Back to Books

I was bored with my phone and online stuff the other night and decided I needed a book.  My husband doesn't mind reading books on his phone, but I just don't like doing that, so off to the library I went.

I haven't been to the library in years.  When we were homeschooling, I remember being at the library all the time.  In fact, I recall going in there once and the librarian saying, "Do you realize you have 100 books checked out?"

When I homeschooled, we did a lot of what they call Unit Studies.  Unit studies are a way of learning that brings all subject areas together so you can see how they work together.  With this way of studying, you don't isolate subjects.  For instance, you can learn history and explorers, while studying the ocean and science.  I've always thought it was interesting and a great way to make learning stick.

I can see a correlation to the way Catholics approach scripture and this way of learning.  For instance, we do not isolate passages.  We consider who the author was, who their audience was and their intended message.  And we should never weaponize scripture.

When we look at the life of Jesus, we do not dismiss the fact that he was Jewish.  Without difficulty we can see the connection between the Old Testament and the New.  We can easily observe places where the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New.  (Parting of the Red Sea and Baptism, for instance)

My point to all of this is that, whether it is learning from a Unit Study, scripture--or even the historical days in which we live now--we must be careful to consider the bigger picture.  What we do today as a country, how we think in regards to morality, what kinds of laws we make to reflect who we are, and where we stand on faith, all will tell a story about the people of the 21st century, at a particular time.

We have leaders that dig in their heels--nearly salivating over personal agendas, but this doesn't help anyone.  We need to learn to work together so that the dignity of all God's people is respected and honored.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com

#dignity
#catholic
#scripture
#homeschooling