AS107 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 28, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Guest: Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson. Topics include: nuns in history books, following God’s call into chaos, saying yes to God when tempted to say no, and more!

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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!

SPECIAL GUEST: Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson, professor of History at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where she also holds appointments in the departments of religion, political science, and women and gender studies.

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

• I want to study the history of Catholic sisters. Can I find that in a Women’s Studies course? In a U.S. History course?
• Why does history include primarily the experience of men but not women (let alone nuns)?
• In ecclesiastical history, which is often organized by a bishop’s term of office, where do Catholic sisters and nuns fit into that kind of organizational scheme?
• Dr. Thompson offers suggestions around how to research the history of congregations of women religious
• What if I take a risk and follow where I think God is calling me, and then all hell breaks loose? Is it a sign I should quit? Is God testing me or what? The nuns discuss a number of themes including Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s understanding of consolation and Saint Alphonsus of Liguori’s understanding of “il distacco” or “detachment“
• In scripture, Mary said yes to God without hesitation. But what if we’re tempted to say no?

On the broadcast we mentioned a number of great resources on Catholic sisters and nuns in history. Check ‘em out!

• Dr. Thompson’s own 18-lecture series on The History of Women Religious in the United States. The publishers of this series, Now You Know Media, have provided the first lecture for free. Listen to the Introduction and Lecture 1: Discovering Foremothers: Origins of Women’s Religious Life.
• Dr. Thompson on our show “In Good Faith” back in 2011
• Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Women and Gender in North American Religions. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1997. (be sure to check out the bibliography which we’ll post as a PDF asap!)
• Weavers of the Tapestry – the story of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland by Kathrine E. Bellamy, RSM (2006)
• Rebel, reformer, religious extraordinaire: the life of Sister Irene Farmer by Geraldine Anthony (1997)
• Work by Elizabeth Smythe including Wisdom Raises Her Voice: the Sisters of St. Joseph (2001)
• Work by Rosa Bruno-Jofréas at the University of Ottawa on Canadian French-speaking sisters
• Conference on the History of Women Religious

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.

IGF010 In Good Faith with Sister Barbara Reid, OP, PhD, recorded live on June 2, 2011. Produced by aNunsLife.org ministry. The nuns talk with Sister Barbara about finding God in everyday life, Sacred Scripture, prayer, biblical spirituality, and more!
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Guest: Sister Barbara Reid, OP

Sister Barbara Reid, OP, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and is professor of New Testament and vice president and academic dean at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Her most recent books are Taking Up the Cross: New Testament Interpretations Through Latina and Feminist Eyes , The Gospel According to Matthew: New Collegeville Bible Commentary Series , the three-volume work Parables for Preachers, and Choosing the Better Part? Women in the Gospel of Luke.

Topic: The sisters talk with Sister Barbara about her experience of living faith in everyday life, drawing on her work as a scripture scholar and as VP/academic dean of CTU, the first woman to hold that role.

Show Notes:

• The Bible as a way to understand our present experience of God in light of the experience of our ancestors in the faith
• New to the Bible? Suggestions for how to get started
• Conflicting images of God in the scriptures – who is the “real” God?
• Jesus, the incarnation of the loving God
• Biblical spirituality
• Ways to pray with the Bible
• Saint Dominic’s Nine Ways of Prayer
• Women in the scriptures and their messages for us today
• ”Feminism” – a commitment to dignity and equality for all people
• How the feminist perspective challenges interpretations of scripture that justify violence and abuse
• How to keep the scriptures “fresh”

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.

Catholic? Feminist? That’s right. Catholic sisters and nuns were some of the first feminists in the U.S. and across the globe.

I just read an interesting post To “write women back into history,” include the first feminists: Women Religious by Linda Stamato, co-director of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and a member of the graduate faculty at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University

Now before we go on here, let me clarify “feminist” because too often it is a word that is used to polarize and demonize women. As Megan Sweas, a young Catholic and feminist pointed out in an article she wrote last year for U.S. Catholic, feminists and feminism is often dismissed (usually with some amount of hostility, I might add) as “too radical, man-hating, or pro-choice”. I think she sums it up well and gives a good view of the challenges of and the connections between being both Catholic and feminist. I encourage you to read her article Catholic and feminist: You got a problem with that? (January 2009, Volume 74, Number 1; pages 23-25).

Back to Stamato’s article:

Roman Catholic Sisters built and managed hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions that served millions of people in America long before similar positions were open to women.  But Women’s History Month rarely mentions them or their contributions.  It’s time it did. The scope and quality of the institutions they created and sustained, and, indeed, their acts of mercy, manifest courage, conviction and selflessness, have been nothing short of extraordinary.

She goes on to mention some of the contributions of Catholic sisters and nuns which were detailed in Resolution 441 by U.S. House of Representatives. She writes of this resolution that it is “an action that applauds the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic Sisters in the United States, while at the same time recognizing that these women have led community lives dedicated to prayer and service, ‘fearlessly and often sacrificially committing their personal lives to teaching, healing, and social action.’”

Stamato also notes the traveling exhibit Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America which celebrates the history of American Sisters in the Roman Catholic Church and was created by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

There are other great stories of Catholic sisters and nuns in her article. She concludes saying,

On the 30th Anniversary of Women’s History Month, can’t we give new and special meaning to the theme, “Writing Women Back into History,” and include the first feminists? They deserve the recognition, this month, and every month, for what they have given: selfless service to those in need of an education, health care, support and inspiration. And for what they continue to do, much as they have done since they began their work centuries earlier. Truly, these are women of history. It is their lives too, their work too, their exercise of leadership, their legacy and their continued works of charity, generosity, caring and mercy that this month should also seek to acknowledge and respect.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone) at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Today’s post continues a conversation from the last few days about Sister Sandra Schneiders’ writing. Sister Sandra has written and presented much on Religious Life. To each endeavor she brings herself and the variety of “coordinates” from which she speaks: a Catholic woman, an IHM Sister, an internationally recognized scholar in Scripture and in Religious Life, Professor Emerita at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

When addressing topic it’s not always easy (or desirable) for an author to speak only from one “coordinate”. In this context we’re talking about the specific issue of Religious Life, which is my lived experience and also the lived experience of my IHM Sister Sandra. It’s not always easy or even possible to separate oneself from the subject of inquiry.

Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson, known as “Peggy” here at A Nun’s Life, has graciously given us permission to post an essay she wrote on this topic. Click on the link below to view a PDF of her essay.

Concentric Circles of Sisterhood

Introduction to Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, Michigan (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997)

by Margaret Susan Thompson, PhD

Associate Professor of History and Political Science at Maxwell School of Syracuse University

A note about the use of “feminist” in Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary … The IHM congregation has a long history of what today we would call “feminism.” The word has many different meanings. It’s rooted in the belief that all people deserve respect, equality, and justice. Many women around the world lack these things and suffer as a result. In this regard, feminists are women and men who desire a world where the fullness of life is available to all people. “Feminism” also refers to a perspective. For much of recorded history, the experience of women was articulated by men. Feminists are women who articulate their own experience as women, and this can yield a perspective on events, such as the birth of a child or the decision to enter religious life, that may be very different from the perspective of men.

There’s more information about the feminist perspective in Dr. Thompson’s introduction to Building Sisterhood.