Beauty

“God endowed you with a glory when he created you, a glory so deep and mythic that all creation pales in comparison.  A glory unique to you…” 

-John Eldredge, Waking the Dead

Beauty. Beauty is powerful.  Beauty has to be one of God’s top wooing techniques.  It consoles and inspires.  It comforts.  It invites.  Beauty simply draws us to Him.  One of my favorite things to do is walk slowly and freely somewhere out in the country where it is quiet and unpolluted by cars or roads or buildings or manufactured noises.  Just simply walking and listening to the wind in the tall grass and hearing the symphony of creation that surrounds me.  It turns my heart to the Divine Lover every time.  Everything inside of me relaxes and I am at peace – even if chaos was swirling around me minutes before.  In those moments, His presence is so close that it is almost palpable.  He woos my heart with beauty and He invites me into His Presence through it.  I love moments like that.

A few days ago I did a Google search with the word “beauty” and do you know what EVERY picture was?  A woman.  Not a perfectly blossomed rose, not a gorgeous sunset with its burning reds and deep purples, not even the night sky studded with stars.  A woman.  Interesting, isn’t it?  Women, in their very being, represent what is beautiful.  It seems to be a universal truth.  And it is true; we do have a unique beauty in our feminine genius.  And I am not just talking physical beauty here.  We as women unveil beauty through our being.  Just as for me, walking through the beauty of the quiet and serene country land brings me in communion with the Divine, we as women have a special capacity for bringing others into an encounter with the Divine because we unveil truth about Him. 

Woman was created as a “helper” to man (Gen 2:18)– but not just in the sense that she cooks and cleans, does the laundry and helps to raise the kids.  She is also a “helper” in that she helps man (both the masculine gender as well as mankind) to realize his own identity and capacity for God.   

Isn’t that an awe-some thought? 

You. You do this. You are the gift the Lord has given the world by which man comes to understand his purpose and what he is created for.  You reveal to him the spousal meaning of the body – that we are made for communion and union with another.  Without you, man doesn’t understand that he exists for another and that his ultimate end is total union with God.  That is part of the feminine genius.  It is part of the beauty that is in the very essence of woman.  That is part of your beauty.  You, through the beauty of your very being, reveal this awesome mystery.  

Just as a beautiful landscape or a night sky or walking through a field invites us into the presence of God, the beauty of our femininity invites others into an encounter with the Divine Beauty.  

I was talking with one of my Sisters about this topic and she challenged me with this question, “Ok, so how do I, everyday, walking down the street, unveil Beauty to the people I meet?  How do I invite others to encounter the Divine in my everyday circumstances?”

So let’s talk about it. What do you think? 

                                                                                          -Sr. Elizabeth, TOR

Self Portraits

        One phrase that keeps appearing over and over in my mind is one that Jesus says when meeting the Samaritan woman at the well- “If you knew the gift of God”.  There have been many moments throughout life when I have wished for something else, whether it be a different talent or a different situation in life.  These wishes often hinder me from rejoicing in the moment and in all the gifts that have been bestowed most generously on my unworthy head. 
*Note: be prepared for a lengthy art metaphor*
        In my drawing class, we’re starting on self portraits, and I couldn’t help but realize how easy it is to distort certain attributes such that when we step back and look at what we’ve drawn, it can look nothing like our reflection.  Too often do we women focus on parts of ourselves that we view in a negative light and forget to remember the unique beauty of ourselves.  That if we were to change a part of us that God has made specifically for us, our overall depiction would be lacking. 
        God has not only blessed us abundantly individually, He has blessed the world through us.  Your individual creation has changed history forever.  If we only knew the gift of God, if we only knew the gift we are to others, I do not believe  we could stop the light of Christ from shining through us for all to see.  I think it is important for each of us to go before God and present our self portraits to Him and see if it is an accurate depiction of our reflection of Christ.  He will work with our mistakes and show us how it ought to be, how the true beauty can be revealed.  It will be our choice whether or not to take His words to heart and use the tools He has given us.  And if we do, when we present the finished work before the Teacher, we most certainly will not fail.   



Your sister in Christ,
Jenny  

Self-Awareness and Self-Gift

We all desire to give of ourselves. It’s part of our nature. Do you ever wonder how you could more fully give of yourself? The first step is to become more fully aware of the gift that YOU are. That’s right, you are a gift. The best way to come to this deeper understanding is to grow in self-awareness.

FUS Women’s Ministry is hosting a talk by Sr. Eliana Day TOR, entitled “From Self-Awareness to Self-Gift,” on Wednesday, October 26^th at 9:15pm in the JC Williams Center Fireside Lounge.

Sr. Eliana will be sharing practical tips for growing in self-awareness and serving others by giving the gift of self.

Come learn and grow with us!

Peace,

Megan

The Saint That Is Just Me

com·par·ing: to examine in order to discover likenesses or differences

Sounds innocent, doesn’t it?  But it tends to have a nasty connotation when you apply it to yourself and begin comparing yourself to others. I think we as women are especially prone to doing this. We overlook our unique beauties and see only what we are not, especially as we compare ourselves with another person.  We try so hard to be like someone else and spend so much time musing over how we aren’t like them that we are unable to fully embrace our true identity and be “the saint that is just me.”     

So I want to share a song with you - a song full of truth - because sometimes a song can speak to the soul better than a thousand words.  I want it to remind you of the beauties that YOU have; that are uniquely YOURS.  I want it to remind you that God is not in love with your idea of who you should be, He is in love with who you ARE.  

My prayer for you is that you let the truths within this song penetrate your heart...may you rest in His arms and find peace in being the saint that is just you…

 -Sr. Elizabeth, TOR

Spiritual Motherhood

The topic of spiritual motherhood has been on my heart recently. Each of us as women are called to motherhood in some form or another. We are all called to be spiritual mothers whether we have children or not. I began to wonder, why is this our calling? I realized we are called to motherhood because nobody loves like a mother.  A mother is willing to do everything necessary for the well-being of her children. A mother loves and understands us better than others, and often times even better than ourselves.  Nobody is capable of the self-sacrifice that a mother is capable of. Therefore, if we are called to spiritual motherhood, we are called to his same level of commitment, sacrifice, and love for our “spiritual children.”

How do we go about being a spiritual mother?

First we can look to Scripture. Scripture often speaks of the tenderness of God, and the love of God who loves us more than a mother. Scripture even alludes to God being like a mother hen guarding her chicks (Luke 13:34 RSV). Judith was a mother for Israel who willing to first pray for her children and then carry out the necessary deeds to protect them from harm. Esther was a spiritual mother for all the Jews and so she risked her life in order to expose the one who intended to do harm to her children and secure safety for her children.

Indeed, the role of motherhood is so profound that Christ chose for himself a mother. This mother he did not keep to himself but handed her over to us! Mary’s greatest grief was the suffering and dying of her son: a death that was probably more agonizing than if she herself were on the cross. And yet, because she is OUR mother, she willingly offered her beloved son on the cross. The pleas of a mother then, are close to the ears of God.

This call to motherhood is a universal call for all women and it is a noble call! Motherhood is especially important in a time like ours when society has distorted the meaning of motherhood. Instead of protecting motherhood, society degrades it, which results in such desperation that mothers would murder their own children in the womb. Spiritual mothers are needed to show the true meaning of motherhood, but also to demonstrate God’s love for the world.

Therefore, since motherhood is so important, how do we rise to this call? First, in the gift of self. This can be done in many ways, such as listening to a friend and giving our self fully to those around us without distraction. Motherhood also involves sacrificing for others, even in small ways, such as taking an hour to be with a person in need. By constantly praying for those around us, especially those that are lost from the fold we demonstrate motherhood. We can be like Rachel who wept without comfort because her children were no more. She was inconsolable (Jer 31:15 RSV). Remember Saint Monica, who for years prayed for her son Augustine to be converted? We, too, can pray continuously for the “Saint Augustines” in our life.

A mother does what is right for her children without hesitation; she does not ask if she is worthy to do so, even if it involves a rebuke. Even the Virgin Mary was not afraid to question the child Jesus when Mary and Joseph found him in the temple after searching for three days: “And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously’” (Luke 2:48, RSV). As women, we should be unafraid to answer our call to Spiritual Motherhood and to ask for the grace necessary to assist us. The world needs more spiritual mothers and even as single women we can answer this call.

-Holly

Modesty, hmmm.......

Wow! There’s so much great information being posted on this blog!

I don’t want to overburden any of you, so I think I’ll change things up a little (change is good, right?). I’m going to direct you to a web site I found on modesty.

Christopher West says that “We cover our bodies because they are good.” By clothing ourselves, we protect the goodness of our bodies from the degradation of lust.

We are created good and beautiful, our bodies are good and beautiful, and we must protect them from the eyes of those who seek to use us as objects for their pleasure. That is where modesty comes in—we act and dress modestly so as to protect our bodies. The webpage that I found takes this concept further. The author, John Paul Rudolph, says that we are modest not only to protect ourselves, but also to reveal our true beauty and to inspire men to love (instead of lust). I was struck by what he said about clothing: that clothing designers know how to create clothes to manipulate the minds of others. He says:

Immodest clothing seeks to trap the eyes, highlighting body parts such as cleavage or the midriff instead of the whole person. These clothes are designed to manipulate the male mind towards objectifying you through itemizing your “parts” instead of appreciating your whole person. Modest clothing should make you look feminine and beautiful, but shouldn’t cause men to concentrate on one part of your body.

I encourage you to read John Paul’s entire article, but if you cannot, remember, at least, that as you dress, the clothes you choose should protect your body and reveal your beauty as a woman, not just as parts.

Loving the Hidden Christ in Our Visible Neighbor

Dear Ladies,

 I’m sure we would all acknowledge that as women we are particularly taken and moved by the details and intricacies of the world around us. This is certainly true of our relationships and friendships as well. We nurture our individual relationships with each of our relatives, and we tend not to consider how many friends we have but rather who they are specifically. We are capable of noticing differences, similarities, and the subtle nuances of those who make up our communities, and we love the variety they encompass. God has given us a particular gift for loving each and every single individual we meet. This is an advantage, because Christ also sees and loves every individual, and He gives us our neighbors so that we may love the unique way in which each person reflects Him.

St. Catherine of Siena, the first female Doctor of the Church, wept when Christ commanded her to leave the solitude of her cell in which she spent every moment with Him. He said, “Go it is dinner time, and the members of your family are about to sit down at table. Go and join them, and then come back to me.” She did not understand why He was sending her away. He replied, “Be calm gentle daughter, for that is the way in which you must fulfill all justice and permit My grace to bear its fruits, not only in you but also through others. I have no intention of separating you from Me in any way, but I want you to use the love of your neighbor to unite yourself more strongly to Me.” St. Catherine was greatly aware of the importance of following God’s will in great and small matters. As women, we are endowed with a particular gift for fostering individual relationships. May we, like St. Catherine, love the hidden Christ in our visible neighbor. If each individual moment is willed by God, then each individual person we encounter presents great possibility, because in that moment Christ asks us to love Him and be present to Him. C.S. Lewis, in The Weight of Glory, emphasizes that everyone has an immortal soul, even those who may bore us or who we may overlook. He points out that every encounter we have with another human being has eternal consequences, and that one day we may see that person in heaven. I encourage you, today, to look at every person you may encounter throughout your day, and pray that one day he or she may, with you, see the face of God.

His Calling

I would love to share one of my favorite quotes that is by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


      As I read this quote, I am reminded how God is calling us all to do great things, and how easy it is to just dismiss the call with the excuse that there is someone else better at accomplishing it. 
      Do not underestimate your potential.  Use your God-given gifts and talents to do great things! Why else would He have given them to you?  You can do all through Christ who will give you strength!   

-Juliette

Discovering Our Gifts

The other day I stopped by the book store with the intention of buying one particular item.  But like usual I got a bit sidetracked and found a little prayer book that I just had to buy, A Catholic Woman's Book of Prayers, by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle.  This book has many meditations and prayers about the different vocations of women, challenges women face, the feminine genius and a variety of other topics related to women.  As I started reading through it, I was especially drawn to one prayer titled, "Help Me to Discover My Gifts, Lord" and thought it would be a great prayer to share with everyone as a reminder that we must always turn towards and pray to God so that He may grant us the graces we need in order to more fully live out our vocation as women.


Help Me to Discover My Gifts, Lord

Dear Lord, open my eyes to discover my gifts as a woman.
Open my heart to feel Your loving embrace of me as Your daughter,
affirming my dignity in Your eyes;
Open my arms wide so they will stretch outward to others,
loving and serving them with Your love, Lord
Help me to never lose sight of who I am and
who You created me to be.
Thank You for the glorious gift of being a woman!
Amen


May our eyes be ever fixed on God and our lives bring Him Glory.

God Bless,
Beth

This is My Body

I was reading an article last week[*] when I was struck by a profound quote:

“Every time you make love to your husband, carry an infant in your womb, nurse a baby, or hold an older child until your arms ache, you’re saying, ‘This is my body which is given up for you’ (Luke 22:19)” (Kate Wicker, qtd. Celeste Behe).

I realized this easily applied to my own life, even though I am not married. Every time I wash dishes, sweep the floor, or hug my aching friend, I am saying, “This is my body which is given up for you” (Luke 22:19).

The same article also mentions how women cannot give themselves fully to their husbands in intimate gifts of love if they are obsessed with their body image. Once again, I applied this to my own, single life. All people are called to love, and to give our lives in selfless gifts of love. Whether we are married or single, we cannot give ourselves fully if we are obsessed with our own body image. I realized that I am not given my body to look attractive; I am given my body to serve, and to lay it down, with Jesus’, for the good of others.

Do not judge yourself by how you look. We are so much more than our bodies, and our value lies far beyond them. Whenever you are tempted to judge yourselves by how you look, remember that you are worth more than that. And remember, that on the last day, at the final judgment, God will not ask how much you weigh. He’ll ask how much you loved.

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[*] Behe, Celeste. “Wonderfully Made: Break the Cycle of Despair and Make Peace With the Body God Gave You.” Faith and Family. Fall 2011: 37-41. Print.

A copy of the magazine can be found in the John Paul II Library on Campus

Truth: You are not defined by what you do

Ladies,

How often do you find yourself responding to the question, “how are you?” with an answer something like this: “I’m great, I’ve gotten so much done today!” or “I’m having a really bad day, I haven’t crossed anything off my list today,”?

I wouldn’t be surprised if at first glance you can’t remember having said either of these things, but my guess is that you probably do, you just don’t realize it. I know I say things like that all the time, and usually I don’t even realize I’m doing it.

We have grown up as part of the multitasking generation; we have been expected to be doing a handful of different things all at once, and doing them well. On an average day you can find me eating lunch, reading for class, and facebook chatting, all at the same time.

Those simple responses: “I’m great, I’ve gotten so much done today!” or “I’m having a really bad day, I haven’t crossed anything off my list today,” reveal something that blew my mind the first time I realized it. They reveal that we, the women of the 21^st century, are defining ourselves by what we do. You know what’s really crazy about that? That’s how men define themselves. Men tend to define themselves by what they do, while women tend to define themselves by their relationships. We have been so conformed by our society, which holds up productivity and usefulness as ideals to which we should aspire, that we women have taken on the male tendency of defining ourselves by our productivity.

I propose that we become counter-cultural in the way we define ourselves. I think the first step is to try to be more aware of how we are defining ourselves. Since I first learned about this I’ve been a lot more aware of how I answer the question “how are you.” I’m also more aware of how other women answer it. My housemates and I have started calling each other out on it, saying, “You are not defined by what you do!”

The next step is probably the hardest; ironically, it’s learning how to just be. I think the best place to do this is the chapel in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Sit down, or kneel, or however you’re most comfortable, make “eye contact” with Jesus and just be with Him. Don’t read, don’t journal; don’t even worry about what to pray, just be. I’d like to challenge you to give this a try. Try starting with even just a few minutes. I promise you won’t regret it.

Welcome to our blog!

“But the hour is coming, in fact has come, in which woman acquires in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is under-going so deep a transformation, women impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid mankind in not falling.”

-          Pope Paul VI

Hello, women of campus!

The ladies of FUS Women’s Ministry are so excited to be able to share our ministry with you in this new and personal way. We look forward to hearing your thoughts, comments, and feedback!

Our most important ministry goal is the formation of women on campus, and in doing so it is our hope that they may become “women impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel” who are equipped to develop healthy relationships with God, themselves, and others. We can all attest to the fact that we live in a world in which an understanding of the particular essence and identity of woman has been obscured and confused. We seek to restore this by cultivating within every woman a proper understanding and appreciation of what Blessed John Paul II called “the feminine genius.” It is our desire that every woman comes to appreciate her unique feminine intellect as well as her distinct call to harmonize and properly order her God-given reason and emotions. We seek to emulate the virtues of Our Blessed Mother, and we look to the women saints as examples of “femininity transformed by grace.”  Through their example, we also yearn to come to a greater knowledge of our prophetic role as women.

Please know that we pray for you constantly and that we want to get to know you! That being said, we would love you to come to our events this semester so that we can know you and serve you better! God bless you all!

Marta