How do you incorporate your faith into your teaching?
I was a parish minister in charge of youth ministry in the late 1980s. I trained high schoolers to preach and formed them to do missions, retreats and conferences. I have always been afraid of dealing with teenagers. Still, I became a popular youth evangelizer thanks to my kids.
I was not afraid to share my experience with them. In them, I discovered that Christ is strong where we are weak. In my teaching, be it in an academic setting, a workshop, a retreat or a pilgrimage, I share my faith and my failures because giving witness to Christ is essential to teaching Christian theology.
What do you find most fulfilling about teaching at CTU?
I enjoy seeing my students “get it.” I can hear it in their questions and comments and read it in their weekly reflections and essays. I am often awed by what they write. This awe, however, pails at the privilege of working with the faculty and staff of CTU. We deal with many of CTU’s present situations and struggles and yet remain “bold and faithful” to what we see as our ministry in the Church. My colleagues inspire me, and I can honestly say that I enjoy being their brother in faith.
How do you engage and inspire your students in the classroom?
Over the years, many students have told me that my having been in full-time parish ministry inspires them because I share from practice rather than theory.
I engage my students by treating them as students in an academic setting. I expect their best and give them as much direction as possible to help them deliver their best.
Many of our students are from other countries, and English is not their language. I was an international student in Italy, and I understand their struggle with learning a language that is not theirs. I know it can be done! I hope and pray that our students will do it.
Can you share an example of how you’ve seen a student grow during their time at CTU?
The most significant change I have seen in many students over the years is the move from focusing on pious practices to developing a genuine concern for people. Many students arrive thinking spirituality is about prayer and devotion. At CTU, they learn that it also includes mercy and justice.
I saw this change so often that when I titled my book on Christian spirituality, I called it Beyond Piety: the Christian Spiritual Life, Justice and Liberation. That book owes much to several years of students sharing their stories and growth with me.
What are some of the unique challenges and rewards of teaching theology?
The Church is a boat adrift in the seas of the world. Navigating the rough waters of left vs right, liberal vs conservative, is challenging. I do not like the defensive Christ against culture position that some “Christians” take when attacking those who do not fit into their liberal or conservative positions.
Teaching Christian theology has to focus on building Communion among the Eucharistic people of God. I find it especially rewarding when my students connect Eucharistic devotion with being Eucharist for the people around us. Together, liberal and conservative, we are the Body of Christ for the world.
Tell us about a project you were involved in that was meaningful to you?
While in Rome, I was given a pontifical appointment, but even more significant, I had the opportunity to work with my close friend, architect and art restorer Luigi Miranda and his brother-in-law, the artist Mathieu Vignon, on a contemporary interpretation of Giotto’s life cycle of St. Francis. Luigi and I encouraged Mathieu to paint. We motivated him by agreeing to add to his work. I rewrote scenes from Bonaventure’s life of St. Francis for each image. Luigi wrote an artistic commentary for each of the 28 images. Our cooperation greatly encouraged Mathieu, and in 2015, we published the work as Il Santo Francesco: 28 tavole sulla vita di San Francesco.
What research or projects are you currently working on?
I am finishing a book on the Marian spirituality of the mystic, Sister Juana de la Cruz Vasquez Gutierrez for the series Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente.
Santa Juana was an extraordinary Franciscan woman who, in the early 1500s, was appointed pastor of her local parish. She would hire an ordained priest for Mass and the sacraments, but she ran the parish and would preach. Her sermons contain some fascinating ideas on the priesthood of the Virgin Mary that can enhance and enliven the priesthood of all the baptized.
I am also working on a book for Franciscan/Clarian Spiritual Formation.
What is your favorite quote or Scripture?
My all-time favorite passage from Scripture is the Philippians hymn on the kenosis of Jesus. I paraphrase it often:
“Jesus, even though he was in the form of God, did not deem equality with God something to be held onto; instead, he kenosis (emptied himself), taking on the form of a slave, coming as one among the many… he further kenosis (humbled himself) by dying upon a cross…” (Phil 2:6-11)
The kenosis of Jesus is our calling. Rather than railing against the world, we are called to kenosis. In this emptying of our self-righteousness, we might give better witness to God’s Reign.
