I need to process some things.
First, I have recently come to understand something very important about myself. Everybody has his or her "baggage"--all of those unresolved emotional needs that hang around and make one or another part of our adult personalities more childish. I have known mine was present for a long time, but something about this week has thrown it into clear relief. Becoming freshly acquainted with it makes me realize that it may well be the source not only of my anxieties, but also my attachment and fondness for the Church.
Second, while I am here I continue to think a great deal about the World Religions class that I will teach. How will it be different? How will it be better? How will this experience I am having right now manifest in a religion course for 16 year-olds? I had many of my hopes for tapping into youthful "natural curiosity" crushed last semester under the weight of unbelievable apathy and laziness. I hope that God can give me the grace and gifts necessary to lead a classroom--even one devoted to the study of non-Christian traditions--closer to him.
1 comment:
As you probably already know, self-knowledge is crucial to the spiritual journey. Understanding this part of you that is the cause of your anxieties will help you to trust God better. Facing it's implications when it comes to your "attachment and fondness" for the Church can help you to love the Church even more or in a better way, depending on how you face it. I really can't say more without knowing the specifics, so I'll leave it at that.
I think you are very brave about teaching a World Religions class because you must realize that you're opening up for criticism of the Church. That just happens in the course of such a class (I know this from personal experience). Also, it allows (I think) for 16 year olds to ask the questions they are going to ask in a Catholic environment, which is a lot safer than any other environment they could do it in. (Again, this is from personal experience.)
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