The Musical Priest

Several weeks ago, I came upon a review of a book over at Faith and Theology . The book, Patience with God , is written by Tomáš Halík, a Roman Catholic priest and theologian from Czechoslovakia. Halík begins with an experience common to so many, especially in the wake of the bloody 20th century and, more recently, September 11th and the so-called "War on Terror." This is the experience of the absence of God, so chillingly posed by Elie Wiesel in Night when, as the gathered assembly watched a young boy hang from the gallows, someone asked, "Where is God now?" prompting the wrenching response: "Where is He? Here is here - he is hanging here on this gallows." This question confronts both the believer and unbeliever, forcing each to face the scars and traces of destruction and devastation, demanding that we reflect upon Wiesel's question: "Where is God now?"

In the run-up to " U of D Jesuit Pledge Detroit! " I have been completely mired in organizational details. It's quite an undertaking to organize and find meaningful work for 2.5 hours for 850+ students, plus faculty, plus parent volunteers. Working with sites, assigning buses, procuring tools, praying for good weather, trying to get the kids excited: all of this makes for long, exhausting days. Parent phone-calls and emails, faculty concerns, kids failing to turn in permission slips: these exacerbate the headaches. In the midst of this, I did turn 31 on Tuesday, the Feast of the North American Martyrs. I remember being somewhat jealous of other kids who had cool saints like St. John of the Cross or St. Patrick or St. Thomas Aquinas who celebrated feast days on their birthdays. My youthful Catholic imagination saw some special relationship between the saint after whom you were named as well as the saint on whose feast day you were born. Much to my dismay was it, then, th...

I frequently describe blogging as therapeutic: as an extrovert, I tend to process externally, thinking out loud. Since I can't expect someone to be with me at all hours of the day, I tend to use my blog as a way of thinking out loud in a disciplined way that brings clarity to me and is, perhaps, helpful to others. This last week has been so incredibly busy that fatigue has forced me to process inwardly as I'm too tired to sit down at my computer. We just had our Spirit Week (Pajama Day, Field Games, Jersey Day, College Shirt Day, and an all-school pep rally) which I was in charge of planning and executing. I spent most of today setting up for today's Homecoming Dance (Theme: Superheroes in the D) and I'm hoping to get something to eat before the dance starts at 8:00. Tomorrow I have to help clean up after the dance and then begin the final preparations for " U of D Jesuit Pledge Detroit! " This is such a busy time and I'm so grateful that I've been f...