Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Matt EmersonSeptember 02, 2014

Last Sunday (8/31), the second reading at Mass was from Romans 12, where in verse 2 Paul writes: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will."

I found this verse to speak to me as I’ve returned to the resurgence of emails, phone calls, and conversations that accompany the start of the academic year.

The compulsions of the world are powerful. The desire to conform can overwhelm. And it's not simply students who are vulnerable. The world tempts all of us, teachers and administrators alike. We're tempted to forget or dilute the radical nature of our call.  

Inspired by St. Paul, I find myself ready for a renewing of my own mind and a re-orientation to my supernatural end.  

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

I use a motorized wheelchair and communication device because of my disability, cerebral palsy. Parishes were not prepared to accommodate my needs nor were they always willing to recognize my abilities.
Margaret Anne Mary MooreNovember 22, 2024
Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Norma Desmond’ and Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma’ in “Sunset Blvd” on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (photo: Marc Brenner).
Age and its relationship to stardom is the animating subject of “Sunset Blvd,” “Tammy Faye” and “Death Becomes Her.”
Rob Weinert-KendtNovember 22, 2024
What separates “Bonhoeffer” from the myriad instructive Holocaust biographies and melodramas is its timing.
John AndersonNovember 22, 2024
“Wicked” arrives on a whirlwind of eager (and anxious) anticipation among fans of the musical.
John DoughertyNovember 22, 2024