Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 1 A Life of Praise Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. — The doxology of Thomas Ken https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/where-did-we-get-the-doxology Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 2 I could say much about this doxology, and I hope I have not said too much. I believe the entire entry below (my capstone essay) is essentially the “commentary” on the actual content of the doxology. The power and simplicity of those words above continue to speak after I’ve dissected them and interpreted them. I think that’s the best kind of mission statement — the explanation does not replace it, but clarifies it. I hope that this capstone essay represents a refinement and expansion of what I began to explain in my original mission statement from Week 13. Why praise? There’s something strange about praise when you first think about it. Sometimes it seems like a kind of polite excess, a benevolent gesture, something given out of kindness and humility; but certainly not anything necessary. But as he has done with many other things, C.S. Lewis’ brief reflections on the subject reframed my vision. While reflecting on the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible, he remarks that “all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it” (Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis). As I thought on this, I found it especially accurate about the God we Christians worship: if God is the ultimate joy, then to “enjoy” is to immerse in the fullness of God. The deeper we go, the more like Him we become. For someone to be like another says more than a thousand songs, a million paintings, a world of words. It is the highest form of praise (“Mission Statement” by — Moreau FYE Week Thirteen). In light of that, it seems evident that the best way to live out this mission statement — the best way to praise God — is to imitate His character in absolutely every way we can. God’s character is revealed in Jesus Christ, so my entire person must be Christlike. There is not a single sphere of life that the “way” does not touch and transform: as a student, in the academic and social integrity of my pursuits (particularly at Notre Dame); as a young, 21st-century adult, in my selfless service to people and the planet; as a family member and friend, in my life of love for all. That’s all quite nice sounding. But how could this look over the next three years? The Application Loving Others Months ago I wrote this sentence: “My conviction is to see each person return to the God in whose image and likeness they are made” (“Victory over Death” by , Integration Three — Moreau FYE Week Eight). This is a borderless, boundary-breaking vision that embraces others the same way God does. It underlies the call to compassion from the famous priest Gustavo Gutiérrez: not only do we “suffer for the other,” but we also are “in sympathy with one another” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Professor Steve Reifenberg — Moreau FYE Week Nine). It courses in the mission of the gang intervention organization Homeboy Industries and the touching words of its founder, Fr. Greg Boyle: in embracing boundless compassion, we “find ourselves, quite unexpectedly, in a new, expansive location… God’s own jurisdiction” (“Jurisdiction,” https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reflections_on_the_Psalms/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kkgowDWP4TPvCQWv0y2AXlhclbXAorGf4Va9pute7y0/edit?usp=sharing https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+9%3A2%2C+Acts+19%3A9%2C+Acts+19%3A23&version=NRSV https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CTOZ87SM1WQskzz1h1DHVuE5I7TG9Yw2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102206514466583979933&rtpof=true&sd=true https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30 https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30 Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 3 from Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. — Moreau FYE Week Seven). It matches the logic of the good news about Jesus — that since God loves us so much that He destroys our sin and transforms us into His children, we ought to love others with the same devotion and care (1 John 4:11). In my four years here I will find people at all different levels of social, mental, and spiritual well-being. I will find people whom I love greatly; I will find those whom I struggle to love. I might be difficult to love — not just by others, and even by myself. But the love of God empowers me through and through. It is a relief that I won’t have to rely on myself or only on other people to help me commit to the love I know to be true — God is the assurance, the perpetual source. His love is our model. It is His love that we know first. If I hold fast to the promise He gives in Christ — that nothing can separate us from that love — then I will receive the strength I need to love others, love the unloving, and love myself. I think I have begun this well this year, but I am humbled to know that there is much more to grow into. I hope the fact that most people guess that I’m majoring in theology (“Week Five IrishCompass Activity” — Moreau FYE Week Five), means I have fulfilled this call well so far. This is the kind of impression I hope people will receive no matter where I am and what I am doing. I do not know the shape of my career, but I hope that these two principles flow into it in every part: to love God and to love others as I love myself. Relying on Others One of the things that make standing on principle difficult is that sometimes we simply do not know what to do. We don’t always know what the better option is. Sometimes the conflict is not between doing the right and difficult thing versus the wrong and easy thing, but which one is even the correct way. In cases like this, my faith is indispensable. God is my source and my refuge at all times, but especially when I find it most difficult to see Him or speak with Him. I would do well to not forget that sometimes the very method of God’s help is through other people, though. Those friends, mentors, and colleagues are not substitutes for God; they were likely sent by Him. Many of them are my spiritual family members — not “strangers and sojourners,” but “members of the household of God” — a home that breaks the boundaries of this world (“Epistle to the Ephesians” by the apostle Paul — Moreau FYE Week Ten). These people will someday be closer than I am to anyone I know here. To take candidly their concern, their advice, and their companionship is one key way I accept the helping hand of God. Psychologist Tasha Eurich says “a good rule of thumb, then, is that why questions are generally better to help us understand events in our environment and what questions are generally better to help us understand ourselves” (“The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tasha Eurich — Moreau FYE Week Six). I think the fundamental principle behind this is that no one can see themselves. We need mirrors. Sometimes other people act as those mirrors — we can assess things more clearly when taking an objective distance. But the same might be true within us: we are too close to our own struggles and our own thoughts to know precisely what is going on https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tattoos_on_the_Heart/Ooz8Ke9w89QC?hl=en&gbpv=2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit https://ebible.org/pdf/eng-web/eng-web_EPH.pdf https://ebible.org/pdf/eng-web/eng-web_EPH.pdf ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 4 or how we might move forward in it. In helping others see, we may help ourselves be seen better. It is mutual. We must rely on friends, colleagues, mentors, professors, rectors, clergy, counselors — whomever else will stand and look at us with the honesty, compassion, and directness that help us heal and see. Career Vision I am firmly committed to the idea that calling transcends career. But this does not mean calling opposes or mutually excludes career; it means calling defines career. The next three years will help me better define the general focus of my career (such as a particular field), but I don’t think they will determine the rest of my life. I think that they will instead develop in me the aptitudes appropriate for a range of careers centered around humanitarianism, diplomatic service, investigative work, and perhaps even education. Our own UCS says “planning for your career is much like planning for a trip,” so I think it is healthy to view my career plans as a general road map for a journey that could take detours, accrue additional stops, and wind up somewhere I did not even know of ahead of time (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Undergraduate Career Services — Moreau FYE Week Four). I still find it difficult to conceive of myself spending a lifetime in one particular discipline. It’s not only that I grew up with many different career intentions throughout my childhood — many people are like that. It’s that I still want to pursue some of those careers, even the ones that do not really interact with one another. It seems in one way like the “restlessness” that Fr. Michael Himes spoke of in his article. As an impelling force, a gravity toward our ultimate desire, restlessness can be seen as “the best thing about us” (“Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michael Himes, Moreau FYE Week Three). On the spiritual level, I think restlessness is an encouraging guarantee of sorts: we may not have our greatest desire fulfilled, but that’s because what fulfills it is yet to come. At the career level, however, this is a bit more mixed. I think there are helpful and unhelpful things about this restlessness in my career. I will consistently learn and apply my aptitudes across disciplines in inventive and beneficial ways, but I may also find myself always pursuing the next thing, never feeling quite settled in my work. It will be my challenge over the next few years to attenuate this restlessness without losing my desire to serve the world in many capacities. I think I also ought to remember that careers are not necessarily adventures. They are engaging, pragmatic, difficult, fulfilling, and at times fun; my vision should complement all of those factors, not just the last one. Courageous Wisdom | Wise Courage Courageous wisdom: the wisdom to know when one should be courageous and when one should be cautious. Wise courage: acknowledging what is right and what is wrong when it is uneasy or uncomfortable to do so. https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey/ https://www.studocu.com/en-us/document/university-of-san-diego/general-chemistry-i/three-key-questions-practice/22313725 Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 5 The two spill into one another, so I’ve included them both for my final set of thoughts. Fr. Ted Hesburgh had given advice that we should “serve our country, put our country before party and before politics, and always do the right thing” (“Hesburgh,” a film by Jerry Barca & Christine O’Malley — Moreau FYE Week Two). I think in upholding Fr. Murray’s writings on religious freedom despite the opposition of the Vatican, Fr. Ted committed to the final item in the list above all. His defense stands the test of time: today the Catholic Church forges on with Dignitatis Humanae, a treatise on religious liberty headlined and inspired by Fr. Murray’s work. This is the prime example of putting principle above power, party, and politics. This is an inspiration for my work over the next three years and beyond: I may have to stand for something unpopular or forego support for something popular because of my deeper conviction that it is the right thing to do. Doing so is difficult — especially if it is my loved ones who disagree — but if it is right, it is right. The key is to not ignore the voice of my companions. Principle is easy to confuse with dogmatism. Principle demands careful, wizened courage: the willingness to recognize my wrong and the desire to do right, no matter what. I must be attentive to whether or not I’m acting in candor or being ignorant or arrogant of others’ advice. This might be a bit of a stretch, honestly, but I think it also takes courage to accept the proposal that Susan Blum, Laura Carlson, Maria McKenna, and Hugh Page put forth for the previous provost’s “Moment to See, Courage to Act” symposium. It is radical, exciting, and quite deeply intimidating. Their “new educational model” promises several key changes to the current school system: • “A school-within-a-school built on principles of progressive, student-directed education” in which students apply with a “proposed problem” and are “guided to amass the skills necessary to address this problem” with a two-year “cohort of [like- minded] fellows” and a faculty guide. • Students enroll in just seven courses and are given funds to “pay consultants, travel, purchase materials, or whatever they deem necessary” (with approval from the guide). • Students finally “emerge with portfolios and projects demonstrating the robustness of their learning, and with confidence in themselves as learners” (“A New Educational Model Beyond the Course at Notre Dame” by Susan Blum, Laura Carlson, Maria McKenna, & Hugh Page — Moreau FYE Week Twelve). What a proposal! Let’s stop for a moment and parse this. (In fact, take a break as well— it’s been a long reflection already. Maybe drink some water. Water is underrated.) Difficult, but delightful. Work, but worth it. I want education to look like this. It’s almost anarchical in comparison with the state of higher learning over the past few centuries. It makes the university a society of like-minded and like-hearted individuals seeking wisdom together across disciplines, which I believe is closer to the vision of Plato’s Academy or the medieval universities. (Those places often did not have a campus at all.) If they were to institute some form of this at Notre https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://provost.nd.edu/about/provosts-initiatives/moment-to-see-courage-to-act/msca-symposium/ https://provost.nd.edu/about/provosts-initiatives/moment-to-see-courage-to-act/msca-symposium/ Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 6 Dame, I think I would be among the first in line. It would be a leap of faith, no question: I have no idea how well I would succeed in this version of higher education compared to what we have now, and I might not have many chances to branch out and take random, interesting classes. (For example, I decided to take a wood sculpturing class with a couple of my friends next Fall, even though I don’t need the credits and it meets for six hours a week.) But I know that I would be more personally invested in everything I’m doing. Few people could use such an educational track as a student whose two majors are interdisciplinary and globally oriented. Being Silent I think briefly discussing silence is a good way to close things out. Each of us is a story, a song of God’s continuing composition. Pico Iyer, a British essayist and traveler, helped me understand the role of silence by showing what role it has in music: “it is the rest in a piece that gives music its resonance or shape” (“Why we need to slow down our lives,” Pico Ayer – Moreau FYE Week One). It is not merely that silence for its own sake is good — silence enhances everything it surrounds. As I put it in my first QQC this semester: “when the sound returns, it has a greater definition, a sharper contrast, a clearer identity — it becomes more itself because it has ‘waited.’” There’s one peculiar way I’ve been able to institute silence as a fairly regular part of my day. I usually eat breakfast at South Dining Hall, and as it’s the least populated time of day and most people are hurrying off to classes, there aren’t many people to sit and talk with like one might during lunch and dinner. Without anyone to share breakfast with, I (like most people) resort to using my phone in some capacity. I might doomsurf on Twitter, listen to a podcast, check emails, watch highlights — anything to make my breakfast time interesting. At the beginning of the semester, I began to intentionally keep my phone away. I noticed two things once this began: first, it’s surprisingly difficult to avoid using your phone in any way when eating alone; second, almost no one else at SDH does this. It took several weeks for me to stop unconsciously reaching for my phone during the meal, but I began to get used to it about midway through the semester. By this point, I began to notice that almost everyone was either talking with someone or using their phone in some capacity (including just audio). I was often the only one in the entire building (or so it seemed) who was just… eating food. This hit me kind of hard. At what point did I forget that breakfast time is for “breaking my fast?” For eating? I had relegated the food — the reason I was in this building at all and not jogging off to DeBart — to a secondary role. I was really there to catch the news or soccer match I missed yesterday or check up on my email and message my friends, and also eat. Sometimes this cliché is so overworn that it does not even properly register, but that is because we’ve needed to be told it so many times: some people have nothing like what we have. I may complain all I wish about South Dining Hall’s scrambled eggs, but at the end of the day, I leave the building sated and ready for what’s ahead. It is so startlingly simple that I do not often give enough thanks for it. I ate today. I ate just a few hours before turning this paper in. And I fully expect to eat tonight, tomorrow, and all the foreseeable future. Does this not merit true-hearted thanks? ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 7 I said before that enjoyment is entering into the fullness of God, and that perfect praise is perfectly imitating Him. I think that by intentionally eating in this slow and silent way, I am living out that exact same picture. I may “praise” in a sense (using words to thank God before eating), but the true “praise” is the way I receive the food (embracing what I am given). And I now know I am truly grateful for the food I received today. It all makes me feel a bit childlike. I think I’m on the right track. Daniel, Theophilus Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 8 Bibliography Thomas Ken’s doxology Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis (1958) “Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Ayer – Moreau FYE Week One “Hesburgh,” a film by Jerry Barca & Christine O’Malley — Moreau FYE Week Two “Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michael Himes — Moreau FYE Week Three “Navigating Your Career Journey” by Undergraduate Career Services — Moreau FYE Week Four “Week Five IrishCompass Activity” — Moreau FYE Week Five “The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tashua Eurich — Moreau FYE Week Six “Jurisdiction,” from Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. — Moreau FYE Week Seven “Victory over Death” by , Integration Three — Moreau FYE Week Eight “Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Professor Steve Reifenberg — Moreau FYE Week Nine “Epistle to the Ephesians” by the apostle Paul — Moreau FYE Week Ten “Passion Isn’t Enough” by Hidden Brain — Moreau FYE Week Eleven “A New Educational Model Beyond the Course at Notre Dame” by Susan Blum, Laura Carlson, Maria McKenna, & Hugh Page — Moreau FYE Week Twelve “Mission Statement” by — Moreau FYE Week Thirteen https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/where-did-we-get-the-doxology https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reflections_on_the_Psalms/ ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://www.studocu.com/en-us/document/university-of-san-diego/general-chemistry-i/three-key-questions-practice/22313725 https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tattoos_on_the_Heart/Ooz8Ke9w89QC?hl=en&gbpv=2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CTOZ87SM1WQskzz1h1DHVuE5I7TG9Yw2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102206514466583979933&rtpof=true&sd=true https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30 https://ebible.org/pdf/eng-web/eng-web_EPH.pdf https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/passion-isnt-enough/ https://provost.nd.edu/about/provosts-initiatives/moment-to-see-courage-to-act/msca-symposium/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kkgowDWP4TPvCQWv0y2AXlhclbXAorGf4Va9pute7y0/edit?usp=sharing A Life of Praise Why praise? The Application Loving Others Relying on Others Career Vision Courageous Wisdom | Wise Courage Being Silent Bibliography