In my Father’s house there are many mansions.../En la Casa de mi Padre hay muchas habitaciones...— John/Juan 14:2
Theology is the study of God and God’s relation to the world. Many of us think of this as someone getting a university degree and being an expert in the field that we turn to when needed. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, Dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School, is that expert but for her book, “In My Grandmother’s House,” she embraced theology she learned from the women in her family. Through her family she makes theology concrete, a word Pope Francis used at World Youth Day.
“In my grandmother’s house, the religion was real and tangible,” Dr. Pierce writes. Grandmother theology, as she calls it, has a synodal nature to it as it listens to all the faithful—a process the Church is currently engaged in. “Words on a page are important,” she pointed out, “but how we live out our faith...is critical.” In her focus on those hidden voices, grandmother theology brings “the lived reality of who we are to life.”
Dr. Pierce listens to those previously unheard voices because they make our faith story “richer and fuller.” “Our understanding of God becomes bigger and fuller and broader, and more people are able to fit into it.” May we also turn to those around us who everyday quietly live their faith that they may help us “use our divine imagination” to deepen our understanding of God.
Showcasing SHA talent: Isaiah and Ezequiel in 4th may have grandmother theology but they also have book learning as evidenced by the pencils they drew.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
5th Grade Aide