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#GoodRead: Reclaiming Conversation

Reclaiming ConversationReclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, by Sherry Turkle, is one of the most important books for right now in both interpersonal relationships and public discourse. The main thesis: Digital technologies have consumed the time and spaces for conversations in our lives, and we are raising generations of young adults and children who don’t know how to have conversations. I found this book recommended in several places, and I am so glad I picked it up. (Actually, I listened to it read by Kirsten Potter — who was great!) I usually only recommend books on this blog that I think a wide range of people should read, and this is one of them. Why? Because the problems with our use of technology that Turkle addresses are problems that touch the daily interactions of 99% of the people I know, including myself! I wasn’t really surprised by anything in the book, but I was extremely surprised by how little I had previously considered the full impact of our devices on our relationships and our culture.

Though I don’t think people would describe me as someone who is “on her phone all the time,” I realized that I had allowed my phone (and the pull of everything on it) to be all too “present” to me at all times. I wasn’t too many pages in before I made some immediate changes to my iPhone notification settings and started to conceptualize an intentional use of digital devices in my life and the rhythms of our family. The book contained so many important critiques of technology, questions regarding normative uses of it, and sobering realities of its impact on us. Here are a few such points that grabbed my attention: Continue reading →

(In)Formed Conscience: the Role of Virtuous Habits

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Francois Chifflart – “Das Gewissen” (“The Conscience”)

Have you ever noticed that your conscience is less bothered by certain vices than by others? I know mine is. There are some big sins that would probably set off all kinds of alarms, but then there are those that we may continually commit without much pause or remorse. Why do some unvirtuous behaviors make us uncomfortable and others not?

I think it’s less because we have uninformed consciences and more because we have unformed ones. We basically know (intellectually) the difference between virtue and vice, what sin technically is and is not. But our intellectual understanding of sin doesn’t have a direct correlation to how comfortable we are or aren’t with our offenses. I find that the more habitual my vices, the more comfortable I am with them. On the flip side, when I commit a sin of which I am not in the habit, I feel the internal churning of that incongruity. Continue reading →

3 Years Catholic: Converts and Cradlers

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June 22, 2013 – Holy Comforter, Saint Cyprian Church – Washington, DC

Three years ago today our little family of four became part of the Catholic Church. These have been three beautiful grace-filled years that warm my heart with gratitude. We are now a family of five. Since our oldest was only two at the time, my husband and I are two converts raising, essentially, three cradlers. I’m grateful for the perspective that we bring to our kids as converts; I think we are less likely to take the Church for granted, and I hope that translates to a deep appreciation of their Church as they grow up.

I’m also a little envious of them; Catholicism will be all they have ever known, a constant in their life of faith and walk with Christ. Yet, living as a family of converts and cradlers together, I see what a gift we are to each other. And I think that all Catholics should embrace this gift. Here are just a few opportunities that I see for each perspective to benefit the other:

  • Converts can bring a fresh understanding of the sacraments, while cradlers can instill an understanding of sequence in the sacraments.
  • Converts can give birth to an energized faith; cradlers can embodied a constancy of faith over time.
  • Converts often bring the awe of discovering Christ in the Eucharist; cradlers have experienced years of meditating on the mystery of the Eucharist.
  • Converts embrace Church teaching as much-needed guideposts for their walk with Christ; cradlers preserve Church teachings as the pillars that have sustained the Church throughout the ages.

The list could probably go on and on. Whether you are a cradle-Catholic or a convert, you bring a needed perspective to your brothers and sisters in the Church. We can learn from each other’s experiences and we can help edify each other’s faith in unique ways. After all, as the Church, we are just a big family of converts and cradlers living under one roof.

What about you? What are additional ways that you as a cradler have benefited from the perspective of a convert or vice versa? Post in the comments!