Lexio Divina

Last weekend was the 5th out of 6 weekends for Level I CGS formation. (I've mentioned this group before, as there are 7 gentlemen participants. They call themselves the "Seven Sacra-men." This was better than their first option which was "The Seven Gifts to Women" which was voted down by the larger group. Ha). So it was a busy weekend and I had every excuse to skip out on the inaugural talk for the Catholic Culture Lecture Series which began last Saturday night.

I'm so glad I didn't.

Lest you think that I am going to find every excuse to title my articles with a Latin word from now on, the title of the first talk in the Diocese's once-a-month series was actually Lexio Divina, words which translate simply enough to "Divine Reading."

The speaker, Bo Bonner, is an assistant professor and the Director of Mission and Ministry at Mercy College in Des Moines and also has a show on Iowa Catholic Radio called The Uncommon Good. I'm lucky enough to have had a few conversations with him, and even one very enjoyable argument, so my expectations going in were fairly high. Yet for a super smart, obnoxiously well-read guy to give a talk on what really is just prayer, I wasn't sure how this would go. Would I hear a cerebral talk all about the ancient church fathers and why they thought we should take time everyday to pore over God's word? Would I hear how the Benedictines developed this practice over the centuries? Not even close.

Mr. Bonner offered a challenging warning to those of us who would attend a lecture series on Catholic Culture, or who think that the Catholic Church is going to have anything to offer to a crumbling culture, without seriously examining our own pride and lukewarmness in our faith lives. The word culture comes from the word that means to cultivate, to prepare for crops. You have to get down into the soil and get it ready for good seed. But do we have good seed to offer? He quoted a Latin phrase which is a favorite of my friend, Dr. Tom Neal, (who I now know did not make it up): "nemo dat quo non habet," which means: "You can't give what you don't have."

Mr. Bonner pointed out that Lexio divina is just divine reading. It is reading divine words, and letting the Divine read you. It is taking a bite out of the scripture and gnawing on it for a while. He made not a few references to food and took several opportunities to poke fun at his own love affair with food. "Have you ever tried to teach someone to chew? Well, I have. My kids are chokers. It's impossible." For a good portion of the talk, I wondered whether comedian Jim Gaffigan and Bo Bonner were related. 

I came away from the talk with a strong commitment in myself to take a bite out of the scriptures each day, and really chew on them. Let the divine words bug me. Let them seep into me. As we so often hear, "You are what you eat." Just reading God's word is not enough. We must allow ourselves to be cultivated by it, by God. Only then will we be prepared to do the hard work of building the Catholic Culture that this world needs.

The next talk in the Catholic Culture Lecture Series will also be held at St. Augustin parish in Des Moines while work is finished at the Pastoral Center. The speaker is Katie Patrizio whom we all love from our Summer Bible Institute. Her talk on Modern Intellectualism and Christianity is bound to be excellent as well! There will be hors d' oevers and drinks at 7pm and the talk begins at 7:30pm on February 24th. Q and A is done by 9pm. It is a free event!

Credo

Do you believe in God?

I am guessing most people who read my articles would respond, "Yes, of course." But maybe a second question is in order. When you say that you believe in God, what do you mean? Are you saying, "Yes. I believe God exists" or even "The idea of God is something I think is probable"? Is it much different than saying you believe in democracy or that the world is round?

According to a scholar named Wilfred Cantwell Smith, the words "I believe" in modern times (since the 1800s) have lost something that was an essential meaning of their Latin parent:--the word "credo." Whereas our current understanding of "I believe" tends to limit the meaning of our baptismal promises to something like an affirmative "yep," credo's rich history meant something more akin to "I set my heart upon..."

In the book Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, James Fowler discusses Smith's observations and explores how much our society lost when "believing" in something came to mean merely that you think it is true. Perhaps a more appropriate question, he posits, is to ask: what is the ultimate concern of my life? What is the most important value I hold? If I am to be honest with myself, would the answer be "God"?

In our work with the children in the atrium, we strive to give them authentic encounters with the teaching and person of Christ. The purpose is not merely to equip them to be able to answer questions on some arbitrary exam, but to help them find the core meaning around which their whole lives will be built. We strive to help them find answers to the deep questions every human being asks: "Who are you, God? Can I trust you?" The response must come from deep within them.

What could happen to our relationships with others if we were frame this question of faith not as a matter of argument over what we think is TRUE, but over how we all choose to respond to the ultimate and central concern of our lives? It is a shift, not in dogma, but in focus. As so many interactions between our Lord and the Pharisees warn us: just being right does not make one holy.

Do I just believe in God, or do I set my heart upon Him?

Credo.

Patient, Prudent, Peaceful People

*WHACK!* "WAAAAHHHH!" No home with small children is ever totally free from sound effects like these.

Before the *whack*, there may be words like, "Hey, that's mine!" or some other complaint of unfairness, but when the poor parent who turned his back for just a moment on children who seemed to be playing peacefully returns to a puddle of tears and cries, there's really only one response: "Well, that escalated quickly."

Why does this happen? How can we stop living at DEFCON 4.5 all of the time in our homes? As I was talking to a friend whose toddler and preschooler have recently made Sibling War Games a thing, I got an idea that helped me to understand the root of violence not only in my children but also in myself: impatience.

Peaceful negotiations and the attempt to come to mutually-agreeable resolutions tend to take more time and a lot more thought. If in my mind the justice of the thing is clear cut ("That's my thing. You took it. I'm taking it back.") then I'm far more likely to skip the stage where we try to work things out, and just cut to the chase and take my thing back, regardless of who gets whacked along the way.

What is a peaceful person, really? He or she is someone who values communion enough to move slowly and carefully when fighting for justice, even when he knows he is right.

Take Abraham, for example. There is a story in Genesis, right before the famous story of Isaac and Mt. Moriah, where Abraham is meeting with a king who was feigning ignorance that his men had unjustly seized a well ABRAHAM dug. Abraham was a peaceful man, and it seems that he did all he could to avoid a fight. He had every right to tell his own men to go and take the well back by force. Wells were very important to the desert nomads, and this was kind of a big deal. Abraham showed incredible skill and patience in dealing with the king by giving the king seven ewe lambs as part of a pact. The king was confused. since the pact they agreed on didn't include ewe lambs which are a very valuable gift (that keeps on giving!)  Here's a paraphrase of their conversation in Genesis 21:

Abraham: About this well... Your guys seized it by force. It's my well.
King: Well? What's a well? Never heard of it. Don't know what you're talking about.
Abraham: Hmmm.. Well, let's make the pact we came here to make.
King: Sounds good. Hey, why are you giving me these seven ewe lambs?
Abraham: Oh, those? Those I give you in exchange for your agreement that the well was dug by me.
King: *reduced to silence* Uh, of course. Thanks.
Abraham: *whistles a tune as he walks away*

Amazing. I don't think it ever would have occurred to me to make a personal sacrifice in order to buy back my own thing, but Abraham was able to preserve an important alliance and friendship (even when the king didn't seem to mind throwing it away) AND he got his own well back. Win-win.

As Jesus says in the beatitudes, God's children are peaceful people. As we seek to raise children (and ourselves) to be people of peace, maybe the virtues of patience and a good deal of prudence are a good place to start. Peace takes time and work. But it is worth the effort. If we can make our families more peaceful, it is a great beginning to bringing about a more peaceful world.

New Year Ice Cream

Sometimes it's hard to be the child of a director of religious education. When other kids are enjoying their Christmas break, your mom may decide your family should go hang out at a monastery for the Feast of the Holy Family (actually happened a couple of times) or, unable to do that, she may just throw together an impromptu Family New Year's Retreat.

Last year around this time, with only minimal eye-rolling from family members, I put together the fastest-planned and implemented family retreat in history. I had been reading the book Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly, and was thinking of ways that I could pass on to my children some of the insights that I'd gained from reading that book.

On a whim, I pulled together a few activities (such as making a "growth chart" where each of us looked at where we feel that we've grown the most in the past year, and maybe highlighting some of the places where we want to focus in the coming year). We also read a chapter of Matthew Kelly's book together and talked about it, and then I invited over a couple of fabulous friends who I asked to be spiritual mentors for my kids, and each of us took one child at a time out for ice cream and talked about prayer and how our relationship with God is.

I think the kids liked it. Especially the ice cream part.

As I write this, there are still a few days before life gets back to full speed from the holidays. I hope to use this time to help refocus myself on goals and priorities, not just for my work or for my physical fitness, but for my soul. What do I need to grow in holiness? It is important to help my children consider these things, too. I think I see a few ice cream (or hot chocolate!) dates in my future!

From Feast to Feast!

This Advent, we've had two special feast days land on Wednesdays, and the children in our CGS program have been quite busy celebrating them.

Since our parish claims "All the Saints" for our patrons, children don't just zero in on one saint to study and celebrate. Our Level III children will often research a saint in their work time and paint an icon (which adorn our wall downstairs!)


This year, Catholic Charities had a #belikestnick drive for their Emergency Family Shelter. So, on St. Nicholas' Feast Day (12/6), we invited a parishioner to come and bring his big red bag for the CHILDREN to fill with items that would help people in need. (One of the children was sure that the man behind the beard was Father Harris!) Side note: The workers at the Emergency Family Shelter recognized our parish because there is a parish group that has been preparing a Sunday meal for the families there once a month for many, many years. We were happy to help in a new way!

And on December 13th, a very ambitious group of 4th-6th graders have planned a feast day celebration for St. Lucy! Traditions for celebrating this martyr's feast day (which involved candles, star boys, and sweet rolls) captivated them. So they wrote a play and invited Father Harris and the other children in their 4pm session to come and celebrate Mass and a feast!

And this is not to mention preparations for Christmas!! Truly, we are a Holy Day people. Our whole liturgical year is a journey from feast to feast. It is beautiful watching the children embrace this rhythm of life that celebrates our communion with the saints in God!

Prepare Ye

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light" Isaiah 9:2.

This week, many of our Level I children as young as three years old heard these words spoken eight centuries before Jesus Christ was born. God is preparing His people for a gift, we tell them, and through the prophets, God tells us for what and whom, and even where, we should look.

A light. A star. A ruler. A son. Born of a Virgin. Emmanuel: God with us. Bethlehem. A child with authority. Wonder Counselor. God-Hero. Father-Forever. Price of Peace.

All of these things the prophets foretold. As we prepare these children to celebrate the mystery of Christmas, all of these signs point to that child who lays there in a feed box for animals. It's an incredible paradox: King of the world. Foretold for centuries. Heralded by angels. Lying in a manger?

It's all there, just like the prophets said, but it isn't quite as we might expect it. Good thing God pointed the way for all those years, or we might have missed it!

As the children grow, we offer further reflections on the Messiah "who is to come" from the prophets. In Level II (for 1st-3rd grades) and Level III (4th-6th) we hear about the incredible peace that will flood the earth. The wolf will lay down with the lamb. The young lion and the calf shall browse with the young child to lead them. No harm or ruin on all my holy mountain. The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea. There will be no mourning or wailing. Death will be destroyed forever.

Is this what we see on Christmas? Even the most stubborn optimist would have to admit it is not. Jesus is the Savior, and He did come to establish His kingdom. Yet we wait for the day when "everything is subjected to him" and "God will be all in all" 1 Cor 15:28.

With the children, we reflect deeply on the prophets' words because they have relevance for us today. The prophets had a call, a vocation, to listen deeply to the word of God--to encounter Him in their own hearts. From the depths of this relationship of listening, the prophet speaks God's message. It is not just to the people of their time, but of our time as well. Their words not only prepare us to recognize and accept Jesus Christ who is born on Christmas morning as the Messiah foretold, but to look and prepare carefully for the Parousia: that time in which God will be all in all.

Making Time, Making Space

In CGS we often quote the beautiful response of the Missionaries of Charity when they were asked why they chose to implement CGS in their homes and in the formation of their sisters.

"Because of the element of contemplation."

But what does that mean? Do we ring a bell and let the children know that it's time for contemplation now? Do we have the children sit criss-cross on the floor with our eyes closed in silence for 30 minutes?  No. Neither of these things.

Contemplation is a depth of prayer that is really a gift. You can't schedule it. You can't force it. But you do need to make room for it.

In the atrium, we offer the child the core truths of the Christian Proclamation (the kerygma) as content worthy of reflection and we give them free work time in order to go deeper. "We offer rich food," Sofia Cavalletti says, "but not too much of it." Then, as much as 75% of the child's time in the atrium is his or her own. With this gift of time and a prepared environment, the child can choose to work with any material he has seen, find extensions work that is related, or (in the older years) research.

Sometimes it will happen that a whole atrium will fall into a concentrated silence, and the catechists look at each other and sit down carefully and quietly so as not to break it! Other times, the children seem to "take turns" at being absorbed in thought, while others give the catechists a run for their money.

Then there are the days like last Tuesday. Two little girls in a Level II atrium decided to work together to make a prayer book for the atrium. One of two catechists in the room (both male) came and shared the girls' work with me at the end of the session. We stood in awe. We could never make something like this happen. We can only make space for it.

 "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He stays with me wherever I go. If I get lost he shall leave the others and go to find me. He takes me to green pastures which I have my fill. I listen to his call I follow him because I know his voice. If another shall come I do not follow for his voice is not familiar.

"Lord I love you. I pray for those who don't. I love you I serve you. I give up my life for you. You are my Lord my God and my savior. You are The God That Makes Miracles you are the God that made the world. You are the God that made me.

"God I thank you. You gave us Jesus Mary the Saints and all the angels. You created them for me. To help me understand you. I thank you for my friends my family. For my relatives and most of all my life. I thank you Lord!"

"When you get a moment, without hesitating lower to your knees, fold your hands, lift up your eyes to heaven. Tell God inner worries, cares, faults, doubts, pain, catastrophes and ruckuses. In some ways God is like a candle extinguisher. The candle is all your inner worries, cares, faults, doubts, pain, catastrophes, and ruckuses. God's love easily put out the evil flame. So when you feel evil in you, take a calm moment and talk to God!"