Author Archives: Gosia Czelusniak

David Bottorff, Loyola University Chicago Institute of Pastoral Studies | M.A. Pastoral Counseling Student

Abstract

Early Christianity proved to be a profound pivotal point around which the social, political, economic, and spiritual lives of many people living in the Mediterranean Basin turned. This shift is characterized by a typology of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. At the same time, this pattern of change was mirrored by one of enslavement, freedom, and reverse discrimination. Reconciling the truth of these two concurrent yet contrasting typologies, whether over the course of centuries or mere moments, has proved to be both a great personal challenge and the key to my subjective appreciation of Early Christianity. This essay explores the tension between what Early Christianity was for its seminal proponents and the gravity it exerts in the life of this post-modern author. Further, it attempts to convey my relationship with a monumental and personally challenging question: How could one man, who by all rights should have been lost in the annuls of history, effect such tremendous change in the way we appreciate salvation of the human soul? This subject remains near to the heart of my lifelong spiritual quest.

Uncovering Early Christianity

Early Christianity precipitated catalytic change in the way much of the world relates to the great metaphysical forces shaping our human condition. For many, including myself, the concepts of mystery, hope and meaning were profoundly altered by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, as told by his seminal biographers. Biblical scholars use many tools to examine scripture, including historical, political, ideological, psychological, form, and redaction approaches (Pregeant, 2009). The conclusions can be widely divergent. To express my personal take on Early Christianity, I rely not only on these academic findings, but also on the Buddhist epistemological hermeneutic through which I read scripture.

To articulate what Early Christianity was, and what it means to me, I turn to the recurring typologic analogue described by Brueggemann (1984) in his Psalms exegesis—that of orientation, disorientation and reorientation. This organic sine pattern repeats time and again throughout human history, and finds expression at the fulcrum point around which spirituality in the Mediterranean Basin pivoted some two millennia ago—the life and times of Jesus. (more…)

Living the Opposition

Katie Davis, Loyola IPS MAPS Student

In contemporary society, we are all bombarded with the temptations of individualism, consumerism, and militarism that inevitably shape our understanding of what it means to be human in the world today.  In the midst of such peril, YHWH as revealed in the Old Testament presents a countercultural path to life through the choosing of the covenant to this day.  Contrary to popular belief, the Old Testament is not merely an antiquated text; rather, it introduces poignant and relevant themes such as God’s saving power, social organization based on covenant as opposed to coercion, and the urgently important notion of “prophetic consciousness” as opposed to “royal consciousness”.

As Christians, we tend to grapple with the role that the Old Testament can or should play in our experiences of faith in the Trinity.  Are the Old Testament and the New Testament so different that Christians can disregard the former?  Is the Old Testament simply a starting point to be read solely through the lens of Christianity?  Walter Brueggemann stresses the importance of continually learning from the Jews and the way they read the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the necessity of honoring our similarities and acknowledging our differences.  For we cannot, he suggests, fully understand the New Testament without having a firm grasp on the Old Testament.  With openness to the graces of these Books, we as Christians can gain access to the interior life of a God with whom we can become acquainted in a totally fresh and more substantive way. (more…)

Heidi Russell, Loyola University Chicago IPS Graduate Program Director, MAPS

Christmas is the feast of the incarnation. In Christmas we do celebrate the nativity or birth of Christ, but what we are celebrating is not simply Jesus’ “birthday,” the way we celebrate our own birthdays. We are celebrating the mystery of Emmanuel, God-with-us, God revealed in time and space. Each week in the creed we say “by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man,” and the instructions say we are supposed to bow at those words, but on Christmas, the instructions say to genuflect. Why? Because those words proclaim the incarnation, that God became human. So what is the incarnation all about?

St. Athanasius, one of the great fathers and theologians of the Church, tells us:

Obviously we do not become God in the way that God is God, but we become God-like, we are divinized. The eastern Christian tradition has done a much better job of reminding people of this fact than our western tradition has done, as the west has tended to focus much more on the incarnation as a remedy for sin (it is both). The eastern tradition has a beautiful Greek word, theopoesis or theosis, literally to make divine, to describe this process. The word is usually translated as divinization or deification. We partake in the divine nature. St. Irenaeus puts it another way:

by Stephen Dynako, IPS Student

It’s that time of year again at work where my annual performance plan and review is due. This year my boss asked me to self-evaluate on the quantitative portions of the review, then he would go back afterward to either agree with or adjust my self-imposed ratings before the document became official.

For example, say there was a category on the review called “Demonstrates Leadership.” The ratings might include: 1) exceeds expectations, 2) performs above average, 3) meets expectations, and 4) performs below expectations. Since my boss asked me to self-evaluate, let’s suppose I felt really good about my leadership performance this year and gave myself an “exceeds expectations.” Additionally, there were another six or seven quantitative categories to evaluate on this year’s review.

Because I consider myself to have good self-esteem but also because I exercise a healthy degree of humility, I rated myself a combination of “exceeds expectations” and “performs above average” on all categories. I felt it would be pompous to give myself “straight A’s” across the board, because I am aware that my job is challenging and though I am very, very good at it, I know I am not perfect.

To put it bluntly, I have never felt comfortable with self-evaluations. After all, who in one’s right mind would willingly self-evaluate on the low end of a scale in any category, especially on a document on which that person’s annual bonus and salary increase are based? Therefore, when my boss asked me to take the first crack at this document, I knew it was going to be subject to his subsequent modification. I preferred he cut out the middle man (that is, me) and just fill it out with what he knew would be the final ratings. (more…)

by Stephen Dynako, IPS Student

I attended Loyola University Chicago as an undergraduate from 1984-1989, majoring in communication. In addition to hosting the mid-day shift at Loyola’s WLUW radio station (which was then a top-40 station, nicknamed “Hitline 88-7 FM, if you can believe it.), I worked at a couple of commercial radio stations in Chicago. Immediately upon earning my degree, I ventured out into the corporate world, where I have worked for the past 22 years.

During most of my tenure in corporate America, I did not contemplate the presence of God with me in the midst of the deadlines, narcissistic personalities, variously inspirational and incompetent managers, celebrating the successes of closing the big deals, and lamenting the ones that slipped through our fingers. Don’t misunderstand me: If it seems I am putting it down, on the contrary, I have loved most every minute in working in “the business,” dysfunction and all.

In 2001, I had my own business – a small technology consulting practice, which I founded in 1993. The beginning of the end of that business occurred when the United States suffered through 9/11. In closing my business, I was compelled to seek a paying job elsewhere and entered the banking industry, where I continue to work full time while attending IPS. My dark night of the soul was the time in between shutting the business and finding the new job, which did not come quickly. It was during this time that I turned to faith in something greater than myself to encourage and strengthen me and ultimately to provide for me. (more…)

THE MINISTRY OF THE POPE: Crisis and Renewal

A Presentation by Thomas O’Meara, O.P. at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, October 21, 2010.

Renowned theologian and Rahner scholar, Thomas O’Meara, takes a prophetic look at the ministry of the Bishop of Rome and at how that ministry has changed over time, particularly in recent centuries.

A sketch of underlying theological and political causes of the turmoil surrounding the papacy today will be followed by possible directions which renewal might take.

by Beth Orchard, IPS Social Justice

Visions

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
Before you were born I set you apart…”
-Jeremiah 1:5[i]

The word ‘sankofa’ comes from West Africa. Literally translated from the original language it means, ‘it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.’[ii] Essentially, what was left behind can be recovered, and what was lost can be found. This can also refer to how we review our pasts to inform our present and engage the future. ‘Sankofa’ also means there is always room to collect the ways and being which might have been forgotten to create a new mosaic composed of the old and the new.

It is easier to think of people like Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Gandhi and others as visionaries than it is to consider the same about ourselves. Although we herald them as modern day saints, each of these great leaders crafted their work over a number of years based on a vision.  This vision guided them towards the work they would do later in life and perhaps even adapted and changed over time as they looked back to bring the past into the present and future works they hoped to accomplish.

The question of ‘sankofa’ for me is ‘where have I been, where am I now, and to where am I going?’ Each day as I wake up, I quietly contemplate how great leaders craft their vision one day at a time, piece by piece. It is a great puzzle to look back and see pieces of myself and realize I can mold those into a newer, wiser, and greater vision of who I hope to be in the future.

I felt for the longest time before I began exploring faith, that I was a person without a name; just another person trying to create a life that made sense. As I began reading about visionaries, leaders and prophets like Jesus, I quickly realized that leaders are not born with vision. Vision is something which develops, is molded and shaped by our collective experiences. As I came to faith and developed a new vision and identity for myself, I realized I had not lost any of the insight or experiences I had previously. They merely became a part of a greater whole that God created me for. (more…)

Win “4” Eternity | Lake City Football

by Deacon Jim Siler, IPS MDiv student

“4” the Lake City Football program, winning has become so much more than just winning football games and winning the Highland Conference and State Championship. When one looks deeply in the eyes of these young men and the coaching staff “4” the weeks following the loss of their teammate it is to truly witness a spirit that goes beyond their physical presence and makes any and all of these team goals a real and optimistic reality. The tragic loss of teammate and friend Zach Peery #”4” on the morning of July 13^th has “4” ever changed the purpose, drive and motivation of the football program, the entire Lake City School student body, faculty, staff, the community of Lake City and beyond.

At Zach’s funeral in my message I said, “The pathway of faith has divine purpose, and we’re to obey, no matter what. But even when God’s direction is perplexing, we can count on the fact that if God allows something to happen he will make good come from it. Walking obediently with Christ doesn’t guarantee an easy life, which is obvious when we consider what we are facing today.”  One reality has already taken place in the Lake City Football Program. I have had the opportunity to experience first hand “4” the last few weeks the fire of the Holy Spirit in Coach Peterson, his coaching staff and the entire squad from the “4” year seniors down to the first year freshmen. They have given a new meaning to the reality of hard work and determination in the face of such real and painful circumstances.

I shared with the team after their final two a day practice sessions my appreciation to them by their example “4” helping me to strengthen the resolve of this entire community to live the “Gospel.” This is truly the purpose of our being created and the reality of how Zach Peery lived in his short but fruitful life. Like the principles in winning at football we must fight the good fight, keep running the race and never give up! We must daily pick up our cross, put on the armor of Christ and finish the race despite the pain and agony! (more…)

by Jerica Arents, M.A. Social Justice

I received an education Thursday.

I wasn’t in a classroom. I wasn’t laboring over a paper, strategizing in a small group, poring over a textbook or hustling across campus. I was sitting as a spectator in the front row of Judge Jansen’s courtroom in Clark County, Nevada.

Fourteen peace activists were on trial for trying to hand-deliver a letter to the base commander at Creech Air Force Base in April of 2009. Their letter laid out concerns about usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones, for surveillance and combat purposes in Afghanistan. The Creech 14 believe that the usage of remote aerial vehicles to hunt down and kill people in other lands amounts to targeted assassination and is prohibited by international and U.S. law. Soldiers carrying M16s stopped them after they had walked past the guardhouse at the base entrance and a few hours later Nevada state troopers handcuffed the Creech 14 and took them into custody.

The next day, they were charged with trespassing on a military facility and released. The charges were later dropped, then reinstated. Defendants, upon learning of a September 14, 2010 court date, had ten months to plan for their trial. They decided to represent themselves pro se and to call, as expert witnesses, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Colonel Ann Wright and Professor Bill Quigley, the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. What were the chances that a Las Vegas court that normally handles traffic violations and minor offenses would admit three expert witnesses to testify on behalf of defendants charged with a simple trespass? Slim to zero in the view of most observers. (more…)