{"id":5,"date":"2009-03-04T20:54:17","date_gmt":"2009-03-04T20:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2009\/03\/why-via-media.html"},"modified":"2009-03-04T20:54:17","modified_gmt":"2009-03-04T20:54:17","slug":"why-via-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2009\/03\/why-via-media.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Via Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

How about….because I’m lame and hate thinking up titles to things? <\/p>\n

No?<\/p>\n

Okay…how about…St. Benedict?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yes, yes, I know the association with Anglicanism. That wasn’t invovled in my purpose in naming the joint, but if draws some Googling Episcopalians, all the better.<\/p>\n

To tell the truth, you can blame my friend Matthew Lickona<\/a>, author of Swimming with Scapulars,<\/i> <\/a>and co-commiserator on the miseries of the publishing world, both Catholic and secular.<\/p>\n

We brainstormed on titles – well, actually, I asked him to brainstorm for me – and “The Middle Way” was one he came up with on my behalf and I think this is why, as I recall from what he has said in regard to my writing before: It’s not about an ideological middle road – at all. It’s about this drive I have to dig into arguments that are offered from any side of an issue and to try to understand the gist and essential point of what people are saying, to pull it out and try to make sense of it and understand it at the most basic level.<\/p>\n

What I think I hear you saying is…<\/p>\n

<\/i>Ew. Maybe not.<\/p>\n

Once I started thinking about it, though, I looked into Benedictine monasticism, because I knew there was an association there, and there is:<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n
\n

Via Media, The Middle Way of Measure and Discretion<\/h3>\n

\nCompared with the tradition<\/big> and especially with
\nthe Rule of the Master<\/cite>, Benedict
\nlegislates for a monastic life that has rhythm, measure,
\nand discretion.
\nHis monks are not overdriven by austerities in
\nfasting and night vigils. They do not own anything
\npersonally, but they have enough to eat and to drink
\n(even wine when it is available) and to clothe
\nthemselves. They work with their hands about six hours a
\nday but they also have leisure for prayerful reading
\nand common prayer. Their sleep is sufficient and
\nthey may even take a siesta in summer if needed.
\nThe young, the sick, and the elderly are cared for
\nwith compassion and attention. The abbot, while he
\ndirects all aspects of the common life, must seek
\ncounsel from the monks; and the Rule<\/cite> makes
\nprovision for his limitations and failings. In short,
\nRB arranges for a monastic life in which the monks may
\nseek God in prayer and reading<\/a>, in silence and
\nwork<\/a>, in service to guests and to one another. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

I’m not claiming deep meaning here, folks. Maybe there is more meaning than my conscious self even knows – that the road ahead – the Via  – <\/i>is going to be on that requires me to stay centered and grounded and be wary of lurching, careening, charging recklessly or attempting u-turns.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/author\/awelborn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}