Daily Theology
Faith
The Pope and the Power of Humility
Few events have defined Pope Francis’s young papacy as much as his monumental decision to break from tradition in the Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet. The moving witness of him bending over and cleaning the feet of twelve marginalized poor (non-Italian) young men and women may be remembered as an important moment in … Continue reading
The Necessary Terror of Holy Saturday
I’ve always appreciated the awkwardness of Holy Saturday. It’s like, ok, the dark part is over now. Goodness is on the way….we can start to arrange Easter baskets and maybe even have a Holy Saturday party! Indeed, the all-encompassing “Easter Vigil” Mass/Service (depending where you hail from) happens in the late afternoon of Holy Saturday. … Continue reading
Lent 2013
Reflections for Lent 2013 As the season of Lent begins, we here at Daily Theology will collect our reflections from this year and from seasons past on this page. Check here for posts on fasting, prayer, almsgiving, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays of Lent, and more. We hope these will serve all of our readers, friends, … Continue reading
The Superbowl Blackout and the Failed Masculinity of Downton Abbey
Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of an exciting sporting event that around 100 million people were watching, or perhaps it was that, for the first time since Katrina, power went out in the Superdome. Here are some highlights of twitter commentary (is that a thing?) from the blackout: First, @mat: “This tribute to the victims … Continue reading
Little Second Coming
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the “manifestation,” or, in a looser translation, the “coming out” of the newborn Christ in the world. In the Christian West, over a very complicated history, we focused primarily on the Magi from the Gospel of Matthew. But in the Christian East, three events at the beginning of … Continue reading
Celebrating Christmas During Advent
Its a common theological trope during the Advent season that “everyone’s doing it wrong.” It’s Advent, not Christmas! It’s the time of waiting, the time of preparation, the time to reflect on the liturgical meaning of the “new year” and to spiritually prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christmas on the proper day of the … Continue reading
Theological Education or Evangelization?
“What is the role of faith in the classroom?” In light of the upcoming Synod, we may even ask: “can the classroom be a place for evangelization? The previous posts in Theological Shark Week III all shed light on different aspects of this important question. For those of us teaching core (required) theology classes in … Continue reading
Faith!? You Can’t Teach Faith!
Coming from a Thomistically inspired perspective, as is my wont, faith is not something that can be taught. Rather, faith is a gift from God, one of the many ways in which God communicates God’s very self to us. The grace of faith builds from our natural ability to know reality by enabling us to … Continue reading
Thoughts from the Science Classroom: Faith!? What faith?!
Where is faith in the science classroom? Where is faith in the physics courses, studying the latest developments from the Large Hadron Collider; the astrophysics graduate classrooms, perusing the search for life on other planets via the Kepler Space Telescope; the chemistry undergraduate lab, investigating the strands of amino acids and proteins that comprise the very … Continue reading
The Vocation of Faith Educators: Remembering to Be ‘Stewards of the Mysteries of God’
The first time I attempted to teach the Trinity to a classroom full of 9th grade girls, I was completely overwhelmed preparing the lesson. I spent a lot of time grappling for language that would help them understand this central Christian mystery. And I vividly remember the students’ confused stares as they dutifully listened and … Continue reading
