John Cassian b. 360 d. 435

John and Thommy

good morning
i love you

John, you in particular should get to know this namesake of yours.

John for baptism - half of the grandfather duet. your mother and i agreed, even before we agreed to get pregnant, that if our fist chld were a boy, we'd name him after his grandfathers. [i was named after my grandfather; my father, too, was named after his grandfather. you became a variation on that theme. you got a name from each of them. if you'd'a been a girl, you would have been monica jones; monica from my side of the family, my grandaunt as well as the equally inspirational mother of augustine]

John you also chose for your confirmation. [i'm guessing sr luke's teaching you in kindergarten that your real name was not Jack but John and that John the Baptist and John the Apostle, and so many other saint John's are taking good care of you..... i'm guessing some of that stuck at least to confirmation at the cathedral in nashville. and to repeat the replication of your baptism name, you chose uncle ken to not only be your Godfather but also your confirmation sponsor. [in addition to what you owe God in your multiple vows; how much do you owe uncle ken in the matter of keeping your word, your Vows?]

John Cassian was the son of a rich family. not unlike y'all. maybe we're not wealthy or super rich, but you gotta admit the houses, the education [still being paid for], the material goodies, the many opportunities form cash and contacts... you two too were born into a rich family....

John Cassian's parents made sure he got the best education. and in the fourth century, as well as the 21st, the best education necessarily includes faith and religion as integral to intellectual as well as personal development. [getting your catholic education cut out of your lives after the eighth grade, well, certainly not what was promised at your baptism or committed to in the divorce decree... but for y'all, being without faith formation is apparent in the hole in your personae as well as the languishing disspiritedness in the face of disappointments....] Look at John Cassian's beginnings, like yours. and discover how you can still fulfill the graces and gifts and resources you've been given....

John Cassian, after excelling in his liberal education - education in faith, literature, science, history, math; liberal in the only really good sense of the word - he and a friend went on a pilgrimage - like maybe y'all will take a semester in europe or the holy land or somewhere else. an chance to to and learn even more about yourself and your opportunities. John and his friend found an answer to their vocation in the monastery near bethlehem. because he was young and he aspired to perfection, John Cassian went to the desert, he did the Xtreme study of holiness. not to be by themselves in a self seeking but rather they sought the holiest of men, to visit and learn from the best. whatever your vocation, identify the best and learn from them, model after them, improve upon them. no sense trying to define the basics or even the first tiers of perfection by some solipcistic selfcenteredness. many have gone before you and have shown the best way[s]. dissing them or avoiding them or not pursuing them you do to your detriment.

John Cassian wound up in Constantinople as a disciple of John Chrysostom; who raised John Cassian to deacon and made him a member of the diocese's hierarchy. when John Chrysostom was exiled, John Cassian was sent to Rome to get the bishop of rome to intervene on Chrysostom's behalf. it was probably in rome where Cassian was ordained a priest. ... follow your vocation. pursue the best mentors. work for and on behalf of those who are the best. and you never know where riding the tail of a comet will take you. fersure to new and better heights.

history loses track of John Cassian for about ten years. in 415, he shows up in Marseilles. voila! where he founded two monasteries - one for men, one for women. John Cassian brings eastern asceticism, monastecism to the west. a grand example of Pass it Forward. you have been given many talents and blessings. how do you pursue your own perfection - by hitching your wagon to the right stars? and how do you pass on what you have been given, not only making the next person even more better, also in the process making yourself a better man?

John Cassian's influence permeated our western church, our entire culture. by what he did. with whom he did it. and by writing about it all. by passing on what he learned to posterity. learn. do. teach. write. be more like John Cassian. John Cassian's two most important writings deal with the institutes/rules of monastic life and the principal of deadly sins. Be good/ do better AND avoid/reject sin/satan. They are entitled: "De institutis coenobiorum et de octo principalium vitiorum remediis libri XII" and "Collationes XXIV".

John Casssian got some of it wrong - a bit of semipelagianism seeped into his writings; a bit too much on the free will... sound familiar? i'm sure that the original latin is the best way to read him; but perusing the available english versions would be worth your while - especially the sections on free will and moral life.

Not only the life of John Cassian, but also his writings. take advantage of what he's done for us. if only a sampling....

i love you
dad