Among Women podcast is nominated for 5 Catholic New Media Awards!

AMONG WOMEN: Nominee, Best New Podcast
AMONG WOMEN: Nominee, Best Podcast by a Woman

AMONG WOMEN: Nominee, Best Produced Podcast

AMONG WOMEN: Nominee, Most Spiritual

AMONG WOMEN: Nominee, People's Choice

Okay, so like, now I'm... very much humbled. I thought the little-podcast-that-could had a shot in the New Podcast category... just cuz we are like one of the newest of the newbies on the Catholic Podcasting block, and there are not that many in that category this year, save the lovable Faith and Family Live gals and the wonderful Carmelites. Oh yeah, it's like an honor just to be in their company! 

But hey -- who knew? Me thinks we's filling a niche.

So this is really just a Big Fat Smoochy Kiss and Hug out to all the listeners and subscribers out there -- thanks to you for all your loving support.  And to all who nominated AW, whoever you are, bless your hearts! 

Check out all the nominees here.

And, by all means, cast your votes during June here.

Let's lift up Jesus and bring honor to his mother and ours -- Mary!  And pray a rosary together while we're at it!

Writer's Wednesday - Benedict XVI

From the 43rd World Day of Communications

and the 

Pope's New Website (linked above)

The desire for connectedness and the instinct for communication that are so obvious in contemporary culture are best understood as modern manifestations of the basic and enduring propensity of humans to reach beyond themselves and to seek communion with others. In reality, when we open ourselves to others, we are fulfilling our deepest need and becoming more fully human. Loving is, in fact, what we are designed for by our Creator. Naturally, I am not talking about fleeting, shallow relationships, I am talking about the real love that is at the very heart of Jesus’ moral teaching: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "You must love your neighbour as yourself" (cf. Mk 12:30-31). In this light, reflecting on the significance of the new technologies, it is important to focus not just on their undoubted capacity to foster contact between people, but on the quality of the content that is put into circulation using these means. I would encourage all people of good will who are active in the emerging environment of digital communication to commit themselves to promoting a culture of respect, dialogue and friendship. 

Those who are active in the production and dissemination of new media content, therefore, should strive to respect the dignity and worth of the human person. If the new technologies are to serve the good of individuals and of society, all users will avoid the sharing of words and images that are degrading of human beings, that promote hatred and intolerance, that debase the goodness and intimacy of human sexuality or that exploit the weak and vulnerable. 

The new technologies have also opened the way for dialogue between people from different countries, cultures and religions. The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows them to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values. Such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, require honest and appropriate forms of expression together with attentive and respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in a genuine and mutual searching for truth if it is to realize its potential to promote growth in understanding and tolerance. Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this - in truth, in goodness, and in beauty - that we find happiness and joy. 

----Benedict XVI

Among Women Podcast, episode #9!

The latest episode of Among Women features a look at the life of St. Therese of Lisieux,  and we visit with Rose Connolly, a wife-mother-CPA who gives us her take on faith, family, and finances!

To listen or download, go to My Catholic Voice, listed in the sidebar, or iTunes. Or visit the Among Women homepage.

 

Among Women Podcast is NEW & NOTABLE at iTunes!

As of today, Among Women appeared on Page One of the iTunes "New and Notable" Podcasts in the "Christianity" division, and on Page Three in the "Religion and Spirituality" division.

Thank you for all of your support, and for subscribing, listening, praying, and pushing play.

I am humbled, and grateful. Please pray for this ministry as we go forward together! Feel free to leave a comment below... or better yet -- leave one on the iTunes homepage for AW!

Implanting

I am a living witness to the miracle of modern medical implant technology.  I have three implants, to be precise.  None of which were on my life’s “to do” list. All of which were results of unexpected medical maladies. Despite my scars, I’ve learned what God implants in us, is more important and requires more faith than what it takes to submit to reconstructive surgery.

(Note: If you are squeamish about medical procedures, skip over the next paragraph.)

Most recently, I’ve had a new tooth implanted into my jawbone by a skilled periodontist.  But that was pretty small compared to the work my orthopedist did: implanting a new titanium hip replacing the one that was ruining my gait for years. And back in ‘96, an amazing medical team removed tissue and muscle from one side of my body and re-implanted it on the other side to aid my recovery from breast cancer.

Each implant renewed my life in some way, reclaiming it from disease and deformity.

In each case success was not measured by the skills of the surgeons, important as that may be. Success was first measured by how well what was implanted worked in “natural” harmony with my body, and how strongly the implant bonded with my bones. But the ultimate success came later, measured by what I could do following the implant.  Could I do new things that I previously could not? Was I changed for the better?

This has application to the spiritual life. Especially when things in our life are broken.

If we let God in and give him access to our most difficult and hurting parts of life, he will supply what we need most. 

If we let God touch and treat what is hurting in us, he will act as a gentle, loving, and compassionate surgeon – taking us through the hard thing with hope – by correcting what is diseased or deformed in us.

In time, the scars will fade and we will find ourselves able to do new things.

But first, we have to humbly submit to the work God wants to do in us. He wants to bring us to wholeness (and holiness) because He loves us.

Sometimes Christians call this idea “being open to the action of the Holy Spirit.”

Maybe the surgical implant analogy is too strong for all cases.

How about the work of the farmer, or the tiller of the soil?  They cut and break open the soil in order to have it receive the seed. 

Recall Jesus and the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8: 5-15 NAB):  The good soil gives the greatest yield, for it was most open and best prepared to receive the seed – the word of God. The rich soil allows the seed to take root, and grow into a study plant.

In fact, Jesus compares the good soil to the persons “who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance (v.15).”  

This implies that being open to the word is not always easy, but worthy of the effort.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives us a word from the Lord that we to need to take in yet have trouble heeding. Sometimes a hard-yet-loving word requires some kind of permanent change in us. But it is for our own good – for our flourishing. Intuitively, we know this deep down, and can almost feel the relief it brings.

Conversion, renewal, and even, healing, begins when we humbly accept that word of God… by opening ourselves up, as the earth accepts the seed, or more radically, like giving our consent for the surgeon’s scalpel.

After taking it in, we must let God’s holy word (his will for us) take root, or perhaps, let it fuse with our bones. This way, God’s word becomes one with us, so we can live and move with it “naturally”.

What is God planting in you these days? Is there an opening for his word to get inside of you?

Openness, and then surrender to the word – to what God is planting in us – is the key to Christian life.  Nothing will ever grow, and certainly, nothing will ever get healed in us, unless we first surrender.

God can plant his word in us, but it bears fruit when we cooperate and act with it. Our actions must become one with that word. James 1: 21b-22 NAB emphatically reminds us:

“Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only.”

God’s got his own miracle to implant in you: Receive the word. Then do it.

©2009 Patricia W. Gohn

 

 

 

ALL for Mary!

There's a "Mary Moments"Carnival over at Sarah Reinhard's Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering... so check it out! Yours truly has submitted an archived piece on how Mary has "mothered" me. Other bloggers are participating throughout the day, so check back now and then. 

Also Sarah is also a guest blogger this week over at Faith and Family Live. Her topics will revolve around Mary, as we close out this month of Mary, so check out her first post! 

The Catholic Writer's Conference -- this August 5-7!

Calling all Catholic Writers! The Catholic Writer's Guild Conference should be part of your summer plans.

 

Check it out!

Writer's Wednesday - Alan Schreck

Jesus called the church "my church'... (Mt 16:18).

Jesus will never leave or abandon his church because he loves it to the point of dying for it on the cross...

The fulfilment of Jesus' work of preparing his bride, the church, for himself is described in the Book of Revelation. Christ, the Lamb of God, weds his bride, the church, at the end of time: 

"'... the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure'--for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." (Rev. 19:7-8).

This is what God is doing in human history. He is forming a people, a bride for his Son Jesus Christ, and purifying the church so it will be ready when Christ comes again in glory.  We know the work of purification is not yet complete. Although we can see the "the righteous deeds of the saints," we also know that there is still sin in the church, for Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Lk. 5:32).  Yet in spite of the evident sin and weakness of the church, Christ still loves it enough to die on the cross for his people, the church.

It is evident that the history of the church is marked by both sin and weakness as well as by the grace and protection of God.  This is because the church is not only a divine reality but also human, like Jesus himself. Unlike Jesus, however, the church is not totally free from sin and being conformed into the image of Jesus, the head of the church. The Gospels are full of stories of sinners being redeemed -- prostitutes, the self-righteous, and even apostles like Peter. All of them needed mercy and forgiveness. What is true in the Gospels is true in the church throughout history.

In spite of the sin in the church today and in history, Christians are not called to criticize or to sit in judgment over the church but to love the church as Jesus does. We, as members of the church, are sinners ourselves. Yet Jesus loves us enough to die for us to free us from our sin and weakness. The same is true of the church as a whole. Despite it's sinfulness, Christ loves the church and looks upon it as his beloved Bride. God is at work to purify and renew his people, his church.  Each of us should say, with Cardinal Suenens, "I love the church, wrinkles and all!"  We love the church, in spite of imperfections, because Jesus Christ loves it and died to redeem his people.

-----Alan Schreck, href="http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-books/1011847/Compact-History-Catholic-Church/?aid=1951">The Compact History of the Catholic Church.

Among Women Podcast, episode #8

This week's episode features a look at the life of St. Rita of Cascia, who is the patron of lost causes and impossible situations, especially as they apply to marriages.  Then, we talk with Dr. Mary Healy, a scripture scholar and author, as she delves into the first volume, The Gospel of Mark, of a new Catholic Commentary series.  In it, she unlocks some of Jesus' teaching on marriage as found in Mark 10.

If you are not much of a bible reader, but would like to be, I invite you to listen to this podcast and check out Dr. Healy's suggestions for getting to know God's Word!

Listen online at AmongWomenPodcast.com or click on the sidebar for MyCatholicVoice.com.  Or, search iTunes for AMONG WOMEN.

May honors Mary!

Check out my latest on Catholic Exchange.

The Stoning of Soraya M.

I went to a Boston pre-screening for this powerful film.

Sitting next to me was my pal, movie reviewer Leticia Velasquez, so, please read her accurate review here.

I was deeply moved and affected by this film, just as I was by The Passion of the Christ. People openly wept in the theatre. 

Put it on your must-see list when it opens June 26th.

A few caveats: 

1) This is R-rated, and not a film for children or for impressionable younger teens. This is one of those that if you think you want your teens to view it, go view it first yourself as a parent, then decide.

2) While being promoted to many Christian markets, this is not about Christianity. In fact, the main characters are Muslims. Yet it is more than a film about them.  It's about humanity. And our inhumanity to one another because of sin. Therefore, there are many universal themes and moral lessons applicable to people of all faiths and ethnicities and cultures. 

3) You will want to make sure this one innocent woman, Soraya, did not die in vain.

4) You will want to pray deeply over this passage from John 8:7...

And [Jesus]... stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 

An Immediate Day Brightener!

Click on the above link for an inspiring video.  

HT: Lisa @ CatholicMom.com.

Among Women Podcast, episode #7

Click on the title link to hear the latest episode of Among Women.  (Or find it on iTunes.) (Or download it from My Catholic Voice.) It features an extended look at the message of Fatima, plus a conversation recounting my own pilgrimage to Fatima back in 1998 with my guest, Jane Richard.

Trivia:  that picture above of Our Lady of Fatima is a photo of the 30" statue I brought back on the plane from that trip.

Writer's Wednesday - Sr. Lucia, Visionary of Fatima

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. 

On May 13, 1917,  the Blessed Virgin Mary began a series of apparitions to three peasant children, calling for much prayer and penance. Two of the visionaries, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, died at young ages and have already been beatified, and the third, Lucia, who died recently has be "fast-tracked" toward beatification by Benedict XVI. 

Lucia was the oldest, and she lived until recently, dying in her 90s. Here is a short excerpt from her memoirs, (but there is so much more to learn about the message of Fatima, please use the links below.)

Our Lady told me that she would never forsake me, and that her Immaculate Heart would be my refuge and the way that would lead me to God.  As she spoke these words, she opened her hands, and from them streamed a light that penetrated to our inmost hearts.  I think that, on that day, the main purpose of that light was to infuse in us a special knowledge and love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary... from that day onwards, our hearts were filled with a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

----These words are taken from Sr. Lucia's memoirs, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, but this version may be out of print, but there are many available in later editions.

+++++++

Everything you want to know about Fatima, is here on the official Shrine page.

Allow me to point you toward this video of a procession of Mary "walking" amid here children (pilgrims) at the Fatima Shrine on a feast day.

For a virtual photo tour of Fatima today, go here.

Joy as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit

My latest at Today's Catholic Woman.

Catch up on Joy

Here's an update of some of my recent articles over at Today's Catholic Woman:

Rediscovering Sunday as a day of Joy

The Joy List

Send this to your pastor and bishop and other Catholic men and women of influence

The link about is a primer presentation (audio, plus powerpoint) on Catholic New Media called "The Church of Tomorrow Today". It features the founder of My Catholic Voice, and it is really geared for people (especially clergy) who may not be initiated in Web 2.0 -- the new media.

(Especially for us 40+ folks--Lord help us!-- like me.)

In the waning weeks of the Year of St. Paul... let's get busy and take our evangelizing to the new media.

BTW, if you want to download my Among Women podcast from a format other than using iTunes, click on the link to My Catholic Voice in the side bar.  I really want to support this new ministry that is striving to serve the Church with safeguards that cannot be found on You Tube or iTunes. 

Among Women Podcast, episode #6

Among Women introduces the newest Catholic saints. Plus we welcome Catholic writer/bloggers Leticia Velasquez and Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur.  (That's them in the photo, l to r, with yours truly.)

Check it out at the link above, at AmongWomenPodcast.com, or download it from MyCatholicVoice.com.

Writer's Wednesday - Pope John Paul II

Do not fear to take Mary as your mother on the journey of life!  May Mary be a model for your of how to follow Jesus.  Do not be afraid of confiding in her, of entrusting to her maternal hands every problem, every anxiety, every expectation, and every project.  Above all, trust her with the project that concerns your whole life:  your vocation, in the sincere gift of what you are, for your own self-fulfillment.

-----Pope John Paul II, John Paul II, A Marian Treasury.

[About the photo:  This is the "Totus Tuus" icon in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. John Paul II commissioned this image after the assassination attempt on his life, in gratitude for the Madonna's protection and assistance during his recovery."]

MSNBC Poll on the motto "In God We Trust"

It will be interesting to see if the results of this poll get reported. The question posed by MSNBC is:

 

Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency?

Why not take a moment and vote? At this posting, there have been over 14 million responses.