Reframing Familiar Pictures
July-August 2013
Therapists working with patients unable to make a decision because they’re paralyzed by fear or anger often use a technique called reframing to give them a different perspective. Similar to putting a new frame around a familiar picture, therapeutic reframing enables situational details that were once hidden to emerge.
The articles in this issue of Liguorian give examples of this practice. Jeanette Cooperman takes us inside the lives of former soldiers who served in combat to see how their faith helped them live with looming injury and death, and in doing so, assess what was most important to them. Mary Birmingham asks us to ponder how catechesis travels through the streams of Scripture, liturgy, and doctrine associated with our Catholic Tradition. When we drink from these streams throughout our lives, our faith grows and deepens.
And who can turn away from the inspiring words of Thomas Merton? Jim Forest shows us how this Trappist monk has influenced generations of men and women by his insistence that the practice of meditation and/or contemplation is a path to holiness and communion with God and each other. Get the prayer right, he seems to say, and the proper doctrine and morality will follow—albeit with some struggle and pain.
The first challenge the Apostles faced after Jesus’ ascension was the need to reframe the way they presented the Gospel message, Johan van Parys reminds us in his column. Church leaders have been dealing with this issue ever since, as have Catholic publishing houses. That’s why we at Liguori Publications are reframing our use of digital technology not just to present our content, but to make each digital edition more than just an electronic copy of its print counterpart.
One way to do that is by embedding links. For example, this month’s meditation (“The Lost Sacrament”) refers to a study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Digital Liguorian readers who tap or click on the word study will instantly be linked to CARA’s website, where they can read the full report.
Digital Liguorian is available online and through the Liguorian app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. (For more information, visit Liguorian.org and click on Subscriptions.) And stay tuned—we’ll keep you in the loop as we expand into other technologies that will enable us to spread the Good News in ever more meaningful ways.