Dear Sisters,
"I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. The point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Someday in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers..." ~ Rainer Marin Rilke
May God grant you peace.
~Margaret
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Some Fun Extra Reading
Hey everyone!
While I was searching for an article to post on the blog, I came across this site that has a bunch of different articles that are quite good. Instead of sharing just one article, I thought I'd give you the link for the whole site so you can check them all out. If you have time and want to read some more articles about being catholic women, explore this site.
http://catholicyoungwoman.blogspot.com/
Your sister in Christ,
Jenny
While I was searching for an article to post on the blog, I came across this site that has a bunch of different articles that are quite good. Instead of sharing just one article, I thought I'd give you the link for the whole site so you can check them all out. If you have time and want to read some more articles about being catholic women, explore this site.
http://catholicyoungwoman.blogspot.com/
Your sister in Christ,
Jenny
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
My Dear Sisters,
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I pray that you all had a blessed day of Thanksgiving.
Praise God for His blessings!
~Margaret
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I pray that you all had a blessed day of Thanksgiving.
Praise God for His blessings!
~Margaret
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saint Cecilia: Bride of Christ
Tomorrow is the feast day of my confirmation saint: St Cecilia. In honor of St Cecilia, today’s post will be about her life.
St Cecilia was an early church martyr, but most people know her as being the patron of musicians. She is usually depicted with an organ or other instrument, but she is the patron of musicians because she frequently heard angels singing.
Like many women in the 3rd century, St Cecilia was forced into an arranged marriage. However, her husband was a pagan so Cecilia did not consider her marriage as valid in the eyes of God. Therefore, she retained her virginity and gave herself entirely to the Lord. Cecilia was responsible for the conversion of many people, including her husband. This led to persecution by the government. An executioner took his sword to her neck three times, but he was unable to chop off her head. She later died of the injuries after giving away all her possessions to the poor. Her body still has not decomposed.
Today’s Gospel reading (Luke 21:1-4) is about the poor widow who gave her two coins to the poor. Like the poor widow from Scripture, St Cecilia gave of herself for the benefit of others.The virgin saint clearly lived her life for God, even to the point of death. She gave herself entirely to the Lord, her true spouse. Like the widow, Cecilia knew her worth could not be measured by riches of this world. Both of these women saw their own true dignity as a bride of Christ!
-Holly
Friday, November 18, 2011
Sacred Sappiness
I didn’t use to be a sap. Or, rather, I should say I didn’t use to be as much of a sap. I’m not a chick flick kind of girl, I tend to find grand romantic gestures cheesy, and I prefer practicality to sentimentality (God help the man He chooses for me). But although I might not cry when Prince Charming sweeps the princess into his arms or when the blissful couple skips off into the sunset of their happily-ever-after, I am likely to cry at the sunset itself. My heart stirs at hints of beauty, at human suffering, at traces of my Beloved in the world He has created and in the people He so desperately loves. I am finding that the closer I draw to the Sorrowful Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the more vulnerable my heart becomes to these arrows of love.
As women, our hearts are particularly open to this brokenness, to the arrows of the cherubim that pierce us to the core. These may appear as a common sunset, reminding us of the wonder at God’s design. It may be a cardboard sign held up by a homeless man on the streets of Pittsburgh. It might be the uplifted hands of a priest during the Mass, or it might be the sight of a pregnant teen sitting alone on the subway. These everyday moments and surprises shape our thoughts and our actions. They wound our hearts again and again, allowing us to hear the whispers of God.
To be a woman is to be uniquely open to these arrows of love. The Blessed Mother, as in all things, demonstrates this most fully. Her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart was pierced seven times by the deepest of all sufferings, those of her Son. Bearing His sorrows and contemplating the mysteries of His life in the depths of her soul, the Virgin embraced her vocation at every moment to be daughter, mother, and bride: obedient Daughter of the Father, sorrowful Mother of the Son, and joyful Bride of the Holy Spirit. Because God is love, He enters by means of love. Those wounds that pierced her most deeply were the very avenues by which she was most profoundly transformed. So it is with us. As we come to recognize those arrows sent to us in particular, we discover much about who we are and how God would have us bring glory to His name.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta said, “Break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in,” and St. Gianna Molla said, “Our body is a cenacle, a monstrance; through its crystal the world should see God.” Both women recognized that we are to shine forth Christ to the world in giving Him our hearts to do with as He wills. To be a woman means to seek and recognize the divine arrows of God. To be a woman is to be a sap, wounded by Christ so as to make Him known. Then will our hearts beat in time with His, and our prayer at every moment will truly be, “Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like Your Heart.” May it be done unto us according to His will.
Calysta Kohlrust recently completed her Masters in Theology at Franciscan University, where she served as a part of the Women’s Ministry team. She currently writes bible studies and catechetical materials for FOCUS: Fellowship of Catholic University Students. She also strives to heed her particular arrows by participating in ecumenical activities and writing so as to bring God’s light to those who might not see it otherwise.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Dress Story
Junior year of high school. Twenty days til prom. Let the dress-hunt begin.
In our pursuit of collecting different ridiculous dresses, Geri came across a soft green, A-line dress with an empire waist and a beautiful, sheer, black over lay. The dress was stunning. It was my size, so she added it to the stack I had waiting for me in the dressing room to try on.
After Geri and I tried on the gaudy, fun, crazy dresses and modeled them for each other, I finally gave the green dress a go. I put it on and walked out. It fit perfectly. The dress was beautiful - it was elegant, classy and yet flattering. And it reminded me of a dress from the movie Titanic (which was big at the time…yes, I know, I just dated myself…). I looked at myself in the mirror and just felt…beautiful.
Geri kept affirming me as I turned, getting a view of the back of the dress. "You should get this dress! It really looks great on you!” I was getting excited – had I found my dress?!
But the moment was shattered when I looked down at the price tag dangling by my arm.
Ugh.
I knew that there was no way I could afford it on my own. I didn't want to ask my parents to get it for me. I just didn't want to go there. I figured they wouldn’t get it for me anyway. So in my attempt to console myself knowing that I would have to put this perfect dress back on the rack, I convinced myself that buying it was superfluous and superficial and that was that.
But Geri kept encouraging me just to call my dad and ask him if he would buy it for me or at least help me pay for it. I refused because I had already resigned myself to the fact that my dad would not get it for me. Geri was very persistent and just to appease her (and to prove that I was right), I called my dad and asked about the dress. To my surprise, there was no hesitation in his voice when he responded with, "Of course I will get the dress for you."
What.
I was dumbfounded. I was taken aback. Did I hear correctly? Did he just say he’d buy the dress for me? Did I call the right number?
As I stood in silence, the phone still at my ear, I stared at myself in the mirror with a deer-in-the-headlights look. I was in shock. Then I saw a knowing smile creep up on Geri’s face. She knew all along. She knew. She had no doubt of his unprecedented love.
It was in that moment that I realized I didn’t know the extent of my father’s love. Instead, I put limits and qualifications on it. My track record was to feel guilty when he'd spend money on me and I often tried to deny him the opportunity to do so (much to his frustration!). So much for receiving love, right?
But something happened in that moment. I realized that in his generosity and love, my dad wanted to give me the desire of my heart - even as something as small as a prom dress - and I was ready to forget the whole thing because I was sure he would deny me anyway. I didn't know the extent of my father's love for me - I didn't let myself know it. Instead, I put his love in a box.
Isn’t this how we can be with God the Father? Putting limits on His love – keeping His love in a box. Not letting Him lavish His unique love on us in unexpected (and expected) ways because we don’t want to be disappointed? Or because we feel we have to earn it; we have to be “good enough,” pray more, or “be better” to even qualify for it?
But if we are to live our vocation as daughter of the Father, it is key to let ourselves be loved by Him.
Challenging? Yes.
But truly transforming.
I still remember my parents on prom night, waiting for me to come downstairs. As I walked down the stairs in my green dress with my hair done up, I saw the look on my father's face. I’ll never forget it.
It was a look of pride; a look of love; a look of joy.
I felt loved. I felt captivating. I felt beautiful and "worth it". There was a communication between my dad and me in that moment that surpassed words. It’s moments like those – wordless moments, where there is just an exchange of giving and receiving love – it is those moments that help me realize that letting myself be loved and receiving love as a gift is definitely worth it. By receiving his love, I let the truth penetrate my heart. The truth that his fatherly love is unconditional, unprecedented, will never fail nor run out, and generously overflowing. No matter if I "feel" like I deserve it or not. That is the beauty of our Heavenly Father's love too. It is not something that has to be earned. That is foundational to know as we build on the truth of living our vocation as daughter.
So did I need the dress to feel loved and beautiful? No, I knew my dad's love was deeper than the fact that I was beautifully done up or was wearing a flattering dress. But what did him purchasing the dress enable? It enabled me to see the look in his eye as I walked down the stairs - the look of being delighted in; the look of joy he had because of me; the look of being deeply loved just for being me. And that triggered something in my heart about the truth of love.
I know it sounds crazy, and you may be thinking, "Come now, Sister, really? All that because your dad got you what you wanted?"
But that's the point - it wasn't the dress itself or me getting what I wanted. It was that through buying the dress, I allowed my dad the opportunity to manifest his unique love for me and for me to receive it as such.
I realized through this incident how often I miss those wordless moments with our Heavenly Father where He affirms my beauty and uniqueness…and all because I put His love in a box, refusing to receive His love…denying Him even the opportunity to do so…
-1Jn3:1
-Sr. Elizabeth, TOR
Monday, November 14, 2011
Redefining Vocations
Yesterday afternoon Women’s Ministry core-team hosted an event, Redefining Vocations, to help women de-stress from their current perception of what vocation means. The event featured a talk by Sr. Elizabeth and three testimonies, including one by our core team member, Margaret. For those who were unable to attend or would like a refresher, these are the main points from the event:
1. Vocations should not be stressful. Many people (myself included) get stressed and overwhelmed about the thought of vocations, but vocations are not meant to be binding. Your vocation should free you and allow you to live your life more fully.
2. Your vocation is not just some point in the future. It does not suddenly begin once you have a ring or a veil, but is a process that takes place throughout your entire life. As Katrina Zeno came to find, “the process is the end product.” Your vocation began the moment you were born and is taking place right now. So do not get caught up in thinking about what your future vocation will be, but focus on living out your current vocation.
3. As women we have not just one vocation, but three that can be remembered as U-G-I,or Universal, Gender, and Individual.
a. The universal vocation is one that all people have, it is the universal call to love. This is the vocation we receive because we are daughters of the Father. Before going any further in learning what our vocation is, we must first understand what it means to be a daughter of the Father so that we can accept His love and share it with others.
b. The gender specific vocation is our call as women to be mothers. As women we are created with an empty space in us, our womb, which signifies this call to be a mother. But this is not limited to just motherhood in the physical sense, but also spiritual motherhood, which allows all women to nourish the spiritual, emotional, and psychological needs of others around us by caring for them or through prayer.
c. The individual vocation is the unique vocation each person has that is based on our gifts. Our unique vocation unfolds throughout our life and will never be completed while we are still living.
These are some of the major points Sr. Elizabeth touched upon in her talk, but to learn more about the vocation of women there are plenty of resources available, including Katrina Zeno’s book, Discovering the Feminine Genius, and many essays by Edith Stein.
God Bless,
Beth
1. Vocations should not be stressful. Many people (myself included) get stressed and overwhelmed about the thought of vocations, but vocations are not meant to be binding. Your vocation should free you and allow you to live your life more fully.
2. Your vocation is not just some point in the future. It does not suddenly begin once you have a ring or a veil, but is a process that takes place throughout your entire life. As Katrina Zeno came to find, “the process is the end product.” Your vocation began the moment you were born and is taking place right now. So do not get caught up in thinking about what your future vocation will be, but focus on living out your current vocation.
3. As women we have not just one vocation, but three that can be remembered as U-G-I,or Universal, Gender, and Individual.
a. The universal vocation is one that all people have, it is the universal call to love. This is the vocation we receive because we are daughters of the Father. Before going any further in learning what our vocation is, we must first understand what it means to be a daughter of the Father so that we can accept His love and share it with others.
b. The gender specific vocation is our call as women to be mothers. As women we are created with an empty space in us, our womb, which signifies this call to be a mother. But this is not limited to just motherhood in the physical sense, but also spiritual motherhood, which allows all women to nourish the spiritual, emotional, and psychological needs of others around us by caring for them or through prayer.
c. The individual vocation is the unique vocation each person has that is based on our gifts. Our unique vocation unfolds throughout our life and will never be completed while we are still living.
These are some of the major points Sr. Elizabeth touched upon in her talk, but to learn more about the vocation of women there are plenty of resources available, including Katrina Zeno’s book, Discovering the Feminine Genius, and many essays by Edith Stein.
God Bless,
Beth
Friday, November 11, 2011
Food For Thought: Vocations
Happy Friday, Ladies!
I thought that today, as the week is coming to a close, I would share some quotes that I found really thought provoking and good for reflection. Our theme so far this week has been vocations, since we are getting ready for our big event, "Redefining Vocations" this Sunday. So here are some quotes that shed some light on what vocations truly are:
"When you wonder about the mystery of yourself, look to Christ, who gives you the meaning of life. When you wonder what it means to be a mature person, look to Christ, who is the fulfillment of humanity. And when you wonder about your role in the future of the world look to Christ."
-Pope John Paul the Great
"The things that we love tell us what we are." -St. Thomas Aquinas
"Every Woman who wants to fulfill her destiny must look to Mary as the ideal"
-Saint Edith Stein
"We are born to love, we live to love and we will die to love still more."
-St. Joseph Cafasso
"The vocation of a woman is to suffer and to love."
-St. Teresa of Avila
I know some of these quotes don't seem to be directly related to the theme of vocations, but I challenge you to take a closer look at them, take them to prayer and see what God wants to tell you about vocations.
Feel free to leave your thoughts or reflections in the comments section, we would love to hear from you :)
In Christ's Love,
Megan
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Clash of the Vocations
Love and vocations. Two words that have terrifying significance.
When I was in the third grade, I told everyone I was going to be a nun. Not because I felt any real calling to it, but I believed the boys in my class were so weird I couldn’t imagine marrying one of them. As I grew older and realized how many other men there were in the world besides the ones I went to school with, I changed my mind and decided I actually was going to be married one day. The past couple years were dotted with moments of sheer panic, I would get myself so worked up at times, my mind would howl, “I’M NOT IN A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP I’M GOING TO DIE AN OLD MAID MY BIOLOGICAL CLOCK IT TICKING I’M RUNNING OUT OF TIME WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!?!?!?!???”
I’m nineteen.
In the back of my mind I knew I was being ridiculous, but that didn’t stop me from torturing myself with these despairing thoughts. This past year, I made a commitment to myself to focus on a more intimate relationship with Jesus. It was an extremely interesting and fruitful experience, one that is still ongoing and will continue for the rest of my life if I allow it to. Every day I would recount in my head the ways He loved me and I would try to release worries and troubles into His care with as much trust as I could give. I realized the truth in how important it is to have a sturdy relationship with God before entering into a relationship with others. If I can’t love someone who is Love, Perfection, Goodness, Truth, and everything wonderful and who loves me so deeply, so passionately, so perfectly- if I’m afraid of that relationship, then how can I truly love someone who is flawed and imperfect and will at some point or another hurt me due to his human flaws?
So as the year progressed and I felt myself loving God in a way I hadn’t before, a thought began to creep into my mind…..
“Wait….I think I love God…..DOES THAT MEAN I’M SUPPOSED TO BE A NUN???!?!?!?!?”
Once again I drove myself to confusion with this sudden clash of vocations. I couldn’t decide if it was God calling me or if it was just me panicking and dragging the thought back through my mind. Though I had told myself that I was “open” to whatever God wanted, the thought of a different vocation, something different than what I planned, caused me a good deal of stress.
It took me a couple months to really realize that no matter what our vocation is, we are always called to love Christ passionately. Once I confirmed this truth in my heart, the hysteric thoughts melted away, and I felt peace. The other day one of my friends asked me if I was planning on getting married, and for one of the first times in my life, I couldn’t answer either way, I was at a loss for words. In a way I felt like it wasn’t my place to say, there’s still this degree of uncertainty of what He has planned for me. But I do know that He will Love me, and with His grace, I will be able to love Him back. And if Christ does have a husband waiting for me somewhere, I know that my ability to love him will increase as my love for my God deepens. And if God is calling me to join a religious order or to remain single, then my relationship is on the right track already. Any time spent strengthening your relationship with God is never wasted time. He’s not only the Love of our lives, He’s the Love in our lives. The commandment says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul.” The phrase “but only if you’re going to be a nun” is not an attached disclaimer.
Want to talk more about vocations?
Does the thought of vocations stress you out?
Whether you feel like you know your vocation or not, this is an event for YOU!
Join us for a relaxing afternoon that will include:
- A talk on Redefining Vocations
-Testimonies
-Refreshments/CHOCOLATE
-A Raffle
-Fun!
Your sister in Christ,
Jenny
When I was in the third grade, I told everyone I was going to be a nun. Not because I felt any real calling to it, but I believed the boys in my class were so weird I couldn’t imagine marrying one of them. As I grew older and realized how many other men there were in the world besides the ones I went to school with, I changed my mind and decided I actually was going to be married one day. The past couple years were dotted with moments of sheer panic, I would get myself so worked up at times, my mind would howl, “I’M NOT IN A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP I’M GOING TO DIE AN OLD MAID MY BIOLOGICAL CLOCK IT TICKING I’M RUNNING OUT OF TIME WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!?!?!?!???”
I’m nineteen.
In the back of my mind I knew I was being ridiculous, but that didn’t stop me from torturing myself with these despairing thoughts. This past year, I made a commitment to myself to focus on a more intimate relationship with Jesus. It was an extremely interesting and fruitful experience, one that is still ongoing and will continue for the rest of my life if I allow it to. Every day I would recount in my head the ways He loved me and I would try to release worries and troubles into His care with as much trust as I could give. I realized the truth in how important it is to have a sturdy relationship with God before entering into a relationship with others. If I can’t love someone who is Love, Perfection, Goodness, Truth, and everything wonderful and who loves me so deeply, so passionately, so perfectly- if I’m afraid of that relationship, then how can I truly love someone who is flawed and imperfect and will at some point or another hurt me due to his human flaws?
So as the year progressed and I felt myself loving God in a way I hadn’t before, a thought began to creep into my mind…..
“Wait….I think I love God…..DOES THAT MEAN I’M SUPPOSED TO BE A NUN???!?!?!?!?”
Once again I drove myself to confusion with this sudden clash of vocations. I couldn’t decide if it was God calling me or if it was just me panicking and dragging the thought back through my mind. Though I had told myself that I was “open” to whatever God wanted, the thought of a different vocation, something different than what I planned, caused me a good deal of stress.
It took me a couple months to really realize that no matter what our vocation is, we are always called to love Christ passionately. Once I confirmed this truth in my heart, the hysteric thoughts melted away, and I felt peace. The other day one of my friends asked me if I was planning on getting married, and for one of the first times in my life, I couldn’t answer either way, I was at a loss for words. In a way I felt like it wasn’t my place to say, there’s still this degree of uncertainty of what He has planned for me. But I do know that He will Love me, and with His grace, I will be able to love Him back. And if Christ does have a husband waiting for me somewhere, I know that my ability to love him will increase as my love for my God deepens. And if God is calling me to join a religious order or to remain single, then my relationship is on the right track already. Any time spent strengthening your relationship with God is never wasted time. He’s not only the Love of our lives, He’s the Love in our lives. The commandment says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul.” The phrase “but only if you’re going to be a nun” is not an attached disclaimer.
Want to talk more about vocations?
Does the thought of vocations stress you out?
Whether you feel like you know your vocation or not, this is an event for YOU!
Join us for a relaxing afternoon that will include:
- A talk on Redefining Vocations
-Testimonies
-Refreshments/CHOCOLATE
-A Raffle
-Fun!
Sunday, November 13 · 1:00pm - 3:00pm in the International Lounge in the J.C. Williams Center | |
| It's going to be awesome! | |
Jenny
Friday, November 4, 2011
Recap of Sr. Eliana's Talk
Ladies,
For those of you who weren't able to make it to the recent Women's Ministry event, I just wanted to touch on some of the main points of Sr. Eliana's talk about self-awareness as a means to self-gift.
The first part of the talk was about coming to a better understanding of yourself and learning about yourself
- Listen to your stream-of-consciousness. What are your thoughts, dreams, daydreams, etc. trying to tell you about yourself? Take this to prayer
- What are your potential triggers/wounds that can affect your relationships?
- Don't discount your feelings - learn to guide them in prayer through the use of your reason and will.
- Listen to the older women and role-models in our life - they often have more experience and wisdom to share.
- Do a daily examine. At the end of your day, ask the Lord when and where you were with Him and when you were not.
- Note: All these things are meant to be taken to prayer, so prayer is obviously necessary and primary. Guard and protect your intimate prayer time and times of silence.
- Let the Lord affirm you through the experiences and circumstances of your daily life. Let Him love you through your friendships, relationships, triumphs, etc.
- Get to know Mary and develop a relationship with her! She is more fundamental to growing close to Christ than we can possibly imagine.
- Read! Draw fom the wisdom and beauty of Sacred Scripture, the Catechism, the saints, philosophers, theologians, etc.
The second part of the talk was about self-gift and how we can practice it right now. This does not necessarily mean the self-gift to which you will be called in your unique vocation.
- Minisry of Presence
- This involves communicating to others through all of your actions, both obvious and subtle, that they are truly worth your time. Be attentive, listen, make eye contact
- Be authentic and truly share yourself with others.
- Be okay with not having all the answers.
While there is so much more to be said on this topic, and while I cannot re-iterate all the wonderful things Sr. Eliana said, I hope this is helpful. I hope I find you all well, and please know that the ladies of Women's Ministry are always praying for you!
In Christ,
Marta
For those of you who weren't able to make it to the recent Women's Ministry event, I just wanted to touch on some of the main points of Sr. Eliana's talk about self-awareness as a means to self-gift.
The first part of the talk was about coming to a better understanding of yourself and learning about yourself
- Listen to your stream-of-consciousness. What are your thoughts, dreams, daydreams, etc. trying to tell you about yourself? Take this to prayer
- What are your potential triggers/wounds that can affect your relationships?
- Don't discount your feelings - learn to guide them in prayer through the use of your reason and will.
- Listen to the older women and role-models in our life - they often have more experience and wisdom to share.
- Do a daily examine. At the end of your day, ask the Lord when and where you were with Him and when you were not.
- Note: All these things are meant to be taken to prayer, so prayer is obviously necessary and primary. Guard and protect your intimate prayer time and times of silence.
- Let the Lord affirm you through the experiences and circumstances of your daily life. Let Him love you through your friendships, relationships, triumphs, etc.
- Get to know Mary and develop a relationship with her! She is more fundamental to growing close to Christ than we can possibly imagine.
- Read! Draw fom the wisdom and beauty of Sacred Scripture, the Catechism, the saints, philosophers, theologians, etc.
The second part of the talk was about self-gift and how we can practice it right now. This does not necessarily mean the self-gift to which you will be called in your unique vocation.
- Minisry of Presence
- This involves communicating to others through all of your actions, both obvious and subtle, that they are truly worth your time. Be attentive, listen, make eye contact
- Be authentic and truly share yourself with others.
- Be okay with not having all the answers.
While there is so much more to be said on this topic, and while I cannot re-iterate all the wonderful things Sr. Eliana said, I hope this is helpful. I hope I find you all well, and please know that the ladies of Women's Ministry are always praying for you!
In Christ,
Marta
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