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July 23
John Cassian, Bridget of Sweden, Louis T. Wright, and the first mass-produced automobile
David Barnhart
July 23, 2025
Mosaic of a warthog at Petra, 2007. Own photo.
On this day in 1903, the Ford Motor Company sold its first car. Today, 120 years later, we have irrefutable evidence of climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
Today is the feast day of John Cassian (360-435), a Christian monk who brought Eastern monastic practices to the Western church. Because he affirmed that humans, being made in the image of God, have a built-in drive to do good (original blessing), some in the Western church accused him of heresy for not emphasizing original sin enough. After studying in Egypt, he founded many monasteries in France.
Today is also the feast day of Bridget of Sweden, who died on July 23, 1374. Her visions of Jesus and her pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem helped shape medieval and early Renaissance Christianity.
Today is also the birthday of Louis T. Wright, a surgeon and civil rights activist who fought against medical racism and helped to integrate health care.
Reflection:
John Cassian said:
“If the kingdom of God is within us and that is a kingdom of justice, of peace, and of joy then whoever remains with these virtues is certainly in the kingdom of God. By contrast, all who deal in unrighteousness, in discord, and in death-bearing gloom have taken their stand in the kingdom of the devil, in hell and in lifelessness. It is by these tokens that the kingdom of God or of the devil is recognized.”
Prayer: Jesus, you tell us that we will know false prophets from true ones by their fruits. Help us discern the virtues that bring life from those that bring death. Amen.