tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76904877970701918762024-03-05T00:01:56.925-06:00{flat}landflatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-13044763950280146482014-09-30T10:18:00.002-05:002014-09-30T10:20:25.759-05:00The Desk Chair Review of Books: A Man Without Words<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808042-a-man-without-words" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="A Man Without Words" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344755025m/15808042.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808042-a-man-without-words">A Man Without Words</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/226249.Susan_Schaller">Susan Schaller</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1068046101">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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A certain episode of Radiolab featured this story as a way of considering the power and necessity of language for human flourishing. (You can listen at <a href="http://www.radiolab.org/story/91725-words/" rel="nofollow">this link</a>). Schaller tells the story of a young man she meets almost by accident at a class for deaf students at a university in California in the 1970s. After interacting with him briefly, she discovers that his inability to communicate is not ignorance about the particular signs of American Sign Language, but is actually a consequence of the fact that he was never taught any language at all. Her attempts to sign and communicate are simply mimed back to her by this obviously intelligent but clearly bewildered 27 year old, who observed everything around him intently but could make no connection between what was being done by others and their intention to communicate with him.<br />
The story tells briefly how this young man, referred to as Ildefonso in the book, comes first to grasp language as an adult. This begins an odyssey not only for Ildefonso, but for Susan his teacher; she was charting new territory in a field that had long regarded languageless adults as unteachable.<br />
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My interest in the story derives not only from the remarkable story itself, but also from the philosophical writings of a 20th century novelist, Walker Percy. Percy was fascinated by semiotics, or "sign theory" first enunciated by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. Semiotic theory gave Percy the means to develop a philosophical anthropology that was both scientifically grounded but that avoided a reductionist materialism that dismissed language as a mere epiphenomenon of neural activity. In <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77952.The_Message_in_the_Bottle_How_Queer_Man_is_How_Queer_Language_Is_and_What_One_Has_to_Do_With_the_Other" title="The Message in the Bottle How Queer Man is How Queer Language Is and What One Has to Do With the Other by Walker Percy">The Message in the Bottle How Queer Man is How Queer Language Is and What One Has to Do With the Other</a>, his collection of linguistic essays, he attempts to show how language defies comprehension in terms of linear, stimulus/response patterns, and that "meaning" is irreducibly threefold: sign, concept, and speaker cannot be broken down into a more fundamental binary interaction. In other words, language is an utterly unique phenomenon in the history of the cosmos, and science cannot explain it simply in terms of material and efficient causes.<br />
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One point of contact between Schaller's experiences with Ildefonso and Percy's linguistic theory was the moment that Ildefonso "gets" the fact that gestures "mean" concepts. Percy recounts a similar moment: the famous event in which Helen Keller, with water running over one hand and the sign for water traced on her other hand first realizes that "water" isn't just a sensation, but a name. Both Helen and Ildefonso enter the human community at that moment, and in Ildefonso's case, a lifetime of confusion and isolation is washed away in an instantaneous flood of tears.<br />
Schaller writes with great passion for her subject matter, and her research into the ways in which languageless adults have been misunderstood in the past allows her to bring a fresh eye to much of human history and the study of language. Her love for the Deaf community also shines through and gave me insight into a segment of our society of which I know little to nothing. Highly recommended for parents of deaf children and all men of good will!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/654572-nick">View all my reviews</a>
flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-33173237395748725532013-08-13T07:05:00.002-05:002013-08-13T07:06:00.821-05:00Kon-Tiki<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790171.Kon_Tiki" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Kon-Tiki" border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348547584m/790171.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790171.Kon_Tiki">Kon-Tiki</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18206.Thor_Heyerdahl">Thor Heyerdahl</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/693631852">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Heyerdahl is the perfect mix between investigative theoretician and man of action--with an excellent measure of storytelling to season the dish. While I thoroughly enjoyed the story as Heyerdahl related it, and was terrified by the thought of floating on the open Pacific on a tiny wooden raft, the real value for me was the practical use of such a story to illustrate in vivid terms what is meant by the theological virtue of hope. A difficult task... inspired by evidence and reflection... an tradition of raftmaking handed on through legend... references to a white man from the land of the sun... many naysayers scoffing at the idea... a band of likeminded fellows... daring, fully aware of risks but confident in success... a long but surprisingly easy journey... many experiences of difficulty, but far more experiences of grace... a joyous and festive welcome in a tropical paradise...<br />
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...Coming to a homily near you...
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/654572-nick">View all my reviews</a>
flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-61224362493252976302013-07-08T07:53:00.001-05:002013-07-08T07:53:25.118-05:00Ecumenical Exhortation<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><i><font size="4">If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved. To be steady on all battle fronts besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.</font></i></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; border: none; padding: 0px; "><font size="4">Martin Luther</font></blockquote>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-71178267608568246402013-07-05T21:07:00.001-05:002013-07-06T08:31:44.193-05:00Stay Thirsty, My Friends<font size="4">Taking a break from regularly scheduled paper composition to update my readership!</font><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">As my fourth week comes to a close, I must say that I am extremely grateful for the chance to be able to take this time away from active ministry to dedicate myself to study. This past month has proven to be an extremely fruitful enrichment. My studies have taken me far and wide, covering such disparate ground as Martin Luther's theory of justification to Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy of language. As a student, I am constantly in awe of the enormous intellectual treasures of our faith, its lively ability to selectively absorb the best that has been thought and said in human history and make it captive to the Gospel. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Here, I am surrounded by masters of theology, each of whom has made it his life's mission to expound with clarity and consistency the beauty of our tradition. What a gift to sit at their feet. The depth of expertise and learning is truly staggering. As with any discipline, priesthood carries with it a certain level of expertise, and the priest is commonly the one who is generally the best informed about theological matters within the circles of his influence; but the danger there is complacency and entitlement. To be restored to a position of being taught rather than teaching is not only humbling, it's thrilling. It's a reminder that there is far more ahead to learn than the relatively little that's safely behind.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Stay thirsty, my friends.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Speaking of "the most interesting man in the world," please keep in your prayers Father Ed Oakes, SJ, one of my teachers who has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. His prospects are not good, but we are praying for the miraculous intercession of Servant of God Augustus Tolton, a priest who ministered here in Chicago and is distinguished on account of being the first black priest ordained in the US Catholic Church. Thank you for your prayers of intercession on Father Oakes' behalf.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-29462720268715864102013-07-05T11:14:00.001-05:002013-07-05T11:14:03.579-05:00Pope Francis Publishes Encyclical Letter "Lumen Fidei"<font size="4">Check it out on the <a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei_en.html" id="id_616_7221_7a32_576f">Vatican's website</a>!</font>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-27498472937155711222013-07-04T13:11:00.001-05:002013-07-04T13:11:32.598-05:00To My Parish, From Prison<div style="text-align: center;"><img id="id_8392_6269_44d0_2988" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0swGmqfaTe4pblYyTIPevDXeeOGbY20vAj0R4gci0yUxeh1bSaMzsBSV4JFXNywv9yh-HD1Y9cayH38_AjqwL9pMpMsO6r0LmO_E-tWcTPUgk_mwC-1pDKE9KutPSYENOoC_Ejx8M9e0/" alt="" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 457px; height: 612px; "></div><table align="CENTER" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; " id="id_9671_b5f3_63a_f3b3"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Stone walls do not a prison make,</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><a name="25"><i style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </i></a></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Nor iron bars a cage;</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Minds innocent and quiet take</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> That for an hermitage</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); ">;</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If I have freedom in my love</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> And in my soul am free,</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><a name="30"><i style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </i></a></td></tr><tr><td><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Angels alone, that soar above,</span></td><td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.234375); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.234375); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); "> Enjoy such liberty.<br><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Richard Lovelace</i></div></span><br></td></tr></tbody></table>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-33757122219938920272013-07-02T20:42:00.001-05:002013-07-04T13:13:06.410-05:00Newman on Pelosi<blockquote><i><font size="4">"The very idea of Christianity in its profession and history, is something more than this; it is a 'Revelatio revelata' [revealed revelation]; it is a definite message from God to man distinctly conveyed by His chosen instruments, and to be received as such a message; and therefore to be positively acknowledged, embraced, and maintained as true, on the ground of its being divine, not as true on intrinsic grounds, not as probably true, or partially true, but as absolutely certain knowledge, certain in a sense in which nothing else can be certain, because it comes from Him who neither can deceive nor be deceived.</font></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><font size="4">"And the whole tenor of Scripture from beginning to end is to this effect: the matter of revelation is not a mere collection of truths, not a philosophical view, not a religious sentiment or spirit, not a special morality,––poured out upon mankind as a stream might pour itself into the sea, miing with the world's thought, modifying, purifying, invigorating it;––but an authoritative teaching, which bears witness to itself and keeps itself together as one, in contrast to the assemblage of opinions on all sides of it, and speaks to all men, as being ever and everywhere one and the same, and claiming to be received intelligently, by all whom it addresses, as one doctrine, discipline, and devotion directly given from above. In consequence, the exhibition of credentials, that is, of evidence, that is what it professes to be, is essential to Christianity, as it comes to us; for we are not left at liberty to pick and choose out of its contents according to our judgment, but must receive it all, as we find it, if we accept it at all. It is a religion in addition to the religion of nature; and as nature has an intrinsic claim upon us to be obeyed and used, so what is over and above nature, or supernatural, must also bring with it valid testimonials of its right to demand our homage.</font></i></blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"><font size="4">John Henry Cardinal Newman, in his <i>Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent</i></font></p><div><br></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-72077813037104862442013-06-26T20:19:00.001-05:002013-06-26T22:42:14.918-05:00The Excesses of God<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><i><font size="4">Christ is the infinite self-expenditure of God… he points back to the structural law of creation, in which life squanders a million seeds in order to save one living one; in which a whole universe is squandered in order to prepare at one point a place for spirit, for man. Excess is God's trademark in his creation; as the Fathers put it, "God does not reckon his gifts by the measure." At the same time excess is also the real foundation and form of salvation history, which in the last analysis is nothing other than the truly breathtaking fact that God, in an incredible outpouring of himself, expends not only a universe but his own self in order to lead man, a speck of dust, to salvation. So excess or superfluity––let us repeat––is the real definition or mark of the history of salvation. The purely calculating mind will always find it absurd that for man God himself should be expended. Only the lover can understand the folly of a love to which prodigality is a law and excess alone is sufficient. Yet if it is true that the creation lives from excess or superfluity, that man is a being for whom excess is necessity, how can we wonder that revelation is the superfluous and for that very reason the necessary, the divine, the love in which the meaning of the universe is fulfilled?</font></i></blockquote><blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><i><font size="4"><br></font></i></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><font size="4">Josef Ratzinger</font></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i><font size="4">Introduction to Christianity</font></i></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-25520121447141549782013-06-26T08:56:00.001-05:002013-07-01T10:18:09.310-05:00Your Argument––Should You Choose to Make One––Is Invalid<img id="id_e826_2fb7_8087_c088" src="http://www.jillstanek.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/pelosipavone.jpg" alt="" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 373px; height: 226px; float: right; display: block; "><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">You may be aware of the recent public tiff between Congresswoman Pelosi and the founder of Priests for Life, Father Frank Pavone.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">If not, <a href="http://www.jillstanek.com/2013/06/pelosi-laughs-off-priests-open-letter-against-her-abortion-views/" id="id_393c_b858_dc6_bfe6" target="_blank">fill yourself in</a> (here is the <a href="http://www.priestsforlife.org/pelosi/" id="id_9c1f_d683_9a76_628c" target="_blank">letter</a> Father Pavone wrote).</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">This situation of public figures professing to be Catholic in complete and utter contradiction to the very meaning of the word is becoming, unfortunately, more and more common. There are lots of reasons for this, reasons I won't get into here, but suffice to say, they are not reasons that are taking us in a good direction.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">May I simply point out that Pelosi's response basically amounts to a smirking diversion? She characterizes Father Pavone's letter as "unworthy of the dignity of a response," due to its "hysterical" tone: and with a sweep of her hand the rational capabilities of her interlocutors are demolished, reduced to babbling nonsense before the shock & awe of Nancy.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">This, ladies and gentlemen, is <i>power. </i></font></div><div><i><font size="4"><br></font></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4">I shudder to imagine if the young men and women learning to argue, for instance, in a debate class, try to emulate Ms. Pelosi. Perhaps their coaches will bow their heads in deferential silence to the magnitude of character required to sustain such forms of non-argument.</font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img id="id_6661_ce_5e41_117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpg7uToh8osMpc7IahUHcw1ylAHU1ku0aB_DB9aLjsuQI5viTrj6hvhs548DVFRyTPksfldflyBBxhe30r6N6IQWwrHcmlohhrnrOzhPaQC54fomO8V0fCDhFezVhzuyYcS0xen2_O10s/" alt="" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 445px; height: 650px; "></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">The fact is, she hasn't a leg to stand on, either religiously or intellectually. She is occupying the no-man's-land of the warmongering Quaker, the hedonistic Buddhist, the electric Amish. To claim, as Ms. Pelosi does, that her faith has nothing to do with the clear and unaltered moral teaching of the Church is a canard, a cloak for her complete disregard for any coherence in her chosen path. The only way to sustain such a path is through bluster, through spin, through deflection and doublespeak. She (or her handler) has proven to be more than adept at this. She is being called out, and her response is true to form.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Pray for her, and all who live and think as she does.</font></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-79634702660083926062013-06-25T19:01:00.001-05:002013-06-25T19:02:52.068-05:00So, What Exactly is Father Nick Up To?Sometimes it can seem kind of mysterious where it is your clergy seem to be going all the time––seminarians come and go, priests move about and disappear for months at a time. Most parishioners seem to take it all in stride; but perhaps there are some of you who are curious about how these things work. This post is for you.<div><br></div><div>As for how I myself have ended up back at the seminary after being ordained a priest for two years:</div><div><br></div><div>My undergraduate work took place at <a href="http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/" id="id_239c_4eda_af98_86a9" target="_blank">Thomas Aquinas College</a> in CA, where I received a heavy background in philosophy in theology. When I applied to the seminary in 2006, the Vatican had just released a new set of guidelines requiring an extra year of philosophical education, bumping the normal seminary education track from 5 years to 6. My philosophy credits from college more than satisfied the requirements and so I was allowed to modify my course of studies to start on theological work right away.</div><div><br></div><div>This meant that I had worked my way through the theological curriculum in about 4 years, leaving me with extra time on my hands.</div><div><img id="id_f982_3d72_bced_48cc" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQlA2BRsC55rR3P0TNtIh8wUy4ez0mMgMGq9HoKu6XI1HHpXEV2xezkS_LhPTIxN5Qo6AX0uZV8UTYJ3yfzfHCukd5xBPwNYGsh_JePSGCmCl4bO5U-DRjBCy4T5PhPEu4T-Q86HqahE/" alt="" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 364px; height: 487px; float: right; display: block; "></div><div>Fortunately, the seminary at which I was studying had, in addition to the theological faculty, what is known as a "pontifical" faculty––which doesn't refer to a separate group of instructors, but simply that the university has an accreditation to grant not just American degrees but Roman ones as well.</div><div><br></div><div>The American system grants seminarians a "Master of Divinity" degree (abbreviated M.Div); the PhD equivalent in this system is a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). The American seminary system, for obvious reasons, is largely Protestant. The Pontifical faculty, based in the Roman university system, grants a different set of degrees: the Baccalaureate, License, or Doctor in Sacred Theology (STB, STL, and STD). After completing the requirements for my M.Div., I began chipping away at a degree in the Roman system--taking a few extra exams, writing a few extra papers, and eventually receiving my S.T.B. and completing almost all my classwork for the S.T.L. So, I graduated and was ordained with an M.Div and an STB degree––one American and one Roman degree.</div><div><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The S.T.L., or Licenciate is somewhere between a Master's degree and a PhD in the American university system. In addition to 2 years of classwork, one must demonstrate competency in Latin and at least one modern theological language (such as German, Italian, or French), serve as a teaching assistant, write a 60-80 page thesis, and take a comprehensive exam that demonstrates familiarity with the overall history of theology in general and a few select theologians in greater depth, in the areas of the doctrine of God, Christian anthropology, theological method, and sacraments. If you're really interested in the requirements, you can read about them <a href="http://usml.edu/pontifical-faculty-of-theology/degree-programs/the-licentiate-in-sacred-theology-s-t-l-" id="id_2ac8_42fc_e3df_5ab1" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div><br></div><div>I really thought I had a shot to finish my STL while still in seminary, but I was wearing myself out getting the work done, preparing for ordination, etc. Finally, I let go of the idea not long before getting ordained. I figured if the Lord wanted me to get the degree, he'd open a door, and let it at that.</div><div><br></div><div>Last summer, Father Brian and I were chatting and I mentioned that I had always had an interest in study. He asked why I had never finished the STL, and I informed him that I had very little left in order to complete the degree. He was quite surprised at this, and immediately suggested I look into a summer study program to complete it. (I took this as a divine sign and an answer to my previous prayer for God to open a door. The thought of Father Brian suggesting I leave the parish for 6 weeks two summers in a row to read some pretentious books would have been unthinkable by any stretch of the imagination.) He spoke with the Archbishop, I checked with the registrar in the seminary, and two weeks later I had my academic schedule. </div><div><br></div><div>Of course, this was all before there was any talk of Father Brian being transferred to a new parish. My guess is that right now he is sincerely regretting his generous suggestion, being the only priest on hand to minister to the needs of the parish while trying to pack up and move! Let's just say his life isn't neatly packaged into rubbermaid filing boxes; from what I can tell, for the most part it's crammed in large piles into the trunk of his car.</div><div><br></div><div>The plan for me, then, is to finish two classes this summer, and then return next summer for a final class and thesis preparation. Hopefully I'll get a lot of the reading done for that during the year, as well; then, of course, at some point I'll need to take my comprehensive exams, which is a one hour oral interview with three professors. That may sound intimidating, but it's nothing compared to being cornered by a parishioner after Mass who didn't like my homily! If I can get through <i>that, </i>there's nothing to worry about ....</div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-2459943621235984832013-06-23T20:08:00.001-05:002013-06-25T18:57:41.114-05:00Back to the MinesI had the great pleasure this weekend to make some new friends on a remote farm in southwest Wisconsin. Three families, at least two dozen children, houses built by hand from wood harvested and milled from the property. My friend DMac summarized it thus: "It's like going to camp: coffee, alcohol, meat, pancakes." A thoroughly Catholic mix.<div><br></div><div>So after a hearty dose of poetry, bare feet, sheep, two-stroke exhaust, pouring rain, steaming piles of cow manure, Iowa skinnies, a long porch that's cool in the sun and warm at night, barn swallows, did I mention more children than I could count?, a Wisconsin earth goddess and a Celtic poet...</div><div><br></div><div>... Kant, Schleiermacher, and Möhler are here waiting for me, right where I left them.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_228f_e5eb_cb0d_12b4" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhHxJBW5TjMbJAeFKZvmgwGDnjbCLYaOXX3v3haFbFsHLz7ox_cuO3WUB9g7GfKvb6FoIRhdGs5EKcoFv48f2oveV6yFDFOHjeZ7OV10lVUGpS9OdPS_YxZJp-gyV5R5INXy-8NdIsnc/" alt="from%20%22inversnaid%22%20by%20gm%20hopkins" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 647px; height: 483px; "><br><div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-91772260193984773552013-06-20T20:09:00.001-05:002013-06-20T20:09:29.647-05:00One Hundred Forty-Seven Pages of Immanuel KantI am spent.<div><br></div><div>That is all.</div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-48870480395068965082013-06-15T08:49:00.001-05:002013-06-26T00:50:12.901-05:00At the MoviesLast night I got to accompany Father Robert Barron to the movies along with some friends here in the seminary community. Given the hubbub surrounding Christopher Nolan's latest film <i>Man of Steel, </i>our choice was obvious.<div><br></div><div>Unfortunately, there wasn't much to enjoy.</div><div><br></div><div>The trouble with superheroes is that there's nothing at stake; only so many face-grinding, body-pummeling variations on the theme of indestructible beings at war are possible. The battles stretched interminably, while we yawned. The dialogue was wooden and strained; performances from Crowe and Lane were surprisingly one-dimensional. </div><div><br></div><div><br><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wArmHSPIvlQ" width="500" height="281" id="y_id_eebb_c9a9_f3c7_be15" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><br></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>In my estimation, the best part of this movie was the trailer; the brief placement of the images of power (launching from the ground, breaking the sound barrier) alongside the simplicity of farm life and boyhood were really the only matters of interest for me, the only thing that savored of real delight. The rest was so much sound and spectacle. Nolan had better get back in the driver's seat...</div><div><br></div><div>Save your $12 and just watch the trailer.</div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-50885323550885367482013-06-12T09:10:00.001-05:002013-06-13T19:10:24.658-05:00So I'm Not the Only One!Here's a link to a short blog entry written by one of our seminarians, Matt Nagle, on his time in Rome <a href="http://theromeexperienceblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/reflections-from-the-rome-experience-class-of-2013-3/#more-1870">this summer.</a> I'm not the only one on assignment! (And there's no fancy pasta and red wine for me.)<div><br></div><div>It's been hard getting back into the academic swing. It's a lot... a LOT of reading. Tonight, I'll be wading through Martin Luther's commentary on the letter to the Galatians. He's a feisty fellow, and it makes for fun reading. He prefaced his treatise on Christian Liberty with a letter to the pope, Leo X, with the following greeting:</div><div><br></div><blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><i>That I may not approach you empty-handed, blessed father, I am sending you this little treatise dedicated to you as a token of peace and good hope. From this book you may judge with what studies I should prefer to be more profitably occupied, as I could be, provided your godless flatterers would permit me and had permitted me in the past. It is a small book if you regard its size. Unless I am </i><i>mistaken, however, it contains the whole of Christian life in a brief form, provided you grasp its meaning. I am a poor man and have no other gift to offer, and you do not need to be enriched by any but a spiritual gift. (!)</i></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>That, ladies and gentlemen, is cheek.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Today I got out on the lake and did some canoeing in this beautiful weather. I figure St. Anthony would have wanted it that way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Prayers and blessings for you all,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Father Nick</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4yCTQXAdYiMzGsfzumfSJNh3fzT1pX-hqV4cF6w12l81R2wOKRXcbMeXu5pTALZIIq3wWZH7rh-0tKN9Q4ikeb5tq2NzYAZWXmajbKRLtJ2IMT-uX830Ax2Aom-ZYLpC5D10UZyXVPQ/s640/blogger-image--731148062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4yCTQXAdYiMzGsfzumfSJNh3fzT1pX-hqV4cF6w12l81R2wOKRXcbMeXu5pTALZIIq3wWZH7rh-0tKN9Q4ikeb5tq2NzYAZWXmajbKRLtJ2IMT-uX830Ax2Aom-ZYLpC5D10UZyXVPQ/s640/blogger-image--731148062.jpg" id="id_af0e_3e83_fef0_97a4" style="width: 335px; height: 446px; " title=""></a></div><br></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-46263141736897366282013-06-11T20:17:00.001-05:002013-06-12T11:23:48.263-05:00Here Goes.OK, well I've got two days down, and I'd better post to this blog before I forget.<div><br></div><div>The most striking change: I'm not around people any more. Every day as a priest is spent in the company of, at a minimum, a hundred or so people. Here, I see the same 5 morning and evening (though there are others here studying or on retreat, we don't interact much at all). I kind of like it––for now. I'm sure by the time I'm done I'll be hankering to be shuffling around in the madding crowd once again.</div><div><br></div><div>My academic duties are quite heavy. The two classes I'm taking meet every day. The first covers the history of Christian thought from 1500-1900. Yes, that includes the leading figures of the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Romantic movement, and Catholic theological responses to it. Oh yeah, and the Council of Trent, Vatican I, and the development of neo-scholastic and ressourcement theology (what you might call "strains" of contemporary theology). It's being taught by a German priest of Turkish and Hungarian descent, who routinely pronounces Latin, German, Hungarian, and English phrases with such a heavy accent that it takes a minute or two to understand the syllables coming out of his mouth, or even to realize "ah, he's speaking in another language". But he's a genius, and tremendously humble. He entertains any and all questions. You could literally interrupt him in the middle of the most profound thought he's ever had and he would immediately break off to let you speak your piece. He would take your dumb question and demonstrate to the whole class why a truly wise theologian would ask such a thing. </div><div><br></div><div>Deep down, I think this is the reasonable response to what we bring to the table:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN6XP6EXtRQM0aUM5Hz1GP7pGr_ngR37Bfb9N06ut7-vZitLJXHlX7a5l1T2zf-OadMvTREuOMzE0K_-Jha3MoXCF6fOWtaa81Ao5le6tdg7mSQ-eScL58gQ8aZN4wtY0SrqMjtwqBnk/s640/blogger-image--765293696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN6XP6EXtRQM0aUM5Hz1GP7pGr_ngR37Bfb9N06ut7-vZitLJXHlX7a5l1T2zf-OadMvTREuOMzE0K_-Jha3MoXCF6fOWtaa81Ao5le6tdg7mSQ-eScL58gQ8aZN4wtY0SrqMjtwqBnk/s640/blogger-image--765293696.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Yet we are indulged. Truly, a teacher.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The other class covers the classics of contemporary theology. I'm reading Josef Ratzinger's <i>Introduction to Christianity</i> and Hans Urs von Balthasar's <i>Mysterium Paschale</i>, which is a theological exploration of the tenet of the creed that says of Christ "he descended into hell". The class is taught by a Jesuit who regularly inserts Shakespearean <i>bon mots</i> in his everyday conversations and is currently reading to us (literally, reading to us) from the first two chapters of his latest book (which is still in manuscript form). We are mostly expected to listen and catch typos. I enjoy him very much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I've had a number of very surprising reunions, including a college classmate ordained for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul, a seminary classmate ordained two weeks after me, and of course all the people I lived with for the 5 years I spent in formation here. The place has gotten even more beautiful, with all sorts of luscious greenery and careful landscaping. What a sanctuary. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg337xtRrh0rS8G_RtivNxSZ6dFkghsh3Z_A5Kx5JHhiPi7SQZvn_ELEaB7sLGOPwIbQNlL8aoNcdj5fuoruwB0H_FwJPtJle_yfcAz9XZIVgE21H-mafhsrO8_BfJ8yrD-tiMnecTKvOE/s640/blogger-image--1726621242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg337xtRrh0rS8G_RtivNxSZ6dFkghsh3Z_A5Kx5JHhiPi7SQZvn_ELEaB7sLGOPwIbQNlL8aoNcdj5fuoruwB0H_FwJPtJle_yfcAz9XZIVgE21H-mafhsrO8_BfJ8yrD-tiMnecTKvOE/s640/blogger-image--1726621242.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I hope to continue updates every few days, including delicious snippets from my theological reading. I'll leave you with something from Ratzinger's book, published in 1968:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Anyone who tries today to talk about the question of Christian faith in the presence of people who are not thoroughly at home with ecclesiastical language and thought by calling or convention soon comes to sense the alien––and alienating––nature of such an enterprise. He will probably soon have the feeling that his position is only too well summed up in Kierkegaard's famous story of the clown and the burning village... According to this story, a traveling circus in Denmark had caught fire. The manager thereupon sent the clown, who was already dressed and made-up for the performance, into the neighboring village to fetch help, especially as there was a danger that the fire would spread across the fields of dry stubble and engulf the village itself. The clown hurried into the village and requested the inhabitants to come as quickly as possible to the blazing circus and help to put the fire out. But the villagers took the clown's shouts simply for an excellent piece of advertising, meant to attract as many people as possible to the performance; they applauded the clown and laughed until they cried. The clown felt more like weeping than laughing; he tried in vain to get people to be serious, to make it clear to them that it was no trick but bitter earnest, that there really was a fire. His supplications only increased the laughter; people thought he was playing his part splendidly––until finally the fire did engulf the village, it was too late for help and both circus and village were burned to the ground.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>... the theologian is the clown who cannot make people really listen to his message. In his medieval, or at any rate old-fashioned clown's costume he is simply not taken seriously. Whatever he says, he is ticketed and classified, so to speak, by his role. Whatever he does in his attempts to demonstrate the seriousness of the position, people always know in advance that he is in fact just––a clown. They are already familiar with what he is talking about and know that he is just giving a performance which has little or nothing to do with reality. So they can listen to him quite happily without having to worry too seriously about what he is saying. This picture indubitably contains an element of truth in it; it reflects the oppressive reality in which theology and theological discussion are imprisoned today and their frustrating inability to break through accepted patterns of thought and speech and make people recognize the subject-matter of theology as a serious aspect of human life.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>But perhaps our examination of conscience should go still deeper. Perhaps we should admit that this disturbing analogy, for all the thought-provoking truth contained in it, is still a simplification. For after all it makes it seem as if the clown, or in other words the theologian, is a man possessed of full knowledge who arrives with a perfectly clear message. The villagers to whom he hastens, in other words those outside the faith, are conversely the completely ignorant, who only have to be told something of which they are completely unaware; the clown then needs only to take off his costume and his make-up, and everything will be all right. But is it really such a simple matter as that? Need we only call on the aggiornamento [updating], take off our make-up and don the mufti of a secular vocabulary or a demythologized Christianity in order to make everything all right? Is a change of intellectual costume sufficient to make people run cheerfully up and help to put out the fire which according to theology exists and is a danger to all of us? I may say that in fact the plain and unadorned theology in modern dress appearing in many places today makes this hope look rather naïve. It is certainly true that anyone who tries to preach the faith amid people involved in modern life and thought can really feel like a clown, or rather perhaps like someone who, rising from an ancient sarcophagus, walks into the midst of the world of today dressed and thinking in the ancient fashion and can neither understand nor be understood by this world of ours. Nevertheless, if he who seeks to preach the faith is sufficiently self-critical, he will soon notice that it is not only a question of form, of the kind of dress in which theology enters upon the scene. In the strangeness of theology's aims to the men of our time, he who takes his calling seriously will clearly recognize not only the difficulty of the task of interpretation but also the insecurity of his own faith, the oppressive power of unbelief in the midst of his own will to believe. Thus anyone today who makes an honest effort to give an account of the Christian faith to himself and to others must learn to see that he is not just someone in fancy dress who needs only to change his clothes in order to be able to impart his teaching successfully. Rather will he have to understand that his own situation is by no means so different from that of others as he may have thought at the start. He will become aware that on both sides the same forces are at work, if in different ways.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div></div>Gosh.... makes me wonder if Ratzinger was ever a high school chaplain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Comments welcome.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">rev.nb</div></div></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com3Mundelein Mundelein42.264971 -88.000833tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-1997780277596042532013-06-10T17:29:00.001-05:002013-06-10T19:06:18.676-05:00So Good to be...<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMFg5XUrRZfjZymZLipbUFG6dJXqqsqwu70jGiE8uC4UhkJBbpbhDLsHhWNrCmLOtA1gG_gQrmRzCWBUXbqJRvfHBgXXm96aq6KoJMI429D5EGKHQMGNCwVDlrih54mWP0-y94kM1QF0/s640/blogger-image-2145594545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMFg5XUrRZfjZymZLipbUFG6dJXqqsqwu70jGiE8uC4UhkJBbpbhDLsHhWNrCmLOtA1gG_gQrmRzCWBUXbqJRvfHBgXXm96aq6KoJMI429D5EGKHQMGNCwVDlrih54mWP0-y94kM1QF0/s640/blogger-image-2145594545.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'll be posting updates on my time for continued studies here at Mundelein. Academic pursuits don't exactly make for good copy, but I might have a chance to float some thoughts out there, stay in touch, and while away the time until my return!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Father Nick</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com1Liturgical Institute 300 Principal Avenue, Mundelein42.279465 -88.000913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-959716618842681232013-04-22T14:53:00.000-05:002013-04-22T14:58:32.554-05:00A Difficult but Important Topic<!--[if !mso]>
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<i>This was published in the parish bulletin on Sunday, April 21st, 2013.</i> </div>
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Dear Parishioners,</div>
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In
the Sunday edition of the Topeka Capital-Journal, a <a href="http://cjonline.com/news/2013-04-13/vitro-may-be-crosshairs-targeted-legislation" target="_blank">front-page article</a> featured
a number of problematic statements about the practice of conceiving children by
means of assisted reproductive technology (commonly referred to as “in-vitro
fertilization”, or IVF). This controversial subject deals with the most
intimate aspects of a couple’s relationship, and gives rise to strong emotions:
the desire for a child, for fruitfulness, for joy in the creation of new life
in cooperation with the Lord of all life. The Church looks upon these desires compassionately,
both when they are fulfilled, and most especially when they are frustrated. As
many as one in six couples in the U.S. struggle with the cross of infertility.</div>
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But
the intense emotions that childbearing awakens means that we must be
particularly careful in thinking through its moral quandaries. The article in
the Capital-Journal concludes with the statement, “God wouldn’t have given
people the ability to do this if he didn’t intend for us to use it.” With this bold
statement, all decision-making has been reduced to the principle, “if we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can </i>do it, we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IVF and its
associated techniques seem to be good; yet, artificially conceiving human life
strikes at the very heart of what it means to be human. Just because we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can </i>doesn’t mean we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should.</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i> </div>
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<a href="https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-289-1/The-Infertility-Companion-for-Catholics/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://www.avemariapress.com/size/files/82ab37e8a5680fb05dfa1cc4547fa6fd/1-59471-289-1_.jpg.x625.jpg" title="Available at avemariapress.com" width="206" /></a>The Church’s position on this issue (partially
quoted in the article) isn’t just old-fashioned stubbornness. Angelique Ruhi-López,
co-author of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Infertility Companion
for Catholics,</i> puts it this way: “If I have symptoms of infertility, the
Church encourages me to get to the bottom of why this is happening, be it
physiological, hormonal, or just a matter of timing... The Church gets a bad
rap with regard to accepting modern medical technology, but it really surprised
me that the Church was ahead of the game in terms of wanting us to avail
ourselves of technology as long as it truly helps to heal us.” Many such
resources exist, unacknowledged in the newspaper article and by the quick-fix
mentality of the highly profitable and largely unregulated fertility industry. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Church celebrates medical solutions along
with those who benefit from them. But without ethical guidance, such solutions can
become gravely dangerous. Something more than mere “good intentions” is
necessary here. Just because someone does not intend to do harm does not change
the fact that real and irreversible harm can be done. To proceed with a
solution, we must have an assurance that indeed no harm will be done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is the harm that IVF does? Well, it is important to
clarify first and foremost that the children so conceived are NOT somehow “less
than human” on account of the procedure by which they were conceived. T<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">he result of IVF is a new human life. That
life, once it exists, is inherently good, and its dignity is in no way
"tainted" by the means by which it was brought into being. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Nonetheless, we can easily
distinguish between ethical and unethical means of bringing life about. Two
people that conceive a child through adultery obviously conceive by unethical
means. But the child that comes into being carries with it inherent dignity; it
has a right to life, and in no way is "tainted" by its origin in the
eyes of God; it is a unique life, with all the possibilities of grace that any
other human being has. Each child is created in God’s image and likeness. To
say so is not to imply that the adultery was somehow justified on account of the
new life that resulted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH86mH3p33CD3Etp4xGr8q52usZ2VZEglSy5UTvGeJV9v45klIb5PwWM8e67HxP_YsY8gZZAGd2W8p-ZW5dUJUumh9rJupk6qi-qacVriZlpjBM5Xk0IVa__e3uC1P3ykYFf-be6cdNfY/s1600/infertility+prayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH86mH3p33CD3Etp4xGr8q52usZ2VZEglSy5UTvGeJV9v45klIb5PwWM8e67HxP_YsY8gZZAGd2W8p-ZW5dUJUumh9rJupk6qi-qacVriZlpjBM5Xk0IVa__e3uC1P3ykYFf-be6cdNfY/s640/infertility+prayer.jpg" width="202" /></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A woman once related
to me how Father Frank Krische responded to news of a pre-marital pregnancy.
She described how she had scheduled a meeting with him to inform him that she’d
gotten pregnant and was going to be an unwed mother. She was dreading his
disappointment, wondering what this meant for herself, her boyfriend, and her
unborn child. When she finally broke the news, he responded with a beaming
expression, “Well, now—you’re going to have a baby!” She knew then and there
the difference between her sin and the blessing of new life God had chosen to draw
from it. So too, we should draw a clear line between the blessing of children
conceived through IVF technology and the technology itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">What, then, is the
harm IVF does? In the first place, human life is treated as a commodity to be
bought and sold for profit. Children are perceived not as gifts, but as
property to which one has a right, and disposed of at will. Women can be
exploited for the sake of financial gain through the process of harvesting eggs
to be anonymously donated to infertile couples. Often, additional embryos are
implanted in the uterus and aborted when they prove unsuitable. Further, as the
Capital-Journal’s article mentioned, extra living embryos are frozen, reserved
for future undisclosed use, or discarded at the couple’s request.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But on an even
deeper level, we know that IVF disrupts God’s pattern for human procreation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That pattern has a dual purpose: the unity of
the spouses and the procreation of children. As the opening chapter of Genesis
proclaims, God both invites Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply,” even as
they cleave to one another and “become one flesh.” If we try to isolate either
one of these from the other, we begin to tear apart the very fabric of life,
love, and sex. So, for instance, contraceptives are objectionable because they
isolate unity of the spouses from its life-giving potential. The use of IVF
does just the opposite by isolating procreation from the loving embrace of
spouses. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Thus, the Church’s
teaching on contraception and IVF present two sides of the same coin: God
wishes that human life be passed on through the mutual self-gift of spouses.
This gift of self can only take place in a personal, bodily encounter, not
through the use of catheters and petri dishes, handled by laboratory technicians.
In the end, IVF contributes to a culture in which love, sex, and new life
simply have nothing to do with each other—despite the best of intentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the support of family, friends, the
Church, and heartfelt prayers, infertility can become a fruitful cross, whether
it is carried temporarily or permanently. In cases when couples choose to
adopt, families are transformed into beautiful portrayals of the gracious gift
of our own salvation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Father Nick Blaha</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Additional resources:</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.catholicinfertilityjourney.com/">www.catholicinfertilityjourney.com</a></div>
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flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-58770214205910151122013-02-05T11:50:00.000-06:002013-02-05T11:50:50.328-06:00The Desk Chair Review of Books, Continued<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9636237-ten-ways-to-destroy-the-imagination-of-your-child" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347635135m/9636237.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9636237-ten-ways-to-destroy-the-imagination-of-your-child">Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/275033.Anthony_Esolen">Anthony Esolen</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/526129995">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Esolen is a favorite author of mine, and while I did enjoy this book, I think it misses the mark: not in content, but in form. His Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child is written in the style of the Screwtape, a conceit that is perhaps designed to justify the periodically sarcastic tone of Esolen's thoughts on the subject of the formation of children's minds. Not that such sarcasm is unjustified--certainly not; so much of what he points out as laughably inadequate to the task of initiating young men and women into adulthood hits spot on. <br /><br />Esolen does a fine job of specifying what exactly we should understand when the word "imagination" is used. It carries a meaning of fantasy or dreaminess that can often dismiss it as something proper only to children or the lazy. But in a more philosophically precise sense, imagination is the faculty by which we conceive images; and in this sense, imagination is active every time we make use of images, which is just another word for sensory input. Words are images. So are smells, textures, and sounds. All of them, mediated by memory and in concert with one another, become what the ancient Greeks recognized as "the doorway to the soul."<br /><br />If the activity of our mind is mediated by the imagination, its structure and content takes on paramount importance. Reflect for a moment on the symbolism of a beautiful cathedral. Consider the scene: though what’s important is front and center, beauty is on all sides and leads one to a greater appreciation of the central reality of divine worship. Think of the windows. Is there not a subconscious effect exerted by these windows’ artistic beauty? In the process of allowing light to enter, a magnificent work of art is made visible which heightens the experience of the light and what it illuminates. Consider the effect that mundane or even ugly images in those windows would have (not a difficult exercise given the churches in which many of us worship today--a subject on which Esolen has no shortage of words).<br /><br />I would liken the imagination to the windows of a cathedral. Much like the scenes upon the windows, the contents of the imagination affect the workings of the mind and heart, and ultimately, how we perceive reality, as it streams in through our senses. By taking advantage of the memory and the influence it has upon the imagination, men have the power to adorn the windows of their soul with truth, goodness, and beauty, all of which lead one to a heightened appreciation of the mystical quality of daily life. <br /><blockquote>We sniff at memorization, as hardly worth the name of study. That is wise of us. For the most imaginative people in the history of the world thought otherwise. "Zeus became enamored with fair-haired Memory," sings the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, "and she produced the nine Muses with their golden diadems, who enjoy festivities and the delights of song." The great epic poets invoked the Muses not to stir in them something supposedly "original," which usually is merely self-centered and peculiar, but to give them the twin gifts of memory and prophecy. "They breathed into me their divine voice," says Hesiod, "that I might tell of things to come and of things past, and ordered me to sing of the race of the blessed gods who live forever, and always to place the Muses themselves both at the beginning and at the end of my song."</blockquote><br />A few points that stood out for me include the section on "piety of place." Being a Kansas resident, I do realize that my state is everyone's favorite fly-over state to hate. Yet I was encouraged by Esolen's insistence that attachment to place, a particular place, is constitutive of thought and imagination. Drawing from the work of Shakespeare and Flannery O'Connor, it's clear that the enemies of imagination find a great enemy in a love for a place and a country:<br /><blockquote>We see here the products of easy cynicism. Learn to despise the place where you were born, its old customs, its glories and its shame. Then stick your head in a comic book. That done, you will be triple-armored against the threat of a real thought, or the call of the transcendent. Some people have no worlds for God to pierce through.</blockquote><br />I also enjoyed his perspective on food, and the hunting by which one may acquire it:<br /><blockquote>Deer hunting was a popular pastime in the rural Pennsylvania where I grew up. People who know nothing about the subject suppose it is for beer-drinking men who want to show off their prowess. Encourage that bigotry in your children.<br />Do not let on that you know that hunting requires actual knowledge of anything, which a young person must learn from someone who is proficient. You have to know how to clean and take care of a rifle; what the difference between one gauge and the other is; what "trajectory" means. You have to coordinate your efforts with those of your fellow hunters, sometimes flushing the game, sometimes waiting, with numb fingers and aching knees, for the quarry to come. You are, at best, pitting your skill and your strategy against the animals, appreciating their strange ways, and not at all taking them for granted as creatures of strength and speed and keen instinct. </blockquote><br />Many of the points he makes are grounded in his own experience of growing up in Pennsylvania, and so there is a decidedly autobiographical thread that runs throughout his catalog of imagination-slaying practices. My own opinion is that he should have stuck with autobiography--and the sarcasm would have come across as curmudgeonly and in earnest rather than being forced to carry the weight of a publisher's desire for an "angle."
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/654572-nick">View all my reviews</a>
flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-31645846081473987512013-01-30T20:26:00.001-06:002013-01-30T20:26:33.475-06:00One Small PointWould our pro-life discourse be improved if we referred to the potential seekers of abortion not as "women" but as "mothers"?flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-117416783613570192012-12-07T14:08:00.000-06:002012-12-07T14:08:19.863-06:00If Three North will Please Pardon this Indiscretion...<h3>
To Mrs. Professor in Defense of My Cat’s Honor and Not Only</h3>
<em>My valiant helper, a small-sized tiger <br />
Sleeps sweetly on my desk, by the computer,<br />
Unaware that you insult his tribe.</em><br />
<em> Cats play with a mouse or with a half-dead mole.<br />
You are wrong, though: it’s not out of cruelty.<br />
They simply like a thing that moves.</em><br />
<em>For, after all, we know that only consciousness<br />
Can for a moment move into the Other, <br />
Empathize with the pain and panic of a mouse.</em><br />
<em>
And such as cats are, all of Nature is. <br />
Indifferent, alas, to the good and the evil. <br />
Quite a problem for us, I am afraid.</em><br />
<em>
Natural history has its museums, <br />
But why should our children learn about monsters,<br />
An earth of snakes and reptiles for millions of years?</em><br />
<em>
Nature devouring, nature devoured, <br />
Butchery day and night smoking with blood. <br />
And who created it? Was it the good Lord?</em><br />
<em>
Yes, undoubtedly, they are innocent, <br />
Spiders, mantises, sharks, pythons. <br />
We are the only ones who say: cruelty.</em><br />
<em>
Our consciousness and our conscience <br />
Alone in the pale anthill of galaxies <br />
Put their hope in a humane God.</em><br />
<em>
Who cannot but feel and think, <br />
Who is kindred to us by his warmth and movement, <br />
For we are, as he told us, similar to Him.</em><br />
<em>
Yet if it is so, then He takes pity <br />
On every mauled mouse, every wounded bird. <br />
Then the universe for him is like a Crucifixion.</em><br />
<em>
Such is the outcome of your attack on the cat:<br />
A theological, Augustinian grimace, <br />
Which makes difficult our walking on this earth.</em><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
–Czeslaw Milosz,<sup>1</sup> translated by the author and Robert Hass</div>
flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-39128352643486528802012-12-06T08:03:00.000-06:002013-06-26T00:39:50.700-05:00The Desk Chair Review of Books, Continued<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/410625.The_Everlasting_Stream" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328822242m/410625.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/410625.The_Everlasting_Stream">The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33350.Walt_Harrington">Walt Harrington</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73360339">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
This book was recommended to me by a fellow hunter, and presumably an acquaintance of the author while I worked at the university where he now teaches (UIUC). Seven years later, I've finally gotten around to taking him up on that recommendation...<br />
<br />
... and I'm pleased. The book is definitely more a memoir than a "book about hunting," but Harrington clearly experienced something profound in his annual rabbit hunts with his father-in-law and his friends. Indulged at first as an act of politeness for his wife's family, the annual rabbit hunt in Kentucky becomes the lens through which Harrington views his upwardly mobile, ambition-driven life in D.C. at the Washington Post. As his own son begins to grow older, Harrington articulates a perspective on the transition into fatherhood and the ways it grows from the inside out, taking root in the soil of one's own experience of being fathered.<br />
<br />
I got a little weary of the personal biography in the middle portions of the book, but now that I've read the whole thing I do appreciate how Harrington was leading the reader into a perspective on hunting that required such apparent digressions. As a boy from a blue collar family who had worked his way into the East Coast elite, and stepped comfortably into the customs and privileges that attach thereunto, Harrington at first sees hunting as most of his colleagues do--a primitive, cruel activity that is completely unnecessary and therefore immoral.<br />
<br />
Particularly insightful is Harrington's reflection on the guilt inherent to taking an animal's life as a recreational activity. What justifies such an action? Firing a weapon at a gentle, doe-eyed animal and collecting its bloody, still-warm carcass to cut up and eat seems the height of barbarism. Civilization has moved on.<br />
<br />
Harrington mentions the arguments for the necessity of wildlife management, but the real treasure of The Everlasting Stream lies in its insistence that the animals don't care how they die: but we do. Whether it's a coyote or a disease or a charge of buckshot, it matters nothing to the rabbit; but the taking of that animal's life by a human being introduces consciousness into the equation, and therefore accountability--an answer to the question "why". The animal does not ask; we do. Harrington concludes that the "guilt" is precisely what is most important about hunting, precisely because it forces the hunter to question his place in the world--why do I have a right to exist, to let (or cause) other beings to die that I might live? In essence, the hunt goes on not <i>despite</i> the guilt, but <i>because</i> of it. In spite of the danger of making a mountain of a molehill, I have to wonder if perhaps our complete lack of familiarity with the true "costs of living" in our grocery-store world has laid to rest the question of our justification before it's ever even raised.<br />
<br />
As a hunter who loves to hunt animals and to eat animals but hates to kill them, I found the author's resolution of this primal dilemma to shed a completely new light on hunting. I recommend this book to anyone who is bewildered by a husband, father, brother, or son that spends way too much time in the woods watching animals while holding a weapon.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/654572-nick">View all my reviews</a>
flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-29039305528950830572012-05-28T11:53:00.001-05:002012-05-28T11:57:54.483-05:00One Down, Countless More to GoToday is the one year anniversary of my priestly ordination, so blessings on my classmates and fellow priests celebrating this day! A Mass has been offered for you all. What a gift to have so many memories of God's blessing on me and the people of Holy Mother Church.<br />
<br />
At a recent ordination, a newly ordained priest asked for advice for the first year. All I could come up with was:<br />
<ul>
<li>Buy some good insoles for your shoes. You're going to be standing up and talking with people. A lot.</li>
<li>Get an iPod or smartphone that will play podcasts in the car. The countless hours spent shuttling around will become fruitful opportunities for education, enrichment, and prayer.</li>
<li>Don't make any plans, and get used to improvising on the spot. There's very little you can do to anticipate anything that will be expected of you. Just do it as best you can and take notes for the next time.</li>
<li>As George MacDonald once put it, one of the most dangerous things for the spiritual life is handling the outside of sacred things. Boredom is inevitable. What's important is having a plan to prevent it from sucking the life out of everything! </li>
</ul>
Thanks to all who have been very supportive (and forgiving) this first year, especially the pastor of Most Pure Heart of Mary. Here's to many more.<br />
<br />
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totus + amdg + tuus</div>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-67078694984003301942012-05-13T17:29:00.000-05:002012-05-13T17:29:42.307-05:00PodCastingJust a short notice that weekly homilies are being posted at my parish website:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mphm.com/">http://www.mphm.com/</a>flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-2086745728874617972012-05-13T17:27:00.001-05:002012-05-13T17:27:11.787-05:00The Desk Chair Review of Books, Continued<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328827165l/11876068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328827165l/11876068.jpg" width="222" /></a>I purchased this book after reading a brief review of it in First
Things. There's no question it's a beautiful book, and while I enjoyed
reading it and learned a great deal about Renaissance art, I was
disappointed on a couple of points. By far, the weakest portion of the
book are the middle chapters, especially those on Benedict, Sebastian,
and Catherine of Siena. Perhaps there was a dearth of source material
involved, but Kiely's treatment of this series of paintings seemed like
he was more interested in keeping up his postmodern art critic
credentials than providing genuine insight into the art and artists in
question. "I, too, can recognize the barely suppressed sexuality in
these religious paintings," he seems to assure the reader. Admittedly,
this is all part of the Renaissance rediscovery of the body, the
Incarnation, and the ability of art to convey the power of the body to
convey glory. Yet it is repeatedly is served up in a way that seems to
regard these artists as prophets of postmodern socialist ideology. For
instance, Catherine is portrayed as the obligatory prototype of the
unconventional woman of authority--which indeed she was, but Kiely
offers little insight beyond the typical ideological platitudes and
recounting the "discomfort" even contemporary popes supposedly felt
toward her life. Presumably this is to come across as bold and
insightful, but to me it rang hollow, imposing a narrative and a lens
upon the art that doesn't seem to gel with the motives of artists to
defy conventionality in the name of presenting goodness by making
explicit its implicit beauty. <br /><br />Another example is the "gay
reading" of art portraying Sebastian. It's confusing to me how an
acknowledged emphasis on the beauty of the body and consequent
shamelessness in the midst of physical glory should also be
simultaneously read as homoerotic display. <br /><br />In his favor, Kiely
doesn't rest with such conclusions, instead ranging far and wide,
touching upon these dimensions of art without confining himself to them.
He indulges in what ends up being a lengthy but enjoyable monograph on
Ruskin in the midst of a chapter on St. Lawrence. I was entirely
ignorant of him, but Kiely provides a helpful introduction to him even
without being familiar with his life and work. "It is as if [Ruskin]
always entered churches, especially Italian churches, by a side door and
remained off center, examining an obscure chapel in the transept while
High Mass was being sung on the main altar." Right up my alley--he was a
man with an eye for the hidden, and the beauty of the decrepit.<br /><br />Kiely
does seem to have a theological background and whatever errors I came
across in his research were negligible. It is refreshing to read a
scholar's opinions that have been formed by the very same concepts and
beliefs that were at play in the lives and hearts of those who composed
and viewed these paintings. <br /><br />Of course, the real beauty of the
book is to be found in the art, and Kiely really has put together a
marvelous collection of Renaissance art that is truly breathtaking and
inspiring. He does communicate a great love for the art that he
discusses, as well as the figures it portrays--most especially Saint
Francis of Assisi. Titian and Tintoretto are probably the two that
stand out as consistently worthwhile in their technique, composition,
and grandeur. They, of all the many artists included, did more for me to
bring to life the stories of the saints they portrayed and the people
who venerated them. In his chapter on Sts. Mark, Rocco, and Sebastian,
in which Tintoretto looms large, he writes, "the bare muscular leg and
turning torso once again show the influence of Michaelangelo, but they
also make a point: that the vocation of the artist, like that of the
evangelist (at least this evangelist, if not the demure young John who
writes sedately beside him), requires intense physical effort--that is,
work. When Nietzche wrote that Christianity is the 'hypochondria of
those whose legs are shaky,' he could not have been thinking of
Tintoretto's Mark" (117).<br /><br />Now if I just was pastor of a parish where these pieces wouldn't look glaringly out of place.....flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690487797070191876.post-66177768433434231832012-01-29T20:29:00.001-06:002012-01-29T20:29:45.064-06:00Him You Will Hear<i>Homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time</i><br />
<br />
What does it mean to have authority? To speak with authority?<br />
<br />
"Authority" is a loaded word in today's world. We don't like to recognize or submit to authority. Typically we see the authority of others as a threat to our own freedom. Over and above this general human tendency, as Americans we tend to look critically toward authority—with apologies to Lord Acton, "authority corrupts, and absolute authority corrupts absolutely".<br />
<br />
So that kind of authority isn't always positive. But there's another kind we recognize—the kind that comes from within. It's the authority of someone who speaks with conviction, from experience. We are much more willing to submit to this kind of authority. We get a sense of a person's access to truth, of having "been around" and gaining perspective through the school of hard knocks. We encounter this all the time, especially in those who have authority on account of what they've suffered—war veterans, mothers against drunk driving, cancer survivors, recovering addicts, what have you.<br />
<br />
I think there's still a third sort--the authority that comes with being given a mission, of being grasped by something (or Someone) and responding with everything we have. A young woman by the name of Maria accompanied the Kansas delegation to the March for Life and spoke to us of her experience in sidewalk counseling with women in front of abortion clinics. She was a young, intelligent, articulate, attractive personality that clearly had some success in convincing women that it was not in their best interest to abort their own child. Her presentation was engaging and convincing. You might get the impression that she had come up with this idea on her own--saying to herself: here I am, a good listener, compassionate, generous, and convicted about this particular issue. I know, I'll become a sidewalk counselor!<br />
<br />
Yet the reality is quite different--as I spoke with her afterwards, it became clear that this was most definitely <i>not </i>something she dreamed up for herself. Quite the contrary--she would be physically ill in the days and hours leading up to the morning on the sidewalk. These women, these unwanted babies, aren't her problems; but she makes them her own out of love for Christ. She spoke with an unassuming authority that was extremely compelling.<br />
<br />
So, in what sense did the Gospel writer want us to understand Jesus' authority?<br />
<br />
In the first place, we have to acknowledge Jesus' authority went far beyond a simple authoritative tone of voice, or speaking convincingly. He backed up his words with signs and wonders—in a sense, no one would've taken him seriously otherwise, given that he was subtly claiming divinity. For the way in which Jesus "spoke with authority" here meant not quoting a respected scholar of the law or referencing a venerable tradition of interpretation, but <b>making himself the source of truth. </b><br />
<br />
As we well know, this was more than startling—he was, in a very real sense, claiming to be God in terms his contemporaries would have understood unambiguously. "You have heard it said…. but I say …" A good Jew would never speak in that way—it would be blasphemous to point to anyone other than God as the source of truth, yet Jesus claims this very thing!<br />
<br />
It had to be more than just a subjective kind of authority. In fact, Jesus is the one promised by Moses in our first reading, a prophet chosen from "among the people", one that they will listen to.<br />
<br />
You may have noticed in the reading that the prophet is promised because the people cannot endure the direct experience of God's self revelation on Mount Horeb. God appoints someone to speak on his behalf, so that the people are not overwhelmed by the "great fire" of God's glory. (What a great poetic way to refer to God--a "great fire"!) In the Bible, the result of seeing God face to face is death. The appointed "interpreter" is precisely what is meant by the biblical term "prophet": not so much someone who predicts the future (though it may involve this), but a mediator, someone who is able to endure direct communication with the Most High.<br />
<br />
We need a mediator, not because we are deaf, but because the rawness of God's presence would annihilate us. Think of prophecy, of mediation, as something like the earth's atmosphere. The sun illuminates and warms our planet, but it also emits enormous quantities of radiation extremely hostile to organic molecular structures. Direct exposure to the sun's rays would lead to the rapid annihilation of most every living thing on earth. Yet the atmosphere (the ozone layer, etc.) absorbs that radiation while letting the light and heat through. So it is with prophetic mediation.<br />
<br />
It was God's plan to ensure that through Christ's mission, that mediation would continue even after his ascension. He gave his own authority to his apostles, on whom he founded his Church. The voice that rebukes the demon and forgives sins had one single message to deliver: love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself; the promise of resurrection and eternal life is contained therein.<br />
<br />
<br />
It is a commandment that is infinitely simple, but as anyone who has tried to live it out knows, it is also infinitely difficult. Yet it is not only possible for cloistered nuns and monks taking a vow of silence but in the everydayness of our mundane lives. So St. Paul points out in our second reading—not dismissing the married vocation as a distraction from serving God, but pointing out how some worldly people go about their lives seeking to please everyone but God. He says clearly: Each of us has a gift from God, by which we are able to serve him undividedly, with a whole heart, with integrity.<br />
<br />
The Church preserves that message and speaks in Christ's name, calling the world from darkness into the light of love of God and neighbor. We ignore that voice at our own peril—picking and choosing what to believe and what to obey of what the Church proposes for a Christian life. We are called not to blind, irrational submission, but a trusting discipleship in which not only our minds but our hearts are active and engaged.<br />
<br />
The Father's voice resounded above Mount Tabor at Jesus' transfiguration: <i>this is my beloved Son, listen to him. </i>Many listened, and obeyed; and followed him to the Cross. Many others found his teaching difficult and went their own way.<br />
<br />
Christ says to us: this is my beloved Church, my bride: listen to her.<br />
<br />
Lord, may we not be deaf to your voice!flatlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10261287712321493777noreply@blogger.com0