The Casa de la Solidaridad www scu edu casa is a semester-long Santa Clara University-sponsored study abroad program in El Salvador The following is an edited version of a reflection given by Katie Dorner of Gonzaga University at the farewell Mass for the fall semester The ldquo praxis sites

Ironically one can learn a lot about what it means to be human from the teaching of St Thomas Aquinas on angels Consider for example a contrast the angelic doctor draws between angels and humans Every human being is an individual member of what Aristotle called the human species but St Thoma

The Kansas State Capitol Building is the prettiest in the nation especially when the petunias are in bloom Most Kansas school children visit it my class was no exception The French Renaissance architecture of the exterior is memorable but the John Steuart Curry murals within depicting Kansas h

The sacrament of confession has seen profound changes through the centuries It began with sinners confessing grave sins in front of the bishop and the assembled congregation and then often receiving a life-time of penance During the Middle Ages confession metamorphosed into spiritual direction f

I was given as a gift a copy of Michael Casey s Fully Human Fully Divine Ligouri Press 2004 by someone whom I meet with regularly in spiritual direction He claimed he found the book a remarkable resource for his own prayer and reflection Casey a Trappist monk in Tarrawara Australia i

Since 2007 I have blogged at America Magazine rsquo s ldquo The Good Word rdquo and have enjoyed the practice and habit of blogging immensely ldquo The Good Word rdquo gave me the freedom to write on the topics and passages on which I saw fit and significantly gave me a built in audience sin