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Journey Into Shame: Implications for Justice Pedagogies
Full text linkBeing formed for justice can be a painful experience. Sometimes that pain takes the form of shame and contributes to the formation and exercise of conscience. But shame in other forms can be opposed to human flourishing and social justice. Psychologist James Fowler provides a spectrum of two forms of healthy shame and four forms of unhealthy shame, to which the author adds four other varieties, strategic shame and spiritual shame, at one end of the spectrum, and murderous shame and genocidal shame, at the other. Various experiences of shame are dramatically illustrated in Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin’s classic narrative of racism in the Deep South. It is crucial for social justice educators to be able to discern among these forms of shame in their own experience and when reported by students, so that healthy forms can be sympathetically honored and unhealthy forms critically examined
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textIn the reading from II Samuel, David is out of his mind with grief over the deaths of King Saul and his son, David's bosom friend, Jonathan. How can these beloved warriors of Yahweh -- swifter than eagles, stronger than lions! -- have fallen?||In the second, very short reading from Mark, Jesus' relatives describe him as "out of his mind," presumably because Jesus had demonstrated the power to drive out demons, and that seemed to put him in league with evil. |But today is the memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, a Christian humanist and devout gentleman of the Catholic Reformation. If ever there was a saint who was "in his mind" _ both sane, balanced, moderate and holy _ it was Francis de Sales.|Francis was appointed bishop of Geneva in 1602, at the age of 35, and served with wide acclaim and admiration until his death in 1622. He was canonized in 1665 and named a Doctor of the Church (one of only 33 today) in 1877. He is the patron of authors, because of the literary talent to be discovered in the spiritual and theological classics, "Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God." Appropriate to the gentle art of persuasion which he perfected in his preaching to those who had left the Catholic Church for Calvinism, Francis is also the patron of educators. |For more than a quarter of a century I have been married to one of the world's leading authorities on Saints Francis de Sales and Jeanne de Chantal and the tradition of spirituality they founded. Dr. Wendy M. Wright's many books, both scholarly and popular, are contemporary expressions of that Salesian tradition. Of the many insights and anecdotes she has shared with me over the years, here's just one.|When Francis was a young man he had a crisis of faith not unlike that of the young Martin Luther a century earlier. He was radically anxious about his own salvation. Luther's famous resolution was to realize that there was nothing he could do, or needed to do, but have utter, naked faith in God's grace.|Francis had a different insight. Unable to convince himself of his own salvation, he decided that nonetheless he could love both God and his neighbor unconditionally. Everything remembered and written about Francis indicates he did just that, as preacher to his brothers and sisters separated by religion, as spiritual director, as friend of the poor and sick, as author, as bishop, as founder, with St. Chantal, of the Order of the Visitation. |One of the great insights of this Doctor of the Church was that such a simple but radical path, such a "bond of perfection" (St. Paul's term for Christian friendship) was open to everyone and not just priests and religious or the spiritually gifted. Francis is often described as one of the founders of a genuine lay spirituality. I have seen that spirituality up close and personal, the only place it can bear full fruit. I have seen it in my home, and I wager you have seen it in yours, too _ even if you didn't name it "Salesian" but simply thought of it (you did think of it, right?) as Christlike. |What does it mean for a Christian to be in her right mind? To love unconditionally, no matter what grief that exposes one to, no matter how the less generously minded will perceive you. Or, as the patron of authors put it with graceful but challenging simplicity:|"The measure of love, is to love without measure.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textEach one of us find ourselves searching for ultimate satisfaction in our daily lives. This satisfaction may be in our jobs, a favorite type of food, or the completion of a task that we have labored very hard with. There are many forms of satisfaction that we seek, but the geatest form can be found in Christ.||In Phillipians 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul proceeds with exhortations to our Christian duties. He presses largely to like-mindedness and lowly mindedness, which is in comformity to the example of the Lord Jesus. The great gospel precept passed unto us is to "Love one another". This he represents by being like-minded, having the same Love, being of one accord, and of one mind. If there is consolation or satisfaction in Christ, the evidence is shown by us loving one another. The sweetness we have found in the doctrine of Christ, should sweeten our spirits.|If I am to be of service to my fellowman, I must have a humble spirit. It's not about me, but the Lord. In Psalms 131, Davis's aim is not at a high position, nor was he desirous of making a name for himself, but as God so ordered, was content to serve right where he was. The Love of God reigning in the heart, will subdue all in-ordinate self-love. We should have a humble trust in God.|The scripture of Luke 14:12-14, our Lord Jesus sets us an example of proper attitude when we are in company with our friends. He observed those that were aspiring to get the best seats at the table, may be degraded and forced to come down and give place to those more honorable. Jesus cautioned one of the leading Pharisees that when you host a lunch or dinner, don't focus the invite on friends or the wealthy that can repay the favor, but more so on the poor, crippled, the blind. Don't focus on whether those you invite can repay you, but rather that you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.|Remember, God wants us all to be of one mind, and one spirit, so that we might show Love one toward the other
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textToday is the twentieth anniversary of the assassinations of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter, at the University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador, an institution of Christian inspiration that had made a preferential option for the poor, the vast majority of the country's citizens . But the martyrdoms of November 16, 1989, were hardly the first or only instances of persecution of the church and repression of movements for social change by the U.S.-supported armed forces of the Salvadoran government from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. The litany of dead and disappeared, including the saintly and prophetic Archbishop Oscar Romero, as well as four U.S. women missionaries, is heartbreakingly long, numbering in the tens of thousands.||An infamous slogan of the day was “Be a patriot! Kill a priest!” Women, including pregnant women, and children, including infants, were not spared. Unspeakable massacres at the Rio Sumpul and in the village of El Mazote seemed intended to wipe out the next generation of peasants – potential “subversives” – and to terrorize the current generation into submission.|"In those days there appeared in Israel men who were breakers of the law, and they seduced many people, ... abandoned the covenant, ... and sold themselves to wrongdoing ... Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant ... was condemned to death by royal decree." Apparently persecution of the righteous by the ruling powers is nothing new, as the story of the Maccabees in the second century before Christ makes clear. "But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts ... [and] preferred to die rather than ... to profane the holy covenant." And so was born the idea of religious martyrdom.| Faced with such inhumanity and idolatry, one cries out to God, with the Psalmist, "Indignation seizes me because of the wicked who forsake your law." One begs the Lord, "Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may keep your precepts." When wicked men rule, as in the time of the Maccabees, or of Jesus, or of Romero and the UCA Jesuits, observing the commandments to love God and one's neighbor as oneself becomes subversive and makes the righteous targets for violence.|In such a broken world, when the risen Jesus passes near, for what do you beg? How do you respond to his question to the blind man of Jericho, "What do you want me to do for you?" I find myself praying for the courage to sustain compassion when so many suffering people around the world and over my back fence cry out for justice and solidarity.| I find myself praying for the courage to be faithful to the covenant when it might be risky to speak out. I find myself asking for mercy, since I know from long past experience that my courage will sometimes be found wanting.|I find myself begging for sight, to see the world as it really is, in all its beauty and all its misery, its love and its hate, and to see it through the eyes of Jesus. I pray that I will never grow too tired, or cynical, or comfortable, to experience indignation in the face of yet another atrocity.|From the Maccabees to Jesus, and from Jesus to the Salvadoran martyrs, we have examples before us of those who persevered and paid the price. Dare we pray to have that kind of subversive faith
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textIn our daily life, we struggle with those things that causes us to stumble or to succeed. The ability to exercise our freedom to learn and live as a Christian should become more paramount. Jesus came not to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it. If we seek our freedom through Jesus, we are free indeed.||In Galatians 4 and 5, Paul emphasizes that the gospel he preaches, is the only gospel. There is no other way to obtain salvation or live the Christian life. After rebuking the Galatians for so easily believing other teachings, he reminds them that the gospel he preached came direct from God, and that it offers salvation by faith alone. Abraham was saved by believing the law of Moses. Paul emphasizes that the cross of Christ, not the law of Moses, is the basis of the Gospel.|Psalms 113 states that those that have been long barren, are sometimes made to be fruitful. We can look back to Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, and Sampson's mother, and even Elizabeth. In such instances, God has looked on the afflictions of his handmaids and taken away their reproach. Therefore there should be great thanksgiving. Praise you the Lord.|In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus answers the question of 'What is the sign we may expect from God for the confirmation of our faith?' After all of the many signs that had been given them, the greatest and most important proof of Christ being sent of God, was the resurrection of Christ from the dead. What is the sign that God expects from us for the evidence of our faith? It is the serious practice of that religion we profess, and a readiness to entertain all divine truth.|The realization of our salvation is by the Grace of God, which causes us to praise him with thanksgiving and fully live the life of a Christian
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