When the Women finally lose their minds...

...we're all doomed. Two thoughts:

1) I've come to understand that consecrated men & women - monastics, monks & nuns, whatever you call them - are the spirtual engine of the Church. No one since Jesus walked the earth was invited by God directly to faith, excepting St. Paul, I suppose. Our Catholic Faith has come to us & to all through intermediaries; that is, those who came to know God through Christ Jesus first. The ones who "know" the best are those who have forsaken this world for the love of God & neighbor, whose whole lives are spent seeking God's face in prayer, liturgy, & service: knowing, loving, & serving God, both in the heart of the Church & out in the world, though not all do it in the same way.

2) The following statement is perhaps colored by my own limited upbringing & experience, but I say it resolutely: women are by far the stronger sex. Their ability to love freely & openly, as well as commitment to service of others & patient suffering is unbelievable. Women are pragmatic in ways that men only think they are. Men who exhibit these qualities are generally made a big deal of as visionaries, leaders, & heros. Women who exhibit these are simply called wives, mothers, daughters, friends. It is the perpetual & tireless efforts of women that holds society together, albeit mostly quietly & out of the spotlight. So, what a horror it is for all mankind when women are led astray.

Putting these two thoughts together, it was with special sadness that I follow this story: the Vatican's inquiry into the state of women's religious orders in the U.S., prompted by an apparently pervasive "new teaching" with attendant mindset & attitude that is beyond heirarchy, beyond obedience, beyond men, beyond Church, & beyond Jesus. This story at the ever-dissident NCR magazine prompted some of the most venomous & spiteful comments I've ever read from the mouth or keyboard of Christians (but are they?), mostly directed at the heirarchy & bishops, but especially, the Holy Father.

Amy Welborn also has a good commentary about this story on her new blog, along with excerpts from the keynote address at the 2007 Leadership Conference of Women Religious. It's really sad stuff.

It seems that many women religious have fallen off the boat, embracing radical feminism & ever-trendy Eastern mysticism instead of "centering" one's self on Christ Jesus, crucified & risen. There is no sprituality being peddled out there that can even begin to approach the profundity of this reality. There is no "beyond Jesus", everything finds its perfect fulfillment in him. It's ironic that the Church teaches that although people can come to know the existance of a good God from creation, it is only through the preaching & teaching of the Church that the revelation of Christ Jesus occurs, while these women view the Church as a restricting spiritual fence, a stumbling block to discovering the real truth of God, found & fulfilled only in creation. Talk about putting the celestial cart before the horse! Does St. Paul not warn that in the last days minds would be darkened & people would set aside sound teaching & worship the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:25)? But then again, St. Paul was a misogynist, right?

It seems that in some minds, the virtue of religion has become a hinderance to the "true gospel" of social justice work & oneness with the All. Unfortunately, some of these social justice "causes" are just expressions of personal ideologies. I've often observed that radical feminism, the homosexual agenda, the permissive sexual subculture including pornography, & the abortion industry are all diabolically tied together.

However, I am so thankful for the wonderful & faithful religious that continue to work & pray for the salvation of souls (incl. mine!), especially the Dominican Sisters of Nashville who teach & preach the Gospel so beautifully by word & example in our Diocese. May God increase their tribe. We need the gifts of their "feminine genius" & that of all other faithful Catholic women now more than ever!

Sts. Lucy, Felicity, Perpetua, Brigid, Clare, Scholastica, Therese, Katharine Drexel, & all you holy women - & of course, our Blessed Mother - pray for the repentance of sinners & the conversion of unbelievers, false believers, the lukewarm, & the fallen away.

. . .

Postscript: while all that may seem like a downer, this article from EWTN News has gotten me fired back up! I teach my kids from Day 1 that by virtue of their baptism in Christ Jesus they are all soldiers in the royal army of God engaged in a spiritual battle with the devil & his army of demons. Also, that the battle is ultimately won, but we must nonetheless remain faithful & fight to the end.