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June 22, 2019
Blaise Pascal, the famous 17 th century mathematician, writer, physicist, Catholic philosopher and theologian, said that the proof that man was wretched, if you needed one, is death. He offered this meditation on death:
"Let us imagine a number of men in chains, and all condemned to death, where some are killed each day in the sight of the others, and those who remain see their own fate in that of their fellows, and wait their turn, looking at each other sorrowfully and without hope. It is an image of the condition of men." Pascal, Blaise, Pensées. Ozymandias Press. Kindle Edition, Pensee 199.
Pascal noted that it is strange indeed that a prisoner would not do what he could to change his circumstances. He said that we are those people. “It concerns all our life to know whether the soul be mortal or immortal.” Pensees, 218. The Resurrection of Christ, is then, a central concern of life. What should we do about it?
Pascal said that human beings, like prisoners in a cell block, try not to think about death. Prisoners have the choice to tear at each other as they await their fate, or to support one another in hope. Prisoners can deal realistically with their situation or ignore it by pursuing meaningless diversions. What we need is some help, someone in the prison with us, a guide, who knows what to do. Better yet, we need a merciful judge who understands. We need Jesus!
Dr. Peter Kreeft offers this annotation of Blase Pascal's thoughts that he left in his journal at the time of his death. His friends gathered those jottings, brilliant as they are, into a book entitled, Pensees. Dr. Kreeft has reorganized them and composed his commentary in an organized and useful format. Without Dr. Kreeft, or someone like him, to guide you through the Pensees, it would be pretty tough sledding. With Dr. Kreeft the Pensees becomes a series of thoughful commentaries on modern culture. Again, well worth the read. Fr. John
