School children and students who love God should never say: 'For my part I like mathematics'; 'I like French'; 'I like Greek.' They should learn to like all these subjects, because all of them develop that faculty of attention which, directed toward God, is the very substance of prayer.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Students who love God should appreciate all subjects, as each trains attention, which is essentially prayer.
- In plain terms
- Loving God means loving every subject because they all cultivate attentive prayer.
- What can you take from it?
- Cultivate a holistic love for learning to deepen spiritual attention.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does attention become a form of prayer?
- Can secular subjects also develop spiritual depth?
Another view
Not everyone connects academic subjects with spiritual practice.
More from Simone Weil
Although people seem to be unaware of it today, the development of the faculty of attention forms the real object and almost the sole interest of studies.
Permalink to quote #56 Attention consists of suspending our thought, leaving it detached, empty, and ready to be penetrated by the object; it means holding in our minds, within reach…
Permalink to quote #58 The most important part of education - to teach the meaning of to know (in the scientific sense).
Permalink to quote #55
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