Most clergy, Christian educators, and parents are aware of the challenges facing evangelization and catechesis in our world today. The rise of secularism has left many Christians with an inadequate understanding of who God is and how God relates to us. Scientism and materialism have limited the scope of our worldview to exclude the divine, and therefore the anthropology for many in today’s world does not account for the God-human relationship.
As the calendar year draws to a close, many face the onerous preparations and obligations that mark the holiday season, and the hustle and bustle and frenzy of the shopping season is palpable—not to mention year-end reports or grading for some. Cards, lists, stores, travel. In the northern hemisphere, and places like Pittsburgh, the sun takes its leave far too early each day, and the bitter winds test the worth of our textiles.
Two hundred years ago, on 13 June 1824, the young Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, who today the Church celebrates as a saint, made his way down the High and St. Aldate’s with his surplice and his MA hood, to be made a deacon of the Church of England in Christ Church Cathedral, the former medieval nunnery and shrine to St. Frideswide until Thomas Wolsey chose it to become Cardinal College in 1525.
Newman’s description of self-denial in light of the invisible world can help us to examine and renew three fundamental relationships: with God, our neighbor, and the natural world.
This month, many teachers like myself will be returning to our classrooms. It will be, like many things right now, challenging and uncertain. While some about our schools will be unfamiliar and new, much will remain the same.
