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Posted by on Dec 24, 2010

All the World At Peace – The Christmas Proclamation

All the World At Peace – The Christmas Proclamation

The New – The Social Media Nativity

A Digital Nativity Story

The Old: The Christmas Proclamation

This is one my favorite rituals of the Christmas season. There are several version of this proclamation. Fr. Felix Just, SJ, PhD presents a good summary. The following is a translation from the version used by the Vatican in 2009.

Eight days before the Kalends of January, fifteenth of the lunar month.

Innumerable ages having passed since the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth and formed mankind after his own image;

Many centuries after the flood, when the Most High placed his rainbow in the heavens as a sign of peace and of the covenant;

Twenty-one centuries after the going forth of Abraham, our father in faith, from Ur of the Chaldees;

Thirteen centuries from the exodus of the people of Israel out of Egypt, led by Moses;

About one thousand years from the anointing of David as King;
in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel;
in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;
in the year seven hundred and fifty-two from the founding of the city of Rome;
in the forty-second year of the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus;
when the whole world was at peace:

Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, being pleased to hallow the world by His most gracious coming, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit, and nine months having passed since His conception, having become Man, was born at Bethlehem in Judah of the Virgin Mary.

THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH.

A Digital Nativity Story

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Posted by on Dec 24, 2010

A Pilgrimage on the Pathway of Peace

In Advent we journey with our sisters and brothers around the world, all children of the same God, to the Kingdom of Peace and Justice. Christ, as Key of Knowledge is our guide along the pathway of peace.

O Key of Knowledge, guide us in our pilgrimage,
we ever seek, yet unfulfilled remain,
open to us the pathway of your peace.

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits,
truly my hope is in you.

My Soul in Stillness Waits by Marty Haugen, 1982

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Posted by on Dec 23, 2010

Advent – The Coming or Arrival of Something Extremely Important

Advent is a liturgical season for Christians. It’s also a term that means arrival or the coming of something extremely important. One of the O antiphons refers to Christ as the Root of Life who draws all to Himself, giving birth again to hope through His dying and rising. May we welcome His advent in our lives.

O Root of Life, implant your seed within us,
and in your advent, draw us all to you,
our hope reborn in dying and in rising.

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits,
truly my hope is in you.

My Soul in Stillness Waits, by Marty Haugen, 1982

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Posted by on Dec 21, 2010

Waiting in Stillness

The final days of Advent are often filled with activity and anxiety. Where will I find the perfect gift for Uncle Joe? Will Aunt Susie be bringing her “famous” casserole (that no one really likes)? How will I be able to smile and seem merry when I’m still grieving the loss of my husband/child/friend?

There are so many cares and worries in each of our lives that it can be hard to set them aside and be at peace as we approach the feast of Christmas. Yet what we are celebrating is the coming of the Prince of Peace into our world – into our personal lives.

The hymn by Marty Haugen, My Soul in Stillness Waits, based on the O Antiphons and Psalm 95 is a special reminder of what really matters in these final few days before Christmas. Today I share the first verse and refrain as a point for meditation and peace.

O Lord of Light, our only hope of glory,
your radiance shines in all who look to you,
come light the hearts of all in dark and shadow.

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits,
truly my hope is in you.

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Posted by on Dec 17, 2010

Advent – A Time to Be At Peace

We’re now approaching the fourth Sunday of Advent and the number days until Christmas grows shorter. We’ve heard readings of Hope/Expectation for the Coming of Christ in our days and at the end of days. We’ve heard readings of Peace, with images of children playing safely beside the adder’s lair and lambs being safe with lions. Readings of Joy were proclaimed last week, with the promise of the Lord coming to set things right and signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God already present in the life and work of Jesus. Next Sunday we’ll hear of the Lord’s promise and reassurance to St. Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was divinely blessed and of Joseph’s acceptance of that gift.

As I’ve moved through these days and weeks, I’ve been reflecting on what peace means in daily life. It seems to me that peace is more than the absence of armed conflict between nations. Peace is a way of living. It springs from a place of openness and gratitude.

Peace means being gracious when another person fails to notice, even in passing, that you have gone out of your way to do something just for him or her. Peace means accepting an apology without needing to shame the one offering it. Peace means choosing to be kind rather than insisting on being right. Peace means looking beyond the gift one has received to see the love with which it was given.

Peace flows out of a place of gratitude for gifts received and shared. It giggles with a small child discovering the joys of a puddle. It smiles with the fond memories of a grandparent who is watching another’s child. It holds hands and spends quiet time with the person nearing the end of this life.

Advent is about hope, peace, joy and the coming of the light of the world. May each of us remember this truth as we hear the enticements of the mall and feel the pressure to “make Christmas memorable” by doing many things and buying lots of merchandise. Advent is a time for hope, peace, joy, and sharing with Christ the wonder of being a bringer of hope, peace and joy to others.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

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Posted by on Dec 12, 2010

Lived Religion – Relating to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lived Religion – Relating to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lived religion is a sociological term for the way people behave on a day to day basis. Santa Clara University sociologist Maria del Socorro Castaneda Liles has written Our Lady of Everyday Life an ethnography of Mexican American women and their relation to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Joe Rodriguez, a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News has summarized this research in the title of his article with the words Mother, Friend, Lawyer. Pesonally, I would not have used the term “lawyer” because it has a more legal, technical connotation than the word advocate. The Spanish term “abogado” is used for both.

These interviews documented something familiar to most of us who share a Mexican heritage. There is more of a casual, friendly, and intimate conversation between devotees and the Virgin, as opposed to a more ritual relationship embodied in formalized prayers or devotional manuals. The interviews also show that women and their sense of themselves is changing.

Younger women felt that Our Lady could relate to their economic struggles as single mothers and to their decisions to control the number of children they have. In Guadalupe, they find the Mother of God as strong, resourceful, and capable.

This theme of empowerment might seem new and contemporary but it is at the heart, literally the heart, of the Guadalupe experience for the conquered indigenous people of Mexico and the “Gran Mestizaje,” the resulting nation of people created by the blending of European, African, and indigenous American groups.

The appearance of Mary, pregnant and dark complected as the advocate and protectress of the lowly, the powerless, is also an act of heavenly recognition of human dignity and worth.

From a purely secular standpoint this is a startling phenomenon. The general pattern in times of such social upheaval and distress is the development of revitalization movements which attempt to go back to earlier better times, to plead with the gods who have abandoned a civilization, or in some cases to engage in “ghost dances” to render themselves invisible.

In many respects, the name Guadalupe is an attempt by the Spanish to claim the apparition as that of one of the black Madonnas from their homeland who was also a patron of Christopher Columbus. Yet, people who know her real name call her “Tepeyac” from the hill on which she appeared.

While it might be tempting to equate her with Tonantzin, the Aztec goddess of the dawn, the woman who appeared to Juan Diego and her subsequent cult had none of the darkness and blood that characterized the Aztec and Meso-American pantheon.

The slide show from the online version of the same article conveys the intimacy of a people and their “Patrona”.

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Posted by on Dec 8, 2010

We’re Moving: Time to Pack Up Your Data

As mentioned in a companion post, the Raw Sugar discovery engine that we’ve used for our search function here at Theologika.net is being closed before the end of December. Theologika.net is not closing its doors. We’re moving and we’d like to take you with us!

We’re taking steps here at Theologika.net to save the links, tags and descriptions of all the materials that have been tagged as part of the public database/search engine. We plan to offer it again, albeit in a different format, once the transition has been completed and our updated site is online. Unfortunately, without your help, we may not be able to save the information in your private directories.

These are the options for saving private directory information.

1) Save the data yourself

a) Use the copy and paste functions from a spreadsheet program such as Excel or a word processing program such as Word. (If you use Word, be sure to put the data into a table to make it easier for another program to import it.)

b) Save each item in your directory individually. You will be able to save the name of your tagged item (the URL will come with it), the name of the person who originally tagged the item, the tags associated with the item and the description of the item.

c) Once we have the new database set up, you should be able to upload your directory information and continue to use it as you have in the past.

2) Ask us here at Theologika.net for help in saving your data.

We must have the following to access the data on your behalf:

a) User name

b) Your name and email – so we can send the data to you!

Please remember, time is of the essence. We basically have until Christmas Eve to retrieve all data stored in the Raw Sugar engine. Once Raw Sugar is closed, the data will no longer be available.

If you’ll need help to get your data saved, please contact us immediately. We will respond to your note within a day. If you do not hear from us, please try again. Sometimes there can be a “glitch” and an email doesn’t get through. Another option is to leave a comment on this post. We’ll check daily for comments and requests for help in saving data. Don’t post your user name or password, just let us know you need help and we’ll contact you at the email you used when submitting the request.

Thank you for your patience during this transition time. It’s been a delight to hear from those of you who have commented on posts and to share a love of theology. We look forward to continuing the adventure with you.

Peace.

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Posted by on Dec 8, 2010

2011 Brings Classes and Big Improvements to Theologika.net

“Be Careful What You Pray For . . .”

For some time now we have been eager to make changes to the “look and feel” of Theologika.net to improve your online experience.  Social media and online resources have changed enormously since we opened in early 2007. We can now move to more of a community type of online setting with a different type of discovery engine to tag and share your own recommendations and those of our Trusted Authorities. In 2011 we will begin offering online classes, seminars, and talks with our current and many new Trusted Authorities.

Beginning in early 2007, we have devoted our energies to:

  • building the site with our search/discovery engine,
  • encouraging people around the world to use it in their own ministries,
  • reaching out to trusted authorities to share their insights, and
  • reflecting on life and religious experience in our blog.

Throughout this endeavor we have received untold words of encouragement and hours of support from people in many walks of life and from many countries. The owners of Raw Sugar (the discovery engine we have been using) and Compassites (the website developers) have been particularly supportive. We are grateful to them all.

Recently we have been notified that Raw Sugar will not be continuing in its present form beyond the end of December 2010. This means that materials tagged in directories and watchlists will no longer be accessible in their current form. It does not mean the data will all be lost. However, owners of personal directories will need to take steps to secure the information they have identified and tagged. The process is not difficult and I’ll detail it in a separate post. We will do our best to make this change as seamless as possible.

We are happy to announce that Theologika.net will begin offering workshops and classes in collaboration with our trustees and other theologians, philosophers and social scientists in early 2011. These workshops and classes will be offered through a “Members Only” portal. Some of the offerings will be recordings of prior workshops. Some will be live, on-line courses or presentations. Some will be collections of readings or other resources for your own spiritual growth or use in your ministry that are not currently published or on the web. We will continue to provide free information on our discovery engine as well as scholarships and fee waivers for our online learning activities.

Insights from the workshops and classes will be shared through our blog as well, but for access to the full program, we will ask you to become members of Theologika.net.

Will we continue to offer our old services?

Theologika.net’s goal has always been to provide easy access to trustworthy, relevant information from trusted sources and authorities. We will continue to do this. We are working with owners of another database/search engine to accept the materials we currently have and provide ways for us to continue to collaborate with our trustees to identify more resources. Our blog will also continue.

We are excited about this transition and the changes that are coming. We welcome your thoughts and ideas for ways to enhance our ministry and our offerings. If there’s someone you’d like us to approach about offering a workshop, please send me a note. If there’s a specific topic about which you’d like to know more, let me know.

Please keep us and this ministry in your prayers. And we’ll keep you posted as we move through the transition. For the Greater Glory of God!

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