Look, it's Lectio Difficilior

To me, Lectio Difficilior is a robot super hero, created to save man from himself (not Lectio's self, man's self). I never understood how men could be superheroes: their just men, like everyone else. That's why comic books always covered aliens or mutations. So Lectio is probably a robot. At least that's what I think of.

Lectio difficilior is a term in classical translation that operates on the basic idea that the more complicated and weird a manuscript is, the closer it is to the original. Manuscripts don't get more complicated over time; they are simplified, as scholars make contractions and correct errors and sometimes even illustrate (The Illiad - Now with seven pages of color photographs!).

When I heard the term, I knew it had to be a superhero. Superhero names can get pretty bland, but come one: this one sounds like the Latin name for the Terminator. I even wrote a poem about it, which will go into my anthology, "Darn You, Iambic Pentameter," which in turn will go into a hot fire that I will build. It goes:

Look, its Lectio Difficilior.
Please, come save us, robot super hero.
We humans are lost, willy nilly, or
Now set to implode, like little Neros.
Come, with your super strength and grappling hooks
Appear, armed with your quad lasers and such
Something more certain than truth found in books.
You are a savior we can feel and touch.
But even Lectio can’t dam our sins;
Wielding his brand of justice makes it worse.
He fills a niche like new wine in old skins:
His help will only expedite our burst.
And yet without him to save the day,
I am confident there remains a Way.

See how easy it is to write poetry? You just have to count syllables.

I love sonnets (and yet I still deface them) because of the turn, where the application is. And the robot superhero is no exception. Lectio difficilior reminds me of my spiritual walk. Too much do I try to overcomplicate salvation and religion. Too much do I unconsciously try to practice penance, or try to schedule and chart my spiritual growth. But in reality it is simple. Jesus's blood covers my sins. That's it.

So I want this blog to be a simplification of my spiritual walk, for me and for my one reader, Steve. So, here's to you Steve. Internet high five. Inter-five.