S3 E32: Papa Ratzi and Lady Gaga: Why We're All Called to Be Theologians

What do Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" and Pope Benedict XIV have in common? For Kristyn Russell, it instantly brings back memories of her classmate Fr. Richie Mercado bursting into "Papa, Papa Ratzi" during Foundations in Theology class at Villanova. But beyond the impromptu performances, something deeper was happening: her understanding and experience of God was blooming in unexpected ways. Drawing on St. Augustine's insight that we "believe in order to understand," St. Anselm's definition of theology as "faith seeking understanding," and St. Thomas Aquinas' concept of exitus and reditus—that all things come from God and return to God—Kristyn unpacks what theology actually is and why it matters. Knowledge of God isn't meant to just sit in neat little boxes in our heads. It's meant to transform us—our hearts, our souls, the deepest parts of who we are. And even then, it can't stop there. That transformation has to flow outward and change the way we move through the world, the way we treat strangers, the way we see every single person as a child of God. Connecting this to 1 Peter 3:15—"Always be ready to give a reason for your hope"—and the Desert monk Evagrius' wisdom that "a theologian is one who prays," Kristyn challenges us to notice one moment this week where we sense God in the ordinary, name it, and share it with someone else. Be a theologian. Be a reason for someone else to believe.

---

Kristyn is a Midland native who attended St. Brigid Catholic School before heading to Jefferson and Dow High School. She holds a Master’s degree in Theology from Villanova University and in Strategic Communication from Michigan State University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Theology with a minor in Communication from Aquinas College. When she’s not at work, she’s usually with her dog, Caspian, kayaking a new river, hiking through the woods, or sitting by a campfire reading a book.