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Anchored in Christ The Good News from the O'Dea Theology Department

God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.

- Isaiah 12:2-3

Saint of the week:

St. John Paul II

It is fitting that October 22 is the Feast Day of St. John Paul II, the saint whose first words upon accepting the mantle of St. Peter were, "Be not afraid." St. John Paul II impacted the world in a powerful way by "opening wide the doors to Christ" across racial, religious, denominational, ideological, and political lines. We look to St. John Paul II during these days and ask for his intercession during a time in which many are gripped by fear of the pandemic, of the outcome of the election, and of where our country is headed. Roll Irish, and be not afraid!

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

- St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II as Cardinal Wojtyla in Rome

Click here for a great introduction to the life and work of St. John Paul II

October: Month of the Rosary

October has been the month of the Rosary since the Middle Ages, due to Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7.

This week we feature a video from Mr. Tom Schutte opening up the practice of this prayer, as well as a thoughtful essay from Ms. Danielle Curl, O'Dea Campus Minister, discussing the power of the Rosary in a personal way.

What is the Rosary?

Mr. Tom Schutte

The Rosary: A Weapon for Our Times

Danielle Curl

Pope Francis praying the Rosary

The Rosary is the 'weapon' for these times.

- Saint Padre Pio

We live in difficult times. The challenges we face as individuals, as a community, and as a nation are obvious to us all. However, we are not without the tools to withstand and overcome these difficulties. Now more than every we must cling to God, to His son, and to the prayer life that connects us. One most powerful tools against evil is the Rosary. The Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the Rosary to call to mind the importance of this wonderful practice.

Maybe you have never prayed the Rosary before. So what is it? The Rosary is a meditative prayer that centers around the stories and prayers found in the Bible. As you pray a prayer on each of the twelve beads that make up one section or “decade” you consider a different Bible story, called a “Mystery.” There are five decades in a Rosary.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been the best about praying the rosary regularly. But this month I have felt the call to return to this most ancient practice and reconnect with the mysteries it calls to mind. It is always a struggle at first to settle my mind and focus on God, but by about the third mystery I find that the repetition and contemplation of each mystery has calmed me, and I can focus more readily on Christ and his life. In particular I feel that Mary the mother of God, whose prayer makes up the majority of the Rosary, is guiding me through the life of Christ, showing me firsthand what happened and why.

But why bother with a prayer that takes 15 to 20 minutes to pray? What makes this prayer better than another? I cannot speak to the value of other prayers, I am convinced that God loves each prayer, each thought raised to heaven, no matter how brief. However, the Rosary is recommended by a huge number of saints! A quick Google search shows just how many of these holy people devoted themselves to praying the Rosary on a regular basis. Since Saints are normal people who lived holy lives, we can and should follow their lead!

Not only do the Saints recommend the rosary, but Mary herself asks us to pray it! At Church approved Marian apparitions like Fatima and Knock, Mary begs us to pray the Rosary, to unite ourselves in love for her son. If that’s not enough, Mary attached some pretty powerful promises to the practice as well. Here’s just one of them:

It (praying the rosary) will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant Mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

So where do we start? If you’ve never prayed the Rosary before it can seem a very intimidating thing! The good news is there are so many resources out there! For first timers I recommend the interactive rosary found on the “Laudate” App for iPhone and Android. It walks you through, bead by virtual bead, all the prayers and mysteries for each decade.

Don’t have a Rosary? Next time you’re on campus swing by the campus ministry office and I’ll give you one along with guide on how to use it. Don’t have 15 minutes? Say just one decade at a time! For those of you who already have a devotion to the Rosary, keep it up. The world needs prayers, and this one comes highly recommended to us as powerful weapon for peace.

Fighting Irish Spiritual Exercises:

Week Nine

How aware am I that I will be held accountable for my life?

"[The Lord] took note of all my sins and tied them all together; [The Lord] hung them around my neck, and I grew weak beneath the weight." - Lamentations 1:14

There's a moving story that has survived the centuries. It's about Pietri Bandinelli, a young man with clear eyes and a kind face. Leonardo da Vinci chose him to be his Jesus model for his painting The Lord's Supper.

Years later, Leonardo had not yet completed the painting. One Day, however, the spirit moved him, and he went to the slums of Milan to look for his Judas model. After an hour, he found the perfect man. His eyes were cloudy; his face was harsh.

Later, while the man was posing, Leonardo asked him, "Have we met before?" The man said, "Yes, I was your Jesus model. But much has changed in my life since then."

What is this story's point? What lesson might I draw from it for my own life?

First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they'll eventually conquer you.

- Dr. Rob Gilbert

This Week in Theology at O'Dea

Freshman Theology with Mr. Espinosa

The freshmen will be discussing the weighty yet relevant challenge of temptation. Specific questions to be covered include:

How does temptation appear in our lives?

What are practical steps to avoid it?

Why are we tempted?

Sophomore Theology with Mr. Leighton

We are beginning our unit on divine revelation by asking questions about how God might communicate with us. We are looking at examples from our own lives for moments of insight or inspiration, and we’re examining how a God who is both immanent and transcendent, both infinitely present to us and totally foreign to us, might choose to reveal God’s self in our history and our experiences.

Junior Theology with Mr. Odem

This week, we are starting a short video project about finding God in our everyday life experiences. Students will use FlipGrid or Microsoft Stream to share with their peers. Click here to see the assignment.

Senior Theology with Mr. Schutte

Mr. Schutte's classes will be exploring the practice of the Rosary as detailed in the video above.

prayer of the week:

Prayer from the Beatitudes

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian icon of the Sermon on the Mount

Give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness; fill our hearts with love, overflowing with mercy; make our hearts pure, and give us a vision of your glory.

Gracious God, you have so richly blessed us with life, with love and joy, with hope in the midst of despair.