Tags
Canon Law, caption, catholicism, church, classes, grad school, Human Psychological Development, index cards, M.Div, school supplies
As you may (or hey, who knows, may not) know, the M.Div program has taken over my life. Most horizontal surfaces in my house are covered in papery detritus — books, PDF print outs, note cards of various sizes and colors.
They are everywhere.
I love it.
Of course, I’ve always loved school supplies but this time it’s more than that. There is something insanely gratifying about discerning your degree program, hunting down funding and making it happen. My position in life as a loan-less graduate student seems to be an odd one, but the amount of money I’m forking over for this experience every month serves as a tangible reminder that I’m here to do my best.
I’m not sure how curious any of you are about what I’m up to these days, but I thought I’d give you a quick update and if you’d like me to get any more specific (Perhaps we want fun canonical facts? We could do fun canonical facts!) let me know.
Here’s a fun fact that is not at all canonical.
The Classes
I’m taking three classes this semester: Christian Origins (Guys, it’s the New Testament, we don’t need to be so fancy with it), Human Psychological Development and Canon Law. The first two are requirements, the third is an elective that I’ve been told that “[I’ll] never use.”
Au contraire, mon frere. I love Canon Law. If it were possible to crawl inside the Code of Canon Law and live there forever, I would totally do it. It’s heartless, nitpicky and requires a vast knowledge of seemingly trivial factoids and pieces of information. If one class could embody my personality, it would be Canon Law.
Doesn’t this look like a cozy place to curl up and spend the rest of your life?
Which is great, because Human Psychological Development is the exact opposite of my personality. Y’all. People have so many feelings. To be fair, I had to learn a lot of this stuff when I was studying for my teaching certification exams, so it’s not coming totally out of left field. Still, I’m finding this course challenging because I never quite learned how to think like a person who’s “in tune” with their feelings. (Though I have learned to love the expression “meeting people where they’re at.”)
People have so many feelings, y’all.
All in all, I’m having a great time so far — which I know is probably not the most mature way to look at it. Any complaints I could have are not even complaints so much as questions about the program. One of the most exciting aspects of my school is the fact that all the courses are open to anyone — regardless of program. This means that I’m getting to meet all sorts of people who are doing all sorts of interesting things. On the flipside, I want to make sure that I’m staying on track with the information I need for my degree, because everyone’s program is so very different.
So there you have it — a very brief update of everything that’s been going on on the graduate school front. Want to know anything else?
Super Swell Times 
Our pastor is a Canon lawyer. And he gets giddy any time he gets to go to a Canon law conference or talk about the nuances of law. I think the two of you could be great friends 😉
I love school supplies, too. I’m a little sad that I don’t have much use for them anymore. It’s been *ages* since I ran a pen all the way out of ink!
I also have a soft spot for canon law. There is nothing quite like marriage prep (for other people, not for myself) to get you extra-well acquainted with the CIC in a way that does not require tests or papers.
My roommate works in the Tribunal and talks about Canon Law every now and then. The things she says is pretty interesting.
In college I took a Canon Law course on the Sacraments at the attached seminary. It was by far my favorite class and working at the parish I use it all the time. Heck in young adult groups I use the knowledge even more often!!! Hope you like it!