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A convert to the Catholic faith, Jason Shanks was raised Methodist. During college at Miami University of Ohio, he became active in an evangelical Protestant organization and began investigating the beliefs of Protestantism. This investigation ultimately led him, much to his surprise, to the Catholic Church. Jason sites his discovery of the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist as the ultimate turning point of his conversion process, saying, “I knew then, I had to be Catholic.”
Since his conversion in 1999, Jason has worked in many areas of ministry, but he finds speaking with groups on various issues of faith to be the most rewarding. Jason has held positions as a youth minister in the Catholic Church, is the co-founder of a Catholic youth camp for junior high students, and was President of Greater Columbus Right to Life for two years. He recently received an award for his work with GCRTL. He has published articles in Catholic magazines and newspapers, and has spoken to various groups and ages about the Catholic faith.
Jason has a Masters in Theology from the Pontifical College Josephinum with a concentration in Evangelization. Later he would go on to receive a Master in Nonprofit Administration from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. For eight years Jason served in pastoral ministry as both pastoral associate and parish administrator. Currently he is the Secretariat Leader for Evangelization and Parish Life for the Diocese of Toledo.
Author Archives: Jason Shanks
The Difference of One
Every year at the Rite of Election in my diocese, the Bishop stands up and does an informal poll with those seeking to become Catholic at Easter. He asks them how many of them decided to become Catholic through reading Catholic literature or hearing or seeing Catholic radio and television? Some hands raise. He then asks them how many of them become Catholic because of someone they know? Every hand goes up!
In my journey to the Catholic Church, I did much research and read books and listened to tapes–all because of one person–Biff Rocha. While, my journey did not actually begin with Biff, he was there at a time when the questions came to a head and having been there himself was able to direct, guide, and point me to the resources and things I needed.
With a Mother’s Love
To many around the world she is known as Mary–the mother of God, the mother of Jesus. She was the girl who God loves, freeing her from the stain of sin. She is the girl whose “yes” changed the face of the world. She said “yes” when others would have asked questions, or rationalized. She said “yes” almost without thinking, for this was who she was created to be. She was the second Eve. She produced the fruit of a new tree, the tree of eternal life. And so with her “yes” God came into the world and she was trusted to guide Him, protect Him, and love Him. Mary’s life wasn’t without suffering and hardship though. She saw the nails pierce, she saw him hang upon the cross, and she saw Him die. This was who He was. This is what He was created for. And yet, we do not hear of her complaining or questioning. Tradition tells of a look between a mother and a son as Jesus carried His cross towards Calvary. A look and only a look–words were not expressed; everything was said. Who was consoling whom? Who was giving whom strength? They were there together, mother and Son, each having said “yes.” Mary was there at the beginning of Jesus’ life and now she would be there for the end. In a way, Mary walked to her Calvary. She suffered with her Son, she yearned to take His pain, and her heart ached as if pierced by a spear. When he died that day, so also did she. All of Christianity can be summed up as a love story between a mother and a son.
Prayer Tips
As we are running around preparing for the birth of our Savior, I thought I would take a moment to offer a reflection on prayer. This is a bit of a departure from the series on the papacy that Dr. Jeff Morrow has been posting and my discussion of orthodoxy. While a departure, I hope that you find it helpful during these remaining days of Advent.
Prayer Tips:
1) Tweet God, because he is tweeting us.
![PopeComputer[1]](http://caritasetveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PopeComputer1-150x150.jpg "PopeComputer[1]")
Do you like Twitter? I must be honest that I personally find no enjoyment in tweeting others about the moment by moment ongoings of my life and in many ways, I am not so interested in the every detail of others lives. However, in our relationship with God, we are called to “pray without ceasing” or put another way, we are called to ”tweet” God. Our communication with God should be ongoing and regular. Unlike me, he wants and desires to have a constant dialogue with us, and loves every detail. Furthermore, do you realize that he “tweets” us on a regular basis. This leads to the second tip–listening.
2) Listen to God
Review: Face Forward
Evangelization is taking new forms through new media and at times we hope to feature good examples of these. I learned recently of a new Facebook application called Face Forward designed by the vocations office of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio. This app really meets the youth where they are. Fr. Jeff Coning, vocations director for the Diocese of Columbus, seems to really get that if we are going to increase vocations we need to be where the kids are and engaging them on their level.
Face Forward is more than just a social network for youth to engage with one another and priests in a safe environment, it is also a very good tool for catechesis of the youth. They have a quiz challenging kids to know their faith, they have a section called “Mass Musings,” and the vocation director even has his play list up for the kids to listen. As another example, recently they posted a video on the “O Antiphons” for Advent. This is really instructive for the youth! I spoke with Father Jeff who described interesting and engaging features to come and discussed that he is going to get the seminarians to help write on the site. I am excited to watch this site grow and expand, and I will be interested to see its effects on vocations for years to come. For readers with teenage kids, I encourage you to check out Face Forward. While the events and the information is local to Columbus, Ohio, I think the idea is worthy of mention as a great example of the new evangelization and something I hope spreads across the nation.
Vatican Council: The Sequel
In an earlier post, I discussed the definational meaning of orthodox. In subsequent articles, I hope to lay out some of the guiding principles that define Catholic orthodoxy. The first being, how we understand and read the Second Vatican Council. (How did it become referred to as the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II anyway? I think it would have been cooler to refer to it as “The Vatican Council: The Sequel.” I digress.)
If you have never read the documents of the Second Vatican Council – read them! The council is a gift and a blessing to the Church, and the documents are beautiful! We should embrace them, understand them, and get as many people to read them as we can. We should not run from the council or blame the council, but rather to be orthodox is to embrace the council, realizing that it is still being interpred and implemented. But, when you do pick up these documents, read it by the letter guided by the spirit for understanding and deeper reflection. This distinguishes orthodoxy from others who read the Second Vatican Council looking for what is written between the lines, or read it as a political account of the conversatives in the Roman Curia versus those progressives who wanted change. We don’t read it by the spirit, but rather we read it IN the Spirit. We don’t look for what is between the lines, but what is right there on the page. That is a huge difference.
Organic Family Planning
NFP is 100% natural, has no artificial preservatives, is completely organic and is the only green option!
In my working with couples preparing to be married I have discovered that while many of them know that the Church is “against” birth control, pre-maritial sex, and cohabitation, they have no idea why. They hear the Church saying, “No, no, no” but are not taught what the Church is for and what the Church is saying, “Yes, yes, yes” to. The couples seem to believe the Church is out of touch and out to lunch on these issues. And they certainly have never heard that within marriage there is an alternative that embraces the openness to life, and allows the couple to be a discerning, co-creator with God. This alternative is called Natural Family Planning (NFP).
However, one of the many reasons I give, as a male working with couples, is that Natural Family Planning is pro-women. It respects the femininity of the female and does not ask her to be something she is not. In articulating my point, I have changed the name from “Natural Family Planning” to “Organic Family Planning.” I even joke that my wife and I are “Organic Certified” and I have thoughts of producing t-shirts to wear to that effect.
The Orthodox Catholic
There are many in the Church who would use terms such as liberal Catholics or conservative Catholics. But for me, these terms are not helpful. What I want and hope to be is in line with the Church– to be orthodox. Orthodox means right thinking, to have the heart and mind of the Church. Orthodox is a term I think we must use today. There used to be another word that we used–Catholic. Catholic means universal, but what is not often explained is that the word means universal in mission, but also universal in doctrine, right thinking. At one time, it was used to distinguish true believers, ”Catholics,” against heretics. Because the word “Catholic” has become confusing with many wondering what type of Catholic you are and how you would define yourself, many might find the term “orthodox” as helpful– meaning you are in line with Church teaching and are open to correction if they error.
The Economy of Life
The economy is in the spotlight daily. It is discussed frequently on the news, on blogs, and around water coolers. There is a sense of anxiety and worry among many. We have tightened our wallets, reexamined our budgets, and many have had to look for new jobs. On a national level we have bailed out banks and companies at unprecedented levels. Perhaps one of the areas that has not been discussed is the impact the economy is having on life issues and is there a type of economy that protects life over another.
First, according to the Associated Press, there is an increase in abortions due to lack of money to pay for an abortion. Stephanie Poggi of the National Network of Abortion Funds, which helps women in need pay for abortions, said calls to the network’s national helpline have nearly quadrupled from a year ago. “A lot of women who never thought they’d need help are turning to us,” Poggi said. “They’re telling us, ‘I’ve already put off paying my rent, my electric bill. I’m cutting back on my food.’ They’ve run through all the options.”
Caritas et Veritas
Caritas et Veritas is the name of our new Catholic blog. We hope to bring both love and truth simultaneously and in every post – rooted in the teachings of the Church, and with a genuine hope to bring these teachings and perspectives to others in a manner that is interesting, charitable, and fun. To speak love and truth can be difficult at times, and frankly, in my life, sometimes the most loving thing is the outright, blunt truth.
We, like you, are in a process of continual conversion. It is our desire to teach from the heart of the Church. But, the writings and the individual opinions and approaches expressed are our own and as such are open to correction and development. Together we come from academic and pastoral backgrounds and we hope to bring a balance of both to you in our postings.
We encourage you to join with us in dialogue and to participate in a fruitful, meaningful discussion. It is also important for you, the reader, to know that the authors are friends– some of us having become Catholic and some of us reverting back to the Church. I can remember staying up talking many nights about Christianity and Catholicism in college with these friends and in many ways this blog is a continuation of that conversation started many years ago after some time of reflection, schooling, and differing experiences. We welcome you to that conversation and encourage you to check back often.