February 18th, 2010

Good Friday morning everyone. 

 

Here in Waterloo, we have had two balmy days with record high temperatures.  The students that are still here for reading week, are shedding heavy parkas and shorts and tee shirts are back again despite the fact that we have only reached ten degrees. 

 

Speaking of students, here is a very provocative piece on the impact of new social media on students and their relationship with the church. Richard Beck is a Professor and experimental psychologist at Abilene Christian University in the US. He manages a blog, Experimental Theology which seeks to integrate theology with the experimental social sciences. He describes the essays on the blog as "theological experiments, exploratory and provisional essays that do not necessarily represent my views on matters of faith or ethics" so please keep that in mind as you read this.  I have been in two interesting conversations lately about the church, young people and social media and this piece is very timely.  

 

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-facebook-killed-church.html

 

This second piece will make you laugh and cry, quite possibly at the same time.  We have all been following the spectacular rise and fall of the economic fortunes of Ireland over the last number of years.  This piece from the current issue of Vanity Fair is the third that has look at the economic difficulties in Europe.  In nine pages you are led through a catalogue of corruption and greed that is spectacular and senseless, brilliant and unbelievably stupid.  I couldn't put it down last night. 

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103

 

For those of us in Ontario, this is our first holiday weekend.  Enjoy.

 

 

Con

February 12, 2011

Good Saturday morning everyone.

 

There are several varieties of flu floating around here at the moment and I picked up a really bad one on Wednesday so excuse the late arrival of this week's "This and That…..".  One cannot help but be impressed and inspired by the events in Egypt over the last few weeks.  The sight of throngs of Muslims at prayer and the footage of the circle of Muslims protecting the Coptic community at prayer was very moving.  However, into all of this, there needs to be a dose of reality.  The Christian community of Egypt is in a very difficult position and this piece in the opinions section of USA Today paints a grim picture.  We have seen this before in Iraq.

   

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-02-07-column07_ST_N.htm

 

Paul Turner was a speaker at the Southwest Liturgical Conference and spoke on the role of catechesis in preparing for the reception of new texts in the new missal. Here, he walks you through the development of Eucharistic Prayer II, and he highlights three particular words and phrases that will require more catechesis before and after their first use: "merit," "many," and "dewfall."  This part of his concluding paragraph is one to remember:  "So, let me just warn you about the power of prayer: you can study the words of a prayer, critique the words, teach the words and say the words, but if you're not looking you may miss out on something more important than all these things: those words are studying you, they are learning you, teaching you and forming you. They will put you to work; they will send you out on mission."

 

http://paulturner.org/pdf_files/dewfall.pdf

 

Have a good week.

 

Con

February 5th, 2011

Good Friday morning everyone.

  

Yesterday, as we were celebrating the feast of St. Blasé and the blessing of throats in the church, the sun was pouring through the windows and it felt as if spring was just around the corner.  A little while later navigating up University Ave., I found myself muttering prayers for being so stupid in not getting winter tires for my car as I waltzed around the street with a bus and a few other cars in the remnants of the latest winter storm.   This is the time of the year for indoor activities and with all of the award shows taking up so much air time, a good time to catch up on movies.  Last weekend, the number one movie in Canada and the US was "The Rite" which is about the Jesuits and exorcism.  I saw the trailer a few weeks ago and it looks like Anthony Hopkins plays a jaded and soon to be bedeviled exorcist and teacher and needs help from a skeptical young priest named Mike. 

 

There is a very interesting review of the film in the latest issue of America by Raymond Schroth, S.J., who is an associate editor for the magazine.  He has some interesting information on the background to the film and does a good job of walking the reader through the difficulties of adapting true stories in a business that is interested only in being the number one movie for a week or two.  When movies like "The Rite" make some communities nervous, this is the sort of review that is both educational, informative and helpful.            

 

http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=3860

 

On a more serious note, there is a fine piece by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington in the archdiocesan newspaper the Catholic Standard, that looks at the issue of how we speak to each other when we disagree.  "Civil Discourse: Speaking the Truth with Respect" is his  most prominent intervention to date on an issue that he has returned to many times since he became archbishop.   This issue is as real for us here in Canada as it is in the US and this fine piece has much to offer.   

http://www.cathstan.org/main.asp?SectionID=14&SubSectionID=79&ArticleID=4355&TM=71933.63

 

 

Have a good week.

 

Con