I don’t really understand what the same sex marriage hullabaloo is about. I can understand it at a personal, anecdotal level. I know a great many people who are upset and concerned and animated about this issue. But I do not have a clear grasp of what is really going on. As a Roman Catholic, I understand marriage as a sacrament. I’m not even sure what it means to be “married” outside of the sacrament of marriage. I guess filing... Read more
“Show, don’t tell.” This could be the Franciscan evangelical motto. The Franciscan tradition is rooted in story, stories of Father Francis doing crazy, wild, and beautiful things. St. Francis was, in many respects, a fool. He saw things in the most literal, direct ways. A childlike artist. Finger painting. When called to rebuild Christ’s Church, Francis began with his hands. Only later did he realize that the work was not a brick and mortar affair. This is the man who... Read more
I just arrived in Portland, Oregon. It was a long, beautiful train ride. My pope alarm was rendered useless by rural Montana, but I eventually got the word, narrated over the phone by my wife. Since then, I’ve consumed news in the patches of 3G service available. Needless to say, I’m not very well informed. But I do hope to read some of his works in Spanish and provide some commentary in the months to come, before the translations begin to... Read more
I don’t care who our next pope will be. I find the fanfare understandable and laudable at times, but mostly lackluster. Even slightly annoying. I think a Patheos blogger already wrote about that. Here and there, in conversations I’ve had lately, I’ve mentioned that globalizing the papacy makes me uneasy. I think I prefer Italian popes. But I really don’t care. I suspect that comment is just to make conversation interesting. I’ve even found myself indifferent to the papacy in... Read more
Last week I gave two talks at Wabash College. The second talk was unfortunately not recorded. The administration at Wabash College seems to find very serious and somewhat technical lectures on aesthetics, philosophy, and teaching very dangerous these days—so much for the liberal arts. I recorded the noon talk, and the very interesting discussion that followed, myself; here it is, for those who might be interested: The Teacher Centered Classroom. Next week, I’ll be training to Portland, OR, to give a paper... Read more
Father Ronald Nuzzi, a leading speaker and author on U.S. Catholic schools and director of the Alliance for Catholic Education’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, has a nice reflection on Benedict’s support for Catholic schools. He cites Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit in 2008, where he described Catholic schools as “an outstanding apostolate of hope.” He goes on to quote Benedict: [Catholic schools] provide a highly commendable opportunity for the entire Catholic community to contribute generously to the financial needs of our... Read more
It’s not everyday I get to post on Patheos Catholic from a neighborhood dive bar. But I’m headed to Wabash College today, to give a noon talk and an evening lecture on Thursday, and I need to give you something in the meantime. (I had a warm-up talk/conversation here at the University of North Dakota on Monday. I’ll post all three here once I get back, in case anyone’s interested.) On Tuesday nights, I’ve started attending a local open mic, in hopes... Read more
Last night on Twitter, during the fanfare of the Oscars, the satirical news publication, The Onion, posted a perverse tweet about nine-year-old actress, Quvenzhane Wallis, from Beasts of the Southern Wild. The tweet referred to the beautiful young girl using the C-word. The intent was clear: juxtapose the most adorable person at the Oscars with the most revolting description imaginable—and get lots of attention. Well they got it and now they seem to regret it. They removed the tweet, which on... Read more
Hoy nuestro santo padre, el Papa Benedicto XVI, dio el ultimo Ángelus de su pontificado. Sus palabras nos recuerdan que “la oración no es aislarse del mundo y de sus contradicciones.” La vida contemplativa no niega a la vida cotidiana. En esta verdad se puede ver que el retiro de Benedicto XVI no es un retirarse de su ministerio, continua su vocación a solas, en oración y estudio. Su decisión es también una invitación a seguirlo, a orar y estudiar en este... Read more
As a sequel to my previous Black History Month re-post, “White History Month,” from earlier this month, here is an essay I published in the X-Position, the journal of The Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies at Wabash College, last year. Enjoy! Solidarity in Vulgarity: The Funk in Racist Jokes “I don’t want your stupid ethnic dances, I want dirty jokes!” -Slavoj Zizek “Gonna have a funky good time, gonna have a funky good time!” -James Brown “The man of knowledge must be... Read more
Sam Rocha
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