Current Meeting Materials

February 2023

Hello to the Seton Hall/Micah family!

Lent’s 40-day journey has begun. We pray that you have a great Lent, one filled with grace and transformation!

Last week I read a piece from the Wall Street Journal written by well-known commentator, Peggy Noonan. In part of the article, she develops the idea that today’s America hungers for authenticity. A few nights ago, I streamed a new series with a Columbo type detective; her distinguishing characteristic is the ability to detect lies.

So, maybe the first article presented this month ("Deception Detection") is timely. This selection is a primer about ways to detect comments, responses, or expressions that are not truthful. The author, Paul Ekman Ph.D, is a recognized expert in the field.

This instruction is juxtaposed with an essay from America by James F. Keenan, a respected moral theologian. He provides a "A brief history of the Catholic Church’s teaching on mercy and sin."

In his composition Keenan remarks that for four centuries theologians split the first principle of natural law, i.e., to avoid evil and to do good. Over this period Catholics were called at a minimum to avoid evil; the pursuit of good was optional. The author writes in depth about the evolution of this directive.

Coincidentally, discussion about "the good and doing good" has been a theme of this year’s Praxis Program (now mentored by SHU with St. Mary’s of Texas, Boston College, and the University of San Francisco). The conversation is led by Patrick Byrne of Boston College; he concludes that our authentic actions, developed from a real understanding of the good, affect those who follow us and lead to their own conversions. Perhaps, knowing and doing the good is the prescription that brings about the authenticity which Noonan desires.

Have a great Lent!
Wally Kennedy