Yoshihiro Nakata is a 16-year-old “schoolgirl” who was just drafted by a professional baseball team in Japan. News sources say that Yoshida has a wicked side-armed knuckler that is unlike anything anyone has seen.

Yoshihiro will be the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball.

Full story from AFP – Schoolgirl knuckleballer headed to Japan pro league

A beauty contest for nuns? Forget that. How about a real demonstration of the life, ministry, community, prayer, skill, and passion of Catholic sisters? I’m talking some 3-on-3 basketball. Lace up your high-tops, ladies, we’re hitting the courts!

Think that’s crazy? Not at all. Nuns aren’t just a pretty picture or a nostalgic memory — we are alive and well, actively praying and living in today’s world. Whether we are contemplative nuns or apostolic nuns, we are Catholic women embracing life fully, ministering to the needs of others, and being a prayerful, compassionate presence in the world.

After reading about Miss Sister 2008, I and some of my readers started envisioning what sort of thing we might do instead of a beauty contest. What would be a cool (and respectful) way of helping people to get to know Catholic sisters and nuns and to understand a bit more about what a vocation to Catholic religious life is like?

Chuck got us started playing off of my suggestion about 3-on-3 basketball:

“The problem is that Vatican City never sends athletes to the olympics. I want to see a team of weightlifting nuns. Or Nuns curling at the winter games. That would shoot down some stereotypes.”

So give us some more ideas … there’s got to be some great ways Catholic sisters and nuns can breakdown stereotypes and replace them with a more compelling image of who we are.

Last night Chicago witnessed one of the most spectacular storms — also very dangerous. Here’s my story of the storm.

Not one to believe weather reports, I hopped on my bike after work yesterday and went riding downtown with my buddy Carol. We parked our bikes at Ohio Street Beach, right at the foot of Navy Pier. The beach is almost always populated during the summer,  and the stretch of Lake Michigan water that goes along the board walk is a place that many swimmers do laps (it’s where I trained for my triathlon last year).

It was about 6 p.m. and the sky was cloudy, but not threatening in any way. We locked up our bikes and biking gear and hit the water. Immediately we noticed that the water was higher than usual — normally you can walk for 1/4 mile + out but even before we got to the bouys, the water was nearly neck high. We swam a bit but mostly chatted. It was so great to cool off. Then off in the distance I saw a flash light up the sky over Lake Michigan. “Uh, Carol, i think that was lightening.” “Oh, it’s way off. We’ve got plenty of time,” replied Carol. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure lightening travels faster than you or I can swim,” I said. We kept going out but as soon as we saw the next, closer flash of light, we headed back toward the beach. Swimmers were still heading out, but as the sky got darker, I was glad we were heading in.

Just as we saddled up our bikes and started riding through downtown towards home, the rain hit. Big, huge drops of rain that hit with a thud and exploded like a water balloon. Still we weren’t too worried because we were already soaked from swimming and the extreme humidity, but as darkness descended we began to wonder if we’d be able to get ahead of the storm. Unfortunately neither of us had bike lights because we didn’t expect to be out late nor did we expect the premature darkness. So we rode safely but swiftly. About 2 1/2 miles from home, we parted ways, each to our own abode. By then the lightening was all around us, the rain pouring down, and the darkness swallowing up the city. It was as beautiful as it was terrifying.

Fortunately good bicycling skills and adrenaline took over. I took side streets home, riding through a few flooded streets and trying to stay away from lightening, trees blowing precariously in the wind, and wavering cars. Truly it was exhilarating though probably not all together smart. I finally got to my house. I had to walk between my brownstone and my neighbor’s. The alley was lit up like a night game at Wrigley. I could feel the lightening reverberating all around me. I threw my bike over my shoulder, hopped up my back stairs and prayed that my metal door would not electrocute me. Somehow I got me and the bike inside, climbed another set of stairs and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I reached my flat. Pfew!

I realized how scary the situation was when the tornado siren started going off. Carol called having gotten home safely. We hung up, and I went to find my cat. I picked up Chloe the Convent Cat, held her close, and sat in my hallway for a good 10 minutes. The wind and rain were whipping the building and trees relentlessly. I cleaned up quickly and packed my backpack anticipating a quick escape if necessary. Cat food? check. Water? check. Flashlight? … flashlight? … where the heck are my D batteries?? Wallet? check. Cell phone? …. is it really almost out of juice? … argh! So much for emergency preparedness. Towel? check. Safari hat? check. Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Once packed, I went around the entire house and unplugged everything, except one fan and my cell phone that was recharging. Exhausted, I lay in bed – sneakers and all. Chloe sat nestled in my arm oblivious to the non-airconditioned heat. Long story short, we made it through the night. Fitfully. The damage in my neighborhood wasn’t too bad. And we still had power, unlike many in Chicago — including my buddy Carol. So this morning bright and early I went over to pick up her three over-heated cats and bring them to the convent. Soon after Carol followed. Then it was off to work!

Now, its after 8 p.m. My house guests — Carol, her three cats, and her Mac laptop are settled in and happy to have a cool, powered home to hang out in. As for me and Chloe, it’s time for bed. I have some much needed sleep to catch up on, and Chloe needs some loving since having house guests detracts attention away from her!

My prayers are with all those who are suffering in the aftermath of the storm.

It’s not often that nuns get a mention in the world of pro cycling. Emma Pooley — who rides for Team Specialized and is a contender for the British Olympics cycling team — details her experience riding the Tour de l’Aude on Cycling Weekly’s blog. Here’s a snippet of her post:

Stage 1, Gruissan, 3.9 km prologue
Friday, May 16

It wasn’t an overly technical course but I cornered like a nun in a habit (actually that’s not fair; a nun would at least have had faith), and in a short little time trial like that you can lose a lot of time…

Sadly I could not comment on the post because no comments are allowed. So I will write my comment on my own blog.

Dear Emma,

First and foremost, congratulations on being a top cyclist! Your diary about riding the Tour de L’Aude inspires me to keep pushing through my own difficult rides. And congrats on being in the top 10 at the Montreal World Cup. Way to go!

Now, regarding your comment about having “cornered like a nun in a habit,” permit me to offer a few comments.

As a Catholic nun and road biker, I find that most cycling nuns (and there are a number of us, for example, visit Sister Sandy at Nunsuch blog) do not wear a habit when riding. There are issues with chain grease getting all over our skirts, flying strings of rosary beads jamming our Campy drivetrain, heat rash from wearing the veil under our helmets, and other such inconveniences. Normally we wear the habit of a cyclist — a nice wicking jersey, classic spandex shorts, a sturdy yet lightweight helmet, and cushy gloves. Yes, we even have clipless cycling shoes and slick-looking sunglasses.

And when we do hit those technical corners, we rely not only on our faith but on our skill as cyclists. This skill far supercedes our choice of habit for the ride. Whether we are in nun habits or cycling habits, we know how take a corner. No flapping scapular is going to slow us down. So next time you write about a time when you really rocked it out and deftly handled technical corners, be sure to mention that indeed you rode “like a nun.”

Blessings,
Sister Julie

Last year I wrote often about biking, running and swimming because I was training for a triathlon (which I completed!) but this year, without that goal, I’ve been a bit lax about working out. Yes, even nuns workout. I come from an athletic background having biked a lot and played team sports and just been an outdoorsy kind of gal. So with all that said, it felt GREAT to get on my road bike this morning and crank out some miles commuting to work. My good friend Carol and I are going for a 20+ mile ride after work. I used this great web site … Map My Ride … to map the ride so that we can get a good 20 miles in. i also used the Chicago Bike Map to find the safest streets and trails to ride on. The ride takes us through city streets, neighborhoods, parks, forest preserves and along the Chicago River. What fun! (And also very economical because I don’t have to go to the gas pump!)

One thing that I love about cycling is that it is very meditative for me (unless in major traffic). There’s a wonderful rhythm of breathing and repetition and being in sync with oneself and the bike — for me it is conducive for meditation. When I am done cycling, I’m tired, but I also feel very centered and can easily slip into prayer.

What practice helps you to slip into prayer?

This past week has been a whirlwind for me, hence my blog absence. On the weekend my sister and brother-in-law, two nephews, and aunt visited.

We had a ton of fun — dinner at Giordano’s for some Chicago-style pizza, a day at the Shedd Aquarium and a visit with the Komodo Dragon, a river/lake boat ride around Chicago with architectural highlights and a lock, a walk through Millennium Park, 30-miles of cycling on Bike the Drive, more parks, lunch at Portillo’s, and shopping at IKEA. WOW — 60s hours of some serious fun and family bonding! After the fam left on Monday a.m. I cleaned, did laundry, ran errands, and packed for a nun week away.

I’m currently hanging out in Ohio near the Great Black Swamp — enjoying my time away and the opportunity to get some of my own work and writing done. (More on the Great Black Swamp later!)

This weekend I’ll head up to Monroe, Michigan, to my IHM Motherhouse for a few engagements and meetings.

My Internet connection has been spotty so rather than frustrate myself, I’ve abstained from too much online activity. But it’s getting better so I think I’m back. Ah the joys of traveling with uncertain connectivity!

After hanging with my nuns, doing some laundry, updating my blog, and shopping for groceries, I pulled out the bike gear for another cycling adventure. Funny thing was, the forecast was 90% chance of rain — didn’t rain while I was running errands, but as soon as I slipped my helmet on for a ride, go figure, it started raining. Undaunted nun biker that I am, I got on my bike and headed out. Met up with buddy Carol outside Loyola Press and then we continued toward the Lake Shore trail.

Along Addison, we hit all kinds of people and car traffic. The Cubs game was in the final inning and people were flowing into the streets (Cubs blew the Pirates out of the water 13-1). Love Wrigley Field, “the friendly confines”.

By the time we got to the lakeshore (just about a mile or so), the fog had rolled in. Couldn’t see the skyline, the lake, or even your front wheel!

Went south for a while, dodging bikers and runners — all of us spattered with rain and weaving through the fog. Got off at Fullerton and parked at our destination: The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Locked down the bikes (street cuffs, u-lock, and 3 kryptonite cables plus a prayer to the angels for protection) and went inside to warmth and dryness!

It’s a pretty educational museum. Lots of kids and stuff to interact with and read. Saw the river exhibit, some snakes and spiders and stick-looking bugs and turtles. Went through the butterfly room — a little unnerving to have dive-bombing butterflies. Glad I still had my helmet. They also had a great exhibit called The Extreme Green Room.

Another great exhibit was Cool Globes. Sixth grade students from 34 Chicago public schools created mini-globes that showcase solutions to global warming, as perceived from a child’s viewpoint. If you go along Chicago’s lakefront from the Field Museum north to Navy Pier you can see the full exhibit of over 100 sculpted globes each 5 feet in diameter. Check out www.coolglobes.org.

After the museum, Carol and I saddled up the bikes again and headed into the city for coffee. Along the way we ran into a pink bunny … it was Patty, a woman dressed up in a furry bunny suit encouraging people to help work for a cure for breast cancer. It’s a passion of hers, she said, as well as helping to raise money to fight AIDS, a significant work for which Mayor Daley himself has recognized Patty. Rock on, Patty. Great work you are doing. Thank you.

Well, so that was the bike adventure of the weekend. Hope to get out again later today but am also trying to catch up on emails and blog comments. Have a good one!

Sister Julie

Yesterday my buddy Carol and I went for a post-work bike ride. It was terribly windy so instead of doing the Lake Shore Trail, we rode through the neighborhood and along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Lots of kids were at the parks, and there were other bikers and runners and dog-walkers on the trail.

It was just great to get out and ride. The other day I had put on new tires for the new season. Old tires were more knobby for real mountain biking, but this summer I’ll be more about road biking. So I changed to something a bit more slick but still capable of jumping potholes now and again.

About midway on our ride, we hopped off the trail to head for a Starbucks. It’s then that we saw him … ELVIS!

I rode by Elvis, my heart pitter-pattering …. “it’s ELVIS,” I yelled to all who would hear me … and I waved as I biked by. How awesome is that. Minutes later, Carol and I landed at Starbucks, enjoying free cups of Pike Place Blend (coupons were in the Red Eye). After coffee, we went back to see if Elvis was still cranking out the tunes. Sure enough there he was.

We stopped and chatted with him for a bit. He said he’s known as the Assyrian Elvis in these parts. Favorite Elvis song, I asked? “Mama,” he replied. Elvis comes out every so often, parks on the side of the busy road, blasts Elvis music and plays and sings along. You rock, Elvis!

It’s SNOWING! I’m terribly excited about the snow … we had a little bit on Saturday (I was bike riding as the snow began to fall — see post-ride photo) but last night it really came down. I absolutely love the snow.

When we were kids my parents would take us kids tobogganning at the local park — it was awesome. This was no neighborhood park-ette, but a huge forest you could lose yourself in for days. When we would go tobogganning, we could go a full 3-5 minutes down this huge hill, duck around a 15 foot drop (Dad accidentally took us down that once), enter a densely forested area (yup, hit a tree a few times), cut across an open space and end up at the edge of a river. It was the coolest, most awesomest ride ever. My Dad was a master at ye old toboggan. I know he enjoyed it as much as we kids did. Mom usually stayed up top with a steady supply of hot chocolate, extra mittens, and a warm hug.

So now whenever it snows, I always feel this excitement along with a profound sense of gratitude for the beauty of creation. These Scripture verses echo in my heart:

Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

~ Daniel 3:67-70