Today I am giving two talks to the youth of Connecticut at their second annual "Youth Explosion" rally. I'm joined with the ever-talented Ike Ndolo Band, who I have never worked with before, but have run into in the ministry field many times.
I was asked to present to the teens in two thirty minute talks an overview of Pope John Paul II's famous Theology of the Body (TOB). Now, these talks spanned years and fill up a rather large book, and have produced book shelves full of commentaries trying to understand and apply his ideas.
...and I have two thirty-minute sessions to get it all in.
Evangelization always being my thing, I want to approach this talk from that perspective and not just give them a thorough check-list summary of TOB's main points. The catechesis needs to be there, but it needs to be framed through the lens of invitation, linked with a basic proclamation of the Gospel, and shown that this is the path to human happiness.
If there was one essential point to the Theology of the Body that Pope John Paul II gave in his Wednesday Audiences over the period of five or so years, that I could distill out and give to you today, it would be this: the whole human person, soul and body, is caught up in the beautiful drama of love and life.Love is more than just feelings, than a stirring of the senses and the thrill of physical touch. It is so much more than that, but it sure wouldn’t be the same without all that! God did not create us to be angels, but man, male and female. We have bodies, with goose-bumpy skin, responsive nerve endings, and hormone tidal waves that could overwhelm a giant.
I mean, sheesh, there are a lot of Christian writers out there who will tell you that love is not about emotion, but commitment; that sensuality only clouds knowledge; and that your hormones are best to be suppressed by cold showers and a part-time job after school.
But not Pope John Paul II, a man who never knew the marriage bed. He tells us the truth.
But not Pope John Paul II, a man who never knew the marriage bed. He tells us the truth.
Intro to Leadership
The first principle from the private sector is leadership. The second principle is effective team building. Both go hand-in-hand. In a small operation like a parish (even a mega-parish) every hire needs to be a leader. You cannot afford to hire non-leaders, even if they are not in “Director” or “Coordinator” positions. And just because someone is ordained by the grace of God in the sacrament of Holy Orders that does not automatically make them a good, effective leader.
Leadership is a topic of so many nauseating business and self-help books that it is a little frustrating to sift the good content. I sought after books authored by, or written about, men and women who proved their leadership in the arena of for-profit work, not just those who make a ton of money selling self-help leadership books and giving seminars. This way I avoided empty-headed, nice-sounding rhetoric about leadership and immersed myself in the praxis of real world principles, tactics, and examples.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9
It is hard to talk openly about war being just or unjust while your own country happens to be in the middle of one (or two, or five). But, hey, if Christianity were easy, everyone would be doing it.
War is a tricky thing because, though most of the humanity’s dark history is filled with unjust and evil wars, every single one of those wars had people cheering them on, justifying them with all sorts of clever rationalizations and emotionally charged propaganda.
That means we Catholics need to be on our A game when it comes to this whole “Just War” idea, so that we are not caught on the wrong side of God’s desire for peace and thirst for justice.