Sage advice for exam week

End of year "friends of theology" gathering!

More information to come!

Wednesday, May 1

4:15pm-5pm

The Theology suite (SM 223d)

Snacks and relaxation

...and a toast to our graduating seniors!

The Works of Mercy in SMU graphic design

SMU senior and graphic arts major Caroline Stringer has crafted a number of digital art pieces based on the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy.  They are being shown in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries on the Winona campus as part of the senior art show.  I encourage you to go see these art pieces in person--you may even consider buying one!  Her email may be found here, and her website here (but not live until May 3, 2013).

"The Spiritual Works of Mercy."  It is even more impressive close up; there is a lot of detail in this.

This is a photo mosaic of a number of individual stand alone pieces, most representing the corporal works of mercy in Matthew 25.

Celebration of Scholarship: Theology presentations

April 12, 2013.  See you there!

9:00-10:15am
Saint Mary’s Hall Room 202

1. Brune, Lorelle. “Solidarity in the Social Theology of Pope John Paul II”
Project focuses on the development of solidarity as a principle in Catholic social thought, specifically through the theology of Pope John Paul II.

2. Pysh, Matthew. “Deacons and Sacraments”
Presentation discusses the role of deacons in the Early Church, Vatican II, and new theologies forming for deacons today, especially in terms of sacraments.

10:30-11:45am
Saint Mary’s Hall Room 202

1. McNamara, Catherine. “The Historical Development and Function of a Roman Catholic Cardinal”
Paper focuses on how the role of Cardinal developed through time and addresses the importance of the Cardinal in the hierarchy within the institutional structure of the Church.

2. Boris, Michelle. “Sacred Secrets: The Seal of Confession in Ecclesial and Civil Law"
A theological exploration of ecclesial and civil law jurisprudence pertaining to the sacramental seal of Confession in the Roman Catholic tradition.

Also, one of our Theology minors is presenting in Philosophy:

10:30-11:45am

Saint Mary’s Hall Room 134

1. Cooling, Hannah. “Freedom for the Human Person”
Argument: If man is working always for his betterment, found in objective good, then he will be more free the closer to objective perfection he gets.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Octave!

And welcome back to SMU!

What Cardinal Bergoglio thought of Street Theology: the work and vision of Catholic Charities

Remember to come to hear Bob Tereba's Vineyard colloquium at 12:15pm today (3/25) in the President's Room!

From the future Pope Francis' 2008 Passion Sunday homily:

Today, here in Buenos Aires, like in Jerusalem on that day, the street made way for Jesus. The street received Him properly. The crowd stood, begged for blessings, blessings for their families, blessings for their businesses, their houses, their autos…  Blessing, what does that [really] mean? [It means] that Jesus “speak well” of something, that He approach! That He enter families, hearts, homes, autos, businesses…Jesus out in the street, interacting with the crowd…There. His desire is, just as the gates of the city were opened to Him, the same is done with the doors to our hearts. Every Holy Week He asks the same thing: “Open your heart to Me. I’m not here to mortify you! I’m not here to boss you around! I’m not here to take anything from you…I’m here to give you everything. I want to make you happy.” That’s what He’s telling us. If we slam the doors to our hearts in His face, He suffers. Although He is used to it, He suffers. And we lose the opportunity to become happy.

We say that today the Church has spilled out into the street, to imitate that Palm Sunday, but also to affirm that today, in a special way and by extension, the place for Christ is out in the street. The Gospels tell us He would go to the temple, that He would go to the synagogue, but they also tell us he was on the roads, in the cities, in the streets. Today the place for Christ is the street; the place for the Christian is the street. The Lord wants us like Him: with an open heart, roaming the streets of Buenos Aires. He wants us walking the streets of Buenos Aires and carrying His message! Like Him, on the road and on the street. He doesn’t want us hoarding His word just for ourselves, locked inside our own hearts, our own house, or in the temple, instead that we spill His word on the street. He wants us walking out on the street.

More at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/03/today-the-place-for-christ-is-in-the-street/

Introducing Pope Francis

Habemus Papam!

Exciting times....A profile of our new Pope from Sandro Magister, who is seen as the preeminent Vatican reporter in Rome:

 ROME, March 13, 2013 - By electing as pope at the fourth scrutiny the archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the conclave has made a move as surprising as it is brilliant.

Surprising for those - almost everyone - who had not noticed, during the preceding days, the effective appearance of his name in the conversations among the cardinals. His relatively advanced age, 76 years and three months, led him to be classified more among the great electors than among the possible elect.

In the conclave of 2005 the opposite had happened for him. Bergoglio was one of the most decisive supporters of the appointment of Joseph Ratzinger as pope. And instead he found himself voted for, against his own will, precisely by those who wanted to block the appointment of Benedict XVI.

The fact remains that both one and the other became pope. Bergoglio with the unprecedented name of Francis.

A name that reflects his humble life. Having become archbishop of Buenos Aires 1998, he left empty the sumptuous episcopal residence next to the cathedral. He went to live in an apartment a short distance away, together with another elderly bishop. In the evening he was the one who saw to the cooking. He rarely rode in cars, getting around by bus in the cassock of an ordinary priest. [...]

More here.