Mi dispiace!!
Which in Italian is "Excuse me!!"
My sister called me out the other day that it's been a little while since my last post. That's not to say that things here haven't been worth writing about. I will be dividing this entry into 2 parts...this part is more of a "what's been going on" section, and the next one will be the more thought provoking one.
Part 1
First semester classes ended on Wednesday 1/22 (a month ago), and the finals period began Monday 1/27 and ran through Friday 2/14. Final exams in the Italian university system work a little differently than what I was accustomed to in American higher education. Most courses have an option of a three hour written final exam, an elaborato (term paper) or a 10 minute oral exam. I'd say it is a safe bet than most people choose the 10 minute oral exam. And that 10 minutes....is the entire grade for the semester! No points for attendance, no tests/quizzes throughout the semester, no participation (usually lecture based classes)...just a 10 minute oral exam. The grades here are also on a 10 point scale, 6.0 and above being passing and 5.9 below failing. If one fails a course, they don't have to retake the course, just the final...and when they receive a passing grade, the previous failed attempts are not averaged into their final GPA.
When I started reviewing the notes for each course, I realized that throughout the semester I had absorbed more than I was giving myself credit for. Coming to Rome the idea of one 10 minute oral exam determining my entire grade for a course was very nerve-wracking. It didn't seem like an accurate way to measure what I learned in the course, because I could get asked a question with a topic I struggled with, and not asked a question on a topic I knew very well. However, I became more at ease with the idea of walking into the oral exam and answering whatever the professor asked me after finding out we were able to prepare our answers based on a tesario we are provided with the questions the professors will ask. Typically they have a system of you choosing one question, them choosing another, or there will be index cards with the questions face down and you pick one--they roll a cube and you answer the question that corresponds to the number etc.
Needless to say---I survived my first set of Italian university exams, and I did pretty well overall for first semester!
After I finished exams, I was able to travel to Cologne, Germany for 4 days with my diocesan brother Mike to visit Sofia, our former Portuguese professor from 1st Pre-theology, who now teaches in Leipzig. It was great to be able to catch up, practice Portuguese, and see a part of Germany I hadn't been to before. We did a walking tour of the 12 Romanesque churches in Cologne--which was very beautiful. We were able to meet some friends of Sofia and Sven (her boyfriend) and play a German version of bowling called kegel. We returned to Rome last Sunday and then second semester started Monday.
It's only been a week, but I am finding the courses this semester very interesting. Maybe it's because I've got one semester of learning in Italian under my belt, so the language difference isn't as difficult as first semester. Maybe it's because I'm now familiar with the university and learned from last semester what "works" and what "doesn't work" in regards to studying the material throughout the semester. Or maybe they courses are just more interesting for me! We have Pentateuch and Historic books of the Old Testament, Patrology, Credibility of Christian Revelation, Fundamentals of the Christian Liturgy, Trinity and Greek 2.
Part 2
Today the Church celebrated the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle. The following is the Gospel from Mass today. There are two things that I reflected upon a lot throughout the course of the day, one of which throughout most of last semester due to one of my courses. I've bolded the line that I will reflect on later...
My sister called me out the other day that it's been a little while since my last post. That's not to say that things here haven't been worth writing about. I will be dividing this entry into 2 parts...this part is more of a "what's been going on" section, and the next one will be the more thought provoking one.
Part 1
First semester classes ended on Wednesday 1/22 (a month ago), and the finals period began Monday 1/27 and ran through Friday 2/14. Final exams in the Italian university system work a little differently than what I was accustomed to in American higher education. Most courses have an option of a three hour written final exam, an elaborato (term paper) or a 10 minute oral exam. I'd say it is a safe bet than most people choose the 10 minute oral exam. And that 10 minutes....is the entire grade for the semester! No points for attendance, no tests/quizzes throughout the semester, no participation (usually lecture based classes)...just a 10 minute oral exam. The grades here are also on a 10 point scale, 6.0 and above being passing and 5.9 below failing. If one fails a course, they don't have to retake the course, just the final...and when they receive a passing grade, the previous failed attempts are not averaged into their final GPA.
When I started reviewing the notes for each course, I realized that throughout the semester I had absorbed more than I was giving myself credit for. Coming to Rome the idea of one 10 minute oral exam determining my entire grade for a course was very nerve-wracking. It didn't seem like an accurate way to measure what I learned in the course, because I could get asked a question with a topic I struggled with, and not asked a question on a topic I knew very well. However, I became more at ease with the idea of walking into the oral exam and answering whatever the professor asked me after finding out we were able to prepare our answers based on a tesario we are provided with the questions the professors will ask. Typically they have a system of you choosing one question, them choosing another, or there will be index cards with the questions face down and you pick one--they roll a cube and you answer the question that corresponds to the number etc.
Needless to say---I survived my first set of Italian university exams, and I did pretty well overall for first semester!
After I finished exams, I was able to travel to Cologne, Germany for 4 days with my diocesan brother Mike to visit Sofia, our former Portuguese professor from 1st Pre-theology, who now teaches in Leipzig. It was great to be able to catch up, practice Portuguese, and see a part of Germany I hadn't been to before. We did a walking tour of the 12 Romanesque churches in Cologne--which was very beautiful. We were able to meet some friends of Sofia and Sven (her boyfriend) and play a German version of bowling called kegel. We returned to Rome last Sunday and then second semester started Monday.
It's only been a week, but I am finding the courses this semester very interesting. Maybe it's because I've got one semester of learning in Italian under my belt, so the language difference isn't as difficult as first semester. Maybe it's because I'm now familiar with the university and learned from last semester what "works" and what "doesn't work" in regards to studying the material throughout the semester. Or maybe they courses are just more interesting for me! We have Pentateuch and Historic books of the Old Testament, Patrology, Credibility of Christian Revelation, Fundamentals of the Christian Liturgy, Trinity and Greek 2.
Part 2
Today the Church celebrated the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle. The following is the Gospel from Mass today. There are two things that I reflected upon a lot throughout the course of the day, one of which throughout most of last semester due to one of my courses. I've bolded the line that I will reflect on later...
"When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.And so I say to you, you are Peter,and upon this rock I will build my Church,and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 13:16-19)
Reflection one: Last semester one of my courses was Christology and Soteriology (Christology--the study of the nature and person of Jesus Christ; Soteriology--how God reconciles the separation of man and God due to sin, and what it means to call Jesus the Savior).
The first day of class, and throughout the course, the fundamental question we sought to answer was "Ma voi, chi dite che Io sia?"/"But you, who do you say that I am?" (NB...I have to throw this out as a former foreign language teacher--in English we use the same word "you" to denote singular or plural, but since Jesus was addressing a group of people we use the Italian plural you, "voi". I will mention this later when I get off my foreign language teaching soapbox).
Throughout the Christology course, I found it interesting to reflect upon the fact that Jesus was speaking to a group of people (voi), but received only one answer. Simon Peter spoke on behalf of the 12, and then Jesus hands Peter the keys to the Kingdom and essentially founds the Catholic Church. This becomes extremely important because it makes one realize that without the Church there can be no single believer. Belief in Christ comes from communion with His Church. We can't believe on our own, without first having received that belief from a community.
Reflection two: After Mass today I really began to think about and pray with that line from the Gospel...I took it to the depths of my heart. I tried to hear Jesus asking me "but you, Kevin, who do YOU say that I am?" I can only echo along with St. Peter and answer "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"...But what does that mean??
Well, it means a few things. It obviously means that I've confessed with my heart and lips that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. But to say that Jesus is the Messiah is to acknowledge that I was in need of a Savior/liberator. This is to admit that I am a sinner---there are times when my actions or words separate me from God, and I need a Savior to reconcile me to God.
I thought a lot today about how confessing Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God can not be a one time action. I can't say it without it affecting every aspect of my life. Confessing that Jesus is the Messiah who saves me should make me strive for holiness (We will hear tomorrow at Mass "Be Holy for I the Lord am holy" ~Lv 19:1-2, 17-18), make me reach out to the poor and marginalized ("Amen, Amen I say to you, whatever you did to the least of these my brothers, you did to Me" ~Mt.25:31-46), and make me a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)...among other things.
Each and every day when I wake up I need to choose again to make Christ the center of that day, I need to make sure I choose Him again and again and again as my Lord and Savior. My actions, my thoughts, my deeds need to reflect Him (James 2:17), need to reflect the teachings He left that have been guarded and handed down through His Church for over 2,000 years.
I kept hearing a verse from Joshua chapter 24 in my head when reflecting on the idea of choosing Christ daily--- and it shall be how I close this entry...(bold is me)
"If it is displeasing to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Praised be Jesus Christ...
---kpl
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