Book Review: Something Other Than God

So I'm a week late. I had to sneak a copy off the bookstore "New Release" table after hours to read Jennifer Fulwiler's long-awaited spiritual autobiography, "Something Other Than God." Here you go!

Some years ago, I discovered the “mommy blog” genre of online writing. The Catholic mommy bloggers especially offered me a real-life picture of faith in a 21^st century family setting. I began to notice how many of these women whose writing I really admired were not only living the Catholic faith, but still discovering it: They were converts. One of the most outstanding of these writers was Jennifer Fulwiler, of ConversionDiary.com. Brought up an only child, she is raising more children than she had ever seen in one place growing up. Educated to be a convinced and assured atheist, she thought she had all the answers, except for that one nagging issue: Why does life have to be so beautiful—when it is so meaningless?

In Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It (Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2014) Fulwiler traces the unlikely path of Providence from her childhood experiences of alienation from anything that might bear the name “Christian” to her realization that the Catholic baptism she had received as an infant (for the sake of the grandparents) had actually accomplished something very real in her life.

On the surface, Fulwiler would not have seemed destined for Catholic Mom of the Year the year before her conversion began in earnest: She had an exciting job in computers, was married to a genial overachiever, enjoyed friends, music and parties (lots of those), and had every reason to believe that her husband's goal of his “first million” was very much within reach. It was the birth of a son that cemented in her the overflowing conviction that life and joy and love were not merely chemical reactions in a material brain: they were evidence that needed to be taken into consideration.

While Something Other Than God is the story of a serious search for the meaning of life, you will find yourself laughing out loud over some of the episodes. (Fulwiler is a worthy heir to Erma Bombeck in that regard.) She has an eye for the incongruous detail that is the secret of humor writing, and a heart for the quirky poignancy of human life. (How many people do you know are consoled by the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory because it means they can pray for the soul of a violent rapper who met a violent end?)

Last year the RCIA director of a cathedral parish in the midwest commented that more and more of the people coming into the Catholic Church seem to be agnostics who began to doubt their unbelief. Look around you: these are your neighbors, co-workers, business associates. I would highly recommend Fulwiler's memoir to people who are beginning to ask their Catholic neighbors questions about faith in God, belief in Jesus, the role of the Pope and where the Bible came from, and to people like the pre-conversion Jennifer who have a perfect life, but can't help asking why life isn't perfect. I might even leave it in the office bathroom so people who are not ready to “come out” in terms of their interest in religion can read it in private, the way Fulwiler read her books about Jesus.

Here's a post about my interview with Jennifer during the 2012 Catholic New Media Conference in her home state. Download to audio file to listen to the interview with Fulwiler.

You might also enjoy Catholic by Choice: Why I Embraced the Faith, Joined the Church, and Embarked on the Adventure of a Lifetime (Loyola Press, Chicago, 2014) by Richard Cole, an Austinite (and a wordsmith) like Fulwiler.

Tidbits from "the Light of Faith"

Retreat silence continues, but I have prepared a week's worth of posts from the new encyclical while my technology and I rest in the Lord. (Full disclosure: my Kindle is not participating in this retreat, as it contains the text of Theology of the Body on which the retreat talks are based.)

Today's thought (from #27)  helps lift faith out of the realm of dry, sterile teachings where we can sometimes relegate it, and shows that faith has an intimate connection to love:

"Love and truth are inseparable. Without love, truth becomes cold, impersonal and oppressive for people's everyday lives.... One who loves realizes that love is an experience of truth, that it opens our eyes to see reality in a new way, in union with the beloved."

I recall that this experience of love revealing a greater truth was fundamental to Jennifer Fulwiler's conversion from atheism. What might this (and another passage I may use as tomorrow's tidbit) suggest to you about the most fruitful avenue for the New Evangelization ?

Stuff you'll want to read

Father James Martin is tired of hearing that celibacy "causes" people to become pedophiles. "One of the many goals of celibacy is to love people as freely as possible and as profoundly as possible."

Tim Carney's severely disabled nephew, spread more love in his short life than most of us ever will. 

Jennifer Fulwiler writes about the difference between a cowboy hat and a chapel veil, from her perspective as a convert (and a Texan). She makes more sense of wearing the veil than I could (even after 35 years!).

Thank me later.

St Raymond the Unborn UPDATED

Today is the feast of St Raymond of Penyafort, the Dominican patron saint of Canon Lawyers (let the law jokes commence!). On this day, I am always reminded of another St Raymond (not a Dominican but a member of the ancient Order of Mercy). This Raymond was known as  "Raymond the Unborn" (
Raymond Nonnatus) since he was delivered by an emergency procedure after the death of his mother. St Raymond (patron of the Diocese of Joliet, IL)  is, reasonably enough, invoked when medical crises arise during pregnancy. I've been praying to him and to Bl. John Paul II these days for uber-blogger Jennifer Fulwiler, who is just being released from the hospital (again) and is under continuing treatment for multiple pulmonary embolisms. She is expecting her sixth child (it's a boy!) and has had to undergo daily shots during each of her pregnancies because of a blood-clotting disorder.  So she's a candidate, if ever there was one, for St Raymond's intercession. (UPDATE: There is now a Paypal donate button if you would like to help the Fulwilers pay for Jennifer's hugely expensive injections. Part of the issue with her unusually rough time this year may be related to the fact that this year she was using a generic version of the medication; all her previous, relatively uneventful pregnancies were helped along with the name-brand medicine. I hope her insurance company has learned a lesson about cost-cutting now that they have two hospitalizations and a three month follow-up to contend with.)

Jennifer started the year, as she has for a few years now, by programming a random patron-saint generator. Spin the wheel, so to speak, and get assigned a special saint for the new year. She dialed up St. Michael, and the next day found herself in the hospital. "Defend us in battle," indeed. But that situation got me thinking. With her own well-being threatened, along with that of her unborn son, wouldn't Jennifer need to be "defended in battle," not just in a fight for health, but the fight against the temptation that surely some people in the medical profession were muttering under their breath,  "Just 'take care of it' so you can go back to your family. You already have five kids who need a mother..." Abortion seems to be the first treatment option many women are offered when a pregnancy-related complication threatens them. Isn't the health of the mother a valid reason?

The weird thing is that in first world nations where abortion is legalized or restrictions loosened, maternal survival rates worsen. Ireland, which has (up to now) extremely strict limits on abortion (it is legal, but only within carefully defined circumstances), has the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. It is #1 in terms of maternal health. You know where the US stands? Somewhere around #34, right up there with Bulgaria. When Chile outlawed abortion in 1989, their maternal mortality rate dropped so far, so fast, that their maternal survival rates are the best in Latin America.

What is going on? It is hard to avoid the conclusion that access to abortion dulls the medical community's interest in researching the real problems that threaten pregnant women and the unborn. As abortion becomes the default recommendation for difficult cases, the wisdom of earlier generations is not handed down. Less energy and resources are invested in truly understanding the underlying causes and remedies for serious issues that continue to threaten women's health, especially during pregnancy.

If that is so, today would be a good day to pray to St. Raymond "the Unborn" for medical researchers in the specialized areas of maternal health.

Why We Need More "Minor Revisions"!

Here I am writing about the miniseries from NET-NY TV and I didn't even see it yet... I was at a meeting for the Archdiocese last night precisely when "Minor Revisions" premiered. Thankfully, they will be running the show again on Saturday afternoon, so I have another chance. (I hate being out of the loop!)

But even without having seen the show (I did read Jennifer's post after she got a sneak peak at it last week), I can say that this is the direction Catholic TV needs to move in.

Why?

Because, as Father Barron commented when introducing "The Catholicism Project," we have been letting everyone else tell our Catholic story to the point that much of what goes without saying about Catholicism in our culture comes from so far afield that it doesn't even relate to anything that is actually Catholic! As an example [confession: I saw this on a FB meme, so hopefully it was imaginary...but I don't think so] the person who thought he spotted an inconsistency in the Pope using an iPad to send his first Twitter message: how can someone who doesn't believe in evolution use so highly evolved a technological tool? Right there you have it as a given that Catholics reject the theory of evolution. Why would anyone presume such a thing? Because other people have been telling our story for us.

With programs like "Minor Revisions" (as with the earlier sitcom pilot from Catholic TV, "Mass Confusion") not only are we telling the one Catholic story of the Fulwiler family: the show is also telling the Catholic story of the "Vitae Clinic" where women find health and fertility care that is completely consistent with Catholic moral values, and where women in crisis pregnancy find all the help they need. You find the further Catholic story of the former drug dealer who is now a leader of Adult Faith Formation in a Catholic parish. And yet another Catholic story in meeting with Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood manager who left her job (after winning accolades from Planned Parenthood) and was recently received into the Catholic Church. That's an abundance of Catholic stories, all told from a Catholic perspective.

Programs like this are not easy (or cheap) to produce. It would be more cost-effective to create another conversation-based show with a genial host and a series of guests. But what is more effective in telling our story?  I'm thinking we need to show our support for NET-NY for going out on a limb and breaking important new ground for Catholic television.

In case you missed it, here is my write-up about Jennifer Fulwiler from "Support a Catholic Speaker Month," as well as the audio recording of our conversation.

Catholic Reality (on TV!)

For "Support a Catholic Speaker Month," I interviewed Jennifer Fulwiler, wife, mother, convert, author and now...reality TV subject. And we're not talking just some local cable access TV, or a Catholics-only limited audience special edition, but a show that even the Verizon network chose to make available for streaming to its customers.

God bless the folks at NET-NY Catholic TV for putting together this 3-part miniseries from the Fulwiler home. The series title reflects Jennifer's work on her current book project. Get more from Jennifer at her blog (which you should already be subscribed to)

Stay tuned for the premier on December 13 (and watch out for those scorpions)!

Fly on the Wall: my interview with Jennifer Fulwiler

Did you enjoy last week's "Catholic Speaker" interview so much that you only wish you could have been at the CNMC for that conversation with Jennifer Fulwiler? Your prayer has been answered!


Pour yourself that cup of coffee and hit the "play" arrow:

While you listen and savor the coffee, here are a few images of my time in Dallas.

If the audio player doesn't work (or you can't even see it), download the file from this link.

Support a Catholic Speaker! Jennifer Fulwiler

It's still September, and that's "Support a Catholic Speaker Month." Among the top Catholic Speakers highlighted by the nomination process is my favorite Catholic mommy blogger, Jennifer Fulwiler (of Conversion Diary). Jen was also one of the keynote speakers at the Catholic New Media Conference I attended in August--and that gave me the opportunity to sit with her for a good twenty minutes with a recording app and a list of questions.

In between sessions at the CNNC, Jen and I chatted while Joe was on an
unsuccessful mission with the three oldest Fulwilers to find a foodstore
somewhere in the vicinity of the Arlington Convention Center.

Jennifer is a Texan, born and bred. Raised in a nonbelieving home, she was Secular Humanism's poster child--throughout her early adulthood. But little by little, the secular "givens" (atheism and pro-choice sympathies, even vegetarianism) gave way to an openness first to unborn life, then to Christianity and then, most improbably, to Catholicism.

Now a homeschooling mom of five, Jen has a unique take on Catholic spirituality that she shares through her blog, on TV and radio, and at the occasional podium (for those groups blessed enough to secure her as a speaker--which is why she was at the CNMC).

While Jennifer is a capable and articulate Catholic speaker, she is first and foremost a writer, something that is apparent to anyone who has ever had the pleasure of encountering her blog, "Conversion Diary" (which, in terms of Google subscribers, is one of the top Catholic blogs out there). Because of her droll sense of humor and her incredible talent as a writer, I tend to think of Jen as the (I'm dating myself here) Erma Bombeck of Gen X. Here's a sample on one of her classic themes.

From childhood (and long before she became a believer), Jennifer recognized that she had a charism for writing; that this was not only a life-giving talent for her own enjoyment, but a way she could give something meaningful to others. When the Internet offered every earnest writer a potential readership, Jennifer was already there, starting her first website in 2001. As she noted, "It's more fun to write when you have readers!" And those readers led to invitations for speaking engagements.

Public speaking is also a joy for Fulwiler, but with five young children, Jen gets more opportunities than she can accept. Given their primary vocation as parents, the Fulwilers decided to limit out-of-state speaking engagements to no more than one per quarter. Jen tries to give priority to those venues where she and her unique message can make a real difference; where her message and experience match the focus of the gathering. She wants people to walk out of the room saying, "I'm more inspired for having heard this talk." She recently declined a very attractive invitation that would have involved travel to a country she dreams of visiting because, in prayer, she realized that she didn't have any fresh insights to offer on the organization's theme. Strangely, Fulwiler also has to stipulate that all travel and lodging expenses be covered. (Catholic groups don't always think of worldly things like that, though young parents juggling mortgage payments certainly do.)

Jen describes her husband Joe (a convert as well) as "a faithful Catholic, very strong in his faith...who knows what it is to detach; to be tempted by glamour and say 'but that' s not where the Lord wants me'." Every invitation issued to Jen gets brought to Joe so they can talk about it and pray about it as a couple. Joe has a charism of discernment that he brings to the conversation. One commitment that Jen thought she would be able to make--her calendar was wide open, the topic was right up her alley, the expenses would all be taken care of--was declined when Joe found he could not be at peace with it. It just didn't feel "right." When that date rolled around, one of the children was seriously ill. Jen had to be there, and through God's providence, her husband Joe, like his calm and discerning patron saint, was the one who recognized that.

You're more likely to hear Jen through electronic media than at a conference outside of the State of Texas, but Jennifer Fulwiler is worth paying attention to as a Catholic speaker. And that is reason enough for her to have a permanent place on my special prayer list.

God bless you, Jennifer (and Joe! And the kids! And Yaya!)

Howdy!

Greetings from Texas and the Catholic New Media Conference! I had been home in New Orleans with Mom, planning all along to drive to Texas with her and my sister Jane to visit my sister Lea in Austin. It just happened that a hurricane came along at that exact time. So we didn't evacuate, exactly, but we did leave New Orleans ahead of the hurricane. So far we have no news of damage to family property (but I saw on Twitter that my mom's parish lost a tree and a breezeway--so far).
I flew from Austin to Dallas this morning and have already attended two interesting talks on the tech track. In between I am reconnecting with people I know mostly through Catholic social networking, but on the shuttle from the airport I made a new connection. Nancy is from a pro-life clinic in Austin. They not only offer pregnancy support for crisis pregnancies; they also have a regular ob-gyn practice that completely conforms with Catholic values using NaPro technology to help address the causes of infertility. I am looking forward to learning more about what they are doing so I can help get the info out there!
Sister Christina from our editorial department is also attending the CNMC, while two sisters are at the Pauline booth at the Catholic Marketing Network trade show which is also going on here (actually, CNMC and the Catholic Writers Guild are piggybackng on the Marketing Network's meeting).
At 5:30 this afternoon I will be interviewing the Catholic mommy uber-blogger, Jennifer Fulwiler so I can contribute a post to the "Support a Catholic Speaker Month" initiative. In between sessions, there is an adoration chapel in one of the meeting rooms, so I guess I'll do some networking with Jesus...

Faith and the foreigners

Retreat ended last evening; today we women formerly known as retreatants have become the housekeeping crew. We are all over the place scrubbing, sweeping, polishing and washingr not just to keep the place in good order for our next week of community updating, but because by Saturday the retreat house will be filled with relatives in town for our sisters' Jubilee celebration. (Just to reassure you that I am not dawdling over a keyboard while everyone else is laboring, my duty is in the laundry room, where the last load of sheets and towels is now in the dryer, all others having been duly folded and put away.) (Besides, it's time for a break!)\

I was catching up on some Catholic news, blogs, etc. earlier, and found a typically insightful post from Jennifer Fulwiler. She is answering the accusation that Catholics, with their positive view of big families, are threatening the fragile balance of the environment. After all, there are only so many resources to go around, and if you have too many babies, you are going to eat up more than your fair, replacement-level share of the goods of the earth. Her reflection (and the other blogs she cites, which I highly recommend you visit) coincided thematically with a talk I was listening to as I folded the above-mentioned sheets and towels. In the presentation from the Theology of the Body congress, Dr. John Crosby explains what is meant by "personalism" (which is so vital to the thought of Pope John Paul II and the theology of the body). He also cites Blessed John Henry Newman's contributions in that area. But I am not putting all this down for your philosophical enjoyment: it also connects strongly with a theme that came barrelling out at me from today's readings, and it has very real-world implications.

For starters, I could ask, "What are your convictions about immigration?" And I wouldn't be surprised to hear expressions of concern, anxiety, sorrow and also a few words of indignation, distaste, fear, severity... you know, the stuff we hear in political speeches on the topic. The Responsorial Psalm even speaks about border security! ("He has granted peace in your borders..." Ps. 147.) But the first reading hints at the source of that peace: not from the absence of immigrants and aliens, but from the way God ordered that they be treated. Moses tells the Isrealites that they must imitate God who "befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him."
I can already hear howls of protest over this, but we can't get away from it: it's an explicit command from God. Might the Gospel moderate this "Old Testament" rule the way it did other matters?

In the Gospel, Peter is approached for his share of the fee that all observant Jews contributed to the upkeep of the Temple. The collectors can't resist a little dig at the impecunious Master, Jesus: "Does not your teacher pay the Temple tax?" Peter sputters an automatic reassurance that the Master neglects none of his responsibilities to society and then turns away in haste. Back in the house, Jesus doesn't let the matter rest. He hints that, as the Son of God, he is exempt from a tax that logically should be paid by outsiders. And yet he doesn't take a hard line! Instead, he sends Peter, the fisherman, out to fish: Peter's everyday work became the means of a miracle of providence that paid not only Peter's Temple tax, but Jesus' as well.

If I had been Jesus, I probably would have made a public case for my rights, demonstrating mv case insistently, repeatedly and unanswerably. I might have even been tempted to ratchet up the rhetoric and resort to depersonalizing terms and figures of speech to refer to those who would deny, question or disregard my right, characterizing them by their accent, language, cuisine, modes of transport, or simply tainting them by association with others. There would have been no concession from me! Jesus, though, sees his position of privilege as a reason to make concessions generously.

Catholics should be tortured by the questions today's first reading raises. Those who wholeheartedly and aggressively embrace a hard ligne that gives priority to human and political values are absolutizing the political at the expense of divine revelation.

And yet most people I know who do this very thing would never consider treating an actual immigrant the way they might speak about "immigrants" in the abstract. That's where the "personalism" comes in. Faced with a real live person who has made incredible sacrifices for his or her family, all they would see is the weary face of a father or mother, son or daughter: a person we are not allowed to sacrifice to any other good (or any other "god"). In Newman's words, "He has a depth within him unfathomable." And that's a beautiful thing, a kind of acknowledgement of the Incarnation and the mystery of the Body of Christ.

Obviously, I don't have a solution to a situation that has been brewing for decades (and that our current economic crisis seems to be solving in its own unfortunate way), but is there a way for us as believers to let God establish the values by which we approach this and every other social question? Can we let faith (and people of faith who are actively attempting to bring about workable solutions) challenge us on the practical level to balance the rights and expectations and even the demands of citizenship with the call to imitate God in dealing with others? Otherwise..."do not the Gentiles of this world do the same?"

It's Catholic Media Promotion Day!

Don't beware the ides of March! It's a brand new day with a brand new name: Catholic Media Promotion Day! Here's how to observe it:

1. On March 15, 2011, everyone with a blog, podcast, or Facebook page should list their favorite 3 blogs, 3 podcasts, 3 other media, 3 random Catholic things online, and their own projects.
2. Then, post the link to your list on March 15th on the special Facebook page created for the occasion.
3. Additionally, to help get the word out, press are asked to write articles and press releases for this day.
4. Lastly, on March 15th, go to iTunes and leave at least 3 positive written reviews for various Catholic podcasts and 3 positive written reviews for Catholic mobile applications*.

So, in observance of this First Ever Catholic Media Promotion Day, in fulfillment of part 1, as a Catholic blogger I would like to highlight:

3 favorite blogs
This is hard; I have a whole subsection of bookmarks on my browser titled "Great Catholic Writing."

1. Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary The best of the Catholic mommy bloggers.
2. The Dutchman's FestungArnulfinger (An interesting Chicago convert to Catholicism, via socialism--which he still strongly identifies with--"Dutch" posts infrequently, but with insight and ironic accuracy.)
3. Courageman: A D.C. Catholic man who writes honestly about issues affecting his life as a person who is committed to his baptismal pursuit of holiness, while struggling with same-sex attraction. Not a frequent blogger, and certainly not PG material, but profoundly insightful.

3 top podcasts
Confession here. I hardly ever listen to podcasts on a regular basis. But here are a few I can recommend, even though I am only a random listener:

1. Word on Fire Father Robert Barron's video commentaries. Do we have a more articulate, engaging and informed spokesperson today for the Catholic Church in America?
2. Among Women with Pat Gohn
3. Here's a new one, focusing on Catholic liturgy and coming from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in collaboration with the University of Dayton. Or maybe the other way around. I think they are still finding their voice, but the content is what counts: Beyond the Words, with Emily Strand. 

3 "other media"

1. NET NY TV: for the Diocese of Brooklyn's quality programming.
2. Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body talks. Yes, it's a book, but that's still media, right? And media with a track record of changing history, which TOB is surely meant to do, in the Holy Spirit's grand design. (The link lets you see inside the book.)
3. The "State of Grace" albums by Paul Schwarz. You'll find them in the "New Age" section of your music store, but they're built on the solid rock of ancient Church music (mostly). I find the "Magnificat" tracks of Vol. 2 wonderful for prayer. (Of course, it helps if you know at least a little Latin!)

3 Random Catholic things online
Right now, honestly? Resources on the new Roman Missal: 

1.


2.


and 3, this medicine for the human soul (10 million views so far!). (It's "Catholic" because it's such a celebration of the gift of human life.)


My own projects

First off, the Singing Sisters Channel on YouTube, where you'll find videos from our recording studio, snippets from our Christmas concerts and Sr Julia's "Best Catholic Books" video book reviews. The Daughters of St. Paul Choir also has a Facebook page (see the sidebar and us!); I manage that along with Sr. Sean and Sr. Tracey. (It's a soprano plan to conquer the world!)

A few specialized video channels on ustream.tv: Theology of the Body (our monthly online study group, led by Fr. Thomas Loya, also has a matching blog where you can find links to the study group's chat transcript and notes); Catholic Faith and Life (random Catholic instruction and spirituality); Pauline Spirit (news and reflections specifically related to our community); Discernment.

As if one blog wasn't enough: Paulines in the Loop (news and info from our downtown Chicago bookstore); The Angelus Project (a static page devoted to resources promoting the praying of the Angelus, our three-times-daily Catholic "call to prayer"); plus, I maintain Sr Julia's "Best Catholic Books" blog, too (there she is in my Mom's living room).

You can also find me on Twitter and Plurk; I'm the only "nunblogger" there.