I heart U2

I went to their amazing concert last week, and the priest who drove us introduced me to this version of one of my favorites.....
love them.

Another reason I love DC

You can go to a gallery and see something beautiful like this statue at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

For wretches!

I've just discovered that the talks given by Fr. Kim Schreck at a retreat I went on are posted online: St Paul and the Heart of Christ.

I highly recommend them, especially for young women since it was given for us!

That's just weird

I found a CD with files from 2007- including the wretch database. I went about updating it really simply and discovered something which I think can't be right but might be; there's an even split between states of life: 10 religious and 10 married.

How can we get a real update??? What are the odds of such evenness?? There are 89 women on the list, some of whom I don't even know/ have never met/ don't have their last name. ha. And I totally forgot some of your names.

PS- I included in that count the wretch leaving us in September for the sisters of life... hope y'all got that happy email!

Interesting

The fact that the Pope isn't jumping on the Internet makes me very happy, not unhappy as some react (see Whispers for a somewhat disgruntled take on it)

This is not unrelated to my previous post. I would disagree that the Successor of Peter should be spending time in front of a computer screen or text messaging or whatever. Perhaps instead of seeing this as "yet another Vatican media blunder" we should see it as the Pope saying something. There's no argument from silence, of course, but he has said enough by way of caution that we could read a bit into it. From the World Day of Communications:

"It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbors and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation," he stated. "If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."


The irony of my posting this on a blog is not lost on me. I'm heading out to the world again now :)

Put it down...

For a nice explanation of how I feel about cell phones, check out this video pointing out the ways that they are used. (My objection is not centered on that, but it is certainly evidence of a problem.)

We've all been in situations when someone opts out of whatever's going on, especially if there's awkwardness, to make a phone call or text someone. I've certainly done it a few times only to kick myself afterward. But what this guy says about it is right on and definitely how I feel if someone texts or calls another while we're hanging out-- "Anything coming out of this device is more important than you." Often I think it's just out of ignorance or lack of reflection; they don't mean to be rude. But.

Along these same lines, I have a certain amount of respect and love for those people who I know will almost never answer their phone or get to responding to an email right away. These facts seem to be serious affronts to a lot of people who've bought into this availability thing--"You are available to me at any time"-- but because I know that's not true- nor should it be- I see the so-called lack of communication as a sign that they are really being present where they are. (Which incidentally means that when I'm with them, I, too, get their full attention.) Seems a much more human way to be.

"Embryo adoption"

This article by Janet Smith on so-called embryo adoption, reveals serious problems in the argument for this 'compassionate solution' which does not take the body seriously enough.

Smith’s assertion that gestating a child not conceived with one’s spouse does not break the marital bond reduces the bond of marriage to one of will alone. If both spouses agree to “adopt” this embryo, Smith seems to suggest, then there’s nothing wrong with it. But when a man and a woman marry, the marital act that joins the two in one flesh is not simply a means to an end (either babies or unity) but one that expresses the truth of who they are now: given to one another. In this way, the entire process of the conception and gestation of a new life is a continuation of this expression of the love of husband and wife. It is only because her husband loves and has given himself to his wife that she can become a mother. One does not marry motherhood or fatherhood, but a person who may become one or the other, if God wills it.

Certainly if life begins at conception, it continues without interruption in gestation and should be respected and allowed to mature in this context of love. I am shocked that Smith would suggest that “some forms of ‘surrogacy’ be permissible” when the Church has uniformly spoken against it (see Donum Vitae 3 for a very clear explanation of why) and Dignitas Personae is clear about this, saying it is not licit “in any form”(19).

Clearly the process of “embryo adoption” removes not only the man completely but also the woman from the generation of this new life. Regardless of intention, the woman’s body is being used as the means to an (admittedly desirable) end.

I will just echo the words of Dignitas Personae, which deal with this question specifically and Smith never quotes in her article, “All things considered, it needs to be recognized that the thousands of abandoned embryos represent a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved”(19). Regardless of the technology that is made available, the basic principles outlined again and again by the Church reiterate that sex and procreation may not be separated. Not for any reason, however noble.

Well said

A letter from Fr. Carron (leader of Communion and Liberation) called A Mercy Challenging Us about the Pope's letter to the bishops about all this excommunication business.

Earth and Moon reunited

I was excited to visit with Sr. Beatrice this past weekend. She is doing quite well and she's quite goofy; more herself, I think, than I've ever seen her. Yay! This fun will hopefully be repeated in July for Sr. Anna's final profession of vows.

Pandora email (who am I?)

To whom it may concern:

I have really been enjoying Pandora for the past few months; but lately I have noticed some advertisements on my page which are deeply disturbing to me. I understand the necessity of advertising on this service, but as you (I assume) tailor it to the customer, I assume that you could also make adjustments if necessary. Since I am a young woman, Pandora is currently running an ad about Plan B on my site. Please remove this advertisement from my page.

It must be, at least to some extent, your responsibility to know about your advertisers. I encourage you to look at the Plan B website. It is incredibly manipulative-- under "how plan B works" it says absolutely nothing about what it does to a woman's body, or a pregnancy-- which is precisely what a woman wants to know if she clicks on that link-- it only ambiguously "assures" women that Plan B is not an "abortion pill".

Having just finished a paper on contraception for a conference, I am precisely the last 26-year-old woman who wants to see this advertisement on a website that serves as a radio station.

Poor Clare Kirsten!

Friends-
I interrupt my normal non-blogging-ness to make this short announcement: I just received a card about Kirsten (Sr. Flower... or something like that). She will receive her habit as a novice in the Poor Clares on November 1st. I'll miss her parlor visit day but I'm definitely making it to the mass in Alexandria. Anyone with me?

Saying Goodbye

My friends know how I feel about saying goodbye: I don't like it, not one bit.

This summer has brought many goodbyes. Matt and Lucy (Sr. Sea) and their son, John-Matthew, are moving back to Houston on Friday. Their departure leaves this achy, sad, empty thing in me even though I know it's for the best and that they must go. I want heaven now.

NFP vs. Contraception

My students are so cool. They gave me the tip about these videos on NFP vs. contraception.

(They just took a test on that-- I love my job.)

More friends!

Above: Fr. Scalia directing bishops

Below: You can see Fr. James Cuddy, OP and Fr. David Sharland

Sisterly Sightings

Sister Joan Marie (center) and Sister Maris Stella (lower right) of the Sisters of Life order celebrate after meeting Pope Benedict XVI following an ecumenical prayer service at the Church of St. Joseph in New York on April 18, 2008. The Pope addressed 250 Protestant and Orthodox leaders and 50 Catholics involved in ecumenical efforts. The parish was founded in 1873 to serve German immigrants in the area.
(Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images)















Look closely at the bottom center and you can see our Rachel who I'm sure is talking to Sr. Mariana as the Sisters of Mary were also present at the Pope's address to youth and seminarians at Dunwoodie Seminary.
(Photo from Ivy Catholic's blog)

Wretched Reunion

March 13-16 was a Come & See weekend for the Sisters of Life and as an added bonus, a mini-reunion for several Wretches in various discernment stages. Pictured clockwise starting from the left is Shamrock, Fire (Rachel, S.V. postulant), Dawn, Light and Sr. Joan Marie (Rain).

Light was gracious enough to play the song she wrote inspired by St. Therese for all of us as it has become a favorite amongst the postulants (my apologies for the bootlegness of this video).

Our dear Rachel passed along an incredible piece of text written by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI on the root of our wretchedness,

"In what does man's wretchedness actually consist? Above all in his insecurity; in the uncertainties with which he is burdened; in the limitations that oppress him; in the lack of freedom that binds him; in the pain that makes his life hateful to him. Ultimately there is, behind all this, the meaninglessness of his existence that offers satisfation neither to himself nor to anyone else for whom it might have been necessary, irreplaceable, consequential. We can say, then, that the root of a man's wretchedness is loneliness, is the absence of love - is the fact that my existence is not embraced by a love that makes it necessary, that is strong enough to justify it despite all the pain and limitations it imposes...What man needs is a communion that goes beyond that of the collective; a unity that reaches deep into the heart of man and endures even in death. The human unity that man requires by nature must know how to answer the problem of death in which it must find its truest confirmation...Man cannot identify himself with God, but God has identified himself with man - that is the content of the communion that is offered us in the Eucharist. A communio that offers less offers too little."

Article worth reading

From the Post Magazine, about marriage amidst suffering: The Vow

Project Clean out Closet: Accomplished

Here you see a picture of my closet. WIth the exceptions of coats/jackets, every piece of clothing I own is in there,

and boy does it feel great.

Leave it to me

...to be in the middle of the biggest disciplinary/cheating mess the school has seen in 30 years. Cheating in theology class; who knew it was so popular?



Happy Christmas!

Gossip Girl

Open Letter to (Anonymous Student) about Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar


Dear Student,

Thank you so much for letting me borrow your book and enter into this "teenage world" for a brief time. I truly appreciate it. I hope that you enjoy Mr. Blue.

As I mentioned already in class, I did not "enjoy" reading Gossip Girl. Some of the reasons you already know or have guessed, but others I am sure you have not. Firstly, as a piece of literature, it is very poorly written. It uses teen language; I can see why that may be attractive, but it means that it does not teach you how to write better. In fact, it encourages a certain mediocrity in writing. There is no intellectual challenge in reading a book like this. I know, you're saying, "That's the point," but it is worth thinking about. There is not depth to the story, the characters or the situations. They are not complex; They are not truly dramatic. Drama requires tension, confusion, subtlety... this book lacks all of those things.

The characters are fairly superficial. I am not sure why I should care about what happens to any of them, or who I am supposed to identify with. Their personal struggles or issues are trivialized (Blair's eating disorder, Jenny's body image, everyone's family situation). They are one-dimensional: Serena is mysterious; Blair is envious and insecure; Nate is attractive but doesn't seem to have a personality; Vanessa is a proud artist; Dan is "brooding" and has a superficial crush; Jenny is a size 34D; Chuck is horny and likes to use girls to satisfy himself; That's all we really know about these characters.

Friendships in this book are superficial, even while they are supposedly lifelong. They are focused on material things, looks, and rumors. Serena and Blair, supposedly "best friends," did not even speak when Serena was away. Serena never told Blair about her fling with Nate. The way the other girls tear Serena down is sad and reveals serious lacks of self esteem. (If you are secure in yourself and in your beauty/worth, you have no need to tear others down. That is why most people grow out of that unattractive and destructive habit.) Love means building others up. I wouldn't want to be friends with any of these girls because I would be constantly judged and my every action scrutinized. I would always have to be performing for them.

Male-female relationships in this book are likewise superficial. None of these girls are being loved by the guys they are "with"; They are being used. To be fair to the guys, the girls are using them right back. (For example, when Blair decides that she wants to have sex with Nate, she does not even consider that he might want to talk first, or might have something to say [which we discover he does]; She undresses even before he arrives. Was that out of love for him?) Even setting aside the most obvious problem (that sex is considered casually as a natural next step, as "no big deal" and nothing special, which you already know is untrue), it is clear that the characters are not interested in what is good for the other person, only in what they want for themselves.

Would any of these characters suffer for another? If you think that someone loves you, you should ask yourself, "Would they suffer for me?" Most of us have at least one or two examples of this love in our parents. But it doesn't seem like any of these characters know that kind of love- even from their own parents- and that is tragic. They want to be loved but they do not even know or believe that true love- the kind that suffers for and with the one loved, and lasts forever- exists and is for them. This book is full of characters settling for less than they deserve. It worries me that you read this book because I want to tell you that LOVE is REAL! It does not require a certain body type; It does not require fancy outfits or cars or sex; It does not demand or seek to use you in any way. This is the truth. This is what doesn't sell and isn't on TV— because it also hurts. But it is what is most beautiful and, in the end, the only thing that matters.

Jesus is way better, way more dramatic, and way more interesting than Gossip Girl.