Ben Meyers of Faith and Theology presents a list of his top twenty theological influences prompted by Aaron Ghiloni’s post on the same issue.

Mr. Meyers states:

Aaron is absolutely right —“ our theology may be influenced by books, but the deepest theological influences are almost always non-literary. These are the things that really construct us and constitute us as persons —“ only subsequently do we also make a few minor alterations through the influence of books.

So I’ve decided to join in with my list of —top 20+1 theological influences,— not in rank order.

• The Holy Eucharist – most particularly in the reception of the Eucharist, but also in the adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist.
• St. Casimir’s R.C. Church —“ God glorified. Thundering homilies in the days of the Tridentine Rite Holy Mass (up through 1974 believe it or not). Solemn liturgies, deep devotion, beautiful vestments, art, light and architecture. The church is modeled on the Hagia Sophia and is a magnificent example of Byzantine architecture. Everything in the church pulls you up to God.
• St. Anthony —“ a special patron to whom my mother was deeply devoted. As a child, St. Anthony held the baby Jesus and found lost stuff. As an adult —“ getting to know him better, I understood that effective preaching is a grace and motivator to conversion.
• Traditions around the holidays —“ the Polish traditions that brought family together and which were always centered on the faith. Not tradition for the sake of tradition, but tradition for the sake of learning about, glorifying, and praising God.
• Polish hymns —“ as a young person I didn’t understand a word, but my mom told me what they meant. They moved me to great heights and to tears, just by the music and the interpretation of the singers.
• Gorzkie Żale devotions (Bitter Lamentations) —“ the sorrows of Christ’s passion and death sung and prayed —“ all from the perspective of the Blessed Virgin. I could feel her pain and it still moves me to tears.
• Adoration of the Holy Cross on Good Friday —“ kissing the five wounds —“ loving Jesus.
• Sister Agnese —“ my aunt and a Felician sister. Total dedication to God and to her work. The joy of a community of faith.
• Illness —“ being a diabetic and knowing first hand the difficulties of illness. Understanding that there is a place of joy with no more suffering or sickness.
• Adoption —“ being adopted into my family and several others. Love by choice as a reflection of God choosing us.
• Travel —“ never without church, never without family —“ and being thankful for the opportunity. The vastness of God’s world and our human connection by His design.
• My father’s death (I was 4 years old) —“ understanding the value of saying you are sorry and seeking reconciliation. He disciplined me the night before he died —“ I never told him I was sorry.
• The PNCC —“ and a richness of theology. The Word as sacrament, regeneration and a choice for Christ.
• Negative R.C. experiences —“ triumphalism, absolutism, minimalism, legalism, church closings, abuse (a couple tried with me), extravagance, and others. Yes, I know —“ not the Church, but the sins of weak men, yet we are obliged, as partners with Christ, to cooperate in how we define ourselves.
• Doing the things I said I would never do —“ God’s ways are not our ways, and we are not in charge.
• Children —“ you can intellectualize why you can’t, shouldn’t, or mustn’t but none of it makes sense in light of the reality. The best experience is seeing your children grow in the womb, followed by the experience of their birth. This was also brought home to me in a meeting where a woman with very strong ‘convictions’ about over population, not bringing children into the world, etc. —“ a 1960’s type protester —“ lamented of her loss.
• A Full Gospel Church elder —“ hearing him speak of the Spirit.
• Death —“ my mother was the youngest in her family (10 children) and my sister and I didn’t arrive until late in our parents’ 30’s. Most of my relatives were quite a bit older. My father died when I was four and so began a procession of death. Christ is our hope and our promise.
• My grandmother (Mary who we called Busha) who loved us so much. She and my aunt moved in with us after my dad died. She gardened (everything she touched grew), cooked, pickled, shoveled, swept, played with us kids, never spoke a word of English, and was the matriarch and center around which family gathered. She stood strong until a stroke at the age of 91. Every evening she would sit in the large chair in her room and pray the rosary or the chaplet of St. Terese allowing us to sit at her feet to watch, learn and understand.
• My grandfather (Louis) who loved us so much. We would walk —“ to get fried chicken or go to Golembiewski’s for toys. He would take us on the bus to the zoo or the museum. We would fall asleep on his side on car rides to his house. He was a man of dignity, loyalty, honor, and great love.
• Growing up in a house full of women – understanding the difficulties they faced in healthcare, the job market, in dealing with men who thought that they had all the answers. A lesson in empathy at a minimum.