Discussion Question: Entertaining Angels

At their beach party, Forster, baiting Dorothy, accuses the Church of "sucking all the joy right out of life." When he says this, he is referring to what he thinks of as fun: partying, smoking, and drinking. He looks at all of the material items and the beliefs of sacrificing for others as looking "joy."  However, Forster does not understand what Dorothy does.  The "joy" and happiness offered by the Church is through what you give back.  The amazing feeling one has after helping others.  I personally truly enjoyed this movie because of the wonderful look at Dorothy's life it gave.

The Land of Invisible Women

After reading the article "In the Land of Invisible Women," by Janine DiGiovanni I was surprised at how young the women are when they are married.  By the time a girl in Yemen is approximately our age, she is most likely married with children and does not have an education.  On the contrary, 17-18 year olds in our culture are preparing to leave for college and looking towards their future with an education.  In addition, I found it interesting about the way they dressed.  Underneath their traditional garb, they wear modern street clothes and also go to salons. It is strange to think just how different things are for women just across the world.

Hotel Rwanda

In my opinion, this is unfortunately correct.  We constantly see horrors happening in our world on the news, if it is even terrible enough for news stations to consider playing it.  I think that people are so indifferent to the suffering because of how much suffering there truly is.  People also think there is not much they can do so why even try.  If I was placed in that situation, I would like to think I would help.  Forming and working with organizations to raise awareness and supplies for these horrors would be the best way to go about helping.

Can Forgiveness Play a Role in Criminal Justice

It is sad to think about how prevalent crime is in our society today.  The idea of "Restorative Justice" is a better way, in my opinion for the offender to make amends to those s/he has harmed.  In the case of the article we read, "Forgiven" by Paul Tullis, murder is the crime in question.  With the instance of murder, I do not feel that "restorative justice" is the best solution.  The criminal physically removed a life from the earth.  I do not think it is realistic because terrible people may take advantage of kind-hearted peopled who could easily forgive them.  Keeping criminals on the streets in this capacity is dangerous, especially since many would lie and state that they are "reformed" when they are, in fact, not.  It does keep closer to Catholic Social teaching because it puts faith in the accused and the accuser to reconcile and work together towards a common ground.

Conclave 2013

If I had the opportunity to voice an opinion/personal perspective on what kind of person I would like to see elected pope, I would most definitely take the chance.   In this day and age it is important that the pope be able to communicate to the younger generation.  I think that the last pope's efforts to connect with the upcoming leaders of our world is very revolutionary.  In order to reconnect our society with the Church culture, a younger pope who has the ability to travel more is in store.  Most importantly,  an honest man who will help clean up the present Church issues is who I would like to see elected pope.

The Theology of Suffering

In the article, "The Mystery of Suffering: How Should I Respond?" by Kenneth R. Overberg 3 important points about Jesus and suffering have been identified. The first point is about Jesus' rejection and elimination of suffering. Jesus spent his precious time on earth healing others and working towards the better. This is seen throughout the entire bible with his life's work. The second main point brought about in the article is about Jesus' belief in not using suffering as a punishment for sin. Jesus cares for all and wants the same for us. The use of suffering as a punishment for sin works in turning people away from God, not towards the light. The third important aspect of this article is “Jesus trusted a compassionate, present God.” We always need to keep God in mind and realize His affect on our lives. He is there for every step of our journey and would never turn away from us. In addition to the aforementioned comments, there are two interpretations of the Pascal Mystery presented. The "Theology of Incarnation" speaks that God's purpose from the beginning is that of 'incarnation'. Jesus was here in God's divine image to save us from sin. The second interpretation given is the "Theology of Atonement". In this philosophy, Jesus was a random sacrifice given to save us from sin chosen separate from his birth. I personally believe in the first idea. Jesus was, from the moment of divine conception, given to the earth to save us. He was the One who was always coming to free us.

Roses in December

"Every catholic should be familiar with the names and story of S. Ita Ford, S. Maura Clarke, S. Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan." I really enjoyed the documentary. It gave us a better view of what occurred. It is really terrible that these women went to better the world and had such unfortunate outcomes. Jean Donovan in particular had the world at her fingers and gave it all up to help the dear neighbor. She assumed she would be returning to the life she left and, parallel to the warnings of her loved ones, she allowed to do as such. I agree with the writer. The 4 women left their lives to help and give back to the world. They truly lived the Christian message. As Catholics, we should emulate these heros in an attempt to better the future of society.