The Enduring Questions Persist by Daniel McQuillan “Morning, Mr. McQuillan.”
week it was which Jonas brother did I once unknowingly stand
I turn from the whiteboard. “Hey, good morning. How we do-
next to for ten minutes in a restaurant. This week, I’ve got noth-
ing?”
ing. My life, I remind them, is only so interesting.
“Good. Tired.”
“Ok, limited time, so let’s get right into it.” I focus on a few
Soaked from a winter’s rain, the young man settles into his
things. First, the guardian angels’ worry when, after the fall of
seat. Despite his tiredness, he sounds happy to be here, hap-
Adam and Eve, they make “righteous plea” about “their utmost
pier than usual.
vigilance” in the Garden of Eden. I am struck, once again, by God’s response. “Be not dismayed / Nor troubled at these tid-
“I did the reading.”
ings from Earth / Which your sincerest care could not prevent.”
I turn back again. “Yeah?”
Indeed, a response we need to hear, one that urges us to recog-
“Yeah,” he says, a smile peeping over his mask. “It was good.”
nize our pandemic anxiety and simultaneously think beyond it.
“Good. I’m happy you liked it.”
Easier said than done.
I prepare the day’s technology. Never in my life have I seen a
God “colleagues” mercy and justice. “What do we think that
classroom so outfitted with devices: a podcast microphone, Blue-
means?” We discuss Milton’s use of that word. Some students
tooth headphones, a projector, a pull-down screen, an Apple TV,
offer their interpretation, noticing a kind of “mixing” tone.
HDMI cables, MacBook adapters, an external webcam, my lap-
A few lines later, we read how mercy tempers justice. Mercy
top, and a desktop computer. And, lest I forget, the whiteboard.
and justice. They are not separate in God, but one. Milton, the
The hybrid classroom, Portsmouth Abbey edition.
great monist.
Students enter one at a time, then in pairs. Zoom notifies me
Next, the great existential question. Where art thou, Adam? My
that two people are in my waiting room. All students, those here
theology hat is on. “Why do you think God asks this question?
and at home, hope for a “no-quiz day.” Not today. Not when
After all, it’s a useless question, at least from God’s perspective.”
we’re reading Milton.
God knows exactly where they are and why they’re hiding.
I ask them to ready their quiz pads. “Your name, Book 10, Para-
Adam needs to say it. Better yet, he needs to hear himself say
dise Lost. Distance students, you know the drill.” Two of them
it. Students reflect on this point. I notice one girl really start to
nod. One signals with a thumbs-up. A few girls talk. It’s good to
think. She looks up, off to the right, then back at her book. I
see humans conversing, unmediated by screens. The bell rings
point out it’s not all dreary for the world’s first couple. From an-
and two students arrive late. “Ok – Good morning, everyone.
other perspective, Milton reminds us that God, the Divine Res-
Let’s stand for prayer.” They all rise, even one of the distance
cuer, comes to and searches for us. That’s grace. I think they’re
learners. I wonder, more out of curiosity than anything else,
getting it.
who actually prays. For some, it seems to mean something; the
We look at Adam’s throwing Eve under the bus. “She did it,”
others are kind enough to maintain a respectful silence. I won-
says Adam. The original blame-game, the first finger-point, a pa-
der if, somehow, their silence joins with our prayers.
thetic attempt to shift guilt. If Adam was created to know God
“Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know You...” One voice
and be strong, why doesn’t he put that strength to use? “Why
chimes in. They all know it, so why don’t they say it? I slow
didn’t he wake up, grab that demonic viper, and throw it out
my pace. That, for some reason, calls the group into prayer. We
of Eden?” Students speculate, some more than others. I’m just
finish, and I pray that St. Thomas Aquinas, that stout old Do-
happy to see them thinking. I tell them we have to move on, but
minican, intercede on my behalf. How often he’s been invisibly
we’ll pick it back up during Friday’s plenary session, the weekly,
present this year, God only knows.
student-led discussion.
We take our quiz, and, to their disappointment, I don’t give a
“Ok, so what happens when Satan returns to hell, to Pande-
“Random Bonus Question about Mr. McQuillan’s life.” Last
monium?” Five hands shoot up. I expect this, partly because of
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
