperback ed. 1996, ISBN 0-8245-1628-1
Tarjei Park, The English Mystics, SPCK, 1998, ISBN 0-281-05110-0
Thomas E. Powers: Invitation to a Great Experiment: Exploring the Possibility that God can be Known, 1979, ISBN 0-385-14187-4
Ryan Stark, "Some Aspects of Christian Mystical Rhetoric, Philosophy, and Poetry," Philosophy & Rhetoric 41 (2008): 260-77.
William Thiele: "Monks in the World: Seeking God in a Frantic Culture", 2014, ISBN 978-1-62564-540-1
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness, 1911, reprint 1999, ISBN 1-85168-196-5 online edition
Evelyn Underhill: The Spiritual Life: Four Broadcast Talks, Hodder & Stoughton, 1937, x, 141 p.
Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article Mysticism.
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Mysticism
Christian Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness
Christian Mystics: A online library of Christian Mysticism: Current Topics and Public Books
Christian Mysticism Post on the Realization and Consciousness of Christian Enlightenment
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text:
Дуброва — деревня в Чагодощенском районе Вологодской области.

Входит в состав Покровского сельского поселения, с точки зрения административно-территориального деления — в Покровский сельсовет.

Расстояние по автодороге до районного центра Чагоды — 65 км, до центра муниципального образования села Покровское — 15 км. Ближайшие населённые пункты — Гречнево, Жерновицы, Селище.

По переписи 2002 года население — 8 человек.

Примечания

Ссылки
 Дуброва в реестре населённых пунктов Вологодской области

Населённые пункты Чагодощенского района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
By: Chris Wehner
Significant Retirement and Tax Changes in the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022
Service Businesses | Healthcare | Manufacturing & Distribution | Government Contractors | High Net Worth Families | Construction & Real Estate
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 ("Secure 2.0") was passed on December 29, 2022 and focuses primarily on enhancing retirement plan incentives for individual taxpayers.
Let's review some key provisions of the bill and how they could impact you and your business.
Automatic Enrollment in Employer Retirement Plans
Human psychology is fascinating and Secure 2.0 plays into that by automatically enrolling employees in their employers' retirement plan whenever the employee is first eligible to participate. This is not a new concept, but it hasn't been legislatively mandated before now.
Employees may opt-out of participation, but studies show that more employees participate (fewer opt-out) when automatically enrolled than when employees need to opt-in to participate.
The default election term is that certain employers will withhold a minimum of 3% and a maximum of 10% of an employee's compensation and contribute that to the plan. This withholding percentage will increase by 1% annually until it reaches a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 15%. All current 401(k) and 403(b) plans are grandfathered.
The following employers are not subject to this automatic enrollment provision:
Employers with fewer than 10 employees
Businesses that have not been in business for more than three years
This provision is effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Retirement Savers Match
A nonrefundable credit is currently available for certain individuals who contribute to an IRA, employer plan or ABLE account. This credit is repealed and replaced with a federal matching contribution that must be deposited into a taxpayer's IRA or retirement plan. The match is equal to 50% of the individual's contribution up to $2,000 per individual. The amount phases-out for taxpayers who file a joint return and have income between $41,000 and $71,000 ($20,500 and $35,500 for taxpayers who file single or married filing separate; $30,750 and $53,250 for head of household filers).
The Treasury Department will be advertising these changes in a marketing campaign to increase public awareness of this benefit.
This provision is effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Required Minimum Distribution Age Change
Secure 2.0 increases the maximum age for individuals to begin withdrawing retirement plan funds to 73 beginning on January 1, 2023 and increases it again on January 1, 2033 to 75. Previously, the SECURE Act of 2019 increased the age from 70 ½ to 72.
Retirement Plan Catch-Up Limits
For 2023, individuals 50 or older may contribute an additional $1,000 to their IRA accounts; the maximum allowed is $6,500 for those under 50. Individuals over 50 may also contribute an extra $7,500 to employer retirement plans for 2023; the maximum allowed is $22,500 for those under 50. Secure 2.0 indexes this catch-up contribution to inflation.
This indexing of the catch-up contribution amounts is effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023.
Certain older employees who participate in their employer's retirement plan are also allowed to make catch-up contributions. Secure 2.0 increases these catch-up contributions to the greater of 1) $10,000 or 2) 50% more than the regular catch-up amount in 2025 for individuals who have attained ages 60, 61, 62 and 63. The increased amounts are indexed for inflation after 2025.
These retirement plan catch-up contribution amounts are effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Student Loan Assistance
Student loan debt is hitting younger employees hard, hard enough that many aren't saving for retirement and devoting whatever they can to paying down that debt. Secure 2.0 allows employers to make matching contributions to retirement plans with respect to qualified student loan payments. A qualified student loan payment is any debt incurred by the employee solely to pay qualified higher education expenses of the employee.
This section is effective for contributions made for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023.
Military Spouses Retirement Plan Eligibility
Many times, spouses of members of the military aren't able to satisfy the minimum eligibility requirements required to become participants in employer plans or vest in employer contributions. Secure 2.0 provides small employers with a tax credit with respect to defined contribution plans if they satisfy all of the following requirements:
Make military spouses eligible for plan participation within two months of their hire date,
Make the military spouse eligible for any matching or non-elective contributions they would have been eligible for had they satisfied the vesting requirements of having two years of service and
Make the military spouse 100% immediately vested in all employer contributions.
The credit is equal to the sum of $200 per military spouse and 100% of employer contributions up to $300 for a maximum credit of $500. The credit applies for three years with respect to each military spouse that is also not classified as a highly compensated employee.
This section is effective for plan years beginning after December 29, 2022.
Retirement Plan Participation Incentives
Many employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to nondiscrimination testing which, if employee participation is low, can affect how much other employees may contribute to the plan. Employers are now allowed to provide de minimis financial incentives to employees for participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans. These incentives must be paid with non-plan funds.
This section is effective December 29, 2022.
Early Distribution Penalty Waiver
Normally, if an individual withdraws funds from a qualified plan or IRA and they are younger than 59 ½, the IRS would assess a 10% penalty on the amount of that distribution unless it was for certain qualified transactions like a first-time home purchase or medical expenses. Secure 2.0 allows an exception for certain distributions used for emergency expenses, which are unforeseeable or immediate financial need relating to personal or family emergency expenses and have the following terms:
The early distribution may be taken only once per year,
The distribution can be no more than $1,000 and
The taxpayer may repay the distribution within three years.
If a taxpayer chooses to repay the distribution, no other distributions for emergency expenses may be taken during the repayment period unless full repayment has occurred.
This section is effective for distributions made after December 31, 2023.
Automatic Portability of Participant Accounts
Many participants of employer-sponsored retirement plans who have terminated employment with the sponsor leave their accounts with their former employer's plan without rolling over the funds. Employers have had the option, depending on the balance in the plan, to either distribute those funds to participants immediately or roll the balance out of the plan and into an IRA for the participant after the participant's termination of employment. Third-party administrators may now offer these services to automatically transfer accounts that satisfy the account balance requirements.
This section is effective for transactions on or after December 29, 2023.
Starter 401(k) Plan
Secure 2.0 allows employers that do not sponsor a retirement plan to create a plan that would generally require that all employees be automatically enrolled and contribute at a rate of between 3-15% of compensation.
Qualified Distribution of 529 Funds to Roth IRAs
Parents and caregivers of children may face uncertainty about whether to contribute to a 529 plan because, previously, those funds could only be used to fund qualified educational expenses. Secure 2.0 now allows beneficiaries of 529 college savings accounts to roll over a maximum of $35,000 over their lifetime from their 529 account to a Roth IRA.
These rollovers would be subject to Roth IRA annual contribution limits and the 529 account must have been open for more than 15 years. This provision may eliminate some of the hesitancy surrounding contributing to an account that may ultimately never be utilized if the child doesn't go to college or have other qualified educational expenses or if the child secures scholarships that substantially pay for their higher education.
This section is effective with respect to distributions after December 31, 2023.
Resolution to Erroneous Excess Distributions from Retirement Plans
Many individuals receive more than they anticipated from a qualified plan like a 401(k) or IRA. The process for correcting these mistakes can be cumbersome and fiduciaries may require the individual to repay the plan for the excess amounts distributed, which could be a substantial amount if the error isn't caught for several years.
Secure 2.0 allows plan fiduciaries to decide whether to recoup overpayments made to retirees. If plan fiduciaries decide to recoup overpayments, limitations and protections apply to protect innocent retirees.
This section is effective after December 29, 2022.
Penalty on Shortfall in Required Minimum Distributions
The penalty for failing to take the required minimum distribution amount from retirement plans has been reduced from 50% of the shortfall to 25%. If the failure is corrected timely, the penalty is reduced to 10%.
This section is effective for taxable years beginning after December 29, 2022.
There are a number of other provisions in the bill that are not summarized above, but most are aimed at making saving for retirement and withdrawing from tax-favored plans easier for individuals and participants.
Contact us here or call 800.899.4623.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Professional, personable, patient and great photos! Neil was the photographer for my sister's wedding at Cardiff Castle. His preparation was very thorough as he had several meetings with the bride and groom to ensure he knew exactly what they wanted and visited the venue in advance to find out where the best shots would be. This made for a really efficient service on the day – the group photos were achieved with the minimum of fuss, and otherwise we barely knew he was there (unlike at other weddings we have been to in the past!) The result is the perfect set of wedding photos. He has also done two photo shoots of our family and both times has captured our two young daughters wonderfully – something that we have never managed! His patience and relaxed manner bring out the inner model in everyone! At affordable price we would recommend him for any occasion – what more could you ask for! Keep up the good work Neil!!
Cardiffs premier fish restaurant Fish@85 needed a photographer who could create a series of images that could be used for their website.
As a new business the choice of image for our first magazine cover was of vital importance, Neil Mansfield's photography couldn't have provided us with a better representation of our ethos; quality produce and a friendly approachable service. Neil's strong pictures and perfect execution don't simply look like great pictures of a fishmongers and seafood restaurant but rather the final chapter in a story that starts way out at sea. The clean lines and sharpness of Neils pictures have meant that they have also been a wonderful tool for us in the construction of our website.
Sarah and Mark Wedding celebrations took place in the Radisson Blu in Cardiff. We managed to sneak out for photographs in Cathays Park.
The Harry's wonderful wedding was at Miskin Manor, just outside of Cardiff. With over 25 acres of grounds the photographic opportunities were plentiful.
Adam and Claires wonderful wedding ceremony was held at St. Teilos church in Whitchurch, we shot photographs at Insole Court and went on to Llandaff Rowing Club for the wedding celebrations.
A terrific wedding in the Cotswolds. The wedding ceremony took place Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton. With photography and celebrations held at the Ragged Cot pub.
A lovely family portrait shoot in the Bluebells on on the Wenault in the hills above Cardiff.
A family portrait shoot in Llandaff fields, lots of smiles and family fun with the children on a summers day.
"A gorgeous landscape commission of Southerndown and Ogmore Vale, enlarged to a Sepia panorama. It's now adorning our lounge wall, thank you Neil.


text:
Obstruction. Vaping Lobbyists. A $100-million campaign. 🚨 – Sludge | @readsludge
Sludge October 8, 2019, 10:35 pm 1.7k Views
Obstruction. Vaping Lobbyists. A $100-million campaign. 🚨 – Sludge from @readsludge
Welcome to the preview edition of our weekly, members-only Sludge column to let you know about the sludgiest characters in politics! Not a member? Sign up here.
Let's get right to the sludge.
5. Revolving-Door Swamp Creatures
Former Rep. Ryan Costello
In the latest revolving-door news, former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Ryan Costello plans to open a corporate lobbying shop as soon as his one-year "cooling-off" period expires in January. (Members are barred from officially lobbying their former colleagues for a year after leaving Congress, although there's plenty of shadow lobbying going on. Be sure to check out the Center for Responsive Politics' new shadow lobbying report.) This year he's been doing policy work that is 100%, absolutely, undeniably "in no way lobbying" at all. Costello says he'll apply his expertise in telecom, tech, pharma, health insurance, energy and transportation when lobbying on behalf of his corporate clients. (The Hill)
The White House's recent Cabinet secretary, William McGinley, is also headed for greener pastures (pun intended). Trump's top liaison with government agencies will now become a principal at The Vogel Group, a bipartisan government affairs and business consulting firm. He can't lobby the White House for five years, due to ethics rules, but he's free to lobby Congress any time. McGinley is one of many ex-Trump staffers who appear to suffer no professional penalties for helping run the most corrupt administration in modern history. (The Hill)
4. Tom Steyer, Debate Slot Purchaser
Yes, it's possible to buy yourself a spot on the presidential debate stage. Liberal hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer has spent the past few years plastering his name, and a call to impeach Trump, in Times Square and all over the internet. Many speculated this was really an effort to amass a giant email list he could use for personal political gain—and that seems to be exactly the case. In July, he entered the Democratic presidential primary, vowing to spend $100 million on his campaign. Let me repeat that: $100 million of his own money. This is *not* what democracy looks like, folks.
While former Rep. John Delaney's enormous wealth and self-funding couldn't keep his incessant fearmongering over Medicare for All on the debate stage for very long (shocking!), Steyer has been more savvy in his approach to national prowess. He entered the race relatively late, and his giant warchest and decent name recognition have allowed him to do well enough in the polls and raise enough small donations to qualify for the fourth Democratic presidential debate on Oct. 15.
Steyer has been funding independent political spending groups for a while now, but to be honest, I'm pretty surprised about this new factoid: He recently gave $2.7 million to a super PAC he founded, Need to Impeach, as it continues advocating for Trump's ouster. Steyer resigned from the super PAC, but this is quite shady. Sure, the group probably won't directly advocate for Steyer's campaign, but it's already linked to Steyer and obviously has the same message to spread. Its website's front page still has a big photo and bio under the heading, "MEET TOM STEYER."
Steyer's 2020 campaign funded publicity of his decision to give millions to Need to Impeach, according to a screen shot from reporter Dave Levinthal.
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Muckraking journalism, delivered to you
Originally posted by Sludge on 2019-10-08 15:03:36
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Written by Sludge
That Tweet Is No Slam Dunk | @TheRealNews
Why the Working Families Party Endorsement of Elizabeth Warren Over Bernie Sanders is Fishy | @statuscoup


Florida does not have a statute regarding annulments. This means that all of the law in this state regarding annulments is case law which was created by the court system. While the word annulment might be a flashy word used in pop culture media when a brief marriage comes to an end, it is not a reality for most in Florida.
There are strict criteria for obtaining an annulment in Florida. Typically, it must be shown that a marriage was void or is voidable. The burden to make this showing is on the person seeking the annulment. One way to show a marriage is void would be to prove bigamy. Typically, in order for a marriage to be voidable, or to possibly be invalid, one of the following must be proven: (1) lack of legal capacity to marry, (2) lack of mental capacity, (3) lack of consent to the marriage, (4) consent to the marriage was obtained by force, duress, fraud, or concealment, or (5) a lack of physical capacity to consummate. Again, the burden is on the party seeking the annulment to make this showing.
As you can see, annulment is not only limited to a select few types of situations, but the process also puts a heavy burden on the person seeking the annulment. The common way to obtain a divorce is by a dissolution of marriage. Sine Florida's only requirement for a dissolution of marriage is a showing that the marriage is irretrievably broken, this is much easier to obtain. Not only is this the most common way, but it is also the most efficient, and possibly the more cost effective method. Using a knowledgeable and experienced family law attorney to help you through your dissolution of marriage proceedings will make the process as simple as possible.


text:
Born in Ireland in 1837
Taking of the habit at Sicklinghall on July 31, 1858
Perpetual oblation at Jaffna on May 21, 1860 (No. 518)
Died in Jaffna on May 22, 1860.
Robert Bonaventure Byrne was born in Ireland in 1837. He began his novitiate in Sicklinghall on July 31, 1858. In a December 22, 1858, letter to Bishop de Mazenod, Father Prosper Boisramé wrote: "Robert Byrne, novice. Loves a great deal to pray to God. A bit scrupulous. Not neat enough, nor sufficiently adept. The Provincial had sent him here to make a school teacher out of him. Unfortunately, in my first interview with him I noticed that he was too deaf for that. He has been given the job of doing the dishes, etc."
Bishop Semeria was asking for English-speaking brothers to work as school masters in the English-speaking college of Jaffna, a college founded by Bishop Bettachini, something his successor wanted to develop and improve. At the end of his novitiate, Brother Byrne was sent to Ceylon with Brother Joseph Brown. They arrived there in December of 1859. In a January 10, 1864 report on the conditions of the schools Father César Mola wrote that the two brothers had not received any special training to prepare them for teaching. "We will strive," he added, "to achieve the best results we can […] What they knew, they could teach […] what they did not know, they could conceal it by means of a prudent silence […however] the school would certainly profit from being under their direction, and it will owe them a debt of gratitude that it would never know how to sufficiently repay." (Missions O.M.I., Vol. 3, 1864, p. 478, 483-484).
A short time after his arrival, Brother Byrne suffered an attack of pleurisy and died on May 22, 1860 at the age of 23 years, having made his perpetual oblation the day before. On July 7, 1860, Bishop de Mazenod wrote to Father Boisramé in Sicklinghall concerning the death in Ceylon "of Brother Byrne who was already beginning to make himself so useful in the school our Fathers have opened at Jaffna and which is one of the finest things they have been able to undertake […] This dear brother Byrne has died, partly through his own fault, after an illness of several days. He died in the manner we could expect from such a virtuous young man. He made his religious profession shortly before leaving to go and praise God in Heaven with our brothers who have preceded him. But his loss leaves a very regrettable void in the school …" (Oblate Writings I, Vol. 3, No. 94, p. 158).
G.A.: There is no dossier on this Brother; correspondence from Bishop de Mazenod to Father P. Boisramé.
Archives of the Anglo-Irish Province: Register of the takings of the habit.
Philip, Jesuthasan, o.m.i., Our Tribute, Vol. I, Colombo, 2001, p. 14-15.


PIERRE, S.D. - State regulators have approved an agreement with NorthWestern Energy to refund roughly $3 million to customers after last year's federal tax cuts.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission said Tuesday that commissioners voted to accept the settlement agreement, which also bars rate hikes until 2021. The refund will be roughly $18 for an average household electric customer and about $9 for an average residential natural gas buyer.
The company can't ask the commission to increase rates until June 30, 2020, under the agreement. Commission Vice Chairman Gary Hanson says consumers will get two benefits: the refund and unchanged rates.
NorthWestern Energy has about 67,000 electric and 46,000 natural gas customers in the state.


This treatment study will give your child access to an intervention that may be able to help with mild language delays.
Many children with autism have difficulties with language and communication. This study will test if an intervention called Direct Instruction-Language for Learning (DI-LL) helps children with mild language delays.
Is 4 to 7 years old.
Has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis.
Has moderate language delay on a language test.
Is enrolled in a consistent educational program.
Is not on any medication or has been on stable medication for the past 6 weeks with no planned changes during the study.
Can come to Marcus Autism Center for two appointments a week for 24 weeks.
What will my family be asked to do?
As part of the study, you and your child will come to Marcus Autism Center for two initial visits. These visits will include common tests of your child's behavior, language skills and diagnosis. Children with autism and language delay who fit the study will be randomly assigned to start DI-LL either right away or after a 24-week waiting period.
All children in the study will be allowed to continue current treatments, like speech therapy. We ask that children not start any new treatments during the study.
The language intervention (DI-LL) involves 2 therapy visits a week for 24 weeks. Children in both groups will come to Marcus Autism Center once a month for assessments of language and behavior.
Children will have the opportunity, during the study or after the study, to receive DI-LL, which may improve language delays.
Children in both groups will receive $25 for each of the 8 assessment visits, for a total amount of up to $200.
Email us or call 404-785-9345 and say that you're interested in the Direct Intervention Language Study.


But the big news is that the Independent Party of Oregon is 292 members away from becoming Oregon's first new major party in …..a lot of years. The IPO gained 534 new members in November and appears to be poised to hit the major party standard (5% of all registered voters as of the most recent general election) possibly as soon as December, 2014.
Phil Keisling has been heard to have said that the IPO reaching major party status would be a game changer. Especially if, as has been discussed, it elects to open it's May 2016 primary to NAV voters.
IPO leaders have been in discussions with officials at the Oregon Secretary of State office to coordinate the implementation of major party status and do discuss how non affiliated voters could participate in the IPO May Primary election.
Throughout much of Japanese history the Emperor has been a figure-head, the titular head of the nation, but considered semi-divine and thus above politics.
True power resided with a figure behind the scenes, a figure who weilded the real power through personal influence and patronage as well as being the chief administrative officer in the government. Often this figure stayed completely in the background, working in the shadows. In today's political jargon one often will hear the phrase "he leaves no fingerprints," but one knows the shadow shogun has instigated an action.
The most powerful and influential figure in Idaho politics today is NOT Senator Mike Crapo, nor is it Rep. Mike Simpson, nor Rep. Raul Labrador, nor Governor Butch Otter, nor Lt. Governor Brad Little, nor House Speaker Scott Bedke, nor President Pro Tempore Brent Hill, nor Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, though a good case could be made for each and everyone of these folks.
The most powerful, politically influential figure on the Idaho landscape today holds no political office. Rather he weilds his power through minions who do his bidding. Like the shadow shogun that he is, he prefers to stay behind the scenes. He rightly expects loyalty and he gets it because he is loyal to those who are loyal to him.
There isn't a Republican in any office in Idaho who doesn't know who he is, and wouldn't think twice before crossing him. He appears to even own judges for most judges are keenly aware that he quite legally took out a judge who crossed him by putting up a candidate of his liking that defeated the wayward judge.
It is also well known among legal circles that Attorney General Lawrence Wasden pays close attention to the shadow shogun's views.
His net worth reportedly exceeds $1.5 billion, making him the richest person in Idaho. What differentiates him from other Idaho billionaires, like the late J.R. Simplot, is he is absolutely unafraid of using his wealth to get his way. Thus, he contributes to candidates for many offices, not just the major ones. He spreads his wealth around viewing it as a form of investing. Of course like any good businessman he expects a decent return on his investment. He fully understands that money is the mother's milk of politics.
He knows though that politics is all about cultivating personal relationships, not just giving money. Thus he entertains various political figures and by all accounts he can be as charming as he can be alarming depending on what the situation requires.
Over the last month, I've been pondering a list of currently influential people in Idaho (about which, more later) and out a way to find them: Start with a list of what are likely to be big stories in Idaho in the coming year.
What follows are a half-dozen that helped put names on the list – or, more important, what may make for a lot of discussion in Idaho next year.
Nuclear waste. In 1995 Governor Phil Batt reached an agreement with federal agencies calling for removal of nuclear waste at the (now) Idaho National Laboratory. There's been unease since about just how well that's been going, but toward the end of 2014 holdups in those out-shipments, largely because of issues in other states, have been accelerating. The terms of the agreement may be violated before long, and that will be a very big conflict, probably the biggest IN:L story in 20 years.
Health care consolidation. Health care services in Idaho (and not just Idaho) are becoming consolidated. This trend has its advocates, as at St. Luke's in Boise, where the argument is that this is the way to get health care costs under control and service rationalized. The counter-argument of course is that this is a matter of power and monopoly. St. Luke's, based in Boise, is the biggest player, but not the only one; it's cross-town critic, St. Alphonsus, has been growing at a hefty rate too, both of them not just just in the city but regionally around Idaho. This consolidation began to poke upward in 2014, and it may become more visible in 2015, especially as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals makes its decision, probably early in the year, on a key St. Luke's purchase in Nampa.
Rudy Giuliani. When a "practicing" Catholic mayor of New York City, he moved his wife out of the official mayor's residence so he could move his girlfriend in. Rudy Giuliani. Once a Democrat who couldn't get elected to anything; now a Republican. Rudy Giuliani. Who, since his term of office expired in 2002, has consistently been rejected in runs for various offices and political appointments by his own "adopted" political party. Rudy Giuliani. A man with nothing of essence to say who won't shut up!
This ignorant empty suit is not alone in his effrontery to Americans legitimately in the streets to express their anger and frustration. New York Rep. Peter King demanded apologies from the President on down for fomenting police hatred and mistrust. Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Coulter and other usual suspects from the hate crowd piled on with equally as insulting and contemptuous vitriol.
A deranged, lifelong lawbreaker assassinated his girlfriend and two NYC officers before killing himself. Case open. Case closed. No responsible office holder and no justice-seeking crowd in the street in any American city contributed, sponsored or urged the killings. That the killer tried to justify his actions before they occurred by using social media to trumpet the names of Michael Brown and other blacks recently killed by police only confirms his estrangement from reality and the rest of us.
Giuliani, King and the shooter aside, this country has a long-simmering racial divide deeper and further across than the Grand Canyon. The only fact worse than its existence is the refusal of all of us to take it seriously enough to honestly examine and end it. All of us. If any good can come of the spate of recent killings of unarmed black men and children it would be to keep the subject of racial discrimination on the front burner and to deal with it in all of its many ugly facets until we get it behind us.
That won't happen. Much as it's needed to make this nation whole, that won't happen. Giuliani, King, a New York City mad man and millions of unnamed Americans who believe such despicable trash won't let it. At every turn, where progress can be realized, they'll pop up and pop off for national media consumption. They'll continue the outrageousness and lies that attract national recording and repetition - a minority refusing to affirm legitimate efforts by a majority who will work for justice. A justice we promise "for all" in our national Pledge of Allegiance.
Not since anti-war marches of the '60's and '70's have so many Americans taken to the streets in a national show of frustration, anger, demanding equal treatment under the law. This is not a cop-versus-citizen or cop-versus-politician outpouring any more than those earlier marches were meant to blame the military for following orders of a civilian hierarchy.


This may be old hat to some, but head over to Sproost and find out what your decorating style is. First time I took the quiz, I was 100% vintage modern. That felt about right -- sounds like me.
However, being the marketer I am, I wanted to take it again and test the validity of the quiz.
The Second time I was 50% modern elegance and 50% cottage chic. HUH? I think there were different pictures this time.
The third time I was 67% French Eclectic and 33% Rustic Revival.
Am I changing that quickly?
Go take it and come back and let me know what you think!!


The pure, organic shapes of the Galea range are available in six colours: peony, purple and midnight blue crystal with silver, and honey, mahogany and turquoise crystal with silver-gilt. A cruise-style collection in timeless, up-to-date shapes to wear with chic relaxed outfits. The perfect gift for any occasion.


text:
PREVIEW | Robinson keen to get back to winning ways against former club
Theo Robinson previews Port Vale..
This time last season Theo Robinson was lining up for Southend's opponents tomorrow, Port Vale.
The striker made a switch to the Valiants in the 2016 January transfer window from Motherwell, scoring twice in 14 appearances.
Despite being released, Robinson doesn't believe he has a point to prove, but is hoping to get one over his former side to help Blues in their push for promotion.
"It's changed a lot from when I was there," he said. "I think there's been about 15-20 players that have gone in there.
"They released me so it's one of them things. I would love to get one back on them and obviously it's a big game for us so I'm looking forward to it.
"Not for how things turned but because whenever you play your old team you always want to get the points.
"It's a crucial game for us to get back into the play offs."
Robinson was a second half substitute last weekend, setting up Nile Ranger for what turned out to be a consolation goal, and hopes his impact off the bench will lead to a starting spot soon.
"I'll just keep doing what I have to do and trying to make an impact in any situation that I get.
Hopefully I'll get a start soon, but it's up to the manager what he wants to do.
"The team was doing really well when I arrived and we've still been doing well despite the result on Saturday.
"I have to wait for the opportunity to come along and work hard in training and when I come off the bench do well."


text:
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Copyright 2015 The Chromium Authors
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found in the LICENSE file.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bike Rides at the Red Wing Roots Music Festival!
Harrisonburg's favorite band The Steel Wheels is hosting the 2nd Red Wing Roots Music Festival on July 11, 12, and 13 at Natural Chimneys Park near Stokesville. The Steel Wheels love bicycles and have toured multiple times via bicycle pulling their instruments along for the ride. Tickets are available now, and selling quickly, so we suggest you go ahead and make a purchase to reserve your spot at what promises to become a classic Valley summer tradition.
In keeping with The Steel Wheels' passion for bicycles, the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition will be organizing and leading group bicycle rides throughout the weekend. If you'd like to volunteer to lead a ride, please contact Kyle at [email protected].
We will have four glorious rides for festival goers to choose from, but these rides are FREE and open to EVERYONE so please come on out even if you don't plan on staying around for the music.
8:00 AM Intermediate-Advanced Road Ride (40 miles including climb to top of Reddish Knob): SVBC supported ride to the top of Reddish Knob. Perks include a nice spread at the top of the climb, and a short set of acoustic music. Suggested Donation OR Ride Fees collected.
8:30 AM Mountain Bike Ride (approx. 10 miles): 2-3 hours including transportation time to and from trail. Group ride led by SVBC designed to highlight exciting new mountain bike projects in the area. This ride will showcase the SVBC trail work on Narrowback Mountain.
More information at www.redwingroots.com/biking or www.svbcoalition.org.


This entry was posted in Journal (Referred) and tagged climate change, global, growth, marine ecosystems, ocean, shrinkage on 2012/05/25 by Reg Watson.
This entry was posted in Journal (Referred) and tagged Australia, endeavour prawn, growth, migration, prawn, shrimp, tiger prawn, Torres Strait on 1993/05/25 by Reg Watson.
This entry was posted in Report and tagged Australia, brown tiger prawn, growth, movement, shrimp, tagging, Torres Strait on 1990/04/26 by Reg Watson.
This entry was posted in Journal (Referred) and tagged bigeye, China, growth, Hong Kong, mortality, parasitology, trawl, yield on 1985/05/25 by Reg Watson.


Police are appealing for witnesses after arsonists set fire to a car last night.
Firefighters were called to Park Street in Congleton just after 10pm on Friday evening (April 12).
A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "On arrival the crew found a car well alight.
"Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire with a hose reel jet.
"The crew then damped the car down to make it safe and were in attendance for around an hour.
"The police also attended. The fire is believed to have been started deliberately."
Alternatively they can give the police the details via https://cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.