Reflection
Throughout my time at Verbum Dei, I have grown closer to my spirituality than ever before. Thanks to the retreats, classes, and required service hours, I’ve come to really understand Catholicism and its liberties. You may be wondering, what exactly am I talking about? In my freshman through sophomore year the first two classes and the few retreats we had never really mattered to me. The classes were about the basic bible teachings, history, and being good people. The retreats were usually for people who had gone through the common big struggles such as depression, broken family, and other things. However, I never much cared for it; not to say those things aren’t important, I just never had those problems. And the classes? I already knew about the basics of Christianity/ Catholicism, so the classes were mediocre for me. Now, coming into junior and senior year, the topics interested me a little more and I was able to relate and think about my actions, the mistakes I’ve made. The Daily Stoic quoted Senica, in his video 12 Choices A Stoic Should Make Every Day. The quote states, "They're always getting ready to live". (Daily Stoic, 1:15). I relate with the quote a lot because I get ready to do whatever my goal is for that year, but I never end up getting to it. But I guess that just makes me human. Much like jesus, who was accused of being omnipotent, I don't have all the answers of what will happen if I do something. Dr. Elizabeth Johnson states in her book, Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christianity, that Thomas Aquinas believed that "Jesus Christ Has three kinds of special.. knowledge..... 3. Jesus had experimental knowledge... ,knowledge we get by trial and error." (Johnson 37) I too am like Jesus, not omnipotent; I am simply a man who is trying to figure out who I am.
"12 Choices A Stoic Should Make Every Day." YouTube, uploaded by Daily Stoic. Choose to do it Now, 30 Mar, 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=pHtgQDqXqVo
Weinandy, Thomas. “Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology by Elizabeth a. Johnson.” the Thomist, vol. 55, no. 3, Jan. 1991, pp. 511–17.
Service
I have lived and served a life as a disciple of Christ. The first way is through my service hours, I’ve worked with Habitats for humanity to make playhouses for kids of families who are from redline neighborhoods who cannot afford the super expensive ones in most stores. In Dr. Elizabeth Johnson’s “Consider Jesus” chapter 6, it is stated, “...oppressive situation is recognized to be oppressive, it is named as sin...” (Johnson 88) The group in question that was being oppressed was anyone who lived in redlined neighborhoods. As a redline resident I feel for the families and I wish to do something about it. Dr. Johnson also states that the next step is to, “...search for elements that would... yield a new practice... which would be liberating." (Johnson 88) Luckily the organization was all about creating a solution for those oppressed families. We worked on a temporary solution, but nevertheless we had worked on a solution. Making affordable housing for those who cannot afford the housing in california, using what money they saved from not having to pay for a more expensive house to pay off any debts or accumulate enough to better their lives.
Johnson, Elizabeth A. Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christianity. Crossroad, 1990.
