I don’t want to fail this class
Thursday, July 31st, 2008I’m baaaaaaack! It’s amazing how much I’ve missed being in school; around the wonderful people and sometimes even mystical faculty. It’s amazing how my spiritual development grows exponentially when I’m studying at Aquinas. Simply put, I am easing my way back into study after taking last year off.
I am no longer a part of the Apollos Project, but still have a connection to my friends and colleagues in that program. I am realizing that I AM is such an important part of my identity. I am currently taking Spirituality and Psychology with Paul Coutinho, S.J. His class has opened the door to my soul and I am searching again for my spiritual identity.
Just this week, someone asked me “What are you going to do with a M.A.P.S. degree?” The question almost comes as a challenge–how can you use that degree if you’re not working at a church or doing something religious? Well, I’ll tell you how. It’s not about what I will do with it, but who I am becoming because of it. Because of my studies, I have changed; I have evolved. I am a more spiritual person, which means that my law practice cannot help but be more spiritual as an outpouring of me and what I have learned and continue to learn.
No, it’s not just a piece of paper to hang on the wall or to refer to in intellectual conversation. If you have not been changed and transformed as a result of this education, then, in my opinion, it’s just been an exercise. Paul told us the first day in class that if we do not all leave the class as better people with a deeper relationship with God, then we’ve failed. Well, I don’t want to fail this class!