Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Modern Saints
Well this is timely, considering it fits perfectly in with the topic of my paper. It's about a boy who was dying of flesh-eating bacteria, the doctors had declared there was no cure, and then suddenly the infection stopped. The family said that it was due to a relic from a beatified Native American woman being placed on the boy's pillow. The Vatican has declared this a miracle.
Because the woman had already been beatified (and because under Pope John Paul II's reforms in the process of saint-making), this miracle qualifies her to become a saint, so her canonization process will start soon.
It's funny because the "controversial" elements or "ulterior motives" of canonization are present in this article. This woman would be the only Native American saint - the Vatican is essentially trying to diversify its saints: more women, more lay people, more minorities. Plus this would be a wise decision for the Vatican to make, considering that this miracle pretty much defies science - the boy's recovery was attributed to religion, not the doctors' medical work. So in the age of modern medicine, the Vatican would be especially keen on making this type of canonizations... and therefore sending a certain message.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/20/143981760/vatican-declares-boys-recovery-a-miracle?sc=fb&cc=fp
Because the woman had already been beatified (and because under Pope John Paul II's reforms in the process of saint-making), this miracle qualifies her to become a saint, so her canonization process will start soon.
It's funny because the "controversial" elements or "ulterior motives" of canonization are present in this article. This woman would be the only Native American saint - the Vatican is essentially trying to diversify its saints: more women, more lay people, more minorities. Plus this would be a wise decision for the Vatican to make, considering that this miracle pretty much defies science - the boy's recovery was attributed to religion, not the doctors' medical work. So in the age of modern medicine, the Vatican would be especially keen on making this type of canonizations... and therefore sending a certain message.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/20/143981760/vatican-declares-boys-recovery-a-miracle?sc=fb&cc=fp
Sunday, December 18, 2011
All-American Muslim - Episode 4
This was the next episode after #1 I could find to download. It dealt with the birth of one of the families' kid, and also with the experience of the football team during Ramadan. They continued to have practice and go to games despite fasting. Some of the practices were moved to after sunset so they could play after having eaten. I think this is a great example of jihad in the actual Quranic sense. The players have to discipline themselves to play well, even while disciplining themselves to be good Muslims. It seems like most of them came out of it stronger. If jihad is personal struggle for God, their personal struggle to excel in both aspects of life would embody this. It is also a fulfilling and constructive activity (well, maybe not playing football games without drinking water but...) rather than a destructive activity as in the erroneous, violent definition of jihad.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
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