Personal: Chess and the 1996 Folk Choir Tour; Dinner with Markus

[novak]

Dan stopped by tonight after finishing his grading at the library. We took in a game of chess and a few glasses of sherry, which were both very pleasurable. I think we're pretty evenly matched as players, although I took the game pretty handily. I got a knight behind his right flank and ran amok for a while, and the way things played out he was

Comments

[seeker101]

Your experiences and social life sound very fulfilling. You are very fortunate in that respect.

As far as the need for community, yes, that is very often a theme of mine. It seems so difficult to obtain any real consistent formation within the typical parish. Yet, there are so many devout people, so it is really a testimony to God's Grace. I have been quite lucky, in that I am involved with a Community, which provides that consistency and presence of witnesses and friends that I so desparately need.

[novak]

There's no doubt that I've been blessed with a great circle of friends - both here and other places I've lived. I now worry about whether this miracle can repeat once again when I next move!

As to the creation of real community or communities in the contemporary parish: it would be interesting to know whether there is anything in seminary training today that tries to train priests in empowering communities that would operate under their purview, but which wouldn't be under their direct oversight. It's understandable why it has been the case thus far, but the organizational impulse to have direct clerical oversight in every aspect of the Church just isn't going to be possible anymore. Nor, really, is that an ideal, I think, to which the hierarchy should still hold.

I've been thinking a lot from my dissertation about a ressourcement or restoration of the situation of the early church in this respect, where it seems you had parallel Church structures of both office leadership and leadership of charism in smaller groups. Again,

[seeker101]

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I am not sure if there is any such training, but that is pretty much the model for the Community that I am in. The community has three locations. Unfortunately, all of the priests are now in the other locations, as the founder was in ours and he passed away recently. But, the lay folks here have very strong formation, we still have Masses, weekly adoration, and group meetings. It is my saving grace in so many ways.