AS099 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 19, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: Mass fracas over word changes in liturgy, unruly use of church rules, finding a spiritual mentor, does God have plans for the world, and more!

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

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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 topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Why are some people vehemently upset about the changes to the Mass? Jesus is still Jesus in the Eucharist — isn’t that why we go to Mass anyway?
• Can I be a sister if I am not a conservative Catholic (or in other words, have a problem with strict applying of rules in the church)?
• Where to find a spiritual mentor when it seems there’s not one anywhere nearby.
• What are God’s plans for today’s world?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. 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 comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

My spiritual exercise for this morning was to imagine a perfect me in a perfect world.

It was great! No more struggles or stress or frustration. No more weighing decisions and wondering if I should do one thing instead of another. No more need to consider if I should cultivate more virtues in my life. I would already know the answers! I would already know what to do! I would already be perfectly virtuous! I was giddy at the prospect of perfection.

Then doubts began to creep in. If everything was perfect, including me, what kind of life would that be? I’d never experience the joy and challenge of learning. I might never be surprised again. What would happen to the thrill of adventure?

When it comes right down to it, if I had a choice, I would choose an imperfect me in an imperfect world. Ok, granted I don’t have that choice. I suppose I could be bummed out that no matter how hard I try in this life, I’m not going to be perfect. The world isn’t going to be perfect. Yet scripture tells me that I’m a part of God’s good creation. That even in the midst of imperfection, humanity and the rest of creation is pleasing to God.

So my prayer today is to embrace my God-given imperfection – to bring creativity to situations where frustration might otherwise set in, to cherish eccentricities in myself and others, and to be okay with striving but not yet arriving.

What are your thoughts about imperfection? Feel free to type them in the comment box below (and no need to worry if your spelling isn’t perfect

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for a live podcast and chat every weekday at 6 p.m. CT
(find your time zone) at aNunsLife.org/live

AS098 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 12, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: the difference between penance and sacrifice, speechless God, is grief a rejection of faith, and more!

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

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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 topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What is the difference between penance and sacrifice?
• Austerities and asceticism
• I don’t feel like God is telling me much. Am I going to hear a voice one day before graduation telling me to go to a convent? Or is saying “I want to go to college and study anthropology” sufficient?
• Measuring up to the holiness of friends and other people.
• My mother died recently and I’m very sad. But some of my bible study friends say, “She’s in heaven with God now and you should be happy about that.” Is my sadness somehow a rejection of my faith?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. 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 comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

S096 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on December 29, 2011. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: run-ins with the Blessed Virgin Mary, hanging on to pre-Vatican II stuff, adopt-a-nun, how to know and respond when God is calling, 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 topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• I’m not Catholic but have had a few run-ins with the Blessed Virgin Mary. What could this possibly mean?
• Is it wrong to hang onto pre-Vatican II understandings and expressions of the faith? Of religious life?
• I’d love to spiritually adopt a nun. How to I go about doing so?
• How do you know if God is calling you to something, and what can you do about it?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from which you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Sunday’s liturgy was beautiful as our church welcomed catechumens and candidates who are moving toward full communion with the Catholic Church. As a sponsor, I had the awesome privilege of sitting in front with my person. As I knelt during the Eucharistic prayer, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the liturgy, of common prayer among the People of God, and of Christ’s presence in and among us.

And then I realized that this would be the last time I celebrated Mass this way. My parish community and every Roman Catholic Church in the English-speaking world will begin to use a revised translation of the Mass at the next Sunday liturgy which coincides with Advent and the new Church year.

Although I’ve experienced the English translation of the Mass my whole life, using the vernacular (the language of the people instead of Latin) is a relatively new experience — as in only about 40 years old. Since then, scholars have learned much about the experience of the celebrating the Mass in English as well about translations from the original Latin.

“This new translation will employ the best of what we have learned about translation and liturgical language in two generations of celebrating the Liturgy in the vernacular. It will provide an opportunity to reflect ever more deeply on the eucharistic celebration that lies at the heart of the Church’s life.

In accord with the rules for translation established by the Holy See, the revised translation follows the style of the original Latin texts more closely, including concrete images, repetition, parallelisms, and rhythm. The English used in the Mass texts is more formal and dignified in style. Where possible, the texts follow the language of Scripture and include many poetic images. In addition, the third edition contains prayers for the celebration of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional Masses and prayers for various needs and intentions, and some updated and revised rubrics (or instructions) for the celebration of the Mass. (source: Ten Questions on the Roman Missal by the USCCB)

Like many Catholics, I am not sure what to expect from this third translation of the Roman Missal. I am looking forward to the emphasis on the language of Scripture and use of poetic images. While I like the familiar languages and images of the current translation, I am excited by a renewal of intentionality at Mass because we will each have a heightened awareness of what we are saying and doing as we learn how to pray in a new way together. At the same time, I am disappointed that a more rigorous formality has been introduced and that there is still pieces of language that are exclusive of women (“for us men and for our salvation”) and images of God that are overwhelmingly masculine. If indeed we are moving closer to Scripture then we in fact should be including along with Father and King the many different images of God including that of Mother, Lion, Lover, Baker Woman, Sower, and many more. I hope and pray that parish leaders will carefully implement Roman Missal 3.0 and at the same time be sensitive to necessary adaptations.

For now and for this week, however, I will cherish my last Mass with the current Roman Missal. Roman Missal 2.0, you’ve been my constant companion. I have celebrated with you, cried with you, and witnessed some of the most beautiful landmarks of my Catholic life with you. You were there when my siblings married their spouses, my nephews were baptized, and my parents renewed their vows. You were there when my friends became Catholic or were ordained or got married or when we celebrated their Mass of Resurrection. You were there when my IHM sisters celebrated Jubilee and when I professed my vows as an IHM Sister. I am grateful for you, Mass 2.0. Goodbye.

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Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer tonight at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone). Just go to aNunsLife.org/live. Also we’ll give an update on the Fall FUN!raiser and announce the winner of the Grand Prize iPad 2!

What’s up with the news coverage of Anita Caspary?

Caspary, a luminary in religious life died at age 95 on October 5. She was a great woman, scholar, and leader. Her faithfulness to the call of the Second Vatican Council and her love of the gospel are impressive. Anita Caspary had integrity. Too bad that some of the recent news articles about her don’t.

The headlines give the first clue. Here’s the headline from a recent New York Times article: “Anita Caspary, Nun Who Led Breakaway From Church, Dies at 95.” A similar headline appears in the Washington Post: “‘Rebel nun’ Anita Caspary, leader of breakaway Los Angeles order, dies at 95.”

Breakaway? From the church? Really? In the 1960s, Caspary served in leadership for the Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters in Los Angeles. The congregation took seriously the Vatican II call for the renewal of religious life. They began to make changes accordingly – in daily prayer times, in religious dress, in their types and locations of ministry, etc. (And they weren’t the only ones. Sisters across the U.S. were moving in similar directions.) But the archbishop of Los Angeles objected to the changes. And when the sisters didn’t stop, he retaliated.

Ultimately, Caspary and about 300 other sisters chose to leave the congregation and begin a new, non-canonical community. To my way of thinking, they didn’t “breakaway.” There wasn’t a “schism,” as the NYT article characterized it. The sisters left an oppressive, unfair situation. They did so after much deliberation and prayer. And their departure wasn’t from “the church” but from an abuse of power by some in formal roles of authority in the church.

Compare those headlines with this one, from the National Catholic Reporter: “Anita Caspary, religious visionary, dies in Los Angeles: ‘Integrity’ moved her community to sever canonical ties to church.” A great headline and a good article.

As I read the articles, I gave thanks for Caspary. I celebrate her life and her legacy to religious, the church and the world.

May you rest in peace, Anita Caspary.

Anita Caspary published a book in 2003, Witness to Integrity, that describes the events that took place during her time in leadership in the 1960s. It’s an interesting and informative account!

There’s a flurry of activity in our kitchen this morning. Sadly, it’s not Sister Julie whipping up some of her Grandma’s top-secret Italian pasta sauce. Happily, the convent is getting new kitchen counters.

When we moved into the convent a couple of years ago, the owner of the apartment said he’d gradually rehab the place. He’s a great guy and has made good on his word. After much pounding and sawing, the old counter was hoisted out in sections and carried down the stairs. The new counters will be installed shortly.

The workers are a terrific team. Seeing them work together is like watching a loud, dusty ballet with dancers in steel-toed boots and power tools. But it’s a hard and grimy dance, especially on a day when the temps are already in the 80s. Sawdust sticks to their sweat-covered faces and arms.

They’re very exacting about their work, and it’s evident that they take great pride in it. It reminds me of Catholic social teaching about the dignity of work, and the respect that every worker deserves. So today, I will keep these workers especially in my prayers.

I invite you to join me in prayer for workers who are part of your life today.

How times change! Today, while reading about the space shuttle Endeavour, whose final mission ended this morning, I came across this photo (at right). It shows the first call ever made by a pope to outer space. During the call, on May 21, Pope Benedict spoke to the crew of the Endeavour, which included two Italians. The pope applauded their dedication and courage.

Elsewhere in the heavens, I imagine Galileo smiling.

Sure, the 17th century was a long time ago, and Galileo has probably let bygones be bygones. Besides, the idea that the earth revolves around the sun has long ceased to be controversial. And our understanding of how to interpret the bible has changed a lot, so we look at verses like Psalm 104: 5, “You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be moved” very differently than did people hundreds of years ago.

I’m encouraged by the photo! It reminds me that our Catholic Christian tradition is a living tradition, in conversation with the world around us, however delayed or timely that conversation might be.

Pope’s call to space: AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Nathan Lindstrom
Endeavour space shuttle: photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

IGF009 In Good Faith with Father James Bacik, PhD, recorded live on May 5, 2011. Produced by aNunsLife.org ministry. The nuns talk with Father Jim about finding God in everyday life, prayer, Christian spirituality, theologian Karl Rahner, and more!
Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Guest: Father James Bacik

Father James Bacik, a priest of the Diocese of Toledo, is the pastor of Corpus Christi University Parish in Toledo, Ohio and serves as a campus minister and adjunct professor of humanities at the University of Toledo. His doctorate in theology is from the University of Oxford in England. His many articles, chapters and books include Apologetics and the Eclipse of Mystery; Contemporary Theologians; Catholic Spirituality, Its History and Challenge and most recently A Light Unto My Path, a book on preaching he wrote with psychologist Kevin Anderson. He has lectured throughout the United States as well as in China, Latin America, Japan and Russia. Father Bacik combines the academic study of theology with the pastoral work he has been doing for many years.

Show Notes:

• Father Jim’s intersecting roles — pastor, theologian, academician
• Father Jim’s intersecting roles — pastor, theologian, academician
• Encounters with theologian Karl Rahner
• The Method of Correlation — bringing the scriptures and Christian tradition to bear on people’s everyday concerns
• The human orientation to Holy Mystery, Gracious Mystery
• “Jesus, the ‘P.S.’ at the end of a long letter of service”
• Contemporary Catholic apologists and the long tradition of Christian apologetics
• Mystagogy
• Even sin can be revelatory of God’s mercy and love
• Prayer as “truth-telling”
• The increasing diversity within the Catholic Church
• Father Jim’s current work on the issue of Catholic identity

In Good Faith is a conversation exploring God’s call in everyday life hosted by A Nun’s Life Sisters Maxine and Julie. Our monthly program features guests who are nationally known for their ministry in spirituality, religious life, and discernment. We’ll look at how our guests understand their own life as a calling and discuss a variety of perspectives on living faith and call in everyday life. The program is broadcast live from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Central Time. Tune in at www.aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

AS056 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 14, 2011. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: Benedictine monastics outside the monastery, godly anger, church-going dilemma for a Catholic-Protestant couple, not feeling called, and more!

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

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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 topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• I feel I have a vocation but recently I’ve felt “not called” anymore. Should I be worried?
• How can Benedictines be considered monastics when so many of them work in the world? … Sister Christine Ereiser, OSB, responds
• What would cause God to be angry with us? (from a discussion about Meribah)
• Is it okay to be angry with God?
• What are some healthy ways for a couple to attend church when one is Catholic and one is Protestant?
• Plus, an update from the “nun-ordering-pizza” debate!

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

AS052 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on December 10, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Guest: Sister Donna Hart, IHM. Topics include: military sisters, convents defined, Franciscan knotted cord, down and unmotivated, why be Catholic?, 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:

• Can Catholic sisters be in the military or national guard?
• What makes a particular abode a “convent”?
• How does one find the knotted cord that Franciscans wear?
• I’m feeling down and have no motivation unless I become a nun. What do I do?
• Why be Catholic if there other ways to get to heaven?
• Do you find your lives particularly stressful? When you are stressed, what do you do? How do you cope with the unknown?

Today we’ll be joined by special guest Sister Donna Hart, IHM. We’ll ask Sister Donna about her life as a Catholic sister, and in particular what it was like to experience life as a sister before the Second Vatican Council, during the Council and now 40+ years later.

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

This morning, I tried to imagine a life free from sin. It was a lot harder than I expected.

My ponderings were inspired by today’s feast day, the Immaculate Conception of Mary. According to Catholic doctrine, from the first moment of Mary’s existence, God preserved her from original sin and filled her with grace. Doctrine tells us that Mary remained sinless throughout her life.

What caused my difficulty was that I equated a sinless life with a perfect life. After all, if I never sinned, wouldn’t my life be perfect? Even if the people around me weren’t perfect, shouldn’t sinlessness protect me, so that stuff like anger or violence or greed wouldn’t impinge upon my perfect life?

Then I thought about Mary. She was sinless, yet her life was far from perfect. At one point, Mary faced the prospect of being single mom in a culture that looked down on unmarried mothers. When she was ready to give birth, she and Joseph were on the road, not with family who could help with the birth and the new baby. Her son Jesus was a great guy, but the ups and downs of his life greatly affected Mary, and she stayed with him through it all. Despite her sinlessness, Mary was one of us – a person who experienced joy and sorry, who cared for her family and neighbors, and who loved deeply.

So, maybe a sinless life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Not that I have to worry about it. Sorta like water under the bridge on that one. But Mary shows me that what matters is not a sinless or a perfect life. What matters is the fullness of life—the ability to embrace my own humanity and that of others, with all its eccentricities, joys, weaknesses, and challenges.

What message does Mary have for you today? Happy Feast Day!

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

AS048 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on November 12, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: images of God, dreaming about Jesus, priesthood and/or romance, Blessed Mary v. Mary Magdalen, becoming Catholic, serving God in blue jeans!

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

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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!

This is a special Ask Sister IHM Edition which was broadcast from the IHM Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan, before a live studio audience of IHM Sisters. In addition hosts Sisters Maxine and Julie were joined by their IHM Sisters Theresa Koernke and Angela Hibbard, both trained in theology and in liturgy.

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

• Is it okay to be more of a “Mary Magdalen” than a “Blessed Mary,” that is, to be not quite so perfect, to serve God and still wear our blue jeans?
• What is your image of God? Can we have more than one image of God? Do our images of God ever change?
• Can you discern a calling to become a priest and have a romantic relationship simultaneously?
• What does it mean if you have dreams about Jesus? And what do nuns dream about?
• I’m on the fence about becoming Catholic. What should I do? What questions would be helpful for me to ask to help me figure out what to do?

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

DM002 Digital Ministry with guests Maureen McCann Waldron and Father Andy Alexander, SJ, of Creighton University Online Ministries recorded live on October 14, 2010. Produced by aNunsLife.org ministry. Be inspired by technology, technique, and theology.

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

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Guests: Father Andy Alexander, SJ, and Maureen McCann Waldron

Father Andy and Maureen are partners at Creighton University’s Collaborative Ministry Office and Online Ministries. Online Ministries has a 12-year history of responding to people’s needs in real language and real-life experience.

They have visitors from around the world and are conscious of tailoring their resources to fit people’s spiritual needs as well as their language, culture, and available technology. One of many current projects is to translate their resources (including their very popular online retreat) into a variety of languages, most recently Chinese!

Listen to their story and be inspired with new ideas for how you engage in  your online ministry.

Show Notes:

• starting small with online ministry
• making the online experience user-friendly, especially across languages and cultures
• getting a variety of sources of content
• promoting one’s online ministry (getting people to show up)
• how working collaboratively affects your ministry
• the inspiration behind Online Ministries
• authentic Catholic websites
• key websites for connecting with young people
• having a full-time job and ministering online as an “add-on”
• creating a website and web experience based on people’s needs
• content vs. form
• Jesus’ use of the technology of his day

Digital Ministry is a podcast on using Internet technologies and social media for ministry. The show is hosted by Sister Maxine and Sister Julie of A Nun’s Life Ministry and covers a mix of things covering techniques, technology, and theology in order to enhance one’s capacity to do ministry, to witness to the Gospel in every day life on the Internet. The show airs on the second Thursday of the month from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central Time. Tune in at www.aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

For more information, including upcoming guests and our full podcast schedule, visit the program page of Digital Ministry.

Continue the conversation day or night at the A Nun’s Life Community Forum and look for the topic “Digital Ministry Podcast Listeners.”

Think being a hermit means heading to the wilderness, living in a creepy cave, and eating wild locusts? Think again. Here’s a great story from Australia about Carol Prevedello who was recently consecrated a hermit.

Selections from “Inner West woman becomes hermit to devote life to God”
by Fiona Brady, September 29, 2010

Carol Prevedello was consecrated a hermit before Bishop Julian Porteous in St Joan of Arc Church, Haberfield. She has made promises of poverty, chastity and obedience and pledged to live a life of prayer, penance, silence and solitude in a tradition that dates back to biblical times.

She doesn’t dwell in a cave in the wilderness, but lives with her parents in a two-storey house in the Inner West. She keeps a mobile phone in her handbag (for medical emergencies) and occasionally accept requests for prayers via email (though she prefers snail mail).

Carol is the primary carer for her mom and being a hermit allows her to continue that care and also to respond to God’s calling to “remain spiritually withdrawn from the world.” She follows a rule approved by the Cardinal, prays throughout the day, fasts, lives modestly, and moderates her interaction with others but making exceptions for “reasons of charity or necessity”.

“Some people think that a hermit means being anti-social. I’m anything but that,” she said. “I love people. A religious hermit is someone who withdraws so they can be closer to God and pray on behalf of people… on behalf of all mankind [sic]. It has given me the peace I’ve been looking for all my life.”

Read the full story: “Inner West woman becomes hermit to devote life to God“.

Also check out earlier articles on hermits at aNunsLife.org.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

Question from Sally about Lady Gaga’s video “Alejandro” … see my earlier post Lady Gaga and her use of Catholic and nun imagery.

I’m also curious of the controversial un-catholic video and meaning of that song so I researched. [I found a site that] could be of help though there are indeed several interpretations. It shows the “satanic” elements in the video. Personally, I somewhat felt disgusted. Children usually get drawn to her music because the beat is really cool but there are hidden meanings which might be opposed to catholic teachings, and the videos are really obscene-too sexual and violent-which may be too much for young minds to bear and understand. It may seem to be an ordinary video for them but their perception of sexuality,which is one of God’s precious gifts to us, may be subconsciously distorted….

As Catholics, what then could we do with these things??

First let me say, the video in general is not my cup of tea. And, it is not something I’d want my young nephews or cousins to experience. That being said, I also wouldn’t want them to experience some great masterpieces of religious art that include images of violence, sex, and religion too! It’s just not something they ordinarily can appreciate (in the artistic sense) or comprehend, as you put so well. I’m not trying to equate Lady Gaga with Caravaggio but I do want to give a little room for art (low or high) to provoke, inspire, challenge, create. Such art, however, must be appropriately available but, perhaps, not mass marketed to impressionable minds and hearts.

What can we do? First, each of us has to be aware of how our own actions, beliefs, and attitudes about sex, violence, and religion are shaping those around us. Impressionable persons may be affected by music videos to an extent but more so by the people they are around 24/7 and the people they love and trust and the organizations that are guides for them in their life. I see this happen in my nephews, and I am so grateful for the way that their parents have loved and raised them.

Second, we must be willing to experience and talk about the things to which impressionable persons in our lives are being exposed. We must be grounded enough, self-aware enough to be able to enter into discussion about it or even to make a couple of well-placed comments. This does not mean blanket condemnation of artistic expression because often that is read not as love and care but as “you don’t get me” or “you don’t care about me”. It means being able to understand why the person is attracted to something, in this case a song and video, affirming the good that we see (e.g., the “Alejandro” video has some great choreography and dance), and engaging the more questionable images and words used (e.g., do you think that the relationships shown are good and life-giving?).

Third, although we are dealing here with artistic expression, we must be very clear about “real life”. We must take a firm stance against all acts of rape, murder, discrimination, and any form of violence. These are never acceptable and we must take due care to protect the life and dignity of every single person and community.

Personally I am not fond of any images, however artistic, that portray rape or murder or violence. Even as an adult with a decent grounding in life, I find those images devastating. At the same time, I know that for many people in the world, this is their lived experience. When I am confronted with these images, it leads me not to bury my head but to pray, to be in solidarity as much as I can with people who have experiences such as rape, or discrimination because of gender or sexual orientation, or who live in fear of violence to themselves or to their loved ones. I live in hope that my life and my responses will be ones of compassion and help in navigating the good and the tough aspects of life.

Where do you stand with all of this? What experiences have you had that can shed some light on this? We’d especially like to hear from those of you who are parents or caregivers for young ones and deal with this every day.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

AS037 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on August 13, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: lies, sins, and truth; women Doctors of the Church; having a religious life without being a nun; hanging out with the IHM Sisters, 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:

• If a nun or a sister goes along with what she knows to be a lie, what is her sin?
• How does a person become a Doctor of the Church and why are there so few women recognized as Doctors of the Church?
• If it’s not possible for me to become a nun, what kind of religious life can I have other than being part of my church choir and handbell chorus and attending Mass regularly?
• Can you tell us about your weekend at the IHM Motherhouse for Jubilee and Final Profession?

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

I am tragically amused at the media coverage of Lady Gaga’s bizarre use of Catholic and nun imagery in her video Alejandro. Up for debate is not the video itself (others more musically and artistically savvy than I have written much on this) or Lady Gaga herself (I happen to think she is quite talented). What I want to know is what is up with our response to this video? Can someone please explain to me in small words why we are more upset about misused Catholic and nun imagery than about the images of violence and sexual assault in the video?

Lady Gaga is a skilled provocateur … perhaps we are missing her real point.

AS030 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on June 18, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: cultivating patience, personal opinion v. official church stance, right- and left-brain discernment, entering novitiate, and more!

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

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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 become a better “patience person”?
• What does a believer do when personal opinion on a “hot topic” issue (like women priests, abortion, gay and lesbian issues, immigration) differs from the official church stance? Can a believer have a different view and still be Roman Catholic?
• Can we turn our backs on people who are gay or lesbian?
• Is discernment a right-brained or left-brained activity?
• What might my first year of novitiate look like?

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

AS026 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on May 21, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: adoration, prayer, spiritual direction, daily nun life, associates, holy days, genuflecting, cleaning and cooking in the convent, and more!

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

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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 adoration?
• What is a holy day?
• What is a day in the life of a nun like?
• What’s the difference between bowing and genuflecting?
• What is an associate and how does one become an associate of the IHM congregation?

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

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an interesting op-ed piece called Who Can Mock This Church? (New York Times, May 1, 2010).

It’s a tough read in the sense that he makes some rather pointed statements about the church’s sex abuse scandals and a church teaching or two. But, his message is that those who wish to “sniff derisively” at the church as a whole ought to first take a look at the “brave souls” who work tirelessly, and many times in very dangerous situations, to live truly the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Among the fine examples is Sister Cathy Arata, a nun from New Jersey. Kristof writes:

Photo by Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times. Sister Cathy Arata, a nun from New Jersey who now works with a Catholic project called Solidarity With Southern Sudan.

In the city of Juba, I met Cathy Arata, a nun from New Jersey who spent years working with battered women in Appalachia. Then she moved to El Salvador during the brutal civil war there, putting her life on the line to protect peasants. Two years ago, she came here on behalf of a terrific Catholic project called Solidarity With Southern Sudan.

Sister Cathy and the others in the project have trained 600 schoolteachers. They are fighting hunger not with handouts but with help for villagers to improve agricultural techniques. They are also establishing a school for health workers, with a special focus on midwifery to reduce deaths in childbirth.

At the hospital attached to that school, the surgeon is a nun from Italy. The other doctor is a 72-year-old nun from Rhode Island. Nuns rock.

Sister Cathy would like to see more decentralization in the church, a greater role for women, and more emphasis on public service. She says she worries sometimes that if Jesus returned he would say, “Oh, they got it all wrong!”

She would make a great pope, too.

Check out the full article and let us know what you think. What challenges you about the article? What insights popped into your mind?

Happy Earth Day! First is a beatiful photo Sister Maxine took of her nephew with a calf. Also we have some link joy for you! Let us know of other cool links to share.

 
A Catholic Earth Day:

• If You Want Peace, Protect Creation by Pope Benedict XVI (January 1, 2010)
• Going Green: For the Sake of God’s Creation by Mary Jo Dangel in Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine (October, 2007)
• Why Catholics Care for Creation by Sister Joan Brown, OSF, in Catholic Update (October 2008)
• Earth Day 2010 Prayer by Sister Jean Coughlin, IHM

Cool Earth Day Stuff:

• Earth Day E-Cards by CatholicGreetings.org
• Ecokids Canada’s environmental destination for kids
• Earth Day 2010 Song created and performed by 13-year-old Leia Schwartz of Florida
• 3 Cool Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with your Family
• Earth Day Recipes
• Green Your Gardening

The Origin of Earth Day:

• History of Earth Day by Earth Day Network
• Earth Day at 40: How it began, where it is going by John Roach for National Geographic News (April 22, 2010)

The Core Issues of Earth Day:

• Advocacy
• Climate Change
• Conservation and Biodiversity
• Education
• Energy
• Food and Agriculture
• Green EconomyGreen SchoolsRecycling and Waste Reduction
• Sustainable Development
• Water

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

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Join Sister Maxine and Sister Julie for LIVE prayer podcast today at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone). You can share your prayer requests with us and the A Nun’s Life community. http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE

AS021 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on April 16, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: telling family and friends, age limit, traveling nuns, yoga for Catholics, the Beatitudes, hunger for community, praying for strangers and more!

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

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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:

• When is the right time to let family and friends know I truly feel called to become a Catholic sister?
• Are you ever too old to become a nun or sister?
• How old do you have to be to become a nun? Do you have to finish college first before becoming a nun?
• Can sisters and nuns travel?
• Why are the beatitudes important?
• Can a divorced woman become a nun?
• What do you pray when you are asked to pray for someone you don’t know and don’t know why they need prayer?
• What is the Catholic Church’s stance on yoga? Are practicing Catholics, including religious sisters, allowed to practice yoga?
• I’m a people person and really want a strong spiritual community. Any practical hints on how to deal with this hunger?

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

AS018 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 19, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: a discerner’s IHM experience, why Catholic sisters support health care reform, Bible translations, common misperceptions about 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 was Sue’s experience visiting the IHM Motherhouse? What was it like to pray and working with the sisters?
• What Bible version do you use for your prayer podcasts?
• What are some common misconceptions that you encounter about nuns and sisters?
• Why are U.S. Catholic sisters supporting the Senate bill on health care?

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.

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?

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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)

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?

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

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.

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

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.

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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!

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.

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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 or leave a message at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

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?

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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.

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?

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

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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
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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.

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.

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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.

This past weekend, Sister Maxine and I stayed with the Benedictine Women of Madison at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a delight to be with the sisters and with the wonderful community of oblates, retreatants, coworkers, and members of the Sunday assembly. The monastery grounds held so much beauty too — trees, trails, hills, and critters!

Benedictine Women of Madison is an ecumenical religious community in the monastic tradition of Saint Benedict. The sisters community is for single women of any Christian tradition. There are also other community at Holy Wisdom Monastery including the Sunday Worship community and the Oblate community, that is, “an intentional community of women and men who find a practical spirituality in the Rule of Benedict.”

Sisters Lynne, Mary David, and Joanne

Because this is an ecumenical community, women from any Christian tradition are welcome to become a Benedictine sister. So if you are a Christian woman who is drawn to monastic life within an ecumenical context, I invite you to get to know the Benedictine Women of Madison. You can remain as a Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or part of another Christian tradition and become a sister! To learn more, check out the Benedictine Women of Madison website.

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Join A Nun’s Life community for prayer today at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone).

The investigation of women religious (aka Catholic sisters or Catholic nuns) in the United States has raised many questions and concerns since it was first announced earlier this year. Here at A Nun’s Life Ministry, we’ve received a number of questions about the Apostolic Visitation and the doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Council of Women Religious (LCWR), an organization representing 95% of women religious in the United States. Because of the concern that so many people have shared, we’d like to open the door to your questions so that we can begin to address them with the help of experts in the field of religious life and the Catholic Church.

We would like to begin gathering your questions about the investigations. Some of the questions we’ve already received touch on the following concerns:

• why are sisters being investigated? And why only in the United States?
• is this Apostolic Visitation like the Visitation of the Legionaries of Christ?
• why are sisters upset if they have nothing to hide?
• who are Cardinal Rodé and Mother Mary Clare Millea?
• is this a friendly visit?
• why aren’t contemplative nuns and religious brothers and priests being investigated?
• should this be of concern to me as a lay person? as someone who is ordained? as a religious who is not being investigated?

In the next few weeks, A Nun’s Life Ministry will be collecting your questions as well as creating a resource page with information on the Apostolic Visitation and the doctrinal assessment. We welcome all respectful questions. Please use the comment box below or email us at with your questions. We’ll keep you updated as we go along.

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Here’s today’s Praying with the Sisters podcast on a passage from today’s liturgy. Click on the “play” button.

Happy Feast of the Archangels! Michael, Gabriel, Raphael be blessed! I must confess I’m not one for run-of-the-mill angels (especially the little baby-faced ones which kind of scare me) but archangels? That’s my kind of angel! So who are these three that we celebrate today?

Well first, by way of information, an archangel is a chief angel. There are typically 3 archangels that we honor by name in the Christian tradition — Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. There may be up to 7 archangels in total (including Uriel who is honored in the Eastern Christian tradition) but this area seems to be a bit fuzzy in our tradition. The 3 archangels are honored in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

19th century Russian Orthodox icon of the Archangels. Michael is in the center, behind the circular mandorla of Christ. Gabriel and Raphael stand in front to the left and right respectively. Tempera and gold leaf on wood

Michael is considered the leader of the heavenly host, “one of the chief princes”. He is a patron of soldiers. His name in Hebrew means “Who is like God?” He is mentioned by name in three books of the Bible: Daniel, Jude, and Revelations. He is patron saint of many including soldiers, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and sailors.

Gabriel appears in the book of Daniel where he helped by explaining the prophet’s visions. Gabriel is probably best know as the angel of the Annunciation who appeared to Mary announcing that she would give birth to the Savior. He also announced John the Baptist’s birth to Zachariah. His name means “God is my strength”. Gabriel is patron saint of broadcasters (radio, TV, etc.) among others.

Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit where he heals Tobit of his blindness and helps Tobiah and Sarah. His name means “God heals”. Raphael is the patron of people who are blind, of healers, and of happy meetings.

We honor the archangels along with saints and other angels by remembering them and praying with them. Just like we might ask a friend to pray for us, or turn to someone who has “been there, done that” in some particular situation we are facing, we look to the archangels for support and for their presence. In early Jewish literature archangels are called “angels of the presence” which I think well describes how they are in our life.

How have you encountered these “angels of presence” in your life?

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Join us for prayer at 12:00 p.m. noon Central Time (UTC-5)
at anunslife.org/live for a live podcast.

The National Religious Vocations Conference (NRVC) has just released the final results of a study on the state of religious vocations in the United States. The project was commissioned by NRVC and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand who is entering religious life today and the characteristics of the religious institutes that are receiving and retaining new members. No study on religious vocations on this scale has ever been done before.  The goal of this research is to highlight the best practices in vocation promotion and religious formation. (source: Brother Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, for NRVC)

Here is the key information:

2009 NRVC/CARA Study on Recent Vocations – full study and results available as PDF download (406 pages)

Executive Summary — overview of the study, its impetus, phases, and major findings which are categorized under the following: Religious Life Today, Attraction to Religious Life and to a Particular Religious Institute, Vocation Promotion and Discernment Programs, Evaluation of Religious Institutes, Most Rewarding and Satisfying Aspects of Religious Life, Hope for the Future, and Best Practices in Vocation Ministry

Best Practices — summary of best practices for promoting vocations: Being Proactive about Vocations, Creating a Culture of Vocations, Vocation Director and/or Team, Use of Media for Vocation Promotion, Discernment Programs, and Targeting Age Groups

History of the Study — project background

Mythbusters — ten myths about religious life and the facts from the new study that dispel them

Other Resources – resources for media and other information on vocations

I am just beginning to sort through all the information and will write more as I learn more. For other info on the study, see the following:

• Laurie Goodstein, New Nuns and Priests Seen Opting for Tradition in The New York Times (August 10, 2009)
• Landmark Study on U.S. Catholic Vocations Reveals Dramatic Changes (NRVC Press Release)

Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, has made public an important paper on Ministerial Religious Life. In the paper God So Loved the World … Ministerial Religious Life in 2009 Sister Sandra describes what Apostolic Religious Life is and how it is evolving (or has evolved) into what she has called Ministerial Religious Life.

Here’s my very brief outline of the paper — any inaccuracies here are mine and not Sister Sandra’s. It’s meant only to give you a sense of the topics in the paper and to encourage you to read the full paper. You really don’t want to miss it if you are at all interested in Religious Life.

Sister Sandra looks at the origins of Apostolic Religious Life (which “has had official canonical recognition since 1900 and existed for centuries before that”) and situates it both canonically (what does Canon Law say about this form of consecrated life) and ecclesiastically (how does Apostolic Religious Life as a lifeform fit within the structure of the Church).

She shows how the Apostolic Religious Life that is being lived today is still authentically religious life and at the same time “involves some very significant discontinuities with earlier understandings of enough of the constitutive dimensions of that life that it is really a new form in relation to traditional apostolic Congregations.” Two important aspects of this evolution are what Sister Sandra calls “the end of Religious Life as Total Institution” and the simultaneous “ministerial turn”. She looks at how both of these have affected our understanding and living out of the vows, community life, ministry, and public witness.

Once Sister Sandra has set the context she goes on to asks, “What has brought about this development and how do we interpret, evaluate, and appropriate it?” What follows is an excellent piece on the impact of the Second Vatican Council on Religious Life. She notes how “most Religious Congregations of women, especially in the developed world, did not read Perfectae Caritatis in isolation, as a kind of self-sufficient magna carta for renewal. They read it through the lenses of Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes.” Note: Perfectae Caritatis is the document on the renewal of Religious Life; Lumen Gentium is the document on the Church affirming the universal call to holiness of all the baptized; and Guadium et Spes is the document on the Church in the modern world.

Sister Sandra then looks at the development of a new theology of world and the development of a new spirituality of world as a result of the shifts and the ongoing urgings of the Holy Spirit. Finally, she articulates some of the implications of these developments for vowed Religious Life.

Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, is one of my nuns and a leader in the study of religious life and of biblical spirituality. This talk was originally presented at our IHM Motherhouse for the Sisters and Associates of my community.

Read God So Loved the World … Ministerial Religious Life in 2009 and let’s get a discussion going about this. It’s an excellent paper, a good read, and definitely worth reflecting on.

Question from Shelly …

Dear Sister Julie, I would like to know if it is possible or allowed to become a friend of a semi-cloistered nun? The spiritual guidance and witness of this nun has brought me closer to God. God has blessed me with such a beautiful gift of fellowship.

Dear Shelly, Thanks so much for writing. How wonderful to hear of your relationship with Sister. I am not sure how to answer your question because my religious community is not cloistered. However, there are a number of such sisters that visit and/or have blogs. I’ll get in touch with them and invite them to respond to your question today.

Stay tuned!

The question about the habit being the answer to vocations recruitment comes up every now and again on the blog in various forms. It’s an interesting question that is way more complex than a simple “yes” or “no” can account for. Hilary well articulates this question in a comment on Why is a nun’s habit called a “habit”? Hilary writes:

Nuns are practically invisible nowadays, even in my very Catholic area, which is probably part of the reason why more women are not becoming nuns and even do not realize that that is an option. Perhaps if more orders wore some sort of habit – not necessarily the full, traditional habit – to distinguish them, to make them visible to the public, more young people would answer a call to vocation?

A couple different ways to look at this … one would be to look at the visibility issue by looking at priests, for example, who are clearly dressed as priests during liturgical events and often in other settings. One might say they are clearly visible yet why are U.S. seminaries not overflowing?

Another way to look at this is to consider the Internet. In this day and age, it is possible to get bounds of information about any subject (provided one has access to the Internet). One can easily, “visibly” find any number of Catholic sisters, nuns, brothers, priests, monks, friars, deacons, hermits, consecrated virgins, etc. There is more information accessible to a larger number of people than ever. Yet seminaries and houses of formation are not overflowing — of course that begs the question, do they need to be? Is quantity what we are aiming for here?

What do you think? Is the habit the answer to vocations recruitment? Are there other other ways that the issue of “visibility” could be addressed?

Slate.com, the online news magazine, has an interesting but highly questionable assessment of consecrated and monastic life in the article A Monastic Kind of Life: How Catholic religious communities are trying to attract young people again. Have you read it? If not, it’s a must read. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

As for me, I found the article not only questionable but just plain wrong. Here are my thoughts.

1. The terminology is totally off. Monasticism is one form of consecrated life. Not all nuns, sisters, brothers, friars or priests live a monastic life.

2. Even though folks are quick to note the decline in numbers for consecrated life, they fail to note that the comparison is always to the early- to mid-1900s when there were 50+ people entering mainstream communities a year. But that time period is not characteristic of consecrated life throughout the history of Christianity. In fact that time period is more of an aberration because the history of consecrated life has never seen that kind of influx before nor possibly again.

3. Consecrated life was never meant to be a life for the masses. The viability of consecrated life is not dependent on numbers. True, some communities do end up disbanding but that too is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit just like the community’s founding was. We are not here to create a legacy but to do the work of God and live the Gospel in this particular vocation.

4. The article says, “The mission of many orders has become simply caring for their aging populations as they sell properties and consolidate with others.” I beg to differ. We always have and always will live our mission AND care for our sisters. There is nothing new about caring for aging populations, selling property, collaborating, and combining congregations. What is new is that we have such large numbers right now because of the major influx from the early- to mid-1900s. We have to be a bit more creative perhaps in how we care for our sisters and deal with our assets, but other than that, we remain vibrant.

5. What the heck is this?

For a time, the life of Catholic religious orders became about social justice issues, psychological issues, peace studies, interreligious dialogue, the ecology movement—everything and anything, seemingly, except the central proposition: that one can know a loving God and be transformed.

I am deeply offended by this statement. It reveals the author’s lack of understanding about consecrated life and about this period of history in the Catholic Church. Read the Vatican II Church Documents, spend time with religious who lived through this time period, and then perhaps you will understand that religious have been and will continue to be centered around a life and mission based on being in relationship with a loving God and working towards the transformation of ourselves and the world.

6. The jump from discussing consecrated life through Vatican II to the recent foundation of Clear Creek Monastery suggests that only newer communities are faithful to the Church and attractive to young people. While the growth in the monastery is great, the newer communities have not stood the test of time to see if young people stay, how new communities will grow and change as all religious communities before them have. It is exciting to see newer communities and the ways the Holy Spirit continues to inspire people. But make no mistake, the Holy Spirit is alive and well in established religious communities who continue to live out their charism according to what Vatican II called the “signs of the times”.

Well, that’s my two cents (or three) on the article.

Your thoughts?

These are just a few Catholic resources on poverty that I have used and found helpful. Please add others that you have found helpful via the comment section below.

Catholic Charities USA on poverty in America

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Campaign for Human Development

Catholic Social Teaching Internet Resources

Pope Benedict XVI on Tackling Poverty

Putting a Face on Poverty

A “Dialogue” with Archbishop Oscar Romero

IHM Sisters Action Alerts

Mercy Volunteer Corps

Jesuit Volunteer Corps

I would love for you to get a feel of what Jubilee is like and who our women are. Here’s just a flavor. Will post more later.

I am in awe. Can you imagine what it’s like to celebrate 75 years in any life (religious life, married life, teaching, parenting, etc.)? What are you thinking?

I thought this was a great picture … so much symbolism.

So what’s the word about World Youth Day? Any readers there right now? If so, tell us how it’s going!

And for the rest of us, what are your thoughts about this year’s World Youth Day?

What words of hope and encouragement might Pope Benedict XVI offer to Catholic young people today?

A couple weeks ago I gave the first two installments from an interview I did with Sister Laurel O’Neal (blog: Notes from Stillsong Hermitage), a hermit of the Camaldolese Benedictine tradition — Interview with a Hermit – called by God and Interview with a Hermit – loneliness and community.

Here’s the final installment. How blessed we are that a hermit is blogging because we don’t often get to see what this vocation and lifestyle is like. The eremitical life (the vocation of being a hermit as recognized by the Catholic Church) is another way to live out God’s call to live fully and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

Here are my final questions and Sister Laurel’s responses …

3) How is the eremetical life a gift to the Church and world?

The eremitical life is a gift of profound love, wholeness and sanity in a world which lacks this so very often. I understand it as a life which takes human brokenness and weakness and allows them to be touched and transformed by the grace of God. “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” Probably every vocation does and says this, but I am not sure there is a more vivid example than that of a hermit who lives with, from, and for God alone, and comes to love others as much as possible only through and in God. We live in a world where people are often isolated and distrust the preciousness and meaningfulness of their own lives. The hermit says there is no need to doubt or distrust these things, especially if one is not rich or successful in worldly terms. God alone is sufficient for us, and if we can let that be true our lives have an almost infinite meaningfulness and import — no matter what the world says about such things!

Hermits like to see themselves as the heart of the church silently and steadily beating away at the core of things, mediating God’s grace to church and world. The hermitage is a small but powerful cell in the reality of the coming Kingdom allowing in it’s own tiny way, heaven and earth to interpenetrate each other. A gift to church and world calling each to their very best selves? That is what I think the hermit vocation is about.

4) What would you say to someone considering the eremitical life?

Good question. There is no one thing I would say, I guess. The first thing that tends to pop out is WHY??? Some of the things I would advise would include: have a good spiritual director who can assist you to really grow to human maturity and discern what is of the Spirit and what is not. Be clear that your motives for embracing such a life are rooted in love, love for God, for self, and for others. If you have substantial healing of your own to do, get to it before you make any commitments to eremitical life. The hermitage allows for such work to be done but actual commitments to the life need to have that out of the way as much as possible. Get yourself a decent theological grounding ( also as much as possible), and of course, PRAY!!!

Do you have any other questions for Sister Laurel? Even if you are not called to become a hermit, what are some things about hermits that you can (or would like to) reasonably incorporate into your own life?

A fellow blogging nun has posted a wonderful reflection that she gave to a group of lay people about religious life. This contemplative Redemptoristine sister (Order of the Most Holy Redeemer) writes the blog Contemplative Horizon. This reflection on religious life, she writes, is meant “to bring our lay friends up to date and give them a perspective concerning the current state of religious life. It was meant to give historical context, be reassuring and also to offer a bit of a challenge.”

The reflection, “To Pray Always” – Monastic Life into the 21st Century, begins with a great quote from Mark Twain …

After the London Times published his obituary, Mark Twain quipped to a lecture audience, “The report of my death was greatly exaggerated.”

Tonight I would like to assure you that reports of the death of monasticism, indeed the death of religious life, have been greatly exaggerated. Both are alive and well, though diminished in number. Indeed, if the record of history and culture is predictive and if, as a result, artistic imagination keeps bringing monastic images to our cultural radar screen, they will never die….

Please take the time to read Sister’s reflection and begin/continue a conversation with her and her readers. Also I’d love to hear what you think too. While the article is focused on monastic life, what take-aways do we have for our own vocations?

Now we get into the hopes people have regarding The Pope’s Visit. These responses come from my survey on The Pope’s visit (See all results posted thus far at “The Pope’s Visit Survey“.

In the survey, I asked the following:

How do you hope the Pope’s visit will affect the Catholic and/or US community?

Here are the results. Many responses hit on these significant themes: unity, hope, reconciliation and healing, encouragement, connection to the American context, justice and care for God’s creation, renewal, and faithfulness.

The results are unedited and in no particular order. Anything you’d like to add in response to this survey question?

• revive faith and belief/acceptance of ALL doctrine.
• I hope his love for God and people remind us of what is important in life. I also hope people see the profound simplicity of this man (he did not attend the State dinner at the White House, he was so joyful at seeing people in Washington.) He exudes kindness and compassion, and I think he is a wonderful example.
• It’s already made my coworkers ask about my faith and the Catholic church. Discussion.
• more unity and enthusiasm
• I think it will be needed attention to those who have been abused. It will inspire some to convert. It encourage those who identify, but may not embrace the religion completely.
• He really has very little effect on the US community or the ordinary catholic.
• I would hope that the unfairly blown-out-of-proportion, media-manufactured ‘sex scandal’ would be set aside finally; and that the Papal visit could unify American Catholics into a force for true social justice, one which loudly and publicly disclaims the scornful and shameful acts of nominally-Christian hyper-conservative extremists such as Fred Phelps, and seeks to bring the love, respect, and tolerance that Catholicism stands for back into the forefront of our faith’s public image.
• I wish he’d give the bishops a back bone to take a stand on politicians who receive communion but vote for abortions
• To give inspiration and hope in faith to an increasingly secular society.
• I hope that his visit continues to open the renewed spiritual awareness/revitalization that is happening in the US.
• I think that Trad’s will be happy.
• bring about a revival of faith
• I hoped that he would meet with victims of pedophile priests as they have been trying to meet with him for years. I would hope that he follows his words of being ashamed by actions – actually seeing that abusers are kicked out of the priesthood. On another note, I would hope that his message of peace would get through to Pres. Bush so that this war can finally end.
• Catholic Identity
• More unity.
• hope he can help the churchs image after the child abuse scandals
• Greater unity of spirit.
• I hope it will encourage American Catholics to a greater dedication to their faith and that it will help foster more vocations.
• I don’t think it will. I think it is too little too late. The church appears to have shut herself off from the people.
• I hope that Catholics will become very spirited and active in this world!
• Both. The Catholic Church is in need of healing, and Benedict may be the instrument. The US community needs the moral compass and integrity the Pope is.
• I would like to hear him speak to the public about how important it is that we do not lose our faith, especially in these times.
• I don’t think it will have any affect
• I would like to see a return to high liturgical practice (not the saying in Latin, but the reverence of high church for Eucharist and the traditional practice of liturgy. I would like to see Bishops brought to task for breaking cannon law in their practice of the liturgy.
• I’m hoping it’ll draw together the polarization we’ve had since 2000.
• Hope, healing and belief for the US Catholic Church
• Renewal and reconciliation.
• Unify!
• I hope we as the Catholic community will form a more personal connection with him.
• Healing. Inspire non-practicing Catholics to return to the faith and non-Catholics to see the richness of the Catholic faith.
• I hope the by his visit, he will be a sign of witness to the American Catholic community of Christ’s love and unity.
• I hope the Pope will be open enough to actually listen to the views of American Catholics, instead of ignoring them or trying to shut them down, but I have no great expectations.
• It would be nice to have him put the Church’s teachings in context for Americans.
• Strengthen and encourage Catholic community, esp. in the matter of vocations; help turn the mind of the country at large from conservatism towards morality, from moral relativism towards justice.
• For once the US Church will get to show its beautiful face during the coverage of the Papal liturgies instead of the media’s focus on the negative. And the Pope’s address to the UN will show how the Church can and does call all of us to peace and global responsibility. We are relevant in modern society!
• Healing
• I hope that it shows Catholics and non-Catholics that the Pope hears, listens and understands the US citizens’ anger, distrust, fear and hope ( a genuine hope on the part of believers of all faiths and at a minimum even a cynical hope from all others).
• Give us a greater sense of hope in efforts to be creation-centered and sensitive to ecological issues of Mother Earth.
• If he could teach us to look to the poor & vulnerable in our society…
• That Catholics here will be on fire for God and correct our sinful ways and be true to the gospel
• My hope is that it will renew the American Church, awake many of us from our apathy towards faith, renew in us an obedience to orthodox Church teaching, and I hope it will affect the entire American community in our recognition of human rights and the unreasonableness of war.
• I hope the visit will have everyone, and the Church, examine the many “big world” moral issues of the day (war, starvation, poverty)and be candid about the differences in thought and action on those issues between the US government, the Church, and the world’s peoples.
• Excite people about the possibility for imporvement. Truth is universal – discouraging people from discovering/learning/interpreting scripture is a fear mechanism – Truth should never have to operate in fear.
• I would hope for his visit to help reunite the community and remind the leaders of the true/real reason for the being of the Catholic church.
• I hope that Americans will be open to his message of love and hope and respect. I hope his visit will have a positive and maybe healing effect on people who have been wounded by the recent scandals or any kind of feelings of non-acceptance.
• Honestly, I really loved JPII & am still partial to him, but I guess I hope Benedict just gives the US Church some love & listening. There is enough moralizing out of Rome – just visit us as a “papa”. Oh & I hope he gives Bush an earful about the war!
• Bring the Church closer together.
• I hope that people are able to hear his strong positions on the need for peace in Iraq, the need to alleviate global poverty, the need for humanitarian solutions to the US immigration challenge, and the need to protect Earth from environmental destruction. Unfortunately, the only position that is ever picked up on in the media is the anti-abortion one.
• Hopefully cause the Catholic church in America to get its act together. We’re a lazy bunch.
• Renew a sense of hope for the institution and quicken a sense of spirituality among the faithful and a stimulate wonder within the non-faithful.

(a continuation of A Catalogue of My Favorites: Part I)

[M is for Mary, the Mother of God - your favorite term of endearment for her]: Ark of the Covenant

[N is for New Testament - your favorite passage]: “If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

[O is for Old Testament - your favorite book here]: Isaiah and the prophets

[P is for Psalms - your favorite]: Psalm 63.

[Q is for Quote - saint quote]: “It is better to illuminate than merely to shine.” Saint Thomas Aquinas

[R is for Rosary - your favorite mysteries]: The Luminous Mysteries

[S is for Saint - the one you turn to in time of need - not including the Blessed Virgin Mary]: Saint Teresa of Avila, Mother Theresa McGivney, IHM, Saint Ignatius of Loyola

[T is for Tradition - your favorite Catholic tradition]: The Liturgy of the Hours and anything with incense

[U is for University - Which Catholic university have you attended or are currently attending?]: I’ve got my bachelor’s degree from University of Saint Michael’s College (Basilian) at University of Toronto, my masters from Regis College (Jesuit), and some miscellaneous course work at Sacred Heart Major Seminary (diocesan) and Washington Theological Union (mix of religious communities). I also taught a few semesters at the University of Detroit Mercy.

[V is for Virtue - the one you wish you had]: Prudence … as in “Be not conformed to this world, but he reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

[W is for Way of the Cross - Which station can you most relate to?]: The fourth: Jesus Meets His Mother. In the movie The Passion, when Jesus meets his mother on the road to Calgary, he says “Behold I make all things new.” (from Revelations 21:5) I was so struck by that when I saw the movie that the image continues to stay with me.

[X is for Xaverian Brothers - Do you know who they are?]: Their patron is Saint Francis Xavier.

[Y is for your favorite Catholic musician]: Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) — writer, composer, musician

[Z is for Zeal for the faith]: Absolutely!