Among Women ReadHER 12.10.11 Advent, Gadget Craziness, Love, Babies, Charlie Brown & more

Among Women ReadHER 

12.10.11

Advent - Waiting, Hoping, Dreaming, Believing
By Dione Grillo at CatholicMom.com
Chuck full of good stuff. It's never too late to embrace Advent in the home with your family.


O Come Let Us Adore Him
By +Archbishop Timothy Dolan of NY from his blog
Do NOT miss this. Then share it.

Resisting the Electronic Christmas Craze
By Mary Beth Hicks at Family Events
Excellent family gift-buying advice.


"Such Love is Seldom Seen": Mother Mary Walsh OP (1850- 1922)
By Dr Pat McNamara at Patheos
Dr Pat is a great church historian and he retrieves a great story about a woman who heroically lived the beatitudes in the tenements of New York, and brought gifts to children who were forgotten by Santa, and so much more.


Wedding Dresses and Women, or How Women Dream of Prince Charming but Wake Up in "The Hang Over"
By Pia de Solenni from her blog of the same name
As a moral theologian Dr. Pia has some razor-sharp commentary on this, and I was quite taken with the insights of the wedding dress designer mentioned in this post.


Genetic Warrior: Leticia Velasquez and the New Diversity
By Lisa Mladinich at her column at Patheos
Leticia Velasquez is a smart and sassy leader in the pro-life movement, with expertise in the special needs arena. Leticia has been my guest, talking about her life with Christina, her daughter diagnosed with Downs Syndrome, on AW 30.

"A Man for All Seasons" and the Call to Fanaticism
By Joseph Susanka at Patheos
One of my all-time favorite films, and Joseph gives me more reasons to re-view it.


The Gospel According to Peanuts: How A Charlie Brown Christmas Almost Didn't Happen
By Lee Habib at National Review Online
Interesting history behind-the-scenes of the making of this family classic, especially in light of the media's hostility toward Christianity today.

Ah. So That's Where Babies Comes From
Posted by Patrick Madrid at PatrickMadrid.com
Cute and fun video short involving one woman's pregnancy. Rated G.


Because Natural Law is Catholic
By Frank Weathers at Why I Am a Catholic
Big topic covered deftly and with good resources; worth the read.


Catholic University's Same-Sex Dorms Foster Friendship, Respect
By John Garvey, CUA President, at the Washington Post
I have heard John Garvey speak several times and am very impressed with the direction he is taking here. FWIW, out freshman has no problem with the same-sex dorms, and indeed, welcomes them.


SQPN Announces 4 New Affiliates
By Steve Nelson, Exec. Director at SQPN
Catholic podcasting continues to grow. Check out the 4 latest affiliates at SQPN! There might be something that catches your ear! Don't forget, SQPN's annual giving campaign is in full swing, and we need cheerful givers! 



This TED talk has been making the rounds... very encouraging mathematician describing the reaches of technology that visually takes us to the body's interior from conception to birth. (10 minutes long)

Among Women ReadHER 11.19.11

Among Women ReadHer

11.19.11

Lesson One in Prayer
By Dr. Peter Kreeft at The Integrated Life
This is the first installment in a larger series. Definitely worth a read, and there is a recorded talk (podcast) with Kreeft also at this link.

Making Room
By Simcha Fisher at her blog at the National Catholic Register
Writer lesson one: write what you know. This is a home run. For parents, for families, for advent.

The Calm Before The Storm

By William O'Leary of Catechists in the Third Millennium

The calm before the Christmas "storm" that is... three ways to make your Advent more meaningful... and consider clicking through to the article mentioned at the end of #3. (It is an archived piece by Mary Beth Bonacci and well worth the trouble.) Need more Advent prep help?  Check out this week's AW 116 with Sarah Reinhard with ideas for lowering the stress levels.

Teen Girls Twice as Likely as Boys to Tweet
By eMarketer
Not surprised. Other stats listed too. (One of my son's once complained about a former girlfriend who chronically texted him with suffocating frequency.) 


The Catechism Demystified
By Julie Davis at Happy Catholic
Simple, direct, with illustrations. Go see. Julie is a wise and wonderful Catholic blogger and podcaster; hear a delight and fun conversation about her Happy Catholic book on AW 99, or find her conversion story and blog story on AW 49.

The King's Speech
Posted by Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia
A transcription of Archbishop Timothy Dolan's opening speech at the Plenary meeting of the US Catholic Conference of Bishops. (+Dolan is the president.) For me the speech captures the heart and mission of the new evangelization.


Mississippi Didn't Need Personhood Amendment to Ban Abortion
By Steven Ertelt on LifeSite News
I still think we need discussions about personhood as part of the overall discussion regarding the dignity of the human person. However, having personal discussions about this issue, and the necessity for specificity of language regarding the law are two different things. I think the legal counsel on this --from a Catholic standpoint -- was that this was not the legal battle that would help end abortion in Mississippi, and therefore it did not garner the support from the major Catholic voices in the public square, most specifically the US Catholic Bishops, among others. Honestly, I should have done my homework better on that score; I think I was a bit too quick in my own support of it, as I saw supporting it as a way of standing with other Christians (non-Catholics that I know) in trying to promote a culture of life. In retrospect, I need to take the wider long term view. 


Christ the King and the 'Net Positive
By Elizabeth Scalia at her Tuesday column on First Things
You never know who is listening, watching or reading.


How to Restore a Culture in One Easy Step
By Joe Carter at First Things
Yes, another selection from First Things, but worth it! You know I always try to promote bible reading and bible study... Carter makes a case for it as we've witnessed the shift away from a once-Judeo-Christian ethic that figured prominently in recent centuries and has been abandoned in our secular age.


Buying Locally Catholic
By Sarah Reinhard at SnoringScholar.com
Good advice. Try this as you prepare for the Christmas holidays. And hey -- if you're preparing for Advent, not to be redundant, but take a listen to Sarah Reinhard's appearance on the latest episode of Among Women! 

Wasted for Love
By Sr. Lisa Marie at Virtuous Pla.net
A look at discerning God's will in life and in our vocations.

Bishops Add 2 New Memorials to our Liturgical Calendar
By Deacon Greg Kandra at The Deacon's Bench
And the two are 1) Oct. 22 for Blessed John Paul II and 2) Jan. 23 Blessed Marianne Cope (who we recently profiled on AW 115.)


And again, thanks to The Deacon, who posted this totally amazing TED talk (about 10 minutes) complete with video on new technologies that see inside the body -- a short film from conception to birth -- splendidly done.

And speaking of videos, Matt Warner at National Catholic Register posted 10 short previews of all the films in the landmark Catholicism series produced by Fr. Robert Barron. 

Today's giggle...

came from the products in this shopping catalog*... 

 If the shoe fits… buy it in every color!

When did my wild oats turn into oat bran?

I’ll have a caffe mocha vodka valium latte to go please?

What if the hokey pokey really is what it’s all about?

When you have lots of things to do, get your golf game out of the way first!

We plan, God laughs!

There cannot be a crisis this week… my schedule is already full.

It’s not a hot flash, it’s a little summer vacation you take all by yourself.

You don’t have to be crazy to work here… we’ll train you!

I love cooking with wine… sometimes I even put it in the food!

Age improves with wine.

(and my personal favorite:)

Changing the toilet paper roll does not cause brain damage.

*does not necessarily imply my endorsement. I just like to laugh.