The Catholic Leader - July 2

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The Catholic Leader, July 2, 2017
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Prayer reflections for the week
The following prayer thoughts for the
week are from Br Brian Grenier’s book
Attend Unto Reading.
July 2 – Doubt and Faith
Despite GK Chesterton’s quip that “religious doubt produces
a great deal of doubtful religion”, such doubt is not incompatible
with a vibrant and mature faith. Indeed, according to the Angelic
Doctor, St Thomas Aquinas, “unrest is of the very nature of faith”.
Spiritual writers remind us that religious doubt
can be creative and that it should not be routinely
suppressed. True faith, in Sallie McFague’s
insightful words, “is about doubt negotiated,
not about doubt avoided”. Kenneth Leach puts
it this way: “For faith in God does not bring the
false peace of answered questions and resolved
paradoxes.”
July 3 — Feast of St Thomas the
Apostle
There is a touch of irony in the fact that we, who
have yet to imitate his virtue, should remember
Thomas the Apostle more as the doubter than as the
one who affirmed his faith in Jesus more compre-
hensively than anyone else in the Gospel narrative
– “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). He was a
“no-nonsense”, pragmatic type of person – an im-
petuous man of courage who expressed (more credibly than Peter)
his willingness to die with Jesus (John 11:16) and who apparently
saw no need to take refuge with the other disciples in the upper
room (see John 20:24).
July 4 – Missing the Meaning
Jesus’ contemporaries responded in different, indeed quite con-
trary, ways to his words and deeds. All but one of his chosen apos-
tles lived and died for him; but the other, Judas the betrayer, was
an accessory before the fact to the execution of his master. One
of 10 whom Jesus cured of the dread disease of leprosy returned
to thank him; the others did not (Luke 17:11-19). One thief on
Calvary cursed the Lord of heaven and earth; the other effectively
asked Jesus for a place in his heavenly kingdom (Luke 23:39-43).
Lent is a good time to evaluate our own personal response.
July 5 – Loneliness
Aloneness has two faces, one negative and one positive. There
is loneliness which is inescapable because it is part of the human
condition, and there is freely chosen solitude which is indispensa-
ble because it is a condition of being human. There are probably
people of our acquaintance whom we know to be desperately
lonely. If so, we need look no further for a personal ministry
expressive of our Christian commitment – a ministry which can
be exercised in a myriad of ways. Care for such
people should be high on the list of a parish’s
pastoral priorities.
July 6 – A Retreat Question:
Who Am I?
We may not consciously pose the question,
“Who am I?”, with any frequency; but occasional-
ly, in moments of personal reflection, it will rise to
the surface and will insistently invite our response.
Perhaps we can then identify with the American
poet Carl Sandburg who wrote of his need to
find a place of solitude from time to time where,
communing with nature, he could say to himself,
“Who are you, Sandburg? Where have you been,
and where are you going?” Our very happiness
depends on our willingness to ask questions like
these and on the answers we give.
July 7 – Memorial of Blessed Peter To Rot
Born in New Britain in 1912, Peter To Rot (pronounced “toe
rote”) was a trained catechist and co-worker with the Missionaries
of the Sacred Heart. He continued to exercise his ministry alone
after the imprisonment of the missionaries by the Japanese invad-
ers in 1942. A man of conspicuous virtue, he ran foul of the enemy
and, after enduring torture, was eventually put to death leaving a
wife and young family. He is venerated today as “a martyr for the
faith”. Pope John Paul II beatified Peter To Rot when he visited
Papua New Guinea on January 17, 1995.
July 8 – ‘Learn of Me ...’
On several occasions Jesus directed his disciples to follow his
example. At the Last Supper, having washed their feet, he said: “I
have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to
you” (John 13:15); and having blessed, broken and distributed the
bread, he said to them: “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19).
More generally he told them, “Learn of me; for I am gentle and
humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Anyone who follows Paul’s
advice – “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 2:5) – will indeed be Christ-like.
Spiritual writers remind
us that religious doubt can
be creative and that it should
not be routinely suppressed.
True faith, in Sallie McFague’s
insightful words, ‘is about doubt
negotiated, not about
doubt avoided’.
Technological ‘practices’
may be harming your memory
Bad idea: “Reading before bed can be a relaxing activity but doing it from a screen can tell your
brain just the opposite – to wake up.”
By Brett Robinson
AS a father of four, I am famil-
iar with practice. There’s hockey
practice, piano practice and lots of
practising patience.
My kids are learning what a C-sharp sounds
like and how to track the ball when they are
playing defence. These practices form our family
by training perception.
I’m thankful for all of the kids’ activities, part-
ly because they distract them from the screen.
The screen is another venue for forming per-
ception, though we rarely think of it that way.
We tend to talk about media technology as a
means for communicating or gathering infor-
mation. Meanwhile, the practice of using the
technology is forming our perception in small
ways that often go unnoticed.
One example is the blue light that is emitted
from smartphones and tablets that interferes with
the neurotransmitters that bring on sleep.
Reading before bed can be a relaxing activity
but doing it from a screen can tell your brain just
the opposite – to wake up.
Media technology practice also has an effect
on memory.
How many times have you opted to Google
something rather than try to remember it on your
own? How many photos have you taken at a
party or on vacation for fear that you might not
remember how fun or beautiful everything was?
Practice forms habits and when they are prop-
erly ordered, habits can be salutary for the soul.
However, habits can also turn into disordered
obsessions or addictions.
Today, we hear a lot about technology addic-
tion but not a lot about technology practice.
There are certainly addictive qualities about
media technology but even if we are not ad-
dicted, we are still engaged in the practice of
using those technologies regularly.
And those practices can alter our perception
in ways that change our understanding of others,
ourselves and God.
The question that needs asking is, What is all
of this technology practice forming us for?
Our devices — even when they are put away
— haunt us with the possibility that a new mes-
sage or bit of news is ready to be consumed.
It starts with a practice like using the computer
for hours a day (required for most office work-
ers) that spills over into leisure time with social
media, games and plenty of Netflix.
For children, it is the threat of boredom that
drives them to the screen.
Boredom, a state once reserved for the free
play of the imagination and memory, is con-
quered by their thirst for constant stimulation
that can only be slaked by streaming media.
Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper said leisure
was the basis of culture.
It’s leisure that gives us the time and space to
contemplate God. Without it – in lives that are
dictated by labour and the digital tools required
to perform it – we lose our capacity to perceive
the capaciousness of God.
The ways that we spend our leisure time says
a lot about what we ultimately value.
But there are upsides to the new technology’s
effects on the senses, memory and imagination.
There are practices that help us recognise the
pain of another human being or get in touch with
something transcendent. One example is view-
ing family photos with a child and telling them
stories about when they were little.
It’s a small practice that forms their memory
in ways that remind them that they are part of a
family and a stream of memories, part of some-
thing much larger than themselves.
If the goal is finding a healthy balance with
our technological creations, then we have to start
with practice.
Just as a doctor practises medicine, a Catholic
practises religion.
We know it’s the cure for our spiritual mala-
dies, but sometimes we shirk our duty to rise and
pursue the good.
Take a moment to revisit the practices in your
daily life and to ask how they are forming your
memory and imagination.
As Catholics, we call to mind Christ’s passion,
death and resurrection so that we can imagine a
life of hope.
There’s even an app for that.
It’s called 3D Catholic and 3D stands for three
devotions: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
It’s a simple reminder that our virtual tech-
nologies shouldn’t strip us of our physical bodies
– because those bodies can be used to commem-
orate Christ’s passion through prayer, fasting and
helping others in real ways. CNS
Brett Robinson is director of communi-
cations and Catholic media studies at the
University of Notre Dame McGrath Institute
for Church Life.
(Our
technological)
practices can alter
our perception in
ways that change
our understanding of
others, ourselves
and God.