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17 April 2013 Still practicing… the Bodacious Basics blog tour lands at The Practicing Catholic today!

Still practicing… the Bodacious Basics blog tour lands at The Practicing Catholic today!

April 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Here’s a little introduction to the book’s blog tour: Ten Bodacious Basic… Ten Minutes at Time:

listen to ‘Blog Tour for “Blessed, Beautiful, & Bodacious”’ on Audioboo

Blogger and Iowa Catholic Radio host, Lisa Schmidt* and her hubby, Joel, are gaining a growing readership over at The Practicing Catholic, and I’m honored that

Hanging out with Lisa Schmidt at the Catholic New Media Conference in 2012.

Hanging out with Lisa Schmidt at the Catholic New Media Conference in 2012.they are hosting the blog tour today where I read an excerpt about becoming a beloved daughter of God. Look for that post here!

they are hosting the blog tour today where I read an excerpt about becoming a beloved daughter of God. Look for that post here!

Tomorrow’s stop on the blog tour: Snoring Scholar. 

A schedule for the blog tour is here.

:::

*You might appreciate my conversation with Lisa Schmidt from 2012 on Among Women 123.

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Wanted: Spiritual Fathers and Mothers – my latest column @PatheosCatholic

April 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Do you have spiritual heroes? I do. They are people who remain dear to my heart. They are men and women who have showed me the way to change my life for the better, and many of them, through their friendly mentoring helped to grow me up in the faith. I could list many names from years gone by beyond my family circle. They were church folk, school folk, older women friends. Somehow they generously took time to love me and encourage me even when I could not offer anything of value in return. They were magnanimous spiritual mothers and fathers to me. I’m fortunate to still know a few today.

I could also list the names of many favorite saints who have inspired me along the way.

I thank God for all of them, the saints, and the good Christians I met who have shepherded me, especially as a teen and younger woman. Somewhere along the way, I started to want to be like them.

If you read my book, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious, you’ll find that I make the case that Christian women are called to grow and mature in such a way as to be able to make disciples through their holy influence in their spheres of life — to be physical and spiritual mothers. Whether single, married, or religious, women are baptized and called to participate in the universal mission of the Church that ignites faith and light and love in others. That we not only come to know, love, and serve Christ ourselves, but that we bring others along to Heaven with us as well.

Yet we live in a society that often demeans parenthood and degrades or ignores the spiritual dimensions that are so necessary to human flourishing. As I wrote in my latest column at Patheos, we need spiritual heroes…

What the world needs now are spiritual heroes. Be they spiritual fathers or spiritual mothers, we need them. The Catholic Church has long known this and has produced spiritual fathers and mothers by the millions. We call them saints.

Besides all the famous names on the heavenly rolls like the Blessed Mother, St Joseph, the Apostles and Martyrs, and the rest, there are millions more –- unnamed and lesser saints — who started their days just like you and me. They got up in the morning and got to work.

Many of us mere mortals, while piously attempting to honor and revere saints, mistakenly see their heroic virtue as beyond our reach. What I’m saying is that many Catholics and others put saints on pedestals in ways that leave us fretting that such sanctity is unattainable for the regular folks, the Joe and Joan Q. Public sitting in the pew.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Saints in heaven this very moment are looking at us and praying that we dispatch with this silly notion, and dispel this excuse from the responsibility and, yes, the privilege, each baptized person has to grow in holiness. That is, to try to be a saint.

Let me say this as forthrightly as I can: Get a grip, People of God!

The saints began with the same raw materials we do: A sinful life in need of God and his grace. Fortunately grace is not in short supply, for where sin increases, grace abounds all the more. (Cf. Romans 5: 20)

There’s more, of course.

Go read it. There’s a bodacious mission out there waiting for you.

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19 February 2013 Among Women 157: Going through the Change… Benedict XVI’s announcement & the Midlife Madres II

Among Women 157: Going through the Change… Benedict XVI’s announcement & the Midlife Madres II

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Change happens… it happens in life, and last week, a soon-to-come change was announced for the papacy. Midlife women know all about changes… from the body to the soul! Join me for Among Women this week as I share my first thoughts on Benedict XVI’s stunning announcement to leave the Chair of Peter, as well talk about the changes both joyful and stressful changes that midlife women face, with my guest, Barb Szyszkiewicz, blogger at SFO Mom. Also in this episode, a look at the life of St Agnes of Prague (aka St Agnes of Bohemia).

Download Among Women or find Episode 157 on iTunes.

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This makes me think… about my “Amens”…

February 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“Amen” [is] an extremely important word. We say it often; and unfortunately, we perhaps say it lightly without much or any realization of the responsibility to which we commit ourselves with every “Amen” we utter. How often are we consciously aware that when we add our “Amen” to a prayer, we are making a solemn agreement to what the prayer puts forth?

…

A blithe or half-thinking “Amen” can be signing us up to what we do not really intend to give. We have said by our “Amen”: This I believe, this I will do, with this I agree. That is one consideration. 

Another is this: just as all prayers are completed with their “Amen”, so are our lives fulfilled in their “amens”. In a sense, the “amens” of our lives, are more important  even than the fiats of our lives.

 

–Mother Mary Francis PCC, Anima Christi: Soul of Christ

 

 

 

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The F.U.N. Quotient… humor, Catholic style, plus a little bitty kiddie inspiration

February 1, 2013 By 2 Comments

So, here are two things that made me smile this week…

First, this blog will be permanently linked in my blogroll. The best find on Tumblr yet!

And, second, by now millions of ya have been pepped up by this dynamo!

And, this just in, a late breaking third guffaw… a parody of Anne Hathaway’s “Fantine” from Les Miz –> very funny, but note a language alert.

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Podcasts with Pro-Life Themes… share these!

January 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2012-10-19 at 6.55.00 PMHere’s a quick review of some of the Among Women podcasts that may interest you as we conclude this year’s March for Life.

(Click on the links for each show and find valuable resources related to the subject matter.)

Among Women 121: Pro-life advocate Leticia Velasquez combats the culture of death and discusses her book about families with children with Downs Syndrome.

Among Women 120: A compelling story of a birth mother and an adoptive mother who discuss the decisions they made, the prayers they prayed, and the daughter they share via an open adoption… 14 years after the child was placed for adoption.

Among Women 75: Guest Dr Theresa Burke, an international expert on post-abortion stress and healing, as well as a clinical psychiatrist, discusses healing after an abortion, and the ministry of Rachel’s Vineyard. Pass this information on to your friends and churches. Everyone should know of this important ministry.

Among Women 74: Pro-life teen Jessica Schacle discusses her reasons behind her pro-life advocacy. This episode also features teaching on the Church’s profound understanding of the dignity of the human person.

Among Women 29: Guest Kathleen Fitzpatrick chronicles her journey of becoming pregnant during college, and her decision to give birth to a son and raise him. Women in their college years are among the highest statistics for abortion rates in this country. Share Kathleen’s story with someone you know!

Among Women 155: This most recent podcast talks about the genius of women, my latest article in the Washington Post, and the Nine Day novena that you can pray for life.

 

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6 December 2012 Adventing… a microcosm of real life

Adventing… a microcosm of real life

December 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So, my latest column at Patheos is the requisite nod to the liturgical calendar, but its more about ALL the comings of Christ in my experience… that the season of Advent really lights up an awareness of the sacred found in every day.

Here’s a excerpt:

Advent is not just a liturgical season, it’s a spiritual reality that has been touching, moving, and changing me all my life. In Advent, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming. In this season, I reflect not only on the coming of Christ in history, but Christ’s coming to my own personal history. His presence is tangible in all the advents of my life.

Advent means “coming,” “arrival,” or “appearance.” These all makes sense when I relate “advent” to the coming of Christ. By the miracle of the Incarnation, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. Through that same incarnation, I can understand the Lord’s coming in all the “advents” of my own life.

Let’s start with my conception and being alive in my mother’s womb—my “coming.” My mother was, and is, an active Catholic. During her pregnancy with me, she received communion during Mass. As she “received” the Lord, in some way, so did I. As the Lord touched my mother through those frequent communions, he also touched me. For as a mother is fed, so is her unborn child. All nutrition passes from mother to child. The body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist pumped through my veins even as a tiny baby hidden from the world but known to God and my parents.

The next advent or appearance of Christ was at my baptism. Even if I was not fully aware of my being baptized as an infant, I didn’t need to be. I was baptized into the faith of the Church. Christ’s presence permeated the process of my “becoming.” “In him, we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28  RSV).”

The rest is here. Subscribe to my columns at Patheos here.

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5 December 2012 Among Women Podcast # 152: Rooted in the Love of God

Among Women Podcast # 152: Rooted in the Love of God

December 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In this week’s episode of Among Women we look at the faith and testimony of St Catherine of Genoa, one of the Christian mystics from the Middle Ages who, despite heartaches and depression in her life, went on to live a life of heroic love of God and service to others. Today I’m also joined by Catholic author and EWTN TV host, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle who shares her wisdom about holy struggles as well, as she talks about some of the themes of her latest book, Rooted in Love, Our Calling as Catholic Women. 

I also spend a few moments recapping where I’ve been, and what’s to come in the next few weeks on Among Women.

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10 October 2012 Welcome to the Year of Faith! (Great links to get you started and to bookmark.)

Welcome to the Year of Faith! (Great links to get you started and to bookmark.)

October 10, 2012 By 7 Comments

Welcome to the Year of Faith!

The Year of Faith is actually slightly longer than a full year: October 11, 2012 through November 23, 2013.  It has a three-fold focus: knowing our Catholic faith, living it out both sacramentally within the church and in the world, and sharing the faith through evangelization and catechesis. This is a wonderful opportunity to make a plan for yourself as to what you might do to grow in those three areas.

Here are some links to help us get the most out of this year.

An Overview of the Year of Faith

  • The Calendar for the Year of Faith highlights special Vatican-sponsored events for the coming year including special days to celebrate the canonizations of new saints, lay and religious vocations, confirmations, World Youth Day, devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist, Mary and Marian devotion, and more.
  • The Pope and the bishops of the world are meeting in a Synod through the month of October. The theme of those meeting is the new evangelization. The document that contains the agenda for those meetings is found here.

Knowing Your Faith

Get to know the Bible. Most newcomers to bible study get comfortable by first looking at the Gospels and the epistles of the New Testament. Here’s an excellent bible commentary series on the New Testament for personal study or for groups, plus a New Testament study bible to with wonderful study helps built right into its pages.

Get to know the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This landmark reference work is the first update to the universal catechism the Church has had in 400 years, since the Council of Trent. It’s a masterpiece of all the Church believes, worships, lives, and prays. The Year of Faith celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Catechism’s reception. Find one at your local Catholic bookseller, or you may enjoy these resources

  • YOUCAT: the Catechism for youth

Read the Documents of Vatican II. The Year of Faith coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council. Read the documents online, or buy a copy from your local Catholic bookseller. Need a place to start? Try reading Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church). It is 8 chapters long and it is the key to unlocking the themes of the council found in the rest of the documents. Also, coming soon: a film on the historic Council known as Vatican II.

Discover Catholic programming to strengthen your faith through the national television ministries of Catholic TV and EWTN, and look to your local diocesan programming as well. Don’t forget Catholic radio networks, many of which can be found here. If you enjoy new media, SQPN is a Catholic podcasting network. Or, subscribe to Catholic newspapers, magazines, and your diocesan paper.

Watch a DVD. Try the 10-part Catholicism DVD series from Word on Fire. It is often shown in parishes and dioceses, as well as on Catholic television. It is also available for purchase.

Take a course. Pillars of Catholicism is a free online course that is being offered by the professors of John Paul the Great University. This series is a self-professed crash course in the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. It consists of 13 episodes, each a half-hour long. A new episode will be unlocked each week and will be permanently accessible. The course and all materials it provides are free.

Interested in subject matter related to women and the feminine genius? Watch for my new book, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood, due for release in March 2013. And for your personal and group study I recommend the ministry of Endow, which supports nearly 20,000 women in study groups across the US and Canada.

Living Your Faith

Get more out of the Mass. Try these resources:

  • Magnificat is a print subscription, or use their app for your smart phone to access the daily readings, commentary, and morning and evening prayer.

Pray more and increase your devotional life. Here’s a few suggestions:

  • Discover the Liturgy of the Hours. Longtime the prayer practice of priests and religious, many lay people enjoy praying the liturgy of the hours in whole or in part. You can purchase a breviary from your local Catholic bookseller, or online, by going to Universalis or the Divine Office. Modified versions of morning prayer and evening prayer are found in Magnificat.
  • Receive a plenary indulgence for your religious practice by fulfilling certain requirements during the Year of Faith. Elizabeth Scalia offers understanding on the plenary indulgence.
  • Make a holy hour, or go to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Find a chapel that offers Adoration here.

Sharing Your Faith

A baptized Catholic is baptized into the mission of the Church. Therefore, we, too, are called to spread the faith to others. Get started with these resources:

  • New Evangelizers website has blog posts and free resources that can help you make a faith connection with others.

Official Icon of the Year of Faith
Christ the Pantocrator – Cefalu, Sicily (Photo by Xerones, on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xerones/464417485/in/photostream/

 

The information shared here is also found in numerous links I prepared for my column at Patheos. Read the original article here. You can subscribe to it via RSS or email here. It has also been shared in an audio format on the Among Women Podcast. 

 

 

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12 September 2012 I’m at CatholicMom.com. Here’s “Spiritual Growth Within a Catholic Family,” Part 2.

I’m at CatholicMom.com. Here’s “Spiritual Growth Within a Catholic Family,” Part 2.

September 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The baptism of my daughter, Kathryn, 1990.

Bob and I have been parents for over 25 years. (Gosh, we’re pretty young there^.) Yet, we’ve learned a few things along the way. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find in my column today at CatholicMom.com…

The context for spiritual growth of children presumes that the parents enjoy a relationship with Christ and his Church, and are trying to grow in their faith as well as lead their families in the same.

The family of God is the Church at large, but it is built family by family. Vatican II dubbed the family “the domestic church”. Therefore, build your domestic church with the same care that you would create a home.

A Catholic life is more than “Church on Sundays”. It is a daily life, a way of being and a way of doing. A Catholic life is a response to the relationship we have as God’s sons and daughters – the rich heritage we gain in and through our baptism. A Christian life a witness to our identity; it is filled with virtue, especially the basics of faith, hope, and love. It is also a moral life that exalts the dignity of the human person and is, still, foundationally built upon the Golden Rule: Do to others, as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31.)

The Church considers you the primary educators of your children in matters of faith, not a Catholic school or a parish religious education class. If you look around, you can see that this is not a very popular responsibility, given the rampant neglect of this precious duty, but it does belong to you nonetheless. So even if you are the only parent on the block who believes this, it is worth doing, and worth encouraging the other Catholic parents you know to do the same.

Read the rest of Part 2 here, and find Part 1 here.

The Gohn’s at Kathryn’s commencement, 2012

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