The Ecological Spirituality of Elizabeth Ann Seton

Some ecologists believe that the global environmental crisis has been caused by placing humanity at the top of the ecosystem. They have asked religious traditions to help develop new ethics that restore equilibrium to the relationship between humanity and nature. One way to do this is to examine traditional texts from an ecological perspective. With extensive quotations, Sung-Hae Kim demonstrates how Elizabeth Seton saw the link between humanity and nature and how she experienced God in nature. Kim writes that Elizabeth learned to see suffering and death as transformative and part of an “ecological balance,” which led to trust in God. According to Kim, “while recognizing the rhythm of time in nature, Elizabeth realized the importance of living in the present and learned to be content in all situations by acquiring the virtues of moderation and harmony.” Her spirituality is considered within the context of ideas from four philosophers of ecology, Arne Naess, Aldo Leopold, Murray Bookchin, and Anthony Weston

The Ecological Meaning of the Presence of God in Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Reflections and Translations Based on Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings Volumes 3a & 3b

In her third interpretation of Elizabeth Seton’s spirituality within the framework of ecological theology, Sun Hae Kim examines volumes 3a and 3b of Elizabeth’s writings. These volumes cover Elizabeth’s entire life. The presence of God was “the mystery that not only sustained her throughout her life but also united her vision of the entire universe of natural creation and humanity into one.” Kim also puts Elizabeth’s views of creation, humanity, suffering, and death within the context of three ecological theologians: Hildegard of Bingen, Sallie McFague, and Elizabeth A. Johnson. According to Elizabeth, God’s presence “consecrates every part of the universe”; caring for the earth—which is God’s body according to Johnson—is, as Kim says, “an act of obedience to the Creator, who wants all life to flourish.” At the end of time, Elizabeth looked to “the complete transformation of the earth,” which for her involved our salvation and “the glory of the natural world.” Death and suffering, as a part of the natural world, are a part of ecology in which God is present as well. Moreover, “suffering is a mystery that humbles and unites both humans and non-human living beings of the earth.

Indifference as the Freedom of the Heart: The Spiritual Fruit of Apostolic Mysticism—Christian, Confucian, and Daoist Cases

Sung-Hae Kim asserts that mysticism can lead to action rather than just contemplation. For her, apostolic mysticism leads to “freedom of the heart,” which is “‘indifference’ in Christianity, ‘absence of private mind’ in Confucianism, and ‘equitable and constant ordinary mind’ in Daoism.” Practitioners of this virtue representing these three traditions respectively are Vincent de Paul, Cheng Yi, and Yin Zhiping. For Vincent, indifference was the total freedom from desires and attachments that enabled one to follow God’s will in all things. Vincent primarily characterized indifference as obedience, a willingness to be sent anywhere and to undertake any work to serve God. For Cheng Yi, absence of private mind meant an absence of individual selfish desires. The virtue of benevolence, obtained through sharing with others and listening to them, would overcome the private mind in favor of the public mind or greater good, which is the principle of Heaven. In absence of private mind, one would naturally recognize and carry out the good without making it an act of self-will. For Yin Zhiping, the constant ordinary mind meant facing all situations with moderation. Kim explains how the ordinary mind “integrates contemplation and action into one.

The Virtue of Holy Indifference: The Fruit of Saint Vincent de Paul’s Spiritual Journey

To update her article on indifference from Vincentian Heritage 30:2, Sung Hae Kim uses Vincent de Paul’s letters and conferences to understand his conception of indifference. For him, it was the basis for all the virtues he wanted the Congregation and the Daughters of Charity to cultivate. It meant a complete abandonment of one’s own will in favor of complete openness to God’s will. Vincent believed that this openness led to a state of perfect freedom and happiness. Indifference allowed people to free themselves from their own desires and attachments and helped them to “love all things from the eyes of God.” It enabled trust in God, and as such, was the ideal for all of Jesus’s disciples. Examples are given from Vincent’s life in which he displayed indifference. Because Ignatius Loyola introduced the concept of indifference to Catholicism, his view of it is also discussed and compared with Vincent’s. For Ignatius, indifference was essential to decision making; it meant discerning God’s will and being ready to act in accordance. For Vincent, indifference was essential to action itself, necessary for the obedient, faithful acceptance and execution of ministries

Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Vision of Ecological Community. Based on Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings, Volume Two

This article is a companion to “The Ecological Spirituality of Elizabeth Ann Seton,” which appeared in Vincentian Heritage 32:2 (2015). Using extensive quotations from Elizabeth’s letters, Sung-Hae Kim explores how she practiced ecological principles in her relationships with family, friends, and members of her religious community. Elizabeth’s relationships with her students, parents of students, other benefactors, and church leaders are also discussed. Ecological principles include mutual aid, self-governance, harmony, and balance. Elizabeth used these and others to form interconnected ecological communities. The concept of ecological community is defined, drawing from the work of the philosophers Peter Kropotkin, Henry David Thoreau, and Murray Bookchin. Ecological aspects of the Sisters of Charity’s ministry and of the community’s structure and governance are described

Ordinariness, Eternity, A Woman of Insight: Mother Seton\u27s Spirituality from East-Asian Perspectives

Parallels among Elizabeth Seton’s spirituality and Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are explored. A central part of Elizabeth’s spirituality was her concept of “the grace of the moment,” the discernment of God’s will in all situations. This is compared with the Confucian Timely Mean, which guides people’s responses to all occasions and which allows people to fulfill the Mandate of Heaven in daily life and all human relationships. For Elizabeth, eternity began in the present because it was a way of seeing life with God’s vision. This is similar to the Taoist way of viewing everything in the light of Heaven. Elizabeth was intimately familiar with suffering and accepted what it had to teach her; her outlook relates well to the Buddhist goal of seeing reality as it is. Questions for reflections are provided

The Charism of Charity in East Asian Culture: Reinterpretation of the Spirit of Simplicity, Humility, and Charity

Sung-Hae Kim conducted a survey among Korean Sisters of Charity to discover their understanding of the charism of charity and whether they thought there was a cultural gap between it and East Asian culture. A large percentage of the younger ones felt there was a gap, and in general the understanding of the charism was abstract. Kim discusses the virtues of simplicity, humility and charity found in Vincent de Paul’s conferences. She also describes how these virtues were perceived and lived out by Elizabeth Seton. The article concludes with an exploration of the Taoist counterparts to the Vincentian virtues. These are compassion, frugality, and not daring to take the lead in the world. The Taoist and Vincentian virtues complement each other, and as such, can strengthen the charism of charity

Antioxidant activity and contents of total phenolic compounds and anthocyanins according to grain colour in several varieties of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench contains various phenolic compounds such as anthocyanin. Eleven sorghum accessions were classified into five groups by grain colour and their antioxidant activities were measured as well as the contents of total phenolic compounds (TPC) and anthocyanins in sorghum grains. The grain colour was related to TPC content, but not to monomelic anthocyanin content. Moreover, the overall patterns of antioxidant activity levels in 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) or 2,2′-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay were similar to those of the TPC content. Correlations between TPC and anthocyanin contents were statistically significant and positive (P < 0.05). TPC content showed also a strong positive correlation to DPPH and ABTS antioxidant activities. The results provide the basic data for breeding of sorghum varieties containing large amounts of antioxidants

The in vitro effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on human osteoarthritic chondrocytes

AbstractObjective: To investigate the in vitro effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on human osteoarthritic chondrocytes.Design: Chondrocytes isolated from human osteoarthritic knee cartilage were three-dimensionally cultured in alginate beads, except for cell proliferation experiment. Cells were treated with DHEA in the presence or absence of IL-1β. The effects on chondrocytes were analyzed using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxy-phenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium inner salt (MTS) assay (for chondrocyte proliferation), a dimethylmethylene blue (DMB) assay (for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis), and an indole assay (for DNA amount). Gene expressions of type I and II collagen, metalloproteinase-1 and -3 (MMP-1 and -3), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) as well as the IL-1β-induced gene expressions of MMP-1 and -3 were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The protein synthesis of MMP-1 and -3 and TIMP-1 was determined by Western blotting.Results: The treatment of chondrocytes with DHEA did not affect chondrocyte proliferation or GAG synthesis up to 100μM of concentration. The gene expression of type II collagen increased in a dose-dependent manner, while that of type I decreased. DHEA suppressed the expression of MMP-1 significantly at concentrations exceeding 50μM. The gene expression of MMP-3 was also suppressed, but this was without statistical significance. The expression of TIMP-1 was significantly increased by DHEA at concentrations exceeding 10μM. The effects of DHEA on the gene expressions of MMP-1 and -3 were more prominent in the presence of IL-1β, in which DHEA suppressed not only MMP-1, but also MMP-3 at the lower concentrations, 10 and 50μM, respectively. Western blotting results were in agreement with RT-PCR, which indicates that DHEA acts at the gene transcription level.Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that DHEA has no toxic effect on chondrocytes up to 100μM of concentration and has an ability to modulate the imbalance between MMPs and TIMP-1 during OA at the transcription level, which suggest that it has a protective role against articular cartilage loss

Floating of the lobes of mosquito (Aedes togoi) larva for respiration

Mosquito (Aedes togoi) larva has to float its siphon on the water surface to breathe air. To elucidate the floating mechanism of the siphon, morphological structures, especially the flap-like lobes and spiracle of the siphon, were observed. Wettability and dynamic behavior of the lobes on the water surface were also experimentally examined. The lobes formed a hollow cone shape under water and expanded on the water surface. The spiracle was located at the base of the cone. The lobes exhibited hydrophobic wettability. During floating process, the lobes were spread into a triangular shape in apical view, and the spiracle was exposed to air. When they were submerged in water, the lobes were folded into a cone shape to seal the spiracle and protect it from water penetration. These dynamic processes occurred at the water surface. In this study, the floating mechanism of the lobes for respiration was described based on the cross-sectional morphology of the lobes with the pressure induced by surface tension and the hydrostatic pressure proportional to depth. This study would be helpful in elucidating the behavior of mosquito larvae near the water surface and may facilitate the formulation of methods to control mosquito larvae.1122Ysciescopu