Tradition and Grizzlebeard: More on Story-telling

Listen to NPR's Michelle Mercer enrage me with her condescending interview of Eddie Lenihan, a Seanchai. But forget Mercer--Lenihan's got a wife and six kids and is trying to keep alive the great Tradition. A Seanchai is a . . . read more.

And here's Seanchai Eamon Kelly. He's from Co. Kerry. And the second video is good, too--it's strange--the stories aren't even that good, at least, I don't think so--but when he tells them, they're riveting.

Principles

Universal level
Support Communities of Place, Blood, Work, Thought. Do not let the strongest formative influence for children be their peer group. Encourage people to settle down. Establish and encourage locally owned business. Ensure the existence of some communities small enough for everyone to have at least a basic acquaintance with each other. Foster strong social roles and interaction between different communities.

Salvation History: present every historical event as part of an integrated whole, God’s providential plan for the redemption of mankind. History can not be “a mere chronicle or catalogue of facts nor a purely human science or body of knowledge, [but rather] the study of sacred history center[ed] upon Jesus Christ.”[1] Teach Ancient History as the preparation for the fullness of time, i.e. e. the birth of Christ. Integrate scripture, history, and literature as much and as creatively as possible. The more we compartmentalize disciplines and subjects, the easier it is to forget the significance of each in the wider scheme of things, and that there is a wider scheme of things.

Support story-telling and shared literature, not simply as recreation, but in every part of shared life. I am specifically thinking of “class.” Avoid teaching history (or anything) as unrelated trivia or random data. Stories are always preferable, especially those which communicate to the listeners the significance of human life. We should hear the story of Thermopylae and know that such valor is possible for us, too. Stories should teach listeners their significance as characters in their own story, the story of the community, and in Salvation History. And as stories—they should be good stories—colorful, well-phrased, rhythmic, dramatic, and rich in voices, exclamations, and sounds.

Promote Latin, Greek, and other languages which put us in touch with our brothers, living and dead. Familiarity with other tongues opens us to the minds of our predecessors.

Local Level
Encourage artistic expression of the goods of your particular community. A good friend put it: “People don’t love [or see] their land, until poets write about it.” Promote study and transmission of special or particular aspects of your local culture. Keep alive stories of ancestors and forefathers. Seek ways to integrate local customs with the wider Catholic Tradition.

Pursue a calendar which makes time to celebrate concrete persons or events significant for the Tradition. Regular feasts and recreational activities make tangible “an overall conception of the world and of life, and [are] the means for expressing it.”[2]
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[1] Eugene Kevane, Augustine the Educator: A Study in the Fundamentals of Christian Formation (Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1964), 240.
[2] Jean LeClercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture, translated by Catherine Misraki (New York: Fordham University, 1961; 3rd edition, reprint, 2001), 37.

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