It is Friday and that means it’s time for your questions! Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 018
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We welcome your questions! Here are some of the questions we’ve already received:

• I feel called by God to become a nun. I know it has to be my will – because we are free, but how can I know if God would like this life from me?
• Are there options to become a nun other than being cloistered?
• What Bible version do you use for your prayer podcasts?
• What is the historical reason that sisters were given a new name when they made their vows? What do sisters do today?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also send us an email or comment below.

Today Wednesday is Nunday! Unorthodox, true, but these are unorthodox times, my friends! What with a new website design and new ideas in the works for A Nun’s Life Ministry, we thought we’d shake it up a bit!

And who better to feature today than Sister Rose Ann Fleming, SNDDeN, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, who was recently profiled in The New York Times.

Photo Credit: Barbara Johnson for The New York Times

In the article At Xavier, Nun Works Out Players’ Academic Side by John Branch (March 15, 2010) we meet Sister Rose Ann who is the academic adviser for Xavier athletics .

She was dressed not in a habit, but in gray Nike sweats with Xavier’s Musketeer logo and white tennis shoes. Her hair, nearly all white, is cropped above the ears. She wears a heavy gold cross on a chain around her neck, representing her order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She cannot help smiling when she talks.

“She’s not that nun you had in first grade that hits you across the hand with the ruler,” said [Xavier Coach Chris] Mack….

She rises at 4 a.m. for an hour of prayer and meditation. Then she usually spends an hour or more at the computer, often researching law cases that she takes on for Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor. (A law degree is one of several she holds, including Master’s degrees in English, business administration and theology, and a doctorate in education administration.) She exercises on an elliptical trainer, lifts weights and swims. Daily Mass is at 8.

By 8:30, she is usually in her office, overseeing two other full-time advisers and two volunteers who help her track Xavier’s 271 athletes in 17 sports.

* * *

Join us for prayer tonight at 6:00 p.m. Central Time on this feast of Saint Patrick!
http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE

PS040 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 16, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 46 and John 5:1-16. Feast day: Saint Abraham Kidunaia. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

In the spirit of Lenten anticipation, we welcome you to the “almost but not yet” new website at aNunsLife.org!

It’s “almost” because the new structure and design are up and running. It’s “not yet” because, well, the it’s not finished yet. We’ve got links and articles to add, a couple of new gizmos to find, and lots of stuff to test–you get the idea. We hope you’ll be part of the process. Let us know what you think about the look, the content, and the navigation of the site. Got suggestions or ideas? We’d love to hear them! Send us an email.

Peace,
Sister Julie and Sister Maxine

A Nun’s Life Ministry — building community in the context of faith and prayer.

In this year’s message to young people, Pope Benedict XVI reflects on the World Youth Day 2010 theme: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

Pope Benedict XVI urged young people to follow their dreams, dedicate their talents to the common good, and grow in love and faith. The pope told the world’s young Catholics to not let life’s difficulties lead to discouragement. “Instead nurture in your heart great hopes for fraternity [sic], justice and peace. The future is in the hands of those who know how to seek and find strong convictions in life and hope,” he said in his message for World Youth Day 2010. The Vatican and most dioceses around the world will mark World Youth Day on Palm Sunday, March 28. In his message, released in Italian and French by the Vatican March 15, the pope asked young people to build a more just and fair world. Changing the world for the better does not have to mean “performing heroic or extraordinary acts, but allowing your talents and potential to bear fruit and committing yourself to constantly growing in faith and love,” he said. (source: Catholic News Service)

Pope Benedict writes that the situation facing the young person in Mark’s Gospel is one that faces all youth. He speaks of the importance of taking the time to build one’s “project of life”.

“The season of life that you are immersed in is a time of discovery: of the gifts that God has lavished upon you and of your responsibilities. It is, moreover, a time of fundamental choices to build your ‘project of life.’” The Pope urges youth not to be fearful in answering the question: “What must I do, so that my life might have full value and full meaning?” “To discover the ‘project of life’ that can make you plainly happy, start listening to God, who has a design of love for each of you,” writes the Pope. (source: Catholic News Agency)

What steps have you taken in your “project of life”? What are some of the road blocks and scenic views that you’ve encountered?

* * *
Join Sister Julie and Sister Maxine for evening prayer at 6 p.m. CDT
at http://anunslife.org/LIVE.

PS039 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 15, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 30 and John 4:43-54. Feast day: Saint Louise de Marillac. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

As a celibate, non-sex-having, vocationally-engaged person, I was intrigued by and a bit apprehensive of an article by Jamie Manson entitled Celibacy: Neither healthy nor helpful for the future of vocations in National Catholic Reporter (March 11, 2010).

Although Manson states somewhat parenthentically that she is “not suggesting that celibacy is wrong or unhealthy” and that “for some individuals, this choice is very life-giving”, I get the distinct impression from the entire article that such a choice would be fundamentally against the very nature of “today’s young adults”. Hmmm.

At the old age of 38 and a member of that old-fashioned Generation X, you can take my two cents for what they’re worth. First I concur 100% with the universal call to holiness. There is no such thing as a “higher” calling. You can slap the label “consecrated” or “ordained” or whatever on the calling but it’s still not any better or worse than any other calling. However God calls you is what is most fulfilling for you. True, we still have many remnants of pre-Vatican II ideas and those continue to affect how people understand their own calling and that of others.

I feel badly that Manson and others continue to experience an undervaluing of their desire for a “healthy, loving, committed sexual relationship” and their desire to devote their lives “to the service of the gospel”. But I don’t think changing a recognition of the value of celibacy in consecrated life is going to change that. I think that the problem is that the church (magisterium and people of God) hasn’t yet fully committed to the idea of the universal call to holiness. Even Manson herself seems to feel that the only way that people can be recognized as seeking “a healthy, loving, committed sexual relationship” and “being fully and authentically committed to bringing the life of God into the world” is through consecrated life. Otherwise, why the concern about being “banned” from consecrated life?

I guess I’m confused a bit (which happens at the old age of 38) because I fundamentally agree with Manson about vocation and calling, but there are so many negative celibacy over- and undertones in the article that I’m left wondering (a) if she really understands celibacy (celibacy is a far richer concept and experience than simply not being involved in a sexual relationship) and (b) what she’s really trying to say. Is it that religious life, consecrated virginity, the eremetical life, and other forms of consecrated virginity should lift the celibacy requirement?  Is it that there should be an additional form of consecrated life that recognizes the value of sexual relationships? Is it that the church still has a long way to go in truly promulgating the universal call to holiness? Is it that celibacy is fundamentally unnatural for young people today and into the future? Is it that celibacy’s only value is for the quirky few who find it life giving?

Well, those are a few thoughts from one quirky Gen X-er. What do you think?

* * *

Join two celibate women and others for prayer tonight at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE (note: due to Daylight Saving Time our broadcast has shifted to UTC-5)

AS017 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 12, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: discernment, vocation confusion, the Sr. prefix, how we felt when we first realized we were called to be sisters, gifts for nuns, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What does the prefix “Sr.” stand for and the initials after a nun’s name?
• I’ve always thought about getting married and having kids, but I’m kind of drawn to becoming a nun. Help! I’m really confused!
• Who helped you as you thought about becoming a sister?
• May I give a gift to a nun for her diamond jubilee?
• How long before you felt at home in the convent?
• How long did it take you between your initial ‘discernment’ and your actual first vows?
• Do you have advice for a young woman who is discerning a vocation to be a Sister?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also send us an email or comment below.

PS038 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 11, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 95 and Luke 11:14-23. Feast day: Saint John Ogilvie. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Praying the Stations of the Cross is common custom during the season of Lent. It is prayer in which we remember the scenes of Jesus’ passion and death. It is begins with Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and takes us through the way of the cross, Jesus’ death on the cross, and his burial.

The custom of praying the Stations of the Cross originated with pilgrims who went to visit the Christian holy places of Jerusalem. Of course not everyone could make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem so the good Franciscans created outdoor stations that could be walked and prayed so that people could meditate on the passion and death of Jesus. Eventually people started incorporating the stations within the church building itself.

And now, the Stations of the Cross is as close as your phone. Ave Maria Press recently launched the Stations of the Cross, its very first application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is free for download and is based on the popular John Paul II’s Biblical Way of the Cross by Amy Welborn and Michael Dubruiel.

It’s not just an app … it is a “prayer companion”and I have to say, it really is. The artwork by Michael O’Brien is stunning and is a prayer itself, even without the words. The actual interface of the app is elegantly simple which allows one to be truly present to the meditation without the distractions of trying to figure out how to navigate or dodging advertisements which are common in other free apps. I love having this on my phone and it has become a daily prayer for me. I can also go “old school” with it and take it with me on a hike so that I have both the stations and the sense of pilgrimage.

The Stations of the Cross application is available in the iTunes App Store. You can find out more on the Ave Maria Press website. Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the Indiana Province of the Brothers of the Holy Cross.

What other holy apps do you have on your mobile device? What are some of your favorite customs or experiences around the praying of the Stations of the Cross?

* * *

Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CST and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

PS037 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 10, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 147:12-20 and Matthew 5:17-19. Feast day: Saint Dominic Savio. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

The results are in for our second photo caption contest! Here is the photo and winning caption, taking 20% of the vote! (the closeup photo on the link above more clearly shows the hockey players on the roof)

“The Brothers of the Order of St. Gretzky participate in their annual Hockey Tournament of the Blessed Giant Swan”

Congratulations to our winner, WP! I will contact you by email with your winnings!

And for those of you who do not know Wayne Gretzky (perish the thought!), here is a bio on Number 99 — the man, the myth, the legend — Wayne Gretzky.

* * *

Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CST and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

PS036 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 9, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 25:5-9 and Matthew 18:21-35. Feast day: Saint Frances of Rome. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

“Hello Sister. I am a fifteen year old catholic girl and attending a catholic school. I feel that God is calling me to become a nun. I am planning on finishing high school and then taking to a religious life. The problem is I do not know where to go now that I know God is calling me. Can you tell me where I need to go to become a sister? Alyssa”

Hi Alyssa, Thanks for writing. Here are a few resources to check out on A Nun’s Life website:

• How to Become a Catholic Sister or Nun: a general idea of where to start, what the general logistics are, and some helpful hints from someone who’s been there and is now a Catholic sister
• Vocation Forum: a place to explore vocations to religious life

The age requirements for each community varies some. Some communities encourage you to get a college degree first. They may encourage you to “experience life” since you’ll be just out of high school. But it also depends on where you are at with your discernment, how long you’ve know the community (or other communities), etc. Even if you choose to go to college first, I’d highly encourage you to stay in touch with the community. Visit them during spring break or on weekends or whenever you have time.

Basically the first steps start with you and your discernment with God. What do you feel God is calling you to? What are you attracted to in terms of a lifestyle? How will you grow in your relationship with God and others?

In terms of the more practical “next steps” kind of thing, it is important to get to know some nuns. Have a chat with one, and see what she is like. Go to a talk by a nun. Go to mass at their motherhouse. Check out a vocation day at one of the communities. Spend some time just getting to know a community. It’s just like developing a friendship. In the meantime know that you are doing God’s will. You don’t have to wait until you decide on a particular calling. Live now how God is calling you to live. Develop (if you’ve not already) a regular rhythm of prayer, do some spiritual reading (scripture, writings of the saints, etc.), involve yourself in a ministry. Be faithful to your vocation now as a student. Remember, that too is a calling from God. If you don’t know a community of sisters, ask one of your parish leaders. Also, every diocese has a vocation office so you can check with them too and let them know what you are thinking. There are also some online vocation resources to help you along. Here are a couple:

• Vision Vocation Network
• Catholics On Call

As you get to know sisters and their communities, pay attention to how you feel, and how attracted you are to the community. Do you feel at home? Do you feel like you are growing in your relationship with God? Can you see yourself flourishing as a human being with these sisters? Keep bringing all of this to God in prayer.

There are no right or wrong steps in this journey. And they may not happen in any particular order. But this is sort of the gist of it. Let me know if you’ve got further questions or more particular ones. God bless you, Alyssa.

* * *

Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CST and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

PS035 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 8, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 42:1-5 and Luke 4:24-30. Feast day: Saint John of God. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

It is time for you to vote for your favorite photo caption from last week’s
A Nun’s Life photo caption contest.

Instead of choosing finalists, we decided to let you vote on all contest submissions!

To vote for your favorite caption, respond to the poll below. Click on your favorite caption and then press the “Done” button at the bottom of the survey. Only one vote per computer.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday!

AS016 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 5, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: novenas, scapulars, nunly traits and characteristics, waiting to enter religious life, discerning a call from God, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What is a novena? What is a scapular?
• How do I know what God wants me to do?
• What can I do to prepare as I wait to enter religious life?
• What traits or skills do you need to possess to be a sister or nun?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast.

PS034 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 4, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 1:1-6 and Luke 16:19-31. Feast day: Saint Casimir. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Welcome to the second A Nun’s Life photo caption contest. Last year we featured a photo of the Blessed Virgin Mary with an ADT sign. This year on yet another one of my neighborhood walks, I discovered another gem of a photo. The caption, however, is up to you!

Here is a closeup …

Here’s what you do:

1. Pray and meditate on the perfect caption for the photo.
2. Submit your entry by writing your name/pseudonym, real email (so A Nun’s Life can contact potential winners — enter where it says “email” — never made public), website (optional), and caption in the comment box below this post.
3. Check back often to see other divinely-inspired caption entries.

The contest will run through this Friday, March 5 midnight (PST).

Over the weekend, Sister Maxine and I will go over the entries and select the finalists. Then on Monday, March 8, we will announce the finalists. You will have 24 hours to vote for your favorite one. The caption with the most votes wins! The prize? Well, that has not been decided. Far more important than the prize will be the personal pride and joy you will feel at winning this contest!

PS033 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 3, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 31:5-16 and Matthew 20:17-28. Feast day: Saint Katharine Drexel. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Happy feast of Saint Katharine Drexel, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Katharine was canonized on October 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. Here is a bit about Katharine Drexel from the Vatican website.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, on November 26, 1858, Katharine Drexel was the second daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her father was a well known banker and philanthropist. Both parents instilled in their daughters the idea that their wealth was simply loaned to them and was to be shared with others.

On February 12, 1891, she professed her first vows as a religious, founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament whose dedication would be to share the message of the Gospel and the life of the Eucharist among American Indians and Afro-Americans.

Katharine left a four-fold dynamic legacy to her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who continue her apostolate today, and indeed to all peoples:

• her love for the Eucharist, her spirit of prayer, and her Eucharistic perspective on the unity of all peoples;
• her undaunted spirit of courageous initiative in addressing social iniquities among minorities — one hundred years before such concern aroused public interest in the United States;
• her belief in the importance of quality education for all, and her efforts to achieve it;
• her total giving of self, of her inheritance and all material goods in selfless service of the victims of injustice.

For more information about Saint Katharine, check out the following resources:

KatharineDrexel.org
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
SQPN on Saint Katharine Drexel
National Catholic Reporter article on Katharine Drexel (March 3, 2010)

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time
(your time zone).

PS032 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 2, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 50:7-17, 21-23 and Matthew 23:1-12. Feast day: Saints Agnes of Bohemia. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Check out this article Heeding founders’ call, women religious combat racism by Kate Childs Graham in National Catholic Reporter (Feb. 27, 2010). Here are some selections (links mine) …

In 1945, when Mary Paul heard God’s call to religious life, she could not enter any community of women religious in her hometown of Philadelphia, including the Sisters of Mercy. Not because her vocation was untrue, but because she was a person of color. At the time, women of color in the city were referred to three orders: the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, the Franciscan Handmaids of Mary in Harlem, N.Y., or the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans — communities comprised mostly of women of color. Paul entered the Baltimore order. Her story is the story of many other women of color who were refused entrance to so-called “white” communities.

…

The Sisters of Providence engaged an organization called Crossroads. Founded in 1986, Crossroads provides ways to understand and combat institutional racism, while establishing structures of accountability to people of color. The organization offers a series of trainings that “provide a framework for institutions that are striving to achieve antiracist and anti-oppressive transformation.” They also help institutions analyze any internal policies and procedures that maintain white privilege, and create antiracism teams that “build an intervention strategy to dismantle these oppressive systems.”

The Sinsinawa Dominicans and Sisters of Mercy have also turned to Crossroads. For all three communities, the journey with the organization began with a two-and-a-half day training, “Analyzing and Understanding Systemic Racism,” which explores the history of racism in the United States, how racism still exists in institutions today, and how this affects people of color and white people.

This first training for the Sisters of Providence was in 1997. “We weren’t just addressing personal prejudice,” said Sr. Jenny Howard. “We all have prejudice about something. What made it different for us was that the definition was: Personal prejudice plus misuse of power by systems and institutions equals racism.”

…

However, the work goes much deeper than providing trainings. It is also about looking at power and privilege and the structures that keep white privilege in place.

“As a white person, I am so accustomed to access,” Howard explained. “Any motel, any restaurant, any neighborhood. Yet I know that experience is not the same for some of the other members of the antiracism team. I will never forget the day, when one of our persons of color from our team said to me, ‘Jenny, you can think about racism whenever you want to. I have to think about racism every day of my life.’

“I haven’t done anything to earn these opportunities, these rights, these freedoms, this access,” Howard said. “So, how can we use this power of privilege in a positive way to work together for racial justice?”

Read the whole article Catholic Sisters Combat Racism.

What are you thoughts this?

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

PS031 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on March 1, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 79:8-13 and Luke 6:36-38. Feast day: Saint David of Wales. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Happy Nunday! Here at A Nun’s Life Ministry we celebrate some Mondays in a special way — Mondays become Nundays when we have photos of Catholic sisters and nuns to share with you. We invite you to submit your own photos of sisters and nuns that you know along with a little description. For more info see our post about Nunday.

Today’s Nunday photo is of Sister Barbara Valuckas, SSND, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame since 1958.

As you might guess from the photo, Sister Barbara has a bit of broadcasting in her background. She worked as an educational television teacher and producer and later received degrees in Radio, TV, and Film, and in Instructional Technology and Communications. In addition to these ministries, Sister Barbara has also worked as a facilitator and a consultant and as a leader in her congregation. Sister Barbara now works with Pilgrim Ministries, Inc., a facilitation ministry she began for the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

* * *

To see all the photos of Catholic sisters and nuns and links to their stories, visit the A Nun’s Life Facebook photo album. If you’ve got a photo and story (how you know Sister) of a real Catholic sister or nun, check out the details on submitting your photo for consideration.

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

Happy Friday of Lent! This evening our Ask Sister podcast had to be canceled at the last minute because of community responsibilities. Our apologies to those who were planning on attending. We will be back on Monday with Praying with the Sisters. Blessings for a good weekend. We’ll miss you tonight and look forward to seeing you on Monday. God bless.

PS030 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 25, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 138 and Esther 14. Feast day: Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Some of the most incredible architecture can be found among churches. Two of my favorite books are about the construction of churches: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s by R.A. Scotti. I find fascinating both the actual process of building and all the theology that is literally and figuratively built into churches.

Wikipedia notes that church architecture (a.k.a. ecclesiastical architecture) “has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions. Christian architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Christianity to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Christian culture. From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant period of transformation for Christian architecture and design was the Gothic cathedral.”

Architects can get pretty creative when designing churches. Here is one of my faves from the post 10 Most Unique Churches in the World by Holly Sendy.

The Chapel of Saint Gildas is found upon the bank of the Canal du Blavet in Brittany, France. It is built into the base of a rocky cliff. This was once a holy place for the Druids in AD 540 where Gildas preached Christianity to the people. There are some cool pictures of the exterior and interior of this church at the blog Breizh Bretagne Llydaw Brittany including the one below.

I love how this chapel is tucked right into the earth. It speaks to me of the incarnation, of faith being born right out of the stuff of God’s good creation.

Where have you come across stunning or unusual church architecture? What does it say to you about God?

PS029 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 24, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 51:1-13 and Jonah 3:1-10. Feast day: Saint Adela. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

My dear friend and IHM Sister Margaret Brennan recently published her memoir, What Was There for Me Once (2009 Novalis) and last week National Catholic Reporter published a review of the book called “A life of change and renewal” (February 19, 2010).

In Sister Margaret’s book, we find not just a memoir but a compelling and insightful story. Kilian McDonnell, OSB, remarks, “Here is a story of a young girl, sister, novice mistress, elementary and high school teacher, president of the congregation, and university professor in the midst of rapid social change.” Sister Margaret “had a major part to play in developing women’s religious, academic, and spiritual lives in the second half of the 20th century.”

Here are a few quotes from NCR’s review of the book:

This preconciliar church experience was fulfilling and made sense to her — and she embraced it. Of religious life as it approached Vatican II, she writes: “While I was entirely happy in the traditional model of religious life as it had been lived for hundreds of years, I was open to the coming changes.”

The Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were among those religious who were quick to internalize the Vatican documents and the new theologians appearing on the scene. “To use the framework of [Jesuit theologian] Bernard Lonergan, I would say that for me the change from the traditional model of religious life to the Vatican II model was a process of conversion. In involved a real change in worldview, in horizon.”

“To keep the question of God — and God’s questions — high on the horizon of the world is worth the gifts of our lives,” Brennan says. And, without a doubt, her memoir attests to this purpose.

There are many things I love about this book — most especially to hear the voice of one of my sisters, one who was instrumental in my own vocation and religious life. I also love the way she writes with grace and a confidence in the providence of God. Sister Margaret also fills a huge gap in the Catholic and popular imagination about nuns and sisters. Kilian McDonnell notes this well writing that the book takes us through “the passage typical of many women’s religious apostolic communities from monastic models to religious forms more in keeping with their original active charism.”

* * *

Join us for prayer this evening during our live Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/live .

PS028 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 23, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19 and Matthew 6:7-15. Feast day: Saint Polycarp of Smyrna. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Yesterday at the gym I was doing my cardio and right across from me was a older man on the stationary bike. He was cruising along reading a magazine. I noticed that he had a rosary around his neck. I have never worn a Rosary around my neck because it was not part of my Catholic upbringing and it seemed to tread close to being disrespectful. I remember in high school going to the mall with friends and seeing a Rosary hanging with “the other jewelry” and I almost bought it just to redeem it.

Prayer for healing at St. Agilolph's shrine

So as I watched this guy, I tried to figure out what he was all about. Was it a sign of his faith? Was it random? Did it match his other accessories? No chance I was going to figure it out. But it got me thinking about what the deal is with wearing a Rosary around one’s neck. Since I doubted this information would be in the Catechism, I turned to my next source of information: the Internet.

Here’s what I found about why people wear a Rosary around their neck:

• a fad for some younger folks who aren’t particularly religious
• people need a sign of something holy nearby (e.g., troops, prisoners)
• to  show that one is Catholic
• a cultural custom among people of Mexico
• a person with memory issues can easily find it
• a gang symbol for some gangs
• a desire to emulate singer Madonna
• to show respect for Mary

Apparently this is not a recent phenomenon. The blog Paternosters notes that wearing Rosaries is at least centuries old. Some for social status and some for religious purposes too. There’s a series of blog posts dedicated to this: If you’ve got it, flaunt it, Rosaries on belts, Tying one on, Ring around the collar, Loops, drapes and dangles, Just hanging around, and What did Margaret mean?

Bono from U2 wears and displays the Rosary given him by Pope John Paul II

To further contextualize the question of wearing a Rosary around one’s neck, keep in mind that many of us hang Rosaries or Rosary-esque items from ourselves and our cars all the time! A rosary hanging from the rear view mirror of a car (presumably a Catholic car) or a bed post, a Rosary ring or bracelet, a Rosary keychain, and I’ve even seen Rosary tattoos.

From the variety of Catholic perspectives I’ve seen on this, it seems the general consensus is that so long as it is done with respect, it is okay. And, I suppose, even if it is done without respect, is it possible that God might still take that as an opportunity to bring some good in the world? Yeah, I kinda think God is capable of that!

Have you encountered this custom of wearing a Rosary around the neck? What do you think?

* * *

Join us for prayer this evening during our live Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/live .

PS027 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 22, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 23 and 1 Peter 5:1-4. Feast day: Chair of Peter. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Australia will have its first Catholic saint in the person of Mary MacKillop, a Sister of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Mother MacKillop founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, a religious community that has ministered across Australia and New Zealand, including building dozens of schools for impoverished children in the Australian Outback in the 1800s. They are also committed to “care for the homeless and destitute both young and old, and Refuges for ex-prisoners and ex-prostitutes who wished to make a fresh start in life.” (source: Sisters’ website)

Mary MacKillop is not only a saint for Catholics but she is a saint for Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd noted that her canonization is “a great, great tribute to her hard work in education” and “a great honor for Australia.” (source: Associated Press) She is even featured on a one dollar coin, the first of the Royal Australian Mint’s series featuring inspirational Australians.

This saint, like many saints before her, took her religious vows seriously and followed God even when it meant challenging the Church that she loved dearly. “She was a strong-willed advocate who sometimes got into trouble for challenging orthodox thinking within the male-dominated church. In 1869 she was excommunicated for inciting her followers to disobedience, though the bishop who punished her recanted three years later and she was exonerated by a church commission.” (source: Associated Press)

The Sisters themselves note, “Throughout her life, Mary met with opposition from people outside the Church and even from some of those within it. In the most difficult of times she consistently refused to attack those who wrongly accused her and undermined her work, but continued in the way she believed God was calling her and was always ready to forgive those who wronged her.” (source: Sisters’ website)

Blessed Mary MacKillop is, even today, “an example of great courage and trust in her living out of God’s loving and compassionate care of those in need.”

Mary MacKillop will be canonized on October 17, 2010, in Rome. The process of canonization is an expensive one, so please, keep the sisters in mind and consider donating funds to them.

Congratulations to the Sisters of Saint Joseph and all women religious, to Australia, to the Catholic Church, and to all whom Mary MacKillop inspired and will continue to inspire.

* * *

Join us for prayer this evening during our live Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/live .

During Ask Sister 015 we played a clip from Patrice Tuohy of VocationMatch.com. She offered good advice on what to do if you get an overwhelming number of results using VocationMatch.com, a website matching discerning persons with religious communities.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Patrice’s response is to part of a question from Kristina who had asked: “There are so many orders out there and each one is very unique. I have been researching different orders for a couple of years now. There are so many different orders, some well known like Franciscans, Benedictines, Jesuits, Carmelites and Dominicans, but others that I just recently discovered like the Daughters of Saint Paul and the Salesian sisters. The many choices are overwhelming. Do you have any advice for me in sorting through all of these groups? I have used VISION vocation website, which sorts the orders by my interests, but there are still so many out there. I would welcome any resources you might have to guide me. Thanks!”

Listen to the entire AS015 Ask Sister podcast which was broadcast live on February 19, 2010.

AS015 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 19, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: possible to disappoint God?, having so many religious communities to choose from, how long discerning, retreat and vacation and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

During the podcast we played a clip from Patrice Touhy of VISION Vocation Magazine and VocationMatch.com. She gave good advice on what to do if you get an overwhelming number of results using VocationMatch.com which matches persons with religious communities. The segment is included in the podcast above and also as a stand-alone audio clip below.

If you have questions about VISION Vocation Magazine or VocationMatch.com, please feel free to contact Patrice.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Will I disappoint God if I do not join religious life? And if I join, are there any series of change that will occur?
• How do I chose a religious community when there are so many choices?
• How long did you discern to become a nun?
• Is it easy for fully professed religious to change congregations? Do they start over?
• Do sisters and nuns go on vacation?
• Can sisters and nuns wear nail polish?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast.

PS026 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 18, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 1 and Deuteronomy 30:15-20. Feast day: Saint Bernadette of Lourdes. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

I love watching the Olympics! It is one of my most favorite sporting events. Some day I’m going to find me a snowboard and ride a half pipe or do some snowboard cross.

Today we celebrate an Olympian who is now a Franciscan nun. Kirstin Holum was just 17 years old when she competed in speedskating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. She took 6th place in the 3000 meter which was considered a great achievement and a sign for future greatness.

Kristin is now Sister Catherine and prayers, ministers, and lives in community at Saint Joseph’s Convent in Leeds, England.

Yahoo! Sports did a good article on Kristin’s journey and her life as a Catholic nun. Here are a few quotes from the article U.S. speedskater took leap of faith by Martin Rogers (February 14, 2010).

After completing an art degree, including a thesis on the Olympics at the Art Institute of Chicago, Holum joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, a faith whose mission is “work with the poor and homeless and evangelization.”

Based first in New York, Sister Catherine and her fellow nuns stepped onto the mean streets of the Bronx to work with some of the Big Apple’s most underprivileged children in areas steeped in gang culture. Such work and sacrifice in homeless shelters and soup kitchens gave her a deep-rooted sense of satisfaction that skating had never been able to provide.

Last year, missionary work took Sister Catherine to England, where she has found her previous life as an athlete a useful tool in providing some “street cred” when dealing with skeptical youngsters.

“When I give my religious testimonies, it is fun to watch the reaction of the kids when I tell them I was in the Olympics,” she laughed. “Their eyes get really big and they start paying a lot more attention. It is a great thing to share with them and it gives me a lot of pleasure to think back and talk about it.

“It is not exactly something you would normally expect from a sister. But I think it is good for people to see that members of the religious order can come from any background and any walk of life. It is all about your commitment to the message.”

See more photos of Catholic sisters and nuns at our Facebook page.

* * *

Join us for prayer this evening during our live Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. CST at http://anunslife.org/live .

A group of us were chatting on Facebook that it would have been great if Oprah had shared the story of other ways of living religious life on her February 9th show. So, we decided to draft an Open Letter to Oprah from younger women religious.

An Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey

February 16, 2010

Dear Oprah,

We are younger Catholic Sisters and members of Giving Voice, an organization made up of Sisters in their 20s-40s from all over the United States. We would like to thank you for highlighting the lives of Catholic Sisters on your Tuesday, February 9, 2010 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. No doubt, this was the first exposure of many of your estimated 7.4 million viewers to the lives of Catholic Sisters.

We are pleased that you were able to share the story of the Dominican Sisters of Mary. It is clear that they are very happy in their religious lives. For this we rejoice! We too are happy in our religious lives. Like the Sisters featured on your show, we joyfully live out our vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. We are women who find numerous ways to follow Jesus’ call to serve others while fully engaged in the world. For example here is a sampling of what some of us Sisters were doing on Tuesday during your show:

• Working as an instructional consultant with teachers of children with special needs in Harlem, NY
• Collaborating with other Sisters on how to serve people who are poor in San Antonio, TX
• Joining 200+ Catholics at the State Capitol to lobby for social service programs in Olympia, WA
• Preparing to teach a class on human dignity to teenagers involved in gangs in Tyler, TX
• Reading applications for a volunteer program with underserved populations in Baltimore, MD
• Wrapping up after teaching school all day in cities around the country

Our lives of ministry and service are grounded in our experiences as members of our religious communities. Prayer is also an essential component of our way of life. The very nature of our lives is communal, not independent. For this reason, we were disappointed and concerned by how we, as Sisters who are engaged in active ministry in the community, were presented on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on your website:

“Some sisters choose an independent path, which means they live alone, go to college, pursue careers and don’t wear a habit.”

We live in community with our Sisters, often in small groupings close to where we minister. We go to college to develop the skills needed to be effective agents of loving service to God’s people. We do not pursue careers, but seek to educate and transform the world as Jesus would. Our clothing is the least significant part of our lives, yet receives so much attention. However, most of our religious communities choose to dress simply rather than wear habits. We are called to be prophetic, giving voice to God’s love in the world.

We would love the opportunity to share more about our lives of prayer, community and ministry on a future episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. We would gladly speak with you, invite you to experience our daily service, or help broaden your viewers’ understanding of religious life in any way we can.

Visit the Giving Voice website to see the 40 signatures. I am glad to have had the opportunity to sign such a well articulated letter.

* * *

Happy Feast of Ash Wednesday! Join Sister Maxine and me for prayer this evening during our live Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. CST at http://anunslife.org/live .

PS025 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 17, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 51:3-6,12-17 and Matthew 6:1-6,16-18. Feast day: Ash Wednesday. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

PS024 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 16, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 94:1-17 and Mark 8:14-21. Feast day: Saint Onesimus. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

CP004 Mardi Gras Community Podcast recorded live on February 16, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. This day before the beginning of Lent is also known as Shrove Tuesday or Carnival. Listen to Mardi Gras stories, customs, prayers, and recipes.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Listen to other A Nun’s Life Community Podcasts.

During the Community Podcast we talked about what Mardi Gras actually is, listened to music selections relevant to the feast, took a peak at Bourbon Street, shared recipes, and even have a Mardi Gras quiz!

• Join us on air. Send us an email ahead of time so we can schedule a call to you during the show.
• Leave us a voice mail with your favorite Mardi Gras story, custom, prayer, or recipe by calling us at 888-703-4732 (toll free in the US and Canada).
• Record your voice using your computer or iPhone and email the audio file to us.
• Write out your story, custom, prayer, or recipe and email it to us and we’ll read it on the air and post it during the show.

Don’t be shy! We’d love to hear from you. And please invite your friends, fans, followers and any one else who would enjoy hanging out with the A Nun’s Life crowd!

PS023 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 15, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 119:65-77 and Mark 8:11-13. Feast day: Saints Faustinus and Jovita. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

This week is an important one in the church calendar. We celebrate Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent in two days. A wonderful Catholic tradition is to celebrate Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. So in light of the advent of Mardi Gras, I’m sharing a picture from a gathering of IHM Sisters from Monroe, Scranton, and Immaculata, and Oblate Sisters of Providence. In true Philly style we had the Mummers join us for one of our celebrations. The Mummers remind me of the art, performance, and regalia that we often see during Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans.

In honor of Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent, A Nun’s Life will be hosting a special Community Podcast tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CST (your timezone). For more information, please see our blog post on Mardi Gras Podcast.

Diversity of perspectives and opinions are always welcome here. We encourage dialogue even when it includes agreement or disagreement with us or with one another. When doing so, it is helpful to keep in mind the way in which we agree or disagree with one another.

Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love
Commitments in Times of Disagreement

from the Mennonite Church (Español y English)

“Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3), as both individual members and the body of Christ, we pledge that we shall:

In Thought

1. Accept conflict. Acknowledge together that conflict is a normal part of our life in the church. (Romans 14:1-8, 10-12, 17-19; Romans 15:1-7)

2. Affirm hope. Affirm that as God walks with us in conflict we can work through to growth. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

3. Commit to prayer. Admit our needs and commit ourselves to pray for a mutually satisfactory solution (no prayers for my success or for the other to change but to find a joint way). (James 5:16)

In Action

4. Go to the other… Go directly to those with whom we disagree; avoid behind-the- back criticism. (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 18:15-20)

5. In the spirit of humility… Go in gentleness, patience and humility. Place the problem between us at neither doorstep and own our part in the conflict instead of pointing out the others’. (Galatians 6:1-5)

6. Be quick to listen. Listen carefully, summarize and check out what is heard before responding. Seek as much to understand as to be understood. (James 1:19; Proverbs 18:13)

7. Be slow to judge. Suspend judgments, avoid labeling, end name calling, discard threats, and act in a non-defensive, nonreactive way. (Romans 2:1-4; Galatians 5:22-26)

8. Be willing to negotiate. Work through the disagreements constructively. (Acts 15; Philippians 2:1-11)

In Life

9. Be steadfast in love. Be firm in our commitment to seek a mutual solution; be stubborn in holding to our common foundation in Christ; be steadfast in love. (Colossians 3:12-15)

10. Be open to mediation. Be open to accept skilled help. If we cannot reach agreement among ourselves, we will use those with gifts and training in mediation in the larger church. (Philippians 4:1-3)

11. Trust the community. We will trust the community and if we cannot reach agreement or experience reconciliation, we will turn the decision over to others in the congregation or from the broader church. (Acts 15)

12. Be the Body of Christ. Believe in and rely on the solidarity of the Body of Christ and its commitment to peace and justice, rather than resort to the courts of law. (1 Corinthians 6:1-6)

Adopted by the General Conference Mennonite Church Triennial Session and Mennonite Church General Assembly, Wichita, KS, July 1995 (Mennonite Website)

AS014 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 12, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include finding one’s calling, the liturgy of the hours, jury duty, age limits for becoming a Catholic Sister, immigration, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• how do I know what my real calling in life is?
• do congregations have problems taking young people because of fear of an age gap?
• what do Catholics think about the issue of illegal immigration?
• can you explain more about the Divine Office — The Liturgy of the Hours?
• do nuns have to go to jury duty?
• what’s going on with the Roman Missal?

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org or leave a message at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

PS022 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 11, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 106:3-6, 40-48 and Mark 7:24-30. Feast day: Our Lady of Lourdes. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes! I wanted to post a reflection about Mary today but I’ve run out of time! Headed to the Motherhouse to visit with my IHM Sisters and to collaborate on some projects.

So I turn over the blog post to you — Who is Our Lady of Lourdes? What meaning does she have for you this day? What other names for Mary are particularly meaningful for you and why?

PS021 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 9, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 84 and 1 Kings 8:22-30. Feast day: Saint Apollonia. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Tune in this morning for the Oprah Show which features Oprah Winfrey chatting with some of the Dominican Sisters of Mary of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Lisa Ling’s experience visiting their “real-life nunnery”. It airs at 9 a.m. CST on ABC.

I am both delighted and a bit concerned about how this show will go. On the one hand I am delighted for the Sisters of Mary. This is an excellent opportunity for them to raise awareness about their particular way of living religious life. I am excited that Oprah is profiling the work of Catholic sisters and nuns, even if just one congregation, because it helps raise awareness about religious life and maybe even sparks the imagination of someone who is open to a vocation to religious life.

On the other hand, I am concerned about a few things. One is how the sisters will be portrayed. The promo for the show reads: “They’re young and have given up sex, careers and having children to become nuns! Lisa Ling spends the night in a real-life convent.” Now I’m all for a good sound bite to catch people’s attention, but I worry about this one. Sure it does grab attention, but it also conveys the messages (reinforced by the promo photos and video) such as you have to be very young to join, religious life is about “giving up” stuff, and nuns and sisters are not allowed to have a profession. I think this is the danger in profiling only one congregation because there is a huge diversity of ways of living as a Catholic sister or nun, and viewers might get the impression that that particular way is the only way. Now, I’ve only seen the promo stuff so maybe this will be addressed on the show.

A second concern. Already the show has paired two stories — nuns and geishas. A geisha is, according to Merriam-Webster, “a Japanese girl or woman who is trained to provide entertaining and lighthearted company especially for a man or a group of men”. It is difficult to miss the comparison to the image of nuns portrayed by the show. Both nuns and geishas have a particular “stance” in regard to men — nuns “give up sex” and geishas entertain men. Kind of a “good girl / bad girl” thing. Both nuns and geishas have a particular form of dress — geishas wear a kimono and nuns (in this case) a habit. While it is indeed a fascinating comparison simply by positing the two stories next to one another with no commentary, again there are messages being conveyed here.

Well the show is on soon! More later!

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

PS020 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 8, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 132:6-10 and Mark 6:53-56. Feast day: Saint Josephine Bakhita. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Happy Nunday! We had a great podcast last night on consecrated life and now we’ve got Nunday! God is good.

Today’s picture and story comes from Sister Catharine Mary Perry, OP, a Dominican Nun of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, New Jersy. She writes, “Here is a photo for Nunday! It’s not a Dominican but a Sister, Slave of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

“This is Sister Christopher Margaret, and I’ve known her for 33 years! I was a little kid when she entered the convent and she and the other sisters of the community have always inspired me by their love for God and our Lady, their dedication and their love for joy and fun! They were my teachers in school.”

“This picture was taken last year at their fall YARD SALE and BAZZAR which raises funds for the school. Sister CM is one heck of a corn dog maker and as you can see by the photo was more than happy to show ‘em off! It was DELICIOUS!”

* * *

To see all the photos of Catholic sisters and nuns and links to their stories, visit the A Nun’s Life Facebook photo album. If you’ve got a photo and story (how you know Sister) of a real Catholic sister or nun, check out the details on submitting your photo for consideration.

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

FP004 Feature Podcast on Consecrated Life with IHM Sisters recorded live on February 7, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include World Day for Consecrated Life, vocations, discernment, Catholic sisters and nuns, prayer, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today we celebrated World Day for Consecrated Life by partnering with the IHM Vocations team to offer this hour-long podcast on vocations, discernment, and the lives of Catholic sisters today. We were delighted to be joined by IHM Sisters Carol Quigley, Michele Denton, Joyce Durosko, and Mary Bea Keeley.

AS013 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 5, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include daily life of sisters and nuns, the existence of non-Catholic nuns, spiritual direction, and the diverse ministries of sisters and nuns.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• what do sisters and nuns do all day?
• are there non-Catholic nuns?
• can I continue my love affair with mathematics as a Catholic sister?
• what is spiritual direction

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org or leave a message at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

PS019 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 4, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Special guest Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM. Scripture readings: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, Mark 6:7-13. Feast day: Saint Jane of Valoi. M – Th 6 p.m.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today’s Gospel offers us an invitation and a challenge.

Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The invitation is to be open to following God’s call — wherever and however it may take us.

The challenge is to be open to following God’s call — wherever and however it may take us. In many ways we welcome the invitation to follow God, we are committed to living the Gospel of Jesus. And sometimes, that call is not as pretty as the calligraphied holy card tucked in our Bible. Why it’s absurd to go traveling without money or food. Surely Jesus didn’t mean to leave my mobile phone behind or my credit card. Besides it was a different time back then. Jesus would not have asked that of us today.

Really.

When we open ourselves to God’s call, we cannot know for certain where or how it will lead. We can certainly use our gifts of common sense and reason, but openness to God also means using our gifts of passion, boldness, kindness, daring, and risk. How can we know “for sure”? That’s where having a regular habit of prayer is helpful because then we’ve already opened our line to God and have been in the habit of listening and sharing with God. Invitations to do the Gospel may still come as a surprise but with a habit of prayerfulness, we’ve already got some ballast in the boat.

How does this Scripture passage strike you this day? Please share your comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer
at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

This Sunday marks the World Day for Consecrated Life, a day instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997 to thank God for the gift of consecrated life and to let people know about this way of life.

To celebrate, A Nun’s Life Ministry is partnering with the IHM Sisters (of which Sister Maxine and I are both members) to host an hour-long live podcast on vocations, religious life, discerning a call, and all sorts of things! We’ll be joined by Sister Mary Bea Keeley, IHM, and Sister Carol Quigley, IHM, and perhaps more!

Join us at 4 p.m. CST (your timezone) on Sunday, February 7, 2010, here at http://anunslife.org/LIVE. We have a lively chat room that will be happening simultaneous to the podcast.

If you have questions or comments for us regarding vocations, IHM life, prayer, or pretty much anything else, please leave a message for us at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

And in the spirit of the World Day for Consecrated Life, we invite you to do your part to promote vocations. We have a number of resources over at IHM Calling blog to help promote vocations.

So what are you going to do this week to promote vocations?

PS018 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 2, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 24 and Luke 2:22-40. Feast day: Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Sister Mary Daniel was a scholar, teacher and a woman of vision. She championed human dignity and justice for all; she was a strong advocate for those living in poverty. She confronted tirelessly the inequality of women in the Church and in the world. Her life and leadership demonstrate the power and influence of one person. Her prophetic message impacts religious and social change not only for this but for future generations. (from the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur)

Sister Mary Daniel Turner, 84, dies; led American nuns

By Patricia Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 1, 2010

Sister Mary Daniel Turner, 84, the former superior general of the international Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and a national leader among Catholic religious women, died Jan. 27 at Holy Cross Sanctuary in Burtonsville. She had breast cancer that metastasized into bone cancer.

Sister Turner co-wrote an influential 1992 book, “The Transformation of American Catholic Sisters,” and was “a driving force for justice and church renewal before and after the Second Vatican Council,” which modernized the Catholic Church worldwide in the 1960s, the National Catholic Reporter said in its story about her death. In an interview last August with the paper’s editor, “the gentle but frequently provocative Turner lamented that Vatican clerics cannot accept women religious as moral agents.”

“I think the issues are wider than women religious,” she said. “It’s really a difference in values between the church of Rome and the U.S. church.”

Sister Turner appears in a video at the exhibit of “Women in Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America,” which opened Jan. 15 at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center. Too sick to attend, she learned from another nun that the Vatican’s emissary to investigate American nuns had come to the opening ceremony. Sister Turner “simply suggested that her presence at the Smithsonian might be another opportunity for bridge building,” Sister Camille D’Arienzo wrote in an online memorial. “For decades, she had put her intellectual and spiritual gifts at the service of numerous religious communities. She was a visionary rooted in reality.”

She had ventured boldly into controversy before. In 1985, she was among religious leaders who, when asked their advice, urged a committee of bishops not to write a pastoral letter on women in church and society. The all-male, celibate hierarchy should not write about women without more extensive study, she and others said, noting that the bishops wrote a pastoral on economic justice, not poor people, and about racism, not black people.

While Sister Turner worked for female equality, she also “championed human dignity and justice for all; she was a strong advocate for those living in poverty,” the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur said in a news release.

Margaret Turner was born Nov. 21, 1925, in Baltimore and moved to Washington as a child. She attended Catholic elementary school and graduated from the now-closed Academy of Notre Dame, operated by the order she joined in 1943. She took her final vows in 1951 and graduated from what is now Trinity University in 1959. She also received a master’s degree in philosophy from Catholic University in 1962 and a master’s degree in theology from the University of Toronto in 1972.

She taught elementary school and was principal of St. James School in Mount Rainier in the 1950s, then was put in charge of newly professed nuns who were in college. In 1962, she became provincial superior of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a province which at the time reached from New York to Georgia. Ten years later, she was made executive director of what is now called the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a group of about 1,500 top-level nuns who represent most of the 68,000 Catholic women religious.

Sister Turner was elected in 1978 to a six-year term as superior general in the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, an international group with provinces in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

After she completed her term, she worked with Lora Ann Quiñonez to write “The Transformation of American Catholic Sisters,” which reviewers described as “an important work that will enlighten and challenge.”

A prolific writer and lecturer, she gave commencement addresses in 1981 and 1989 at the Washington Theological Union. When Trinity gave her an honorary doctorate in 1984, it was because “in her unflinching search for truth she has empowered women to believe in the possibility of a transformed world that is inclusive, collaborative and pluralistic.”

In the 1990s, she was the administrator for Joseph’s House, a home for chronically ill homeless men. After her retirement in 1994, Sister Turner lived in a multi-generational, multiracial household where poor children who had attended the order’s schools came to live or to call a second home. She continued to consult with religious organizations until her death. (article source)

More on Sister Mary Daniel Turner in the National Catholic Reporter.

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

PS017 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on February 1, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 3 and Mark 5:1-20. Feast day: Saint Brigid of Ireland. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

It is Monday which means NUNDAY! Yup, we’re back with photos of Catholic sisters and nuns in our never-ending campaign to help folks get to know real sisters and nuns and to change the face of nun imagery on the web (which, if you haven’t noticed, is heavily populated by nun caricatures and erotica).

Sisters and nuns and lay folks from across the world have been sending us photos and wonderful stories. Today we are featuring a photo from our friend Sister Lovina Pammitt, OSF, a Franciscan Sister of the Sacred Heart.

The photo is of Sister Mary Barbara Hassler and Sister Patricia Ann Murray and was taken during an outreach ministry week in Danville, Illinois.

Sister Mary Barbara works as the Religious Formation Coordinator at Saint Joseph School in Libertyville, Illinois and is the Novice Minister for the community.

Sister Pat has been the Director of Religious Education at Saint Charles Borromeo Church in Fort Wayne, and recently moved to West Virginia to work in social service ministry.

To see all the photos of Catholic sisters and nuns and links to their stories, visit the A Nun’s Life Facebook photo album. If you’ve got a photo and story (how you know Sister) of a real Catholic sister or nun, check out the details on submitting your photo for consideration.

* * *

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

AS012 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 29, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include how to tell someone you have a vocation, calling a nun sweetheart, how to trust God, and more! Special guest Sister Camille Brouillard, IHM.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

You can learn more about Sister Camille Brouillard on our IHM website.

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• what to say: I’m thinking about becoming a religious sister, but I don’t have anyone to talk to. I have already approached my pastor about it, but honestly, I didn’t know what to say.
• what not to say: Is it disrespectful to say “Hello sweetheart” to a nun?
• relating with God: How do I trust and love God? How do I know that I’m doing it correctly?

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org.

PS016 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 28, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 132 and Mark 4:21-25. Feast day: Saint Thomas Aquinas. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

PS015 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 27, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 89 and Mark 4:1-20. Feast day: Saint Angela Merici. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

When we think of a calling, we sometimes think it is only for the “religious” types, those ones who never seem to do anything wrong, who were born and bred in the Catholic Church, who speaks with ease about religious stuff. And you know, once and a while, it is that person, but God has this disconcerting habit of choosing people who are a bit rough around the edges, who might have a tendency to be wild, rash, passionate, or temperamental. One has only to look at the women and men who constituted his first disciples to see that they were a mix of people each with rough edges and great giftedness. Some weren’t even “religious” but in them Jesus recognized a spirit of dedication, kindness, zeal, compassion, perseverance — and other such gifts that were perfectly suited for being a disciple.

So what if you have a tattoo or forget the words to the Act of Contrition (my biggest fear when walking into a confessional) or are not a virgin or enjoy falling in love or want to become a rocket scientist? Think that’s incompatible with being called? Not a chance.

There is no one who is beyond God’s call and in fact every one of us does have a calling. There are lifelong callings like to be in a relationship, to be a parent, to be a missionary, to be a religious sister or brother, to be a lifelong educator. And there are callings to a kind of ministry or service such as healing, teaching, advocating, learning, praying, companioning, protecting, or encouraging. We might experience many of the latter in our lives and within our “umbrella” lifelong calling. For example, my lifelong calling is to be a religious sister, specifically to be an Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister. But within this lifelong calling, I also am called to serve in a particular way using technology and the Internet and theology and spirituality. I am also called to a particular kind of lifestyle that is sensitive to all of God’s creation.

So think about how you are called — how you are living this calling right now even if you might never have thought about it as a calling? And for those of you who thought you were “beyond help” for becoming a nun or a deacon or a monk or religious sister or a priest or a consecrated virgin … what’s blocking you?

* * *

Join us tonight for prayer at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Also, Ask Sister Podcast is coming up at the end of the week. If you have questions for us, please email them to us at sister (AT) anunslife (DOT) org.

Listen to PS013 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 26, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 96 and 2 Timothy 1:1-8. Feast day: Saints Paula, Timothy, and Titus. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

What would you write if someone asked you to reflect on your Catholic or spiritual identity? What would you zero in on as a key story, insight, metaphor, or image that could illustrate the vastness of what it means for a person to be Catholic or to belong to a particular spiritual or religious tradition?

This was the gift and the challenge given to a number of young Catholic women by editors Kate Dugan and Jen Owens. The result, over the course of 3 years of imagining, researching, organizing, writing, editing, and publishing is the book From the Pews in the Back: Young Women and Catholicism.

I am honored to have an essay included in this collection. Initially I was planning on writing about my journey into vowed religious life as a Catholic, but the more I pondered the questions that Kate and Jen posed to us, the more I realized how profoundly formative being Catholic is for me. So I wrote instead about being a kid with a dad in the folk group (ensemble of singers and instruments leading music at a Mass or liturgy) and what it was like to explore the church while my dad practiced, how the “stuff” of Catholicism seeped into my imagination and helped me to make connections outside of the church building.

In reading the whole collection of essays and memoirs, I was amazed at the sheer diversity of experiences that other young women had as Catholics. At the same time, I could relate to what each was saying, that is, I could find an echo of their experience in my own.

I encourage you to check out the book From the Pews in Back: Young Women and Catholicism and also the website and blog of the same name.

Also, I’d love to hear from you about the initial question posed: What would you zero in on as a key story, insight, metaphor, or image that could illustrate the vastness of what it means for a person to be Catholic or to belong to a particular spiritual or religious tradition?

* * *

Join us tonight for prayer at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Also, Ask Sister Podcast is coming up at the end of the week. If you have questions for us, please email them to us at sister (AT) anunslife (DOT) org.

Listen to PS013 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 25, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 117 and Acts 22:3-16. Feast day: Conversion of Saint Paul. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Lectors say the darnedest things. Yesterday at Mass, the lector (the person who proclaims the scripture readings of the day) was leading us through Psalm 19. It is a beautiful, awe-inspiring psalm, which begins

The heavens herald your glory, O God, and the skies display your handiwork. Day after day they tell their story, and night after night they reveal the depth of their understanding. Without speech, without words, without even an audible voice, their cry echoes through all their world …

The best part, however, was the ending, which is supposed to read, “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O God, my rock and my redeemer!” But the lector fumbled a bit as she proclaimed this part of the psalm and what came out instead (at least to my ears) was “… I rock in my redeemer.”

That’s right, I rock in my redeemer.

As the liturgy continued to the next reading and Gospel, my mind spilled over into thoughts of David, the psalmist, who himself was a musician. I bet he felt like that sometimes, as in this psalm, where the whole world — including oneself — is alight with God’s glory. Simply put, we rock because God rocks! “To rock” is a popular slang term that means to excel, to do something so awesome that it’s not just well done, it rocks.

How will you be caught up in God’s life and grace today such that you too can proclaim, “I rock in my Redeemer!”?

* * *

Join us tonight for prayer at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Listen to AS011 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 22, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry with guest iconographer Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM. Topics include non-Catholics becoming nuns, realizing you may have a calling, and relationships.

Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM, is an iconographer and spoke with us about her ministry as well as her own calling to religious life. You can find out more about Sister Nancy and her ministry at Saint Joseph Studio.

Questions from listeners included:

• How important is having past relationships to discerning a call to religious life?
• How did you feel when you first started to have thoughts about becoming a nun? How did you react?
• What if you long to find love still, but still think that religious life an option?
• Is it possible to become a nun if I haven’t been Catholic my whole life?
• Are there specific rules for writing icons? What is it like to be an iconographer’s apprentice?

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! We have a special guest: Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM, who is an iconographer and works at Saint Joseph Studio.

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 011
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already and welcome additional ones. You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Listen to PS012 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 21, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 56:1-13 and Mark 3:7-12. Feast day: Saint Agnes. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Life is more interconnected than we sometimes give it credit. There are “coincidences” and little reminders throughout ordinary life that can speak to the whole of our life. In yesterday’s post Gym Ministry, Father Greg made a comment about just this thing when he wrote, “Lots of connections between our “gym life” and the rest of life!”

So what for you are some of those other places that speak to you of your whole life? This is an important question because sometimes in working out the “smaller” or seemingly less significant aspects of life, we find we are changed, deepened, transformed.

Writer and friend Vinita Hampton Wright, whose birthday we celebrate today (Happy Birthday!), echoes this same thought in a recent post on her blog Wisdom Tree. She speaks about the creative process of writing and how writers necessarily tap into their own story — indeed their very soul — as they go about their work. Even though Vinita writes about writing, her words can also to apply to other “works” and experiences which engage us day to day. When we face our own story — even in a gym weight room or interacting with customers or sitting at the kitchen table, or staring at a computer screen — we can tap into our soul and allow a seemingly mundane moment or task or even a significant moment to be transformative. That is the activity of the Spirit of God working around us and within us.

Writes Vinita, “So, please, receive the story of yourself. Listen to it, care for it, write it if necessary. Say yes to life–and thus yes to creative movement.”

P.S. For more on Vinita and writing and faith, see our blog post On Writing Spiritually.

* * *

Join us tonight for prayer at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Listen to PS011 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 20, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 144:1-10 and Mark 3:1-6. Feast day: Saint Eustochium Calafato. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Special guests include Sister Joyce Durosko, IHM, and Sister Terry Milne, IHM.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Winter has been cold, too cold to hop on my bike and cruise around the corn fields, so I signed up at the gym. A New Year’s resolution? Perhaps that too!

Cross-trainers, tread machines, circuit training equipment, pool, and lots of exercise mats means lots of fun for me! It also means getting in shape and staying in shape.

I like to keep to myself at the gym, doing my cardio or laps without much interaction with folks around me. Got my music playing in my ears to keep me motivated and a focused look on my face, both of which send the message that I’m not up for conversation.

But in the few short weeks that I’ve been going to the gym, I’ve become a Chatty Cathy (a classic doll – I’d post a picture but they are kind of freaky and would give me nightmares). Last week it was the ladies in the pool (they were preparing for aqua jazzercizing Tae Bo or some such thing), then it was the lady who forgot her towel and so i gave her mine, and yesterday it was the woman with the freakin awesome knee high socks. She also happened to be the one who got her butt kicked by her trainer as it was her first day at the gym. I totally sympathized with her and encouraged her to hang in there.

I appreciate that God called me out of myself and am trying to be more open to the ways I can connect with folks at the gym — even a smile is appreciated when you feel like you can’t finish that last lap or that last hill on the stairmaster. People have done that for me.

Any ministry experiences at the gym? What about other unexpected places to be called to minister?

* * *

Join us tonight for prayer at 6 p.m. CST at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Listen to PS010 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 19, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 89:20-28, Mark 2:23-28. Feast day: Saint Fillan. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Listen to AS010 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 15, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include family expectations when a person tells them they want to be a Catholic sister; who to talk to when you think you are called to become a nun; and whether or not a person has to be a virgin in order to become a sister or nun.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Listen to PS009 Praying with the Sisters podcast recorded live on January 18, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Scripture readings: Psalm 50:1-15 and Mark 2:18-22. Feast day: Saint Vincenza Mary Lopez y Vicuna. Monday – Thursday 6 p.m. CST.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

I saw Avatar the movie with a friend yesterday, and it was good. Coincidentally, the 67th annual Golden Globes agreed with me with top honors to Avatar in the categories of Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director – Motion Picture.

The Story

The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora’s reserves of unobtanium, a precious mineral worth a bundle to humans. The mining operation employs U.S. Marines for security. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics. Physically much stronger and taller than humans, the Na’vi live in harmony with nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa. The Na’vi resist the colonists’ expansion, an expansion which threatens the continued existence of the Na’vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. Scientists, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine, grow Na’vi bodies modified with human DNA, called avatars, that are controlled by genetically matched, mentally linked human operators. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic former marine who becomes an avatar operator and learns to live with the Na’vi and comes to “see” them, to understand them as individuals, a people, and a spirituality. (cf. see Avatar: Official Movie Website and the Wikipedia Avatar 2009 film entry)

The Technology

First and foremost, it’s important to know that Avatar is not animated, it is “captured performance”. I’ll let the filmmakers describe this.

The other cool thing about the movie was the 3D effects. You can see the movie in 2D as well but I went for the funky 3D glasses and let me tell you, if you haven’t seen a 3D movie in a while (I think it’s been 20+ years for me), then you are in for a treat. Kind of freaky for the first 15 minutes but then I got used to it and it was awesome.

The Spirituality

There is an interesting spirituality operative in the movie which is heightened with the interplay of familiar tensions between faith and science, nonviolence and violence, stewardship and dominance. To top it off there are issues of race and gender to contend with. That all means that Avatar is a recipe for ideological disaster. And indeed, Avatar has become a target taking many critiques, positive and negative, fair and unjust.

From the Catholic perspective, there is concern with “neopagan” overtones and a “a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature.” (cf. The Associated Press. In the Catholic faith, we do not identify God with the created world (pantheism) but rather understand God as the Creator of the world, distinct yet nonetheless connected. Our love and protection of the environment and all of creation comes from our understanding that all is created by God and that all of creation is therefore good and worthy of reverence. That reverence is not to be mistaken for worship of nature. But neither should reverence for God’s creation be seen as disconnected from our spirituality.

So what of the spirituality of Avatar? Jay Michaelson (columnist, activist and author of Everything Is God) has this to say:

Roughly speaking, Avatar’s Na’Vi subscribe to a combination of pantheism and theism, a view scholars today call “panentheism.” As scholar of religion Gershom Scholem observed, panentheism is usually rooted less in faith … than in experience. Like mystics here on Earth, the Na’vi have an experience of unity of consciousness with other beings, all of which (themselves included) are really just manifestations of one Being, which they call Ai’wa [ed. also spelled Eywa]. Unlike Earth-bound mystics, the Na’vi have a convenient plug, attached to their bodies, which physically unites them to other beings (such as steeds, winged or otherwise) and to Aiwa Herself/Itself. (The Meaning of Avatar in the Huffington Post)

Even though the Na’vi are not Catholic, there is still something to be gained spiritually from tending to how they interact with their God, with one another, and with all of creation. For me, Avatar had echoes of scripture, of Catholic social teaching, of prayer, and of Pope Benedict’s own message of care and protection of the environment and of human life.

The Upshot

I give Avatar two thumbs up, and I think blue is rather fetching for a skin tone.

(That’s right, you can “avatarize” yourself.)

Have you seen Avatar? What insights or questions were raised for you?

Listen to CP003 Community Podcast – Saints recorded live on January 15, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. In this show, the sisters and listeners tell stories about the saints include favorite prayers, Catholic practices, and recipes related to their saint.

Here’s a bit of what we discussed:

• Who are the saints?
• saint trivia (do you know who the patron saint of drug addicts is?)
• Saint Thérèse of Lisieux by Jeannie
• Saint Patrick video by Clare Leigh
• Saint Syncletica by Julia
• Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque by Kathleen
• Saint Teresa of Avila by Suze
• Saint Thecla by Beege

Listen to the podcast below and be sure to check out our previously recorded Community Podcasts!

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 010
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already and welcome additional ones:

• family expectations: One person asks advice around a family that expects her to become a nun and another person asks about how to deal with family that don’t want her to become a nun. We’ll respond to both!
• becoming a nun: To whom do I talk about becoming a sister?
• the v-word: Must one be a virgin to become a nun or sister?

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

And don’t forget, tonight is a DOUBLE-HEADER. After the Ask Sister Podcast, we are having a special Community Podcast on Saints. We’d love for you to join us. More information here at Saints, Food, and Prayer Podcast.

We continue to pray for the people of Haiti and ask that you please remember them during your prayer throughout the day.

Please join us in prayer (written by Sister Camille Brouillard, IHM):

We grieve O Loving God, for the people of Haiti,
Who continue to suffer the ravages of nature over and over.
Hear the cry of your people,
Touch the hearts of those with abundance to hear their desperation
and come to their aid.
Be with those who grieve the loss of loved ones, homes, churches,
markets and employment.
Touch their hearts with some hope for a better tomorrow.
Send your angels of mercy to be with them.
Amen.

If you are able to donate, consider the following credible organizations.

• Catholic Relief Services
  

  Sister Michele Denton, IHM, in Haiti in 2009

• Mercy Corps
• Save the Children
• Fonkoze (Haiti)
• Red Cross
• World Food Programme (United Nations)
• Partners in Progress (Haiti)
• Doctors Without Borders

You can even text message a donation using your mobile phone. The Red Cross in conjunction with the U.S. State Department set up this service. Text “Haiti” to #90999 to donate $10.00. You’ll receive a text message saying “To confirm your $10 donation to Red Cross Int’l Response Fund reply with YES. Reply HELP for help or visit RedCross.org.” Once you respond YES, you will be charged $10 on your wireless bill. I just made my donation using this method.

The IHM Sisters (my religious community) has also set up an emergency fund. Those wishing to make donations can send a check made payable to the IHM Sisters with a note in the memo line indicating that the donation is for “Haiti Earthquake Relief.” Checks should be mailed to:

IHM Sisters
Attn: Haiti Earthquake Relief
610 W. Elm Avenue
Monroe, Michigan 48162

We know that prayer is integral to our life and faith. But sometimes we just don’t seem to have the time for it. Take today for example. I woke up thinking about all the things I have to do today including a couple past-due deadlines, an email inbox that is overflowing, a meet to prepare for and participate in, errands, and a podcast. Needless to say, I was stressed before I even got out of bed. To make matters worse, we’re low on coffee!

My instinct is to hop out of bed and turn the computer on and get to work. And that’s exactly what I did this morning. Barely registered the fact that I was jumping over my time for prayer (yes, it happens to us religious folk too). Now having knocked a few things off my list (but with plenty left), I’m feeling less stressed, but also less myself. What’s missing? Prayer.

True, prayer doesn’t get me any closer to finishing these tasks. In fact, it appears to pull be further away because that’s precious time and energy I could place elsewhere. Yet prayer can’t be reduced to an item on an agenda, a “to-do” that can be checked off. It’s the very soul of life, the rhythm of one’s day, the disposition that one brings to everyone and everything else.

I know God understands and is not mad or planning to smote me. At the same time, I know and feel it’s importance in my relationship with God, with myself, and with others. Even though I’m in work mode now, and in the middle of a timely project, I’m going to set the timer — finish the most crucial thing for today which will set my mind at ease — and then recover my time for prayer and my prayerful openness to the rest of the day.

Ever had one of these days? What helps you return to prayer and a “prayerful openness”?

* * *

We’d be honored if you would join us for prayer this evening. Sister Maxine and I pray at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone).

This Friday, A Nun’s Life is hosting our third Community Podcast on Saints, Food, and Prayer.  Our community podcasts are free-for-all opportunities for you all to come up with a topic and the content for a podcast which Sister Maxine and I host. The first two we had were Thanksgiving rituals, food, and prayers and Advent and Christmas rituals, food, and prayers. Various readers and listeners of A Nun’s Life community joined us live on the air or sent things in ahead of time.

Here’s how you can participate in the Saints, Food, and Prayer community podcast. We invite you to join us for the live show this Friday at 6:45 p.m. Central Time (your timezone). All you have to do is show up here at our website http://aNunsLife.org and when we go live, the audio will start playing on any page of our website. If you’d like to read or participate in the simultaneous chat, go directly to http://anunslife.org/live.

We’d love for you to add your voice to the on-air discussion by telling us about your favorite saint. Here’s how that works: you pick a saint (e.g., Teresa of Avila) , tell us who she or he is (She’s from Avila, Spain … she was a Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church … she wrote about prayer) and why the saint is important to you (e.g., she’s helped me in my life as a nun, she is a companion in prayer). Then you can offer an interesting tidbit about the person, a prayer or quote written by or about the saint, or (because we tend to chat about food after our evening podcasts as we are preparing for supper) a food item or recipe relevant to the saint or her/his native land (e.g., a recipe for Pan de Horno — Spanish bread — that you tried or would like to try)

A few folks have already tagged their saint (I know Suze claimed Teresa of Avila) … but alas my list has disappeared. So, for all, please let Sister Maxine and I know who you’d like to share about. We’d like to have you share on the air with us (about 5-7 minutes) so you can call us (will give number out at beginning of podcast) or you can send us a private email with your phone number and we’ll call you!

Sister Max and I haven’t decided who we are going to talk about yet so stay tuned!

Saints Painting by Fra Angelico (1430)

Ask Sister Podcast is a production of A Nun’s Life Ministry. Episode 009 was aired January 8, 2010. During the show we responded to questions about deciding to become a nun, being physically disabled, visiting friends and relatives as a nun, relocation, and religious department.

Sister Margaret Chapman, IHM, joined Sisters Julie and Maxine for the podcast. Sister Margaret is the president of Compassionate Companions, a ministry in which sisters and other advocates serve as guardians for adults whose physical or mental condition affects their ability to speak or act independently.

• Is being a nun the hardest part decision you ever made in your entire life? What’s the different between a nun and a normal girl? What’s the benefit of being a nun?
• Do you know any physically handicapped sisters or nuns? Do religious communities allow physically disabled women as sisters?
• Does living as a sister prevent me from seeing my friends, relatives, or parents? Are catholic nuns or sisters required relocate to different parts of the country if the order asks them to?
• what is religious deportment? how essential is it for religious to conform to it?

Click PLAY below to listen to Ask Sister 009 or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 009
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already which I have cleverly categorized with d-words :

• decision: Is being a nun the hardest part decision you ever made in your entire life?
• deportment: What is religious deportment?
• distance: Would living as a sister prevent me from seeing my friends, relatives, or parents? Are catholic nuns or sisters required relocate?

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

It is SNOWING! I love snow. No matter what people say or how challenging it is to drive/walk in the snow, or how much I have to shovel, I love snow. I was born in winter, spent endless hours in the snow, learned to drive in a snow/ice storm, and have always lived in a snow belt!

My siblings and I in the snow! That's me in the blue coat on the left.

When I was home at our IHM Motherhouse earlier this week, I was walking back from the dining room through the cloister hallway and bumped into another sister who was, like myself, gazing outside at the softly falling snow. “I love snow,” I declared, and she followed suit. It was funny because both of us knew we weren’t making an idle weather comment but that we both meant it truly and deeply. I’ve not met many people who share the same depth of love of snow, but in my IHM sister I found a kindred spirit.

I think God is pretty awesome for having figured out the snow thing. With every snowflake that lands on me, that swirls around me, I feel anointed, blessed by God and embraced by God.

Any other snow lovers out there? What is your favorite snow thing to do or experience?

The turn of the new year often fills us with ideas and inspirations to try something new, to set out on a new path for the new year. To those of you who have entertained (however briefly or maybe for a long time!) with the idea of becoming a sister or nun, I invite you to consider the following:

Do you long for something more, a something that just can’t seem to be filled by your current work, relationships, endeavors, etc. even though you experience these as good?

Are you interested in deepening your life of faith through prayer, ministry, and community with others who share similar values, vision, and mission?

Are you open to the Spirit and the often surprising ways the Spirit leads?

Are you attracted to the life of Jesus the Christ and to lives of saints and holy people who strove to follow Jesus and live the Gospel?

Do you wish to live and think and “be” in a way that places the common good ahead of other goods such as personal wants?

Are you able to let go of preconceived images of what religious life is or should be?

Can you accept the humanity of yourself and of sisters and nuns and at the same time trust that the Spirit is alive and well in and through our humanity?

Do you feel both attracted to and terrified of the though of religious life, wondering perhaps, why God would call you of all people?

Are you willing to use your gifts, talents, experience, energy, and passion for God’s purposes and for a common mission and life in God?

Are you up for the greatest adventure of your life?

This is your invitation, your opportunity to take a step toward responding to this call. You don’t have to have it all figured out, or rationalize it, or be without doubt or fear. That’s all part of the package. Yo are invited to take a leap of faith, trusting that though you do not know where it will lead, that God is right here with you and will lead you to good.

What do you do now? Start reading and doing any of the suggestions on our page How to Become a Nun. Say something to that sister you admire but were afraid to say anything to about your desire. If you’ve felt attracted to the mission and life of Sister Maxine, myself, or other sisters here at A Nun’s Life, then take a chance and contact us. Check out Catholics on Call. Call the vocation director of the community you’ve been thinking about. Attend a retreat or day of prayer where you can explore how your desires and attractions are part of God’s call to you.

There is only one thing left to say.

Begin.

* * *

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Listen to our last Praying with the Sisters podcast from December 31, 2009. Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

I have the R.E.M. song “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)” in my head. I must say, I feel fine that this year is just about over. It’s been a good one, but it has been absolutely full with running from one thing to the other and major transitions. I’m ready for 2010.

Today I’m turning the writing over to you: What was most significant for you in 2009? What do you look forward to in 2010?

* * *

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE. Our next podcast will be on Monday, January 4.

Since the Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Women Religious was announced, U.S. Catholic magazine has been researching, writing about, and publishing articles and blog posts about the inquiry itself and the responses of women religious themselves as well as from the Catholic community.

U.S. Catholic has pulled together a collection of all these materials on their website at http://www.uscatholic.org/womenreligious.

We’ve also done some blog posts on the topic of the Apostolic Visitation.

Though there hasn’t been much in the news lately about the inquiry into our life as women religious in the U.S., the process is still underway. I’m not certain but I think the process is now at the point of beginning to select which communities will receive an on-site visit. More later as info is made public. For now, please continue to keep U.S. women religious in your prayers as well as Mother Clare Millea, ASCJ, and Cardinal Rodé and all who are part of the inquiry.

* * *

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Today’s Gospel reading is from Luke 2:22-35. It’s the first part of the story of the Presentation of Jesus which is when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to be purified and consecrated to God according to Jewish law. (The actual feast day is not until February 2).

Saint Simeon by Suzanne Reynolds

The story records how the family meets Simeon, who was “devout and just, anticipating the consolation of Israel” (v25). Simeon welcomes the child recognizing in Jesus “the salvation … prepared for all the peoples” (v30-31).

In light of today’s reading, what new insight or open door or inspiration has presented itself to you during this Christmas season?

* * *

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Greetings and happy Monday after Christmas! I’m hanging out in the Buffalo, New York, airport with free Boingo wireless (thanks, Google!) and about 45 minutes before we start boarding.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my sister and her family, my parents, and friends and family. And Sister Maxine is headed back from her family home too and will be picking me up in Chicago. We’ll both be on the air tonight at 6 p.m. Central Time (click for your timezone) for our regularly scheduled Praying with the Sisters Podcast. Join us!

Speaking of podcasts, I am delighted to announce that A Nun’s Life Podcasts are now  available on iTunes! Right before Christmas we worked with Cliff Ravenscraft of PodcastAnswerMan.com on creating an RSS feed for our podcasts and submitting it to iTunes. With his help we were approved and are up and running on iTunes! He also helped us with a few other bits of technology to help us improve our podcasting skills and technology. If ever you need help with podcasting, definitely check out Cliff and tell him Sister Julie sent you!

Here’s our iTunes link: A Nun’s Life Podcasts on iTunes

We only got a couple past ones up but will have other soon. Be sure to subscribe. If you are not an iTunes user, you can also use these links:

This is only the first of enhancements to our ministry that we’ll be bringing to you. We’ve got some other cool stuff planned and, as always, will maintain the hospitality and warmth of A Nun’s Life! And I’ll be back to blogging on a regular schedule!

Peace and all good things to you!

The Sisters of A Nun’s Life wish you a blessed Christmas. May the new life of Christ be with you and all of your family and loved ones. We hold you in our heart and in our prayers.

One of the members of our online community here made this video for us, which we adore. Enjoy!

Last night I went to my nephew Jared’s choral recital. Jared performed last night at the Winter Vocal Concert Program as part of a Middle School Choir. He did so good and I am very proud of him. Both sets of grandparents were there along with his parents (my sister and bro-in-law) and his younger brother Lucas (my date for the evening).

Among the songs performed was “Where Your Barefoot Walks”, a setting by David N. Childs that is composed of three poems by the 13 century Sufi mystic Rumi. The poems can be found in The Soul of Rumi. Listen to this song — amazing. Here’s a link I found on YouTube of another choir performing it.

The words …

I want to be where your barefoot walks:
Because, maybe before you step you’ll look at the ground.
I want that blessing.

I open and fill with love,
I open and fill with love and all other objects evaporate.

All the learning in books stays hid on the shelf.
Poetry, the dear words and images of song,
Comes down over me like water.

This is how I would die. Into the love I have for you.
As pieces of cloud dissolve in sunlight.

Today’s Gospel reading is from Luke 1:39-45. It is one of my favorite readings because it is the story of the Visitation, of Mary visiting Elizabeth to share the news that she is pregnant with Jesus. This story is an important one to us as IHM Sisters and it is the name of our spirituality center — “We take our inspiration from the visit between Mary and Elizabeth who spent time together sharing their joys and hopes, their confusion and their fears as they tried to be faithful to what God was asking of them.” (Visitation North Spirituality Center)

Mary set out and hurried to the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.

As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why am I so favored, that the mother of the Messiah should come to me? The moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that what Our God said to her would be accomplished!”  (Luke 1:39-45)

In what way does this gospel story of the Visitation speak to you this day?

* * *

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE. This will be our last podcast through the holidays. We’ll be back on Monday, December 28. Also, please know we are trying out new podcasting technology so last Friday we had a slightly different format but today we are using the regular one. More to come in the new year!

Tis the season for gift-giving. We’ve received a number of emails about what to give Catholic sisters and nuns for Christmas or as a thank-you gift at the end of the year. Last year we compiled a list of ideas on giving gifts to nuns which we hope you’ll find helpful this year too.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today is our weekly live Ask Sister podcast. This podcast is for you and is an opportunity to ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! During the live podcast we’ll respond to your questions and comments.

Questions already in the queue for today:

• How do you know if God is calling you to be a nun?
• When did nuns stop wearing the habit? After Vatican II?
• I am baptized a Baptist but I feel a strong pull toward becoming Catholic. Any advice?

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We welcome your questions.You can send them in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential. So what’s on your mind?

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Today’s Scripture reading is one of my favorites. It is 17 glorious verses naming the ancestors of Jesus. The fun starts with Abraham and Sarah and goes through Judah and Tamar, Ruth and Boaz, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, up to and including Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. “Of her,” writes Matthew, “was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” (Matthew 1:1-17)

Why a lengthy genealogy of Jesus? Read Robert P. Maloney, C.M., of the Congregation of the Mission, The Genealogy of Jesus in America Magazine (December 17, 2007).

Why do I love it so? Through there are controversies around the genealogy and how it adds up, how it matches the genealogy in Luke’s gospel, and what it all really means, there is a simple truth that speaks loud and clear to me. The genealogy gives us a sense of Jesus’ people and of how anticipation of Jesus has been interwoven throughout history long before Mary first got word from the angel that she was carrying the child of God. The genealogy of Jesus also reminds my of my people, of how my life is rooted in my family, my grandparents, great-grandparents, and so forth.

In my IHM congregation, there is a saying that we use often: “Everything before us brought us to this moment, standing on the threshold of a brand new day.” In light of today’s reading, we can also say “Everyone before us brought us to this moment …” Like any family “everything” and “everyone” in our history hasn’t always been that pretty, but still, it has all brought us to this moment. Even Jesus had some racy ancestors yet I’d say he turned out okay!

So today let us celebrate our people — our own ancestors and our spiritual ancestors through Jesus the Christ born of Mary.

What familial or spiritual ancestor do you celebrate today?

* * *

Join A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone). Tomorrow is the Ask Sister Podcast. If you have questions for us, please email them to us.

It is heart-warming to hear of and receive so many words of support for U.S. sisters from lay people, bishops, priests, and religious from across the globe. Most recently leaders of communities of Catholic women religious in Europe offered their support and encouragement. See the article European women religious send warm support to U.S. sisters in National Catholic Reporter (December 15, 2009). There have also been messages of support from sisters in Rome and in Asia and Oceania. Another powerful show of support is the Thank You, Sister campaign which received over 300 letters of support which will be sent to Mother Mary Clare Millea, Cardinal Franc Rodé, Cardinal Francis George, and Pope Benedict XVI as well as leadership teams of communities of women religious in the US.

The encouragement and support of so many people reminds me of stepping up and simply being present and in solidarity with another who is engaged in a tough experience. There are all sorts of ways that we can show our support, that we can stand up for another and stand beside another. How will we choose to do that today? Who will come across our path who needs a kind word, a breath of fresh air, a helping hand, or just a warm presence?

Happy feast of Saint John of the Cross! Here’s a bit of John’s story from Saints and Feast Days: A Resource and Activity Book by The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio.

John of the Cross was locked in a cell six feet wide and ten feet long for nine months, with no light except that which filtered through a slit high up in the wall. He later forgave the men who had imprisoned him. How could he do that? He explained, “Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love.”

John’s father had been disowned by his wealthy Spanish family when he married a poor weaver rather than a woman of equal economic status. Living in poverty proved to be too much for him, and he died shortly after John was born. John spent much of his youth in an orphanage, where he was clothed, fed, and given an elementary education. At the age of 17, he found a job in a hospital and was accepted into a Jesuit college. In 1563 he entered the Carmelite Order. Eventually he enrolled in another university, where he did so well that he was asked to teach a class and to help settle disputes.

When he met Teresa of Ávila and learned from her about the reform of the Carmelite Order, John decided to help with it. As part of this decision, he wore sandals instead of shoes and lived very simply in prayer and solitude. In 1577 the attitude toward the reform shifted.

John was caught up in a misunderstanding and imprisoned at Toledo, Spain. During those months of darkness in that little cell, John could have become bitter, revengeful, or filled with despair. But instead, he kept himself open to God’s action, for no prison could separate him from God’s all-embracing love. During this time he had many beautiful experiences and encounters with God in prayer. Later he would describe these experiences in poetry. In 1578 John escaped to southern Spain to join the reformed Carmelites. There he held leadership positions and wrote reflections on his experiences, which showed his deep spirit of prayer. When he became ill, he chose to go to the city of Ubeda, where no one knew him. It was there that he died.

On this feast day, if you encounter a place of no love, put love, and you will find love.

* * *

Join A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone). This Friday is the Ask Sister Podcast. If you have questions for us, please email them to us.