When I started staying at home full-time, I felt very isolated. I didn’t have many friends who were moms, and I had even fewer friends who were moms that stayed at home.
Philip’s busy at the hospital, and it’s not uncommon for him to be unable to call during the day. When we do connect, our visits are limited to a quick check-in, and I’m usually chasing after someone or in the middle of some housework.
During the week, I tend to get so focused on completing my daily do-it list and playing with the kiddos that some days it’ll be 5:30 p.m., Philip’s calling on his way home, and I realize I haven’t talked to anyone other than Janie or Walt all day. Shooting off a quick e-mail, responding to a Facebook message, or sending a text to check in with a friend has become my default rather than making a phone call during the day. Perhaps if I had a sweet headset I’d be more likely to call friends and family as I fold laundry, unload dishes, or do something else. I’d feel too guilty sitting on the couch in the middle of the day, chatting away. I don’t pick up the phone because either the person I’m going to call is at work or is another stay-at-home mom and I don’t want to interrupt precious naptime when she’s able to get things done or have quiet time.
E-mailing, Facebook, and texting can all be wonderful, but unless there’s a real relationship there that’s maintained by regular face-to-face interactions, it remains a superficial way to communicate. So, feeling isolated and in need of more mom friends, I decided to develop the art of picking up moms.
I am quickly learning that a good mom friend is invaluable. She’s right in the trenches with you, she shares her tricks, she offers a helping hand, she listens on the rotten days, she shares her horror stories, she offers her prayers, she reminds you that taking care of yourself is not selfish, she makes you feel like a good mom, she leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the laundry.
So, if you’re not blessed to have these women magically fall into your life or transition with you from singledom to marriage and into parenthood, you have to make it happen. They’re not going to ring on your doorbell with a plate of cookies and ask you for a playdate. You’ve gotta get out there, get in touch with your mommy pick up skills, and convince these mamas that you and your children are worth getting to know better.
So, how do you do it? I’d say it comes down to a few basic steps:
Get out and go where the mamas and children are
Observe the mamas and children in action
Strike up a conversation with the awesome mamas
Suggest meeting up again
I’ll write about my experience with picking up moms for playdates and how I’ve done those 4 steps in my next post. Stay tuned!
I’ve been taking pictures of our burning bushes and lilac bush since they started blooming a few weeks ago. It’s incredible how quickly the blooms explode!
The burning bush
The lilac bush
I’ve always considered it a blessing to live in the northern hemisphere where the climate naturally lends itself to the liturgical calendar. Say whhhhhaaaaaaaat, crazy Catherine? Hear me out.
I’m a visual learner and, well, I can be pretty dense, so it’s helpful that my natural surroundings mirror what’s happening in the Church calendar.
In the fall, we have the beautiful burst of color before the plant life begins to die and fade into winter. In the wintertime of Advent, while we’re waiting for the Light of the World to arrive on Christmas Day, the days become increasingly shorter until the winter solstice on December 21.
Just when we’re getting the hang of celebrating Christ’s birth, we enter the season of Lent, where we prepare for his Passion. The season of self-denial is mirrored in the stark, brown landscape. As we approach Holy Week, there are signs of life again outside. The plants and trees start to bud, and the birds sing in the early morning. We even get the beautiful Easter Lilies, announcing with their big, trumpet-like petals that Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Throughout the late spring and into summer when nature is in full bloom, we get to celebrate the month of Mary in May, Divine Mercy Sunday, Ascension, the Church’s birthday on Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the Assumption of Mary.
I am so excited to share information about some solid, Catholic programs for youth!
Let’s quickly get the bad news out of the way. Not all after-school programs are created equal. I would take that a step further and say that not all after-school programs have business taking place in our Catholic schools and parishes.
Unfortunately, after reading about the Girl Scouts of America and their connection with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), I’d put the Girl Scouts in the category of not belonging in the Catholic school setting. To find out why, read about the organization’s ties to Planned Parenthood and WAGGGS here, here, here, and here. Be sure to read the “Happy, Healthy, Hot” sexual education flier distributed by WAGGGS.
Instead of dwelling on all of that, let’s talk about two great programs geared for Catholic youth!
I hope you will prayerfully consider bringing these two programs to your parish:
Here’s a little history on the publishing company that started the Little Flowers Girls’ Club and the Blue Knights Club for Boys:
In home-schooling, mom – Joan Stromberg – found an abundance of Christian material to integrate into unit studies, yet a notable lack of Catholic material. Using her degree in journalism and history, she decided to bring Mother Cabrini to life in a way that would appeal to children ages 7-12 while teaching them solid American History at the same time. The Glory of America series was then born, through which the values, traditions, and heritage of our Catholic American past can be passed on to our children.
Since then the company continued to grow in its service of the Faith by publishing the club guides and material for the Little Flowers Girls’ Club and the Blue Knights Club for Boys, developed repsectively by Rachel Watkins and Major Dan McGuire. These two product lines are amazing tools for training our children in wholesome Catholic human formation and cultivating in them a life of virtues and authentic Catholic morals.
AWESOME! An authentically Catholic after-school program that any parish could adopt and be proud of!
I’m obviously ecstatic about both the boys’ and girls’ clubs, but I’m especially encouraged to see a girls’ club that celebrates femininity in a fun, age-appropriate after-school program.
Here’s a little on the Little Flowers Girls’ Club:
Little Flowers Girls’ Club® is a Catholic program for girls ages 5 and up based on learning Catholic virtues through the lives of Catholic saints, Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Developed by a Catholic mom of eleven, Rachel Watkins, and based on Fr. Lasance’s Catholic Girls’ Guide, the Club strives to bring the Catholic faith alive and inspire the girls to become authentic Catholic women.
Each club is run at the local level…there is no national organization, registration or database of groups. If you are looking for a group in your area, please contact your local Catholic parish or Catholic homeschooling support group. If you don’t find one in your area, why not start one? It is easy and you can cater the program to fit your needs.
Nine virtues are included in each of three different wreaths or years of study. A fourth year, studying the gifts of the Spirit is also available. The format of the Clubs is flexible, with groups meeting monthly, bi-monthly or weekly. Badges for the virtues are earned by studying the saint associated with the virtue, memorizing relevant scripture verses and studying the Catechism. The program is flexible enough to use with a variety of age groups. Little Flowers Girls’ Club® has also been successfully implemented in the family. Sashes, aprons, bandanas, t-shirts and other items are extras that add to the experience, but are not necessary to running a successful Club.
The Leader’s Guide for each wreath offers suggestions for running meetings, planning crafts and activities, talks on virtues and other relevant information. The Member’s Guide includes the activities, saints’ biographies, pictures of the saints, and prayers for each girl. Each of the girls in the Club should purchase their own Member’s Guide.
If that’s not exciting enough for you, know that the program has the stamp of approval in Baltimore. “The first two Wreaths of the Little Flowers Girls’ Club program have already received the Imprimatur from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The rest of the programs and years are now under review from that same archdiocese. The authors, all Catholic moms and dads, bow to the authority of the Magisterium in teaching faith and morals and try to live their lives accordingly.”
How adorable are the sash and flower virtue badges for t
he girls?!
Photo from the Little Flowers Girls’ Club site
Virtue patches
Check out the Blue Knights gear. I don’t know a little boy who wouldn’t want to wear this sweet cape and armor!
Pictures from the Blue Knights Club for Boys site
Year 1 Patch set
Are you interested in bringing these programs to your parish? The websites offer you all of the information you need to get a troop started.
I’m learning all that I can so that I can be a troop leader for a Little Flowers Girls Club troop when Janie turns 5! In the meantime, the website offers information for parents of boys and girls to promote “the growth of virtue in the lives of our children through the teaching of the Faith, authentic human formation, and the values of our history and Catholic heritage.” Love it!
Here is a story of a little social experiment from 2007. It made me reflect on my time living in Spain, the beautiful people that I met there, and what they have to teach us crazy Americans about living.
“In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
Here’s a video of the footage at Metro Station.
We’re always running from one place to the next. We end up letting the clock rule our days as we move through our often over-scheduled lives. You may think I sound extreme, but I think this fosters what Blessed John Paul II called “the culture of death.” We’re so wrapped up in our own lives, our own goals, that we’re too busy to see or appreciate the beauty and dignity of the people around us.
This made me think about my time studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain during my junior year of college.
Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor. Here are the people, gathered to watch a concert as they eat, drink, and be merry.
When I arrived, I immediately noticed how much faster the Americans walked than the Spaniards. Struck by this, I let my camera record my view as I walked from the Plaza Mayor to my home, and I walked at my usual pace. It was Palm Sunday.
As I rush by, I see the faces of the elderly among the infants and everyone in between. They’re all walking arm in arm, laughing and talking loudly with their wild arms, carrying their palms homeward where they’ll have the midday meal as a family.
“Domingo de Ramos” in Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor (Palm Sunday)
Watching that video makes me sad. Why was I in such a rush anyway? Where was I hoping to go on a Sunday when everything was closed during the siesta hours?
A few months after I took that video, my time in Spain was coming to an end and I was studying for my final exams at the local university. I had become friends with one of the locals from one of my classes–Davíd. After class, I asked him if he needed to make any photocopies for our upcoming exam. He said he did but that he didn’t have time to join me–he had to be somewhere in two hours. Two hours? What’s the rush? There’s plenty that can get done in two hours!
I laughed and told him I had never heard of a Spaniard being in a hurry. I said it would only take him ten minutes to walk home in the small town of Salamanca, so I didn’t understand why he was in such a rush. He said that might be true if he were American. I said I didn’t understand. He said he would inevitably run into all of his friends on our way to the photocopy machine, at the University buildings, and on his way home. I asked him what the big deal was. “Can’t you just say that you’re in a hurry, make your photocopies, and be on your way?”
Here came my lesson on Spanish culture. “No, Catherine, I can’t. It doesn’t work like that here. If I see a friend, I am expected to have a real conversation. You Americans are so strange. You walk right by each other and say, ‘Hey! How’s it going?’ and you don’t even stop or wait for the response. You just keep on going. If I see one of my friends, he or she will expect me to talk with them for more than a minute. Anything less would be rude, and they would be offended. Being in a hurry to get somewhere is no excuse. So, imagine if I run into a lot of my friends, how much time that would mean it would take for me to get home.” I envisioned him exchanging the traditional kisses, having conversations with his friends having churros con chocolate in
the café of the University building.
Valor, the best spot for Spanish “hot chocolate” (think the consistency of a melted Hershey’s bar!) and churros.
Man, those Spaniards know how to live.
What Davíd said about us crazy Americans stung for the millisecond before I realized he was completely right. I thought of all of the exchanges exactly like that that I had had with people on campus back in the United States. Walking in front of the Union, on my way to and from class, running into each other off campus… “How’s it going?” was the new “Hi.” I don’t even know how many times someone has asked me how I’m doing or how it’s going, and I give my response to the air as they walk right on by.
So, Davíd went on his way home, and I went to make my photocopies. I continued on with my frenetic pace and arrived at the photocopy machine to find two chatty girls making copies together. Did they not see me? Hello?! Couldn’t they hurry up already? C’mon, ladies! Chop, chop! I have places to go, and people to see…
Wait, no I don’t. This is it. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be as a student studying abroad. Instead of looking at my watch and tapping my foot impatiently, I should be across the hall in the café with my classmates, eating those amazing churros and talking (borderline yelling like an authentic española) while I wait.
No, I reasoned with myself. If I do that, someone else will show up to make photocopies, and I’ll have to wait another half an hour. I better stay in line.
Meanwhile, Davíd was leisurely making his way home, making time for all of the people he would see and the conversations he would have. He built in time for these things. He didn’t see them as delays or inconveniences–they were welcome intermissions that he welcomed and looked forward to. He probably even stopped at a café on his way home to have some tapas and a cerveza. (After all, it’s not polite to eat on the run in Spain. I learned this the morning I walked to class as I ate a banana. As my host mother told me, the proper thing to do is sit down to enjoy the meal.)
I was the typical American, and Davíd was the typical Spaniard. I was living to work. He was working to live.
Davíd and his friends would have heard Joshua Bell playing that violin at Metro Station and probably would have stopped to listen. I probably would have walked right past in my rush to make my train.
Here is a story of a little social experiment from 2007. It made me reflect on my time living in Spain, the beautiful people that I met there, and what they have to teach us crazy Americans about living.
“In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
Here’s a video of the footage at Metro Station.
We’re always running from one place to the next. We end up letting the clock rule our days as we move through our often over-scheduled lives. You may think I sound extreme, but I think this fosters what Blessed John Paul II called “the culture of death.” We’re so wrapped up in our own lives, our own goals, that we’re too busy to see or appreciate the beauty and dignity of the people around us.
This made me think about my time studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain during my junior year of college.
Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor. Here are the people, gathered to watch a concert as they eat, drink, and be merry.
When I arrived, I immediately noticed how much faster the Americans walked than the Spaniards. Struck by this, I let my camera record my view as I walked from the Plaza Mayor to my home, and I walked at my usual pace. It was Palm Sunday.
As I rush by, I see the faces of the elderly among the infants and everyone in between. They’re all walking arm in arm, laughing and talking loudly with their wild arms, carrying their palms homeward where they’ll have the midday meal as a family.
“Domingo de Ramos” in Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor (Palm Sunday)
Watching that video makes me sad. Why was I in such a rush anyway? Where was I hoping to go on a Sunday when everything was closed during the siesta hours?
A few months after I took that video, my time in Spain was coming to an end and I was studying for my final exams at the local university. I had become friends with one of the locals from one of my classes–Davíd. After class, I asked him if he needed to make any photocopies for our upcoming exam. He said he did but that he didn’t have time to join me–he had to be somewhere in two hours. Two hours? What’s the rush? There’s plenty that can get done in two hours!
I laughed and told him I had never heard of a Spaniard being in a hurry. I said it would only take him ten minutes to walk home in the small town of Salamanca, so I didn’t understand why he was in such a rush. He said that might be true if he were American. I said I didn’t understand. He said he would inevitably run into all of his friends on our way to the photocopy machine, at the University buildings, and on his way home. I asked him what the big deal was. “Can’t you just say that you’re in a hurry, make your photocopies, and be on your way?”
Here came my lesson on Spanish culture. “No, Catherine, I can’t. It doesn’t work like that here. If I see a friend, I am expected to have a real conversation. You Americans are so strange. You walk right by each other and say, ‘Hey! How’s it going?’ and you don’t even stop or wait for the response. You just keep on going. If I see one of my friends, he or she will expect me to talk with them for more than a minute. Anything less would be rude, and they would be offended. Being in a hurry to get somewhere is no excuse. So, imagine if I run into a lot of my friends, how much time that would mean it would take for me to get home.” I envisioned him exchanging the traditional kisses, having conversations with his friends having churros con chocolate in the café of the University building.
Valor, the best spot for Spanish “hot chocolate” (think the consistency of a melted Hershey’s bar!) and churros.
Man, those Spaniards know how to live.
What Davíd said about us crazy Americans stung for the millisecond before I realized he was completely right. I thought of all of the exchanges exactly like that that I had had with people on campus back in the United States. Walking in front of the Union, on my way to and from class, running into each other off campus… “How’s it going?” was the new “Hi.” I don’t even know how many times someone has asked me how I’m doing or how it’s going, and I give my response to the air as they walk right on by.
So, Davíd went on his way home, and I went to make my photocopies. I continued on with my frenetic pace and arrived at the photocopy machine to find two chatty girls making copies together. Did they not see me? Hello?! Couldn’t they hurry up already? C’mon, ladies! Chop, chop! I have places to go, and people to see…
Wait, no I don’t. This is it. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be as a student studying abroad. Instead of looking at my watch and tapping my foot impatiently, I should be across the hall in the café with my classmates, eating those amazing churros and talking (borderline yelling like an authentic española) while I wait.
No, I reasoned with myself. If I do that, someone else will show up to make photocopies, and I’ll have to wait another half an hour. I better stay in line.
Meanwhile, Davíd was leisurely making his way home, making time for all of the people he would see and the conversations he would have. He built in time for these things. He didn’t see them as delays or inconveniences–they were welcome intermissions that he welcomed and looked forward to. He probably even stopped at a café on his way home to have some tapas and a cerveza. (After all, it’s not polite to eat on the run in Spain. I learned this the morning I walked to class as I ate a banana. As my host mother told me, the proper thing to do is sit down to enjoy the meal.)
I was the typical American, and Davíd was the typical Spaniard. I was living to work. He was working to live.
Davíd and his friends would have heard Joshua Bell playing that violin at Metro Station and probably would have stopped to listen. I probably would have walked right past in my rush to make my train.
Here are the issues addressed in the CBS report “The Catholic Church: A House Divided?”:
The excommunication of Sr. Margaret Mary McBride, R.S.M. in the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona.
“Power-obsessed” Bishops
Vatican II
New Translation of the Roman Missal
Apostolic Visitation to Religious Orders
Current status of St. Margaret Mary McBride and St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital
I covered issues 1-2 in Part 1. Here was my summary:
Sr. McBride automatically excommunicated herself by counseling the medical staff at St. Joseph Catholic Hospital to perform an abortion.
Bishop Olmsted acted charitably in acting as messenger in bringing this to Sr. McBride’s attention.
Bishops who work to ensure that the faithful in their area are acting in accord to the laws of the church are not “power-obsessed”; they are exercising their office in the Church that Christ created.
Now, onto issues 3-6.
Issue 3: Vatican II Not surprisingly, the report tries to make the case through interviews that, “They’re just trying to reverse the changes of Vatican II” argument.
I wonder how many Catholics, let alone non-Catholics, have actually read all of the documents from Vatican II to see what we’re actually talking about. To get the “real deal,” click on the above link to access the documents directly from the Vatican Website. Don’t count on the media to interpret these documents for you.
Remember in Part One how the story tried to turn the bishops into “cruel,” “power-obsessed” men? The story goes on to try drawing a connection between “these events” and Vatican II.
Some see these events – taken together – as symptomatic of a larger effort to reverse reforms set down by the 1960s advisory council that came to be known as Vatican II – reforms which, back then, were seen as an effort to bring the church closer to modern times.
Be wary of any attempts to sum up an entire Church council in a few sentences, let alone from Gary Macy.
“There was a sense that we should try to bring Catholicism up to the 20th and then the 21st century,” said Gary Macy, a professor of theology at California’s Jesuit Santa Clara University. “In all kinds of ways – in scholarship, how do we relate to psychology? How do we relate to political science? How do we relate to modern ethics? All of those questions were opened up. There was much more involvement of the laity in the liturgy, so people felt much more involved. There were less spectators and more participants.”
He is mentioned in Karl Keating’s article “The Long Way Home: Can Losing Your Faith Be a Step in the Right Direction?“ from Catholic Answers Magazine. (Karl Keating is the founder of Catholic Answers) Keating writes, “Gary Macy, who teaches theology at the University of San Diego, a nominally Catholic school, gives a similar argument. He thinks the use of wheat bread and wine is merely a tradition, and traditions can be changed—or, at least, exceptions can be made: ‘All kinds of things have been dispensed with in the history of the Church.'”
Did I mention Gary Macy is the current chair of the Religious Studies department at Santa Clara University? Issue 4: New Translation of the Roman Missal On November 27, 2011 (the first Sunday of Advent), Catholic churches across the United States started using the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal.
The Vatican has now directed American churches to institute a new mass featuring an English translation more faithful to the original Latin – a mass critics say is harder to understand, less English-speaker friendly.
A few things on the new translation:
It’s just that–a new translation, not a “new mass.”
The new translation is a more accurate translation of the original Latin. Altogether, these changes create a more sacred language more fitting of worship, helping us to life our hearts and minds up to the Lord.
The older translation was created using what is called dynamic equivalence (translating with the goal of creating the same effect in the new language that the words had in the original language).
The new translation was created using formal equivalence (translating word for word to replicate the same meaning).
CBS says the “new mass” is “harder to understand, less English-speaker friendly”
Latin’s grammatical structure is different than English, so it is to be expected that there are marked differences (i.e., use of several subordinate clauses).
The entire process creates an opportunity for the faithful to learn more about the Mass, its origins, and the words we say.
Having to slow down as we learn the new prayers is an opportunity to reflect on what it is we are actually saying.
Iss
ue 5: Apostolic Visitation to Religious Orders In yet another attempt to paint “the Vatican” as a secretive, power-hungry empire, the story moves on to the Apostolic Visitation of the Religious Orders across the United States.
And not long ago, the church in Rome exercised that control – launching what’s called an apostolic visitation, a process shrouded in mystery allowing it to investigate orders of nuns here in the United States.
One need do no more than a Google search to find out basic information about the Apostolic Visitation and get in touch with those actually performing the visitation. Here’s what the official Apostolic Visitation website says about the visitation:
An Apostolic Visitation is a formal but personal process, initiated at the highest levels of the Catholic Church, to look into the welfare of a particular aspect of the Church. Cardinal Franc Rodé, C.M., Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in a December 22, 2008 decree, initiated the Visitation of apostolic institutes of women religious in the United States and appointed Mother Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to serve as the Apostolic Visitator.
Mother Clare is a Connecticut native who has served as superior general of her religious community since 2004. She has complete administrative authority of the Apostolic Visitation and will personally conduct many inquiries and visits. Mother Clare will prepare a confidential report of her findings and observations for Cardinal Rodé at the conclusion of the Visitation.
Cardinal Rodé, a Slovenian, is a member of the Congregation of the Mission, an apostolic community of men commonly called the Vincentians. He has served as prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life since 2004.
So, lo and behold, it is a woman religious sister named Mother Clare Millea, Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who is serving as the official Apostolic Visitator. She will be the one to write and file the report of her observations of the religious orders across the country.
The Apostolic Visitation seeks to listen to and affirm the dignity of all women religious who serve the Church with exemplary love.
In addition, as Cardinal Rodé recently stated, “this Apostolic Visitation hopes to encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious.” It offers women religious a valuable opportunity for prayerful and thoughtful self-examination to discern and foster avenues of growth and vitality in their congregations.
Do you have some questions about the visitation? Lucky for you, there is a special FAQ site on the page. Perhaps you want to know, “What has prompted this Visitation?”
The Congregation for Consecrated Life is aware that many new congregations have emerged in the United States while many others have decreased in membership or have an increased median age. Apostolic works have also changed significantly because of societal changes. These and other areas need to be better understood and assessed in order to safeguard and promote consecrated life in the United States.
Maybe you want to know, “Why are the congregations of male religious not included in this Visitation?”
Various congregations of male religious were interviewed during the recent United States Seminary Study. In addition, this Visitation is guided by the scope of the mandate given to the Visitator.
Maybe you want to know, “Where is all of the information going and with whom will it be shared?”
The Apostolic Visitator will use the data gathered to prepare her report for Cardinal Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) will prepare an aggregate report of the quantitative data collected from all reporting institutes in Part A of the Questionnaire. Individual Congregations will not be identified in any way. Cardinal Rodé has authorized the public release of this report (emphasis mine).
That’s a lot of sound information straight from the source actually performing the Visitation. Wouldn’t someone actually conducting the Visitation be a logical source to interview on the topic? Instead, CBS reporter Petersen says this:
We reached out to many orders of nuns across the country hoping to get their viewpoints about all of this.
In most cases someone would agree to be interviewed. But when the interview was imminent we would be called and it would be canceled.
In the end, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale agreed to speak with us – partly, she said, out of concern that if she didn’t, no one would.
CBS tries to make it sound like the sisters they contacted were somehow silenced and that Sr. Mary Hinsdale was a brave, sacrificial lamb, speaking on behalf of the mistreated female religious congregations.
Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale has authored and co-authored several books, including: What’s Left? Liberal American Catholics. You can search through the book on Amazon. That’s how I found this quote:
…the experience of women with vocations [to the priesthood] and the experience of a Church with a severe priest shortage push toward changes in Church teaching.
A female religious contributing to a book like this and writing on the topic of women’s ordination is not a likely candidate to be a faithful defender of the faith. Sister Mary Ann is a member of the order of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She’s also a professor of theology at Boston College.
“Do you think this apostolic visitation is something that nuns like yourself, who are out there in the world, should be worried about?” asked Petersen.
“I really don’t know,” she replied. “But I think the most problematic aspect of it is that we are not going to see a report, and w
e don’t know what is going to be done with this.”
Please see above. The Visitation website says a public report of the findings of the Visitation will be made available.
“We were never told what was going to be done with this. And while we think this is, you know, a travesty, really, and insulting even about who we are in the church, because we think we’re trying to be loyal to the church. We’re trying to make, you know, plausible explanations where people are saying, ‘Well, why is the church doing this? Why are they excommunicating people who are, you know, seem to be wanting good for the church?'”
So, Sr. Hinsdale is trying to connect the excommunication of Sr. McBride and the Apostolic Visitation of women religious orders to paint the bishops and Church hierarchy as out to get the sisters. Let’s re-summarize why this is silly:
Sr. McBride excommunicated herself. Archbishop Olmsted was merely the charitable messenger. Also, please continue reading to find out about Sr. McBride’s current status in the Church.
The Apostolic Visitation’s goal is to strengthen and protect women’s religious orders in the United States. A female religious herself (Mother Clare Millea, Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) is the Apostolic Visitator.
Petersen decided he wanted another voice on the issue, so he returned to Gary Macy. Remember him from above? (The Religious Studies department chair at Santa Clara University and author of The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination: Female Clergy in the Medieval West). Gary Macy chimes in with why he thinks the Apostolic Visitation of women religious is taking place.
“Why the nuns?” asked theologian Gary Macy. “This is my suspicion: They can.”
“It’s interesting that they would take the women’s religious order, and not the men’s religious orders,” Macy said. “Although, you know, for so many centuries and centuries and centuries in Christianity, women have taken a hit first.”
It looks like Gary Macy needs to look at the Apostolic Visitation website as well. Remember the Q&A quote from above? The site says that several of the men’s religious orders were examined in a recent seminary study.
The report cuts back to Sr. Mary Hinsdale after Macy’s comment about women in Christianity always taking the hit first.
When asked why she stays with the Church, Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale said, “Because it’s my church. I have a responsibility to speak the truth that’s been given to me.
Last time I checked, the Catholic Church was Christ’s Church.
“There’s a lot of pain and suffering, I think, in belonging to the Catholic Church today. But I think I’m following as best I can what I think God is asking me to do today in this church as we have it.”
Imagine how differently the interview would look had Petersen interviewed Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B., prioress of Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope (formerly Rosalind Moss). When asked about the charism of her community in a recent National Catholic Registerarticle, this was her response:
What thrills me most, apart from being signs to God in the world and the freedom people have in approaching us, is the sense they have that they “own” us, so to speak. That is, they believe that they have free access to us, that we exist for them, that they have a right to expect us to pray for them, to help them, to be God’s arms to them in their need. It is a beautiful expectation on their part, and, to my mind, that is as it should be.
Contrast the two:
Sr. Hinsdale says the Catholic Church is “my church,” and that “there’s a lot of pain and suffering…in belonging to the Catholic Church today.”
Mother Miriam says other people “have a right to expect us to pray for them, to help them, to be God’s arms to them in their need.”
It comes as no surprise to me that Mother Miriam’s order is flourishing with vocations and that orders that have adopted Sr. Hinsdale’s attitude toward the Catholic Church are the orders that are dying out.
Issue 6: Current status of (1) St. Margaret Mary McBride and (2) St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital
(1) Current Status of Sr. McBride Sr. McBride’s excommunication was lifted by Bishop Olmsted, and she resigned as member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital ethics committee. This is a part of the story that deserves more attention. Excommunication is not necessarily a permanent condition! This is the beauty of forgiveness and reconciliation. When a member of the Church is excommunicated, the onus is on that person to come back into communion with the Church. To do this, the individual must repent of their sins in the sacrament of reconciliation directly to the bishop or a priest appointed by the bishop to lift the excommunication. Like all individuals going to the sacrament of reconciliation, the sacrament does not “work” unless the individual is truly repentant of the sin. By all outward appearances, Sr. McBride is back in communion with the Catholic Church. Hooray!
(2) Current Status of St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital The CBS report says,
To regain its “Catholic” status, the bishop insists that it must say the medical procedure that resulted in the abortion and saved the mother of four was in violation of religious and ethical policies, and will never happen again.
So far, the hospital has refused to do so.
It still cannot call itself Catholic.
This seems pretty straightforward to me. An institution calling itself “Catholic” needs to operate in line with Church Teaching. When it does not operate as a Catholic hospital by performing an abortion, why is it offensive to take this title away?
Summing it all up:
Issue 3: The Second Vatican Council
Don’t count on a secular media source like CBS to sum up an entire Church Council for you.
