review of heaven opens

Excerpt of a review of my book Heaven Opens: The Trinitarian Mysticism of Adrienne von Speyr:

"In this ground-breaking book we are treated to an inside look at the thought of the Catholic convert and mystic, Adrienne von Speyr. What is it that makes Christian mysticism "Christian?" Dr. Sutton ably shows that for von Speyr mysticism meant following the Son and led by the Spirit into the Inner Life and Love of God--the Holy Trinity. The first part of the book includes a summary of the Christian narrative of Redemption History from the standpoint of mystical vision--which is worth the price of the book alone. Subsequent chapters look at how the Mission and Obedience of the Son and the Holy Spirit is our paradigm to entering the Triune Life. The last chapters show Trinitarian origins of the Sacraments and Prayer--how the Sacraments and Prayer are the living out of the Holy Trinity! A great introduction into the works of von Speyr and by association to the works of Hans urs von Balthasar."

You can find my book on amazon

prayer for insight

Origen (ca. A.D. 185-254)

May the Lord Jesus touch our eyes, as he did those of the blind. Then we shall begin to see in things visible those which are invisible. May he open our eyes to gaze, not on present realities, but on the blessings to come. May he open the eyes of our heart to contemplate God in Spirit, through Jesus Christ the Lord, to whom belong power and glory through all eternity.

Amen.

goal setting

Goal setting is critical. You must be able to answer the question, “Where am I going - now, next week, and next month?”

One way to begin setting goals is thinking about them as short-term, mid-term, and long-term.

Each of these goals have different results but often times are dependent upon one another. If my goal is to write a paper before Easter (long-term), I need to recognize that the initial outline needs to be drafted by next weekend (short-term) and I should be done drafting ideas before the middle of next month (mid-term).

These three steps will help you not only set goals, but help you achieve them:

• Step 1: Define your goal -- I will write my paper.

• Step 2: Set a timeline -- I will write my paper by Easter.

• Step 3: Action Steps -- I will write my paper by Easter by beginning research tomorrow, completing initial outline by end of next week, and be one hundred percent complete by April 5, 2015.

Now, let's talk about YOU!

What are your short-, mid-, and long-term education goals? It is best to plan them in three-week or monthly increments.

When will you achieve them? Give yourself enough time to achieve them but not so much time you feel comfortable with taking a day off.

What must you do today to start the process? Start right now!

Take 5 minutes and ponder these questions. When you are ready, write them down, in this order, and begin the process.

balthasar on the creed

I loved using Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book, Credo: Medications on the Apostles Creed, for teaching the significant meanings of the most important creed for understanding Christianity. I don’t use the book any more for various reasons including curriculum changes with our intro to Christianity course. Still, I loved it and here are my reading assignment sheets for it:

Reading Comprehension Sheets:

1. Introduction and Chapter 1: Assignment 1
2. Chapters 2 - 7: Assignment 2
3. Chapters 8 - 12: Assignment 3

Hans Urs von Balthasar. Credo: Meditations on the Apostle’s Creed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2000. ISBN: 9780898708035 Paperback Kindle

larry

The whole world is a stage. Well, okay, Shakespeare, but I believe that the reverse is also true — the stage is the whole world. At least, this statement is especially true when I am performing on a stage in a play. My whole world changes to the stage. The stage is all I can think about. On stage my awareness must become focused on every second of the performance, to try to make sure the scene as appealing to the audience as possible. But with my thoughts centered on myself, I, like any other actor, begin to question my capability as a performer.

This problem of confidence became more apparent in a recent production of Talley's Folly in which I stared. In this play, there are only two actors throughout the entire show. There are no set changes and no breaks for the actors to go back stage for a breather. We, Vicki and I, were up there on stage for the whole performance that lasts for an hour and a half. I didn't mind all the lines involved, but what really killed me hard was the rehearsal. Vicki and I had to spill out our blood and energy to the director usually for up to four hours, every night, for three months. It felt like … oh … a rhinoceros was pounding his freshly polished horn right into my gut. Of course, he wouldn't take the horn out but he would ever so gently twist the horn to cause as much pain as rhinocerosly possible. Please understand there is no "intentional" connection between the rhinoceros and the director. Let's just say there are scars and leave it at that.

Now back to this problem, I consider myself a rather confident person; I mean, I have been performing plays all through high school. I sing at concerts, I emcee at talent shows, and I sometimes cartwheel at circuses. I perform for people and I love it and need it. Being up there on a stage is very thrilling and even essential. However, with this play, Talley's Folly, I could not be the same high school actor I used to be. I had to change into this serious college actor. This was not my chance to be Tin Man again. As rehearsals progressed, I started saying, "Whoa! Shouldn't there be some more graduale transition before I dip my green-horned feet into the college acting pool.” Although I had great preparation in high school with an amazing director, this part of playing Matt Friedman, of course the part shares my name, was extremely more involved than any other part I had ever done. Let me be honest, this part and play was probably one of the toughest things I have ever done.

I began to feel very unqualified for the position. Don't get me wrong I was giving it the most I had, but it hurt tremendously. One does not take on rhinos when you an eighteen-lanky-year-old. The few friends I had around campus encouraged me. Some would say, "You'll get it." But, this provided false comfort. Sure, I'll get it, but when and how well will I get it? At that time the pressure this part brought to me was extinguishing my life. I couldn't wait till the whole play would be over, then I'd have my life back. I kept on wishing that the future would be now. My whole world became engrossed in the play and even more so my complete inadequacy at completing this part with the hopes of getting a throw-a-way "good job" from the director. The play was no longer play, but work, hard work. Mind you, it wasn't hell, but the director did breathe fire through those rhinocerous nostrils.

After a tiring rehearsal one night, I was lying on my bed trying to relax when the phone rang. I collected what energy I had and answered. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't tell.

"Hi Matt! How is everything? This is your uncle Larry." LARRY!

First I should explain. It’s not common for Larry to call me, its long-distance from New York City and, second, he is a busy, successful actor-musician-director on Broadway.

"Wow! Larry, why did you call?"

He said he had heard about this grand production of a play I'm in and wanted to wish me to break a leg (we were opening in two nights). I told him I needed as much leg-breaking as he could muster for me because I was having a difficult time with this part. For once, I believed my stress was understood. Of course, he never said, "Well, this is what you should do." He just told me about how he was doing and where he was going with his life. Larry has had a great amount of success with his move to New York City. He worked in the great Broadway productions of Cats, Les Miserables, and others. But now he found himself at a time to reevaluate what he wanted out of life. Unfortunately, he was facing a problem; he was getting caught in a downward spiral. He kept thinking that here he was a kid from a small town in Kansas trying to make it in New York City. What chance did he even have at becoming successful? But these he also started asking the other question, what chance would he have if he kept thinking he didn't have a chance. He said he was trying his best to avoid that self-doubting downward spiral that starts out innocent enough but soon enough becomes a real whirlpool of despair. He said he ought to be going, but one more time he wished me to break a leg.

When the shock of him calling started to fad away, I began to realize what he had said. Oh my! I had started down this spiral of despair and I had never realized that I wasn’t giving myself the chance to shine. My problem wasn't me so much as it was my constant self-doubting evaluation of myself. Why did I need to do this? I love acting. I enjoy the thrill of the stage and the challenge of creating a character that will make the audience fall in love. Looking at myself was the thing that was tearing me apart. Looking to what good I could do will build me up.

I went to practice the next day with this new found courage and finally felt like I was playing with the whole world in the play. I enjoyed every minute of the performances, not as Matt Sutton the actor, but as Matt Friedman, the lovelable romantic hoping for a kiss from Sally Talley. In my absence of courage I found despair; in the presence of courage I found joy. Thanks Larry.

written for English 111-14 on Oct. 24, 1995 with only slight revision

For more about Larry, see him on Broadway.

mission of love

This is the second episode of the new documentary on Christian marriage called Mission of Love. In the video series first broadcast on NetTV, the TV station for the diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, here we meet so many beautiful images and words encouraging us that we are created for joy. We are made from joy and for joy. You’ll get to meet my family and see how we do big family crazy and faithful.

Here’s the first episode.

Please watch and share this video with everyone, especially those who need encouragement for the marriage.

welcome back students of spring 2015

Greetings and Salutations Students of Spring 2015!

If you're taking my THE 1000C course, please clicky here.

If you're taking my THE 2400 or HON 2400 course, please clicky here.

You're the cat's pajamas.

gift of crying

During his most recent interview while returning from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, here's what Pope Francis said about the gift of crying:

Elisabetta Pique, La Nacion: "Representing the Spanish language group, I have two questions. This was a moving voyage for everyone. We saw people crying the entire time in Tacloban, even we journalists cried. Yesterday you said the world needs to cry. We would like to ask you, what was – and it was all very moving – what was for you the most moving moment? That is the first question. The second, yesterday you made history, you surpassed the record set by John Paul II, in the same place, there were 6 or 7 million people. How does it feel to have seen - Cardinal Tagle was telling us that during the Mass in front of the altar you asked him, but how many people are here? How does it feel to have surpassed this record, to have entered into history as the Pope with the Mass with the highest attendance in history? Thank you."

Pope Francis: "The most moving moment: for me, the Mass in Tacloban was very moving. Very moving. To see all of God’s people standing still, praying, after this catastrophe, thinking of my sins and those people, it was moving, a very moving moment. On the moment of the Mass there, I felt as though I was annihilated, I almost couldn’t speak. I don’t know what happened to me, maybe it was the emotion, I don’t know. But I didn’t feel another thing, it is something. And then, the moving moments: the gestures were moving. Every gesture. When I passed and a father would do this (gestures) and I blessed him, he would say thank you. But for them, a blessing was enough. I thought -- I who have so many expectations -- I want this and I want that. That was good for me, no? Moving moments. After I found out that in Tacloban we landed with winds at 70 kilometres per hour, I took it seriously the warning that we needed to leave no later than one o’clock because there was more danger. Regarding the great turnout, I felt annihilated. These were God’s people, and God was present. And the joy of the presence of God which tells us, think on it well, that you are servants of these people, these people are the protagonists. Something like this. The other thing is the weeping. One of the things that is lost when there is too much wealth or when values are misunderstood or we have become accustomed to injustice, to this culture of waste, is the capacity to cry. This is a grace we must ask for. There is a beautiful prayer in the old missal (1962, editor's note) for tears. It went more or less like this: ‘O Lord, you who have made it so that Moses with his cane made water flow from a stone, make it so from the rock that is my heart, that water of tears may flow.’ It’s a beautiful prayer. We Christians must ask for the grace to cry. Especially wealthy Christians. To cry about injustice and to cry about sins. Because crying opens you to understand new realities, or new dimensions to realities. This is what the girl said, what I said to her. She was the only one to ask that question to which there is no answer: why do children suffer? The great Dostoyevsky asked himself this, and he could not answer. Why do children suffer? She, with her weeping, a woman who was weeping. When I say it is important that women be held in higher consideration in the Church, it’s not just to give them a function as the secretary of a dicastery -- though this would be fine. No, it’s so that they may tell us tell us how they experience, and view reality. Because women view things from a different richness, a larger one. Another thing I would like to underscore is what I said to the last young man, who truly works well, he gives and gives and gives, he organizes to help the poor. But don’t forget that we too need to be beggars – from them. Because the poor evangelize us. If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we cannot understand Jesus’ message. The poor evangelize us. I go to evangelize the poor, yes, but allow them to evangelize you. Because they have values that you do not."

created for joy

Here’s the first episode of the new documentary on Christian marriage called Mission of Love. In the video first broadcast on NetTV, the TV station for the diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, here we meet so many beautiful images and words encouraging us that we are created for joy. We are made from joy and for joy. You’ll get to meet my family and see how we do big family crazy.

Next episode will be Feburary 15. Please watch and please share this video with everyone, especially those who need encouragement for the marriage.

mission of love

My family and I will be featured in a new documentary by NetTV, the Catholic station for the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens (fistpump).

Here’s the promo.

I encourage you to follow the NetTV Mission of Love on their website or youtube. Don't miss all ten episodes. My interview with the director and producer, Amanda Brier, went so well. I can’t wait to see it. God will be doing great things through this documentary.

May God bless marriages. It’s the mission of love. Please follow and promote the project to grow Christian marriages in Brooklyn, Queens, and around the world.