Nun Sense: Women in the Catholic Church

This article by Kathryn Jean Lopez first published on National Review Online, interviews Sister Prudence.
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A Habited Women Speaks
In his New York Times column this month, Nicholas Kristof wrote about “A Church Mary Can Love.” If you didn’t read the column, you might not be shocked to learn its contents: He’s not that into the Vatican, and he doesn’t think the Blessed Virgin would be either. He’s more into a priest who reportedly told him that he “would build a condom factory in the Vatican to save lives.” However, Kristof also wrote something sensible: “I’ve come to believe that the very coolest people in the world today may be nuns.” Amen. And in the following interview with Sister Mary Prudence Allen, I think you’ll begin to see why. Sister Prudence is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., an order with a special focus on health care.

Sister Prudence is also a philosophy professor and a published author, having written the two-volume The Concept of Woman and contributed to The Foundations of Religious Life: Revisiting the Vision (a compilation from the other “nuns” in the health-care debate, the ones who stood by the bishops conference’s objection to the abortion provisions in the legislation — and by Catholic doctrine on the most innocent human life).

Read the interview here.

Introducing ENDOW Intensives

On a recent morning in one of our staff meetings, someone brought up again how the real mission of ENDOW is educating women, and we wondered how well we were hitting that goal. It is always of concern to us that we may be missing a significant portion of the female population – those women who are simply too busy and unable to commit to an eight week study. How can we reach them? Would they be interested if we could think of a way to fit ENDOW into their schedule? We tossed around ideas of how to make ENDOW accessible to these women and we landed upon the idea of ENDOW Intensives.
The idea was to offer a “turbo-charged” class – one that would condense an 8-week study into a 7-hour day. It would mean that we would have to distill each chapter down to its essence, highlighting key points, being selective about which passages to read aloud, and spending less time lingering on the discussion questions. But the trade-off seemed a good one. While not exactly a precise replica of an ENDOW class, the Intensive would introduce the concepts and the content of an ENDOW topic in a fast-paced and, we hoped, inspiring way. The benefits were obvious – women would be able to immerse themselves in a study and walk away filled up with new information and refreshed and energized about their Catholic faith.
We are happy to report that we debuted ENDOW Intensives earlier this month. Eileen Love taught Letter to Women to a group in the scenic mountain town of Edwards. At the same time these women were in class, ENDOW’s Brigid Sweeney taught Girl Genius to their daughters, the 8th graders at St. Claire of Assisi. The fire of ENDOW was lit and the message of New Feminism is spreading. The young girls had a great day and the women were excited by what they heard and many expressed a desire to continue studying. Then, these past two Saturdays, Intensives on Letter to Women and Edith Stein: Seeker of Truth were offered at the John Paul II Center.
From the feedback we are receiving, we are pronouncing ENDOW Intensives a success. The next one we are presenting is slated for late June in Houston. We’d love to see as many of our Texas sisters as possible! And we will be putting more on the calendar, so watch this space for information and tell your friends!

My Route to ENDOW – A Witness Story

By Judi Piccone

If we believe that God desires us to know the truth then we must be open to seeking it. I am reminded of this when I think of the journey He has brought me on to encounter His Truth and faithfulness through ENDOW. His love for me placed my spiritual voyage on a path to ENDOW and although it has not been easy, I am certain it was purposeful.

My story begins many years ago when I became interested in an international ecumenical Bible study. It had many thriving Colorado locations to choose from and it seemed perfect. It welcomed women of different Christian denominations to gather and study Scripture. In my mind it was noble, even productive to the cause of uniting Christians and its message of being “ecumenical” drew me in. I was encouraged that there were other Catholic women involved, who like me, were searching for more. We wanted to be fed but it needed to accommodate the diapers and daily duties of life. With Catholic Biblical School being too daunting, MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers - a Christian mom and tot group) not enough and no other suitable Catholic program available, this seemed perfect. I became deeply involved.
Although I was a very active and faithful Catholic, I know now I was subtly being led away from my religious roots. Thankfully, God brought me down the path of truth and I am grateful that I knew to listen. After five very involved years in the program, it had been revealed to me by an insider that they were not ecumenical at all, but that the leadership was trained to welcome Catholics only to convert them. NO! This could not be true! At that point I realized I needed the truth and with God’s grace I found the courage to contact the National Director, a woman I did not know, and I asked if this was a fact. After some discussion and some beating around the bush, she finally said, “Yes, we only welcome Catholics to convert them.” While I was grateful for her honesty, I was devastated because I was entrenched in the program and I realized then that I had to cut the dead limb, close the door, and walk away.

Where was I to find Him now? He had brought me to this realization but what purpose did it have if there was nothing similar in the Catholic Church to fill that void? It was a painful process but God is abundantly generous and faithful. Thanks to a group of faithful women who chose to listen to Him, ENDOW was started. It was exactly what I needed and has filled that void in such an amazing way. There have been many truths revealed - like how I am special and unique as a woman of God (Letter to Women), how God gave me Mary to be my companion (Redemptoris Mater) and the joy in uniting myself to His suffering (Salvifici Doloris). These and many other studies have shown me His faithfulness as they have strengthened and fortified me. Through ENDOW, Christ has shown me how deeply He loves me and I am profoundly humbled.

Arleen Mack, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado

Lenten means a time that I, as a busy mother and wife, force myself to make time to work on my own spirituality. It seems that there is never a "right" time to make time for me, but because the well runs dry, I make time in Lent. The way I find that time is to give my faith life a higher priority in my time allocation. I stay away from unneeded shopping, lunches and coffee dates and instead attend two Endow sessions and parish soup suppers to keep up with my women friends. I also minimize my reading to only my spiritual selections. I work hard to find "quiet time" and stay away from the busyness of life. For the Lenten Season I really try to practice good discipline in time, treasure and talent, hoping some of the behavior change may become habits!

Eileen Hierholz, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado

Eileen Hierholz, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado
I have come to find that the things we choose to "fast from" are really the things in this life that we have made into our own "little gods" for various reasons to various degrees. We are so blessed to have the wisdom of the church that gives us this special time to reflect on those things which keep us farther from Our Lord and closer to our attachments, which also keep us from giving of ourselves to His service and others in need. Of course, there is so much more, such as a deepening of awareness of the mercy of God. I look forward to a spiritually renewing and holy Lent.