From The Editor
Welcome to the May Edition of the Peasant Times-Dispatch. I hope some of you have enjoyed the first issue and those of you that have a paid subscription have enjoyed the sections of my book that I have released so far. As a reminder, I have a Wordpress Blog which I write more generally for free, and I hope to use this venue to refine and professionalize my writing. I am still experimenting with the format but look forward to making iterative improvements as we go. I am very grateful that you have stopped by to read my humble offering and hope you find it fruitful!
How To Introduce The Peasant Life
I have been thinking about how to introduce the Peasant Life to readers here. It is something of an idea that has evolved outside of either Wordpress or Substack and has a little more substance at Wordpress if you have a knack for forensic blog sleuthing. I would like to refine the concept into a form that is readily consumable—this is the subject of a book I am writing for the discerning review of paid subscribers—but I want these ideas to be accessible so I am experimenting with making this newsletter a bit more of a “live demonstration” with contemporary examples. After all—the Peasant life is easy to recognize but hard to define, as some American justices of the peace have described certain illicit content of the internet: “I know it when I see it”.
The answer to the question “how to introduce the Peasant Life” came to me after pursuing an unrelated matter. I teach 8th grade CCD at my parish, and the students have already been confirmed and by the time this article is published the term will nearly be over. I have decided to use the remaining few classes—those after confirmation but before the end of the term—to lecture on subjects which I find fun and enjoyable yet also spiritually fulfilling to the Church’s newest young Citizens of Heaven. I was creating a list of five pieces of life advice for them, and realized it was somewhat by accident an introduction to the Peasant Life. Here, then, I will provide an expanded view of the information I hope to provide to my students.
#1 - Have Frequent Recourse To The Sacraments
I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.
This item is good advice in general, beyond merely living a Peasant Life. Yet it is an essential element of the Peasant Life: it is the reminder that all that we have, all that we are, all that we were, and all that we wish to be depends upon the grace of God. The Eucharist is our connection with Christ himself, we take Him into ourselves and make a home for Him in our hearts. Reconciliation is where we restore ourselves to be in good standing with our Creator and Redeemer, offer our contrition and penance for any misdeeds we have done or deeds we have failed to do. A Peasant Life, as with any spiritual life, begins with a proper relationship with God.
There are certain things we ought to do in conjunction with this: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving—the eternal call during Lent but something which we would be well served to do throughout the whole year. Make room for silence, make room for the Rosary. Find a way to perform works of service. Find crosses which you can take up for yourself, and offer as a prayer in selfless service. In each of these things, we put ourselves in the presence of God in different ways.
#2 - Submit To Authority
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, Saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not; for they say, and do not.
-Matthew 23:1-3
There is a blogger who was very influential on my growth in faith. I only discovered him after he transcended his mortal coil and surely joined the Church Triumphant, but in life he went by Zippy on his blog. There he gave us this quote which contains within it some hard truth: “Submission to authority is voluntary. Submission to authority is mandatory. Yes, it is both/and not either/or.”
Reconciling our place in the world is an important part of growing up, and understanding our role vis-a-vis authority is absolutely essential. I offer this rule of thumb: In order of precedence, you must obey Church authority, Civil Authority, and Filial Authority. The authority of the Church takes the foremost place, as it is the barque of Peter, the ship which will ferry us to Heaven if we take good care of it and we must trust that it will take good care of us.
Submission to this authority is not forced upon us. We must choose the yoke, after all—no one will stop us if we choose to disobey, or to choose to obey a different order of precedence. The consequences of our choices will be just as freely given to us. If we want a well ordered society, a well ordered Church, and a well ordered spiritual life—that is to say, if we want to live the life of a Peasant—submission to this authority is mandatory. It is an essential step, one which cannot be skipped.
#3 - Can You Say You Did Your Best, And Mean It?
And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above.
His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
(…) For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away.
At the end of all things, you will render to God an accounting of every moment of your life. Sins committed, works done, virtues practiced, hours wasted. Anticipate this, and render to yourself an accounting of every moment of each day. Live your life such that you can say that you did your best, and know in your heart that you mean it sincerely. Give your all to every moment, for the glory of God and the good of your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Even if you have a small role to play—if you’re the street sweeper of the back alleys of a small town in the middle of nowhere—perform that role that God has given you with the best that you have to offer and you will glorify God, without a doubt. Wherever you find yourself, whatever circumstances you are in, make it a habit of asking yourself how you can do your best, or which of a number of options will glorify God the most. Eventually the decision will become second nature, and then a habit, and then instinct. A single person, operating to the best of their ability, can do great things.
#4 - Lay Down The Weight Of The World
Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit? (…) Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you
It is, shall we say, fashionable to decry the failings of the world today. Modernism makes us feel like we have to take up the revolutionary call or take to the streets and actively fight for change. A man can no more change the weather than he can add to his stature one cubit. Learn to lay down the weight of the world, and focus on what is immediately around you. Do good works in your community, mentor people in your community, mobilize your talents for the good of your family, your parish, your community. To make a peasant analogy: It does more good to raise a good crop than it does to agitate for a good crop. The world will always be challenging, until Christ returns to Earth in power and glory. In the meantime, just focus on what you can actually do, and as in the previous item, do it well.
#5 - Trust God In All Things
All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him. Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.
When we are tempted to try to take matters into our own hands, we need to remind ourselves with the prayer “Jesus, I trust in you.” It is easy to say we need to trust in God but exceedingly difficult to do. When we begin to try to Trust God, He will tempt us to despair, and give us challenges that make us feel like we are being abandoned by God. The more we trust, the better the outcome of any given challenge will be. Any given undertaking, before you begin, ask yourself how you will have recourse to trust in God when things don’t go as planned. Prepare yourself now to trust in Him at all times and in all circumstances. Eventually, things will work their way out, and you will look back and wonder why you didn’t trust Him the whole time.
And So…
This has been a brief introduction to the peasant life. I plan to expand on these ideas more in future issues and in a book which you can read as I write it with a paid subscription. I hope this has been edifying and I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading, and God Bless!
Ad Jesum Per Mariam