Showing posts with label Sam Guzman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sam Guzman. Show all posts
Catholic Gent interviews artist Daniel Mitsui
[Mitsui:] The Catholic tradition of religious art has a real and permanent content, just like the liturgical tradition and the theological tradition. While artistic tradition perhaps does not have so exalted a place in our religion as these, it corroborates them and operates with the same principles. Like these, it cannot be altogether remade or replaced without ruinous effect. Modern Catholics often have a confused notion of tradition, thinking of it in terms of what changes rather than what endures.also
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| The dream of St. Joseph |
By blood, I am half Japanese; however, my cultural connection to Japan is not strong. My Japanese ancestors came to the United States about a century ago. My paternal grandparents and their siblings were all born in America; my father and his siblings never learned to speak Japanese.check out the full interview at The Catholic Gentleman
My interest in Japanese art did not come through my family, but through my patrons. I received a commission from a priest whose religious order had done missionary work in Japan; he asked me to draw Saint Michael in the style of an ukiyo-e woodblock print. I had never done anything like this, had never thought to do anything like this. But I accepted the commission and I liked the result; so did my other patrons, who requested more and more of these transpositions of medieval iconography into the style of Japanese art.
Probably my favorite Mitsui is The Tree of Life and Death.
Sam Guzman, The Catholic Gentleman, to speak at Knights of Divine Mercy Feb 5
Cream City Catholic interviews The Catholic Gentleman founder Sam Guzman
About a year ago, I received a message from a newly made friend, Sam Guzman, asking me to ‘like’ on Facebook his blog, The Catholic Gentleman. I did so right away because he was a good guy and a great Catholic. Nearly 26,000 ‘likes’ later, it is easy to see that his initiative was a lot bigger than I originally thought.continue at Cream City Catholic
I first met Sam Guzman in the Pro-Life Wisconsin office where he had been hired as the Communications Director. Peggy Hamill, the director, introduced us. What first interested me in Sam was our joint affection for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. A recent convert, he noticed that after leaving Protestantism everything looked the same liturgically. We shortly began working together with a couple other friends toward introducing the western side of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to tradition (not as easy as it sounds!). I eventually had the opportunity of hosting the post-Baptism party for his youngest son at my apartment. Although the East side is full of parties, I doubt it has ever had one quite like that.
I admit that the original reason to check out the blog was because I was impressed by Sam. Had I not known him beforehand, I would have never even bothered with the site. Most initiatives directed toward men serving Christ come across as either Neanderthalic or corny. They emphasize a few Stoic virtues Christianity shares with said philosophy and then come up with goofy tag lines to explain why Christianity is manly.
Sam Guzman’s blog was different.
Part two of our interview with PLW's Sam Guzman
Recently, Pro-Life Wisconsin Director of Communications Sam Guzman sat down to answer some questions with us. If you missed part one, click here to catch up. (You won't regret it; his conversion story is compelling!) Read on as Sam discusses his work and the state of the pro-life movement in Wisconsin.
You started as PLW's communications director about six months ago. How did you get involved with the Pro-Life movement?
Growing up, my family was always strongly pro-life, and we volunteered at Pro-Life Wisconsin from time to time. My mom is in broadcast media, and she was in the thick of the pro-life debate frequently on the radio. Discussing pro-life issues was pretty common at home. I would say that, because of my family, I was always in the pro-life movement to some degree or another. Working with Pro-Life Wisconsin has really ignited that passion in a new way, however, and I love what I do.
With a virtual media blackout on pro-life issues, how is your work as communications director bringing the tragedy of abortion into the public consciousness?
Social media is absolutely key. That’s why I have put it at the forefront of our communications strategy. You really don’t have to go through traditional media channels anymore, and when you use social media, it is people powered. In other words, your message is shared because people believe in it, not just because you paid thousands of dollars for a TV commercial or you got lucky enough to be invited onto a talk show. I prefer it that way. It’s a much more exciting way to communicate.
Regarding what I do every day, I try to create provocative and compelling messages that will generate conversations. Sometimes these are sad, highlighting the horror of abortion. Sometimes, they are positive, demonstrating the beauty of the culture of life. But most of all, they have to be thought provoking. It is working, and we are reaching people far beyond our constituent base because people are talking about us more than ever before.
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| This recent image Sam created for PLW's Facebook page went viral quickly. |
What's your favorite accomplishment thus far in your tenure at Pro-Life Wisconsin?
That’s hard to narrow down, but I would say watching our social media presence grow. I’m a big believer in the power of social communication, and our Facebook page and Twitter account have grown significantly since I started. It’s a lot of fun coming up with challenging and inspiring messages to communicate, and then watching them reach tens of thousands each day.
Abortion grabs most of the pro-life headlines. After abortion, what is the greatest threat to human life? What is an emerging threat to human life?
I would say a growing number of doctors failing to respect the human dignity of their patients. We are seeing an increase in medical doctors choosing to hasten death for their patients instead of fighting to sustain their lives. This happens in hospice homes, with patients on life support, and in any number of other scenarios. Whether they are wanting to reduce costs or harvest a crash victims organs, it is a grave evil and a violation of human dignity for a doctor to end a human life. As I said, this is a growing problem and something we intend to raise awareness about.
As far as emerging threats, I would highlight the transhumanism movement. Most pro-lifers don’t even know what transhumanism is, but it is huge danger. In short, it is a movement among medical and technology professionals seeking to advance human evolution by combining human beings with technology. Examples are things like human-animal hybrids and brain implants to enhance our cognitive abilities. There is a Russian billionaire who has pledged to figure out how to download the human consciousness into a computer so we can live forever.
This sounds like science fiction, but it is a very real movement that includes some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world. It is a direct assault on the human person, however, and we must fight it.
With the redefinition of marriage, the looming imposition of the HHS mandate and other cultural challenges, it seems as though there's been a lot of bad news lately for Catholics. What are you seeing within the pro-life movement that might provide cause for optimism?
I see two things that are encouraging. First, there is an openness to new methods. Abortion has been around for 40 years, and that is a tragedy. Many pro-lifers are beginning to look for new and innovative ways to end it once and for all. Because of this, we are seeing some exciting new organizations leading the way on a national level, like Personhood USA and your own 40 Days for Life. These organizations are mobilizing people because they are willing to break out of the traditional methods and try new things.
Second, I believe there is a growing awareness that this is a spiritual battle and not just a political battle. That has always been at the heart of what we do at Pro-Life Wisconsin, but sadly, I think that recognition has faded among some in the pro-life movement. There has been too much reliance on political maneuverings and not enough faith in the power of Jesus Christ. Prayer must be central to our efforts, or God will not bless us and we will never end abortion. Fortunately, I am seeing a growing call to prayer and repentance among the pro-life movement, and this can only bear good fruit.
Do you think our generation will live to see the end of abortion?
Yes. I think the youth are waking up to the humanity and personhood of the unborn child. I think this trend will only continue, and soon, abortion will be unthinkable to the majority of Americans. But there is still a lot of work to do! We can’t be complacent. It will take all of the passion and energy we have to put an end to this evil.
Are there any exciting educational projects on the horizon at PLW that you can share with us?
Absolutely. After 20 years of fighting on the front lines, we have a renewed focus on personhood---the dignity of every human person. That is, and always has been, our core message, and it is going to permeate all of our educational efforts going forward. Video is going to be central---both informal video blogging as well as more high-quality productions. Visual media is incredibly powerful, and we intend to harness it to spread the personhood message.
There are more major changes in the works for us as an organization, but I can’t talk about them just yet! I will say, however, that is in exciting time for Pro-Life Wisconsin. We are dedicated to innovating and using creative methods to communicate a Culture of Life.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Sam. God bless you and your work!
An interview with Pro-Life Wisconsin's Sam Guzman
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| Pro-Life Wisconsin's Sam Guzman |
You recently moved to Wisconsin. Where did you relocate from, and why?
My wife and I moved from Colorado, specifically the Colorado Springs area. I grew up in Wisconsin, but moved to Colorado after meeting my wife online, as that is where she lived at the time. I never seriously considered moving back to Wisconsin until I heard that Pro-Life Wisconsin was hiring a Communications Director. While I thought it was a long shot, I submitted my resume. After going through the interview process, they offered me the job! I was surprised and happy. We moved back January of this year.
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What parish do you attend?
I attend St. Stanislaus in Milwaukee. Yeah, Latin mass!
Who's your favorite saint, and why?
That is a hard one! There are so many saints I love and admire. But if I had to choose, I would have to say St. Louis de Montfort, who is my patron saint. Coming into the Church, I struggled with Catholic devotion to Mary. After reading “True Devotion to Mary,” the light bulb went on and I embraced devotion to Mary as my spiritual path. Of course, St. Louis is mostly known for his teachings on Our Lady, but there is so much more to his spirituality. He was a poet and an incredibly deep and mystical saint. He writes about Divine Wisdom with such a fiery passion, and after reading him, I always go away inspired to live a more holy life.
You're a convert to the Catholic faith, right? What's the story of your conversion, and when did it take place?
Yes, I am a convert to Catholicism. It is difficult to share my story briefly, but I will do my best. (Someday, God willing, I will write a book!) While attending a fundamentalist Baptist university in college, I began to feel a strong disconnect between the faith I knew and the faith of the early church. Would St. Augustine (my hero at the time) really have gone to Victory Independent Fundamental Baptist Church and ended each service with an altar call? How did the earliest Christians worship? Baptist worship just didn’t seem to fit with the little I knew about church history. I began to delve into the history of Christianity and to read the early church Fathers as much as possible.
Also, at the same time, I was a guard at the school’s art museum. Ironically, this virulently anti-Catholic Baptist school had an art gallery filled with priceless Catholic art. It spanned the 2nd to the 19th centuries. It was incredibly beautiful stuff. I would spend the hours of my shift browsing the paintings and trying to translate the Latin inscriptions. I looked up some Latin prayers online, and was actually memorizing the Hail Mary in Latin, just because I thought it was cool to pray in Latin (a dangerous thing to do--Our Lady is the most effective evangelist!). Again, though, I felt distant from the Christians who created this art work. Obviously, they had strong faith. Yet, according to what I believed, they weren’t true Christians. What did they really believe, and why?
In short, I was drawn to the beauty, depth, and richness of historic Christianity. The impression grew that the Protestant Christianity I knew was missing something essential, and was actually foreign to the faith of Christians through the ages. The search for a more historic faith lead me to the Anglican tradition. I thought, “Here is a middle way between Catholicism (which I would never consider) and Protestantism.” I considered the ministry and becoming an ordained Anglican priest. However, in choosing an Anglican denomination in which to pursue ordination, the division that characterizes Protestantism really hit home. I always knew Protestants were divided, but it never really bothered me. But when I saw dozens of Anglican “churches” all claiming to be the true Anglicans, co-existing with whacked-out liberal Anglicans like the Episcopal Church in the USA, I knew there was a deeper problem. Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17 told me this shouldn’t be. Why such confusion in the name of Jesus? So I began to study the break with Rome that had started the chaos.
For about three years, I studied church history and theology in my spare time. After graduating college, I began to study more earnestly. I vacillated between repulsion and attraction, fascination and disgust. After much internal struggle and turmoil, I eventually came to the conclusion that the Catholic church was the one True Church that Jesus had founded in 33 A.D. It was the body of Christ, and if I wanted to be true to Jesus, I would have to become Catholic. I decided to convert around mid-2011 and was confirmed Easter of 2012. There’s so much more I could say, but that is the short version!
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| Sam, Laura and Peter Guzman |
You and your wife Laura have a one-year-old and another little one on the way. What has fatherhood taught you?
Being a father has been one of the greatest joys of my life. More than ever, it has taught me the beauty of each human life. My little boy is so full of a personality all his own, and it is great fun watching him explore the world, learn, and grow. I can’t wait to meet our new baby soon, and see the ways in which he is uniquely gifted.
One way being a parent has challenged me is in seeing how much Peter looks up to me. He wants to do everything I do. It’s very cute, but it also reminds me of my great responsibility to be holy example for him. More than what I say, he will learn from what I do. I strive to be a good man and a saint for his sake.
Tomorrow, we'll be back with part two of our interview with PLW Communications Director Sam Guzman.
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