Fr. McCloskey on CST

The Magisterium and Catholic Social Teaching by Rev. C. J. McCloskey III

He writes: "Catholic social teachings are nothing less than the Beatitudes of the gospel refined for action in the world."

The Beatitudes may be the summation of Christian ethics or moral teaching, with the primacy of charity. But is the elaboration of charity sufficient for the development of a political theology, so that everything can be unpacked from our understanding of charity alone? Justice does have a ratio distinct from charity; can we uncover the definition of justice by reasoning what charity requires from us with regards to others? Perhaps that is possible for those who are wise; the rest of us must rely on the connections made by our teachers. At any rate, if CST takes as its focus and its material the modern nation-state, is it not therefore contingent rather than absolute (in the sense of "ideal" or "regarding the best possible polity"?) If a Catholic program to reforming the nation-state is impracticable because the [centralized] nation-state itself is itself impracticable, then might we not need to reconsider what our course of action should be? {Relocalization and rebuilding community, beginning with the family and extended kin group and the parish.]

The Smithy: Divine Simplicity III: Univocity

Education as Transformation by Mo Fung Woltering (via Insight Scoop)

The next idea that I would like you to consider is ballroom dancing. Aside from the current popularity of Dancing with the Stars, ballroom dancing has immense intrinsic value for what it can cultivate. In order to do it well, men and women must know their roles. Although different, they are co-essential. They are complementary. This is the whole theology of man and woman in a nutshell. I think this is something that could be really effective with youth groups, as well as pre-Cana classes. Both our senior high school and junior high school students love ballroom dancing. When you see them dancing, you can immediately tell that it’s natural, not contrived. It’s a stark contrast to more popular forms of dancing, where the young people seem self-conscious, and their interactions artificial.

In ballroom dancing, the man leads. Was this deliberately left out or ignored? Or was it force of habit in addressing contemporary audiences?

As for his main thesis - can a sense of mystery be cultivated through education? Undoubtedly. But wouldn't it be better if life as a whole were directed towards contemplation of God? Recollection as the first step to prayaer - cultivating silence, like First we must cultivate silence, as the Holy Father recently reminded us with respect to the use of social media. How about a stronger liturgical spirituality, too, not just appreciation of the Mass? These practices can be modelled in the school, but they must first be developed at home and within the parish
community. The rather limited role of "Christian" education must be respected, especially when there is a temptation to market a school on the basis of its Catholic identity.

See the author's "The Personalist History of Warren Carroll."