Join the new digs for the SQPN Community! C'mon over!

It's fast and free, and its a place to meet other folks crazy about Catholic new media. Come find the Among Women group there!  Check it out!

This makes me think...

Human being are very much like icebergs -- we only see a small portion of them, and nothing of the hidden currents which drag them this way and that.


I fancy we would not sit and judge our neighbor so frequently as we do, did we but ponder well over the small amount of data we possess.  We perceive only the external act, but nothing of the motive activating it.


---Fr. David McAstocker, SJ



image credit

Among Women on hiatus til August 10th

Among Women is on hiatus til Aug. 10.

The most recent episode is here.

Check out earlier episodes you may have missed: The master index to the archives is here.

Why Archbishop Chaput Stays in My "Must Read" feed...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput OFM Cap. of Denver, is a gift to the Catholic Church -- not only as a bishop, but as a writer. In both roles, he fully embraces the role of a bishop to sanctify, to teach and to govern.  His latest written contribution is this gem, found over at First Things:

Scripture is passionate; it’s a love story, and it can only be absorbed by giving it everything we have: our mind, our heart and our will. It’s the one story that really matters; the story of God’s love for humanity. And like every great story, it has a structure. Talking about that structure and its meaning is my purpose here today.

A simple way of understanding God’s Word is to see that the beginning, middle and end of Scripture correspond to man’s creation, fall, and redemption. Creation opens Scripture, followed by the sin of Adam and the infidelity of Israel. This drama takes up the bulk of the biblical story until we reach a climax in the birth of Jesus and the redemption he brings. Thus, creation, fall, and redemption make up the three key acts of Scripture’s story, and they embody God’s plan for each of us.  

He continues by reviewing "the basics", and quotes one of my favorite lines from Pope St. Leo the Great -- the same great pope-saint who faced down Attila the Hun, and saved Rome from being sacked.

Therefore we succeed as disciples and as genuinely “human” beings only if we live in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ works through us for our own salvation and the salvation of others. 

We do that by creating in our daily lives a time for prayer, silence, and for reading and studying the Word of God. We do it by worshipping together in the community of God’s people. And we do it by submitting our pride and our lives to our mater et magistra—the Church who is our “mother and teacher,” precisely because she is also ecclesiam suam, “his Church,” the Church Jesus Christ founded, guides and loves for the salvation of his people.

More than 15 centuries ago, St. Leo the Great said, “Christian, recognize your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.” His words are equally true today. The story of Scripture is the greatest story ever told—a story of God’s creative power, man’s betrayal, God’s redemptive love; and a new destiny for humanity greater and more beautiful than anything any of us can imagine. What man has violated—including himself—God makes new and better.

 Read the whole brilliant piece here.  


FYI: Archbishop Chaput's weekly homilies can be heard here.

What I Love About Mary....

What do YOU love about Mary, the Mother of God?

Is it one of her titles?  Has she answered a prayer for you?  Do you have a special devotion to Mary?  Is there an anecdote that you'd be willing to share with others?

Among Women podcast is putting out the call for listeners to share "what they love about Mary"... let's do a show together that features the minds, hearts, and voices of our listeners -- and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as we do so!

Phone it in to our voicemail line at 206-338-6077. (Don't be shy now -- write it out then read it if you have too!)

Or mail an email that Pat can share with others. Send it to amongwomenpodcast@me.com.

Deadline for entries:  Aug 3rd.

Let's go, girls!

Eucharistic Reflections

What we celebrate at Sunday Mass, has deep, deep roots to the early church. A few friends are posting this video in their Facebook status boxes, and I thought it merited posting here:



Here's one about Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, featuring the words and images of Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, and our dear Pope Benedict XVI:



And then, if you still have time, listen to this talk given a while back by Catholic apologist Steve Ray, a former Baptist who now defends the Catholic Faith in the Eucharist in this talk.

This makes me think...

The Way God Approaches the Soul:

I come to my beloved as the dew on the flower.

--Mechthild of Magdeburg  (1208-1282 AD)

God Comes to Meet His Children

Just another foray into the Catechism of the Catholic Church.... this time about the Bible and the Word's impact on our relationship to God.  Read it here.

Scandalous: Great Gals Talking about the Now and the Not Yet

The Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, is keeping the Symposium on Patheos' The Future of Catholicism spiced up with a few writers I admire:  NRO's Kathryn Lopez  and Happy Catholic blogger Julie Davis.  (Remember Julie from my "underwater" episode 49?)

Lopez wrote something that strikes at the heart of this Church-scandal era:

... being Catholic means there are doctrine and disciplines that, of course, challenge us. And I will fall as prominent members of and leaders of the Church have fallen and will fall. Some will be more hurtful and scandalous than others. But all are wounds on the Body of Christ. But not one of them means the end. For the future is the same as the past. It’s a story of sinful men who need redemption. Of unworthy men who are blessed by a most merciful father.

The solution to scandal and confusion and dismay is fidelity.  

Julie D's take on Judas reminds us that scandals today should come as no surprise:

I look at the past of Catholicism I see that it began simultaneously with the scandal of Judas. If that wasn’t a sign that the world shall always be with us and we shall have to keep going with God’s grace, then I don’t know what is. 

Hmmm.... fidelity.... grace.... Amen!

Go read both complete posts here.

Catholic Writers Guild Conference, August 4-6, Valley Forge, PA

Get Details Now!

Among Women Podcast #66

AW 66 features an extended conversation with Patti Mansfield, a longtime leader in Catholic renewal via the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

<--That's Patti with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. In 2006, Patti and her husband, Al, were the recipients of the papal medal, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pope), the highest honor bestowed on lay persons by the Church.  

On this program, Patti shares her early years and her initial powerful encounter with Christ, and she teaches on living a fuller life in union with the Holy Spirit, and enjoying a "personal pentecost"

Also, AW 65 looks at the long and venerable life of St. Birgitta (Bridget) of Sweden.

The Future of Catholicism, and more...l

In case your a newbie to the blogosphere, or don't click around much, let me introduce blogger extraordinaire, Elizabeth Scalia, aka, The Anchoress.  You'll find her in my favs in the side bar. She writes with a great wealth of soul, wit, and intellectual heft without being drain on the eyes and the brain. So, a good while back, when her solo blog was given a berth over at First Things, I for one, cheered.

Well, The Anchoress is casting a wider net yet again beyond her regular gig, with a new role over at Patheos, as the keeper and tender of the Catholicism portal.

The entire site is doing a week-by-week examination on the future of world religions, so folks from all over the world are reading and commenting.

I'm suggesting you peruse what's there and take a look at the Future of Catholicism, going on all this week!

Try Elizabeth's piece in the series, (and if you are a fan of the mission of SQPN, I think you'll really like her star/Magi theme) and another goodie not part of the series but if you love Jesus, you'll be blest by it.

But back to the Future of Catholicism series... I really enjoyed the essay Hugh Hewitts's essay, and this one by Father Barron.  The ever-brilliant and provocative Barbara Nicolosi is here too.

Take your time, enjoy the reads, leave a comment. You've got all week!

Oh, and don't look now, but yours truly got her two cents in in the daily symposium about one of her favorite's books:  The Catechism!  

Coffee's On!

My latest over at Catholic.Mom.com.

Only a coffee lover would understand!

Image credit

Relic of True Cross stolen from Holy Cross Cathedral

In Boston, we Catholics are sad about this.  Please pray for this archdiocese, and for the thief that they may have a change of heart.

Among Women Podcast #65

Among Women 65 looks at the extraordinary faith of St. Martha even though she sometimes gets distracted by her loving service.

Plus Pat's guest is Patty Harrison, a medical chaplain who shares her life and work among the dying in the ministry of hospice care.

Here's some special homework for AW listeners:

SHARE WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT MARY!  This will be used for an upcoming episode!

Contact Pat Gohn via amongwomenpodcast@me.com
or send voice feedback to 206-338-6077.

Too Funny! Moms Rhapsodize!

Don't know how I missed this earlier over at Maria Johnson's blog. Thanks Maria! What a hoot!

If you dig the Catechism, here are some of my current articles online...

....over at Faith and Family, on the vocab we need to teach about the Trinity...

and about the transcendent power of Beauty, and how it can point us to God, over at Catholic Exchange's women's channel, Today's Catholic Woman.

See What You've Been Missing...

Here is the complete index of AW episodes listed by topic, saints profiled, and special guests. 

Here is just a partial list of topics covered in the past year on the Among Women Podcast.  See what you've been missing!

Abuse, by a parent

Abuse, sexual

Adoption

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Adultery, woman caught in, 

Amazing Catechists

Anima Christi prayer

Angelus, prayer

Anger management

Angry with God

AIDS orphans

Apparitions

Augustine, St.

Ave Maria, sung

Ave Maris Stella

Beauty

Beginning Contemplative Prayer

Benedict of Nursia, Rule of

Bible study

Bible study for children

Billings Ovulation Method, NFP

Birth control, weaning off

Breast cancer

Camping

Campus ministry

Caritas in veritate

Carmelite spirituality

Catacombs 

Catechists

Catechism of the Catholic Church

CatholicMom.com

Catholic Exchange

Catholic Jukebox

Catholic Media Review

Catholic Moments podcast

Catholic new media

Catholic Writers Guild

Children, raising

Children with Down’s Syndrome

Chastity

Chesterton, GK, author,

Christifidelis Laici

Choose Life license plates, 

Church Fathers

Church scandals

College life, struggles in

Communication

Confession

Contemplative prayer

Convert from Atheism

Convert from Calvinism

Convert from Judaism

Convert from Lutheranism

Convert from Methodism

Couples’ ministry

Creation of man and woman

Creighton Model System, NFP

Crisis pregnancy

Cristo Rey Network

Daughters of St. Paul

Death 

Death of a child by suicide

Depression

Deus Caritas Est

Dignity of women,

Discerning vocation

Divine Mercy

Divorce, Jesus’ teaching on

Down’s Syndrome

Economy

ENDOW, Educating on the Dignity of Women

Exercise

Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist

Extraordinary Moms Network

Eucharist

Evangelization

Faith Formation

Fatima apparitions

Fellowship of Catholic University Students, (FOCUS)

Feminine genius

Feminism

Fertility

Financial worries

Fitness,

Forgotten Classics podcast

Francis, of Assisi

Franciscan Crown Rosary

Frustrations

Gaudium et spes

Genesis, man and woman, in

Gift of self (self-donation)

God’s plan for our life

God’s will

Gospel of Mark, The, 

Grapevine Online

“Grassroots theology”

Hail Mary, The, 

Handbook for Catholic Moms, The

Happy Catholic blog

Health care debate in the US

High School Students

Holy Childhood Association

Homeschooling

How Can I Keep from Singing? podcast

How to start a women’s group

Humanae Vitae

Humility

Illness

Infertility and NFP

Intercession

In vitro-fertization, alternative to

Issues facing younger women

Iraq, war with

John Paul II

Joy

Juan Diego

Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering blog

Karen Edmisten blog

Large families

Letter to Women, by John Paul II

Lectio Divina

Little Sisters of the Poor

Liturgical year

Living a Spirituality of Action

Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary

Louis de Montfort, Secret of the Rosary

Lourdes

Love of neighbor

Lumen gentium

Magnificat, Mary’s Canticle

Make-over 

Marriage, 

Marriage, troubled 

Marriage, waiting for

Marvelous Exchange, the,

Mary’s Mediation

Mary’s “self-portrait” on the tilma

Mary, the “moon” that reflects Christ

Medical crisis

Merciful Mother

Miraculous Medal,

Missionaries of Charity

Mixed marriage

Momopoly blog

Money

Mothering

Mother Teresa and Me

Mothers’ Morning of Prayer

Mulieris Dignitatem

Mystics

Mystogogia

NaPro Technology

Native American saint

Natural Family Planning

Near death

New evangelization

New feminism

New media

Novo Millenio Inuente

Nun Blog

Nursing home, bringing communion to

Occultic activity

Openess to Life,

Orthodoxy, by GK Chesterton

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of LaSalette

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Pagan sacrifices

Patience

Parish involvement

Patristics 

Penance

Pentecost

Pilgrimage

Pontifical Mission Societies

Prayer

Prayer for abuse victims

Pregnancy

Priests

Pro-life activism

Readin

Real Women, Real Saints

Reconciliation, Sacrament of

Religious education

Respect life

Retirement, active lifestyle in

Retrouvaille, for troubled marriages

Reversion

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)

Rosary

Rosary “chicks”

Rosary prayer group

Rosary Workout, The

Saints

Scriptural Rosary

Secular Franciscan Order

Seven sorrows of Mary

Sexual abuse, and recovery from

Sexuality in Marriage

SFOMom blog

Single life, before marriage

Single mother’s story

Shrine of North American Martyrs

Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre

Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel

Shrine at Fatima, Portugal

Social Action

Society for the Propagation of the Faith

Soul, beauty of the

Spiritual make-over

Spiritual mothering

Spiritual reading

Spiritual reading for children

Spiritual Woman blog

Spirituality of women

Stoning of Soraya M, The, movie

SQPN

St. Peregrine, Novena to

Teaching

Temperaments

Tertio Millennios Adveniente

Thanksgiving

Theology of the body

Theotokos

30 Day Spiritual Make-over

Treasury of Women Saints

Trinity

Universal call to holiness

Unrealistic expectations

USCCB

US Catholic Marriage Initiative

Vasectomy, and reversal

Vocation of woman

Vocation to religious life

War

Womanhood

Women of influence

Women saints

Women’s ministry

Works-in-progress

Writing