This makes me think... about not separating "spiritual life" from "real life"...

In discovering and living their proper vocation and mission, the lay faithful must be formed according to the union which exists from their being members of the Church and citizens of human society.

There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called "spiritual" life, with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called "secular" life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social relationships, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture. The branch, engrafted to the vine which is Christ, bears its fruit in every sphere of existence and activity. In fact, every area of the lay faithful's lives, as different as they are, enters into the plan of God, who desires that these very areas be the "places in time" where the love of Christ is revealed and realized for both the glory of the Father and service of others. Every activity, every situation, every precise responsibility-as, for example, skill and solidarity in work, love and dedication in the family and the education of children, service to society and public life and the promotion of truth in the area of culture-are the occasions ordained by Providence for a continuous exercise of faith, hope and charity.

The Second Vatican Council has invited all the lay faithful to this unity of life by forcefully decrying the grave consequences in separating faith from life, and the gospel from culture: "The Council exhorts Christians, as citizens of one city and the other, to strive to perform their earthly duties faithfully in response to the spirit of the Gospel. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities; for they are forgetting that by faith itself they are more than ever obliged to measure up to these duties, each according to one's vocation ... This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age". Therefore, I have maintained that a faith that does not affect a person's culture is a faith "not fully embraced, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived".

-- John Paul II, Christifidelis Liaci,  par. 59.

Among Women Podcast #73: The Young and the Radiant

AW 73 profiles the heroic virtues and ideals of young Catholic women.  You've heard of the soap opera, The Young and the Restless?  That fiction has no lasting value compared to the stories of real-life young women --both young and radiant-- who live for Christ.  You need drama?  You need works of mercy?  You need beauty inside and out? Count on the saints--even the youngest saints-- and the Christians who strive to imitate them!

This week Pat chats about the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and how "what we do"in daily life becomes a ministry in the way we do it for Christ.

This week's podcast also profiles the newest "Blessed"in our "Blessed are They" segment: Chiara Lucce Badano of Italy, who died from cancer in 1990 at the age of 18.  Then, our "Among Women" segment features a chat with Rose Rea, the talented young founder and publisher of Radiant magazine -- for women ages 18-27. Radiant is a Catholic magazine for the fun, fashionable, and devout woman.

Don't forget to send Pat an email (amongwomenpodcast@me.com) or voicemail at 206-338-6077, and tell what role prayer plays in your life! Comments will be used in an AW special on prayer in late October -- but act now! Thanks!

BTW: Here's a video about blessed Chiara, beatified last Saturday!

Image credit.

This makes me think...

There comes a time when you have to admit that you can't do it alone.  You don't have the information or the skill or the time or the will.  Yet you keep hanging on to the task, thinking you can force progress. Well, progress doesn't respond to force. It's time to ask for help...


Years ago I took an editorial position at a new company. When I attended my first editorial lunch... I let it slip that I was taking work home almost nightly.  When our editorial director heard that, he explained what I should do when a project was slipping behind and how asking for help early was better than getting overwhelmed down the line.  Another editor, a woman who had been there a few years, said to me, "Vinita, look in the mirror and repeat this to yourself: 'I am not Jesus.'" Well, everyone at the table burst into laughter at that bit of advice, but I have remembered it every since.


It's good to remind yourself that you do not have superpowers. Drop whatever else you are doing, and figure out what kind of help you need-- then ask for it.

---Vinita Hampton Wright, Simple Acts of Moving Forward, (2009).