Wow, what a couple of weeks that break was.
We got done with classes on Friday the 17th of December, but I decided not to leave until the following morning. I had to get some cleaning done, write some thank you notes for gifts I had received already, and wrap the gifts I had yet to give. When I finally left on Saturday I headed to Green Bay to meet up with my extended family on the day we were getting ready for the Christmas celebration with them.
The extended family Christmas went great, except for the fact that four of the eight cousins were missing. It was so nice to be able to get together with family that I don’t see too often. We did the normal stuff of a meal, exchanging a few gifts, and just generally having a good time enjoying each other’s company. I stayed in Green Bay until Sunday, when I went to Mass there I ran into some people that I know from that area but haven’t seen in a couple of years. I was able to catch up with them for a bit and sit with them for Mass before going back to my aunt and uncle’s for brunch and then heading to my mom’s house.
The last week of Advent was both busy, and not having much big stuff going on at the same time. I had a doctor appointment on Monday, saw some friends, went to Mass and the normal routine stuff the rest of Monday and on Tuesday. Wednesday I was able to meet up with a great friend for lunch, followed by the Diocesan Seminarian Christmas party in the evening. That was a pretty simple affair, we had a Mass celebrated by the Bishop and then a dinner where we were all introduced along with our family that was there.
Thursday morning I went to Mass at the parish I grew up in before heading over to Stevens Point to help out with the Christmas Eve and Christmas Masses. As always it was great to go to Stevens Point. The Masses all went smoothly and it was great to spend time there with that community that has meant so much to me.
On Christmas after the last Mass I headed back to my mom’s where we were getting together for Christmas, the only one missing that day was one step-brother and we were even able to set up a computer with a webcam and have him there in that way.
Since the day after Christmas was a Sunday it was still a day to go to Mass. I went to an early Mass at a church near home, but then also attended a Lutheran service with one of my friends from growing up. I am going to be the best man in his wedding this spring and wanted to see his church before that day. It was a nice service, and his pastor is a very nice man. I enjoyed it, but it still wasn’t Mass.
I went out for a dinner with people (or at their house) Monday through Wednesday but aside from that didn’t do all that much in that week (I tried to study, and did some, but not as much as I’d like to have done). Friday I again went to Mass at my parish from growing up before heading to Marshfield to a couple of friend’s house for a New Years get together. This was a very nice get together and I enjoyed spending time with them and the other friends that were there.
On New Year’s Day I headed back down to the seminary. I didn’t have to be back quite that early, but it was nice to come back and relax here for a bit, not something I’m used to with the fast pace that we go when classes are in session. Many of the guys started trickling in Saturday and Sunday even though we didn’t have to be back until Monday evening. We watched some football, accomplished a few things and mainly just hung out together.
Monday I heard some sad news that my dad and his wife’s dog died, it was very sad because they are both close to her. I actually spent quite a bit of the day thinking about what a gift from God our pets are and how much they mean to us… I may write about that in the future.
Today (Tuesday) we had a ministry seminar. I guess this is something that they do here every year. The presenter was John Allen, a writer for National Catholic Reporter, Vatican Correspondent for CNN and author of a few books. The topic for the day was based on his latest book Future Church. This book and the talks were about trends affecting the church currently and those developing that are going to have a major impact on the future.
Some of these trends included the globalization of the church, “tribalism” within the church and society, interreligious relations (especially with Islam), ecological issues, and a few other things that Allen identified.
The globalization of the church talked about the fact that the Catholic population growth is outpacing world population growth, but the center of Catholicism is moving/has moved from the Western world to the Southern Hemisphere, namely Africa and Latin America. This shows the needs of us truly identifying ourselves as a universal church (Universal is actually the definition of the word Catholic). Also it was discussed how the line of thinking of the Church in these regions is going to shape the future of the Church to a large degree.
The tribalism of the Church describes what is commonly referred to as polarization, but not just the fact that there are some of different opinions on issues but also the fact that as there are different opinions they are supported by people forming “tribes” of those who are like minded. This was talked about both in the Church and society and with no answers to this problem given it was talked about as something that we will need to work to address in our ministry.
Interreligious relations was also a big issue. With the globalization there are now large pockets of Catholics in areas where the cultural history is not based on Christianity so we need to figure out how to work on dealing with that and how to work together with other faiths where it works to do so. As Pope Benedict XVI has said, the major problem in the world isn’t the divide between Christian and Islam, it is the divide between belief and unbelief. During this part of the talk Allen talked about how without abandoning work with Judaism there has been an obvious shift towards dealings with Muslims. This is seen partially because Christians and Muslims are living together more, and there are large instances of oppression, but also the obvious reason for this is that the two groups combined make up more than half of the human population.
Allen also talked about ecological issues being a rising trend in our Church. This is obviously true throughout society and makes for some interesting parings in political issues when environmentalists are teaming up with the Church. The Catholic Church has long held that protecting the environment is a very important thing… after all it is God’s creation and one of His many gifts to us. Another angle that Allen mentioned that I hadn’t thought about with this regard is tying environmental issues in with Natural Law, such as the right to life and respecting others. Obviously we have to protect the environment to respect those who come after us. But also the environmental issues show that there are absolute truths and that man can’t just do whatever he wants. This will lead some to accept that there is a natural law in the order of things, a very interesting take for me to think about.
I hope that everyone had a Blessed Christmas season and that 2011 is off to a wonderful start for you.
Peace,
Adam
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