The Arrow's Path

 As many of you know, I have been a bit quiet these last few weeks. I have had a change in circumstances-changing jobs and going back for another Master's degree in education.  I started up my new job this week. It has been interesting to observe how schools work after not largely being in a formal school classroom in 25 years. Lots more technology. Smart boards, Chromebooks etc. That was to be expected. I was somewhat taken back by teachers playing playlists from their computer into the big screen smart boards, both during class down time but also when they are simply in their class rooms by themselves planning or grading.  I am not sure why that surprised me as much as it did. I guess the last time I was student teaching, none of that largely existed unless someone brought a boom box and played a CD or something, which was extremely rare in my recollection.  I think we have become afraid of the gift of silence. We have to have background noise. That sort of makes m...

 

I had a question posed about the Church and Secular art: I was just wondering if the Catholic church has any official teachings regarding the music we can or can’t listen to. Prior to my reversion, everybody had some sort of different interpretation. Some people were more convicted than others about certain genres, opinions were very strong, and I didn't know what to believe. So I never really knew if there was any official teachings or standards that we should follow. With that being said, now that I’m Catholic, I’m wanting to revisit this topic again. I appreciate you all and hope everyone has a great weekend. God bless. My response:  Historically, actually, the Church has had a lot to say on the effect of secular arts on the Catholic soul. You usually have to consult theologians and teachings from the ordinary magisterium, but, yes, there is a lot of historically mine about the effects of secular arts (from music to sculpture to theater) on the soul.  Even going back to the...

Due to some unforeseen changed in my personal life (you know, little things like career change and going back to graduate school), I have fallen woefully behind on continuing my reflections on Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas . This is also partly due to the fact that I found Chapter 4 to be a bit of a slog to read through and mentally process. So, I have taken some weeks to got through it and collect my thoughts. While I would quibble a bit over various sections in the preceding chapters and prologue, I was generally on the same page of where he was going (or at least where I thought he was going) with this encyclical. His overviews and recaps of Catholic Social Teaching since Rerum Novarum in the late 1800s have been solid. He took a few liberties in his summations of Catholic Social Teaching, but, for the most part, I was in general agreement with where he started and where he landed in those chapters.  Chapter 4 was a bit of a different bird. I was a bit surp...

I got a question about abuse and whether that is grounds for annulment under Catholic canon law. As I am not a Canon lawyer (nor do I really wish to become one because a Marriage tribunal would never want me on the tribunal because I would ask too many really hard questions), I queried our Marriage Tribunal and received this response.  First, the question (redacted fro privacy):  What does the church do in cases of abuse in marriage? Is remarriage permitted after? It seems to me that abuse is a violation of vows . . .   The answer I received from my Diocese's Marriage Tribunal that is remarkably succinct and on point: First, abuse depending on the circumstances, is certainly grounds for a separation or even a divorce to ensure the safety of the abused spouse and any children. The question of remarriage is a little more complicated. To remarry after a divorce requires showing that the original marriage was null, that it was in fact defective somehow and therefore ...

     In the intricate design of creation, God acts as the ultimate sower. He plants seeds of faith within the hearts of humanity, and cultivates a garden of that eventually produces the fruits of hope, grace, and redemption. Today’s Bible readings illuminate the Divine intention behind this act of sowing. These passages invite us to think about the importance of nurturing the seeds of faith that God has sown in our lives, by recognizing that our response to His grace can yield a bountiful harvest for ourselves and for others.      Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 reminds us of God’s omnipotent role as the just judge who governs creation with wisdom and compassion. This passage underscores that God, in His infinite understanding, knows the hearts of all people. He also knows the complexities of the world because He created it. His decision to sow seeds of faith in us is a testament to His desire for our flourishing and reconciliation. God’s mercy is a guiding force, enc...

I apologize for no blog updates this week. I am woefully behind due to the 4th of July holiday, myself catching a bit of a summertime cold, my daughter having to have a tonsillectomy this coming week, and starting school again as a graduate student this next week. Life has been extremely busy for me this week. I hope to return to regular blogging again this weekend or early next week.  I can't remember if I have shared my latest personal news.  f I have not, I guess it is time to let the cat out of the bag. After much thought and prayer (for like the last 5 years at least), I have decided to get back into education. I initially had a teaching license in Tennessee 25+ years ago but never used it (and it long since expired). So, as of August 1st, I doing two things. One is that I am going to be starting a new job at a small country school outside of town. Initially, going to be a para/substitute/bus driver (and probably get drafted to be an assistant football coach at so...

I apologize for being woefully behind on my continued reflections on Pope Leo XIV's latest encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.  I have been meaning to sit down and write my thoughts on Chapter 3 for a few weeks now, but real life has taken over.  There is one thing I would clarify before continuing. I have noticed particularly in Chapter 3, but beginning in previous chapters of this encyclical, the Pope Leo has started using the terms "technocrat" and "technocracy" quite a bit. As someone who understands what he is referring to, this does not bother me. Unless I missed it, he never clearly defines what he means by those terms; he alludes to (dare I say heehaws around) definitions, sometimes imprecisely. As I do not believe these terms are common English parlance outside certain political science and techno-babble circles, I feel the need to try to define the terms, or at least my understand of them, as it becomes a very central concept in Chapter 3.  As I understan...

 I had a question/comment posed to me:  I wanted to discuss a couple points of theology. What really made me want to convert was a fundamental disagreement with Protestantism on two things: Grace and "total depravity. Concerning the former, I don't view grace as a one and done deal. I believe we have to cooperate with it via our free will. We have to put our money where our mouths are and show up. When I found the Church actually teaches this it was a massive breath of fresh air, as I had lived in the tension of seriously disagreeing with Protestantism on this point. Concerning the latter, I think people are generally good, as we were made in the image of God, but have a tendency to sin. The Church, of course, conceptualizes this as Original Sin. The idea that we're totally depraved is refuted by the fact that we're not totally depraved. That one is kinda easy. And again, living in that tension. Some protestant denominations believe it more than others, but that notion...

 Had an interesting question posed on the meaning of the Council of Trent's teaching on marriage: Good morning! I’m really struggling with a teaching expressed by the Council of Trent and wonder if you can help me understand it: “If any one saith, that the marriage state is to be placed above the state of virginity, or of celibacy, and that it is not better and more blessed to remain in virginity, or in celibacy, than to be united in matrimony; let him be anathema.” My difficulty isn’t that I think marriage should be considered superior to celibacy. I don’t have any problem saying that both are good gifts from God or even that virginity for the sake of the Kingdom has a unique significance. What I’m struggling with is the idea that one vocation is objectively more blessed than the other. If God genuinely calls some people to marriage and others to celibacy, why would faithful obedience to one divine vocation be considered more blessed than faithful obedience to another? If a woman ...

I just finished reading the second chapter of Magnifica Humanitas , continuing my series of reflections upon it in real time as I read it. Chapter 2 was entitled, "Foundations and Principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church." Largely, Pope Leo XIV attempts to set forth the framework of how Catholic Social Teaching is understood and applied to the Church itself. I presume so as to then be able to pivot in the next chapter on how these same principles might be applied to greater society outside the Church. There was nothing too remarkable, in my opinion, about this chapter. He sets about laying the foundations of Catholic Social Doctrine. He grounds this Social Doctrine in paragraph 48 in being centered and following out of the Trinity. Being an Augustinian priest, this does not surprise me as St Augustine wrote an entire book on the Trinity where he partially goes through nature looking for triads found in all levels of society and nature that prove the Triune nature of Go...

As I stated previously , Pope Leo XIV has released his first encyclical entitled Magnifica Humanitas . I opened with a reflection on the Introduction to this teaching document. The opening was concise but theologically solid, as it presented the core of Catholic Social Teaching from the 1890s onward. I am continued to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this encyclical chapter by chapter in real time. I have not read the entire document yet, but rather reading it privately in sections and then commenting on it before reading more. I find it helpful to engage in pieces and not read the entire thing and then start my analysis, as that tends to lead to a more broad overview and not looking at each section in it's unique own right.  Today, I read through Chapter 1 of the document. My initial reaction to the 1st chapter is not quite as positive as my enthusiasm for the opening introduction. It gets a little theological squishy in the early middle section (more on that in a moment), ...

I had an interesting question posed, that I would like to respond to:  I have a question...when in a public space and prayer is offered...do we make the sign of the cross if the person does not pray "in the name..." My response:  I think one way to look at this question is to start from the place of asking what is the making of the sign of the Cross? These actions are on one level what is known as a sacramental. We often think of sacramentals as physical objects (holy water, a wooden rosary, etc.,) but sacramentals can also be liturgical acts like the making of the Sign of the Cross. What is the purpose of a sacramental? A sacramental is, as the name suggests, something that points us to the Sacraments. More precisely, a sacramental is a sacred sign that signify spiritual effects and prepare us for the sacraments. For example, a rosary points us towards Christ, who is present in the sacraments like the Eucharist. Likewise, holy water points us towards the sacrame...

We have been hosting a foreign exchange student. A few weeks before she went back to France, we took her up to my old stomping grounds in a city I worked as an intern in the Episcopal church before going to seminary. We happened to drive by my old parish near a local Air Force base. I had a great experience there as a Episcopal Youth corps pre-seminary formation year, circa 2003-2004. The priest was amazing and theologically very solid, dare I say even conservative. The congregation was healthy and active. They had a great youth group and a women's group that met for a bible study every week. It was truly a great parish-not huge but healthy. There was a lot of Air Force base families and those in the local community who lived there permanently. I loved the parish so much, I specifically requested the bishop to allow my Diaconal ordination to happen there when I got out of seminary. In a lot of ways, it was my home parish that sponsored me to go to seminary and not my actual home pa...

 

As I alluded to in my previous post here , Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical last week . I was curious about it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Pope Leo is an Augustinian priest. I have read some of his homilies from years past as well as his public pronouncements since he became Pope. Being firmly in the grip of St Augustine of Hippo myself, I was pleased an Augustinian became Pope. I was hoping the new pope would not try to divorce himself from his grounding in the theology of St. Augustine.  Secondly, to new Pope took Leo as his Papal name. There have been several popes of that name, going back to the first Leo (known as Leo the Great) in AD 440. Popes named Leo have had considerable influence in influencing world affairs and Christendom. Leo the Great bargained with Attila the Hun to not sack Rome. Leo II was a large player in the 6th Council of Constantinople. Sadly, Leo VII was complicit in allowing Jews to be violently expelled from Germany in the early 900s. Leo...