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Monday, July 27, 2009

Exciting News!

So what's the exciting news?

Mary Beth Coen, (Director of Study Abroad for Franciscan University) will be interviewed along with Amanda Gilstrap (Gaming, Fall 2007) on the live call-in show "Life on the Rock" on EWTN on Thursday, August 6th. The show airs at 8:00 pm EST and repeats throughout the weekend.

They will be showing some video clips and photos of the students and campus. I hope all can watch it if they get the chance.

Amanda wrote a book on her experience in Gaming which is now available at Amazon: Being Amanda: In Europe

The Gilstrap family also has a neat website with a lot of photographs and footage of her 2007 semester abroad. Check it out at: Gilstrap Website

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Preparation for Gaming: The Right Disposition


Picture is by Francois Lemoyne (1737) entitled Time Saving Truth from Falsehood and Envy.

As with most things in life we learn, students know this truth but often forget it: that truth remains both ever ancient and ever new. That wisdom is always relevant and applicable.
The old Socratic adage and imperative: "Know Thyself" remains relevant even thousands of years later in societies far removed from Athens where it was first coined and promulgated. In fact, it is an integral part of the study abroad program here in Gaming, Austria.

How so?

More often then not, students who come to Gaming are searching. What are they searching for?

They are searching for truth, beauty, and goodness. They are searching to know themselves, to discover their gifts, to discern their purpose in life. In short, they are searching for God, even if they don't know it. As all men do, they are searching for happiness, meaning, and joy.

In this exploration to know thyself and to know God, Cardinal Newman offers some crucial advice for a successful search.

In one of his sermons he proclaims: "That Truth, which St. Paul preached, addresses itself to our spiritual nature: it will be rightly understood, valued, accepted, by none but lovers of the truth, virtue, purity, humility, and peace. Wisdom will be justified to her children."

In other words, for wisdom to reveal herself, one must have the proper internal disposition. One must love Cardinal Newman says again, "truth, virtue, purity, humility, and peace." Only when one's heart is in the right place can one be truly receptive to God's truth and his path for your life.

Moreover, Newman says elsewhere that "earnestness is necessary for gaining religious truth." One must be striving to put our will aside and know all that is good, true, and beautiful. Never does he say we must be perfect, but he does say we must be earnest in trying.

St. Augustine, in his Confessions says the same thing in another way: "The nub of the problem was to reject my own will and to desire yours." Augustine knew that too often we want to cling to our own notions, our own desires: it becomes all about me. However, when we desire God, all of a sudden it is like looking through binoculars: one can see things that were hidden from the eyes. One gains a power of sight to see, discern, understand, and to know truth, to know God, and to experience true joy. The blurry path becomes clearer not through our own efforts but through grace.

As students prepare to come to Gaming and absorb all that the Study Abroad experience has to offer, it is vital to remember that their quest to tackle Socrates' "Know thyself" and their desire to know God, will only bear fruit if their internal or spiritual disposition is in the right place. The first step to know thyself is to ask with Newman, "Am I earnest in my pursuit? Do I love truth, virtue, purity, humility, and peace?" If not, there is no better place to start than here.

"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Prov. iv.18).

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Parable of the Beach: Ora et Labora

Ah yes, our summer vacation in America is quickly coming to a close. But, as it says in Ecclesiastes, there is a time and season for everything. No Complaints!

Last night as the sun passed its apogee in the blue vault of heaven and was making its descent back into the earth, my wife and I were preparing dinner. The kitchen became unbearably warm. Rather than wallow miserably in the muggy weather, we headed over to Bush Lake, only about a 20 minute walk from the in-laws home here in Bloomington, Minnesota.

I ran ahead and swam first and then watched our youngest son Dominic play in the sand as my wife Niki took her turn swimming in the lake.

As I sat refreshed from my swim, watching Dominic and beholding the setting sun, my soul drifted off to contemplate the Lord in all of this outdoor splendor. The following insight struck me as I sat there on the sand, an insight that I believe would benefit many of the Study Abroad students during their study abroad semester in Gaming.

Here it is:

The setting sun was an image for me of our Lord Jesus, especially our Lord in the most holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist. Just sitting there on the beach, the sun affected me: it lifted my spirits; it tanned my skin; it filled me joy. Similarly, sitting in front of our Lord, receptively in prayer and adoration allows Jesus to lift our spirits, to "tan" our soul with his image and likeness, and to fill us with joy and comfort.

The house was an image for me of the world. Often we need to leave our spot sitting under the sun to go into the home or to work in the world. We needed to "cook dinner" or do some other worldly chore. Swimming too had an allegorical meaning: the significance of leisure, play, sport, and conversation. As we were wearied by our hot kitchen we needed to refresh ourselves not only with the sun but also by swimming in the water. Out there in the lake, we would switch strokes, play in the water, and exercise to our heart's content. So, we find our selves back full circle to Ecclesiastes: there is a time and season for everything.

There is a time for work -- in a hot kitchen

There is a time for leisure, play, and fun -- as in the lake

And ...

There is a time for prayer and adoration -- like sitting in the sun.

All three are so important for a full and happy life, especially for the study abroad student who has so many things to do and accomplish and can easily become out of balance to his detriment. One must build work (homework), leisure with friends and travel (play), and also prayer and adoration into one's day. The Benedictines got it right: Ora et Labora, good old work and prayer, you need them both.

If you ever find yourself exhausted or your rhythm out of sync, perhaps its time for a visit to the beach. For two thousand years ago, God told his parables about fields, pearls, wineskins, and baking bread. Two thousand years later, he can speak to us through sun, water, sand, and even a hot kitchen!