Very true.

via bemerrykate on Pinterest

The woman dressed Grace Kelly, so she knows of what she speaks.

Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Whatever did not fit in with my plan did lie within the plan of God. I have an ever deeper and firmer belief that nothing is merely an accident when seen in the light of God, that my whole life down to the smallest details has been marked out for me in the plan of Divine Providence
and has a completely coherent meaning in God’s all-seeing eyes.
And so I am beginning to rejoice in the light of glory
wherein this meaning will be unveiled to me.
(St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a martyr and brilliant scholar, is a wonderful example of feminine genius and an inspiration to the Church Ladies. Read more about her life here.

Going to be at Our Lady's University this winter? Here's a sneak peek at the 6th annual Edith Stein Project Conference, an annual conference that addresses various issues of gender, sexuality, and human dignity by exploring what it means to be authentic women and men. The 2012 conference theme is "Encountering Vulnerability: Courage, Hope and Trust in the 21st Century."

Image source

Makeup: From the Practical to the Theoretical

I was impressed by the comprehensiveness of a recent guest post on Betty Beguiles, detailing "Everything You'll Ever Need to Know About Makeup". She highlights good tips for beginners, but makeup veterans will likely pick up a few new tricks as well.

This reminded me of an article sent to me by a friend, entitled "Women, The Cosmos, and Cosmetics", in which the author shares his thoughts on makeup and more from his outsider's perspective.

We normally associate the word “cosmetic” with the superficial and the trivial, with mere appearances, but this would be to mistake the whole thing. For to understand the cosmetic, we need to look at its root word, cosmos. ... What the term meant to the Greeks was not “everything” but the harmonious composition of parts that produced a coherent and beautiful whole. ... This cosmic beauty then extends down through each microcosm, each little part of the whole which displays its own order and beauty, and then right down to the little cosmos of a woman’s face. The need a woman has to order the world through beauty begins with the need to order her face.

From this habit of ordering herself (a habit which extends to women across all times and cultures) women move out to order the family. They take what resources they have, what gifts their men bring, what talents their children display, in what circumstances they find themselves, and try to compose all of these elements into an orderly whole. The habit of making up one’s face is practice for the task of making up the world.

Some will object that cosmetics are cheating, but this is not so (except in the extreme cases of cosmetic surgery and the like), for cosmetics will not make a plain woman into a great beauty, but they will reveal and highlight the beauty that is the birthright of every woman. Others might object that this is about appearances only, but appearances are all we have in the world. The cathedral is nothing but appearances, and we may judge whether the architect has truly captured the reality of the Church; the painting of the saint is just a bit of cosmetics on canvas, and we must discern the reality it depicts in its appearance.

Read it all here.

Fellow Church Ladies

This just in from St Francis de Sales Seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee:

Today, just like in Biblical times, faithful women play an important role in the vitality and future of our Catholic Church. The de Chantal Society is a newly founded group for women who are passionate about supporting the Church, raising their children and grandchildren in the faith, and supporting vocations. The group is named after St Jane Frances de Chantal, a 16th century woman who was inspired by St Francis de Sales to start the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

If you are local, you can check out their meeting schedule here.

St Margaret, Queen of Scots

She was also a pioneer in another sphere. Bands of women met together at her invitation to study, discuss the Scriptures, and embroider vestments and altar cloths for the churches. So we can call Margaret the inventor of the Women's Club.

[Phyllis McGinley, Saint-Watching]

A long tall cool drink of ...

Southern Girl's Frozen Fruit ring.

"And yes, I did get out my Bundt pan and make the well behaved southern girl’s ubiquitous frozen fruit ring for the Family Friendly non-sangria punch. Because I was Raised Right. And have hosted umpty thousand showers. "

Check out the beautiful picture and read Joshilyn's trials and travails of catering her own book launch with delicate, feminine food. Tres Church Lady.

A Church Lady Must-Read

If you've never read Alice von Hildbrand's book By Love Refined, you simply must. That's all there is to it. It's subtitled "Letters to a young bride," but don't let that stop you even if you can't consider yourself one of those. I first read it a couple years ago, and make it a habit to reread every six months or so. When my roommate recently asked me if I could recommend a good relationship book, I didn't hesitate to lend her my copy. A couple days later, I walked into our room to find her reading sections aloud to her boyfriend. She says it totally changed her view on their relationship, and I've found the same to be true for me and mine.

Every chapter deals with a different aspect of relationships (married, dating, friendship, just plain interpersonal), with practical and down-to-earth advice. Von Hildebrand understands the strengths and weaknesses of women, and how this affects relationships. She's a master of integrating the unique - but certainly different - gifts of men and women, and turning what could be a weakness into a strength. One passage that particularly sticks out in my mind is from the chapter involving those those four "lovely" words that we all know we shouldn't say but somehow can't help thinking: "I told you so."

Alice could have been writing to me personally when she writes,

No doubt when Michael embarks on a hopeless enterprise or is about to make a serious blunder, you must warn him. But if he ignores your warning, you have to let him make his own mistakes. Once the error has been made, your theme changes radically: it's definitely not to stress how wise you were to foresee the catastrophe. It's rather to use your gifts to lessen the consequences of the mishap and help Michael not to lose face. (He should do the same for you when you're the wrong-headed one.)....

Objectively there's very little sense in ever saying "I told you so," because by the time you say it, the culprit knows it full well himself.

(emphasis mine)

I highly encourage you to move this to the top of your reading list. Read it all at once, a chapter or two a day, or just pick out the chapters that seem applicable (you certainly don't need to read them in order). At two pages each, a chapter is the perfect length for a quick reminder when you need it.

Black Friday, Frugal Holidays

Do not be conformed to this world
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may prove what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect. [Rm 12, 2]

Every year, Christmas merchandise comes out earlier and earlier. And no matter how much you try to resist the commercialism, to focus on Advent and the Nativity, it's hard to escape all the hype. As an alternative, some families I know have adopted the Hispanic tradition of exchanging gifts on the Epiphany (plus side: most things go on post-Christmas sales). I remain partial to my own family's tradition of reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Midnight Mass, followed by a family nativity play or caroling with a late supper; presents are opened the next morning.

The ideas below, culled from a variety of sources, tend more to an Advent-Nativity vision of Christmas. I am a strong proponent of store-bought Christmas purchases being completed before Advent begins. Then, in all these domestic preparations, there is more time to make our hearts ready to receive baby Jesus.

Some Frugal Holiday gift ideas, from Ravelry's Frugal Homemakers' Group
-Christmas Mason Jar Cookies (dry ingredients layered in jars)
-homemade cloth grocery bags, with a baked treat or snack inside
-homemade aprons
-homemade jam (see the Church Ladies' slow cooker apple butter & marmalade recipes)
-homemade vanilla
-homemade candy
-gift certificate to the grocery store
-Lavender sachets
-herbs in pots
-a ream of colored computer paper and a box of markers/crayons
-Festive Fivers (gifts for under 5 GBP)

Frugal Luxuries suggests
-Soup mixes in jars
-home-made epsom salt bath salts

Amy Dacyczyn of the Tightwad Gazette
-Hot cocoa mix
-A book of stamps & stationery
-A fruit stone wreath (spray painted gold or silver, then accentuated with evergreens)
-finishing a china pattern
-shoveling snow for an elderly family member or neighbor
-candlesticks & napkin rings made from hardware components

The Church Ladies would add:
-subscription to a newspaper or magazine
-donations to charity (Heifer is fun for kids)
-a small themed basket. To pick up all components affordably, this involves keeping your eyes open, but a few small gifts can come together nicely (A British mystery theme: Agatha Christie novel, PD James novel, box of tea, jar of lemon curd, warm socks or slippers for reading on a winter's night. For the armchair traveler: a book like Little Saint or On Pilgrimage, some coffee, a package of biscotti, and a vintage souvenir)
-Gift certificate to the local coffee shop
-supplies or tool for a hobby (may not be a surprise, but well received)
-the Priests' Christmas Basket can also be modified for almost anyone- throw in a DVD and some candy, and you have a stay at home date for a married couple

People, look East, the time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house as fair as you're able,
Trim the hearth, and set the table.
People, look east, and sing today:
Love, the Guest, is on the way.

Image source: Sant' Apollinare, Ravenna

Feeling needed

For the University's trip to Chicago yesterday for a solemn high requiem Mass, I decided to fill my bag with some potentially useful items (for myself and the group at large - roughly 80 people!). I sent 20 chapel veils with the campus ministry employee to hand out as needed, which left me with the following in my bag:

-1 black chapel veil (mine)

- 1 missal

-1 bag of cough drops (lots of colds going around)

- The Privilege of Being a Woman (Alice von Hildebrand): my current spare-time reading (hopefully a post will be forthcoming about this fantastic book)

- The Holy Mass (Dom Prosper Gueranger); the book was given to me over the summer, and I absolutely treasure it. It's a wonderful explanation, succinct but thorough, of the Tridentine Mass. Perfect for study or meditation during Mass itself (though the section on sequences wasn't quite long enough to get me through the Dies Irae last night).

- 1 in-progress scarf (worked on in the car, not in church)

After Mass, the gentlemen in my immediate company wanted to go mingle without their books, so I added to my collection 2 more missals and a Breviary. And no, lest you ask, my bag isn't really that big. It was quite bulging with leather-bound books and I attracted lots of funny looks as I walked through the church. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but you'll notice that a camera was not on my list because my purse-sized camera was forgotten at home last time I was there.

A nice surprise

She looks well to the ways of her household...
[Pv 31, 27]

One of my favorite authors, Tracey McBride, has a website! Actually, three of them: Frugal Luxuries, Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, and Frugal Luxuries Foods.

Many of you may remember Amy Dacyczn, author of the Tightwad Gazette, as the face of frugality in the early nineties. While she had many good ideas on saving money to reach financial goals through gradual changes, some of her more radical ideas were mocked by the public. I strongly support Amy's work, and think she was just too far ahead of the times. Fifteen years later, I have seen some of her ideas, like Freezer Soup, in mainstream publications like Better Homes & Gardens.

Tracey McBride has a slightly different approach to frugality. She believes in transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, to "live content with small means...to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion."

Here is my favorite of Tracey's ideas for saving money & enhancing your life:
Enhance the Ordinary. Serve even the humblest meals attractively. Bean soup with cornbread looks charming when garnished with parsley and the cornbread served on its own saucer, with a pat or swirl of honey butter. The same holds true for beverages. Our dinner table often features a pretty glass or silver pitcher filled with ice water, and garnished with a few citrus slices.

H.R. 441

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

September 22, 2009.

Whereas the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic sisters have played a vital role in shaping life in the United States;

Whereas such women have joined in unique forms of intentional communitarian life dedicated to prayer and service since the very beginnings of our Nation’s history, fearlessly and often sacrificially committing their personal lives to teaching, healing, and social action;

Whereas the first Catholic sisters to live and work in the United States were nine Ursuline Sisters, who journeyed from France to New Orleans in 1727;

Whereas at least nine sisters from the United States have been martyred since 1980 while working for social justice and human rights overseas;

Whereas Maura Clark, MM, Ita Ford, MM, and Dorothy Kazel, OSU were martyred in El Salvador in 1980;

Whereas Joel Kolmer, ASC, Shirley Kolmer, ASC, Kathleen McGuire, ASC, Agnes Mueller, ASC, and Barbara Ann Muttra, ASC were martyred in Liberiain 1992;

Whereas Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN was martyred in Brazil in 2005;

Whereas Catholic sisters established the Nation’s largest private school system and founded more than 110 United States colleges and universities, educating millions of young people in the United States;

Whereas there were approximately 32,000 Catholic sisters in the United States who taught 400,000 children in 2,000 parochial schools by 1880, and there were 180,000 Catholic sisters who taught nearly 4,500,000 children by 1965;

Whereas today, there are approximately 59,000 Catholic sisters in the United States;

Whereas Catholic sisters participated in the opening of the West, traveling vast distances to minister in remote locations, setting up schools and hospitals, and working among native populations on distant reservations;

Whereas more than 600 sisters from 21 different religious communities nursed both Union and Confederate soldiers alike during the Civil War;

Whereas Catholic sisters cared for afflicted populations during the epidemics of cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza during the 19th and early 20th centuries;

Whereas Catholic sisters built and established hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions that have served millions of people, managing organizations long before similar positions were open to women;

Whereas approximately one in six hospital patients in the United States were treated in a Catholic facility;

Whereas Catholic sisters have been among the first to stand with the underprivileged, to work and educate among the poor and underserved, and to facilitate leadership through opportunity and example;

Whereas Catholic sisters continue to provide shelter, food, and basic human needs to the economically or socially disadvantaged and advocate relentlessly for the fair and equal treatment of all persons;

Whereas Catholic sisters work for the eradication of poverty and racism and for the promotion of nonviolence, equality, and democracy in principle and in action;

Whereas the humanitarian work of Catholic sisters with communities in crisis and refuge throughout the world positions them as activists and diplomats of peace and justice for the some of the most at risk populations; and

Whereas the Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America Traveling Exhibit is sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in association with Cincinnati Museum Center and will open on May 16, 2009, in Cincinnati, Ohio: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) honors and commends Catholic sisters for their humble service and courageous sacrifice throughout the history of this Nation; and

(2) supports the goals of the Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America Traveling Exhibit, a project sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in association with Cincinnati Museum Center and established to recognize the historical contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States.

[House Resolution 441]

Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Church Lady

Up and down behind the chairs Mrs. Tinkham and Mrs. Bradley were hurrying, reaching between the shoulders to refill cups with tea or coffee. Other ladies were clearing away used plates and replacing them with clean ones. As soon as anyone finished eating and left his place, it was taken, though the supper cost fifty cents. The church was almost full of people, and more were coming in.

This was all new to Laura. She felt lost and did not know what to do, until she saw Ida busily washing dishes at a table in a corner. Ma had begun to help wait on table, so Laura went to help Ida.

"Didn't you bring an apron?" Ida asked. "Then put this towel on so I can't splash your dress." Being a minister's daughter, Ida was used to church work. Her sleeves were rolled up, her dress covered by a big apron, and she laughed and chattered while she washed dishes at a great rate and Laura as swiftly wiped them.

"Oh, this supper's a great success!" Ida rejoiced. "Did you ever think we'd get such a crowd!"

-Little Town on the Prarie

Fellow Church Ladies

Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog

Mennonite Girls Can Cook .. . is more than just recipes.

It is about HOSPITALITY versus entertaining.
It is about BLESSING versus. impressing.

It is about taking God's Bounty, and co-creating the goodness from God's creation into something that we can bless our family and friends with, to help sustain our health and energy. From a simple and rustic recipe, to everyday ingredients made into a thing of beauty.

No matter which way you look at it, wonderful things happen when given the opportunity to gather around the table.

A chance to nurture and build relationships, to fellowship and encourage one another.
To create a place of refuge for those who have had a stressful day.

Feminine Genius

The Art of the Wedding Shower

Wedding season is fast approaching! The Church Ladies' friend Seraphic walked down the aisle last weekend, and she'll be in good company before the summer's over.

There is an art to throwing a classy wedding shower in today's terribly tacky world. The Church Ladies provide some guidance.

-There can be nice showers at restaurants. But what better place is there to celebrate the beginning of a new "household of faith" than At Home? Your event will be more relaxed and personal.

-There is a time and a place for a co-ed party. It's called your wedding reception.

-Consider celebrating a culture of life and inviting girls and women in different seasons of their lives. (NB: This shuts down shenanigans like you wouldn't believe.)

-The ban on wearing a hat in your own home is lifted for wedding showers. Consider having a garland or veil on hand for the bride, depending on her taste.

-Light instrumental music sets the tone. Try some Saint-Saens or Elgar, available from your public library.

-This is the time for delightfully dainty food. Chicken salad on croissants, little cookies, and pink lemonade make for an elegant soiree that's easy on the cook. Who can easily be our friend Trader Joe if you're pressed for time.

-If the bride is without local relatives, ask her if she needs help with anything, like addressing invitations or packaging wedding favors.

-Sometimes wedding showers bring together women from different areas of the bride's life. Casual games can help people relax. A tray memory game can be fun: place wedding related items on a tray, give the guests a minute to look at, then cover the tray and test their powers of recall! From a more challenging activity, prepare a list of scripture verses pertaining to love and marriage, and see who can identify the most (an ecumenical party game, as the Protestants will do better). Or generate a list of saints connected to marriage and the family, such as Catherine, Gianna, Margaret, and Monica, and match them with their patronage.

-Thoughtful home-made gifts might include an apron, potholders, or a tea-cosy. Another favorite theme is "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." A gift should fall in one of those categories, like an antique hankie, a new cake pan, or a blue chaplet. Another much appreciated gift could be a gathering of household essentials around a theme, like pantry basics, spices, stationery, or cleaning necessities.

-The bride will get enough advice. Have everyone bring a favorite recipe for her instead. A nice story about the recipe is sweet too, such as "this was my husband's favorite casserole in our newlywed days." Cooking disasters are always amusing as well.

-Save the bows in a bouquet for the wedding rehearsal. Or, if you have some artificial flowers and ribbon looking for a new home, have each person pick one, and write a poem with their well wishes tying into the flower's symbolism, and gather whole creation together on a paper plate.

Good Luck!

Quote of the Day

"In these household retreats, with buttons and work, and their daughters beside them, they read and sewed and talked in the sweet privacy that domestic women love, and can make so helpful by a wise mixture of cooks and chemistry, table linen and theology, prosaic duties and good poetry."

[Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys]

Quote of the Day

"I was determined that one of my missions was to convince cowboys that it was possible to be a sport, and also drink tea."
[Mary Cabot Wheelwright, A Quilt of Words]

The Edith Stein Conference

There is a WONDERFUL conference going on right now at Our Lady's University, our alma mater.

The Edith Stein Project is an annual conference that addresses various issues of gender, sexuality, and human dignity by exploring what it means to be authentic women and men. The conference began with a focus on women and attempted to provide a new feminism which had a a vision of women and men as both equal in dignity and complementary. This vision remains the hallmark of the Edith Stein Project. However, because we firmly believe that the cooperation of both men and women is necessary to more fully realize their dignity in society, we have worked to make the conference more accessible to men. We acknowledge that these issues are not one-sided: women and men live in community with each other. Accordingly, ESP seeks to engage both men and women in ways relevant to their lives. Our goal for the conference is to promote fruitful dialogue on issues of human dignity, with an emphasis on the dignity of women. We foster a spirit of openness while remaining rooted in the Catholic Church’s teachings on authentic personhood—to provide a forum for discussion that is not reactionary, but positive and optimistic.

Conference Schedule 2009

Friday, February 13

11:00am-12:00 pm – Registration

12:00-12:15 pm - Introduction to the Edith Stein Project Auditorium

12:15-12:50 pm - Father Sam Martin, Diocese of La Crosse: Love: What Hurts and What Works? Auditorium

1:00-2:00 pm - Dr. Philip Mango, St. Michael's Institute for the Psychological Sciences: The Neurological and Psychological Contributions to Love Auditorium

2:15-3:15 pm - Dr. Tim Alan Gardner, Sagamore Institute for Policy Research: (Authentic Relationships) Auditorium

Caroline Lashutka, Alumna: No Chicken Soup for the Soul
and
Genuine Beauty and the Hook-Up Culture Room 102

Panel Chair: Natassia Kwan, Student

Panelists:

Nathan Loyd, Right to Life and Pure Love Club

Mark Skylling, Iron Sharpens Iron

Jim Redden, Knights of Columbus

Michael Bohnert, Knights of Columbus

Melissa Buddie, Student

Katie Michel, Student

3:30-4:30 pm - Dr. Philip Mango, St. Michael's Institute for the Psychological Sciences: Marriage Preparation Before You Are Engaged Auditorium

Fr. Martin Connor, L.C.: "Blessed are the Pure in Spirit:" The World, Youth, and the Search for the Sacred
and
Patrick Tighe, Student: Pornography Hurts: How to Heal the Wounds Room 102

5:00 pm - Mass with Bishop D’Arcy, Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese Alumni Hall Chapel

5:45-6:15 pm - Pizza Dinner McKenna

6:15 pm - Bishop D’Arcy, Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese : Love and Vocation Auditorium

7:30-8: 00 pm - Notre Dame Undertones: Valentine's Day Performance Auditorium

8:00-8:45 pm - Dr. Susan Ohmer and Dr. Don Crafton, Notre Dame Department of Film, Television, and Theater: Love in Film and Television Auditorium

9:00pm-1:00 am - Movies and Snacks Knights of Columbus

Saturday, February 14th

9:00-10:00 am –

Sr. Prudence Allen, R.S.M.: The Passion of Edith Stein
and
Dr. Sarah Borden, Center for Ethics and Culture: Retrieving Aristotle for Feminist Purposes Auditorium

Sister Terese Auer, O.P.: Returning Love for Love
and
Nathaniel Campbell, Student: Divine Love as both Creative and Rational: The Theophany of Caritas in Hildegard of Bingen’s Liber Divinorum Operum Room 102

10:15-11:15 am - Dr. Janet Smith, Sacred Heart Major Seminary: Hormones "R" Us: How Contraception Affects Our Relationships and Health Auditorium

Anamaria Scaperlanda, Alumna: How Can We Be Lovers if We Can't Be Friends: Expanding Our Understanding of Vocation

and

Caitlin Dwyer, Alumna: Bound to be Free: Finding Happiness through a Committed Life in a World of Endless Options Room 102

11:30 am - 12:30 pm –

Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Harvard University PhD. Candidate: Life as a Mother and Student

and
Bernard Klinkhammer: Balancing Work and Family Life in a Hectic World Auditorium

Dr. Gary Anderson, Notre Dame Theology Department: The Concept of Family in the Book of Ruth
and
Dr. Daniel McInerny, Notre Dame Philosophy Department and Center for Ethics and Culture: Lost in the Junoverse Room 102

12:30-2:00 pm - Lunch

and
Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Harvard University PhD. Candidate: Heart to Heart Chat with Catherine South Dining Hall Oak Room

2:00-3:15 pm –

Violence Against Women: Hurt, Healing, and Hope for a Better Future Auditorium

Panel Chair: Amelia Ruggaber, Campus Minister at Holy Cross College
Panelists:

Survivors of Sexual Assault, Personal Testimonies of Two Notre Dame Women

Scars on the Heart: A Story of Struggle and Strength

Natassia Kwan: Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence in the U.S. Past, Present, and Hope for a Better Future

Tim Latham, Men Against Violence, Real Men

Fr. Joseph Carey, C.S.C.: Healing Encounters with Jesus

3:30-4:30 pm - Kate Sweeney, ENDOW: John Paul II’s New Feminism: A Call to Authentic Womanhood Auditorium

Amy Kleczinski, Student: Sex and Abstinence: The Perfect Couple

and
Theresa Schortgen, Counselor: The Creighton Model: Discovering What Every Woman Has the Right to Know
and
Victor Saenz, Student: Dostoevsky: The Grand Inquisitor and Contraception Room 102

4:45-5:45 pm - Dr. Janet Smith, Sacred Heart Major Seminary: What Does the Church Teach About Homosexuality? Auditorium

Joanna Roman, Student: Dietrich Von Hildebrand on Love
and
Dr. David Fagerberg, Notre Dame Theology Department: Sacramentality of Marriage: Source and Summit Room 102

6:30 pm –

Closing Banquet

and
Dr. Lawrence Cunningham, Notre Dame Theology Department: Deus Caritas Est McKenna, Lower Level

Image: Raphael's allegory of Theology

True Girls, True God ~Truly Gorgeous!

I was recently introduced to a fun resource for teen girls, TG! Magazine. From their site:

We are glad you are here. TG! magazine is a Catholic magazine for teen girls. Our target audience includes girls aged 12-18; but we have been known to have subscribers between 10 and 20 years of age.

On our cover, you will see the phrase True Girls, True God ~ Truly Gorgeous. Each issue will contain features with each of these three elements. We believe that with God all girls can be truly gorgeous. Click here to subscribe.

Look for articles on the beliefs of the Catholic church, profiles of positive role models, reviews of current & classic books, movies and music, advice, fashion, makeup and more. We will take a look at what we print through the lens of the Catholic faith.

Our models are not professionally trained; their photographs are not airbrushed. Our advertisers agree to adhere to modesty standards and they support Christian values. We strive to achieve a fun and wholesome publication that "trains them up in the way they should go" (adapted from Proverbs 22) and gives glory to God, our Father.

The issue I have features articles on a trip to Australia for World Youth Day along with contests, Saint stories, a Rosary reflection, and a regular feature called Ask Father Leo. It's a full color, glossy, bi-monthly publication that will likely appeal to the up-and-coming church ladies in your life. Consider supporting them by subscribing or advertising.

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]