Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thinking out loud...

Festal levity... and random thoughts.
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Geeze!  I missed doing a post for St. Patrick's day.
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Anyway, I was reading a post last night by a prolific author who kinda sorta posted a long spiel nailing people who either don't get what the posts are saying, or disagree with the author's POV.  So I ask, why blog at all you silly little narcissist?
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I keep thinking of Colorado - such a pretty state.  I love the Western U.S. anyway.  Didn't St. Katharine Drexel go west?  I believe she founded mission schools or something for colored people and Indians.  Although I'm fairly certain the schools were just for those Indian and colored kids whose parents supported the Catholic mission of the school and did not offer a serious counter-witness to that mission in their lifestyles.  No droppin' the peyote, no wampum, no shaman cross-dressers, no wonton black women in the family, and stuff like that.  (Those nuns were strict!)
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Nun of the above...
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After adoration yesterday the little nun administrator who was rude to a parishioner whose mother just died walked into the sanctuary.  I got the feeling she thought the pious people who believe in the Real Presence were gone.  She walks in, dressed in her best green St. Patrick's day sweat shirt and crisp poly-jeans, sees us across the nave, halts, meekly waves, and answers a question about tonight's sloppy joe dinner (yuck!) and then proceeds into the sanctuary and into the sacristy, never reverencing anything, not the altar, not the Blessed Sacrament - nada.  I know, maybe she forgot - but she never seems to do it.  I'm not judging here, but from her witness, I get the feeling she thinks no one is there.  I mention it because my parish can barely get anyone except old women to come to adoration once a week.  Since I started going on a regular basis, 3 have dropped out due to age and infirmity - and I think another died.  Soon there will be no one, and adoration will cease.  At least Sister has her peace and justice group though.  They are currently studying climate change.
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Speaking of catholic nuns, some 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns Wednesday sent law makers a letter urging them to pass the Senate health care bill.  I wonder if they will get kicked out of school?  Just imagine, 60 leaders of 59,000 nuns.  Maybe the rest of the nuns should be booted out too since their leaders - the 'mothers' - have offered a 'serious counter-witness' to what the Bishop's conference has stated.  Perhaps off-topic, but I kinda have to wonder how that Apostolic Visitation of Women Religious is coming along?  Man, I wonder what we'll find out about nuns in the U.S. that we didn't know already?
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Hey!  What about that earthquake in Hawaii, huh?
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UPDATE
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3/18/10 5:23PM:  Statement By CMSWR, which represents 10,000 women religious, affirms Bishops' Opposition to Obamacare:
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March 18, 2010 - In a March 15th statement, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke on behalf of the United States Bishops in opposition to the Senate's version of the health care legislation under consideration because of its expansion of abortion funding and its lack of adequate provision for conscience protection. Recent statements from groups like Network, the Catholic Health Association and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) directly oppose the Catholic Church's position on critical issues of health care reform.

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The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the second conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious in the United States, believes the Bishops' position is the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church.
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Protection of life and freedom of conscience are central to morally responsible judgment. We join the bishops in seeking ethically sound legislation.
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Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan, R.S.M.
President
On behalf of the Membership of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious
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H/T Pewsitters, David, and Paula.

18 comments:

  1. Well, Sister still has *social justice*. Hmm and as as long as there is *social justice*, there is no need for these 59,000 nuns to worry about sin and the confessional, right? *Social Justice* has gotta 'em covered.

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  2. And you will never guess who, in part, signed the letter of support for the healthcarebill currently under consideration.Yep--

    Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA
    LCWR President
    Leadership Conference of Women Religious

    Joan Chittister, OSB
    Co-Chair Global Peace Initiative of Women
    Erie, PA

    Are we suprised? Nope. I did not see the signature of one Carmelite. Nor did I see the signature of a Poor Clare. As I indicated in another post, they are probably busy praying for the Church who has lost her way...I wonder, does polyester induce a hatred for the Truth ??

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  3. +JMJ+

    Why blog at all, you silly little narcissist?

    Best line ever!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:44 PM

    crisp polyester jeans

    You are funny! :)

    Haven't had a fashion post in a while! :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. Terry, I don't know what silly little narcissist you're talking about, though I did think of a particular blog when I read that.

    My penance recently was adoration. And just this week I caught a Deacon at Adoration! He had his Bible with him and everything. Like he was praying or something.

    Maria, the social justice nuns think their orders are dying because nobody cares about social justice anymore. They're right in a way; social justice when separated from faith is empty and useless so why bother? The orders that see the face of Christ in the elderly, sick or poor, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor and Missionaries of Charity are growing. Is that because of their habits or their lack of attitude?

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  6. Maria2:39 PM

    Nan: Only faith, humility and obedience propel orders. We can assume there is no deficit in any of these areas.

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  7. Maria3:18 PM

    Nan: I don't the Little Sisters of the Poor ever lost their way. They have certainly modeled the way of the faithful, huble and obedient religious orders. Not by accident, the Missionaries of Charities were formed by John Hardon SJ. Fr. Hardon, now a servant of God, is on his way to Sainthood, I pray. I would never submit that a habit tells the story. A habit it just the outward visible manifestation of internal faith, humility and obedience.Without the latter, a discussion of a relgious' habit is irrelevant.

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  8. We used to have adoration two nights a week. No one came so Father dumped the one night - the statement being made was, "you don't come anyway so why have it."

    However, I never once heard Father get up in the ambo and encourage parents to bring their children to adoration and how important it was. It could have been turned into a whole family night thingy. We in the secular world call that marketing.

    I was a guest speaker about adoration to a youth group at a neighboring church . Guess how many of the perhaps 50 or so kids there(6th - 12th grade) knew what adoration was or had ever attended one? Yep - nada, zilch, zero.

    Now that is beyond sad...

    Why blog at all, you silly little narcissist? Too funny. I know several blogs like that...

    And I didn't realize polyester came in "crisp." Dear God in heaven - please have someone shoot me if I ever come home with a polyester pants suit (with 3" heels???)

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  9. Maria7:21 PM

    Oh Adrienne--that is so sad. Fr. Hardon has all sorts of ideas at the Real Presence w/ regard to cultivating a love for the Blessed Sacrament, if you'd like to check it out...

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  10. Terry--
    God's FAVORITE mountains are here in Utah...If I ever get a sunny day here I'll send ya a snapshop of my million-dollar view.. :)

    Good point about the Catholic mission schools...one of the Indian mission schools I try to send a donation occasionally..they do awesome work to give those disadvanged children on the Rez a chance..

    And to really stir the pot...maybe because I grew up Protestant and was used to seeing women Ministers of the Word in "civilian clothes." But in the blogosphere I read so much blatant disrespect for the sisters and nuns (and priests and brothers as well) of various religious orders, just because of the clothes they wear..I treated my woman ordained minister with the upmost respect whether she was in her clerical robes or in her every day clothes. Yet we have so many people badmothing our religious-- "Sister--put on your habit" or "Father--put on your collar." As if the vows they took mean nothing without the habit..as ill as we treat our own religious and clergy it's no wonder that vocations are lacking..if I was snarked at every time I walked in the door purely because of what I wore I sure would think twice about entering that vocation...when was the last time you went up to Sister Suzie or Btother Sam and genuinely thanked them for being a religious??

    And I wear business casual to work--I am queen of the uber-hot pantsuit!! The heads I turn.. :)_

    And lastly-St Joseph is patron of the Western Province, Discalced Carmelites...so yes today I'm fasting ..off to eat my fishburger :)

    Peace.. Sara

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  11. Then you took it out of context, Terry. Why not just contact the author with your concerns? I'm sure the author is open to direct fraternal correction as opposed to passive-aggressive commenting in another blog.

    Rise to the occasion. Don't fall below it.

    Yes, we all work on that. All the time.

    I'm guilty constantly, which is why I delete posts as liberally as you do.

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  12. So I ask, why blog at all you silly little narcissist?

    Obama's got a blog?

    Oh - and you should check out the picture I have up with my "Good Nuns v. Bad Nuns" post. I just put it up. I think you'll get a kick out of it.

    And Meryl looks just lovely, by the way.

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  13. Sara: Thank your lucky stars you were Protestant. LOL. You have no idea what we cradle Catholics have lived through.Seriously, you just cannot possibly begin to imagaine.

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  14. Sara - that is an excellent point about people making a big deal about priests and religious not wearing habits. I think it is mostly because we grew up accustomed to them, as well as the fact there are rules governing how religious ought to dress. But your point is well taken.

    Larry - Meryl needed a hint of color.

    Maria - "You have no idea what we cradle Catholics have lived through." You are right about that!

    Adoro - Huh? Lighten up.

    Adrienne - I think it was a poly-blend.

    Nan - I can't reveal sources for my comedy.

    SF - I did a fashion post today... bad habits.

    Enbrethiliel - "best line ever" - for all of us, don't you agree? LOL!

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  15. +JMJ+

    I know! =P My first thought was, "OMG! Is he talking about me???"

    Then I remembered that, for all my blog-enabled personality flaws, at least I haven't done a long "You don't get me" post in a while. (Hmmmm. Perhaps that means I'm overdue, then?)

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  16. I know - I think I need to do a "you don't get me" post again too. I once did a critical post about narcissism and blogging and Dgital Hairshirt left a comment, "And yet you have 3 blogs." She nailed it.

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  17. +JMJ+

    A friend once sent me the link to a Psych blog which happened to have a post correlating the amount of time spent online (especially when it's on social networking sites or other places where a person has complete control over his online image) and certain personality disorders. (Borderline, Histrionic and Narcissistic, in case you were wondering.)

    I read that, and I thought, "Oh, no . . ."

    ReplyDelete
  18. E - After your last comment I just read up on all the disorders - I think I already have most of them.

    ReplyDelete


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