Caturday: Epic Bath Edition

Every week I wonder how I'm going to beat the previous week's caturday video.

But this week... this week it was no problem.

I laughed, I cried--both openly in my office as students walked by.
It was kind of awkward, actually.

But behold: Reginald gets a bath.


Happy Caturday, y'all.

More Christian Anarchism!

It's been a little quiet over here this week. Sorry about that. I've just been feeling lazy and unmotivated, while at the same time being rather busy--a pretty terrible combo when you have papers and projects due, and, you know, work and stuff.

BUT!

I've loved all the feedback from my Christian Anarchism post. There seems to be a lot of interest in it and what it's about, so I'd really like to talk some more about it.

And I really want to know what you're interested in hearing about.

What questions do you have about christian anarchism? What challenges would you like to see addressed? There are certainly a lot. Would you like to see some book reviews? Recommendations?  Do you want more personal stories about what it means for me to be a Christian anarchist? Or do you want to share your story?

Let me know in the comments!

Theologian Thursday: St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Catherine of Siena was (surprise, surprise) a Christian mystic. I think it's important to note here that most important women in the church of the middle ages--like Teresa of Avila, Joan of Arc, and Julian of Norwich--were all mystics. My opinion on this is that, because they were women and therefore basically not taken seriously as thinkers or leaders in the church (or anywhere), they had to rely on personal and mystical interactions with God to gain credibility. No one would listen to them if they just said the things they said. But if they framed their words as messages directly from God, well, who would argue with that? That's not to say that they faked their experiences, but it's interesting that there are very few (if any) women who had an impact on the church at this time who did not practice mysticism, while their are plenty of men who did not.

Anyway.

Catherine was born in Siena, Italy, and was very religious from a young age. She actually took a vow of celibacy at age 7 (I know, right?). Later in life, she would say that she had entered into a "mystical marriage" with Jesus. She became a Dominican at 16 and lived as an anchorite for several years before a vision of the Divine mysteries which resulted in her receiving a mandate from God that she not separate herself from the world, but go be among the needy. It is said that on the fourth Sunday of Lent in 1375 she received the stigmata.

She worked for the reunification of the church, and bring the Holy See back to Rome from France. She also worked with the poor and the sick, and taught both men and women in the holy order.

Catherine is also known for her extreme fasting, which many scholars conclude was closer to anorexia than anything.

What you should read:

• You can read many of her writings HERE.

Ratings:(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)
Gender Equality: 
Catherine was committed to her life of service to God, regardless of her gender. She taught both men and women, cared for the needy, and blatantly refused marriage. In fact, she was supposed to marry her sister's widower, but starved herself until her family relented. A little dramatic, maybe, but certainly dedicated.
Environmental Sensibility: 
I sincerely believe in the correlation between gender equality and environmental sensibility--that if a person treats women as equal and good creations, that they will view the rest of creation as good and important as well. So while Catherine still lived in a time when the environment was not so important, her believe in the goodness of all people and nature leads me to believe she was on the right track.
Heretical Tendencies: 
Although she had some difficulties during the schism in the church, I think for the most part she was pretty orthodox, even though that always seems a little weird when it comes to mysticism.
General Badassery: 
Catherine was a cool lady. Some of her spiritual practices were a little out there (not sure if I can call an eating disorder badass) but she was all-in and feisty. I like that in a saint.

And a quote:

"You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love."

Caturday: RIP Nyan Cat Edition

Marty, the real cat muse behind the now-ubiquitous Nyan Cat video, has died this week.

So this week, I present nyan cat, in memoriam.




Happy/sad caturday.

Rest in peace, Marty.

All Saints' Day

Being that today is the Feast Day of All Saints, I felt it would be unfair to do my usual Theologian Thursday thing and spotlight an individual when the Church is celebrating all the saints.

Depending on tradition--Western, Eastern, Protestant, Catholic--as well as geography and culture, there are so many ways we are celebrating and remembering today. We rejoice in the hope of heaven--that there are beatified saints enjoying the divine presence of God as we speak. We give thanks and revere those martyrs who died for their faith, and ours. And we encourage each other, for we are all saints and members in the Kingdom of God, and remember our brothers and sisters who are no longer with us.

And while my own understanding of heaven is perhaps not orthodox--and certainly not concrete or solidified--I can participate in this feast day, remembering the saints in love and hope and celebrating those saints by whom I am surrounded.

So I offer this prayer of Teresa of Avila on this special day:

“O holy souls that now rejoice without fear of losing your joy and are forever absorbed in the praises of my God! Happy indeed your lot! How right that you should employ yourselves ceaselessly in these praises! and how my soul envies you, free as you now are from the affliction caused by the grievous offenses which are in these unhappy days are committed against my God! No longer do you behold all the ingratitude of men and their blindness nor the multitude of souls being carried away by satan.

O blessed heavenly souls! Help us in our misery and intercede for us with the divine Mercy, so that we may be granted some part of your joy and you may share with us some of that clear knowledge which is now yours.

And You, O my God, make us understand what it is that You give to those who fight manfully through the dream of this miserable life. Help us, O loving souls, to understand what joy it gives you to behold the eternity of your bliss and what delight to possess the certain knowledge that it will never end.

O blessed souls, who knew so well how to profit by the gifts of God, and to purchase with this precious ransom so delectable and enduring a heritage, tell us how you won through Him such an eternal blessing! Assist us, since you are so near the Fountainhead. Draw water for those of us on earth who are perishing with thirst.”

Amen.

Wishing all you saints a blessed day!

Happy Reformation Day!

Well, first of all. Happy Halloween!

I'm pretty excited about Ebenezer's adorable panda costume.

BUT, seeing as it's also Reformation Day, I'm thinking maybe he should dress up as Martin Luther.

Yes, it was this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses protesting the Catholic Church's use of indulgences to the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg, Germany, thus starting the Protestant Reformation.

I'm quite appreciative of and sympathetic to the Catholic Church--I have a deep, abiding love for it and its history and tradition, and am indebted to it in so many ways.

And yet, be it because of the accident of my place of birth or my parents or my education, I am irrevocably Protestant. Sometimes it's hard to say why, but that's the truth of the matter. And so today, I say Thank You, Martin Luther. Even though you were kind of a turd, and I will pretty  much always take the side of Erasmus when it comes to that debate, you were pretty badass and I would not be where I am without you and your Theses.

Social Media Influence and Klout

I created this presentation for my social media class last week, and I thought I'd share it here too.

Klout is a site that aggregates data from multiple social media platforms and measures your influence, resulting in a score.



If nothing else, it's interesting to just see what kind of social media reach you have so you can better understand how to use your influence. However, I imagine more casual users of social media will have little use for or interest in such information. It's definitely geared toward people who are actively involved online and interested in furthering their reach.