Question: What do improvisational jazz bands, 8-man rowing shells, the Catholic Church, and a nuclear family all have in common? Answer: They are all human systems. Systems have three components: 1) elements (or parts); 2) interconnections (relationships among elements); and 3) a function or purpose. John David Edwards and Dr. Peter as we explore systems. Understanding yourself as a system, with an innermost self, parts, internal relationships among your innermost self and parts (e.g. polarizations, alignments, suppressions, etc.), and that each unintegrated part has an agenda – a purpose it desires – all that helps us understand ourselves and each other. And that understanding helps so much in being able to receive and give love as Catholics.