Among Women ReadHER 5.12.12... the Mother's Day edition & more

Among Women ReadHER 5.12.12

Happy Mother's Day!

For the Moms out there...

A Mother's Day Challenge
By Meg Meeker, MD from her website
This is your conscience speaking... read this... and DO THIS. You'll love yourself for it.

What Moms Really Want... an annual reminder
By Lisa Hendey at Faith and Family Live
Happy Mother's Day to all!


Mother's Day History
FWIW


My favorite song by Jim Brickman... A Mother's Day
This video quality is so-so, but it's a really great tribute song for mothers!


The Right Choice Video Makes Waves on Facebook
By Rebecca Downs at Live Action News
Here is a short post and 7 minute video about an amazing young mother, and her heartbreakingly beautiful love for her disabled son. 


In other news...

Statement of the USCCB regarding President Obama's Remarks on Marriage
By Cardinal Timothy Dolan, President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, on his blog at the Archdiocese of New York
A short reminder about an important topic.

Nobody Has Ever Died From Not Having Sex
By Katrina Fernandez at The Crescat
Forthright and direct.

Reflecting on Last Week
By Mark Shea at Catholic and Enjoying It
Don't let the title of this post fool you. Mark talks about his thoughts and reasons behind his compassionate stance toward gays and lesbians in light of church teaching, after considerable fuss was made over his previous post memorializing a very accomplished Catholic Christian man who happened to be gay.


The Heartburn of Sex
By Joanne McPortland at egregious twaddle
While Mark and Katrina are on the subject... yet another thought-provoking missive...

4 Reasons to Keep Bikini Pictures Off Facebook
By Mary Lane at Catholic Lane
Just in time for summer...

South Korea: Confiscated "Health Pills" filled with Human Remains

Reported by the LA Times

Warning: This from the sad-but-true department. The epitome of evil, human remains in pill form, likely from aborted babies. Sorry to link to something so chilling, but Catholics who respect life need to know the depths of these depravities so we can argue for true human dignity.

From Olympic Skater to Religious Sister

Posted by Vatican Radio at New.va

The path to religious life for a former Olympian... 

Don't miss this...

Among Women ReadHER 4.14.12 podcast marathon, movies, bishops' new statement on liberty...

Among Women ReadHER 4.14.12

SQPN Podcast Marathon on Divine Weekend
By Fr. Roderick VonHogen at SQPN
Ongoing fundraising and fun-raising event from 10am-10pm Eastern on SQPN's U-Stream channel. Proceeds benefit the non-profit organization. Your truly will be praying the Regina Coeli, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the Rosary in the noon hour. Drop by anytime. 

Our First Most Cherished Liberty
Posted by the American Bishops at USCCB
The most recent response by the bishops regarding attacks on religious liberty and conscience. Very important reading.


Traditional Catholicism is Winning
By Anne Hendershott and Christopher White
An op-ed with very interesting stats by diocese on what attracts vocations.


Did You Get Your Business Done?
By Tony Rossi at Christopher Close Up
Tony highlights the TV sitcom "The Middle"... check out his remarks.


Charity in the Face of Opposition
By Jennifer Feeney at Crisis Magazine
Timely advice... yet another person converted to reading the Catholic Catechism when looking for guidance on moral subject matter.

5 Ways to Find Joy in Stressful Times
By Dudley Rutherford at Catholic Mom
To the point.


Embracing the Challenge as Catholic Parents
By Randy Hain at The Integrated Catholic Life
Some very solid recommendations here.


The Gist
Posted at Catholic TV
The premiere season of this new Catholic tv talk show for women can be watched on demand, so go catch up on The Gist, featuring Danielle Bean, Rachel Balducci, and Carolee McGrath.

Among Women Podcast #124 features Elizabeth Scalia and Kathryn Lopez discussing Catholic opposition to the US HHS Mandate

Among Women 124 is a Special Edition that looks at objection of US Catholic Bishops, and multitudes of Catholics and others who view the federal mandate from the Health and Human Services Department as a violation of religious liberty. This Special Edition unpacks this issue with references to press releases from the USCCB, and commentary from Catholic opinion journalist, Kathryn Lopez, editor of National Review Online, and Catholic blogger and pundit, Elizabeth Scalia, managing editor of the Catholic portal at Patheos. 

Please listen to this podcast, read the links, and share with others.

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. 

New Website Unveiled today by the USCCB: Marriage - Unique for a Reason

Marriage: Unique for a Reason Homepage.

Check out two videos.

In related news, the Bishops of the US are meeting in their fall plenary session. 

Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia is covering it.

Check out Archbishop Timothy Dolan's opening remarks.

New Vocations Website!

Check out "FOR YOUR VOCATION.ORG"

Here's two videos linked there:

Among Women Podcast #50

This week Among Women turns 50! (Episodes, that is!)  And we'd like to celebrate our First Birthday on the next show, so give us your feedback this week by email at amongwomenpodcast@me.com or voicemail at 206-338-6077.

This week, as we bring our Lenten series to a close, Pat talks about the importance of leaving a legacy of faith as she explores the life of Blessed Joan of Aza, mother to St. Dominic.  Pat also talks to wife, mother, and author, Heidi Hess Saxton about passing on the faith to children via family bible reading, as they discuss Heidi's latest book project: My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories.  

Plus there's a link to the US Catholic Conference of Bishops' statement on the latest health care legislation.

Enjoy these upcoming conferences in New England for Men and Women.

In other news, take the Among Women survey online now! Plus enjoy the new Master Index that links all topics, saints, and guests for all 50 AW podcasts.

Finally, help promote AW in your home parish with these handy bulletin announcements.

In honor of Valentine's Day

This video asks the question: What have you done for your marriage today?

Get support for your marriage at For Your Marriage.

For singles ministries, try Road to Cana, and Catholic Match.com, and the Theology of the Body website that promotes the National Singles Conference, coming up Feb. 19-21 in San Antonio, TX.

And finally, here's a hilarious-but-true video about the differences between the brains of men and women, from Christian pastor and marriage expert, Mark Gungor.

In the Beginning was The WORD....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

courtesy of the www.usccb.org

It Makes Me Think...

(A tad long, but worth it!  This is an excerpt from the new pastoral letter on Marriage that just came out by the US Bishops...)

Adam and Eve were literally made for each other. Man and woman have been made to come together in the union of marriage. The text of Genesis continues: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body [flesh]” (Gn 2:24).

Marriage, this clinging together of husband and wife as one flesh, is based on the fact that man and woman are both different and the same. They are different as male and female, but the same as human persons who are uniquely suited to be partners or helpmates for each other. The difference between man and woman, however, cannot be restricted to their bodies, as if the body could be separated from the rest of the human person. The human person is a union of body and soul as a single being. Man and woman are two different ways of being a human person. While man and woman are different, their differences serve to relate them to each other. They are not different in a parallel way, as two lines that never meet. Man and woman do not have separate destinies. They are related to each other precisely in their differences.

The differences between male and female are complementary. Male and female are distinct bodily ways of being human, of being open to God and to one another—two distinct yet harmonizing ways of responding to the vocation to love.

While human persons are more than biological organisms, the roots of marriage can be seen in the biological fact that a man and a woman can come together as male and female in a union that has the potential for bringing forth another human person. This kind of union fills the need for the continuation of the human race. Since human beings exist at more than a biological level, however, this union has further personal and spiritual dimensions. Marriage does not exist solely for the reproduction of another member of the species, but for the creation of a communion of persons.

To form a communion of persons is the vocation of everyone. As Pope John Paul II teaches, all human persons are created in the image of God, who is a communion of love of three persons, and thus all are called to live in a communion of self-giving love: “to say that man is created in the image and likeness of God means that man is called to exist ‘for’ others, to become a gift.”

Marriage, however, is a unique communion of persons. In their intimate union as male and female, the spouses are called to exist for each other. Just as Genesis describes Eve as a helper for Adam, we can see that in marriage, a husband and wife are meant to help each other through self-giving. “In the ‘unity of the two,’ man and woman are called from the beginning not only to exist ‘side by side’ or ‘together,’ but they are also called to exist mutually ‘one for the

other.’”

This communion of persons has the potential to bring forth human life and thus to produce the family, which is itself another kind of communion of persons and which is the origin and foundation of all human society. It is precisely the difference between man and woman that makes possible this unique communion of persons, the unique partnership of life and love that is marriage. A man and woman united in marriage as husband and wife serve as a symbol of both life and love in a way that no other relationship of human persons can.

---Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan (a pdf file)

A Pastoral Letter of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Nov. 2009)

The Bishops' Press Release on 11.09.09 on Health Care policy

Click on the link above and read it in its entirety. Even though abortion funding was removed from the House healthcare bill, there is still much to be concerned about...

Abortion is OUT of the House healthcare bill thanks to US Bishops' brokering

As many know by now, the US House of Representatives passed their health care bill over the weekend. While, personally, I still think there are many problems with the bill, we can see as a direct result of the outcry from Catholics around the nation and the US Catholic Bishops demanding that the House bill abandon abortion as mandatory health care.

This snippet describes this news from this article in the Wall Street Journal.

"We're really disappointed," said Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "It does set a new precedent."

Backers of the House measure, which was approved Saturday night by a 240-194 vote, argued that it effectively preserves the status quo for abortion funding. They noted that other federal health programs, such as the Medicaid federal-state program for the poor, don't cover abortion.

"We did not want this legislation to be a vehicle for expanding abortion or for changing federal policy on abortion in the wrong direction," said Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the secretariat of pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The abortion issue was at the center of last-minute wrangling in the House. A bloc of Democrats, backed by the Catholic bishops, threatened to scuttle the House health bill if leaders didn't take up the antiabortion measure. In an unusual show of influence, Mr. Doerflinger and other representatives of the bishops on Friday met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to broker an agreement. Ms. Pelosi, who favors abortion rights, reluctantly agreed to bring the measure to the floor, and it became part of the broader bill that passed in the House late Saturday.

Earlier versions of the bill allowed some federally subsidized plans to cover the procedure as long as they restricted payments for abortions to private dollars.

My latest on Today's Catholic Woman

On how what the Bishops' "call to arms" on the healthcare debate means... in terms of what the Catechism teaches... here.

Among Women Podcast #32

This week's episode of Among Women continues a discussion with Dr. Maura Hearden, a theology professor from DeSales University about the feminine genius and what that means. (This is part 2 of 2. Part 1 is here.)

Pat also shares about the life and writings of St. Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), and what is applicable about to our spiritual life.

There's a random drawing for the booklet Pure Womanhood.  Send Pat an email this week with your name and request to be in the drawing.

Finally, the USCCB's call to arms for all Americans to petition Congress on health care.  More here.

US Catholic Bishops urge Catholics to Email Congress this weekend!

When you attend Sunday Mass this weekend, you may see a bulletin insert from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops....  you can read the insert in this pdf file.

The Bishops are calling on all Americans to contact Congress to oppose health care reform that does not respect the dignity of human life, and which support abortion with tax dollars.

The bishops have made an easy-to-use one-stop fill-in-the-blank form to send your comments to Congress.  Pass this link on to others!

The main page from the Bishops about healthcare is here. There is lots of good information there.