How do we actually live out the Faith? What does “holiness” look like in our day-to-day lives? How do we move from theological theory to practical application? Can we really, truly, authentically live out Catholicism in modern society? Seriously?
This question of how has plagued me ever since I entered Catholic Studies. We seem to do a great job covering what the Church teaches and why she teaches it, but the empirical evidence for how we are to live this out is always taken from the lives of the Saints. Don’t get me wrong, reading St. Therese of Lisieux and St. John of the Cross has certainly been inspirational and has pushed me spiritually… yet something has been missing. Our modern world, revolutionized by technology, communication, transportation and secularism, presents new evils, new temptations, and new battles to fight. Most of the time defining certain contemporary dilemmas and finding their solutions can be quite difficult. Some issues, like issues of life and freedom, seem pretty black and white, but other issues dealing with justice, authority, charity, power, and economics tend to have a lot of gray area. Which is why Catholic Studies 401 has been such a wonderful blessing for me to take! This course focuses on the Catholic Church’s Social tradition as it addresses the social questions that have always been a challenge to civil society.
Through his diplomatic approach, Dr. Kennedy imparts his wisdom on such topics as human dignity, common goods, private property, dignity of work, just war theory and many other social concerns. Our class is small and intimate and we all sit in a square–optimally arranged for discussion. Sometimes we’re jotting down notes, sometimes we’re engaged in fiery arguments, but most of the time we simply sit and listen to Dr. Kennedy speak profoundly on the question of how we are to live out our faith.
I personally love this course and think it’s a perfect subject to end the Catholic Studies core requirements. I’ve been fascinated with the different dimensions of the social tradition: political, economic and cultural, and have found that the way the class is structured greatly helps in developing an accurate understanding of the pragmatic nature of Catholicism. Sometimes theories begin to seem too far up in the clouds and Catholic Studies 401 does a good job of bringing these theories back down to earth and making them concrete practices we can live by.
What a blessing to belong to a program that not only cares about my intellectual conversion, but also seeks to develop my ability to apply these Catholic values in my every day life. This has been the perfect course to wrap up my education and to send me off to follow the Lord, serve the Church, and help transform our modern world.
Written by Gaby Arguello, Catholic Studies and Communication and Journalism double-major
