Thursday, June 28, 2012
Elsewhere in the World
I wrote for the Catholics on Call website again. You can read the reflection here. It's not my best ever, but it's about Jesus!
My Demure Feminist
From the hype about American nuns to a recent article about the work-family balance (more on both of those later), my inner feminist has been getting a lot of exercise lately. I stumbled across this gem at Busted Halo this morning. The author, Vanessa Gonzalez Kraft, contributes thoughtful, well-written pieces to Busted Halo, so while I sometimes disagree with her, I respect her (and actually read her pieces).
This time, I think Kraft hits something very true and not often discussed. She writes about a shy smile and sweet look she used to avoid criticism in art class and generalizes this strategy to strong women who appear "precious" -- sweet and crushable -- as a method of downplaying their own strength. I recognized myself in the description.
When I moved up to Steubenville l last August, I tried to moderate my intense personality. I smiled sweetly, sat quietly, and commiserated with confused students. At that point, I was trying to figure out if I could change to become that quieter girl. By second semester, I knew I was not happy with that change, so I re-embraced my bolder self.
However, my "precious" avatar did not die. She still makes appearances to disguise to bold Beth. Like Kraft's soft-spoken self, she hides my true gifts when I am reluctant to show them. I can get on the "Stop being precious" bandwagon.
This time, I think Kraft hits something very true and not often discussed. She writes about a shy smile and sweet look she used to avoid criticism in art class and generalizes this strategy to strong women who appear "precious" -- sweet and crushable -- as a method of downplaying their own strength. I recognized myself in the description.
When I moved up to Steubenville l last August, I tried to moderate my intense personality. I smiled sweetly, sat quietly, and commiserated with confused students. At that point, I was trying to figure out if I could change to become that quieter girl. By second semester, I knew I was not happy with that change, so I re-embraced my bolder self.
However, my "precious" avatar did not die. She still makes appearances to disguise to bold Beth. Like Kraft's soft-spoken self, she hides my true gifts when I am reluctant to show them. I can get on the "Stop being precious" bandwagon.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Day-Maker #67
Friday discoveries:
*A book written about me called How to Hug a Porcupine. (I tried to find it online, but the one that came up doesn't look like the same book.)
*Politically themed wine. Only in the DC metro area would you find such a thing.
*A restaurant/pub called Bilbo Baggins -- how did I not know this existed?
*A book written about me called How to Hug a Porcupine. (I tried to find it online, but the one that came up doesn't look like the same book.)
*Politically themed wine. Only in the DC metro area would you find such a thing.
*A restaurant/pub called Bilbo Baggins -- how did I not know this existed?
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Semina Verbi Extra Ecclesiam
I realized in writing about hipsters and Catholics (see my previous post) that I never posted my findings from my research papers this past semester. I kind of want to post the 17 page papers here, but I'm fairly certain that no one would read them. So instead I will do my best to summarize some of what I found. I am going to address first my paper for Theological Foundations. Probably half of this post about the paper will be explaining the premise of the paper.
One day in class, Dr. Sirilla took a tangent (tightly related to the class actually) to mention that the Fathers of the Church talked about the semina Verbi, or seeds of the Word, found in pagan culture -- that something of goodness and truth existed among the pagans. My mind took off running with all the implications of this idea and before class was over (I don't have very good notes for that day, other than tangents to investigate further) I had connected it to another idea that intrigued me: the statement of the Council of Trent extra ecclesiam nulla salus, outside of the Church there is no salvation. What were seeds of the Word doing among pagans if there was no salvation outside the Church? What exactly were these seeds? How do they relate to the Church's belief that people with invincible ignorance of the Gospel can still be saved?
That last question especially tugged at me, and after talking to Dr. Sirilla, I decided to start investigations there. He directed me to a couple passages from encyclicals and conciliar documents that dealt with that question. My paper was a literature review, which meant the assignment read: Read ALL THE THINGS ever written about your topic. I tried to construct my topic as narrowly as possible while still giving myself enough room that someone had written about it: How do Catholic thinkers, post Vatican II, relate the idea of the semina verbi to the soteriological value (i.e. their power to save) of non-Christian religions? I excluded Judaism and Islam from my reading, because both of them explicitly acknowledge the same God Christianity does.
I found the beginnings of the questions more than the answers in three Vatican II documents: Ad Gentes (On Missionary Activity), Nostrae Aetate (On Other Religions), and Lumen Gentium (On the Church). Ad Gentes article 11 reads:
As with many other parts and pieces of the Council documents, these phrases have been interpreted in various ways. Paul VI (I read this great book, Missionary Pope on him) saw these semina as natural elements, the growth of natural law in different cultures. JPII on the other hand seems to understand them more as supernatural elements present within other religions (see Redemptoris Missio and Crossing the Threshold of Hope). Among theologians, there is a legitimate debate (albeit with some unorthodox participants) as too exactly how much these seeds contribute to the salvation of those outside the Church. Are they somehow viae or ways to God or are they preparatio evangelii, preparation for the Gospel? (Orthodox people tend more toward the latter, but the dialogue continues.) The bottom line is that Jesus is the one Savior and the Church the ordinary means to salvation, but debate rages around the meaning of these terms and phrases.
I didn't read nearly enough to know nearly enough to contribute to the debate. I have hunches about where I fall in the discussion, but I have a lot more reading to do before I say anything with any confidence. Other than that it is possible that hipsters have semina verbi strewn in their culture.
One day in class, Dr. Sirilla took a tangent (tightly related to the class actually) to mention that the Fathers of the Church talked about the semina Verbi, or seeds of the Word, found in pagan culture -- that something of goodness and truth existed among the pagans. My mind took off running with all the implications of this idea and before class was over (I don't have very good notes for that day, other than tangents to investigate further) I had connected it to another idea that intrigued me: the statement of the Council of Trent extra ecclesiam nulla salus, outside of the Church there is no salvation. What were seeds of the Word doing among pagans if there was no salvation outside the Church? What exactly were these seeds? How do they relate to the Church's belief that people with invincible ignorance of the Gospel can still be saved?
That last question especially tugged at me, and after talking to Dr. Sirilla, I decided to start investigations there. He directed me to a couple passages from encyclicals and conciliar documents that dealt with that question. My paper was a literature review, which meant the assignment read: Read ALL THE THINGS ever written about your topic. I tried to construct my topic as narrowly as possible while still giving myself enough room that someone had written about it: How do Catholic thinkers, post Vatican II, relate the idea of the semina verbi to the soteriological value (i.e. their power to save) of non-Christian religions? I excluded Judaism and Islam from my reading, because both of them explicitly acknowledge the same God Christianity does.
I found the beginnings of the questions more than the answers in three Vatican II documents: Ad Gentes (On Missionary Activity), Nostrae Aetate (On Other Religions), and Lumen Gentium (On the Church). Ad Gentes article 11 reads:
[Missionaries] should be familiar with their national and religious traditions and uncover with gladness and respect those seeds of the Word which lie hidden among them… [they] should know and converse with those among whom they live, that through sincere and patient dialogue they themselves might learn of the riches which a generous God has distributed among the nations. They must at the same time endeavor to illuminate these riches with the light of the Gospel, set them free, and bring them once more under the dominion of God the savior.Nostrae Aetate article 17 says essentially the same thing, but specifically about institutions/communities with "traditions of asceticism and contemplation." Lumen Gentium doesn't use the phrase semina Verbi, but rather speaks in article 18 of the good "found sown in the minds and the hearts of men" that are to be "not only preserved from destruction, but are purified, raised up, and perfected for the glory of God, the confusion of the devil, and the happiness of man." The idea comes up in a few more places without those exact words, but these bits give you a good feel.
As with many other parts and pieces of the Council documents, these phrases have been interpreted in various ways. Paul VI (I read this great book, Missionary Pope on him) saw these semina as natural elements, the growth of natural law in different cultures. JPII on the other hand seems to understand them more as supernatural elements present within other religions (see Redemptoris Missio and Crossing the Threshold of Hope). Among theologians, there is a legitimate debate (albeit with some unorthodox participants) as too exactly how much these seeds contribute to the salvation of those outside the Church. Are they somehow viae or ways to God or are they preparatio evangelii, preparation for the Gospel? (Orthodox people tend more toward the latter, but the dialogue continues.) The bottom line is that Jesus is the one Savior and the Church the ordinary means to salvation, but debate rages around the meaning of these terms and phrases.
I didn't read nearly enough to know nearly enough to contribute to the debate. I have hunches about where I fall in the discussion, but I have a lot more reading to do before I say anything with any confidence. Other than that it is possible that hipsters have semina verbi strewn in their culture.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Charmed and Intrigued
I'm not sure if cute and hilarious was exactly what this blogger was going for, but that is my immediate, delighted reaction to his post about how All Hipsters Eventually Become Catholic. A better title might be "How Catholicism Completes and Perfects Hipsterism." Maybe hipsterism is full of semina verbi and preparatio evangelii? (I just checked and I haven't discussed those glorious Latin terms yet. "Seeds of the word" and "preparation for the Gospel" respectively, they will appear again in a later post!)
Some of my favorite lines:
"Aren’t you, as a Catholic, somewhat charmed and intrigued by hipsters?" Um, YES! Whenever I see one, I am secretly laughing at him and wanting to be his friend.
"The new hispter loves going to daily Mass at his parish, where the pews are filled with no one under the age of 50. He did it before it was cool." Just don't stop if it does :-)
"Latin is a 'dead' language you know. How much more not mainstream can you get?"
I'll stop there, or I'd end up quoting the whole thing. If you know anything about Catholics and/or hipsters read and enjoy!
Some of my favorite lines:
"Aren’t you, as a Catholic, somewhat charmed and intrigued by hipsters?" Um, YES! Whenever I see one, I am secretly laughing at him and wanting to be his friend.
"The new hispter loves going to daily Mass at his parish, where the pews are filled with no one under the age of 50. He did it before it was cool." Just don't stop if it does :-)
"Latin is a 'dead' language you know. How much more not mainstream can you get?"
I'll stop there, or I'd end up quoting the whole thing. If you know anything about Catholics and/or hipsters read and enjoy!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Modesty Post #3 or 4 or 8
Really, I'm not counting.
I've joined up with a local Catholic young adult group for the summer. We meet once a week for a talk and discussion led by a group member. Last week the topic was dating and courtship, presented by Mrs. Marine (the wife of the previous week's presenter, a marine).
A bit of background on my approach to this topic: most of the time when I hear someone speak on this topic, I want to get up and leave the room. Except over the past nine or ten months. Recently, I've wanted to punch the speaker. (I told Mrs. Marine the first part, but not the second. No one has actually been in danger and I don't want to regain a reputation as "menacing" too fast.)
Mrs. Marine gave the best talk on the topic I had ever heard. She started with the premises that: 1) dating is to lead to marriage and 2) marriage is to lead to heaven. Then she went through a very practical, very straightforward, not emotion-based or preachy explication of her ideas of dating/courtship. At the end, she reached a list of practical, what-can-I-do-now advice for men and women not currently in romantic relationships. Here, her husband interrupted to reiterate something he had stressed the week before, the importance of modesty.
He speaks clearly, in short ideas, with no equivocation. On both occasions, he urged women to dress modestly, for the sake of men. "It's how we're wired," he explained. Men need to dress modestly too, but it is a greater problem for how women dress and how men look. "It's our job to control our eyes," but women can help. It was a simple reminder of what Cain discovered: that we are all our brothers' keepers. Always, the sinner is responsible for the sin; the perpetrator is responsible for the crime; the aggressor responsible, not the victim. But if we love another person, why would we do anything to make life harder for them? Again, no flowery language, not emotional appeal, no waffling around with indistinct ideas of beauty and mystery and being "captivating." Dress modestly out of kindness for your brothers.
[Note: For those worried that the burden is placed unfairly on women, he had words for men as well, telling them not to objectify women and not to tolerate other who do. These words just didn't speak to me quite the same way.]
I've joined up with a local Catholic young adult group for the summer. We meet once a week for a talk and discussion led by a group member. Last week the topic was dating and courtship, presented by Mrs. Marine (the wife of the previous week's presenter, a marine).
A bit of background on my approach to this topic: most of the time when I hear someone speak on this topic, I want to get up and leave the room. Except over the past nine or ten months. Recently, I've wanted to punch the speaker. (I told Mrs. Marine the first part, but not the second. No one has actually been in danger and I don't want to regain a reputation as "menacing" too fast.)
Mrs. Marine gave the best talk on the topic I had ever heard. She started with the premises that: 1) dating is to lead to marriage and 2) marriage is to lead to heaven. Then she went through a very practical, very straightforward, not emotion-based or preachy explication of her ideas of dating/courtship. At the end, she reached a list of practical, what-can-I-do-now advice for men and women not currently in romantic relationships. Here, her husband interrupted to reiterate something he had stressed the week before, the importance of modesty.
He speaks clearly, in short ideas, with no equivocation. On both occasions, he urged women to dress modestly, for the sake of men. "It's how we're wired," he explained. Men need to dress modestly too, but it is a greater problem for how women dress and how men look. "It's our job to control our eyes," but women can help. It was a simple reminder of what Cain discovered: that we are all our brothers' keepers. Always, the sinner is responsible for the sin; the perpetrator is responsible for the crime; the aggressor responsible, not the victim. But if we love another person, why would we do anything to make life harder for them? Again, no flowery language, not emotional appeal, no waffling around with indistinct ideas of beauty and mystery and being "captivating." Dress modestly out of kindness for your brothers.
[Note: For those worried that the burden is placed unfairly on women, he had words for men as well, telling them not to objectify women and not to tolerate other who do. These words just didn't speak to me quite the same way.]
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