A Small Apology

Things have been coming to a close at SHC. Studying  and packing and unpacking and organizing and reorganizing have eaten my days. I have a few events that I would like to write about, including:

Rock for Life

My Brother's Confirmation

Things I Learned my First Year at a Jesuit College

Speaking at a Constitution Rally

Setting up a Nice Shrine in my Bedroom

and possibly other things that I know I took pictures of and will post...

The Gospel of the Poor

Today my college put on an event known as COOL Day - Celebration of Our Learning Day. Instead of taking it as a beach day, like so many others did when classes were cancelled, I decided to attend one of the presentations. There was only one theology one offered, so naturally that's the one I went to.

It was given by a senior theology/philosophy major and centered on the message of Luke's Gospel, particularly Luke 15.

It was only a few weeks ago that I gave a lecture to my 5th graders about the three parables in Luke 15, so I was really interested in what a senior at my college had to say. I took lots of notes.

Seriously.

I basically re-outlined his presentation for him.

After introducing us to the author, a Gentile Christian preaching mostly to the wealthy, the student introduced his thesis on Luke's Gospel. To paraphrase, God is the Seeker and Savior of the lost and marginalized.

Ah, can you tell I go to a Jesuit school?

But I loved it, of course.

This presentation led to me to a key structure present in each parable which led to a higher theological truth when looking at the big picture. Consider the first parable, the parable of the Lost Sheep. The structure follows as such:

1. Jesus insulting the Scribes and Pharisees. (compares them to lowly shepherds)

2. Jesus saving one sheep out of ninety-nine.

3. Point: God seeks the one others find insignificant.

The same structure is present in the parable of the Lost Coin, only this time the one that is lost becomes intensified.

1. Jesus insulting the Scribes and Pharisees. (compares God to a woman)

2. God saving the one lost coin out of ten.

3. Point: God seeks the one others find insignificant and that one is the most important to God.

Finally, this all comes together in the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son.

1. Jesus insulting the Scribes and Pharisees. (A Jewish son disrespects his father like that??)

2. God forgiving BOTH sons that were lost.

3. Point: Our relationship with God is not that of Master and Servant, but that of Father and Child.

From all these parables, the speaker concluded, God is telling us that he does have preferential treatment for the lost and the lowly - namely the sinners, tax collectors, lepers, and the poor. He specifically states that God is overjoyed when one sinner comes back to Him, such as he is not when ninety-nine righteous men do. This is not to say that God does not love the rich and the powerful, but that God reserves special treatment for those without earthly wealth and power.

I thought it was a wonderful presentation - and it wasn't too far away from what I had taught my 5th graders!

I have a sore throat

I should have made St. Blaise my Saint of the week. :[

I only just bought his medal last week, for goodness sakes.

I'm going to have to have some words with him about his intercession power.

While he is working on that, I'm going to keep taking the magic pills my doctor gave me that act like little St. Blaises every 4-6 hours.

Thank goodness my college is "Celebrating Our Learning" tomorrow by canceling classes. Unfortunately, we are all celebrating our learning by sitting through 80 forums about global warming.

Don't worry, though, they didn't forget to include ONE presentation concerning Theology. Of course it's all about socialism in the Gospel of Luke, but what else can we expect from an American Catholic college these days? 

I thought I went to a Catholic school?

What is the deal with Catholic universities today?

My Jesuit college in Mobile, AL has a nice student newspaper. Even though they tend to devote more pages to sports than current events, it's still a great improvement over what my high school called a newspaper. At least, I thought it was.

Today, after I had finished a history quiz by writing an essay on Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV and the struggle of the Church verses the State in Medieval Europe, I stumbled across the latest issue of our newspaper.

I turned right to the editorial page, because opinions are my favorite.

To my shock and disgust, there was an opinion written about euthanasia - and no, trust me, it did not at all fit with the Catholic Church's teaching on the subject. It was a very pro-euthanasia article. Not only was that, in itself, highly offensive to me, but I also had to sit there and read about how Terri Schiavo was a perfect case for euthanasia gone right.

WHAT?

First of all, it is all too clear that the writer did not do her research when it came to poor Terri. Although this opinionated writer claimed Terri was an extreme case who needed extreme measures to be kept alive -that is very much not the case. Terri Schiavo was not euthanized by the removal of a complicated machine that was keeping her heart, lungs, or brain functioning. No. She was killed by starvation. She was denied BASIC medical treatment - the support of food and water in a hospital. Food and water? Are those really "extreme measures" to keep someone alive? Really?

That is most definitely NOT the perfect story in support of euthanasia. It is, however, the perfect case to show how far-reaching a pro-euthanasia society can go. Although Terri expressed no want of death and her family was overwhelmingly supportive of her future care, the culture of death ultimately won. A woman was killed. She was not "put down for mercy's sake." The impact of her death is most notable on her family's website. They continue to fight for the rights of the ill and dependent and should be commended for their courage and true compassion. I have no doubt that they would be completely offended by the comments of that article.


Secondly, the article said absolutely nothing about the other side of the debate. In particular, it did not mention any of the Church's teachings on the subject - even though it was in a Jesuit school newspaper. Shouldn't all good articles at least acknowledge that there is an opposing side?

How far gone are our Catholic universities? Free speech in the newspaper in one thing, but at least have some sort of balance of opinions. If not that, at least acknowledge the existence of the USCCB.

Are the Catholic universities dying? Are their mission statements really so worthless to the student body that an anti-Church article can be so freely published without any counter?

At least we aren't Notre Dame.

Whoa...

Whoa, it's been a long time since I've written anything. Whoops.

Things have been really crazy down here in Mobile. First of all, 40 Days for Life is coming to a close, but with lots of activities. This past Thursday, some students that I harassed from Spring Hill College helped to keep vigil outside of the Planned Parenthood in Mobile. It's directly across the street from a Chuck E Cheese. Horrific irony or ingenious marketing, I don't know. It's a strange location. Nonetheless, there we were from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM (students rotating shifts, of course).

That's us holding our signs :]

(Ferdi the Fetus is tucked safely in my pocket)

Also with 40 Days for Life, the Mobile chapter is holding a Candlelight Vigil on April 5th. There was much walking around the neighborhood, begging people to come. It was exhausting.

In addition to all those activities, I am in the midst of writing a million papers before Spring Break. I know, it's a weird topic to blog about, but I promise it is relevant to the pro-life movement! I am currently in the middle of a paper for my philosophy paper about what makes a person a person. A few weeks ago in the class we had to read this bizarre-o guy who claimed that free will makes a person. Sounds ok, right? Until he argued that very few people actually possess any free will. Yikes. That didn't sit well with me. So, now I am battling my rather liberal professor (who is much more informed than me in the likes of philosophy) on personhood. Yay. Prayers will be needed!

Rock for Life is also coming up - April 18th at SHC! I'm desperately begging for food to be donated to the event. It's a tough job and its keeping me away from my lovely computer.