Several meetings kept me in London all day today: one social, one business and one both. The last was in Golden Square followed by a meal at a nearby Italian restaurant. I don't think I will need to eat at all tomorrow. I was careful to memorise the map of that somewhat labyrinthine area of London to avoid ending up walking to Piccadilly via any of the streets that have seedy clubs.
Mind you, custody of the eyes is necessary most of the time in central London. I often think of the advice of the book of Ecclesiasticus (9.7) when I am in central London: "Noli circumspicere in vicis civitatis" (do not look about in the lanes of the city). I first saw this quotation in an extract from Louis of Granada in a book of meditations. It is consoling to know that there is nothing new under the sun.
8 comments:
Yes in Miles Jesu we are taught & teach our children 'custody of the eyes'..particularly difficult for my young sons when we're behind a bus!
I don't think I've ever read that verse of Ecclesiasticus, but it is good advice and advice I follow. I often just work out where I am, where I'm going and walk in a straight line (though I have a fond weakness for parks and ponds and bits of countryside in the city).
I'm not sure how to behave in that part of Soho. On the one hand, custody of the eyes guards our hearts.
On the other hand, street evangelisation in that area resulted in many holy conversations, particularly with the young women employed to greet/entice people into the above-mentioned seedy clubs. Many of them come from Catholic backgrounds and (it seemed) weren't quite sure how they'd ended up with the job they were doing. We also threw Miraculous Medals into the brothels. Would it be a mistake to avoid the area completely, when there is obviously so much work for the Lord to be done there?
I always carry a book on the tube to ensure custody of the eyes,but never listen to my MP3 player, earphones make you unavailable, people will speak to you if you are reading. Thus I can ensure I avoid inapproriate conduct and still ensure availability to people.
Father, the problem is that the number of places where we need to avert our eyes is growing. I personally find it quite difficult walking into a newsagents these days due to the number of men's magazines on the lower shelves showing women in various states of undress. That was something I never saw as a child. Also, I rarely watch Channel 4 these days due to the amount of explicit material.
I hope this doesn't sound prudish - it's just that I know myself too well!
Vincent
The street evangelisation that goes on in London is excellent and I certainly wouldn't want to discourage it. But particularly the men involved need to be aware of their own weakness, regularly at confession and honest with each other. In the past, work with prostitutes etc. was always done by women for reasons of propriety and it might be worth seeing if there is a wise "division of labour". Just some thoughts. I know there is a lot of excellent work done in Soho.
...throwing miraculous medals into brothels - Yay!
Fr Jones
Funnily enough this was my experience yesterday. I think I'll post about it.
David
Don't let anyone tell you this is prudish - it is just common sense and honesty with yourself. I'm sure the devil laughs at us whenever we think we can look at these things with impunity. Don't forget the positive response, too: prayers to Our Lady and thanksgiving whenever you have avoided an occasion of sin or resisted a temptation. There are opportunities for receiving many graces here.
Five years ago we had World Youth Day in Toronto. I was working through the whole thing handing out pro-life literature, organising events and whatnot. Our office was downtown on the cusp of the gay district (Boys Town) and around the corner from a stretch of Yonge st that is a long strip of really disgusting shops, nudie parlours, and all manner of horrible sexual revolution debris.
It was early in the morning on the first day of World Youth Week and I had to run up Yonge st. to the WYD office and drop off some stuff. On the way back, I spotted someone who was clearly an African bishop, (big pectoral cross, light blue clericals) and obviously lost. I stopped to say hello and offer directions. Turns out he was from Uganda. We chatted and two comments of his stuck in my mind.
He had been staying in a hotel downtown and decided to take a stroll in the morning before it got too hot and too busy. He was looking with horror at the closed shops, and said, "We had no idea things were this bad in Canada. We had been told that it was a wonderful, clean country and all its people were moral and upstanding."
I said, yes, that was the usual propaganda, but I was rather glad he knew now that Canadians are not really all they crack themselves up to be.
Then he said, this guy who grew up in Africa! (for Pete sake,) "Is it always this hot in the summer?"
Yep.
If you raise your eyes unto the cornices, you can often see some quite pretty features!
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