I seem to be discovering that the more-structured approach I'm taking toward teaching my new course this semester, Theology Through the Centuries, is paying off in me having a bit more time to work on my dissertation than I'd found during previous semesters while teaching. So I spent the day in Raynor Library, as I did last Saturday, mostly ( Read more... )

Rahner's Theological Investigations: I've been making a point of trying to pick up the set on the cheap, but that's a lot of picking up to do, with many volumes hard to find below $40. (And tough to keep track of in my head, hence the list.) Still, I managed to find another four with AddAll's Used Book search engine. Just the list is jaw- ( Read more... )

My niece Sophia, born this past April, was baptized on Sunday the 8th of July. She recieved her first sacrament. One day this will or will not be recognized as one of the most important days of her life. There was a sacrament: an invisible sign of an invisible reality. An act of grace that is efficacious in and of itself, with or without co- ( Read more... )

Another CNS story on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. As I mentioned earlier, I've been amused to discover myself writing a significantly charismatic-focused dissertation, particularly when I'm a person who doesn't go in so much for the types of behaviours - as mentioned below in the article - that are so often characterized as "charismatic" or " ( Read more... )

My Fourth of July was a quiet one, one of the many blessings of America: war is once again being fought elsewhere. I spent a few hours thinking about the Revolution and the Founders, and how it's all played out, much aided by the reading in McCullough and Ellis I've done for fun over the last few years. weaklingrecord's posting of quotations about patriotism ( Read more... )

I find that I'm rather surprised to find myself doing a dissertation that is significantly concerned with the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Sullivan's theological work extended in this direction, to my initial surprise, whereas I had originally been attracted to books of his like Magisterium: Teaching Authority in the Catholic Church ( Read more... )

The last few weeks saw two dissertation defenses for friends in the program that were kinda kick-ass. I got to see a little of their development along the way, hearing Kari-Shane toss around her ideas and being part of a patristics group Barnes put together to help Bogdan brainstorm out a structure to his work. I thought I'd put the abstracts ( Read more... )

Barnes sent us all ("us all" being those interested in Patristics - the study of the writing and theologies of the early church) the following announcement/instructions for this morning's big festivities. Interesting stuff for the secretly initiated. Off to get readin'A reminder -- or an announcement: this Friday morning, 10-12 a.m.in Alumni ( Read more... )

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Over in the basement of Cudahy Hall, 4:30am, taking a brief break. I finally realized what has been nagging at me about this place as I've spent the last week doing my reading over here since the library is closed nights during the break: it kind of reminds me in its layout of the Novice Quarters in the White Tower on Tar Valon in Robert Jordan's ( Read more... )