The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Quadricentennial of Matteo Ricci

Next year is the 400th anniversary of the death of Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit missionary who brought the Faith to China in a most remarkable way. During the 30 years he spent in China, Ricci learned to read, write and speak Chinese and even wrote a book in Chinese on the art of memory, an art he had obviously mastered. He was a strong proponent of what today we would call inculturation, and had he been listened to, I have no doubt that Christianity would be a much stronger presence in China and throughout the rest of Asia.

I first encountered Ricci over 20 years ago when I picked up a copy of Jonathan Spence's fascinating book, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci, a book I heartily recommend.

Pope Benedict XVI recently praised Ricci and his remarkable missionary work in anticipation of next year's celebration. Click here to read a report on the Holy Father's comments. If you would like to watch a video describing a new documentary on Ricci -- a film commissioned by the Vatican -- click here. I trust the documentary will be available in English at some point. I've also embedded a brief (very brief) video (below) that provides a little background on Ricci.

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