Dear Readers,
This summer I have the privilege of being a Missionary of the Eucharist. We are walking from Maine to NYC, proclaiming the beauty of the Catholic faith-particularly through the Theology of the Body. I invite you to follow us at the Missionary of the Eucharist blog:
http://blog.themoes.us/
You can find the MoE's on facebook as well.
Please pray for us and the people we will encounter on our journey!
Just for fun, here's a video from a few years ago that I find thoroughly amusing:
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sr. Helena fsp on Blessed John Paul II
Here is Sr. Helena fsp's testimony about (now "Blessed" as of yesterday!) Pope John Paul II. If any of my readers haven't caught on I LOVE LOVE LOVE this man. Sr. Helena with her humor, sharp mind and authenticity is always a pleasure to listen to. I feel very similar to the way she feels about Blessed John Paul II as communicated at the end of this video.
I post this as I just today finished up the written component of my honors thesis on the Theology of the Body so these past few days I've been thinking very much about this beautiful man.
But then on the other hand, heck, when don't I think about him. Maybe when I get around to it I'll write my own testimony about my favorite man in the history of the world after Jesus.
Enjoy!
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!
I post this as I just today finished up the written component of my honors thesis on the Theology of the Body so these past few days I've been thinking very much about this beautiful man.
But then on the other hand, heck, when don't I think about him. Maybe when I get around to it I'll write my own testimony about my favorite man in the history of the world after Jesus.
Enjoy!
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Fantastic Article on Catholicism and Feminism
I just came across and read a superb article by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese:
Catholic and Feminist: Can One Be Both?
Here's an excerpt I particularly liked:
The great twentieth-century theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, also insisted upon the exemplary quality of the feminine for all human beings. Insisting that the word for "answer" or "response" is feminine, he drew the lesson that "woman is essentially an answer [Ant-wort] in the most fundamental sense. . . ."12 For "if man is the word that calls out, woman is the answer that comes to him at last" (254). Thus Balthasar wrestled with the same problem that angers feminists today, namely, how can the idea of equality between women and men be reconciled with the idea of man's primacy? Unlike feminists, however, Balthasar refused to agree that the difference between men and women diminished women's dignity and importance. To the contrary, he insisted that "the word that calls out only attains fulfillment when it is understood, accepted and given back as a word." In his view, man's dependence upon woman thus confirms that "man can be primary and woman secondary" because "the primary remains unfulfilled without the secondary. The primary needs a partner of equal rank and dignity for its own fulfillment" (254).
Throughout the most compelling modern Catholic teachings on the nature and dignity of woman runs this emphasis upon a complementarity of women and men that in no way diminishes women's importance or standing. Indeed, if we follow Balthasar, man himself is "responsive" or feminine in relation to God. In this respect, it is tempting to argue that, as the answer that fulfills the word, women embody the exemplary human posture — that of receptivity or confirmation.
Catholic and Feminist: Can One Be Both?
Here's an excerpt I particularly liked:
The great twentieth-century theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, also insisted upon the exemplary quality of the feminine for all human beings. Insisting that the word for "answer" or "response" is feminine, he drew the lesson that "woman is essentially an answer [Ant-wort] in the most fundamental sense. . . ."12 For "if man is the word that calls out, woman is the answer that comes to him at last" (254). Thus Balthasar wrestled with the same problem that angers feminists today, namely, how can the idea of equality between women and men be reconciled with the idea of man's primacy? Unlike feminists, however, Balthasar refused to agree that the difference between men and women diminished women's dignity and importance. To the contrary, he insisted that "the word that calls out only attains fulfillment when it is understood, accepted and given back as a word." In his view, man's dependence upon woman thus confirms that "man can be primary and woman secondary" because "the primary remains unfulfilled without the secondary. The primary needs a partner of equal rank and dignity for its own fulfillment" (254).
Throughout the most compelling modern Catholic teachings on the nature and dignity of woman runs this emphasis upon a complementarity of women and men that in no way diminishes women's importance or standing. Indeed, if we follow Balthasar, man himself is "responsive" or feminine in relation to God. In this respect, it is tempting to argue that, as the answer that fulfills the word, women embody the exemplary human posture — that of receptivity or confirmation.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sr. Miriam's Conversion Story
I just got done watching this and thought I should share in case anyone else would be interested. Sr. Miriam James Heidland is a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). I found this talk posted on youtube through her blog that I follow NunEssential. I find her story captivating and of course appreciate how she integrates Theology of the Body into it. She's a sister who is on fire about TOB. In the second video the audio and video are slightly out of synch but I found I got used to it. The talk is long but I thought it was worth listening to. Here are the videos:
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Marcel LeJeune's Response To Dawn Eden's Criticism of Christopher West
I'm not sure if you have any familiarity with the issue relating to the criticism of Christopher West, but I percieve this entry on the Aggie Catholic blog by Marcel LeJeune, which was written this past June, engaging one of West's critics, Dawn Eden, a particularly balanced and even-handed treatment so I thought I should share. Mr. LeJuene writes:
"My intent is not to prove Eden wrong nor is it to provide an uncritical defense of Christopher West. Rather, I view it as a corrective as someone who is somewhere in between."
Mr. LeJeune has had correspondence with both West and Eden so I believe that he writes with some authority and that this entry, though long, is very well worth reading.
There are a few interesting comments in the comment box as well.
Here's the link:
A Response To Dawn Eden's Criticism of Christopher West
"My intent is not to prove Eden wrong nor is it to provide an uncritical defense of Christopher West. Rather, I view it as a corrective as someone who is somewhere in between."
Mr. LeJeune has had correspondence with both West and Eden so I believe that he writes with some authority and that this entry, though long, is very well worth reading.
There are a few interesting comments in the comment box as well.
Here's the link:
A Response To Dawn Eden's Criticism of Christopher West
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Holding Me
The other day I came across the Intercessor Relief website and noticed that my friend Sean who I had worked with at a Catholic summer camp a few summers ago had posted a song he wrote about the experience of the religious community he joined, the Intercessors of the Lamb, disbanding. If you are unfamiliar with the situation you can read this section of the Intercessor Relief website which explains it.
Here's a link to the song:
Holding Me
This song is very powerful as he is singing from his experience, which as I can imagine has been extremely trying. It is a great testimony of being faithful to following God even though we can't fully know where He is leading us, and clinging to Him in trust even when it seems your world is falling apart. The song also communicates hope and the courage and peace which comes from Christ.
Here is a picture I drew of Sean napping from the summer of '08.
Please pray for Sean and the others that are going through what he is going through.
Here's a link to the song:
Holding Me
This song is very powerful as he is singing from his experience, which as I can imagine has been extremely trying. It is a great testimony of being faithful to following God even though we can't fully know where He is leading us, and clinging to Him in trust even when it seems your world is falling apart. The song also communicates hope and the courage and peace which comes from Christ.
Here is a picture I drew of Sean napping from the summer of '08.
Please pray for Sean and the others that are going through what he is going through.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Radiant Bride
I just wanted to share this photo that my friend posted today. She is a consecrated virgin for the Archdiocese of New York (the youngest in the country last I knew!) and today is the two year anniversary of her consecration. I could have posted a less blurry picture but I wanted to share this one as it is clear that she cannot contain her delight, she just glows!
She writes about consecrated virginity (well) at her blog: Sponsa Christi
Look to God that you may be radiant with joy! (Ps. 34:6)
She writes about consecrated virginity (well) at her blog: Sponsa Christi
Look to God that you may be radiant with joy! (Ps. 34:6)
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