Last Blog :(

I think that the most important thing I learned during this j-term was the relation and compatibility so many different faiths have. In all of the places that we visited and all of the traditions we learned about, I felt as though I was really experiencing God. Not just the God of Islam or a god of Hinduism. I felt the real presence of my God. It surprised me at first, but then I came to the conclusion of what I believe I have stated in an earlier post; God uses many different forms in order to connect with individuals of different cultures and backgrounds.

All of the faith traditions had a beautiful part of them that stuck out to me. Judaism recognizes that there is not a known name of God because we cannot know something so beautiful and holy. Islam uses its whole body in prayer; they stand, bow, and kneel on the ground. Hinduism has the idea of the lotus flower and letting everything roll off of you like the water on the flower. Buddhism tries to center oneself with discipline and is not afraid of silence by any means.

This class was a lot more interactive than any other class I have had so far at Loras because of all the trips we were able to take. It is also a class that I can clearly see having an impact on my day to day life right now. I know that a lot  of classes prepare students for the real world or work world, but this class helped prepare me for, not only the future, but right now.

This class is going to help me further respect and be open to other faith traditions and those who practice them. I believe that this class will help me to take this knowledge and further my own faith with the curiosity that I have gained from it. This class made me want to learn more and discover more about other faiths, as well as my own.

Hinduism

Based on out trip today and the readings, I would say that Hinduism is closest to Christianity. I think that the gods that the Hindu’s worship can be seen as saints and/or angels in the Christian faith. The main difference is that Christianity does not worship the saints and angles; they ask them to pray for their intentions. The different Hindu gods have other gods who are seen as lesser or worshipped less, and some more of them are just avatars of a more main god who takes different forms here on earth. It seems to me like even though Hinduism has millions of gods, they are more taken by the stories of what the gods did here on earth. That is why they worship the different gods more than others.

Another thing that struck me was comparing all of the Hindu gods to the Christian God Himself. To me, it seemed like the all of the gods we saw at the temple were like all of the different qualities of God. The only difference was that Christianity recognizes that God has all of the qualities within Himself. There is no one greater. He can do all things, so why would Christians need to worship anyone else. The Hindus do not put all of God’s qualities in one being. They give each quality a different name and look to distinguish them into gods according to the different stories in the Vedas. These ancient writings (Vedas) are seen in Hinduism as directly from the gods and written by the “seers.” This is like the Christian Bible writers who were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I also really liked the story of the Lotus flower that the priest told us today. I thought the picture of the water drop rolling off the flower was such a good lesson. The Hindu reverence and lessons from nature and animals is very interesting and inspiring for a lot of humanity. Of course Christians do not worship nature or animals, but they do recognize the beauty of God’s creation.

I also thought about the wedding rituals of Christianity and Hinduism because it is my group’s project. I thought how these two very different kinds of marriage actually have a good amount in common. The Hindu tradition has a main part of the ceremony surrounding the fire which is given to the god Agni. Without it, the wedding would not be legitimate. This is just like Christianity, or at least Catholicism. They view the need for God’s presence in the ceremony to be a witness to the covenant the man and woman are making to each other. Another thing would be the reverence for the vow of marriage that both faith traditions have. They both see marriage as a life-long commitment between a man and a woman.

I thought that the trip to the temple was very helpful to our studies of Hinduism. It seemed so odd to me that they worship so many gods and the plants and planets, but as we continued to hear the priest talk about the gods, it made me relate each one of them to my God. All of those qualities (forgiver of sins, creator, etc) are in the Catholic God. I feel like Hinduism is polytheistic, but at the same time they worship the universe itself as one. That seems to be the main goal, to live the good life and then reach enlightenment and become part of the one.

Islam

When Dr. Kasas came to visit the class earlier in the week, I was not expecting the passages of the Qur'an we read through to be able to relate to a lot of non-Muslims. However, I felt as though everyone in the class was able to relate to what we read, and we all interpreted it in our own ways of thinking about the sacred in relation to the profane world around us. Dr Kasas was a very open and enthusiastic teacher, and it was an honor to be able to meet a man of God from another faith tradition.

Our visit to the Tri-State Islamic Center was an experience that opened my eyes to how beautiful other faith traditions are. When all of us were participating in the Friday prayers, I felt as though I was praying to the same God as Catholicism. It makes me think about how, perhaps God uses a variety of religions to bring people to Him because He knows that only that specific faith tradition will have success wherever it is brought about. It is almost like God us using faith as the Functional Belief sees it. He sees the hearts of everyone on earth and realizes what each community and culture needs to fall in love with Him.

After the prayers at the Islamic Center ended, the group of girls got a chance to talk to some of the women Muslims who go to the Mosque regularly. The thing that stuck out to me the most was when one of the women began to talk about how women are held at such a high regard in Islam. They are seen as princesses to their husbands. This is a very different view than the media seems to depict. One of the women also began to talk about the deep respect that is given to Jesus and Mary in Islam. This was one of the biggest surprises to me about Islam. I know that many Catholics view Muhammad as a great man of God, but they do not usually put his teachings to a high regard as the Muslims do for Jesus and Mary. This makes me recognize the brotherhood that Catholics, Muslims, and Jews share. Our teachings are very different, but, in what I have learned and experienced in class, each of these faith traditions is blessed by the God of Abraham.

Synagogue Visit

Visiting the Synagogue today helped me to gain a better understanding of the Jewish lifestyle. The Synagogue we went to was conservitave compared to other Jewish Synagogues that are either orthodox or reform. This Synagogue holds firm to tradition, but it also brings in the modern world to be interpreted through the tradition that they hold so highly.

The main thing that I learned from the trip today was how much those of the Jewish faith held to traditions and rituals of the past. They keep kosher which would have to be hard for people of today's world. This makes them have to seporate meat and dairy products as well as only buy food that has been approved of as being kosher.
They also have to follow a lot of mourning rituals when a close loved one has died. They go through an initial 7 day period of intense mourning and then a 30 day period with less intense rituals and finally an 11 month period with yearly rememberances and prayes on the annaversary of the passing. During all of these times of mourning there are different prayers and actions to be done to praise God and remember the person who has passed. The funeral of the person who has died should be as soon as possible, even as soon as that afternoon. Something that I found particularly interesting was that the loved ones help with the actual burial at the grave site.

When the Rabbi and Beth opened up the Arc to bring out the Torah I definantly felt like I was seeing a sacred part of the Jewish faith. The Torah is such an intricate part of their lives, and they know it so well. The entire community helps out with reading the Torah and being a part of the Sabbath services. The usual service is about 2 to 3 hours long. When the Rabbi sang the Torah readings from the book, I was able to hear how beautiful the Hebrew language is. All of the commentaries and interpretations of the Torah have been to help bring the Jewish faith into the world today. Being conservitave Jews, the people of this particular community, have rooted themselves into the understanding and practice of the Torah's traditions with the help of the ancient as well as present interpretations.

The Jewish faith is so rooted in history, and it is part of such a large history with rich love and Godly reverence. I have been able to come to a better understanding of my own Catholic traditions and practices by learning more about my forefathers in fath, the Jewish community.

Blog 1

St. Xavier was a lot more decorated than the New Mallery Abbey. It was even more so decorated than usual because of it being the Christmas season. This Church not only provided itself as a place of worship but also a place to help teach the history of the Church. This was seen in all of the murals on the walls and ceiling of the Church, as well as the stain glass windows and the wood carvings. This was very different from the Abbey. The monks there have dedicated themselves to great simplicity which is reflected in the way their Monastery is decorated. Everything was beautiful, but it was all so simple. All of the Church was beige, browns, and greys. It seems bare, but with the lighting and all of the different tones of the stones and wood, it was beautiful. There were windows in every room that helped to create more lighting and beauty.

If I had to explain the Basilica to someone who was unfamiliar with Christianity, I would begin with explaining the many decorations and paintings. I would explain what the alter was used for as well as talk about what happens on that alter at every mass. I would also point out that although the Monastery was not as decorated, it too has an alter that is used for mass. I would talk to the person about how Jesus is present in both of these Churches, and that He is in the Tabernacle. These things are what make a Church. The many decorations (or lack there of) add to the splendor, but they do not make the Church complete like Jesus does.

I liked the Abbey best because I enjoy more simplicity especially when I go somewhere to worship. The Basilica was beautiful, and I enjoyed going to mass there a few weeks ago, but it was the Abbey that lent itself to being more of the style I am drawn to. When I went into the Church at the Monastery, I really felt like I was in the presence of God in the way that I am used to. It was also beautiful to see the monks doing their afternoon prayers. They enjoy their lives of simplicity and dedication to God so much, and it was refreshing to see a whole community that does that.