HELLO, WORLD!
Born in water. Caught on fire. This may sound like a series of unfortunate events, but it is actually quite the contrary for me.
Born in water. Caught on fire. This may sound like a series of unfortunate events, but it is actually quite the contrary for me.
Allow me to explain. As an infant, I was baptized into the Catholic
Church with water. Through Confirmation, a sacrament of initiation, we receive the Holy Spirit – the same one in the Bible which came
down in tongues of flame on the apostles – to become full-fledged
members in the Catholic faith.
Growing
up Catholic means that I spent practically every Sunday of my life
sitting in pews; I picked up some Latin over the years (Kyrie eleison,1
anyone?) and have prayed the Rosary with my fingers. I admit that I
have dozed off in homilies and dreaded going to church for a time in my
life. I still stumble through some of the responses since the
implementation of the new English Roman Missal translation – for those
who haven’t gone to Mass since November 2011, boy you’re in for a treat.
When people hand me flyers asking, “Are you saved?”, I’m not sure if
they’re looking for a simple yes/no answer or a theological debate. Oh,
and the awkward moment when you reference books that are only in the
Catholic bible during a discussion with Protestant friends (“Wait, the
book of Judith? You mean Jude?”).
My
spiritual journey hasn’t been completely smooth sailing, but it has
been the most worthwhile investment that I have made. I began taking my
faith more seriously during my later high school years and have since
then grappled with questions that I... probably still struggle with. Yet
over the years, I have also discovered the beauty of having a universal
church – that’s what the word “catholic” means!
My
goal for this blog is to NOT jump in all the angry debates and add to
the hollering – there are already plenty of CAPS-lock shouting matches. I
would like to take a step back from talking about Catholicism as a
political issue.
By
sharing how my faith challenges and grows me, I hope to demonstrate
that Catholicism may be ancient, but it is far from dead. My aim for
this blog is to provide some thoughts on various issues that our society
faces through a Catholic perspective and answer some questions that one
might have about the Catholic faith. In this modern age, what does it
mean to be religious or even spiritual, for that matter? Are Catholic
teachings out of date? What’s the difference between Christian and
Catholic and will we ever get along? Can the Mass get any more boring
and why do Catholics bother to go? Will Catholics get lung cancer from
inhaling too much smoke from burning incense? (Partially kidding on the
last one, although I think I will go Google that now... here's what I found)
Hopefully you'll find through this blog that Catholics aren't old, dying, and boring, but can be full of life, joy, laughter, and growth. Until next time, I'll leave you with what our St. Francis of Assisi would often address at the end of his sermons and letters,
Pax et Bonum.2
1 “Lord have mercy” in Latin, one of my personal favorite prayers said in Mass
2 “Peace and the good” in Latin
THE CATHOLIC PROFILE
In
light of recent events, it seems like everyone has an opinion about
what’s going on in the Catholic Church. The resulting question is: which
are ones that are actually good and worth reading? The search through
the Internet for accurate information, untwisted by media, is quite a
gnarly task that requires untangling truth from fiction. After combing
through several web blogs, I’ve come across a few good ones – definitely
check them out! I’ve got them on my blog roll, so feel free to explore!
One
of my pet peeves is hearing people who don’t know anything about
Catholicism voice their opinions on the subject – sigh, misinformed
people spreading misinformation. But Dr. Taylor Marshall, the author of
the Canterbury tales blog -- this guy knows his stuff! Need the proof? He holds a
Ph.D. in philosophy and is the chancellor of the College of Saints John
Fisher & Thomas More in Texas. He has also written books (check out
The Crucified Rabbi), been a guest lecturer, and been featured on
podcasts. He posts about 5 times a week about topics related to Catholic
culture, including the liturgy, saints, philosophy, theology, the
Church fathers, and Mariology. On the bottom of the front page, there is
a list of tags that he uses – some of the more popular being “Mary,”
“Pope,” “Thomas Aquinas,” and “Old Testament.” Over the six years of
running the blog, he has had over 5 million hits and 14,000 followers. (sidenote: wow, imagine if Jesus had a blog...)
You can subscribe for email updates, connect through twitter, facebook,
linkedin, rss feed, and even youtube – AND he gives free stuff to
subscribers (GOTTA LOVE FREE STUFF!)!
Dr.
Marshall posts both personal and scholarly work – including a provided
list of links to the 21 ecumenical councils, Catholic apologetics, and
Bible study help for Catholics. His blog posts are catchy, but contain
academic references. For example, his post “How to Spring a Soul from Purgatory in 4 Steps” caught my eye (the more in Heaven, the merrier, right?), and the post included citations and
references to theological work. Based on his posts, it seems like the
blog leans towards the traditional and orthodox side. The blog post “6 Reasons Why Contraception is Sinful and Contrary to God’s Will”
presented arguments based on the scripture and theology. For example, he
references specific Bible quotes such as Rev 9:20-21, and quotes Saint
Augustine:"I am supposing, then, although you are not lying [with your wife] for the sake of procreating offspring, you are not for the sake of lust obstructing their procreation by an evil prayer or an evil deed. Those who do this, although they are called husband and wife, are not; nor do they retain any reality of marriage, but with a respectable name cover a shame. Sometimes this lustful cruelty, or cruel lust, comes to this, that they even procure poisons of sterility…Assuredly if both husband and wife are like this, they are not married, and if they were like this from the beginning they come together not joined in matrimony but in seduction. If both are not like this, I dare to say that either the wife is in a fashion the harlot of her husband or he is an adulterer with his own wife." Augustine, Marriage and Concupiscence 1:15:17 (A.D. 419)
.
His
more popular blog posts have also generated lots of discussion – his
more recent post “Traditionalists and Pope Francis: Can We Take a Deep Breath and Please Calm Down?” received over 300 comments. The audience
which responds to the post varies in views, but for the most part,
engages in very intellectual discussions – it seems that many readers
also have a foundation in Catholic theology. Dr. Taylor Marshall also
jumps in the comment section with some of his responses. While his blog
posts are academic, he still writes clearly and simply, with even jokes
such as “Don't let the haters get you down.” Although maybe the next step would be for him to include .gifs as such:
But maybe that's why he has his own blog and I have my own, haha! Aside from the lack of funny Disney gifs, I
personally found this blog super insightful because it balances
academic and scholarly information on the Catholic Church with personal
thoughts and testimonies. Perhaps thanks to some moderation of comments,
I was able to come across other interesting Internet users – Catholic
and non-Catholics alike – that partake in discussions on topics that I
also blog about. All in all, this guy’s legit and has really awesome –
actually Catholic – things to say. Check out his blog, his books, and
free stuff!
Hearing Voice in Words
You can recite all that happened over the 2000 years of Catholic church history and list all the theological arguments in the world, but nothing can quite replace someone's personal story of how they encountered God's love in their life. Being part of a Catholic community -- in your local diocese or your internet blogosphere -- allows people to not only engage in intellectual dialogue, but also share their testimonies. Your story of what you've been through requires your voice; that's how we get a feel for your personality and individuality.
Jennifer
Fulwiler, the author of a Catholic and personal blog “Conversion Diary,” writes with humor, thoughtfulness, and individuality. I came across her blog several years ago, and recently rediscovered it -- I LOVE HER! She
welcomes readers to take a glimpse into her life by sharing reflections
of her spiritual journey and daily shenanigans. Her voice is
lighthearted, funny, and insightful in the post “Notes from beneath the veil,” while it is solemn, earnest, and personal in the post “Explaining where God is when we suffer, when there are no words.” Through her
choice of words and expressions of emotions, Jennifer’s personality and
voice on her blog is engaging and unique.
In
“Notes from beneath the veil,” a comical story with a sincere message,
Jennifer presents herself as a devoted Catholic mother who has learned
to live life with sense of humor.
And then Fr. Uche … he mused, “What did Jesus go up the mountain to do?” I jumped when a voice beside me shouted at the loudest possible volume:“TO PWAY!!!!!”That would be my sweet daughter’s pronunciation of “pray.” She’s so excited about Jesus and was so delighted to know the answer that she just had to scream it at the very top of her lungs — and, wow, who knew that a young child’s voice could fill an entire huge building like that? The church was packed with about 1,100 people, and I am pretty sure that every single one of them looked over at us in that moment. I had already felt like THE WOMAN IN THE CHAPEL VEIL!!!!, and now I felt like THE WOMAN IN THE CHAPEL VEIL WHOM WE’RE ALL NOW STARING AT BECAUSE HER KID YELLS AT THE PRIEST DURING MASS!!!!
Even though I haven't met Jennifer in person, I could just totally imagine this comical scenario. It's written in such an engaging story-telling manner -- I can just see her laughing over this with a friend at a coffee shop. By choosing the words like “loudest possible volume,”
emphasizing the “1,100 people,” and italicizing “every single one,”
Jennifer describes her interior state of insecurity about wearing THE
CHAPEL VEIL!!!! The long capitalized phrase with many exclamation points
creatively depicts the frantic panic and anxiety of stage-fright which
we have all experienced at some embarrassing point in our life (like the annual piano recitals, man they get me every year). At the
same time, the phrases “my sweet daughter” and “TO PWAY!!!!!,”
“wow, who knew…” show her love and forgiveness towards her daughter
despite the minor freak-out session she had at the moment when the
entire church turned to stare at them. It's just like how we shake our head when we think about the embarrassing yet endearing things our friends do; I often say to them, "why am i even friends with you..".
Even
when she is slightly more serious about what she had learned by wearing
the chapel veil, I like how Jennifer maintains a lighthearted tone: “To my great
surprise, it seemed to me that the people around me were (wait for
it…this is going to be shocking…) focused more on the Mass than they
were on me. I know, amazing.” By using some playful sarcasm to joke
about what she learned about her inaccurate assumptions, I can see her as a friend sharing her thoughts rather than a didactic teacher. This is an awesome strategy because in all honesty, who wants to be lectured at, right?
Her
honesty, humbled, and reflective character is revealed through the
sentences “Waves of shame rushed through me when I realized: these are
the people whom I assumed would be judging me.” "These”
emphasizes the lovely people she described in the preceding paragraph and
her own realization of how absurd her worries are. Her reflections spurred me to think about times when I was worried that people who loved me very much in my life would judge me.
In
her more serious posts, such as “Explaining where God is when we suffer,
when there are no words,” Jennifer’s voice and tone of writing shifts
to be more reverent. It’s amazing how powerful just some of the simplest
short paragraphs can be. Even though this post does not contain any
jokes or sarcasm, I was soo moved by the sentences “What to do..? Where can we turn..? How can we
ponder..?”. I remembered my painful life experiences and related to the “raw human agony” and
“rail[ing] against God” described. But she doesn't leave it there -- she encourages me by pointing us to her “only one source of comfort...The crucifix." What is it like to ponder, to gaze, to wonder upon the cross which Jesus died? Within these
sentences (and yay, parallel structure, my favorite!), she explores the significance of God – the creator of “each
molecule… in all the billions of galaxies…” – dying on the cross to save
“creatures who introduced misery into their world… through their own
free will,” in order to reunite his children “in an eternity of peace.”
The following concluding paragraph, short and simple once again,
provides a concise message that contrasts our “scream” to the crucifix’s
constant “wordless response.”
Jennifer’s
voice in her writing is what drives me to be a better blogger. I love how as readers, we can share in her emotions and respond to her writing (smiles,
laughter, comments, inspired thoughts). Through both carefree and
heartfelt tones, Jennifer provides thought-provoking messages in each
post – even the casual posts on her life point back to the theme of
living out the Catholic faith. And that is exactly the beauty of sharing your faith with others: when you write from your heart, when you let your voice speak through your words, even strangers can feel touched by the love story between you and God.
No comments:
Post a Comment