Hi Claire! You're probably sick of seeing me in your comments every time you write anything. But once again, your message spoke to my heart and I wanted to say thank you. I've harbored a lot of ill-will towards people I disagree with. (Even this morning, I was having an imaginary, hypothetical argument with a fellow Church member who I know will disagree with my take on how to move forward with our religious education program. Who the heck was that helping?) Particularly, I want to focus on prayer for deep conversion not only for those who I disagree with, but for myself. I want to practice what I try to preach and spread the love and word of Christ to all -- not just those that are in my own little echo chamber. Thank you for what you do, and for always reminding me that looking towards holiness does not look the same for everyone. The destination is the same, but the path may vary.
Claire, this is so good and encapsulates what I think about this so well. Needless to say I agree with you so strongly that we need to consciously choose to not "cancel" and dismiss people completely, but be willing to discuss issues. Why does it feel so dramatic to just say, "discuss issues"?! It shouldn't be! That's exactly what human culture has been for thousands of years, yet we have to state this basic, fundamental idea!
Thank you for this Claire! This reminds me of this excerpt from The Richness of Ordinary Life from Friends of God by St. Josemaria Escriva:
“as Christians, you enjoy the fullest freedom, with the consequent personal responsibility, to take part as you see fit in political, social or cultural affairs, with no restrictions other than those set by the Church's Magisterium. The only thing that would worry me, for the good of your souls, would be if you were to overstep these limits, for then you would have created a clear opposition between your actions and the faith you claim to profess, and in that case I would tell you so, clearly. This holy respect for your opinions, so long as they do not lead you away from the law of God, is not understood by those who are unaware of the real meaning of the freedom which Christ won for us on the Cross, qua libertate Christus nos liberavit, by the sectarians at either extreme: those who seek to impose their temporal opinions as dogmas; or those who degrade man, by denying the value of the faith and putting it at the mercy of the grossest errors.”
We as a culture 100% treat our opinions as dogmas, and rather than engage with charity when we encounter those with differences of opinion, we cancel or subtweet or sarcastically “pray for them.” We forget that our neighbors are images of Christ and shut them down instead of reaching out with love. I'm totally guilty of this as well, but moving forward I'm hoping to focus on a "holy respect of opinions," approaching differences with curiosity and openness, and engaging with a variety of voices, instead of just listening to the ones that amplify my own.
Hey Claire, I just wanted to say thank you for being brave and posting this.
I think you touch on something really important: the lack of courage and humility in the Twitter-Gram-Verse of the internet. I think people lack the courage to ask “what if ‘they’ really do have a point?” and the humility to say “I really might not like ~how~ they say it, but what they are saying is true.”
The internet has devolved beyond Hamiltonian era discourse into a barrage of epithets thrown about, not even towards, the other. We’ve lost touch with the power of our own words to hurt (and heal) others. We’ve chosen partisanship over piety. To quote my good friend Mother Teresa: “we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
I was talking with a friend the other day about my own anger towards, rather specifically, the current President. In a moment of, I believe, courage and humility, I said: “the Lord looks at every human being He has created with eyes of love. Whenever I see someone as less dignified or less worthy of His love, that’s a measure of my own sin, not theirs. God’s love is truly unconditional, unchanging. The Cross is for everyone, even those I truly dislike.”
Thank you for calling your readers to choose spiritual growth, courage and humility in 2021. I’m praying for you and your ministry. God bless.
It's so, so hard--I get it! I remember hearing that even if Jesus died for only ONE of us, he still would have done it, and I always try to think of that...like, Jesus would have died for JUST the Donald. What?!?! It's crazy!!!
Claire, I want to thank you for so much that you have done for me, a complete stranger. I didn't find your podcast until this past Summer in the midst of prolonged self isolation (thanks, pandemic). As a cradle Catholic who has always joked to friends that I'm not good at being Catholic, finding your podcast was a pivotal moment for me in deepening my faith life. Through your wonderful interviews with women who are also making their way in this world, and through your great humility and candor, I realized that we're all striving for grace and that there's no reason I should consider myself an outsider who's not worthy of calling myself a Catholic. You introduced me to so many resources and I'm incredibly grateful. So, much as you can imagine how sad I was when I found out production of the podcast was ending, I'm so thrilled to have found this newsletter.
I feel your pain in this latest article. As a pretty liberal person trying to deepen my understanding of our beautiful faith, it's sometimes scary and I often feel like I need to protect myself against the unkind and judgmental among us who certainly know more theology than I, but could use a few lessons in empathy, being a good listener and critical thinker before engaging in discourse.
Your message is spot on, because it always seems that just as I'm falling prey to making judgments, the person in question astonishes me with a surprising display of beautiful humanity that reminds me why God loves every single one of us just so. Human beings are not one-dimensional, and we'd all do well not to forget it.
Anyway, this is all just to say hang in there, and thank you for all that you do!
This article truly hit home for me. I am a Gloria Purvis fan and loved starting off my day listening to Morning Glory. The departure of the show, shocked and disheartened me. They had a pulse on news with a catholic perspective and a charming spark of personalities and perspective. EWTN has lost touch with the younger generation of the church, which is our future. The modern church is ethnically and culturally diverse. Mother Angelica would want different voices to be represented because it supports the mission to bring Christ into the heart of millions. But despite injustice, we can’t just complain, but do some action-petition,letters etc.
Thank you for highlighting this important topic! Looking forward to the next article!
Thanks Claire, thought provoking and educating post!
I would have had no idea who Gloria Purvis was and what her mission was all about if you hadn't had her on the podcast. I'm planning on at least sending a note to give some feedback to EWTN. Like you said, the power of symbols is really important. And why wouldn't we want to make sure there's more seats at the table?
Would love to hear more on your 'reckoning with critical race theory', or at least your sources on where to go get educated on this. It's been hard to find reliable info!
I am sooo on board with Fr. Mike's Bible in a Year... It's the biggest thing making me super optimistic about 2021!
"We’ve stopped longing for our neighbor’s salvation and started longing for their comeuppance."
yes! I totally agree and am working on praying for God's will to be done in this situation and the lives of those involved, and in all other troubling situations in our world.
I also wanted to say I really like to see what you're reading/listening to/who you're following. I don't do Twitter but I have started listening to Coleman Hughes' podcast as well as CNA Newsroom and will be following JD Flynn and Ed Condon over to the Pillar - thanks to you!
Random, but have you ever read Immaculee Ilibagiza? I've never heard you mention her, and she's not really "current events-y", but I've found her to be such an inspiring Catholic woman that I want to make sure other Catholics know about her!
Thank you for this letter. You've given words to my own musings and growing discomfort about tribalism and the many ways it manifests itself. Like you, there came a point for me this year where, through all the scrolling, the incessant complaining came into focus. Dramatic though it may sound, I was a bit horrified when I realized that that is what most of the "discourse" boils down to and that, perhaps, my own tweets had contributed to it. As a result, I've been examining my social media use more closely, and this letter has added more robustness to my conviction that my relationship to it needs to change and therefore, the way I think of and interact with others needs to as well. The ideas you propose to help remedy the problem are great, and I know I'll be referencing them often. Here's to trying to watch the cows and drink tea.
YES!!! Just read and have subscribed monthly! So much of what you say resonates with me. I am a 'novice' when it comes to race relations, activism, being an ally, etc. Your podcasts and writings have always inspired and given content for furthering my own self awareness and contributions. I have often been frustrated by my fellow Catholics who point fingers but can't/won't be a part of the solution. Thank you, Claire! I look forward to learning more from you and growing in both faith and knowledge. I begin today with a thorough Examination of my own conscience and deeply held biases. Pax Christi!
Re: My Dark Vanessa -- I too was disturbed by the book and story. The audio version has an interview with the author that puts a lot of in context. I recommend listening to that. I did find it interesting to see the story told from the perspective of a young girl into adulthood.
Yeah, it was definitely an interesting read. I read it really quickly. And the prose was beautiful, and I liked how it tackled whether the identity of "victim" is empowering or disempowering. But I just couldn't get past the pornographic sex scenes!!! And I read a *lot* of secular books so I usually have a pretty high tolerance for that stuff.
Hi Claire! You're probably sick of seeing me in your comments every time you write anything. But once again, your message spoke to my heart and I wanted to say thank you. I've harbored a lot of ill-will towards people I disagree with. (Even this morning, I was having an imaginary, hypothetical argument with a fellow Church member who I know will disagree with my take on how to move forward with our religious education program. Who the heck was that helping?) Particularly, I want to focus on prayer for deep conversion not only for those who I disagree with, but for myself. I want to practice what I try to preach and spread the love and word of Christ to all -- not just those that are in my own little echo chamber. Thank you for what you do, and for always reminding me that looking towards holiness does not look the same for everyone. The destination is the same, but the path may vary.
Not sick at ALL--I love the feedback.
Claire, this is so good and encapsulates what I think about this so well. Needless to say I agree with you so strongly that we need to consciously choose to not "cancel" and dismiss people completely, but be willing to discuss issues. Why does it feel so dramatic to just say, "discuss issues"?! It shouldn't be! That's exactly what human culture has been for thousands of years, yet we have to state this basic, fundamental idea!
Agreed! I'm so glad it resonated.
Thank you for this Claire! This reminds me of this excerpt from The Richness of Ordinary Life from Friends of God by St. Josemaria Escriva:
“as Christians, you enjoy the fullest freedom, with the consequent personal responsibility, to take part as you see fit in political, social or cultural affairs, with no restrictions other than those set by the Church's Magisterium. The only thing that would worry me, for the good of your souls, would be if you were to overstep these limits, for then you would have created a clear opposition between your actions and the faith you claim to profess, and in that case I would tell you so, clearly. This holy respect for your opinions, so long as they do not lead you away from the law of God, is not understood by those who are unaware of the real meaning of the freedom which Christ won for us on the Cross, qua libertate Christus nos liberavit, by the sectarians at either extreme: those who seek to impose their temporal opinions as dogmas; or those who degrade man, by denying the value of the faith and putting it at the mercy of the grossest errors.”
We as a culture 100% treat our opinions as dogmas, and rather than engage with charity when we encounter those with differences of opinion, we cancel or subtweet or sarcastically “pray for them.” We forget that our neighbors are images of Christ and shut them down instead of reaching out with love. I'm totally guilty of this as well, but moving forward I'm hoping to focus on a "holy respect of opinions," approaching differences with curiosity and openness, and engaging with a variety of voices, instead of just listening to the ones that amplify my own.
I love St. Josemaria. Even though, in all honesty, I thought he was a woman until a few years ago hahahaha. My husband is a St. Josemaria super fan!!!
Hey Claire, I just wanted to say thank you for being brave and posting this.
I think you touch on something really important: the lack of courage and humility in the Twitter-Gram-Verse of the internet. I think people lack the courage to ask “what if ‘they’ really do have a point?” and the humility to say “I really might not like ~how~ they say it, but what they are saying is true.”
The internet has devolved beyond Hamiltonian era discourse into a barrage of epithets thrown about, not even towards, the other. We’ve lost touch with the power of our own words to hurt (and heal) others. We’ve chosen partisanship over piety. To quote my good friend Mother Teresa: “we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
I was talking with a friend the other day about my own anger towards, rather specifically, the current President. In a moment of, I believe, courage and humility, I said: “the Lord looks at every human being He has created with eyes of love. Whenever I see someone as less dignified or less worthy of His love, that’s a measure of my own sin, not theirs. God’s love is truly unconditional, unchanging. The Cross is for everyone, even those I truly dislike.”
Thank you for calling your readers to choose spiritual growth, courage and humility in 2021. I’m praying for you and your ministry. God bless.
It's so, so hard--I get it! I remember hearing that even if Jesus died for only ONE of us, he still would have done it, and I always try to think of that...like, Jesus would have died for JUST the Donald. What?!?! It's crazy!!!
Claire, I want to thank you for so much that you have done for me, a complete stranger. I didn't find your podcast until this past Summer in the midst of prolonged self isolation (thanks, pandemic). As a cradle Catholic who has always joked to friends that I'm not good at being Catholic, finding your podcast was a pivotal moment for me in deepening my faith life. Through your wonderful interviews with women who are also making their way in this world, and through your great humility and candor, I realized that we're all striving for grace and that there's no reason I should consider myself an outsider who's not worthy of calling myself a Catholic. You introduced me to so many resources and I'm incredibly grateful. So, much as you can imagine how sad I was when I found out production of the podcast was ending, I'm so thrilled to have found this newsletter.
I feel your pain in this latest article. As a pretty liberal person trying to deepen my understanding of our beautiful faith, it's sometimes scary and I often feel like I need to protect myself against the unkind and judgmental among us who certainly know more theology than I, but could use a few lessons in empathy, being a good listener and critical thinker before engaging in discourse.
Your message is spot on, because it always seems that just as I'm falling prey to making judgments, the person in question astonishes me with a surprising display of beautiful humanity that reminds me why God loves every single one of us just so. Human beings are not one-dimensional, and we'd all do well not to forget it.
Anyway, this is all just to say hang in there, and thank you for all that you do!
That was a thoughtful read. Thank you.
This article truly hit home for me. I am a Gloria Purvis fan and loved starting off my day listening to Morning Glory. The departure of the show, shocked and disheartened me. They had a pulse on news with a catholic perspective and a charming spark of personalities and perspective. EWTN has lost touch with the younger generation of the church, which is our future. The modern church is ethnically and culturally diverse. Mother Angelica would want different voices to be represented because it supports the mission to bring Christ into the heart of millions. But despite injustice, we can’t just complain, but do some action-petition,letters etc.
Thank you for highlighting this important topic! Looking forward to the next article!
Thanks Claire, thought provoking and educating post!
I would have had no idea who Gloria Purvis was and what her mission was all about if you hadn't had her on the podcast. I'm planning on at least sending a note to give some feedback to EWTN. Like you said, the power of symbols is really important. And why wouldn't we want to make sure there's more seats at the table?
Would love to hear more on your 'reckoning with critical race theory', or at least your sources on where to go get educated on this. It's been hard to find reliable info!
I am sooo on board with Fr. Mike's Bible in a Year... It's the biggest thing making me super optimistic about 2021!
God bless!
Sarah
"We’ve stopped longing for our neighbor’s salvation and started longing for their comeuppance."
yes! I totally agree and am working on praying for God's will to be done in this situation and the lives of those involved, and in all other troubling situations in our world.
I also wanted to say I really like to see what you're reading/listening to/who you're following. I don't do Twitter but I have started listening to Coleman Hughes' podcast as well as CNA Newsroom and will be following JD Flynn and Ed Condon over to the Pillar - thanks to you!
Random, but have you ever read Immaculee Ilibagiza? I've never heard you mention her, and she's not really "current events-y", but I've found her to be such an inspiring Catholic woman that I want to make sure other Catholics know about her!
YES! I love Immaculee. I tried so hard to get her on the podcast!! Her books are phenomenal.
Thank you for this letter. You've given words to my own musings and growing discomfort about tribalism and the many ways it manifests itself. Like you, there came a point for me this year where, through all the scrolling, the incessant complaining came into focus. Dramatic though it may sound, I was a bit horrified when I realized that that is what most of the "discourse" boils down to and that, perhaps, my own tweets had contributed to it. As a result, I've been examining my social media use more closely, and this letter has added more robustness to my conviction that my relationship to it needs to change and therefore, the way I think of and interact with others needs to as well. The ideas you propose to help remedy the problem are great, and I know I'll be referencing them often. Here's to trying to watch the cows and drink tea.
It's so true--and I'm an incessant complainer, too! Gah.
YES!!! Just read and have subscribed monthly! So much of what you say resonates with me. I am a 'novice' when it comes to race relations, activism, being an ally, etc. Your podcasts and writings have always inspired and given content for furthering my own self awareness and contributions. I have often been frustrated by my fellow Catholics who point fingers but can't/won't be a part of the solution. Thank you, Claire! I look forward to learning more from you and growing in both faith and knowledge. I begin today with a thorough Examination of my own conscience and deeply held biases. Pax Christi!
Thanks for subscribing!!!
Re: My Dark Vanessa -- I too was disturbed by the book and story. The audio version has an interview with the author that puts a lot of in context. I recommend listening to that. I did find it interesting to see the story told from the perspective of a young girl into adulthood.
Yeah, it was definitely an interesting read. I read it really quickly. And the prose was beautiful, and I liked how it tackled whether the identity of "victim" is empowering or disempowering. But I just couldn't get past the pornographic sex scenes!!! And I read a *lot* of secular books so I usually have a pretty high tolerance for that stuff.