Whiter than Snow

This helpful tip for getting those white church clothes white again comes from Mary Hunt's everyday cheapskate column. My yellowed clipping is taped inside the door to my laundry room cupboard, (Where else would you keep a laundry "recipe"?) and I've used it many times; almost always with a visible difference in whiteness.

For dingy items, add one cup of Cascade automatic dishwashing powder (not gel), 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and a heaping measure of your normal laundry detergent to the wash cycle. Allow the agitation to begin, then turn the machine off. With the lid closed, allow the load to soak overnight. In the morning, turn the machine on and complete the cycles.

NOTES: I've used store brand dishwashing powder for this and the Washing Soda is available at grocery or discount stores. It works best with a small load.

On a related topic, this recipe for homemade laundry detergent from the Complete Woman site looks interesting.

A Title IX for women religious

It's time to step up awareness of female religious communities, both active and contemplative.

The Diary of a Parish Priest column in February's issue of Today's Parish Minister illustrates an issue I have been thinking about lately.

A quick synopsis of the column, since it's not available on-line: Father and the female pastoral associate take the altar servers (boys and girls) to the diocesan altar server Mass at the Cathedral, at the end of which is a priestly vocation spiel, followed by a fleeting mention of cloistered women religious. The pastoral associate is furious, believing that the girls are shortchanged because there is no presentation of lay ministries. She holds her own self-described "damage control" session for her parish's servers to inform them of this potential.

I agree with the pastoral associate in a way. And I think lay ministry gets plenty of air time, so I'm going to approach the situation from a different vantage point. A concern with female altar servers is that they are presented with an unsustainable model for service to the Church. By promoting the priesthood while neglecting women's religious communities, the impression is given that the only way for anyone (versus any man in the most exclusive sense) to serve the Church in an official leadership capacity is as a priest.

A devastating combination occurred soon after Vatican 2: a number of women left religious orders and many of these women's roles were easily replaced by lay people. People realized that you didn't have to be a religious to be a teacher or a nurse, at least not in America. Many female religious that people encounter today are visiting missionaries, rather than resident members of the community. Women's religious orders no longer have anything but a stereotyped role in many people's Catholic consciousness.

Look at your average diocese's website. Walk into your average parish. Most of them do a great job of promoting vocations to the priesthood- I'd be surprised if you didn't see a recruitment poster for the seminary.

But for women? Frankly, while there are diocesan congregations,there isn't a standard religious community that plays an active role in most dioceses, and certainly not the type of promotion for women's religious communities that you get with priestly vocations.

And that's a crying shame. It is a travesty that women's religious orders don't get the promotion they deserve and that young girls don't get the education they need about this beautiful state of life.

The Church Ladies intend to make up for this negligence by providing a list of our favorite women's religious communities. While at Our Lady's University, many of us were fortunate to go on nun runs and have visited these places, so do feel free to ask questions!

Ann Arbor Dominicans
Teaching Dominican sisters, many of them quite young. Their website even has an image of their visit to Our Lady's University for a Eucharistic Procession

Chicago Poor Clares
A cloistered monastic order interceding for us on earth

Discalced Carmelite Nuns
Links to communities all around the US

Nashville Dominicans
Another order of young teaching sisters, these ones with sweet tea

USA Dominican Nuns
Links to Dominican communities across the US

Little Sisters of the Poor
A nursing order, caring for the elderly

Missionaries of Charity
You might know them better as Mother Teresa's order. Rosaleen, the third of the original Church Ladies is an MC postulant.

Monastery of Our Lady of the Perpetual Rosary
A cloistered Dominican community in NJ

Poor Clare Nuns of Virginia
A contemplative community in the spirit of St Clare

Regina Laudis
Contemplative Benedictines in Bethlehem, CT

Sisters of Life
a contemplative/active religious community dedicated to protecting and advancing a sense of the sacredness of all human life

Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration
A contemplative/active community in Indiana

[image source: The Liverpool Museum]

What to do with all that religious paraphernalia

You know how it goes. You subscribe to one Catholic publication (cough NC Register cough) and suddenly all this religious paraphernalia shows up. Every day.

What to do with all of it?

The rosaries are easy. Put one in every coat and purse you own. That way, you'll never be caught without one, and have one to give away should you encounter someone who needs one.

But the medals? With a few 8 mm jump rings from the jewelry section (the ones the medals come with usually aren't big enough to fit over larger needles), you can have unique stitch markers that advertise the faith whenever you knit in public.

The Agatha Christie Indult

"Religion, M. Poirot, can be a great help and sustenance- but by that I mean orthodox religion."
[Agatha Christie, The Labors of Hercules]

This Church Lady (and her pastor) are Quite Fond of the works of Mrs. Christie.

But did you know about the Agatha Christie Indult?

The "Agatha Christie indult" is a nickname applied to the permission granted in 1971 by Pope Paul VI for the use of the Tridentine Mass in England and Wales Following the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI to replace the former rite in 1969-1970, a petition was sent to the Pope asking that the Tridentine Rite be allowed to survive in the dioceses of England and Wales. The petition noted the exceptional artistic and cultural heritage of the Tridentine liturgy, and was signed by many prominent Catholic and non-Catholic figures in British society, including Robert Graves, Professor Sir Maurice Bowra, Iris Murdoch, Sir Kenneth Clark, Cecil Day Lewis, Dame Joan Sutherland, Nancy Mitford, two Anglican bishops - and the crime novelist Agatha Christie. Cardinal John Heenan, the leader of English and Welsh Catholics, subsequently approached Pope Paul VI and asked that use of the Tridentine Mass be permitted. On 5 November 1971, the Pope granted the request. Between then and the granting of the worldwide "universal indult" in 1984, the bishops of England and Wales were authorized to grant permission for the occasional celebration of Mass in the old form, with the modifications introduced in 1965 and 1967. It should be noted that English Catholics had a particular emotional attachment to the Tridentine Mass, as the Mass which had been celebrated by the English martyrs of the Reformation and by priests in the years in which Catholicism had been subjected to sometimes severe persecution. The indult acquired its nickname by virtue of a story told about the Pope's acceptance of the petition: The story is that Pope Paul read through the letter in silence then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, Agatha Christie!" and then signed it. He must have been one of her fans. The English Indult of 1971 was granted and thus was saved the old Mass. Ever since it has been known informally as the Agatha Christie indult. The text of the petition and of the response of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship to Cardinal Heenan's request are available online here

[from Wikipedia]

A Monday morning laugh

Sign at the door of a local convent.

As a priest was leaving our post-Mass brunch this weekend, someone commented on his obviously-handmade scarf.  He told us that right after Vietnam, he and a couple other priests took turns saying Mass at a nearby army base.  There was a pious woman there who was particularly appreciative of their services, so she crocheted three scarves, one for each of them.  "One was brown, one was orange, and one was green.  I got the green one," he told us, clearly pleased with his choice even 30 years later.

The moral of the story?  Well, just remember this story next time you're wondering what to get your favorite priest.  The downside is that you can probably only give that gift once per priest (or at least, only once every 30 years or so).

All in one

You've heard of four-ways (the scapular/Miraculous Medal etc combos). Our friends at Catholic Stationery (who already had some beautiful sacramental registers) have come up with a neat idea: an all in one record.

This records it all! Areas to record nearly every Sacrament a child will receive in life, starting with Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony or Entrance into Religious Life. Also has an area for dates to consecrate them to the Sacred Heart, Our Lady and St. Joseph! Makes a great gift! Printed on Quality, Acid Free Paper, this frameable 11" x 14" print will last for generations to come.

Real Heroes

Check out this beautiful video, The World Needs More Heroes, from NYPriest.com and Grassroot Films (the same people who brought you God on the Streets of NY), recently shown at the St John- Notre Dame men's basketball game.

"You have to be a real man if you want to be a priest."
-John Cardinal O'Connor

Saved!

One of my most effective laundry tips is to liberally sprinkle Clorox 2 (dry bleach for colored fabrics) onto a stain, roll it up, get it thoroughly wet and set it in my washer to wait until laundry day. I've saved many things that way, most recently this piece of hardanger embroidery that was badly stored and stained. Since it's always prudent to start with the most gentle method and move up to the I've-got-nothing-to-lose point (usually bleach), I started with Woolite and then detergent. Neither worked at all on this.

It doesn't usually help with grease stains, but I've had lots of luck with other types.

Clorox 2 - Easy. Cheap. Effective.

... a fundamental desire of people to communicate and relate

The Message of the Holy Father for the upcoming World Day of Communications:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives ... It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this "digital continent". Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.