Saints, Souls and Election
You know it's November when you have the convergence of Saints, Souls and Elections. Okay, for 100 points - What are other typical November-isms?
All Saints is a national holiday - too bad it falls on Saturday - no shifting to Monday either. We had Mass yesterday - and again today.
It has been quite busy - I have prepared a presentation for a second seminar class. The up side of this is that once the presentation is done, basically I can coast for the rest of the semester. The paper I prepare for the presentation, plus the presentation itself is most of the grade for the course. Then I have to 'participate'. I'm saying that if I make one intervention per class I've covered that one.
So what is my presentation about? Grrr.... Well, it is about the bad old days of pre-Vatican theology, actually 19th century to be more specific. It's a little difficult to say much more than yawn! But then the internet came to the rescue! I found a couple of old theology books on the internet - in "flip book" format. (Go to Internet Archive and search for out of copyright books.) That means you bring up the book, and you when you page down, there is an animated page flip - very cool! So I'll flip around in this dusty old book (on screen of course), and dazzle the audience into thinking that I have said something erudite about ... 'yawn'! And bow out. We'll see how it goes. Actually the guy moderating the seminar is the academic librarian for theology, so I'm hoping I'll score points for bringing up a book that was printed in Leuven, but can't be found in any of the university libraries.
In my salvation class, someone made a comment that justice is related to law - the discussion was on the other side of the class, otherwise I would have lunged in to disabuse them of the notion that law and justice are in any way related.
I think that often law is serving not justice, but injustice. Law is, in the perspective of legal realism, a series of compromises entered into, ostensibly for the common good. However, it is the common good as seen by the legislature – those who are politically powerful, and are often heavily influenced by the economically powerful. As a series of compromises, it often caters easily to the private interests of the rich and powerful, and accommodates the common good to those interests. The interests of the poor and disenfranchised are rarely seriously represented, and even then often only when some power broker can benefit by helping the poor.
As an example, inside the US, there are over 10 million children without adequate food, housing, healthcare or education, including over 40% of all black and hispanic children. Recently the Federal Congress elected to bail out Wall Street – a move that made sense to the rich and powerful. However, from Capitol Hill where they made that decision, it is a short bus ride to a neighborhood where kids are malnourished and uncared for. Solving their problems doesn't make sense to the legislature. Law is in the hands of power and too often is at the service of injustice.
Well, on that cheery note, happy all saints, all souls, and election day.
Peace,
Amy
All Saints is a national holiday - too bad it falls on Saturday - no shifting to Monday either. We had Mass yesterday - and again today.
It has been quite busy - I have prepared a presentation for a second seminar class. The up side of this is that once the presentation is done, basically I can coast for the rest of the semester. The paper I prepare for the presentation, plus the presentation itself is most of the grade for the course. Then I have to 'participate'. I'm saying that if I make one intervention per class I've covered that one.
So what is my presentation about? Grrr.... Well, it is about the bad old days of pre-Vatican theology, actually 19th century to be more specific. It's a little difficult to say much more than yawn! But then the internet came to the rescue! I found a couple of old theology books on the internet - in "flip book" format. (Go to Internet Archive and search for out of copyright books.) That means you bring up the book, and you when you page down, there is an animated page flip - very cool! So I'll flip around in this dusty old book (on screen of course), and dazzle the audience into thinking that I have said something erudite about ... 'yawn'! And bow out. We'll see how it goes. Actually the guy moderating the seminar is the academic librarian for theology, so I'm hoping I'll score points for bringing up a book that was printed in Leuven, but can't be found in any of the university libraries.
In my salvation class, someone made a comment that justice is related to law - the discussion was on the other side of the class, otherwise I would have lunged in to disabuse them of the notion that law and justice are in any way related.
I think that often law is serving not justice, but injustice. Law is, in the perspective of legal realism, a series of compromises entered into, ostensibly for the common good. However, it is the common good as seen by the legislature – those who are politically powerful, and are often heavily influenced by the economically powerful. As a series of compromises, it often caters easily to the private interests of the rich and powerful, and accommodates the common good to those interests. The interests of the poor and disenfranchised are rarely seriously represented, and even then often only when some power broker can benefit by helping the poor.
As an example, inside the US, there are over 10 million children without adequate food, housing, healthcare or education, including over 40% of all black and hispanic children. Recently the Federal Congress elected to bail out Wall Street – a move that made sense to the rich and powerful. However, from Capitol Hill where they made that decision, it is a short bus ride to a neighborhood where kids are malnourished and uncared for. Solving their problems doesn't make sense to the legislature. Law is in the hands of power and too often is at the service of injustice.
Well, on that cheery note, happy all saints, all souls, and election day.
Peace,
Amy
Comments
Eek...I wish Catholics didn't divide themselves between pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II people!
We are one Church. Personally I appreciate both eras of the Church. The Church is in constant renewal (Vatican II) and building up, but from a constant foundation (all of our other history).
Perhaps I'm a little biased because of my love for the Teresas and Carmelites in general. ;-)...holiness was and is possible in all eras!
[comment edited/reposted for typo]