Saturday, 11 Jul 2009

The popularity of Michael Jackson — why?

Dear Friends,

The Michael Jackson phenomenon of recent week's has been extraordinary. The cynical might be inclined to think it is merely a big "marketing exercise". To some extent they are right in that the media have a nose for the big meta-narratives running at any time in society and they could see in this a story that would build bigger audiences than any other 'news' that was current. Society hungers for meta narratives — the big picture stories and individuals who can convey them that explain the human condition. Did people identify with Michael Jackson though as some kind of tribute to his enormous creative talents? Or did they relate to his story because he was a walking tragedy of our modern culture?

Our commentary today, which is the second part of the essay we ran yesterday by Dr Anthony Lowes, is much theologically denser than what we normally run on Catholica. Dr Lowes though is tackling an important issue to do with this meta-narrative stuff. He argues the concept of Trinity once excited people and provided a way of accessing the Mystery of the Divine. It's remote from most people today and not of much assistance in helping us make sense of our lives, or of the Divine. He argues, along with a number of other prominent contemporary theologians, that we need to re-capture the value in the notion of Trinity. It not only helps us explain God. It helps us explain us!
<Link to Part 2 of Tony Lowes' commentary>
www.catholica.com.au/gc2/occ/037_occ_110709.php
<Link to Part 1 of Tony Lowes' commentary>
www.catholica.com.au/gc2/occ/036_occ_100709.php

TOMORROW IN SYDNEY AT 10.00AM:
The Launch of Fr Ed Campion's book "Ted Kennedy: Priest of Redfern". Preceded by Mass with Bishop David Cremin. See ad below.

The Point of Pursuing the Notion of Trinity – Part 1... Something a little bit different today — and a bit heavier to provide much food for useful reflection and comment. Dr Anthony Lowes sent this in to us for consideration a couple of weeks ago. In the wake of the decline in relevance of religion he argues we are in danger of effectively throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Most people probably don't spend much time thinking about the Trinity these days considering it a form of thinking that belongs in the past. In this two-part article, Tony Lowes argues we need to re-discover the real depth in Trinitarian thinking (and rescue the entire concept from the neanderthal sectors — those incapable of change even if the survival of their church or species depended on it — who seem to make us want to believe Trinity is a physical reality and we're all damned if we don't accept their dogmas on the Trinity [yes, you have our permission to smile])... <more>

The Legacy of St Paul… Today's commentary is Dr Ian Elmer's conclusion to the year-long series he has shared with us exploring the life, the controversies and the teachings of St Paul. In this final commentary Ian seeks to suggest a wider understanding of the legacy of St Paul. It's a sort of 'big picture' overview of the importance of Paul to the subsequent way in which Christianity developed. <more>

The Psychology of Priesthood #2 Tom McMahon wrote today's commentary before he suffered the stroke late last week that is now keeping him laid low. Not too low though that he hasn't made a few small forays onto discussion forums that we both follow. He is taking things slow though and forewarns there may be delays in this series examining the psychology of priesthood. He entitled today's commentary "The Psychology of Priests #2 — the outsider looks back in". <more>

What sort of priests do we want? Dr Andrew Kania is far more of a gentleman than the editor of Catholica who takes responsibility for today's headline. Dr Kania couches his arguments in constrained language. Today's essay is every bit as provocative as the one he brought us last week. Priesthood today is "on the nose". The fact that the Vatican has chosen to hold a Year of the Priest is partly an exercise in trying to re-elevate the position of priest to one of esteem in the wake of the abuse scandals. We might ask though whether the abuse scandals occurred because we had put priesthood on the wrong sort of pedestal? Dr Kania, in this essay he entitled "Teacher, Preacher, Witness, Friend (cf. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3)" invites us to reflect on what sort of model we need for priesthood... <more>

19.1: Heretical Challenge and Imperial Solution! In our long exploration with Tom Lee of the Origins of Christianity we come today to one of the epoch turning events that helped mould modern Christianity — the Arian controversy over the Divinity of Jesus which led to the Council at Nicaea called by Emperor Constantine to resolve the issue. <more>

A lifetime spiritual journey… It is a pleasure to begin an extended series of short commentaries from Francis Brown They are extracts from his book My Love is Here — an evolution in spirituality. If we might be so bold as to provide an overview summary this is the spiritual journey of one man — one who might now be described as an "elder amongst us" — from childhood, into school, into seminary, into priesthood, as a missioner in PNG to people who still lived in a culture far removed from our technological culture, into married life and raising a family, back into the urban life of Brisbane and Sydney but all the while seeking to re-discover a spiritual Presence he had experienced in the innocence of his childhood and which he believes was educated out of him for a long period. <more>

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life or in our world — and special blessings to all our readers in the United States on this special day in your nation's history.

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher