April 17, 2009
People of Faith
By Wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; through knowledge it is filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
— Proverbs 24:3
People of Faith is a new feature in a familiar frame. Steve Halbig, writing for the Message, will ask a series of questions of people in the diocese — some who have reached the “age of wisdom” and some who are younger. All will share stories of their faith.
Name: Paul James Schutz
Parish: St. Mary Catholic Church in Downtown Evansville
Number of children, grandchildren: None — I’m still single, for now.
Have you lived in Southern Indiana all your life? No. I grew up in Evansville, but after graduating from Mater Dei, I moved to Boston, where I did my undergraduate work at Boston College. After college, I was in Houston briefly and then spent two years living in Wanblee, S.D. on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
While in Wanblee, I taught high school English and music at Crazy Horse School as a part of Teach For America, a national organization dedicated to providing excellent education to students in our nation’s most impoverished communities. During my two years in South Dakota, I also served as the conductor of the South Dakota Symphonic Band and directed liturgy and liturgical music at two small parishes on the reservation.
What are some of your earliest childhood memories? My early memories vary (and they’re a little foggy, even though most people would say they weren’t that long ago! He is 26.) I remember playing the piano and singing with my grandmother, Jajla Grotius, hearing stories (particularly Good Night, Moon and this Pac-Man storybook I had ) read to me by my mother, and playing outside, fishing and traveling with my father.
What are your memories of World War II? My memories of WW II come from stories passed down to me from my maternal grandparents. My grandfather was in the army, and I remember stories of his being in France and Germany, where he worked with heavy artillery. More vividly, though, I remember the stories of my grandmother, who was a professional pianist and singer during the 30s and 40s.
For years, she had served as the principal singer for her brother’s big band, and when the war hit, she joined the USO and toured the country, performing at various bases and in various concerts. Her travels took her all over the country and included performances at some major venues, including Radio City Music Hall in New York. It was through the stories that she and my grandfather shared that I first heard the story of how they fell in love at Fort McClellan in Alabama after one of my grandmother’s performances. My grandfather had attended the performance and decided afterward that he really wanted a date with my grandmother. They met up the next day, and after a two-year separation while he served overseas, they reunited and married.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? This is a tough question! I think my best answer to this question, simply put, would be “Everything!” In my early childhood, I wanted — like so many others, I think — to be a professional baseball player. Soon after that, though, I got seriously involved in music. I always loved music, but it was never really something that I considered as a career, even though I started composing little songs and pieces for the piano when I was about 10 years old.
Later, I wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer, a chemist, a writer, a priest, a filmmaker, a chef, a teacher or professor, and just about anything else imaginable. In the end, though, after exploring all these options, I was led — and I do mean led, in prayer and in work — to my study of and work in liturgy, composition, and liturgical music, which I am delighted to share as Director of Worship here at St. Mary in Evansville.
Who influenced you growing up? So many people had a profound influence on my life; it would be impossible to name them all. First and foremost, my parents provided me with the opportunity, encouragement and challenge that I needed to grow in all aspects of my life. My parents’ families are quite different, but all of my aunts and uncles on both sides influenced me in various ways. From my mom’s side, I learned how to dream, how to be imaginative, and how to laugh. From my dad’s side, I learned how to think, how to create practical but imaginative solutions in solving problems, and how to treat people fairly, how to listen, and how to interact in a respectful way.
Numerous teachers influenced me, too. They include so many, but Toni Keeneth, Marianne Webster, and Ann Nagy come to mind from my years at Holy Redeemer, while Rose Rogge, Carl Voegel, and John McMullen come to mind from my years at Mater Dei (that’s not to say that others weren’t also tremendously influential — you were — but those were the first people I thought of).
Describe how your faith helped you through a difficult time in your life: I would say that my faith had the most pronounced impact on my life while I was in college. I entered college very doubtful of God’s existence and convinced that there is a rift between faith and science, a rift that — as a physics and English major — could not be reconciled. I was wrong, but it took me over a year to recognize that. I spent most of my first year of college not going to church, not concerned about faith, and then, through my encounters with various professors and experiences at school, I realized that God is real, truly present and working in our lives every day.
The challenge here is not in doubting God or wondering if God will work for us; the challenge lies in actually embracing the words “Thy will be done” in our lives. We say those words so often, but I know that I struggle each day (as I think we all do) with the tension of wanting to substitute “my” for “Thy” in that sentence. When we can truly and humbly live in each moment, not worrying about the future or dwelling on the past, we allow God’s Spirit to work through us, guiding us and leading us to the place where God wants us to dwell.
It’s by the working of that Spirit that I abandoned so many of my plans and wound up studying — along with my work in English, composition and conducting — liturgy and liturgical music, social justice filmmaking and so much more. It’s that Spirit that led me (against my will!) into the classroom of Prof. Susan Michalczyk, whose class in the Honors Program at Boston College revolutionized my worldview, my Godview, and my view of the whole world. It was from that experience that I was led to Teach for America, and from there that I wound up back in Evansville at St. Mary. I don’t really think God works in mysterious ways; in reality, God makes God’s ways known to us in every moment. It’s up to us to surrender the good old ego and follow God’s will for us. I could go on forever, but I’ll stop there.
Do you have any hobbies? How do you stay active? I love to read, to swim, to walk, to play sports when the opportunity presents itself, and I love woodworking, which is a hobby I’ve picked up in the last few years. I love making cabinets and practical items for household use, which I always try to infuse with a little imagination.
What is your first memory of church? For humor’s sake, I’ll share a couple of memories that I don’t remember but that my parents have passed along to me.
When I was young, we were at Mass at Sacred Heart. In the middle of the liturgy, I stood up and shouted, “Stop the music!” Ironic, eh?
At another point, I went to Communion with my parents and received a blessing. I heard the priest repeatedly saying something to those in line, but apparently I didn’t know what he was saying, because when we returned to the pew, I leaned over to my mother and asked, “Why does he keep saying ‘Goodbye, Mrs. Rice?’” (instead of “The Body of Christ.”)
What do you like most about being Catholic? If I had to choose one thing, I would choose the richness and depth of our liturgy. Being steeped in millennia tradition, spanning all the way from the days of Christ, is very profound for me; it’s a constant inspiration in my work and in my daily life.
If you could make one change in the Catholic Church, among things that can be changed, what would it be? If I could change one thing about the Catholic Church, I would push for a massive catechetical and liturgical movement throughout the Church. Church teaching says that the liturgy is the “source and summit” of all we do and the “font from which all blessings flow,” but I think all too often we don’t treat the liturgy as if it’s that important (even though it’s the center of our Catholic faith). This catechetical/liturgical movement would form and inform Catholics about the roots of our faith, why we do what we do in the liturgy, the ritual meaning of every moment and every action in the Mass.
In doing so, I firmly believe that we could truly revitalize the liturgy, worship in Spirit and in truth, and enter fully, consciously and actively in the action of the Eucharist that we all share. I firmly believe that knowing more about the “why” and the “what” of what we do in worship allows Catholics to enter more fully and therefore — like the bread and wine — be truly transformed into the Body of Christ.
Do you have a favorite saint? St. Ignatius is my favorite saint, being the Jesuit-taught guy that I am. If you ask anyone I work with, you’ll hear about our constant joking about which order is the best (and clearly, it’s the Jesuits).
Any regrets in life? Nope.
What is your best wisdom on life?
— Wash others’ feet, all the time, no matter what roads they have traveled or how dirty they might be. Just serve, and God will take care of the rest.
— Be present to every moment; God is always speaking.
— The Holy Spirit continues to work in our world and in our Church. Be open to the Spirit’s presence.
— Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
— For Catholics, I’d say: Remember that the Eucharist is not something we witness, it’s something that we do; it requires action on everyone’s part. So, enter fully into the action of the Eucharist.
We live in a society that so often hears but does not listen. Listen to the words of the readings. Listen to the words of the Preface and Eucharistic Prayer. They are ritual, but they are living and true.
In the Liturgy, God constantly speaks to us in new ways, but we have to be present to the moment, no matter how many times we’ve heard the words. Remember that every pronoun in the liturgy is plural; “we” and “us” abound; even when the presider speaks alone, he speaks with the entire community. The words of the liturgy are the words of the whole community at prayer. Pray them, and see what God has to say.