David Clayton's Blog

“Fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith, and trust in God’s mercy. There is no better epitaph a Christian can aspire to be worthy of.”

It has been said that your talent is God’s gift to you, what you do with it is your gift to God. Although it is a wonderful, insightful, comment on God-given gifts, it lacks urgency.

Saint Paul

In roughly 30 years of ministry, Saint Paul spent about six of those years as a prisoner or in prison. In the Roman system of justice a pre-trial was held to clarify the charges against the accused. It is after this pre-trial that Paul writes his second letter to Timothy. It has the tone of a condemned man giving final instructions to those who will take up his mission.

Paul does not dwell on his accomplishments. He does not hold up the churches he founded or the thousands of souls he brought to God’s Kingdom. Instead he says of his ministry that he has “competed well.”

Like Saint Paul we are all “on trial.” God is the author of all life and our benefactor who has given each of us a unique set of gifts and talents. At the end of our lives we will look back and realize we had very little time to use those gifts to glorify God. The race is very swift. Along with our talent and abilities, God has written His law on our hearts. We know deep within our hearts if we are using our gifts generously or if we are using them selfishly. It is very easy to be self indulgent, to pander to the public’s baser desires and motivations. In fact it can also be highly profitable.

The Good Fight

But pursuing profit solely for its own sake is not a generous use of our gifts. We have been entrusted with a task, a very specific way to accomplish that task, and very little time to do it. At the end it will not matter how much money we made or how highly we were regarded as artists. In the end what will matter is whether or not we used what God has given us to reflect His splendor and bring hope and joy to His people. Most importantly we need to remember that God is always there, to help us, guide us, and strengthen as we endure the trial, and finish the course.

In his final days Paul trusts in God’s mercy. Recall the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector as they prayed to God in the temple. The Pharisee focuses attention on himself, his deeds and his actions. He shows no desire for God’s mercy or any need for God Himself. But the tax collector’s prayer has become a summation of Christian spirituality and forms the basis of what has come to be known as the Jesus prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

There are many similarities between our world and the Roman world of Saint Paul. There is constant pressure on Christians to compromise their beliefs. But Paul gives us his example and his instructions.

Fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith, and trust in God’s mercy. There is no better epitaph a Christian can aspire to be worthy of.

this article originally appeared at www.DeaconLawrence.org

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Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university

Lawrence Klimecki is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at  www.DeaconLawrence.org 

I know, because I was one of them.

Some of you, who have read my book, The Way of Beauty, about beauty in education will remember my descriptions of my time as an undergraduate at St Edmund Hall – ‘Teddy Hall’ as we called it. My intention was to reinforce a point made by Cardinal Newman about the Oxford he attended in the late 18th century. Here is a picture of Teddy Hall today:

Newman told us that in his estimation the lectures were a waste of time, the tutors were inept, and the curricula were ill-thought out. The strongest forming influence, he said, was the influence of the educational community and most of all interactions between students. Immorality and rowdiness pervaded all aspects of life, but despite this Newmans tells us, it was responsible for making Oxford the greatest university in the world at forming students to do what England required of them  – ruling an empire and subduing the Catholic Faith! Here is Newman’s college, Oriel:

I would not be so critical of the tutors or the curriculum in my subject Metallurgy and Science of Materials in 1980s Oxford when I attended. And I have little to say about the quality of the lectures because I barely attended any. However, I would assert that the strongest influence on my education was the same as that in Newman’s day, the conversation with other students and the fun of living in the college community.

Newman was not arguing for bad tutors, dull lectures, or pointless classes in the curricula. Neither was he promoting immorality in college life. Rather, he was telling us that we have to understand that students teach each other the important things in life and if we don’t have a community that does so for good, it will do so for ill. Picking up on this theme, much of my book is devoted to discussion of ways in which a good community can be created and which forms students as faithful Catholics.

As an illustration of the power of the community, I am going to describe how St Edmund Hall introduced me to Schubert and from there to the pleasures of classical music. The faculty had no influence at all. I should add that have not attended a music class since I gave up playing the recorder at age 11, and there were no general education classes at Oxford for anyone (not that I or many others would have attended the lectures or done the homework if there had been).

I was introduced to Schubert’s Impromptu No.4, Opus 90 at a formal college Christmas dinner put on by the students themselves. It may surprise some people to learn that these were often quite rowdy affairs. Even though we were in the college dining hall and wearing black tie and tux, drink flowed freely (the drinking age in England is 18) and by the end of the evening, food was being thrown across the hall.

If you have a picture of the typical Oxford University student as one who is highly sophisticated and cultured, think again. Instead, try to think of the BBC production of Jeeves and Wooster with Hugh Laurie playing Bertie Wooster, and a scene at the Drones Club. Usually, and incidental to the conversation going on front and center, we see grown men, tux wearing toffs, throwing bread rolls left and right or whacking each other with napkins.

This was the norm at college dinners that I went to, especially Christmas dinners. Despite all efforts of the dean to discipline students or to appeal to us to grow up, it happened each year. In the end, the Dean gave up trying to stop us and the college made special wooden covers to go over all the portraits of past principles and notable Old Aularians that hung on the walls. (This just made them targets for practicing the art of hurling Brussel sprouts or grapes.)

On this occasion, once the dinner was over, some of the graduate students had decided to put on some musical entertainment (this was very unusual and, I thought when I heard the announcement, highly pretentious). When I realized it was going to be classical music I rolled my eyes in derision. First, was a lady singing a Victorian drawing room song (something like Come Into the Garden Maude). I couldn’t believe that anyone would think that this was worthy entertainment and spent most of the time with my head buried in the crook of my arm stifling childish giggles. Then it was announced that a pianist would play a piece by Schubert. This was the limit! I couldn’t put up with this any longer, so I reached for the bowl and prepared to launch soft fruit.

Before I could take aim the pianist began, and the music stopped me in my tracks. I felt goosebumps on the back of my neck and just wanted to the performance to go on and on it was so beautiful. Then I was embarrassed by my reaction and didn’t want people to see I was enjoying it so I tried to hide my face. And I wasn’t the only one, afterward, the whole mood of the dinner changed and the audience became far more peaceful I noticed.

After this introduction, I went out and bought a Schubert record and secretly began to investigate classical music starting with Schubert and then moving into Beethoven and on from there. The pattern of these beautiful pieces is the same as before. Their beauty draws me in and leaves me wanting more, something beyond it. Initially, it means trying to chase the experience by finding more pieces of music but in time (several years later)

I now believe that this was beginning to stimulate a search for absolute Beauty that will only be satiated by God.

Here is Alfred Brendel playing the piece in question:

And for your further entertainment here is Rowan Atkinson playing the pretentious pianist in a brilliant piece of comedy. This is what I thought classical music was about before I heard Schubert – nevertheless even this might introduce others to Beethoven!

“Michelangelo worked with a sense of urgency as if he were afraid he would not have time to explore all that he saw of God’s beauty in the work he created.”

 

The old that is strong does not whither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Many artists, especially those basing their work on traditional forms, are familiar with the “cult of the new.” There seems to be an idea, within the rarified world of fine art, that “new” is better than “good,” or “beautiful.” This has led to some of the more extreme examples of modern art that sell for staggering sums and leave people shaking their heads over what is perceived as “art.”

But outside of this “art bubble” there are artists who respect the traditions of the past and build on them, taking those ancient forms and breathing new life into them for a new generation. These are artists who recognize that their role is to pursue beauty and show it to the world, even if the world around them no longer understands the power of the beautiful. The traditions of the past have proved their worth and their strength, they have proved their staying power by withstanding the test of time. How much so-called “modern art” will still be admired 500 years from now?

The Beauty of the Past

To reclaim the power of beauty we look to the past, to those forms of art, music, and architecture that are still regarded as beautiful hundreds or even thousands of years after they were created. Beauty is not as subjective as most people think. It can be said that what is beautiful is that which has been considered beautiful by the greatest number of people over the longest period of time.

There is power in the Beauty of the past.

But we are on the clock. We live finite live and the work before us is vast. We must be unrelenting in our pursuit of the beautiful.

The Need for Urgency

For most of his life, the great Renaissance artist, Michelangelo worked alone. Probably he just found it easier to work by himself rather than try to explain his vision to someone else. This would have added to his reputation as being aloof and a little grouchy. But later in his life, in his eighties, he did allow assistants to help him in sculpting  the massive marble figures he had become so famous for. It is not hard to imagine, given Michelangelo’s passion for his work, that these younger apprentices worked very diligently in the master’s studio. Nevertheless, when Michelangelo took up his hammer and chisel, he put them all to shame. The marble dust and chips flew so furiously he appeared to be engulfed in a snowstorm.

Michelangelo seemed to approach all of his work with the same energy and passion. God had given him great gifts, as He has done for each of us, but it is up to the artist to develop and enhance those gifts as a way of giving back to God. Michelangelo worked with a sense of urgency as if he were afraid he would not have time to explore all that he saw of God’s beauty in the work he created.

The Artistic Vocation

That is the vocation of the artist, beauty, and as beauty can never be exhausted, its pursuit can consume the life of the artist.

This is a model for Christian life. We spend our lives sculpting and modeling and forming our souls in the image of Christ. As God is eternal, and we are finite, this is a process that will take up our entire lives.

As a work that gives glory to God we cannot weaken or cease our work.  If we continue, always learning, always forming ourselves, always following the path God has set us upon, then we will remain strong, even in our old age.

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree,

and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

They are planted in the house of the Lord,

they flourish in the courts of our God.

They still bring forth fruit in old age,

they are ever full of sap and green.” – Psalm 92

this article originally appeared at www.DeaconLawrence.org

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Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university

Lawrence Klimecki is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at  www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Book review: A Devotional Journey into the Mass – How Mass Can Become A Time of Grace, Nourishment, and Devotion,  by Christopher Carstens (pub Sophia Institute Press).

In this book, (buy here) the author, Christopher Carstens (who is the editor of Adoremus Bulletin,) takes us through each key element of the Mass (from how to enter the church through to how to respond to the dismissal). Grounding his discussion on the sacramental thought of Romano Guardini, he takes us on a journey into the heart of the liturgy. The principles he articulates are general and so are applicable to the Ordinary Form, the Extraordinary Form, and the Anglican Ordinariate form of the Roman Rite. (If you want a printable summary of the eight principles, Sophia also very kindly provides a free printable summary in two pages, here.) Furthermore,

‘If you’re unhappy because the Mass has become for your routine – or even boring and tedious – these pages are for you. They teach you eight simple ways to make your every Mass a joyful time of piety and intense devotion.’ This is how the publisher, Sophia Institute Press, quite legitimately describes the appeal of this book. I would add to this that Carsten’s approach is the basis for a mystagogical catechesis that will allow us to participate so that the Sacred Liturgy as a whole itself becomes the primary force for continual mystagogy. As such I would see it as a natural complement to any authentic Catholic education, such as described in the book on children’s education I reviewed recently – Educating in Christ.

By emphasizing the sacramental nature of the Mass so profoundly and in such simple and clear language, and by showing its deep connection to scripture and salvation history it is, in my opinion, a foundational text for an approach to the Mass that could reap rewards for a lifetime.

I appreciated particularly, for example, his emphasis also on lectio divina as a preparation for the scripture that is proclaimed in the readings at Mass. Firstly, he de-mystifies it with simple and clear instructions on the method. Secondly, and just as importantly, he highlights how this exercise in meditation and contemplative prayer is consummated in the worship of God. It is not a higher activity, but one like all others that is not actually liturgical, which derives its power and effectiveness from the liturgy, and so, in turn, leads us back to it for its consummation. To help us, Carstens explains beautifully how our personal pilgrimages are a participation of that which takes place in the story of salvation history, running through Old and New Testaments. This is a point, I suggest, for the evangelization of New Agers and non-Christians who are looking to Eastern religions in a search for mystery. I would say that their desire to meditate is good, but will be even more powerful and effective if transformed to be harmony with its true place in the spiritual life.

I was gratified to read how strongly he makes the point that this is not just about the words. All art and even the architecture of the church building must reveal these universal truths in such a way that they are communicated to each person, and so act as clear perceptible signposts that direct us on our way. To the degree that we respond to what is offered, we can ourselves be formed as artists who then fashion our very lives to the template of the Paschal Mystery.

To take one example of how images can support this. Some will remember my discussion on why the image of the three men in the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel, is important for Christians. Through this book, Carstens enriched my own understanding and appreciation of this image still further with his detailed discussion of the scriptural account of this episode and its importance to the Mass. As he tells us ‘its message, as well as its central text [Dan 3:39-40], is present at every Mass during the preparation of the altar and its gifts. This is truly right and just because the three youths exemplify the only true way for the Church to prepare for the Eucharistic sacrifice.’

As the Provost of Pontifex University, I enjoyed the following passage which is about the priesthood: ‘There are a few words that the Roman Rite uses to describe its priests and one of them is pontifex. In Latin the noun pons means bridge… and fex is the foundation of the today’s word factory, the place where things are built. Put the two words together – pontifex – and you get bridge builder which is precisely what a priest is, his role is to bridge the divide between God and man and pass over from earthly woes to heavenly blessings. Christ is the Pontifex Maximus. Even though he does not need his assistance in his saving work, He makes us sharers in His priesthood at baptism, empowering us to build the Paschal bridge with Him during the Eucharistic prayer.’

I believe that the mission of Pontifex University is in harmony with this. Our hope is that we become supernatural bridge builders and who are capable of contributing to the edifice that spans the divide between the liturgy and the the culture of faith; and then between the culture of faith and wider culture so that we become collectively a channel of divine beauty taking it from its source out into world that grace might be reflected in all human activity and every artefact that results from it. However, none of us can play a part in this if we don’t first come in from the dark, and ‘passover’, so to speak, that bridge called ‘paschal mystery’ which connects us to the wellspring of grace and beauty – Christ present in the Eucharist.

Order the book here.

 

Christopher Carstens is editor of the Adoremus Bulletin and one of the Liturgy Guys (along with Denis McNamara and Jesse Weiler) who create regular podcasts for the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein, IL. He is on the faculty of Pontifex University, for whom he has created an online class on the meaning of the Mass as part of the Master of Sacred Arts program.

 

“In our increasingly secular society the most important action of the prophet, and the artist, may be to simply remind his community of their relationship with God.”

Among those who write or blog on the topic of theology and the arts; the idea of artist as prophet comes up fairly regularly. This seems to point to a larger issue concerning vocation. Given his (or her) unique gifts, what is the role of the artist?

One who speaks for God

We tend to think of a prophet as one who predicts the future, but that is not at all the ancient understanding of the word. The word “prophet” means speaker, or one who speaks. In Christian use, a prophet is one who has a special connection to God and speaks on God’s behalf.

By virtue of our Baptism we are invested in the threefold office of Christ, priest, prophet, and king. The degree to which we fulfill each of these offices will depend on our individual gifts and calling. We are all called to be prophets, as well as priests and kings, to the degree our gifts allow us.

Like every Christian, an artist may fill all of these roles as well as several others. An artist may act at various times as a teacher, a storyteller, even as priests and kings when the role of priest and king are properly understood. But how does an artist serve as a prophet? How does an artist speak for God?

Artist as prophet

A speaker must have a listener. The prophet serves his community by speaking or interpreting the Word of God to God’s people, even if the people or community disregard the words or actions of the prophet. In our increasingly secular society the most important action of the prophet may be to simply remind his community of their relationship with God.

The view that artists are apart from society and must be left on his own to create according to his personal whim, even if it is unintelligible to all but the artist himself, is a very modern idea. For most of human history, at least the history we have documented, the artist served his community, usually in connection with the religious beliefs of that community.

All artists, of every type, act as a prophet when he or she creates work that participates in the role of the prophet, reminding us of our relationship to God and of our status as God’s children.

There is perhaps a desire on the part of arts writers to conflate the role of the artist, to make it seem much more unique and important than it really is. But artistic ability is a gift, no greater or lesser than any other gift. Saint Paul tells us “that there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit; there are varieties of service but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.” 1Cor 12:4-6

Our gifts and talents

All of us have been given unique gifts and talents. There are no small gifts. Each of us has been given a unique role to fulfill in God’s plan for our salvation. The artist may see God in the beauty of the created world and create work that shows the world illuminated by the divine light. The mathematician may see God in the beauty and simplicity of numbers, the ordering of creation according to ratio, and proportion. But one view is not more true or more worthy than the other.

The people asked Jesus “what can we do to accomplish the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent.’”  John 6:28-29

Everything flows from this belief.

It is human nature to desire to attach labels to everything. We seem to take unless delight in pigeonholing people into smaller and smaller categories. Visual artists are broken down into painters, illustrators, fine artists, graphic artists, craftsmen, and so on. But we should be careful that in our zeal to label all the trees, we forget the function of the forest. We are all seeking the same thing, divine wisdom and a supernatural transformation in the person of Jesus Christ. We are all given different gifts to achieve this and help others along the way.

this article originally appeared at www.DeaconLawrence.org

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Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university

Lawrence Klimecki is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at  www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Do a Master of Sacred Arts with a Concentration in the Theology of the Body. Earn credit for selected ToB Institute courses and study the thought of Pope St John Paul II.

‘Fulfill the artistic vocation to which every single one of us is called – in which the medium is our own humanity’

I am delighted to announce that Pontifex University and the Theology of the Body Institute, are formerly partnered to created a unique Masters degree. The Theology of the Body Institute, which is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, promotes the life-giving message of Theology of the Body through graduate-level courses, on-site speaker programs, and clergy enrichment training. Their week-long courses take place around the country and through the year, for a full schedule follow the link here. Their teachers are internationally known leaders in their fields such as Christopher West and Bill Donaghy.

Pontifex University recommends all ToBI courses to you for personal enrichment, and we are excited to announce that we will now recognize up to four courses taught by the Institute for credit, which collectively will create a concentration in the Theology of the Body for our Master of Sacred Arts program. Students can earn 2 credits in good standing for each week-long Certification course completed, up to a maximum of 8 credits.

These courses are:

Theology of the Body and Art – The Way of Beauty;
Theology of the Body I – Introduction and Overview;
Theology of the Body II – Into the Deep;
Theology of the Body III – The New Evangelization

Rooted in the inspiring interpretation of Holy Scripture by Pope St John Paul II, these integrate naturally with the MSA program to create a focus on the human person and our place in society today. The goal of this is not simply a theoretical understanding of the subjects, but also to lead each of us towards the supernatural transformation of the person in Christ. By this, we hope that each student will strive to fulfill the artistic vocation to which every single one of us is called – in which the medium is ourselves and our lives! As Pope St John Paul II put it in his Letter to Artists: ‘Through his “artistic creativity” man appears more than ever “in the image of God”, and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous “material” of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him.’ 

For more information or to enroll, please contact Samantha Kelley, Educational Program Manager at skelley@tobinstitute.org or via their website at tobinstitute.org.

Paintings are by William Blake and Raphael.

This summer Pontifex University is proud to sponsor a unique workshop taking place in Italy. “The Art and Theology of the Catholic Reformation in Rome”, which will take place this August 6 – 17 at the Accademia Urbana delle Arti in the center of Rome.

This intensive two-week/60- hour course will provide a comprehensive overview of the painting methods of artists of the Catholic Reformation and the theology that underpinned their works.  Artists to be studied will include: Caravaggio, Titian, Guido Reni, Guercino and Gerard van Honthorst. The class will visit the churches and museums holding masterpieces by these artists where Professor Rodolfo Papa will lecture on the theological and philosophical theory and meaning of the works.

In the studio, using high-quality reproductions, Professor Martinho Correia will lead students through a copy of a work by one of the masters being studied. From drawing to final glazes, all stages of the painting process will be discussed and practiced.

Come join them in the Eternal City!

Rodolfo Papa is a painter, sculptor, theoretician, historian and philosopher of art. He was appointed Art Specialist for the XIII General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and has been Professor of the History of the Aesthetics at many schools and universities. Among his writings are about twenty monographs and some hundreds of articles. As a artist he has  completed paintings for churches and cathedrals including: Basilica of St. Crisogono, Rome, Basilica of SS Fabiano and Venanzio, Rome, Ancient Cathedral of Bojano, Campobasso, Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Hermitage of Santa Maria, Campobasso and Cathedral of San Panfilo, Sulmona.

www.rodolfopapa.it

Martinho Isidro Correia is an artist and teacher whose interest lies in the dominant themes and subjects found in European cultural history. He is a graduate of the University of Calgary (BFA in Painting), University of British Colombia in Vancouver (BEd in Art Education), Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy (Diploma in Drawing and Painting) and The European University/Pontifical Athenaeum, ‘Regina Apostolorum’ in Rome (Masters in Architecture, Sacred Art and Liturgy).

Martinho’s work is in private collections in Italy, England, Portugal, Australia, the USA, Canada and Colombia. His painting “Anastasis” is in the collection of Cardinal Piacenza in the Vatican.

www.martinhoart.com

Book Review – Educating in Christ: A Practical Handbook for Developing the Catholic Faith from Childhood to Adolescence For Parents, Teachers, Catechists and School Administrators, by Gerard O’Shea

I am often asked how my book the Way of Beauty, which describes the principles of Catholic Education at higher levels can be adapted for younger children. Now I know where to send them…here! This wonderful book, written by a professor of education from Notre Dame University, Sydney, Australia, has the answers and much more besides. Balancing the natural and the supernatural, the theoretical and the practical, and combining the best of traditional methods with modern educational theory and psychology (with great prudence), Gerard O’Shea describes how a mystagogical catechesis, rooted in the study of scripture and the actual worship of God is at the heart of every Catholic education. Then he describes how teaching methods and curricula should reflect these principles for children of different ages.

While the content he suggests for his curricula is not identical – O’Shea’s interest is more on general education than specifically creative arts – he provides an educational framework that is based upon the same philosophy of education and into which, in my opinion, the particular focus of the Way of Beauty could be inserted quite happily.

Every Catholic educator of young people should read this book.

EDUCATING IN CHRIST covers the essential practical and theoretical elements of religious education and catechetics for parents, catechists, teachers, and Catholic school administrators. The first part of the book responds to contemporary calls from the popes for a religious education based upon authentic Christian anthropology. It provides a comprehensive outline of religious developmental stages, indicating activities appropriate for each of these from age three years to adolescence. It also takes into account the call of recent Church documents to approach this task from a “mystagogical” angle, linking the sacraments with the scriptures. In the second part, the best of contemporary teaching practices are linked with sound Montessori principles and the Catholic understanding of a pedagogy of God. Busy Catholic school administrators will find the provided summary of Catholic teaching on education since Vatican II a very useful reference tool. Teachers and home-schooling parents will find the sections on classroom methods, and the curriculum outline based on the liturgical year, especially helpful.


















“In anxious times, this practical book is good news for parents, teachers, and catechists who introduce Catholic faith and morals to children and young people. The author offers a way forward that is Trinitarian, Christ-centered, and yet fully attentive to the needs of the child.”

— MOST REV. PETER J. ELLIOTT, Auxiliary Bishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne“If you regard the objective of religious education as the formation of a Catholic heart, memory, intellect, and imagination, then you will consider Educating in Christ an indispensable text. Drawing on ideas from Maria Montessori and Sofia Cavalletti, it explains how to hand on the faith at different stages of a child’s development. Every Catholic teacher should read and apply it.”

— TRACEY ROWLAND, University of Notre Dame, Australia“Rooted in the Church’s sacramental traditions, informed by classical virtue theory, and drawing upon the best of modern developmental psychology, Gerard O’Shea’s work is a gem. I heartily recommend this practical, credible, orthodox, organized, and hopeful guide to educating our children in the faith.”

— RYAN N. S. TOPPING, Newman Theological College, Edmonton“This masterful work is a much needed addition to the literature of Catholic religious education. It offers an integrated vision, bringing together anthropology, curriculum guidance, questions of school ethos and teacher formation, analyses of research findings in children’s learning—all grounded in a coherent and persuasive account of the aims and nature of Catholic education.”

— PETROC WILLEY, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“Educating in Christ has come out of the substantial educational and research experience of the author. It offers guidance to parents and teachers on all of the significant areas of religious education: Scripture, Sacraments, moral formation, doctrine, and prayer.”

— KEVIN WATSON, Acting Dean of Education, Sydney, University of Notre Dame, Australia

“Gerard O’Shea’s new book is an insightful and eminently useful guide for Catholic school teachers, catechists, and home-schooling parents. It provides not only insights into child development and its relationship to religious instruction, but offers practical, easy-to-follow lessons and applications for the teacher—a wonderful contribution to Catholic education.”

— MICHAEL MARTIN, author of The Incarnation of the Poetic Word

“Gerard O’Shea has written an extraordinary book that will serve catechists well in these challenging times. In language both insightful and accessible, Educating in Christ engages the question of how today’s religious education can lead people into communion with God. O’Shea answers by bringing the movement towards God in religious education into harmony with a reverence for the capacities and potentialities of those we teach.”

— JAMES PAULEY, Franciscan University of Steubenville


















GERARD O’SHEA is Professor of Religious Education and assistant dean of the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame, Australia (Sydney campus). He spent over thirty years as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools before taking up an academic position. Gerard is fully trained in Sofia Cavalletti’s Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and was one of the lead writers for the Australian religious education text series “To Know, Worship and Love.” He has consulted widely in the field of religious education for Australian Catholic dioceses and recently recorded eight sessions for the Catechetical Institute of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. His handbook for training parents to educate their own children in a Christian vision of sexuality, “As I Have Loved You,” is being used throughout the English-speaking world.

Buy the book here. 

St Thomas Aquinas’s commentary of St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, 5

Here is another Lenten reflection from a priest from the Institute of the Incarnate Word, IVE, which is for the week of the 4th Sunday of Lent. This is by Fr Marcelo Navarro who is based in Rome. This is a summary of St Thomas Aquinas’s commentary on this Letter of the Apostle important virtues for Lenten Season”. (Images are St Paul by Giotto, and St Thomas with St Dominic and Virgin and Child by Fra Angelico)

Romans 5  Faith, Hope, and Love.

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

3 Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance,

4 and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope,

5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.

n. 381… the Apostle now begins to extol the power of grace.

 

Concerning this, he does two things. First, he shows what goods we obtain through grace;

second, from what evils we are freed by it, at wherefore as by one man (Rom 5:12).

In regard to the first he does two things. First, he indicates the manner of reaching or the way by which we come to grace; second, the good things we obtain through grace, at and glory in the hope of the glory.

In regard to the first he does two things. First, he exhorts to the due use of grace; second, he shows us the entrance to grace, at by whom also we have access.

382. First, therefore, he says: it has been stated that faith will be reputed as justice to all who believe in Christ’s resurrection, which is the cause of our justification. Being justified therefore by faith, inasmuch as through faith in the resurrection we participate in its effect, let us have peace with God, namely, by submitting ourselves and obeying him: agree with God and be at peace (Job 22:21); who has hardened himself against him and been at peace? (Job 9:4).

And this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has led us to that peace: he is our peace (Eph 2:14).

383. Hence he continues, by whom, namely, Christ, we have access as through a mediator: one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5); through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph 2:18).

Access, I say, into this grace, i.e., to the state of grace: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Wherein, i.e., through which grace, we have not only risen from sin but we stand firm and erect in the heavens through love: our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem (Ps 122:2); we have risen and stand upright (Ps 20:8). And this through faith, through which we obtain grace, not because faith precedes grace, since it is rather through grace that there is faith: by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8), i.e., because the first effect of grace in us is faith.

384. Then when he says, and glory in the hope of the glory, he indicates the blessings that have come to us through grace.

First, he says that through grace we have the glory of hope; second, that through grace we have the glory of God, at and not only so. In regard to the first he does three things.

First, he shows the greatness of the hope in which we glory; second, its vehemence, at and not only so; third, its firmness, at and hope does not confound.

85. The greatness of hope is considered in terms of the greatness of things hoped for. He sets this out when he says, and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God, i.e., in the fact that we hope to obtain the glory of sons of God.

For through Christ’s grace we have received the spirit of adoption of sons (Rom 8:15); behold how they have been numbered among the sons of God (Wis 5:5). But to sons is due the father’s inheritance: if sons, heirs also (Rom 8:17). This inheritance is the glory which God has in himself: have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? (Job 40:9). Our hope for this has been given to us by Christ: we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and to an inheritance which is incorruptible (1 Pet 1:3). This glory, which will be completed in us in the future, is in the meantime begun in us through hope: for we are saved by hope (Rom 8:24); all those who love your name will glory in you (Ps 5:11).

386. Then when he says, and not only so, he shows the vehemence of this hope.

For anyone who vehemently hopes for something endures difficult and bitter things for it, as a sick person who strongly desires health gladly drinks a bitter medicine to be healed by it. Therefore, the sign of the vehement hope we have for Christ is that we glory not only in virtue of our hope of future glory but also in the evils we suffer for it. Hence he says, and not only so, i.e., we not only glory in the hope of glory, but we glory also in tribulation, through which we arrive at glory: through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22); count it all joy when you meet various trials (Jas 1:2).

387. Then he shows the cause when he says, knowing that.

Here he mentions four things in order: the first is tribulation, about which he says, tribulation works patience, not in the sense that tribulation is the cause that begets it, but because suffering is the material and occasion for exercising the act of patience: be patient in tribulation (Rom 12:12).

388. Second, he mentions the effect of patience when he says, and patience trial: for gold is tested in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation (Sir 2:5).

For it is plain that we accept the loss of something easily for the sake of another thing we love more. Hence, if a person endures patiently the loss of bodily and temporal goods for the sake of obtaining eternal benefits, this is sufficient proof that such a person loves eternal blessings more than temporal.

However, James seems to say the opposite: the trial of your faith produces patience (Jas 1:3).

The answer is that ‘trial’ can be understood in two ways. In one way, as it takes place in the one tested; then the trial is the very suffering through which a man is tested. Hence, it is the same to say that tribulation produces patience and that tribulation tests patience. In another way, trial is taken for the fact of having been tested. This is the way it is taken here, because if a person endures sufferings patiently, he has been tested.

389. Third, he mentions the third, saying, and trial hope, namely trial brings about hope, because after a person has been tested, hope can be had by himself and by others that he will be admitted to God’s inheritance: God tested them and found them worthy of himself (Wis 3:5).

Therefore, from the first to the last it is clear that suffering paves the way to hope. Hence, if a person rejoices strongly in hope, it follows that he will glory in his sufferings.

390. Then when he says, and hope does not confound, he shows the firmness of such hope.

First, he asserts it, saying, hope, namely, by which we hope for the glory of the sons of God, does not confound, i.e., does not fail, unless the man fails it. For a person is said to be confounded in his hope, when he falls away from the thing he hoped for: in you, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be disappointed (Ps 31:1); no one has hoped in the Lord and been disappointed (Sir 2:10).

391. Second, at because the charity of God, he presents two arguments for the certainty of hope.

The first is based on a gift of the Holy Spirit; the second on the death of Christ, at for why did Christ (Rom 5:6).

392. First, therefore, he says: we can be certain that hope does not confound, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.

The love of God can be taken in two ways: in one way, for the love by which God loves us: he loved you with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3); in another way for the love by which we love God: I am sure that neither death, nor life . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38–39). Both these loves of God are poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and of the Son, to be given to us is our being brought to participate in the love who is the Holy Spirit, and by this participation we are made lovers of God. The fact that we love him is a sign that he loves us: I love those who love me (Prov 8:17); not that we first loved God but that he first loved us (1 John 4:10).

The love by which he loves us is said to be poured into our hearts, because it is clearly shown in our hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit sealed in us: by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit he has given us (1 John 3:24). But the love by which we love God is said to be poured into our hearts, because it reaches to the perfecting of all the moral habits and acts of the soul; for, as is stated in 1 Corinthians: love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful (1 Cor 13:4).

393. Both interpretations of these words lead to the conclusion that hope does not confound. For if they are taken to mean the love of God by which he loves us, it is clear that God does not deny himself to those whom he loves: he loved his people; all the holy ones were in his hand (Deut 33:3). Similarly, if they are taken as referring to the love by which we love God, it is clear that he has prepared eternal goods for those who love him: he who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him (John 14:21).

Earn credit for Pontifex University’s Master of Sacred Arts through St Cecilia Academy for Pastoral Musicians, Archdiocese of New York. 

St Cecilia Academy of Pastoral Musicians, which is at St Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY offers a four-course 12 credit, Masters level certificate. Pontifex University will recognize these classes as constituting a concentration in sacred music as part of the Master of Sacred Arts program.

We recommend these courses to all pastoral musicians, whether for credit or personal enrichment in service of the Church.

For more information on the MSA, contact me on dclayton@pontifex.university, or go to www.Pontifex.University

To register for the music courses, follow this link through to the St Cecilia home page.

 

Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university