Busy Week Reflections

 This is the first full week of classes I have had at Cristo Rey since I started here a couple of weeks ago, and it has been challenging to a degree.  For the most part the kids are actually decent, although there are some issues in my first-period (we call them "Codes" but same idea) class.  Overall though, teaching full-time is a new experience for sure.  But, as Fr. Grassi told me, I am here to be a beacon of truth, so that is what I plan to do. 

Being I am teaching the kids about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I have learned to incorporate some real-life examples into the lessons.  One thing that I found handy was this "Baltimore smell" - if you are out and about in town, there are times when you are hit by an offensive odor that smells like skunk spray, and it can be a bit overwhelming.  For a time, I was actually blaming it on BO from the large population here, but turns out that is not what it is.  Given that the city has an extensive natural gas network, leaks can happen from time to time.  The leaks can be very dangerous because they are odorless, so the powers-that-be needed to include an indicator of the leak to alert people that it is happening, and the way they do so is by adding an element to the natural gas called mercaptan.  Mercaptan is a sulfuric compound that also is present in garlic and onions, as well as in cat urine, body odor, flatuence, and halitosis, and of course skunk spray which is why it has its distinctive odor.  The smell is reminiscent of a combination of garlic, urine, sulfur, and rotten eggs, and it can easily create a gag reflux as it is so pungent and vile.  Why the city here chose one of the stinkiest compounds in nature to prevent toxic exposure is a case of the cure being as bad as the symptom, but perhaps they have no other alternatives.  So, how does this relate to a theology course dealing with Sacraments?  Let me share the illustration I gave to my classes.

Right up the road here from the school is a beautiful park called Patterson Park.  It is serene, well-maintained, and a nice place to take a morning walk.  Given it is fall here, the crisp autumn air, the beautiful changing leaves, and just the general aesthetics of the place are something worth enjoying. So, imagine walking in a park like that, enjoying some personal time as you walk and reflect, and all of a sudden that pungent mercaptan smell hits your nostrils - not pleasant, is it?  In life, sin is like that too.  Given we have a fallen nature yet God still sees us as good and loves us, life can be going along nicely but then the stink sets in, if even briefly.  It reminds us that we are in a beautiful yet imperfect world because of the Fall, and even in the best of circumstances we can have issues.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation helps to remedy that - it is like a spray of Frebreze that eliminates the sin and restores the beauty of life to us.  And, we need it often, as we are all prone to sin and concupiscence.  This was a good way to introduce that topic to the kids, and they related well to it as everyone in Baltimore does hate that damned smell!  I wanted to share that because in teaching, we have to use things familiar to convey simple truths at times, and if we can effectively do that, we reach people.  I am publishing it here for a similar reason too.

Sin is a reality, and we all encounter or face it every day.  Like the mercaptan smell on the Baltimore streets, it can hit us suddenly.  It either does so by commission or effect.  By commission, I mean that in a weak moment we all can screw something up.  By effect, it means that someone else's screw-up can impact us and alter the course of our day too.  Either way, the important thing to remember is that we are human beings with limits, and like the bad mercaptan smell, the rough moments too shall pass. An inconvenient stinky smell we can easily resolve is definitely preferable to the catastrophic effects of a toxic leak, and perhaps that is the reasoning behind why Baltimore's city government sanctioned mercaptan use.  Likewise, those inconvenient moments happen, and it is up to us how we respond to them.  We can turn a small stink into a toxic leak, in other words.

Any rate, that is my word for the week, and as I get closer to year's end, this has been perhaps one of the most prolific years of writing on here I have had.  I do print these into bound books, and given the past couple of years I have been doing two years to a book, I have a feeling this one will be quite large. Any rate, may you have a good remainder of your week, and we will see you next time.