MY
Big brother is watching. The security checkpoint is always swamped at 2:30 in the afternoon, but this time, there seems to be a holdup. The plastic detector has been shrieking like a banshee ever since this one little boy stepped into the scanner's radius. He claims innocence. They always do. Why is he so hesitant to empty his pockets? A sharp nudge from a guard's baton is enough for him to reach his grubby hands into his tiny pockets to pull out the contraband. Tiny. Colorful. Plastic. Lego bricks.
While an article claiming the LEGO Company is secretly 1984's Big Brother would be entertaining, albeit farfetched, this post is a story from my time at my apostolic assignment: Run the Race (https://www.brianmuhafoundation.org/). We teach underprivileged kids about the faith, while playing with them, supporting them, and enforcing discipline when necessary, in the hopes of instilling virtue in them. One such travail occurred this past thursday. The little boys, ages 6-9, really like playing with Lego. Anytime they're released for recess or play time, they run straight for the Lego bricks, dragging me in tow. I don't mind. I remember how much I enjoyed Lego and they're so refreshingly imaginative at that age, even when their stories and role-play reveal some of the difficult struggles they experience in their broken homes. Recently, however, some of us volunteers have noticed them putting Lego figures or builds in their pockets, forgetting, or maybe "forgetting" that they're there, bringing them home, and not bringing them back. Since this was a widespread enough issue, Rachel, the founder and principal of Run the Race, decided we should address this as a whole community during lunch, for both the older and younger kids. The reaction of the younger kids was predictable. Some denied it, but confessed with a little prodding. Rachel made sure to encourage them to share, but affirmed their desire to not lose the little figures when other kids would take them and told them they could put their favorite figures and builds in a safe space in the school, with one of the adults to "guard" them. They're still learning and it's important for us to be gentle and merciful with them. They're going through a lot. None of us expected the reaction of the older kids. Rachel asked the whole group what sort of things they could do to solve this problem. She was clearly hoping they'd suggest virtues. "Focus on sharing. Check your pockets at the end of the day, without being asked." Instead, they jumped straight into the open arms of fascism. First, they suggested that right before our closing prayer, the volunteers would go to each of the younger kids and ask them to empty their pockets. Rachel said, "Well, I really want to trust each and every one of you. I'd hope you'd check your pockets on your own." Another one pipes up and suggests we take a complete and detailed inventory of the (couple thousand) Lego pieces that have been donated to the center, and count every piece at the end of the day to see if any are missing. "Are you volunteering?" Rachel asked. Another one asked whether they make scanners that can detect Lego pieces. We could scan everybody right before they exit. If it beeps, we know that they're taking Lego pieces. You know, like an airport security checkpoint. Or, as Rachel and I noted, like a Tyrannical Dystopian Lego Police State. Big Brother is watching. Although this might seem like an extreme example, the actions of children can tell us a lot about the human instincts and tendencies that subconsciously govern adult behavior. Today's culture is permeated with examples of these kinds of solutions to humanities problems. If man is fallen, let's regulate the devil out of it. Rules are necessary things. Dangerous drugs, for example, should be illegal. But the ultimate solution to our country's drug epidemic is not going to be more fines or more scrutinous policing of drug hotspots. The solution is virtue. The solution to sin is Christ. In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist exclaims, "I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." How can one avoid sin? By creating a dwelling for the Word of God, Jesus Christ, in one's heart. Virtue is the process of building Holy Habits that dispose us to the good and away from evil. It is Christ's response to our concupiscence, where by grace and our response to grace, we turn our hearts to Christ and toward goodness. It's more than just external rules, it's an internal reality made by seeking Christ again and again. It's possible for someone to be good simply by following the law, but it is grace flowing from a relationship with Christ that animates the Christian life. In Philippians 4:8-9, 13, Paul says "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you... I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." I'd be very happy if the kids at Run the Race grow up to be law-abiding citizens. I'd be ecstatic if they can pull themselves out of the economical and moral slums they've inherited. I'd be truly joyful if our witness of the Christian life is imitated by them, and if a relationship with the God of Peace strengthens them, so that they move beyond laws and toward the font of Goodness out of love for Him.
2 Comments
Here's a project I just picked up, a throwback from last summer. I found this copy of "Priest's New Ritual" while taking inventory of an old church building in Carrollton, OH that's preparing for demolition. The pastor let me keep it. It's in pretty rough condition, but what do you expect from an 80 year-old book surrounded by rubble and black mold?
I've been doing some primitive archival work on it. I have some archival and PH-neutral PVA glue, so I'm supporting the binding and gluing the cover back together. It was in pieces when I found it. My hope is that one day I'll be able to use it. It's perfectly pocket sized, but it contains every blessing a priest might need in Latin and English. If I can stabilize it, I might be able to carry it around in a cassock pocket as a priest. I've been reflecting a lot about the idea of the priest as custodian of the traditions and history of the Church. We live in a turbulent culture, both because technology seems to be changing faster than humans learn how to use it responsibly, and also because fallen humans make fallen decisions. The diocesan priest chooses a seemingly "unchanging" life. He celebrates the same mass celebrated by saints going back two thousand years, wears vestments that are the descendants of Aaron's wardrobe, and his most important work - the mass - is done by candlelight. In an era of screens, he turns to books. He will likely live and die in the same area - his diocese. A priest's "remote work" option is called missionary work, not working from home. In his book Orthodoxy, Chesterton calls tradition the "democracy of the dead." He says "tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about." Call me romantic, but I love the story. I love the idea of being one more link in the grand tapestry of church history, one more storyteller in the oral tradition testifying to God's work in Creation, one more Saint who sanctified his time with timeless words; words sanctified by saints upon saints praying them with tender devotion to God. I realize that there's something archaic and almost outdated about trying to restore this book. I could save space and have the whole thing on my phone. The prayers themselves, while not invalidated, have been replaced with newer, less redundant, more bare-bones editions. These older prayers read poetically, unconventionally, and anything but colloquially. Nonetheless, I'm captivated by the romanticism of uniting my prayers with the beauty of history and with the simplicity of one day being "just another priest" who got to use this little book of blessings. Since it's midterms week, and since I've spent a fair few posts talking about recreation at the seminary, I figured I'd take advantage of my review process to share with y'all some fun facts from my classes this semester.
Capuchin monks get their name from the Capuchin monkeys, not the other way around. It's because of the hood-like pattern of their fur. These very cute little monkeys are also endangered, so if the Capuchin order ever goes through a renewal, I suggest adding the care of their namesakes to their charism. (From my Reformation History class.) Although Dante takes quite a few liberties when writing his Divine Comedy (like condemning people he doesn't like to hell), it's considered an excellent "universalist" summary of the philosophies and theological tendencies of his day. He's quite the expert on Aquinas, Aristotelianism, Neo-Platonism, and the romanticized rebirth of Greek mythology. (From my Medieval Literature class.) John Stuart Mill is a utilitarian philosopher. In other words, he believes that the value of something can be weighed by it's consequences and ability to do the greatest amount of good to the greatest number of people. This is helpful when it comes to free speech, but not great if you believe in human dignity... he believes despotism is sometimes OK, but that you should always give controversial opinions a chance. (From my Contemporary Philosophy class.) Holy Chrism is used for all the sacraments that leave an "indelible mark" or a permanent change on the soul, and on many other occasions, like Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, coronations, the consecrations of churches, altars, chalices, patens, bells, and old-rite baptismal water. It's made of olive oil and balsam - tree resin processed to be used as a perfume, representing the "aroma of God" or the "smell of holiness." The use of balsam is biblical - it's also called the "balm of Gilead." (From my Celebration of Christian Mystery class. ) Estudio mucho. Es muy difícil, pero es una buena clase. ¡Poco a poco, mi español está mejorando! (I think it's pretty obvious which class this is from.) |
Author
Catholic. Archives
July 2023
Categories |