The Sparrow

His central aim is not just to provide one example of a legitimate, contextual (Hispanic) perspective. He also is eager to show that embracing different theological perspectives from around the globe is a necessary and unavoidable aspect of the church’s catholicity. González makes his case in the introduction.

Father Amaro is initially shown as an enthusiastic young priest that is determined to make a change in the small town of Los Reyes. While he appears to be devoted to his cause, it is gradually revealed that he is as vulnerable to committing sins as any individual, given that he uses the Church as a tool to appear more religious. Father Benito is very similar to Father Amaro when considering his tendency to seem dedicated at helping the world while he is actually cooperating with drug lords.

could no longer go on. She believed in her faith and religion more than anything and

Soon after being held in captivity, Mary Rowlandson’s attitude started changing from hopeless to hopeful; “Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” (Rowlandson 131). Here Rowlandson is talking about how she is able to keep her spirit up even though her daughter is extremely sick and she has no friends to comfort her. She claims she is able to do this because of the great power of God. It seems like her mind is being uplifted by the thought of God, and she is able to focus on the good things she still has in life. I believe without her religious beliefs keeping her mentally healthy throughout all of her hardships, she would have never been able to handle her captivity as well as she did. Even after her daughter died, she is still able to keep herself together; “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life” (Rowlandson 132). She recognizes looking back that she could have easily decided to take her own life after losing her daughter at such a young and helpless age. It is God who protected her and kept her from doing anything bad to herself at such a low point

Birds are a common sight in most places people tend to be. These winged creatures are seen in bustling places like the pigeons that are in urban and suburban areas, the woodpeckers in rural regions, the crows on farms, and even in cages within buildings. In fact, these elegant creatures are so common a sight in society that they are often overlooked and underappreciated. This is similar to how women were and sometimes still are treated within society; they are given little appreciation when they are present and doing as they are told, but when they do not do as they are told they become a problem. This parallel that can be drawn between women and birds is used throughout Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, in which its main character Edna Pontellier is often likened to and symbolized by a bird. Throughout the novel, the bird acts as a theme and symbol of both Edna and women in general.

The Samantha Thrasher’s faith story began in her life at the age of thirty-two. Samantha connection with God started out as being angry, because people were not living according to the word of God from her point of view. It was shared that she had a visitation from God at the age of six. Samantha share how she talked to God and express that she was angry with adult and that if she died, she did not want to go to heaven with them. She said, God laughed at her, and then God explain to her that the adult behavior was wrong. She wanted God to tell those mean adults about themselves. She said, it was then God said to her, “you are a good girl” and everything was going to be alright. Samantha felt the comfort of God and the anger being to release from her spirit.

While growing up with her father, her religion was forced upon her, as for their punishment the children were sentenced to “the verse”, in which they were required to right out one hundred lines direct from the bible by memory. She doesn’t seem to enjoy the idea of faith, but there is no doubt that she realizes it’s

Watching this film Bird by Bird about this writer named Annie, showed us how she takes her life and writing as free flowing but also have the opposite side of having road blocks with hard to swallow situations .It is rather interesting how she expresses her writing in a such real raw vibe that people can make a connection from her writing. They way she handles herself in real life transfers onto how she approaches her writing, which to me I find it a rare quality in a creative person in this type of area. Why I find it is rare is because usually a writer has a format to go about to write a short story or any other format there is rules to go by but she however does not apply that in fact she does the complete opposite. How she goes towards writing is by emotion and does not sweat the fact whatever idea she trying to jot down on paper she is not worrying about having the idea to be perfect in the minutes she is taking to get her idea on paper.

I will now go on to Trinidad, Father Martinez's "nephew" who also exhibits a divided character, lustful and gluttonous, as well as having himself crucified and scourged during Passion Week. When he ate dinner, he ate as if he were "afraid of never seeing food again. When his attention left his plate for a moment, it was fixed in the same greedy way upon the girl who served the table...with careless contempt"(145). Trinidad seems to have such an ugly personality, but at the same time he carries out his religious duties, to the extreme.  It is as if one makes up for the other, contradicting Catholicism.  Padre Martinez, who also tends to acts upon rules of his own, has taught Trinidad literal religion, not spiritual religion. Trinidad seems to think repeated sins can easily be forgiven, acting more to please those around him instead of God. Trinidad's character of sin and solitude seems to be allowing him to get the best of both worlds, when he should just be content with one.

He attended catechism where he learned the ways of the Catholic religion and god. Father Byrnes gave the students input on God but despite what he said Antonio had his doubts. Florence did not believe in God due to his misfortunes, so his questions about why he had a miserable beginning to life had kept Antonio wondering as well. Florence lived a devastating childhood and he had no hope at all in god. Although he was in catechism to be with his friends and heard the word of god, he did not believe in someone who would allow him so much misery. Antonio realized it was not fair he was living this way but it was his mother’s dream for him to become a priest. Antonio had always grown up in a religious household, so Florence made him question it all. Despite Antonio wanting Florence to believe, he could not find answers to every question. Antonio felt pity for his friend but his situation gave him more curiosity on why God does what he does, “For a moment I couldn’t answer. The questions Florence had posed were the same questions I wanted answered….Why was evil allowed?” (206). When Florence drowns causing him to die, he doubts god even more because if God were truly there for the good of the innocent then why did he allow him to die. It sparked more questions in Antonio’s mind, it is challenging for a young boy to have to experience so much evil and tragedy.

The order was different in that the priests did not wear a habit, they did not pray the Office (daily prayers said by priests and monks), there was no hierarchical structure, and they did the work that the pope ordered them to do (Cunningham 205). The order believed that the problems of the Church were more of a people’s problem than a doctrine problem (Lindberg 335). They thought that if a believer masters his will and follows God freely, then there would be no need for reform (Lindberg 335). According to the Jesuits, “Catholics had fallen away from pure faith by not participating in pure obedience to the hierarchical Church,” (Holder 197). The priests went all over the world, spreading the word of God in places like India, South America, and China (Holder 198). The order also established many colleges as well to teach their ways (Holder 199). They practised an untraditional type of prayer called “interior prayer” (Holder 197). It was a “form of silent prayer that sought out God in the inner recesses of the believer’s soul” (Holder 197). Loyola wrote a book called the Spiritual Exercises which “was to be used as a handbook designed to help somebody guide another through a program of reflections and meditations that would lead to a deeper sense of purpose in life and to a deeper commitment to the ideal of Jesus” (qtd. in Holder 199). The idea of this order is similar to another order in Spain, who saw that self-reform, and not conflict, was the

God knows our heart. I am glad He meets us in our situation when we do not call upon Him. He is a heart reader and heart fixer. It was her season to come out from her sinful nature because God had a plan.

She truly believed that these experiences were unquestionable. She explained how she had changed her for the better and became a stronger individual, and that her prayers were being answered differently from

Márquez provides a religious and political commentary through the comparison of independent action and duty to fate and religion, when Father Amador is ordered by Colonel Lazaro Aponte to

My mom once told me when I was young and ignorant, “Faith is the foundation of a beautiful friendship with the one person who will always remain by your side”. These words were expressed even more profoundly every Sunday in the echoing corridors of a small church by a priest I had yet to know or even care about. Preaching with his perplexing words in which I could only muster barely a fourth of my full attention span listening to. Thus, the term faith did not exactly resonate with me until many years later. My early years were filled with the teachings of the bible in Sunday school and later on as well in middle school during Friday night sessions. Unfortunately, my mom was an extremely strong enforcer of our faith for she was also raised Catholic from birth, but my dad on the other hand has a more scientific approach to how the world came to be. The years I spent in Sunday school blurred into an everlasting line of bleak nothingness just a ticking clock waiting till an end. Even today I do not remember anything that occurred within those taxing sixty minuets of constant bible studies it’s as though I lost the key to the inner workings of my childhood. Nonetheless, there have always been unbelievably great role models in my faith such as my mom, youth ministers, and friends who encourage me to be open to my faith. However, it’s always been my own restrictions that prevent me from furthering my relationship with God. So when my sister suffered her first severe