Imitation

In the past few of weeks since Christmas and throughout the first week of 2017, we had a chance to renew relations with and extend greetings to friends, extended-family members, and relatives either face-to-face, through phone calls, by social media, or by emails. On the other hand we listened to or received news that actually (or potentially will) influence the world. First the media bombard people with stressful news or sad accidents. Inspired by the Tunisian jihadist who on December 22, 2016 rammed into a crowd in a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 and injured 48 persons, another terrorist, this time a Palestinian father of 4, imitated the Tunisian one by ramming his truck into Israeli cadets on-training in Jerusalem on Sunday January 8, 2017. He killed 4 and injured 15 persons. Imitation (mimesis) of another person increases the determination of the imitator to pursue his act with vigor. In this case, the Palestinian terrorist under pressure by his compatriots thought that killing more Jewish military young men would avenge the injustice he and his family endured. Yet he was also killed and his family, suspected of harboring terrorists, lost their home. However, good things too can be achieved in imitation. On January 8, I received a message from Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey in Jerusalem sharing with me and others the good news of Ian Knowles; a British painter who freely paints icons and teaches at the Bethlehem Icon Centre on sacred iconography to the nuns and other Christian villagers under the patronage of Archbishop Zerey. The Telegraph published an article on Knowles here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/07/british-painter-revives-christian-ancient-art-form-iconography/ and The Orthodox Arts Journal published an article by him: http://www.orthodoxartsjournal.org/the-bethlehem-icon-centre/ Those that learn painting such beautiful icons pass their skills to others too. In imitating Knowles they created new opportunities for good jobs that would benefit the young generation in the Holy Land and elsewhere. It is true that most of one's interests are influenced by the example shown in the life of a popular person whose achievement is imitated. Achievements of heroes are remembered because more people want to imitate them. In this sense, Ignatius of Loyola would not have become the founder of the most active order in the world if he did not read "The Imitation of Christ" and, finding superior joy to the worldly pleasures, determined to follow the Master Jesus Christ.
The motto of St. Pope Pius X was to "restore everything in Christ". Over a 100 years later, today, a Christian can listen to the media with all the bad news about politicians and nations but needs to choose in the end. Which moral views to choose - Pope Pius X worked hard to achieve his goal  of restoring everything he could in Christ.