The F.U.N. Quotient

The Bible, according to kids.

St Paul's Third Letter to the Corinthians.

Among Women #129 Dealing with Miscarriage, Part 1

Among Women 129 features the first of a two-part series on miscarriage, featuring the writing and practical wisdom of author Karen Edmisten. Drawing on her latest book, After Miscarriage, A Catholic Woman's Companion to Healing and Hope, Karen and Pat have an extended conversation on this tender subject, that is so often hard to talk about. On this episode, they discuss the emotional upheaval of miscarriage and ways the Christian community can offering prayers of support, masses of remembrance, and assurance of the mercy of God toward a child that does not live to experience the sacrament of baptism.

This episode also explores the Old Testament's biblical account of Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Hannah's life is a profound example of a praying woman dealing with infertility, and, later, as a witness of a praying mother as God grants an answer to her prayers. Listen to the podcast here, or download it from iTunes.

Among Women ReadHER 3.10.12 ... Anniversary of Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, bible, charity, children & more

Among Women ReadHER 

3.10.12

Okay, here's the best video I've found this week illuminating the HHS Mandate struggle:


I hope you had a chance to read and listen to some of the women who speaking out on this subject... there are some good women's forums to watch/listen to here on my blog.

+++

Why Am I Still Catholic? Wrong Question Huffington Post
By Emily Stimpson at CatholicVote.org
Everything I've every tried to relate about the dignity of women on multiple episodes of Among Women, succinctly summarized by Emily's thoughtful rebuttal.


Love is the Thing, Even If I Want to Judge
By Lisa Mladinich at her column at Patheos
Please read this and share it. Lisa is very dear; we were first friends online and became friends IRL because of the kind of work we do. It is a blessed thing to have a friend who wishes to be a saint. 


Tackle the Stress of Being a Mom: A good video clip featuring advice from Dr. Kevin Lehman.



The Sacrifice of Isaac
By Marcellino D'Ambrosio PhD at Catholic Lane
I found this after the fact, but it is a great treatment of last Sunday's First Reading. There is still profit from reading it, as it points to the sacrifice of Lent and more.


The New Scar on my Soul
By Anonymous at American Thinker
Speaking of child sacrifice...the decision of selective reduction during an IVF pregnancy, and its effect on the father who describes it.


It's a Girl
Trailer posted by Shadowline Films
The sacrifice of our children is not just a respect life issue in the United States, it is a literal "gender-cide" problem on a global scale. This documentary will help tell the story... Viewer warning: this is not for the eyes and ears of little children. 


Planned Parenthood and the Video Every Parent Must See

By Gerard Nadal, PhD at Coming Home

Warning: a graphic video that should not be viewed with children within earshot range. I'm just providing a link, you view it when your kids are not nearby, and when you think you can stomach exposure that will incite you to help close down funding to PP.

Ok, that was yucky, but needed. Here's a palate cleanser...
Video with thanks from Japanese Earthquake victims...

Among Women ReadHER 2.11.12 Late breaking HHS news, Career/family balance, parenting, Valentine's angst & more...

Among Women ReadHER 

2.11.12

!!! Bishops Warn that the HHS Mandate debate is far from over! 

By the USCCB website

There is more to this story than fully being reported. Stay informed.

Don't miss this, either, a letter from the bishops.

Got a minute? Check out Marian Minute

I've added this to my bookmark bar.... to keep it accessible.

Time to Admit It: The Church has Always Been Right about Birth Control

By Michael Brendan Doherty and Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry at Business

This is just more consideration by many considering the outcry of the Church against the HHS Mandate.

The Feminist Shaming of Fertility

By Ashley Crouch at First Things

Read and consider this carefully. The author refers to a brilliant chapter by Dr. Angela Franks in Women, Sex, and the Church, (add it to your library!), compiled by Erika Bachiochi, a recent guest discussing this book on Among Women 98. 

Victoria's Secret Model Quits to Reserve Her Body 'for my Husband'

By Jennifer Abbey

Ok, that's not something you hear every day. Let's credit God for both the young model's journey, and the writer who cared to publish the story. 

Don't Let Valentine's Day Make You Cranky

By Robyn Lee at Catholic Match

Here, here! A post for the single un-attached! By Robyn Lee, a recent guest on AW 122, give her a listen! 

It's National Marriage Week

By the USCCB

From the I-must-live-under-a-rock dept: I didn't know that! When did we get that? Makes sense with Valentine's Day coming up.

Interview with Dr. Michael Barber - Scripture and New Media

By Brandon Vogt at The Thin Veil

A most excellent post - chock full of resources for your spiritual growth. I highly recommend them all! Bookmark and save for further exploration and digestion.

Handprints on the Mirror

By Leanne Willen at CatholicMom.com

Awww... sweet reflection about the little ones. 

Presidential Fathers and Sons

By Michael Medved in the Wall Street Journal

Here's an interesting angle regarding the recent history of the presidency.

The True Test of Leadership

By Mike Myatt at Forbes

Great advice for working women and men. It's simple, Mike writes: "If you focus on your family, your career won't suffer, it will flourish. Get this wrong and not only will your family suffer, but so will you..." 

The Loveliness of a Personal Litany

By Sarah Reinhard

Got saints? Sarah suggests a way to pray with the members of the communion of saints that are important to you. Sarah was a recent guest on AW talking about advent, and talking about blogging and books and more, way back on episode 11.

Strawberry Milk: A fun and easy treat for St. Valentine's Day

By Lacy Rabideau at Catholic Icing

Yes, emphasis on Easy!

Did I Just Have a Heart Attack?

By Susan Brinker at Women of Grace

It's February and Heart Awareness Month. Some good reminders here on the differences of heart symptoms between women and men.

Barbara Walters: "Heartbreaking" for Women to an Ultrasound (prior to their abortion)

By Steven Ertelt at LifeSiteNews.com

It causes more guilt. Hm. Sometimes guilt can lead us to do the right thing...

Hoops Star Elena Delle Donne Treasure Relationship with Older Sister

By Frank DeFord in Sports Illustrated

Ok, I love this story of the love of sisters and the love of basketball. 

Why the French make better parents. 

I don't think this is rocket-science, but I do think there are helpful insights if you need some encouragement in the parenting of small children. Some of these simple principles are inherent in a lot of parenting techniques I learned from Focus on the Family, and others, who emphasized the authoritative role (not authoritarianism) of parents. There is a corresponding article. 

And finally, a little hilarity... The Crescat and Nuns... do click through to the link to see Kat's spoof of the now-famous dating service video of the woman and her over-the-top love of pets. I shoulda put it on the F.U.N. Quotient, but...

Here's 12 great episodes of Among Women from 2011... Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming up in 2012!

Here's an even dozen selected for your listening pleasure. Just click on the link to listen on your computer, or download via iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast here, and subscribe to the blog in the sidebar at right.

If you're new to Among Women, or you haven't been around for a while, here's a look back at some of what we've covered together in the last 12 months.

AW 85 with Elizabeth Scalia... Stand Up for the Faith

AW 92 Special Edition... The Bible and You -- a round-up with our listeners as guests!

AW 93 with a panel of guests... Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

AW 94 with Jennifer Willits... Ringing Around the Rosary

AW 99 with Julie Davis... Happy to be Catholic

AW 100... Celebrating 100 Episodes... with the guest from Episode 1: Dr. Virginia Kimball and a cast of thousands... (ok, not 1000's but a bunch of beloved listeners giving their two cents about AW.)

AW 103 with Rosario Rodriguez... When Forgiveness is Hard

AW 109 Metanoia... Listener Erin Miller talks about her conversion and the road to Carmelite spirituality.

AW 112 Special Edition... What I love about the Rosary! -- more fun with our listeners!

AW 113 with Lisa Hendey... Communing with the Saints

AW 118 with Teresa Tomeo... A Women's Relationship with the Media

AW 119 with Dorothy Pilarski... The Interior Life of Mothers

Put Yourself into the Christmas Story, my latest at Patheos

Here's this week's column from Patheos describing a simple method for meditating on the Christmas story... spend some time in God's Word this season!  Here's a little bit...

Put yourself in the story. It’s a real spiritual exercise; a form of meditation that disallows just passively listening to the message, but actively receives it. 

Imagination stirs us to become a character in the story’s action, or to be ourselves as bystanders or witnesses of the events. That kind of identification draws us deeper into “the Greatest Story Ever Told”, letting it take root. We make personal connections when we ponder what catches our attention. The longer you meditate on a scenario in Scripture, the more you relax with the details, and the more vivid the experience. And while your mind is engaged this way, the Spirit of God may whisper to your heart as well. 

Read the infancy narratives in chapters 1 and 2 in the Gospels of Matthew or Luke. You can work with a few paragraphs, or the Gospels at Mass. 

See, smell, touch, hear, and taste. Talk to the people you are reading about. 

Putting myself into the story helps me to “get it.” I acknowledge the truth of my situation; the need for more of God in my life and less of everything else. 

I discover that the supernatural takes place within the realm of my natural world. That’s what makes Christmas so utterly amazing. My eyes see and my heart detects God becoming part of the human family, and I find him in my own experiences.

Read the rest of "Put Yourself into the Christmas Story." 

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Among Women #111 - Women: Bearers of the Good News

Among Women 111 completes the two-part series with Scripture scholar and author, Dr Mary Healy, of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.  Come hear an amazing talk that will raise your dignity as a woman as Dr. Healy unpacks the riches of Scripture and re-introduces to the qualities we know reside in our deepest selves.

Oh, and while Dr. Healy tackles some of the greats of the bible,  I'll do a brief survey of the life of Joanna, one of the "little women" of the bible.  Check it out here.

And may I ask for your prayers this week? This week I'll be off speaking and participating in the Catholic New Media Conference. Better yet, pray for the whole team and all the participants, too!

Among Women 110 - Bearers of the Good News, Pt. 1 - a great presentation for women!

AW 110 features an amazing teaching on women in the bible from Scripture scholar, Dr. Mary Healy, from the faculty of Sacred Heart Seminary. Dr. Healy unpacks the stories of women who exemplified the feminine genius in part one of this two-part presentation from the National Catholic Bible Conference, July 2011. 


Pat also looks at one of the little known saints that is favored by Pope Benedict, St. Juliana from Belgium. She was at 12th century saint, devoted to Christ in the Eucharist, and whose prayerful influence in the Church gave us Corpus Christi Sunday.

Also, this is the last week to send in your contributions for the Among Women Special Edition: "What I love about the rosary," scheduled for early October.

I am also taking audio feedback and written feedback for an upcoming AW Special Edition: What I Love About the Rosary.  To participate, just share what you love about the Rosary, by calling our feedback line at 206-203-2024, or message via Facebook at the Among Women Podcast page. Or email me at amongwomenpodcast@me.com. Audio files that you record on your mobile phone or via iTunes are good too! 

Entries must be received by 6pm EST, Monday, Sept. 26. All participants will have their names placed in a free drawing for a handcrafted rosary from Rustic Rosaries by Margaret Rose.

A Word in Season: The God Who Wants to Be Found

My latest over at Patheos is both a look at the upcoming Sunday Readings, and a look at one of the greatest things to ever happen to humanity: God's revelation of Himself to us. So often we think that we are searching for God, when in reality, he has been in search of us all along.

Here's a snippet:

I now understand my seeking of a relationship with God was merely my long overdue response to his first generous invitation that began with my infant baptism. My baptism was the profound starting place of my formal sacramental encounters with Him… even though I did not know it yet.  

Yet even before my baptism, God was in search of me, knowing me from within my mother’s womb.

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb...

My very self you knew… When I was being made in secret…

Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down;

my days were shaped, before one came to be.

(Psalm 139: 13-16.)

God courteously waited for me to catch up and learn to live within the blessing that seekers of him are destined to find him, for He wishes to be found. 

Suffice to say, I have bumbled along and made mistakes in this friendship. But I have learned of the remarkable elasticity of his grace to sustain it and me.

Read the rest.

My Recommended Summer Reading

This morning I had a great conversation today with Brian Patrick on the Sonrise Morning Show, and we talked about summer reading suggestions.

Here are mine:

A Biblical Walk through The Mass, by Dr. Edward Sri
An excellent resource for personal or group use-- especially as we prepare to receive the new missal in Advent 2011. Dr. Sri is infectiously enthusiastic on this subject matter. 

Happy Catholic, Glimpses of God in Everyday Life by Julie Davis
Fun, witty, inspirational... quotes from a myriad of sources with meditations to get you thinking!

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen
A soon-to-be-classic, I have re-read this book before. It's 20 years old, but a unique combination of a meditation on the Gospel story and the great work of the same name by Rembrandt. This book is a mini-retreat! 

This makes me think... about adding more silence to my life...

The word and silence

In their interventions, a good number of Synod Fathers insisted on the importance of silence in relation to the word of God and its reception in the lives of the faithful. The word, in fact, can only be spoken and heard in silence, outward and inward. Ours is not an age which fosters recollection; at times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media. For this reason, it is necessary nowadays that the People of God be educated in the value of silence. Rediscovering the centrality of God’s word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose. The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ all involve silence. Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence. Our liturgies must facilitate this attitude of authentic listening: Verbo crescente, verba deficiunt.

The importance of all this is particularly evident in the Liturgy of the Word, “which should be celebrated in a way that favours meditation”. Silence, when called for, should be considered “a part of the celebration”. Hence I encourage Pastors to foster moments of recollection whereby, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the word of God can find a welcome in our hearts.

---Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, par. 66.

Among Women #92 - Special Edition: The Bible and You

This week's Among Women is another Special Edition featuring a look at developing a love of Scripture.  This episode, "The Bible and You" features many AW listeners and guests sharing their favorite bible verses. Download this special edition and let God's Word build you up!

Warning Label: Open only if you've made a mistake

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.


H/T The women at Own It

Matthew 8: 2-3: And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately [the] leprosy was cleansed. 

Here's a thought.

To Be Blessed: An Attitude

I'm over at Patheos today... my column discusses the Beatitudes that we encounter in this Sunday's Gospel. And I share how my own attitude toward them has steadily improved over the years... Here's a tease:

...over time, I was learning that the Christian way is no easy way, but it is a blessed way. For me, beauty, graces, and freedom were yet to be found within those paradoxical Beatitudes, after all.

Maybe that’s why Jesus started the Sermon on the Mount with their counsels. Central to his gospel, they teach the presence of eternal value inherent in the experiences of our daily lives… even the difficult ones.

The Beatitudes are meant to shape and form us -- like “be attitudes” -- the way that Jesus wants us to be. The Beatitudes give us choices to deliberately “be more” than minimalists or skimmers of the surface of life. They dare us to believe in the necessity of being a blessing now in exchange for a blessing yet unseen. This is no immediate transaction. The return on one’s investment is in the hands of Someone else.

The whole article is at "A Word in Season" at Patheos.

This makes me think....

This struck me in today's Scripture...

Readings: Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24.

This week we hear the word of "Emmanuel" ("God with us") foretold in Isaiah and echoed in the Matthew's Gospel, that was geared for a Jewish audience that was familiar with the prophecies of Isaiah.

This truth of God-with-us is something we Catholics really understand, especially through the grace of the sacraments... most poignantly through Baptism, where we are baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, as well as in the Eucharist.

To my mind, our lives are to be lived as a holy echo of that presence of God in our lives. I pray that we may truly reflect the light of God-with-us. What a privilege! And what a responsibility. Therefore, we understand the need we have for the ongoing grace that we receive from the sacraments.

From Benedict XVI:

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to

bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name,

among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are

called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in

Rome, called to be holy.

Rm 1:6-7a

The world needs God— 

not just any god 

but the God of Jesus Christ, 

the God who made himself flesh and blood,

who loved us to the point of dying for us, 

who rose and created

within himself room for man.

~Homily at Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday

April 13, 2006

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.

I'm already EXCITED by Magnificat -- Now I'm THRILLED by the APP!!

How do you make a great resource like the Magnificat even better?  You make an APP for it.

Okay, there's Universalis, and others, I know, in terms of Apps.  But Magnificat has been clearly my favorite print resource for years, and now I've got a digital version when I'm in a wi-fi environment, using my iTouch.  (No, I don't have an iPhone yet... trying to keep the family phone bill down during these college-payin' years. Let's not even talk about the iPad... but I digress.)

What's not to love?

My latest on Today's Catholic Woman...

...is a challenge to read about all the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  And on the third day, he rose again.

Go meet Jesus again through the eyewitnesses who saw him first from the grave, and in the thrilling days that followed.

Keep the Easter joy alive by delving deep into the word. Full accounts can be linked from the article.

Now 

on the first day of the week 

Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early,

 while it was still dark, 

and saw that 

the stone had been taken away 

from the tomb.  

John 21:1

Let us too be witnesses to that great event in our lives!

He is risen!  Alleluia!

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