Theology goes to the dogs

By 
  • September 14, 2011

When Fr. James Mallon adopted Monsi from a local animal shelter years ago, he never expected his shepherd mix pup would inspire theology lessons.

“I’d take him out for a walk and he’d do something and a Scripture passage would pop into my head,” the Halifax-based Mallon said. 

For example, he’d notice Monsi straining on his leash so hard he was choking himself and Mallon would remember how St. Paul wrote about how “we strain forward and we forget what lies behind.”

The priest would see Monsi (short for monsignor) running in the park and experience such joy watching him that he’d think to himself, “If I get such pleasure watching my dog being a dog, I wonder how much God gets pleasure in our being who we’re supposed to be.”


Mallon  began incorporating Monsi’s behaviour into homilies. For example, when he was trying to train the dog to stay out of certain rooms of the house, the priest realized that’s how we treat God. So he preached on that. 

“We want God in our lives, but we control Him. We decide which rooms we’ll allow Him in,” he said.

Monsi’s appetites sometimes got him in trouble, but his love of the Bible provided Mallon with food for thought.

“There was the time he ate my Greek New Testament,” Mallon said. “Monsi ate the Book of Revelation, nibbled on the Epistles of St. Paul and took a chunk out of the Acts of the Apostles.”

Now Monsi is the star of a new video series entitled Dogmatic Theology that uses his doggy lessons to kick off a more serious discussion of theology that incorporates Mallon’s talents as a preacher, the teaching gifts of Atlantic School of Theology dogmatic theologian David Deane and the stories of individuals who share personal testimonies in a documentary-style format, including world-renowned fiddler Natalie MacMaster.

The video course of eight 45-minute sessions, now available via dogmatictheology.ca, is the latest offering of the Halifax-based John Paul II Media Institute that Mallon founded in 2005 to begin training young Christians in electronic media production. The institute has grown from a volunteer staff of one to a paid staff of five, and dozens of volunteers.

The Dogmatic Theology video series is the second series the institute has produced. A big fan of the Alpha course, a 10-week video series on the basics of the Christian faith, Mallon created a follow-up for Alpha he dubbed “Catholicism 201.” (Mallon calls Alpha “Catholicism 101.”) It delves into distinctive Catholic teachings such as the nature of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, the Church, the Pope and Mary.

“We feel it’s really unique,” Mallon said. “We’re called to this new evangelization. We’ve got to bridge the culture and whether we approve of it or not, our culture is dog crazy, pet crazy.”

While the short segments involving Monsi kick off each segment in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek way, Mallon says those who watch can expect to be challenged. One woman who bought the course privately has told him she has found it disturbing because it goes so deep, he said.

Though just released, Dogmatic Theology has already sold in Denmark, New Zealand, the United States and Canada, where some parishes will begin the course this fall, he said.

But Mallon had a little scare two days before the series’ recent launch party. He received a manila envelope with what looked like a detailed legal brief inside, in which someone was enumerating complaints about not being properly compensated for his participation in the series. Mallon said his stomach lurched when he thought for a moment he was facing a lawsuit.

He turned the page over and saw a list of demands, including “an unlimited supply of dog biscuits,” and realized the “letter” had been written on behalf of Monsi and one of his friends was playing a practical joke.

Please support The Catholic Register

Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.

For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.

DONATE