ask da nun

[materdei]

I'm so sorry for not getting back to you on your questions.
I have been in the process of re-vamping our web-site and I have just been really pressed withfitting that in with the rest of religious life (prayers, community, apostolate, etc.)
Rev, our web address is www.daughtersofstjoseph.com

Mikey, I definitely think nuns/sisters have huge impacts in peoples spiritual lives. The question is how great of an impact and for good, bad, or indifferent. If you meet a sister who is completely and totally in love with Jesus and His Church and expresses that love in word and example it draws people...and they in turn want what they see in her. On the other hand if you are only exposed to religious who are dissatisfied in their vocation and angry with the Church it teaches cafeteria catholicism and mediocrity to the faithful. If a religious is visible and in love ALL she comes into contact with will be impacted!

[Chorusgirl]

[quote name='materdei' date='May 5 2005, 05:58 PM'] Mikey,
Great question!
We are currently waiting on the bishops permission to wear the traditional carmelite habit (brown wool blend, ankle length, wide wrist length cuffs, brown scapular, black veil, etc.)
The habit is [b][u]WAY [/u][/b]important!! If religious are to be a sign of heaven how can thaey if no one can see it?
I have to go now the bell is ringing for supper I will get back with you on this subject! I LOVE the habit!!! [/quote]
Hello!! Wow, thats really cool... Tee hee... I really like Habits, I think they are important and just... I really like them.

[Chorusgirl]

[quote name='materdei' date='May 6 2005, 09:45 PM'] The reason we have to await the bishops permission is that we are a brand new community (only about 2 yrs old) and so we have to prove to the bishop that we are a viable community which really means we have to [u]grow.[/u] So right now we wear a "uniform" (a skirt and blouse deal)- holy patience right?! I was in another religious community that wore the full habit but ended up leaving to help with this new gem of the Holy Spirit. Anyhoo, Mikey I think that is awesome that you want to wear your cassock everyday- priests in cassocks say so much! ya know?
I think alot of religious are anti-habit because they are afraid that the habit defines them. I have heard so may older religious say that they don't [i]need[/i] the habit to be a nun, and while that is sort of true I don't think it is the point. Also many religious see religious life as a career (which makes me ill :ill: ) instead of a love relationship, and so the habit has no meaning to them because habits are said to be the wedding dress of religious. Habits/cassocks or clerics are important because like I said: how can we be signs without them? When you see a religious you are supposed to be reminded of heaven and how it is you will be living one day. Religious life is all about starting heaven early, which is why: they are virginal "those in heaven are not given in marriage", they do night vigils and fasting- in heaven there is no need for sleep or food even though we have the ability to eat and such- resurrected Christ, poverty- all things will pass away. Similarly with priests- they are to be beacons in the world- other Christs, which is why we need to be able to [i]see[/i] them.
Think about it secularly: every job or career has a uniform, particularly those in the medical field or safety departments (doctors, nurses, police officers, and firemen, etc.). Why? So when we need aid or assistance we can recognize who can help us. This is even more true in the Church! Priests and Nuns need to be clearly visible to the world. We as human beings need tangible reminders especially of the sacred, which is why the Catholic Church is so rich- full signs and symbols. I hope all that made sense if not, let me knoe and I will try and clarify. [/quote]
Hello!! Wow, that was beautifully said!! Thanks SO much for sharing!!

[materdei]

Hey there Marjorie!
Entrance is getting closer and closer for you . I am so excited for you!!!
It has been great IMing with you.

[jezic]

oh i have a question ....

do you get excited for prayer times in chapel?

Cause the way i think right now, i would have trouble staying out of that place. Eventually you just never want to leave so going back would be such a great joy.

*though honestly as a side note, this sort of plays into God's whole nature thing. Maybe i am over thinking it, but truely the Eucharist is special, thus a chapel where it is reserved is also very "special". However, God is equally present in all of creation by his very nature and so you can't ever really be "closer" or "father away" then you are right now. hmm.. that makes a conundrum.

more thoughts later but i feel like i am thinking outloud .... oh wiat, i am doing that *

[jezic]

and habits rock.

I am thinking that even if i am not religious i am going to pick one. Probably solid white nearly middle eastern like.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

I have a question.

Do you know Mother Angelica?

and I have one more.

Is it a challenge to be a nun?

and another.

Are a lot of Nuns giving up their habits?

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

[quote] Rev,
Bishop Sam Jacobs of the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
He is an awesome bishop, totally on fire for the Lord!!!![/quote]

I am in no way critizcing the Bishop but i have heard some stuff about him

[quote]The conference liturgies were Novus Ordo concelebrations with Bishop Sam
Jacobs, a to-the-bone charismatic prelate, as main celebrant.  Here too, the
scale of spirituality tipped toward Protestantism.  What took place after the
Gospel smacked more of an Amway motivational seminar than a Catholic homily.
The "Sunday Sermon" featured Bishop Jacobs prancing up and down the stage in
revivalist style, spewing a generous mouthful of "Amens" and encouraging
audience participation.

During this address, taking his cue from Our Lord's "Who do you say that I
am?" to Simon Peter, Bishop Jacobs screamed at the audience:  "WHO DO YOU SAY
THAT I AM?"
  Screaming crowd "JESUS!"
  Bishop Jacobs:  "WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?"
  Crowd:  "JESUS!"
  Bishop Jacobs:  "WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?"
  Crowd:  "JESUS!"7

  The homily was often interrupted by loud, stamping applause... mind you,
this was in the middle of Sunday Mass!  Homilies on other days were of
similar stripe.  It was heartbreaking to endure a Roman Catholic bishop
carrying on like some cheap imitation of Oral Roberts.[/quote]

[quote] For the most part, I find Charismatic leaders to be a cadre of very silly
men.  This impression was nowhere better confirmed than at this "ministry
session".  While Bleasdell was revving the crowd with cries of "Love and
dance before the Lord ... He longs to see it", priests and bishop(s) on a
crowded stage, including Father Scanlon, were having the time of their lives
and joined in the dancing.  7,500 Charismatics were treated to the spectacle
of Bishop Sam Jacobs joining arms with a woman (a plain-clothes nun, I think)
executing a rather clumsy series of moderate can-can kicks.  At one point,
Bleasdell was flanked by Bishop Jacobs on her right and what appeared to be
another bishop on her left engaging in full body dance, their pectoral
crosses bouncing to the rhythm, while smiling and waving at the audience.

The three of them together looked more like Diana Ross and the Supremes
than religious leaders.  It seems that the more our Church officials talk
of human dignity, the more they degrade ecclesiastical dignity.[/quote]

[Brother Adam]

You know, Jack Chick has a website setup detailing every mistake of every Catholic that he can come up with. I'm sure your help will be very welcome over there EENS

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

Mr. Adam,

Im sure Mr. Chick sees the Protesenataion of our Bishops as a good thing. I sir do not.

It is disgusting I want to Make Catholicism more Catholic not more protestant like Mr. Chick does.

[materdei]

[quote]I have a question.

Do you know Mother Angelica?

and I have one more.

Is it a challenge to be a nun?

and another.

Are a lot of Nuns giving up their habits[/quote]

Yes I have heard of Mother Angelica, though I have never met her. I am familiar with EWTN and the ways many Catholics and non-Catholics alike have been touched through her ministry.

Yes, being a nun can be challenging as can any vocation lived well. Being faithful to prayer, practicing virtue, and doing all that is necessary to strive toward sanctity is difficult. We cannot do this on our own we need the help of the Holy Spirit and the support of community (religious families and the larger Church) as well as the grace we receive through the sacraments and the life of the Church. Being challenged is a good thing without it we become spiritually flabby.

I wouldn't say that nuns are "giving up their habits" those not wearing habits gave them up long ago. Rather I would say nuns are returning to the habit. If not those that have left them, then those new communities that are springing up in the Church today.

[materdei]

[quote]I am in no way critizcing the Bishop but i have heard some stuff about him


QUOTE 
The conference liturgies were Novus Ordo concelebrations with Bishop Sam
Jacobs, a to-the-bone charismatic prelate, as main celebrant.  Here too, the
scale of spirituality tipped toward Protestantism.  What took place after the
Gospel smacked more of an Amway motivational seminar than a Catholic homily.
The "Sunday Sermon" featured Bishop Jacobs prancing up and down the stage in
revivalist style, spewing a generous mouthful of "Amens" and encouraging
audience participation.

During this address, taking his cue from Our Lord's "Who do you say that I
am?" to Simon Peter, Bishop Jacobs screamed at the audience:  "WHO DO YOU SAY
THAT I AM?"
  Screaming crowd "JESUS!"
  Bishop Jacobs:  "WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?"
  Crowd:  "JESUS!"
  Bishop Jacobs:  "WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?"
  Crowd:  "JESUS!"7

  The homily was often interrupted by loud, stamping applause... mind you,
this was in the middle of Sunday Mass!  Homilies on other days were of
similar stripe.  It was heartbreaking to endure a Roman Catholic bishop
carrying on like some cheap imitation of Oral Roberts.




QUOTE 
For the most part, I find Charismatic leaders to be a cadre of very silly
men.  This impression was nowhere better confirmed than at this "ministry
session".  While Bleasdell was revving the crowd with cries of "Love and
dance before the Lord ... He longs to see it", priests and bishop(s) on a
crowded stage, including Father Scanlon, were having the time of their lives
and joined in the dancing.  7,500 Charismatics were treated to the spectacle
of Bishop Sam Jacobs joining arms with a woman (a plain-clothes nun, I think)
executing a rather clumsy series of moderate can-can kicks.  At one point,
Bleasdell was flanked by Bishop Jacobs on her right and what appeared to be
another bishop on her left engaging in full body dance, their pectoral
crosses bouncing to the rhythm, while smiling and waving at the audience.

The three of them together looked more like Diana Ross and the Supremes
than religious leaders.  It seems that the more our Church officials talk
of human dignity, the more they degrade ecclesiastical dignity. [/quote]


Well, where to begin?! To be honest this is kind of an overwhelming question for me. I mean I love my Bishop!!! I never met a more kind, loving, all embracing, generous, transparent, Christ-like, merciful, on-fire for the Lord person EVER. I know that charismatics are the "red-headed step children" of the Church today and to be completely forthright I felt that way myself about them not too long ago. But my eyes and not to mention my heart has been opened to the truth that charismatics have been given a bad rap. First of all, We are the Catholic Church. and I am sure I don't need to tell you that Catholic means universal. We are a Church that embraces [b]All [/b]peoples, [b]All[/b] cultures, and a spectrum of spiritualities including "traditionalists" and charismatics. There are certain freedoms the Magisterium has given to the Church to encourage variety in its worship. This is because Holy Mother Church is wise in that she knows there is great variety in the human person and that all her children do not pray the same way. The Charismatic Renewal is an [u]accepted[/u] movement in the Church and therefore should be respected by other members of that Church even if they are not inclined to that mode of prayer or spirituality. There seems to be a huge misperception among the members of the Church who seem to think that charismatics are outside the Church and are schismatics or heretics and this simply is not true. The Magisterium has indicated her approval of charismatics on many occassions.

[quote]In 1975 Pope Paul VI greeted ten thousand Catholic charismatics from all over the world at the ninth international conference of the Renewal, “The Church and the world need more than ever that ‘the miracle of Pentecost should continue in history’ . . . How could this ‘spiritual renewal’ not be ‘good fortune’ for the Church and the world?” [others have translated “good fortune” as “a chance”]

Pope John Paul II has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. In 1979 soon after becoming Pope he said, “I am convinced that this movement is a sign of the Spirit’s action . . . a very important component in the total renewal of the Church.” He has met with the international leaders of the Renewal on a number of occasions, and regularly sends greetings to National and International Conferences on the Renewal.

As early as 1969, only two years after the Renewal started, the U.S. Bishops investigated the fledgling movement and the Committee on Doctrine wrote that “theologically the movement has legitimate reasons of existence. It has a strong biblical basis. It would be difficult to inhibit the working of the Spirit which manifested itself so abundantly in the early Church.”

Subsequent statements in 1975, 1984 and 1997 have been equally affirming.[/quote]

As far as Bishop Jacobs style of homilistics- he gives POWERFUL homilies. I must ask- when did saying AMEN become non-Catholic? and why is connecting with the congregation a bad thing? Mass is a family meal whereby we do not go to be talked [u]at [/u]but to be invited into participation. What is a homily for but to be instructed AND motivated.

I think it is important to say that you need to be careful about quoting things you cannot verify on an open forum especially about a bishop of the Church. I know this bishop personally and I can vouch that he is a very holy, faithfilled man who strives to be a good shepherd and I hate to see his actions mis-represented by those who do not know him or understand him.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

But some of the things he has been accused of are defenite Liturgical Abuses. What happened to the Dignity and the solemnity of the Mass? The Can-Can is a form of liturgical dance which is stricly forbiden in the mass, also i would think yelling screaming, and runngin all over the place dosen't show the respect for Christ in his own house.

[materdei]

[quote name='Extra ecclesiam nulla salus' date='May 26 2005, 05:17 PM'] But some of the things he has been accused of are defenite Liturgical Abuses. What happened to the Dignity and the solemnity of the Mass? The Can-Can is a form of liturgical dance which is stricly forbiden in the mass, also i would think yelling screaming, and runngin all over the place dosen't show the respect for Christ in his own house. [/quote]
Did you personally witness this? You don't know if the bishop did the can-can at mass, the quote you posted didn't specifically state that. Also there is a big difference between yelling/screaming and speaking emphatically, trying to drive a point. Again I think you need to be careful about speaking about something you yourself didn't witness...it then becomes gossip and critical.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

[quote]7,500 Charismatics were treated to the spectacle
of Bishop Sam Jacobs joining arms with a woman (a plain-clothes nun, I think)
executing a rather clumsy series of moderate can-can kicks.[/quote]

that is like saying what you read in the news is gossip. I am not accusing him of this but rather others have. I am just presenting it.