Prayer, Segment 5: Defend Us in Battle

In honor of the feast of the Archangels.  St. Michael and I are getting close... or at least, he has been a sort of heavenly body guard for me.  I've prayed his prayer at the end of Mass for years now, but only in the very recent past have I grown to appreciate his guardianship.  Or maybe he's been watching over me a little more intensely lately.

I had a moment with him when taking an exam for one of my distance classes.  My mind was wandering in negative circles, and I thought, "This is ridiculous.  It is absurd to fail a test because I can't make my mind focus."  Then it occurred to me that someone has a vested interest in people failing in their contemplation of God.  So I prayed the St. Michael prayer and finished the test.  Since then, I have started calling on Michael so often that most of the time, I only have time for a quick invocation: "St. Michael, defend me!"

I say all this to give a shout-out to the angel who has been constantly with me for the past six weeks or so, and thank him for it!  Here's his prayer as my home parish prays it; you find all sorts of variations, depending on where you go:

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle.  Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of Heavenly Hosts, by the divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who roam throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

Thy Kingdom Come

"In Christian lives, the scriptures are actualized, and that is how the kingdom comes to earth.  Actualization is infinitely more than a private act of piety.  It is transformative, not just of the believer, but of the world."
~Scott Hahn, Letter & Spirit

Why I Need a Catholic Husband

(In the event that I am called to the married life.)

Dr. Bergsma mentioned in passing, after quoting St. Ignatius of Antioch, that we could name a child Ignatius and call him Nate.  Immediately, I started pairing names in my head.  To keep my mind focused on holy matters during class, I started compiling a list of names.  Male name pairing has always been hard for me and working with Ignatius was a nice challenge.

I ended up with 6 names, so I need a family of 3 girls and 3 boys.  The Catholic husband is necessary because... well, read the names and you'll understand.

Francis Paul "Paul" (St. Francis Assisi and Paul the Apostle)
Michael Ignatius "Nate" (St. Michael the Archangel and either St. Ignastius)
Stephen Dominic "Stephen" (St. Stephen the Martyr and St. Dominic)

Anna Perpetua "Anna" (Anna the Prophetess and St. Perpetua)
Cecilia Elizabeth "Cecy" (St. Cecilia and Elizabeths, the cousin of Mary and Ann Seton)
Teresa Marie "Teresa" (Bl. Mother Teresa and of Avila and Our Lady)

In the event that 1) God does not call me to the married life or 2) does not grant me such a family as to use these names, I hereby grant permission to my friends to use these names, on the condition that I be the child's godmother.  I know some of these are unusual names but there are some strong people behind them!

Prayer, Segment 4: Sojourners

Sometimes it's helpful to remember that we are only sojourners and aliens in this world, seeking another home.  As much as we are called to invest in the people of this world, they, not it, matter, because people have the capacity for immortality; the world is fleeting.

Day-Maker #46

At the beginning of class we (as a collective whole) noticed a sheet of paper half-hanging from the ceiling.  On it was printed a single word: Gullible.

Prayer, Segment 3: Wait Upon the Lord

A couple weeks ago, a friend mentioned as part of a story, how she had prayed the first few verses of Psalm 25 when discerning the next step God had for her, quoting a line from it that intrigued me: "I wait upon the Lord."  Since I am currently in the process of discerning many things about life, I decided to open my Bible to that page that night.  I prayed the verses she mentioned... and then kept reading.  The whole Psalm is a lovely prayer for someone who is waiting for her call while actively seeking what the Lord wants right now, so I give it here to you:

Psalm 25

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,
my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
No one is disgraced who waits for you,
but only those who are treacherous without cause.

Make known to me your ways, LORD;
teach me your paths.
Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your compassion and your mercy, O LORD,
for they are ages old.
Remember no more the sins of my youth;
remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.

For the sake of your name, LORD,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
Who is the one who fears the LORD?
God shows him the way he should choose.
He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The counsel of the LORD belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
My eyes are ever upon the LORD,
who frees my feet from the snare.

Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.

See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.
Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O LORD.

Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress!

Day-Maker #45

There was an ancient priest (and invalidly ordained "bishop") called Maximus the Cynic.  (Yes, I know it's a school of philosophy.  But still -- an awesome name!)

Likewise You Wives

Sunday evening marked the commencement of a graduate Theology of the Body group.  There, I rediscovered the fact that as a Catholic feminist, I exist sometimes in an odd sort of tension.  After all, my God chose to portray Himself as Father, to become incarnate as Son, to pass on His authority in 12 men, in place of the kings of old.  In a way, this pattern has probably done me some good: keeping me from becoming a man-hating feminist.  After all, how can you had the group to which your Savior belongs?

Some things are harder for me than others.  I've gotten over the male hierarchy thing.  But when it comes to certain parts of the Bible... "Likewise,  you wives, be submissive to your husbands" (1 Peter 3:1).  Similar lines appear in other places in the Epistles.  I live my life most of the time blissfully ignoring these passages.  But I don't exactly get to pick and choose and events like a TOB group bring gender roles to the forefront.  I'm not so good at submission -- if you know me, I hope you are laughing now.  Submission to God -- sure that makes sense.  Submission to a valid and respected authority who has reason to be above me -- I'll do that.  Submission to a potential future husband -- problematic.  

I've heard a few explanations of this passage, most of which either explain why the passage is temporally specific and therefore ignorable now (problem!) or why women should submit (another problem!).  So when I found this article, I expected to be underwhelmed.  Instead, I found the sentiment behind it vaguely attractive and worthy of more thought.  As I learn more about Biblical interpretation, I'm not convinced of this article as sound interpretation.  More prayer and research are needed before I fully ascribe to this way of resolving the difficult passage, but it makes for an interesting start.  

Liar Liar

Stephen Colbert recently interviewed magician David Copperfield.  While I spent the entire interview thinking of Dickens, I also enjoyed what he had to say about lying.  It's like fear in amusement parks.  When we control how it enters our life, there's something okay about it.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
David Copperfield
www.colbertnation.com
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Day-Maker #44

Being handed a piece of candy as I study in the student center: "Happy Saturday!"

Day-Maker #43

Full-body camo underarmor.  Worn beneath shorts and a tee-shirt.  Olive green t-shirt, khaki shorts, so matching the entire outfit matches.  Duly impressed.

On Seminarians

CBS did a brief segment on seminarians: as they called it, "Becoming a modern day priest."  I'm not sure if they think that men could choose to become ancient priests (the title implies a contrast to some priesthood of old), but they did a decent job portraying these men and the priesthood.

To Rocks and Mountains

When Victoria asked me if I wanted to go kayaking, how could I respond in any way other than an enthusiastic "YES!"?  Afterward, I discovered that our destination was three hours away, but that couldn't be a deterrent :  I had all the time in the world on Sunday.

So Sunday morning after the 8am Mass, five girls transformed from skirted church-goers into rugged outdoorswomen and headed west, deeper into Ohio.  The lovely scenery and a CD of talks on Mulieris Dignitatem helped pass the time, along with good conversation and a rousing game of Cows and Graveyards.  When we arrived at the kayaking outpost, we decided against the kayaks and for the hike.

Given directions and a map from a very helpful Ohioan, we found our way to Hocking Hills State Park, where we would discover Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, and Ash Cave.  I wanted to hike from site to site, but thunder in this distance and dark clouds overhead prompted a consensus that we should drive, since each wonder had a parking lot placed conveniently near.

Somehow, central Ohio got blessed with a magical park full of beautiful hidden waterfalls and rocky overhangs and tunnel-like caves.  Water and wind ate away at limestone to create artwork along the rock of the mountains.  Paths worn by water and footsteps follow along, around, and over the river, carrying hikers through the green of moss and trees, the red of the cliffs, and the bright colors of their fellow visitors.

Some of the rocks have names.  Not the way landmarks are names : no, hikers past have felt the need to leave their mark in bold letters scrawled across nature's wall.  And where one person left her mark, others followed, so that a specific rock or group of rocks holds hundreds of names, proclaiming to us that we were not the first here.  We were not the first to gasp in awe and marvel at these places.  We were not the first to hear our breath catch, to admire the view, to rush to the beauty, to linger in it.  We were not the first to form friendships or memories here.

I touched the names.  I let my hand linger on the letters, as if that could give me some share in the happiness or heartache, the awe or anger these people brought.  And it made me happy to know that I am traveling in the footprints of others.  And others will follow me.

On Chalk

On the sudden discovery of a white board hanging next to the blackboard: "Chalk it up to modernization." ~Dr. Hahn

Day-Maker #42

Mail in my mailbox.  From friends and family is best, but even Amazon packages make me smile.  Mail in my mailbox means this is home.

Life Lessons from the Classroom

Yesterday, my favorite quotes were humorous.  Here are some from today that stuck with me for other reasons...

"The only thing worse than feeling inadequate is feeling adequate." ~Dr. Hahn

"The Cross is God's unrequited love for us." ~Fr. Pattee

Words of Wisdom from a Theologian

From my first Principles of Biblical Studies II (The New Testament) class with Dr. Bergsma:

"The last time you could sleep in the woods safely was Eden.  People do do it these days, but it is a foolish thing.  They ought to be at home in their beds."

"God forbade them to eat meat from a pig.  This was probably a good thing.  Pig's meat is gross, if you ever put it under a microscope.  Of course, they didn't have microscopes then... This is all irrelevant."

Evening classes are excruciatingly long during a time of day when I am less than my best, but at least my professors are entertaining.  Dr. Bergsma has a fan club of undergraduate girls that form his own personal laugh track.

Settling In

In the mornings, fog covers the hills and a smell covers the ground.  A particularly blunt grad student describes it in the same breath as urine and sulphur, but neither of these quite capture it.  One of our orientation speakers explains that it comes across the river from a plant in West Virginia.  The odor and the fog have burned off by nine or ten and (at least on weekdays) the campus has come alive.

Made-up girls in skirts and flip-flops and clean-cut guys in polo shirts amble to their destination, normally one of the two academic buildings or the two-floor library.  They stop and chat with friends on the pathways, because on a campus this size, you can't help but run into someone you know.  Some people wear their marks of loyalty in the form of t-shirts that claim Household allegiance: Greek life meets intentional community.

Inside the buildings, doorways and hallways catch and clog as students stop to mingle, buy drinks, and chat.  Guys have a tendency to hold doors and send women through doorways first, a touching display of chivalry that doesn't help the traffic flow.  A surprising minority of men carry a breviary or another prayer book, a material testimony to that morning's activities.  An unsurprising number of wrists, necks, and fingers support scapulars, rosaries, and crucifixes.  These tools of prayer apparently get good use :  there is no place to pray hidden and alone here, where sacred places attract crowds at all hours of the day and into the night.

Religious habits speckle the ranks of students and faculty and Roman collars pop up more frequently than spaghetti straps, even when the temperature springs into the 90s.  Those men and women who wear their order rarely walk or stand alone.  They appear to be in constant conversation with students, conversations governed at times by gravity and at times by levity.

This is the place that somehow, someone has seem fit to drop me for the next two years.  Part school, part Catholic Disneyland; a city on a hill in the middle of nowhere in depressed Ohio... The place in which I will learn and grow and discern God's dreams for me.

Classes, Parts 1-3

Thus far I have begun work for 3 of my five courses.  I sat in the second row in my 8am class and watched as it filled up ten minutes before class started.  Lest you think this a first-day-of-class fluke -- the same thing happened today.  The class fell to silent attention two minutes before 8, ready to begin.

That course (Sacraments) is taught by a Franciscan priest, who is hilarious, alive, and chipper at 8 in the morning, engaging us from the get-go.  My next course (Christian Moral Principles) is taught by an adjunct professor who checked his cell phone for the time and told us to use his Gmail address.  Judging by these facts and some dates he gave us, I figure he can't be much over 30, if at all.  In another realm, he'd be my peer rather than professor.  It was bizarre and gave me insight into Percy's experience teaching at a community college.

Both of these courses had priceless lines in the syllabi, including: "Computer use will not be baby-sat by the professor, since the student already bears the penalty of ineptitude in him or herself," and "Students should not leave the classroom unless they become seriously ill, or for some other good reason (e.g. incontinence)."

Finally, I have class with the one, the only Scott Hahn.  Remember that time I stood outside his office?  Now I sat in the second row and listened in unabashed admiration as he soliloquized about the course objectives.  And referenced Princess Bride.  His course, Biblical Foundations, is the only graduate level course I'm attempting this semester.  The rest are undergrad prereqs.  And the workload, difficulty of reading, and course expectations show it.  In other words, his course will be amazing!