Among Women Podcast #69: When Words Hurt

AW 69 tells one woman's story of surviving verbal abuse.  This program also lists resources and discusses the patron saint of those suffering verbal abuse or domestic strife: St Godelieve.

Pat welcomes Anastasia Northrup, the President of the Theology of the Body International Alliance, who discusses the pitfalls and the hope of being a single woman in a verbally abusive relationship. They also discuss the subject in light of Pope John Paul II's theology of the body.

For more, go here.  For the master index of topics, saints and guests on all previous AW episodes, go here.

Here's a Catholic New Media idea to get behind

Sr Susan Wolf, SND, started a new blog about Catholic media and she offers some reflections here.  We need our "best" people online! Think of a person you might encourage!

This gives me an opportunity to share a favorite quotes from this past year from Pope Benedict XVI about how we ought to use the internet:

Let us set sail on the digital sea

fearlessly,

confronting open navigation

with the same enthusiasm

that has steered the Barque of the Church for 2,000 years.

Rather than for technical resources, although these are necessary,

let us also qualify ourselves by dwelling in this world

with a believing heart

that helps to give a soul

to the ceaseless flow of communications that makes up the web.

This is our mission, the inalienable mission of the Church. 

[Emphasis mine.]

---From the Pope's address:  "To participants in a congress on "digital witnesses"... faces and languages in the cross-media age," April 24, 2010.

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This makes me think...

Let no one think that it is enough for him to read if he lacks devotion, 

or to engage in speculation without spiritual Joy, 

or to be active if he has no piety, 

or to have knowledge without charity, 

or intelligence without humility, 

or study without God's grace, 

or to expect to know himself if he is lacking the infused wisdom of God.

~ St Bonaventure

(As quoted in paragraph 53 in Pastores dabo vobis from John Paul II)

The next Among Women podcast is on the road and...

... still not uploaded to iTunes or the AW website yet.... sorry, but the search for the right college for my son has me zipping around Illinois, Indiana and Ohio...  (look for me, I'll be the Massachusetts driver behind the wheel of a rented Sonata with Virginia plates...)

Maybe if we are in one place long enough to upload the program, I'll get it to you.  Sorry for the delay!

I'm at Faith & Family today, talking about creation...

and how creation is God's first step toward us in an on-going relationship. Like the first movement in a cosmic symphony, creation establishes God's love song in our hearts.... Read more here.

This makes me think...

Hope so fills us with holy and humble devotion

that the impotence of the heart

rings in song beautifully before God,

and God loves the notes

that sing in the heart.

Whoever sings along with Hope

will share her success

in celestial love.

~Mechthild of Magdeburg

13th century mystic 

The Flowing Light of the Godhead

Found here.

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The Queenship of Mary: Great Mary Video! Don't miss it!

Today the Church celebrates an ancient feast: 

The Queenship of Mary.

HT for the image: Holy Cards for your inspiration.

HT for the video: All my Facebook friends who posted it and these folks.

Embracing the Catechism: Standing Up for the Gospel

My latest in a continuing series on Catholic Exchange's women's channel.

Matthew Warner's Voices of CNMC

Ok, so what's one more plug for you to go and listen to the video archive of the Catholic New Media Celebration??  Go find it here.

Check out Matthew Warner's blog here, and NCRegister columns on new media here.

Links for the College-Bound Frosh (& their Parents!)

As a Mom whose "been there" -- launching college freshmen into the great beyond, I've compiled a quick list for parents and college students of links that maybe helpful.  


Articles for College-bound Freshmen:

• Matthew Warner's advice for the College-bound Catholic student.
• Busted Halo's Freshman Survival Guide for 2010 is very comprehensive.
• Aggie Catholics has more advice for students, and a few well chosen words for parents here.
• A roll-call to pray for College-bound students over at Faith and Family... add a name here. 
• Advice from a Catholic student for incoming freshmen.
• Tips on managing money for college freshman are here.

UPDATE: First Things is hosting their first ever "Students of Faith" survey that hopes to offer "students and parents adequate insight into how schools stack up in relation to matters of faith, religious practice, religious and political bias in the classroom, support for religious groups, and the relations of faith to the actual currents in contemporary student life." Check it out here, and pass it on to the college students you know!   

HT: Elizabeth Scalia, The Anchoress.

Previous Among Women podcasts that may be helpful for parents and students:

• AW 19: An interview with Jennifer Senour who works with Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) on the ups and downs of her college years and what's made all the difference.
• AW 35:  An interview with Marika Donders on her life coming full circle - from first being evangelized through campus ministry, to becoming a full-time campus minister herself at Keene State in NH.
• AW 68:  An interview with Beth Knobbe, a campus minister at Northwestern University in IL. Beth shares from her book "Finding My Voice" about the key questions and tasks of young adulthood.

For parents only, some of my thoughts from previous writings:  

• "A Boy, A Man, A Mom": Reflection (2006) of launching the now-college grad below. 
• "One Last Kiss": Reflection (2008) on saying good-bye to my girl.  
• "Launching A Son: A Mom Reflects": Recent reflection (2010) on the new college grad.

For parents only, thoughts from writers at Faith and Family:

• UPDATE: "Mission: Mom": Moving reflection from Lynn Wehner 
• UPDATE: "Stay Connected to Your College Kid" - a three-part series from Elizabeth Foss, highlighting some tips from Elizabeth and Bringing Up Geeks* (*Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids) author Mary Beth Hicks: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

What we are is God's gift to us.

What we become is our gift to God.  

~Eleanor Powell

The Gohn Sibs 

One half-way through college, one college graduate, one filling out applications. 

(Not pictured:  proud parents with questionable bank balances.)

Important and serious reading: Porn's effect on Women

This is one of those posts that I think is helpful for women to read.  It is not necessarily a post related to spirituality or the Catholic faith, but it is related to the dignity of the human person, and so it important to share here.

This article is a guest post by Tiffany Leeper, the founder of Girls Against Porn (GAP), on Breaking Free, (a blog that supports safe porn-free web surfing software, and breaking porn addiction.)  Tiffany writes of the effects of porn on women in "My Drug and His Poison: My Boyfriend was Hooked on Porn"-> This is serious reading.

Among Women Podcast #68: Finding Your Voice

Among Women 68 features a conversation with author and Northwestern Campus Minister, Beth Knobbe.  Together, Pat and Beth explore some of the themes of Beth's book for young adult women: Finding My Voice.


Also featured is a profile of St. Joan of the Cross, and a brief recap of the Catholic New Media Celebration.

OSV's new online guide to the internet

Our Sunday Visitor put out a resource this week called OSV's Catholic Guide to the Internet.  I'm happy to say that many of the publications and websites that I enjoy and contribute to are included, plus a few new ones that I've never tried.

If you think one of your favorite Catholic websites was overlooked, let them know! But in the meantime, happy treasure hunting!

Got Nuns?

Elizabeth Scalia, aka The Anchoress, shows us that vocations to religious orders are still happening among women in the 21st century! (Just in case you had any doubt!)  Among Women salutes these sisters and nuns coming up and laying down their lives for The Beloved One!

Relic of True Cross stolen from Holy Cross Cathedral RECOVERED

Thanks for all who prayed for the Archdiocese of Boston!

Assumption of the BVM

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me

and holy is his Name."

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SQPN's Catholic Weekend recaps CNMC

Catholic Weekend gives a recap of the CNMC.  If you've never heard Catholic Weekend, check it out!

The CNMC website has some cool blog posts from folks who attended last weekend's event, including a blog post from Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston. Find it here.

This makes me think...

That I love you is not a question. 


I, God, love you passionately because I am love itself.  


I love you all the time because I want to be loved passionately Myself.  I love you forever because I'm eternal. My love has no end, and My love has no beginning, either.


---Mechthild of Magdeburg, (1208-1282) The Flowing Light of the Godhead

Why I have not posted on The CNMC

Photo of me, courtesy of Jeff Geerling, minutes after the conference ended... as I said goodbye to the folks on the tall trolley bus headed back to Boston.

You'd think, having been the local conference coordinator for the Catholic New Media Celebration, (CNMC), I'd be the first to post wildly about the success of the event. I have not... and there are good reasons for this.  People have been emailing and FBing me saying stuff like "hope you are relaxing now" or "enjoy the summer".  Fat Chance!

1. I've been ridiculously busy doing a few mopping up post CNMC- chores, and having to do actual work that I put aside in the 3 weeks leading up to CNMC, and as they say... payback is a... well, maybe its better said like this: first you play, then you pay.

2. So many fine folks are already posting amazing recaps, you don't need one from me. Let me point you to the official recaps we find at SQPN at this page.  Go enjoy the CNMC talks recorded on U-Stream here.

3. I have had a host of personal family obligations that needed my direct attention and participation.

4. I am in a CEU course on adult faith formation, and the nice prof let me out of class for a bit, now I'm back and a bit behind in my work... um, more than a bit.

5. There was a podcast, and some articles, that needed tending to immediately.

6. Believe it or not, another future conference coordination job needed some attention as well.

7. And heck, there was laundry to do too!

However, I am planning on fully relaxing and engaging the family this weekend, when my long lost (read: recently moved out of state) son returns home for a little family reunion. And my hubby comes home from his third conference in as many weeks. So, please keep the Gohn clan in your prayers as we seek to become acquainted with one another!

Thanks to everyone who helped my CNMC a memorable event:  the SQPN board and affiliate podcasters, the speakers, the Archdiocese of Boston, Catholic TV, our many sponsors, and the great volunteers who cheerfully said "YES" to me whatever I asked of them.... you all have taken up a great deal of real estate in my heart, and are in my thoughts and prayers.

Nice take on 1 Corinthians 13

HT: Lisa Mladinich, Amazing Catechists

Among Women Podcast #67: What I Love about Mary

Among Women 67 celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a special entitled: "What I Love About Mary".

In this episode, Pat returns from a 2 week hiatus, with a podcasting special that steps out of the usual 2-segment format. This hour contains inspiration and commentary from the Among Women listenership telling of their devotion to Mary via email and voicemail feedback.  Pat teaches about the Assumption, and adds commentary from the Pope and the Saints on today's topic.

Special musical selections from the Daughters of St. Paul and Susan Bailey.

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In Him All Things Hold Together

(Some might think this is my theory of Catholic conference planning, having just come off my weeks of planning for the CNMC... but no!)  It's my latest on Faith and Family.

In my Inbox today: The Catholic Mass

Here's a day brightener found first thing this morning via email, courtesy of my sister Pam:

This makes me think...

Don't set your heart on something less valuable than you yourself are. If you do that, you surrender your dignity because -- remember -- people come to resemble what they love.  If I love sin, which is nothingness, I too become a nothing. I can't fall any lower than that.


Sin begins simply, innocuously. It begins in loving what God hates and hating what God loves.  That's why if you love the transient things of this world and yourself with a self-absorbed love, you sin.  God hates this.


In fact, it makes God so unhappy, He decided to work out vengeance and punishment for it on His own body. God made himself an anvil and on this anvil hammered out our sins.

---Catherine of Siena, Letters


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So anyway...

I've always wondered if Mother Teresa's words (of course, now she is our Blessed Teresa of Calcutta!) had any influence on the composer to this song?

CNMC "mmx" Going on Now! Get the U-Stream!

Check it out at SQPN.com or here.

I be here...

The Meet and Greet is at the Omni Parker House... tonight!  

6pm.  

We're kicking off the Catholic New Media Celebration.  

Hope to see you there!

CNMCers: Driving, Drinking, Eating in Boston... not necessarily in that order.

Coming to CNMC from out of town and staying in Boston? A few things…

Boston, like most cities in the Northeast, is an expensive place to park. Hotels with downtown locations, such as the Omni Parker House, where the Meet and Greet, have only valet parking, so try to self-park if you can. For example the Pi Alley Garage is around the corner from the Omni Parker House: http://www.pialleygarage.com/.

If you want to eat in the North End for great Italian food: walk there, or take a cab. Its the oldest, most historic part of the city… curvy streets, very little parking.

Many neighborhoods in Boston have parking restrictions, or you need to be a resident with a resident sticker on your car. Read all signs posted on the street before you leave your car somewhere.

Be forewarned when driving: Bostonians are jay-walkers. Not everyone obeys street signs as pedestrians. And there is often ”double parking” going on in front of busy restaurants, etc, so try to keep alert and look a half-block ahead of where you are, so you can avoid getting backed up behind double parkers.

Our mass transit system is called "The T”. To out-of-towners its a subway/bus/train. But to a Bostonian on the street, it’s the T. As you walk our city, you’ll see round signs with T’s on them indicating a station. Here’s the maps and schedule: http://www.mbta.com/

Coming to the Meet & Greet on Friday night: Beer and wine are $8 or $9 a piece. Mixed drinks more. Again, its a city location. It may be much pricier than your locale. Plan accordingly. Soft drinks are free. Food-wise, this is an appetizers-only kind of event. Plan on going to dinner before or after if you really need a fuller meal. Plenty of options within walking distance of the hotel, including Fanuiel Hall/Quincy Market a few blocks away: http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/

Coming to Braintree, and the Pastoral Center for the CNMC on Saturday? Plenty of free parking if you are driving. Steve Nelson will be selling a few leftover seats on the Trolley to/from the Pastoral Center from the Omni Parker House. Get one if you need one Friday night.

If you are coming to the Pastoral Center using GPS: find the Boston Logan Express in Braintree– its an airport shuttle service– the Pastoral Center is just a stone’s throw from there. (The Pastoral Center is a new location for the Archdiocese and not on all GPS maps yet.) Driving directions here: http://www.bostoncatholic.org/About-The-Archdiocese/Content.aspx?id=11618

This makes me think...

Holy Spirit,

making life alive,

moving in all things,

You are the source of all creation and all beings.

Holy Spirit,

cleansing the world of every impurity,

forgiving guilt,

anointing wounds,

glistening,

You are commendable.

You are Life.

You awaken and reawaken everything that is.

---Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179 AD), Book of Divine Works.