Archbishop Joseph Tobin: The hurt and anger of Catholic women religious must be heard.

A number of leaders of women’s congregations have said to me that they’ve been surprised by the depth of anger and hurt that exists among the sisters. I think that can’t be ignored. It has to be addressed, it’s a sign of the times. - Archbishop Tobin
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[Editor's note:  I'm terribly sorry that I initially confused Archbishop Joseph Tobin with Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island.  Big mistake.  My sincere apologies.  I began this post noting that American Catholics seem to be rather fond of Bishop Tobin (as they should be) - known as he is for doing and saying all the right things as regards the hot button issues of the day, such as denying Holy Communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians and so on...  all the while I was thinking Bishop Tobin was the same Archbishop in Rome interviewed by the NCR.  Gratefully a reader corrected my mistake.  Within my commentary, I wondered 'out loud' how more conservative and traditional Catholics would react to the Archbishop's sympathies with American women religious:  Asking, "I wonder how he will fare with the critics of post-Vatican II women religious now after he recommends giving them an official ear and say in response to the Apostolic visitation now underway?"  Evidently some of my readers thought this post dealt with RI Bishop Tobin as well, I can't apologize enough for the mistake.  That said, I certainly found out what all of you think.  Looks like most everyone is hurt and angry about something these days.] 
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I posted last Sunday concerning the needs facing women religious because of dwindling numbers and the cost of caring for the aged and infirm sisters who remain.  I spoke favorably of the sister who talked to us about it before Mass began.  (Nota Bene as they say - last Sunday's sister fundraiser making the request for donations - was authorized to solicit for donations by the local ordinary of the diocese wherein she is situated.)  Anyway - at least two readers of this blog were not especially pleased that I seemed to be supporting liberal nuns. 
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One must avoid being 'disrespectful of what women religious in America have accomplished'.
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Archbishop Tobin seems to be in favor of dialogue and listening to others, rather than shouting them down and penalizing them into submission.  From John Allen at NCR:
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Rome must acknowledge the “depth of anger and hurt” provoked by a visitation of American nuns, the Vatican’s number two official for religious life has said, saying it illustrates the need for a “strategy of reconciliation” with women religious.

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Archbishop Joseph Tobin, Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said that he does not expect any “punitive” fallout from the visitation, and that before any decisions are made, women’s communities should have a chance to know the results and to respond.
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That addresses a central concern of many women religious, who have objected to what some perceive as the secrecy of the process. Tobin said that as a matter of “justice and charity,” he will “strongly advocate” for feedback and a right of reply. - Vatican must hear the 'anger and hurt' of American nuns
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Let's wait and see what the Roman Catholic bloggersterium decides...  They seem to be liking their bishops prostrating themselves in the dust on the steps of Cathedrals, perhaps some sort of public, humiliating penance for recalcitrant women religious would bring salvation back to the U.S.? 

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Catholics weigh in on Facebook use by ________!

Who?  Who?  By who?  
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Just fill in the blank with anyone:  Librarians, insurance adjustor's, pots and pans door to door salesmen, church lady workers, priests and Chinese people!  So anyway, CNA has an explosive expose on zombie-teens and their excessive use of social network sites such as Facebook.  Good report - but what about adults and all of those priests?  Huh?  Huh?  They are like online 24/7.  What about them?
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So anyway - From CNA:
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Although the amount of texting and hours spent networking online cited by the study might sound drastic to the average adult, many teens don't see it as abnormal
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One unlikely supporter of parental involvement is 16 year-old Jonathan from Omaha, Nebraska, who spoke to CNA on Dec. 6. Although excessive texting didn't land him in rehab, he noticed a sharp decline in his school performance when he got a cell phone earlier this year.

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His homework began to suffer and he even found himself losing sleep, carrying on conversations with friends via text long into the night. When his parents noticed on their cell phone bill that he had racked up 3,000 texts in one month, they staged an intervention of sorts.
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“They took my phone away,” he recalled. Though he was angry at first, Jonathan said he eventually understood. He said that he felt strangely relieved and noticed one day while riding in the car with his mom that they were actually carrying on a conversation instead of him being perpetually glued to his phone. Additionally, his school work started to improve.
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Jonathan also opened up his own Facebook account a few months ago at the urging of his friends. He said his reactions to the online networking site have been mixed.
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“The positive thing about Facebook is that you stay connected with people to a certain extent,” he said, adding that he can chat with friends and catch up with people he may have lost touch with.
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The negatives though, he added, are that it's “time consuming” and often includes interactions with others that are “superficial” and can leave one feeling empty. - Teens out of control.
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FB - spawn of the devil.
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Social network sites are eating our neo-pagan babies alive - and spitting their information out to every creepy FB user just waiting for the sewage.  But gosh darnit people!  The adults should share some of the blame - parents especially.  I was totally aghast after viewing the most disgusting TV ad featuring a little baby - A baby mind you!  (Shown above.)  Standing in his crib using an iPhone or a Raspberry and even one of those new thingies from Microsoft - iPad, or whatever they call it!  A baby online - unsupervised!  Fortunately his mom took the stuff away from him - but only because she wanted him to take a nap - not because she was upset about his Internet use.
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These kids grow up to be crazy - I hear stories about people on Plurk just going nuts - telling off total strangers for no reason - when they should be working or in therapy.  My BFF - who's name I can't reveal - is constantly drunk on her iPhone - and she texts smut pretending it's okay because she's 'such a good  Catholic'.  I know of a priest who just can't get enough gadgets and goes around begging for new tech stuff all the time.  It is so sad to see how the Internet is wreaking havoc on families and professional students and religious life.  I know this one guy whose wife and kids live in fear some of the nutcases he's befriended online will show up at their house someday - she is so scared he will give out their address on 336053 North Ditzworth Road Around the Lake in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103.  (He posts photos of himself online without his shirt and glasses.  So freaking sick!)
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Yeah - so some of these 'Catholics' need help - if not rehab.  Remember - child neglect can be just as bad as child abuse.  And just a word to the wise - never post drunk or on pain meds - you'll live to regret it.

Marketing trends: The use of religious symbols to sell products.

I noticed on another blog mention of 'the use of religious symbols to sell products' in a post featuring a popular soft drink ad, as if it was some sort of new trend.  I don't think it is.  Silent monks were often used to sell products from Beano to Cappuccino hot drink mixes - and of course nuns in habit were always a good sell for fast food establishments selling fish sandwiches on Fridays in Lent.
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I get the 'watch' for anti-Catholic/anti-religious ads.  I'm not always so sure the ads are deliberately intended to alienate religious people however - especially when it involves mass marketing and high profits from a popular product.  I honesty think some of the irreverence is cultural, the result of de-Christianized, secularized cultural attitudes in a manic-consumer driven society.  Many people in marketing have no idea what goes on in a church, much less understand what is so special about 'holy' stuff.   These are post-Christian times we live in folks.
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I'm not defending this stuff, I'm just saying not everything is deliberately anti-Catholic - a lot of it is just stupidity, bad manners and bad taste.  Christians have also been known to exploit icons and tasteless religious kitsch to market themselves...  some even engage in multiple product placement on their blogs to increase their profits.
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As a side note, what I have noticed about Christmas ads this year is that most of them are in your face, hard sell, bargain ads - buy, buy, buy.  I have yet to see a really good institutional ad meant to arouse emotions and foster a feel-good holiday mood.  It seems to me Americans - religious or not - are more consumer driven than ever - in the middle of such a severe economic downturn no less.  Looks like greed to me.

Iraqi Martyrs... nothing we can do... nothing we can say... no one is listening.

Let it bleed...

Every one condemns the violence but no one can stop it.  An elderly Christian couple were just martyred/murdered in their home this past Saturday - story here. 
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Life goes on while martyrs bleed in witness to the faith - in fidelity to Christ.  I can not understand my lukewarmness, my indifference, and my worrying about petty conflicts over the faith... when real Christians are dying.
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May the holy wonder-working bishop, St. Nicholas of Myra intercede for us and most especially, come to the aid of those Christians persecuted by Islam.

St. Nicholas of Myra, pray for us.

WikiLeaks - So Dr. Evil!

This story is so Dr. Evil and James Bond-ish.  Julian Assange has world powers by the... you know.

The anchorite in contemporary society.

Advent is the perfect time to consider a life alone...
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Terry, of the wonderful blog Idle Speculations has a terrific post on contemprary hermits and anchorites.  I've posted my observations on the life - although these are charred by my own disillusionments and failures - nevertheless, Terry's post is full of light and optimism, read it here: The modern anchorite or hermit.
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"The women and men who withdraw to live in the company of God, precisely because of this decision, acquire a great sense of compassion for the sorrows and weaknesses of others. As friends of God, they have a wisdom that the world, from which they distance themselves, does not have. And with kindness, they share it with those who knock on their door" - Pope Benedict XVI on Julian of Norwich

Make straight the paths....

Sometimes the honesty is too much.
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In Advent we joyfully anticipate the coming of Christ, the light shining in the darkness - the light the darkness cannot grasp.  Nevertheless, the light seems to enlighten and shine dimly; only growing brighter gradually.  Year after year, season after season, until it shines so brightly at times all we can see is darkness.  And so it seems, that while darkness covers everything, a distant light illuminates what it contains...
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It is in times of trial, dryness, and aridity when our faith is tested and our weakness exposed.  One may have faith, hope, and charity without understanding or consolation...  When everything and everyone disappoints, even when we find nothing in ourselves to approve, there is that one speck of light - one minuscule point of light shining in the darkness - it is just enough.  Just enough for the wait.
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A blogger once asked if anyone ever writes about their discouragements or challenges - even doubts as regards faith and the Church.  He said all the posts he reads are pretty much pious reflections, holy accomplishments, and/or the writer's personal 'witness to hope'.  He wondered if anyone else ever struggled with faith and people of faith, do they ever fall or get discouraged and so on?  It was quite awhile ago that I read that - but I think I'm recalling it correctly and understood what he meant.
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So anyway - this blog is pretty much all about that kind of stuff.  I try to avoid any pretence in what I discuss here - I try to be frank.  It seems to me I write about the stuff that one discovers in the darkness - after it has been exposed to the light, as it were.  Perhaps that is why some readers are disedified by this blog, or do not like what I discuss.  That is fine of course, this is only a personal blog and as in life, friends come and go - and frequently we always fail each other in one way or another.  That too is part of the course.  I somehow think that is what Advent is about - making straight the paths, winnowing the threshing floor, as today's Gospel says.  Maybe just for me and not others.
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"A voice behind me said, 'this is the way, walk in it.'"
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At adoration the other day an older lady at church confided to me that she is not in the holiday spirit, that Advent is just another season for her, that she is somewhat apathetic about Christmas, and so on.  I told her I'm sort of the same way.  I didn't try to tell her anything else - we can't 'fix' things in other people, especially when we are so poor ourselves.  Later I thought about what she said and I decided that is how it is for some of us.  You can't tell people how they are supposed to feel or that the emptiness they experience should be filled with some tenuous joy.  Not at all.  I am convinced however, that the emptiness can be a good sign, a normal process.  It may mean all of the other chicanery we once devised and depended upon have finally failed.  In other words, we no longer have anything we can depend upon in ourselves - we have come face to face with our reality - our existence. 
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Frequently it is in such darkness that one can see just a little, tiny point of light - deep in one's soul - maybe just for a flash... but it is just enough... just enough for the wait.

Mass Chat: Retirement Fund for Religious

Share in the care.
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This is serious - very serious.  Women's religious orders - and men's too - comprised of those generous souls who gave up everything to enter religious communities which taught us or nursed us, desperately need out help today. 
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The sister Director of Pastoral Ministry at my parish - who has been there for over 17 years BTW - spoke before Mass Saturday evening.  She is a School Sister of Notre Dame, professed in 1960 and still working after a stroke and an aneurysm, just a few years apart.  She is a wonderful nun - so charitable and joyful.  Her name is Sr. Deanna.  I love her.  If you knew her or could hear her speak you would never again look down on older women religious.  We imagine all sisters without habits, who live in apartments and work in parishes, are these terribly modern, anti-traditional religious, and yet I am always pleasantly surprised to find they are dedicated, devout Catholic religious, ever-faithful to their vocation. 
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Yes their numbers have depleted, yes there are fewer vocations, but these women who gave their lives for the Church are aging and are facing an uncertain future - not unlike many of our elderly poor.  The thing is, these women gave their lives in service and never foresaw the day when religious life declined, they never anticipated the day no one would be there for them as they were for their elder sisters in religion.   I think the SSND have just over 600 vocations in this province right now.  Almost 250 of them are in skilled care, nursing care, or assisted living.  The remaining sisters, not all of them employed, are aging as well.  These women are very much in need.
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Not every one of these sisters are flaming liberals - I expect most have simply lived in obedience to their superiors and followed the direction of post-Vatican II religious training.  When I meet such sisters one on one, I understand they are faithful to the Magisterium as well as their vocation.  It is by their charity and fidelity - indeed their works - that they are recognized and known.  A habit doesn't always make a religious.
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Instead of feeding the birds, why not donate to the Retirement Fund for Religious.

Coffee and donuts talk: Berto and Buni Cutie

Former Catholic Miami Sound Machine Priest Alberto Cutie and wife Buni had their first child, a baby girl named Camila Victoria.

So here's the deal...  oh, who cares.

Margaret Sanger interview redux.

Separated at contraception.
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Marge Sanger is in the news again with a look back at the Mike Wallace interview wherein Wallace nails the old broad - well, not nails her, but tries to pin her down.  That doesn't sound right either, does it.  Anyway - click here for the story.
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The photo Pewsitters used for the link reminded me of an earlier observation I once made about how much the young Sanger resembled Jim Caveziele.  I still think Caveziele should play Sanger in a film based on her life - Barb Nicolosi's Act Up playhouse never seemed to be interested in my idea though.  Maybe Mel Gibson would reconsider?  If they use my idea I'll donate 10% of my 'finder's fee' to Fr. Z's 'feeder feed'.
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Second Sunday in Advent "Get Silly Contest":  How many 'followers' can I lose in a weekend?

What I have been doing...

It snowed again poodles!

Overnight we got 10 feet of snow!  (That's a lie!)  So I am busy removing snow and playing with all the neighborhood dogs - we love to run and fetch frisbies in the snow and lick people's faces and roll down hills.

Oh! BTW - I updated Up Your Street with a couple of paintings I've been working on these past few weeks.  Enjoy!  Or not... 
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It may also interest you to know that for Advent I'm trying to be very monastic - so I do not open cards or letters until Sunday - sometimes I don't open them until Christmas.  With emails and blog comments, I've decided to do the same - so go crazy if you want to in the combox.  Or not.  Just remember, I will read them on Sunday.  Your cards and gifts I'll save until Christmas.  Kidding - never send me gifts.  Thanks.

Feast of St. Barbara

Patron of U.S. Army Field Artillery.

I'm always surprised...

So my contention is that, inwardly, a homosexual is never a happy, stable person. There is always some chagrin, some inner chagrin that he takes with him. - Gerard van den Aardweg PhD

I'm always surprised at how sensitive gay men can be - especially gay Catholic guys working on their issues.  I suppose I should refer to them as same-sex attracted Catholic men - they tend to have an aversion to the gay if they are in Courage or do not act out as gay - which means they are striving to live a chaste life.  I appreciate that.  On the other hand, if one says something the least bit negative about DADT - gay soldiers, or even gay monks, priests, et al, they are suddenly deeply offended if what is said doesn't suit their sensibilities.  Which explains why I end up referring to them as gay, considering how defensive they get for the gay. 
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Anyway.  Recent history proves gay people tend to have difficulty with any type of constructive criticism of gay culture and its practitioners - even if one of their own does the criticizing.  I recall the late playwright, AIDS activist Larry Kramer, who was highly critical of the trashy, promiscuous side of homosexuality, declaring: 
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"Almost 60 million people whom we live and work with every day think we are immoral. “Moral values” was top of many lists of why people supported George Bush. Not Iraq. Not the economy. Not terrorism. "Moral values." In case you need a translation that means us. It is hard to stand up to so much hate." - Source
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His critics countered:
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"Larry Kramer recycles the kind of harangues about gay men (and young gay men in particular) that institutions like the Times so love to print -- that they are buffoonish, disengaged Peter Pans dancing, drugging and f-----g their lives away while the world and the disco burn down around them." - Ibid

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One might have hoped gay people would have become more tolerant and open to critique after all of these years of lobbying and politicking.  Apparently not.  HIV rates are climbing once again too.
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N.B.  It was not my intention to harm or offend any gay person's feelings with this post.
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Photo:  Spoof on gays in the military.  According to Army and Marine chiefs, as well as combat troops in the field, the repeal of DADT would not be welcome:
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The top uniformed officers of the Army and the Marines say letting gays serve openly in the military at a time of war would be divisive and difficult, sharply challenging a new Pentagon study that calculates the risk as low.

Odd female mystics...

Margery Kempe.

The Holy Father has been digging up a lot of female mystics for his Wednesday audiences lately.  Many of these were the same mystics I was forbidden to read in the novitiate, BTW.  I expect he's speaking about these women to help modern women understand they have always had a place in the Church.  Early on, I too was attracted by the more obscure medieval female contemplatives, enjoying their more homely, Alice-sit-by-the-fire mysticism.  Kempe was actually something of a camp.  Quite a character - many thought she was mad - Julian of Norwich assured her that her visions must be good because they led to greater works of charity.  (Julian didn't know for sure, did she.)  That said, one of my favorite stories involves Margery tempted to an adulterous affair, having fallen victim to a male parishioner's flattery.  Naughty girl.
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My little Margie.
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Though she had tried to be more devout after her vision, she was tempted by sexual pleasures and social jealousy for some years. Eventually turning away from what she interpreted as the effect of worldly pride in her vocational choices, Kempe dedicated herself completely to the spiritual calling that she felt her earlier vision required. Striving to live a life of commitment to God, Kempe negotiated a celibate marriage with her husband, and began to make pilgrimages around Europe to holy sites — including Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago de Compostela. The stories surrounding these travels are what eventually comprised much of her Book, although a final section includes a series of prayers. The spiritual focus of her Book is on the mystical conversations she conducts with Christ for more than forty years. - Source
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There is hope for us all, I dare say.  BTW, Anglicans venerate the blessed Margery on November 9.  I once had a very old copy of her autobiography...  Lesson learned - never lend books to 'friends'.

Fact: It was once common practice to ban homosexuals from spy agencies and secret service positions.

Though it was covered up by Chump, the Dragon Woman was reportedly a male-transvestite double-agent.

Wikileaks... gay rage?

Just asking.
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I got an email about the Wikileaks leaks.  I haven't written anything about this issue, there are enough people doing so already.  However, I do consider the entire situation to be treason - and quite honestly, I'm surprised someone hasn't assassinated Julian Assange by now.  I don't think it takes a moral theologian to tell you that the Wikileaks actions are immoral.  Although someone please shut Sarah Palin up from expounding on how incompetent the Obama Administration is.  She's the queen of incompetence, so I don't know what she's shooting off her mouth about. 
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Speaking of queens...
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My email tipster sent me a post from Mass Resistance - a site I never read - but I found the article rather interesting.  I know some of my readers will be upset with me for posting about it, but that's how this blog goes - if you haven't noticed already.  Anyway, the site makes the claim that an angry homosexual activist is behind the WikiLeaks treachery. 

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The US Army intelligence analyst who has been arrested for disclosing more than more than 90,000 intelligence reports and more than 150,000 diplomatic cables to the Wikileaks website is a homosexual activist enraged at the military's "anti-gay" policies.
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Bradley Manning, who is now awaiting court-marshal at a military stockade in Quantico, VA, was arrested last May for giving a classified video to the Wikileaks website, and later it became clear that he had given them thousands of other military documents. He is an open homosexual, and his anger at the military's rejection of homosexuality appears to be the major reason for his actions. - The angry gay activist did it.
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Media ignoring the story.
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Is there a media blackout on this because of the pending "don't ask, don't tell" military ban, opening the barracks to homosexuals?  Some people seem to thinks so.  Years ago homosexuals in the military and secret services were considered a liability due to their susceptibility to blackmail.  I actually understood that.  Even in corporate situations I've experienced the wrath of gay men...  I once had a member of senior management tell me, "You know what you have to do to get ahead."  That was back in the days before any self-respecting man would come forward with a sexual harassment suit.  Gay men with power - or access to it, can be treacherous. 
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Though I'm not as extreme as the fellow who wrote the following, he does make a very valid observation - albeit extremely un-PC:
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So why were homosexuals denied security clearance in the first place? A series of Senate committee reports from the 1950s concluded that "moral perverts are bad national security risks ... because of their susceptibility to blackmail" and that homosexuals are "vulnerable to interrogation by a skilled questioner" due to emotional instability and moral weakness. (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 10/1/2001). - WkiLeaks Gay Connection
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I suppose the gay thing will turn out to be just one more conspiracy theory and condemned as homophobic hate speech and all that stuff - which is probably why mainstream press refuses to take it seriously.  I don't know if the gay issue is really THE issue, nevertheless it seems clear that Bradley Manning's emotional stability and loyalty was compromised by something.  Gay activists take their identity as gay people very seriously - but is it possible their personal rights could trump National Security?  Would gay activists ever try to subvert the U.S. government, seek to over turn laws, and change moral standards?
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As Derek Fey might say:  "How very dare you!  How very dare you suggest such a thing!"

Hermits, anchorites, recluses...

In plain view.
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I sometimes think the renewed interest in eremetical life in our time began with the facinating story of Blessed Charles of Jesus (de Foucauld) whose memorial is kept on December 1.  Before his expedition into the desert, hermits in the Latin Church were more or less relegated to the Carthusians and Camoldolese.  Only in the Camaldolese was the medieval practice of reclusion still available, otherwise that particular way of life ceased to be observed in the West - though the Orthodox maintained a somewhat vigorous solitary eremetic life all along into our own day.

Since the Council, and after the revisions to Canon Law, the hermit life (Can. 603) was re-instituted in the Latin Church.  Interestingly enough, I have always had spiritual directors who discouraged the hermit life or felt it was a mistake to reintroduce it in Canon Law - ironically, one of these SD lives as a diocesan hermit today.  Nevertheless, I took their precautions very seriously and was always rather dubious when I heard stories of increasing numbers of spiritual people running off to a hermitage in a woods, or at home.  I've known men and women who left monasteries to start their own Carthusian style hermitage, as well as men and women who just went off to live a hermit life - some canonically, others doing their own thing.  I've always had mixed feelings about the 'trend'.  The upside of so many years of pondering the matter is that I have come to understand exactly what I was not called to, which includes none of the above BTW, though others might consider me to be something of a recluse. 

I've known of urban hermits for many years of course, and I was interested in Sr. Laurel of Stillsong Hermitage from the first moment I read about her consecration/profession a few years ago.  I was very skeptical at first - I had some stereotypical old fashioned ideas about what a contemporary hermit should be - although if they could measure up to my ideals they would be roaming the desert naked.  Instead, what I have learned from reading Sr. Laurel is that an urban hermit's external life may differ from the barren asceticism of the desert, nevertheless it is a real vocation and an authentic form of consecrated solitary life in the Church.
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Anyway - if you are interested in the subject, I suggest you visit her blog - she writes well about the vocation.  I would post some entries she's written but I'm unable to copy and paste from her blog.  Visit her at Notes From Stillsong Hermitage
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Coincidently, yesterday the Holy Father spoke of the famous medieval anchorite, Julian of Norwich: 
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"Inspired by divine love, Julian made a radical choice,” Pope Benedict stated. “Like an ancient anchoress, she chose to live in a cell located near the church of St. Julian in the city of Norwich.”

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He explained that “anchoresses,” or recluses, dedicated themselves to prayer, meditation and study within their cells.
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“In this way they came to acquire a very delicate human and religious sensibility which led to their being venerated by the people,” the Pope explained, adding that “and men and women of all ages and conditions, in need of counsel and comfort, devotedly sought them out.”
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Those who choose to live apart from the world and devote their lives to prayer, the Pope observed, are “friends of God.”
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“Women and men who chose to withdraw and live in the company of God acquire, precisely because of this choice, a great sense of compassion for the suffering and weakness of others,” he said."Thus I think with admiration and gratitude" that today's monasteries of cloistered men and women "are oases of peace and hope, a precious treasure for the entire Church."
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Recalling St. Julian's book, titled "Revelations of Divine Love,” Pope Benedict said the work contains “an optimistic message based on the certainty that we are loved by God and protected by His Providence.”
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She “compares divine love with maternal love,” he added. “This is one of the most characteristic messages of her mystical theology. The tenderness, solicitude and sweetness of God's goodness towards us are so great that to us, pilgrims on the earth, they seem as the love of a mother for her children.” - CNA
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Note:  While searching for a photo to illustrate this post I came upon an interesting order of nuns in Quebec called the Recluse Sisters - I've never heard of them before.
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Art:  Anchoress

What?

I am sorry I haven't been able to respond to comments because I have been painting all morning.  I will be at adoration for the rest of the afternoon.

Love,

Dad

Blessed Charles De Foucauld: Another saint for losers

I love Charles De Foucauld - a cad of a young man turned penitent, turned priest and hermit.  He founded an order of religious but had no real followers until after his death.  Oddly enough, the example of his life led to not a few monastic vocation crashes, yet his spirituality became closely identified with the hidden, silent, loving action of the disregarded Jesus of Nazareth in the Blessed Sacrament.  He was killed, cast aside, with the monstrance containing the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, in the sands of the Sahara.

Blessed Charles ought to be the patron of new religious communities and failed religious founders.  I always thought his main problem was the Poor Clare abbess, Mother Elizabeth, who pushed him to become a priest.  Monks and priests - do not be misled by nuns.  ;)