3rd Semester, week 6

I first want to mention that the course I am going to talk about, is not on the list which we are to pick from. I have very few courses that I have taken that are on the list because they have not even been offered or they were/are advanced general education classes and I cannot get into the class because I am am underclassman. So, continuing on, I have chosen to talk about the course Religion and Consumer Culture which I took as a night class. This class was very interesting in that the final question and main question for the course was that of "Is Consumerism a religion?" Within the course, we read several authors on what consumerism is, what religion is, and even opinions of authors on whether or not consumerism is a religion. We would even rant about how ridiculous consumerism can get including advertising, our own human nature, and the economy.
For the final, I decided that to write my paper on showing how consumerism can be considered a religion. I noted the similarities in the places of "worship" who the religious people are such as "priests" and then what the rituals and traditions are. I was shocked at what I had learned because before I took this course, I would have stated that it was nonsense to think a mall could be linked with a basilica.
The only thing that I would have changed about the class is to not have it as a night class. I can not focus for three straight hours and it was a lot of information to take. It may have been better to meet for a shirt time and then be able to reflect more on the little information I gained in that little time.
Overall, it was a great course with a great group of people and I enjoyed it!

2nd Semester week 11

After taking History of Sacred Music I could really relate it to choir. We sing a lot of religious songs in choir and I began to search for a copy write date and looked more into the words and the type of music that was being used. I was then able to appreciate the music more because I understood the meaning behind the notes and lyrics even though most people within the Loras Choirs may not even like the music and it's because they don't understand the meaning and history behind the piece of music.

First Semester

When first coming to Loras, I had a different idea of the content a religious studies major studied than what I have been learning currently. I thought I would be studying the life of Jesus and looking at different bible stories and interpretating those stories and fitting them into our busy lives. I also thought I would learn about the many saints and how we can look up to them. The reason for thinking this is because my religious education program back in my hometown wasn't all that great and I learned very little. Everything that I knew coming into Loras, were things that I taught myself and read up on. The classes that I am currently taking and the one I took last semester (Intro to Theology) are/were quite hard. The Intro class did not seem like an intro at all, but that's probably because I don't have the background like everyone else has. The content we learned in class didn't seem relevant to the future career that I hope to have, a youth minister. However, there were some things that I learned in that class that I not only understood, but help deepen my faith. Watching the movie God on Trial, and learning about the different theodicies really opened my eyes to what religion and faith is all about. At some point during my first semester, I thought to myself if I would ever learn about other religions and what makes those religions different from others. J-term came around and I enrolled in World Regions. One of the most interesting and funnest classes i have taken! I learned how similar Judaism and Islam is to each other and also  Christianity. The classes am taking now, Foundations of Ministry and Empowered Catholic Women, couldn't be more different and yet so similar. One class is about learning the place of different people within the church and the other focuses on different women and their spirituality. Many concepts cross over and I am beginning to see the link with everything.
In the future, I really hope to learn more about the history of Jesus and the Catholic faith. I still really want to learn more the bible and the many bible stories and I believe I can in a class called God's Literature, or something like that. I also really want to learn about how to be a youth minister. I'm not sure what specific questions to ask about that, but I want to make sure that I can be the best youth minister and do my job right.
I am very excite for what the next three years hold for me and to broad my knowledge of my Faith, Hope in humanity, and Love for God. God Bless!!

posted March 21, 2012

After Week 6

First Semester After Week 6

I have very high hopes for myself in taking on a Religious Studies/Theology major, as well as a Catholic Studies minor. I'm expecting my firm foundation, both from my family and from the deepening faith I've developed in being involved within the Catholic Church for a good portion of my life. After my reversion back to the faith in high school and my year as a Catholic Missionary with NET Ministries (check out the website! www.netusa.org), I've had a great zeal to pursue the Catholic intellectual tradition. I'm expecting to be challenged in what I know, affirmed in what I believe, and called out to be a more well-rounded Catholic Christian. 

 My expectations come from all over the place! Of course, from where the Lord has led me - despite my kicking and screaming about it occasionally, but also from the foundation that my parents, especially my dad, laid for me. 

My participating in The Once and Future Church really solidified my decision to be a Religious Studies/Theology major.

I'm hoping to learn especially more about the social teachings of the Church in depth, more scripturally-based literature, and anything else that gets thrown at me! I love it all! (I admit to being a bit of a theology nerd - it's okay, I've accepted it).

Semester 2 week 6

I just recently took History of Sacred Music. In this class we focused on the history of music within the Catholic Church as well as other denominations. This course helped me to understand the importance of music within our liturgy. It made really think about church weddings the most. I have sung at a couple of weddings that were held in my home parish and I sang popular wedding songs, not songs sung within a church. Dr. Kotowich really opened my eyes to how wrong it was that these pop songs were being sung in the church! Those songs can be kept for the reception and the songs for the ceremony need to be focused on God and the sacredness of the unity of two people. I even read the most recent document from the Vatican that focuses on music: Sing to the Lord. In this document, I was shocked by what the Vatican was asking and how my own home parish wasn't doing barely any of it! It really opened my eyes to the need of parishes reading these documents!

What could I change…? I am not sure what I would change. I would maybe have wanted to talk more about what was happening with the sacred music today and if it’s ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ as well as comparing it to how the music was when Catholicism was first starting. I feel as if the significance of music within the liturgy today has drastically changed to what it used to be.