Templar Edification

I find it difficult to imagine anything quite so countercultural as the sabbath. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God commands the people of Israel to hallow the seventh day of the week, and neither to do nor to allow any labor during that period from sundown to sundown. Sabbath observance is to be the mark of His people, even more so than circumcision. By setting this time apart, they set themselves apart. Sabbath observance, mind you, deals not with laziness or with simple entertainments. The sabbath is a time for learning and for prayer. It’s when we remind ourselves that we are not merely beasts of burden, but human beings, possessing an innate dignity far more precious than whatever we can accomplish or produce. Sabbath is a time to be, rather than to do. Leisure, in our society, has become something of a lost art. We live not as responsible citizens of a republic, but as consumers; with a worth based not on the Image of God but on our purchases, preferences, and politics. How much money...

In Western Christendom, and especially Roman Catholicism, the month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, due to the 7 October 1571 Battle of Lepanto, at which the naval powers of Europe soundly defeated the Ottoman Turks, definitively settling the question of which empire would dominate the Mediterranean. The Holy League dedicated their victory to the Virgin Mary, whose intercession they had sought by praying the Rosary—though the presence of newly-developed Venetian galleasses surely didn’t hurt. When given the choice between devotion and firepower, Europe historically has opted for both. The resultant sinking of the Turkish fleet massively popularized the Rosary throughout Italy and Spain. Humans have been using prayer beads for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Ba’hai, and neopagans all have their own variations. Indeed, the Old English “bede” means a bid, or a prayer. Christians classically speak of three broad forms...