Smorgasbord #55
All Saints, All Souls | Cacti | Welcome to America
All Saints, All Souls
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates All Saints Day, including known and unknown saints, canonized, and those not recognized by the Vatican but in heaven. You know, like someone’s mom who was very pious, and everyone said “she was a saint” after they passed, that kind of person.
Since I watched Philip Gröning’s 2005 documentary “Into Great Silence,” about the lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery high in the French Alps, I’ve been a big fan of the order. These men live like a group of hermits, silently performing all their activities except for prayer. Once a week, they get together as a community and are allowed to talk. They are permitted to write seven letters a year on Christmas, their only contact with the outside world. If they publish a book, the author is “a Carthusian monk.”
One of the most hardcore things they do is burials. When a monk dies, they put him on a plank, wearing his habit, they dig a hole in the ground, and the monk’s body is lowered and buried with no coffin. The grave is then marked with two sticks shaped like a cross. There is no headstone, no sign of who is buried there.
Last week, I wrote about fitting in and standing out regarding the Communion of Saints and how different personalities can achieve holiness and sainthood. Today, I’m thinking of those men who dedicated their lives to silence and prayer and whom I aspire to meet on the other side of the veil once my time here expires.
It is also that time of the year when I start thinking about my loved ones who have passed. This year, we have really dropped the ball with setting up our Día de Muertos altar, but we’ll get to it this weekend. Apropo of All Souls, I’d like to share an essay I wrote a while ago, “On Death and Loss,” where I talk about how I’ve dealt with death before and after becoming a father.
Cacti
I was listening to an episode of The Drive, Petter Attia MD’s podcast about dopamine and addiction, where Anna Lembke shares a lot of great information about how the brain works and what people can do to get on a path to recovery, and there was a quote from her book that caught my attention:
“Our brains are not evolved for this world of plenty. As Dr. Tom Finucane, who studies diabetes in the setting of chronic sedentary feeding, said, “We are cacti in the rain forest.” And like cacti adapted to an arid climate, we are drowning in dopamine.”
—Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
I found it interesting that abstinence from addictive behaviors is what Mrs. Lembke prescribes to her patients to help reset the brain’s reward system. I’ve returned to fasting regularly, and I can tell you it is a low-technology solution to the problem of having plenty of calories for the last year or so.
Because of this episode, I decided to uninstall several applications on my phone that made me think I needed a dopamine fast. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better. I like the image of the cacti because they need little and can bear fruit even in an arid environment. It has made me think a lot about asceticism and how it is a better way to live. As I said before, I’m not a Luddite, but give me time.
At the same time, I’m conflicted because I may be causing you FOMO when you see my newsletter pop up in your inbox, and you can’t get to it right away, but I can’t control how you feel about my newsletter. What I can do is let you know how to adjust your subscription settings: go to https://walthercantu.substack.com/account and toggle on or off any sections of this publication you may want to receive (or not) in your inbox. I hope this helps.
Welcome to America
I became a US citizen a little over two years ago, just in time to vote in this year’s election. I registered to vote and requested an early ballot, mainly because it was new, and I wanted to get familiar with the ballot and do my homework beforehand.
On Wednesday, I drove to the community college near my home and found where they were collecting ballots. I signed and dated the folder containing the ballot somewhat nervously and told the man helping me: “I just became a citizen. It is my first time voting,” to which he replied: “Congratulations! Welcome to America.” It felt nice to be welcomed into the country, even though I’ve lived here for over a decade.
Now that I have voted in two countries (Mexico and the US), I have to say that in terms of convenience, the US takes the prize. I’m being cheeky, but it was. Elections in Mexico are usually held on a Sunday so that everyone can vote, but that means the lines are long, and it is a significant time investment. I’m sure there are people here in the US who will go to the polls on Tuesday to vote in person, but having my ballot delivered to the comfort of my home was a nice perk. The line at the early voting poll was non-existent, which made it easy to get in and out in a few minutes.
In Mexico, you get your thumb inked as a sign that you have voted. The ink usually lasts a few days to maybe a week. All I got for voting in the US was this sticker.
Well, and the chance to elect who will be in charge for the next four years—government-wise. At the end of the day, God is in charge, and I trust in Him.
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Sobremesa
Have you ever prayed at a cemetery?
What is one thing you could use less of?
Have you watched “Coming to America”?
1. Many times. The Catholic cemetery where most of my closely-related deceased relatives are buried is just down the street from me, so we stop by to pray for their souls throughout the year. During the Octave of All Saints (today through 11/8), we visit a Catholic cemetery (usually the closest one) every day to pray for the dead.
1. Yes. I love visiting cemeteries to pray for the dead. It’s both a way of giving back and doing one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
2. Ego.
3. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it.