When I informed a brother Dominican and friend that I had begun my 21 days quarantine (September 11 – October 2, 2021) at Pousada Marina Infante Hotel, he advised me: “Make a retreat; it is convenient for you.” Certainly, it would be convenient, but I was not then in the mood. Nevertheless, I had decided earlier that it would be three weeks of introspection and peace. Besides my usual duties as a Dominican, a book I read helped me much.
I think I have already talked previously about the notion of “paradigm,” the idea used in science that denotes the coordinates of a stable system and its changes. The notion of “paradigm shift” was popularized by Thomas Kuhn in 1962, with his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. A paradigm shift signals a transition from one system to another.
For decades in the post-conciliar period, people were saying that one should no longer do catechism, but experience the encounter with the Lord. The teaching of doctrine in this way was abandoned and replaced with communication of ‘our experiences’ and the ‘testimony’ of ‘credible’ people. Even in celebrations the testimonies and the homily-ray had great consideration. What do you say about this?
Advent 2021 is finally here! Over the years, during Advent, I have inherited two prized traditions in my family. One is the tradition of Crib making which is quite popular the world over and the other, which has served my soul much better and continues to do so to this day – the “St Andrew’s Christmas Novena.”