Duc in Altum

I have received a meme tag from David of David's Daily Diversions with the meme, "MY TOP TEN (OR SO) GREATEST INFLUENCES, OUTSIDE OF GOD AND MY FAMILY MEMBERS."

It seems that I am able to include those whom I have actually known and those who I might have only known in a secondary way such as through their writings. I would be hard pressed to be certain that these are the top ten, but they are certainly ten who have had a major impact upon my life.

In alphabetic order:

·  Mother Angelica--A modern saint. This holy woman has touched my life in many ways. Of course, through being the foundress of EWTN, she has impacted my life. In addition, she has been a tremendous inspiration through her life which includes so many trials and tribulations which she met with faith, hope, and love. She continues to inspire through her holy witness. Perhaps, she is not able to articulate with words as she used formerly could, but now she speaks profoundly of the mystery of suffering and be united to Christ.
·  Mr. Cottingham--My fifth grade teacher. I did not realize it at the time, but he taught me that learning and teaching can be enjoyable. He had a good time teaching the students, and he had the respect of the students because he seemed to really enjoy what he was doing and he spread that enthusiasm to his students.
·  Ms. Fisher--My first grade teacher. I remember really enjoying everything about her class. And I am very grateful for the very good start which she gave to my school years.
·  St. Francis of Assisi--It is difficult to find a more devoted saint. As far as I can tell, I am not very similar to him, but I like his style, especially when it comes to discerning God's will (See the Little Flowers of St. Francis). His life demonstrates that following Christ radically is in no way contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
·  Fr. Benedict Groeschel--Another modern saint. He is a beautiful teacher of the Faith through his words and actions. He personifies what it means to be a priest through his complete giving of himself for others' sanctification. He had a profound influence on my entering the Catholic Church, and he continues to inspire me to grow in the spiritual life.
·  Swigert Hockensmith--My world history teacher in high school. He made the study of history interesting and he fanned my interest in understanding history. He worked for a Department of Defense run school, and like many teachers did a very good job despite being underpaid and unappreciated.
·  St. Ignatius of Antioch--I learned from his writings that the Catholic Church is the church which Christ founded.
·  St. John Chrysostom--For a church history course at an evangelical seminary, I did a project on him. In order to find relevant writings of his, I first began looking in the new Catechism which I had recently purchased during a lunch break from work. At least one of his quotes which I used caused some consternation with the professor because it referred to praying to the saints. Although I was not yet praying to the saints, I think St. John Chrysostom was praying for me.
·  John Paul II--Long before I was Catholic, I was able to attend a Sunday Angelus at which he presided. I believe the blessing that I received then came to fruition many years later, after his writings, starting with Crossing the Threshold of Hope, helped me to understand the Church and to shed my ignorance and naivete about Catholicism.
·  Bud Kellstedt--Professor of political science who helped me understand politics as a way in which men and women can serve one another. Consequently, he helped me see that Christians should be active in politics in order to serve Christ who is in their fellow man. He also taught me much about survey research. However, he never understood my interest in engineering, and he thought that I might follow an academic path. Perhaps it is not too late...

What is a meme without passing it on? Here are those whom I have "tagged":

Catholic Fire
Destination: Order
Doxology
Heart of a Seminarian
St. Joseph's Vanguard