A Conversation for The Quite Interesting Society
QI - The Sound of Silence
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Sep 8, 2009
Yes that's abut as full an explanation as I could have hoped for. +3
All Jesuits on their way to becoming priests pass through the novitiate stage where they commit to reciting the meditations and prayer rituals originally set down by Ignatius when he founded the Jesuits in 1540.
These are known as the Spiritual Exercises and are central to the process. Essentially one progress into the priesthood by mastering these.
The key to the riddle is that 'spirit' in Greek is 'pneuma' and also connotes with ideas of soul and breath and where a drill being the, yes, quasi military term for exercises.
So 'spiritual exercises' can , with a bit of artistic licence on the grammar, be rendered as 'pneumatic drills', restoring the original Greek.
These meditations are often carried out in silence and retreat over a period of 30 days. 
QI - The Sound of Silence
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Sep 8, 2009
Points...in the morning.
Since it's now gone 1am, I'm switching my alarm to OFF.
QI - The Sound of Silence
gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA Posted Sep 9, 2009
As a person educated by Jesuits, I have full knowledge of their educational 'methods', as can several hundred of ex-college boys......
VERY painful memories....
GT
QI - The Sound of Silence
KB Posted Sep 9, 2009
To be honest, they weren't alone in that. That's just how education was done until very recently. 
QI - The Sound of Silence
gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA Posted Sep 9, 2009
But they were involved in 'other' practices that were NOT educational...
One former pupil of my old school (now closed) has successfully sued the S.J. for compensation for damage to personality caused by the Head of Sports for 'unnatural practices'........
Priests they call themselves!!!!!
Pull the other one!! It has bells on!!
GT
QI - The Sound of Silence
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Sep 9, 2009
Sorry to hear that GT.
QI - The Sound of Silence
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Sep 9, 2009
QI - The Sound of Silence
---------------------
Correct 
(+3)
---------------------
King Bomba (38) - 'Spiritual Exercises and Silent Meditation.'
QI 
(+6)
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~jwf~ (5) - The Jesuit's expulsion from Mexico
*I'm feeling generous: I let this comment pass before, but on reflection it's something I didn't know and is quiet interesting (all do do with King Charles III wanting the more taxes so instituting the more reliable Franciscans, apparently...) so 6 shiny QI points are yours.
DGI 
(+1)
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King Bomba (28) - 'frequency'
*In the sense of doing something repeatedly and often, and not the other kind. 
Klaxon 
(-5)
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OldBuffer (4) - roadworks
Taff (9) - 'excavating relics on consecrated ground'
Taff (17) - 'digging a hole'
Elf 
(+2)
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Clive
Totals:
~jwf~ +6
King Bomba +4
Clive +2
Old Buffer -5
Taff -10
Key: Complain about this post
QI - The Sound of Silence
- 41: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Sep 8, 2009)
- 42: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Sep 8, 2009)
- 43: gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA (Sep 9, 2009)
- 44: KB (Sep 9, 2009)
- 45: gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA (Sep 9, 2009)
- 46: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Sep 9, 2009)
- 47: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Sep 9, 2009)
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