"Most Catholic families do not have children dressing as nuns, or as Britney Spears, but rather as normal kids. Most Catholic mothers do not wear headcoverings, to Mass, or ever. Most Catholic husbands would be embarrassed to have their wife go out in public dressed in such outlandish accessories. Most Catholic children are not homeschooled. Most Catholic women wear a variety of clothing, including pants and shorts. Most Catholic mothers do not wish to turn their uteri into assembly lines. Moderation, my dear!"
-Anonymous
What more can I say? After all, if the last few months have offered me nothing else they have at least given me a bit of perspective, and comments on the internet are just that. You are just saying what I'm sure other people, who have not been able to muster the charity to be polite, have thought.
May God Bless you and open your heart to all the ways in which we may worship Him. And may you realize that perhaps there might be more to Jesus' command to be in this world and not of it, than you've previously thought.
I must seem very odd to you. I most certainly anger you, if your words are any indicator, and for that I am sorry. Oh you do not know how sorry I am when I read your words. Yet I am grateful for a husband who loves me and supports me and leads our family towards God. I pray that you do the same for those you love, and that you perhaps a little bit kinder to those who you so strongly disapprove of.
I will remember you in my prayers. And perhaps you can muster the charity to remember the rest of us in your prayers as well. I find that praying disperses anger.
Now I have some snoods to sew. For all of those "odd" women that feel the same "odd" tug on their hearts that I do.
And Thomist. Try to be nice. Please.
Posts
48 comments:
Sounds like she has a guilty conscience.....
That's usually what happens we we close our womb to God anonymous commenter....
Holy cow! And how sad! But I get it. You should see some of the whackado email and feedback I get on my blog. You would think I have burned in hell 100 times already. Let me just say Cam that I'm a short wearing, non head covering, make up junkie Catholic mom (ha ha). I only have 2 children here on earth but would have loved a bunch more but that wasn't in our plan for us. But, having said that, I think you are beautiful. I think your girls are adorable and you are an awesome mom doing the best that you can with what you know and believe to be true. Chin up.
I wonder why Anonymous seems to prize mediocrity in how one lives.
It gets to the point that even straying from the social norm is a bit too rebellious for Anonymous that he feels the need to stamp it out immediately. That of course is doomed to failure.
Mediocrity inspires no one, Anonymouth. And that is why no one will be inspired to listen to you.
~Thomist
Praying for Anonymous tonight.
I am saddened about her comments to you. I loved Sadie's nun outfit and her birthday cake.
I'm so sorry that you received such a message of misunderstanding. God calls each of us to come closer to him in the ways that are necessary for us. We are all His unique children and should not be made to feel judged or like our actions are somehow a judgment of others. We are a homeschooling Catholic family blessed with six children. I am praying to God about wearing a covering over my head at Mass and have also been praying about my daughters and I wearing skirts or dresses only. I have not come to a decision but respect greatly those people who have, either way. Peace and love to you both. May Christ walk with you all the days of your lives.
Huh. I guess if Catholicism is about jumping on board the ship to BORING then this commenter starts to make sense. I guess "anonymous" is okay with Sadie dressing up as a Disney princess since "most" people with girls would be fine with that. But a nun? Aaack! Frighteningly different! You know, I'm not unilaterally opposed to anonymous posting on blogs... but I'm rethinking that... because "most" people use their names... wouldn't want to deviate from the main stream! huh. Some heavy duty thoughts remain to be thunk on this one.
Dear Anonymous, your post is oddly boring. Loosen up! Let a silk snood into your wardrobe! Have another baby! Prayers coming your way that you would never again suggest that a mother's inclination to welcome children to her heart turns her womb into an assembly line. The crassness in that suggestion is disturbing.
"Prayers coming your way that you would never again suggest that a mother's inclination to welcome children to her heart turns her womb into an assembly line. The crassness in that suggestion is disturbing."
Amen.
This seems like a really unhappy person. She doesn't see children as a joy and a blessing obviously, her loss. No, most Catholic kids aren't homeschooled, but in my parish alone, over 20 are. So are many kids in our area, of other faiths or no faith. You wear skirts and head covering, in my area, so do Amish, German baptists, Muslims, and Pentecostals. So you are unusual, who cares? You have always clearly stated that all these things are your personal convictions not that all Catholics are required by the Church to follow them. So most husbands feel a certain way, I thankful my own husband is not "most husbands" as I imagine you are. I find the "most people do x" argument pretty weak. Didn't our mothers say to us as kids, if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too? I will definitely pray for this person.
And if I may stick this in, please pray for a beloved lady from our choir who had a heart transplant this week (she may not wear a veil but she does wear the most beautiful hats).
I want to say, oh I'll pray for you Anonymous, I pity you, because that should be my response, but y'know, I've just had it - it's not my response.
Newsflash, Anonymous Rude Jerk, most Catholics aren't on the fast track to Heaven. Most Catholics have no idea what their Church teaches or what they believe. Most Catholics disrespect the Eucharist. Most Catholics are living entirely secular lives, except when they feel like wandering into a Church because their empty, sin-filled lives have finally brought them to their knees. Most Catholics have bought into the worldly mindset that children are fun accessories. Most Catholics suck. (sorry to everyone who I love that's Catholic)
If Catholics were who we are called to be - joyfully embracing our individual vocations and spiritualities - we would light the entire dang world on fire. Then you would see just what you see now - women in jeans at Latin Mass, women who wear headcoverings all the time, sometimes or never at all, men who respect their wives no matter what she is wearing, families of all sizes because openness to life doesn't mean a huge family: you would see all this PLUS all the good things that we don't see enough! Understanding of and love for the law of the God, respect for ourselves, an engaged citizenry that fights for the rights of the poor and marginalized and vulnerable, for religious freedom, for all that is Good, and True, and Beautiful.
Don't you get it? The greater the holiness, the greater the variety!! It doesn't matter how you dress, so long as its modest and respectful. Cam can wear headcoverings, you don't have to! Your kids can dress nicely in what you term "normal" clothes, Sadie can wear her beloved "holy baby" outfit, all of that is OKAY. What the heck is your problem with the beautiful design of God that each of His children would give Him praise in their own beautiful way?
I don't know you, person - lady - dude, whoever you are, but what you are putting forth onto your fellow Catholics is condescension. You encourage mediocrity, you condone cultural complacency. You should be ashamed for trying to wrench someone away from holiness. You should burn with shame for being so cruel and unkind to someone of your OWN FAITH who is trying to be as faithful to Christ as she can. Shame on you, Anonymous, shame.
Isaiah 66:5
"Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake, Have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.’ But they will be put to shame."
Cam, I am sorry you have to deal with a commenter or commenters who feel the need to keep attacking you. Clearly "Anonymous" is in need of prayers. You are certainly the bigger person and are quite charitable to offer prayers for him/her/them.
Anonymous, I think you need to take a few steps back and take a good look at yourself. What is it about Cam that irks you so much? Do you feel threatened by her or something? I'm not sure what your hang ups are regarding her, but you clearly have some issues that you need to get over. I wonder if perhaps you keep commenting just to get a rise out of her. If that's what you're doing then you're pretty pathetic and should consider finding something better to do with your time. I can't imagine that you're too proud of your nasty comments since you're hiding behind the name anonymous. You make yourself come across as not only a very uncharitable person but also a coward. If you're going to continue with your hateful and rude comments perhaps you should man up and put your name on them.
I want to say a little in defence of Anonymous, and I'm going to sound like a jerk in the process, I am sure. I assure you that this isn't my intent. Her comment (as I assume gender based on tone) was likely meant in the nicest way possible, regardless of the implication that you are somehow "extreme".
I'm disappointed, though, that a call for moderation is linked to the idea of a weak faith. Even within the Catholic Church, there are numerous modes of worship. For example, nobody here would ever advocate the adoption of corporal mortification. That refusal to adopt is a form of moderation.
I'm not sure where I sit on the positions of faith these days. I just know that feeling like I "wasn't totally involved" is a big part of the reason why going to Mass on Sunday isn't a pleasurable experience any more... given that that wasn't coming from inside, but without.
That's nothing against the people who are called to covering, or daily mass, or any other form of devotion. I would feel better if I had that sort of call in my life. I'm just saying that not everyone does.
Hi Zach- Some times it helps just to start doing something, a certain devotion, even without a particular draw or "call" to it. I should really write an entire post about how I came into the Church, but I was pretty much an communist agnostic with Buddhist leanings when I started back and what I felt more than a call was a great yawning emptiness. I began to pray and the prayers felt "dry" for lack of a better word. I made myself read the Bible. I felt very little at all from either praying, or studying scripture. I could hardly make myself do it. But I kept on.
Later I began to pray the rosary (long before I was confirmed or made my first communion or confession). There was no immediate transformation. At least not at the time. But that's when things started happening fast, so fast that when I look back I can hardly make sense of it all. Which is one reason I always recommend the rosary as a great devotion.
Do I feel drawn to the rosary? Not really. But, I do know that when I don't pray it daily, life goes downhill fast for me. I don't know if that helps or makes sense. I've been meaning to email you back, so I guess I'll go do that now! God Bless and prayers!
Cam, I sent you an email a few months ago (liberal, lapsed Catholic, etc, etc), and I stand by what I said in that email. I don't share your beliefs, political or religious, but you know what, that's what's great about this country. I can grow up a cradle Catholic, leave the religion of my childhood and embrace atheism, and you can convert as a young adult, embrace your new found faith and choose to practice a more orthodox form than many people, and you know what? We all get to live peacefully alongside one another because your choices don't hurt me and mine don' hurt you. What matters is that you are raising your girls to be compassionate humans, and even though I wouldn't encourage my children to follow a vocation into nun-hood (is that a word? I don't know what else to call it), I think Holy Baby is probably a better toy in this day and age than Barbie, Bratz dolls, and their ilk. A toy that encourages prayerful thinking? Instead of an obsession with new clothes and boys? Egads!
It sounds to me like you and your family have charted a deliberate and thoughtful path through life, and so long as you are happy and your family, be it large or small, are happy, then more power to you. More people could take a lesson from your choice to do with less and embrace modesty and chastity in their lives. You don't have to be a conservative Catholic to think that young women too often give no thought to what their clothes say about them, or that children are a blessing.
My mother always told me that if you feel strongly enough about a topic to write a letter about it, you should feel strongly enough about it to sign your name. If your commentors can't be bothered to do better than "Anonymous", then I wouldn't pay any attention to them at all.
Sincerely, Andrea Houghtaling
prayers for spiritual protection for all His faithful.
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ~Ephesians 6:12
^YES!
I suppose my comment is that yes, all these things aren't currently the trends, but during my parent's generation, they were.
Stole this photo from Archdiocese of Washington's website. Girls are wearing dresses or skirts and have their head covered.
http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/scan0003.jpg
The post discussing the photo says this:
But things changed dramatically around 1970. The photo above right was taken in 1969 at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Canton, Massachusetts. It was the end of an era. Within five years neckties were lost and jeans and a t-shirts came to be the norm. Most of the women as we discussed lost the veil, and dresses gave way to more casual pants suits and then also to other more casual things like jeans etc. Shorts for men and women, unthinkable in previous years also began to appear in church as did tank tops and other beach attire. Within ten years the culture of dressing up for Church was almost wholly abandoned. Now wearing a tie to Church would seem stuffy and formal.
In other words, Cam isn't doing anything unusual. It's traditional if anything.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~Romans 12:2
I'm quite sure, as others have stated, that aiming for what 'most people' do...is not what Christians should be about. And, the suggestion, that a married couple, who are open to life, are treating the 'womb as an assembly line', is the most course, vulgar, offensive, and disquieting thing I have been exposed to in a very long time.
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." ~Psalm 125-3-5
I apologize for the Bible translation; I'm sure it is not the translation of choice for Catholic readers...but, I am an Anglican, who wears a headcovering to Mass...and whose husband isn't the least bit embarrassed by it, but is rather embarrassed that there are Christians out there who would suggest that it is appropriate for a man of God to be embarrassed by a sincere desire to honor the real presence of our Lord, or to show respect toward both the sanctity of womanhood and toward the God ordained leader and protector in her home.
I think you are right Cam; prayer is the most appropriate response. Because, at this point, I'm just terribly irritated at the cruelty.
There's a part of me that wants to respond to Anonymous with "Most Catholics mind their own business about what other people wear or how big their families are." But that would be a bit uncharitable, I fear :)
I think you must be doing a LOT right. Your blog must be doing a lot of good too. Same with your making of snoods. My experience has been that when one is on the right track with God, then attacks of various sorts will come along. I've seen the attacks come from people I would never have thought would behave in such ways. It really comes down to the simple fact that we are on track and if our work is helping others to get on the right track, that these attacks are inevitable.
Honest truth is I have come to the point in life where when I am being attacked, I take it as proof that I'm on the right track and try all the harder. I thought I was a bit nuts the first time I found myself thanking God for abuse! But in my experience it is true that the abuse is an attempt by the devil to get me to stop. So I just pray more, add another Hail Mary, say another Jesus Prayer or Glory Be, and just tell God thank you.
I think it is marvelous that your daughter loves God so passionately! I want my daughter to love her rosary DVD but she isn't all that inclined that way, but I keep praying. One never knows who will fall in love with God later because of early exposures. I just think it is really amazing and wonderful that your daughter found that love early.
The same people who will insist that it should be just fine for a girl to wear a crop top, sandals and short shorts to Mass will have a total cow-fit when another girl wears a long skirt, nice blouse, and a snood to that same Mass. If clothing doesn't matter (usually said in reference to short skirts, or short shorts, or other skimpy sorts of clothing), why attack the girl in the snood?
I think obeying Church teaching on contraception and loving the sacrament of Marriage and the openness to children that includes is minimalist, not extreme. It shows how far from orthodoxy our culture has gotten when minimal obedience to Church teaching is considered extreme.
Well, my husband just cracked me up totally. He listened to me read the "assembly line" comment and he said, "well, I'd just tell that person that they had a really good point and that we'd be sure to reevaluate the number of children we'd planned on once we hit six."
Of course, I do find this response funny, but I once responded to the gals at a population booth at an Earth Day celebration (they were trying to convince anyone walking by to avoid having children) with a smile and a cheerful, "Oh, hubby and I hope to have 8!"
Poor Anonymous. I wonder what happened in her life to make her so bitter and hateful. She does indeed need prayers.
Also, Cam, I recommend turning off anonymous comments, at least temporarily. People who want to take potshots at you shouldn't be able to take the coward's way out by refusing to identify themselves and stand by their words.
I've had a bunch of thoughts churning in my head recently. I'm working on a blog post on it, but one of those thoughts rang like a bell reading anonymous' comment.
Anonymous says "most Catholics" do X, Y, and Z and then tells you to moderate. So, because most people do something, I should to? That is ludicrous! God said to put out into the deep and to be a "Light of the World!" We are called to be Salt of the Earth.... We are called to set the world on fire! God does not ever tell us to look at what everyone else is doing and join ranks!
I'm NOT saying that all the things Anonymous lists are wrong. But the simple fact others are doing them is never a Catholic argument to embrace something. Prayers for Anonymous. Such criteria is no way to live.
Deltaflute - I LOVE that picture! How refreshing to see people dressed for Mass like it matters. I grew up very NON-catholic (lots of jokes against Catholics and all that) and yet in my heart I always felt a draw towards the Catholic church, and in part it was because I had heard how they were so strict about proper dress, head coverings, etc. I am 47, old enough to remember dressing exactly like that picture! LOL!
When I converted to Catholism much later in life (42) I was actually very disappointed to find that veils weren't worn, and the manner of dress was so casual. Seemed to me that the church lost something in the process.. but I suppose that is just my opinion.
Sigh... just thinking... yesterday I flipped on the TV and a dance program came on, one of those "reality shows" about a group of girls in a dance class and attending a competition. This little girl (age 9) was dressed in the skimpiest little bikini style outfit, made up with more makeup than I have ever used, and doing a dance that had some definite sexual undertones. My first reaction was "how very sad", a girl that age should be playing with dolls, not struting and wiggling her bottom at a camera. I'd MUCH rather see little girls dressing as a nun than dressing like Vegas showgirls. And yet, what I was seeing was certainly considered to be a normal thing, just a part of dance class, part of the normal culture, something many Catholic moms might have their daughters enrolled in.
I wasn't Catholic when my daughter was so young, but I wish I had been to even give her that chance to dress as a nun. As a teen, it isn't going to start now....
Some people enjoy doing everything "the hard way" so that they can garner attention for being a martyr. If you couldn't talk about it on your blog, would you even bother doing it?
I've only recently started consistently wearing a head covering at Mass. I've taken the coward's way out, though. It's winter time and here in the north wearing a wool hat at Mass isn't all that odd. I knitted myself a tam out of a wool/silk blend yarn that goes with both of the two skirts that I alternate for wearing to church. Since it's brown (my hair is a graying brown), it doesn't even show up all that much. In our parish there are very few women who even wear hats at Mass, and even fewer who veil. However, hats blend in better than veils, and seem to inspire less reactions that you're behaving "holier than thou." In America when I was growing up, most Catholic women (like their Protestant counterparts) wore hats to church. It was actually considered a little shocking when Jackie Kennedy was seen coming out of Mass wearing a veil. Consequently, the older women in our parish who do maintain the older tradition maintain it with hats. I have absolutely nothing against veils, I think they are lovely. However, I prefer not to be too "singular" at Mass. So hats it's probably going to be. Cam's snoods might work as well, or a Grace Kelly type scarf in the summertime. I just wish that lady's hats weren't so horribly expensive. I had to knit a tam because I simply couldn't find a decent one in any of the stores around here. Take heart, though, ladies. Hats may be making a fashion comeback. I've seen commercials with Diane Keaton in a hat, and after Pippa and William's wedding a lot of people were commenting on the lovely hats.
As little girls, my sister and I always wore hats to our very low Protestant services. In high school, my pastor's wife (new congregation) always wore hats (she had a lovely collection), but after Vatican II hats seemed to go out for Protestants as well. Hats for both men and women seemed to go out of style at some point in the sixties, even though when I was a little girl, no woman would have gone shopping or on any errand without a hat. Hats got relegated to something that you wore only to keep your head warm in the winter, and when I was in high school we seemed to go for the smallest amount of hat possible (ear warmers as opposed to toques). I'm not sure why the fashions changed, but I am sure that C.S. Lewis would have seen something significant in it all. After all he made a huge point about women and hats in That Hideous Strength. Women didn't wear hats all the time, but they certainly wore them when they were out in public. Perhaps Cam is merely the cutting edge of a new trend. I'm sure that the first women who discarded their hats were regarded as radical as well. Perhaps in your daughters' life time hats will make a very welcome comeback.
I second the recommendation for turning off anonymous comments.
Cam,
I'd *love* it if my son suddenly wanted to start wearing vestments and play at saying Mass. :) And the thing is, whenever I say that, people tell me: "no you don't, you want grandchildren." They mean well, but clearly they think that I'm a bit daft if I'd rather have my son become a priest rather than get married.
And I'm a total headcovering convert, mostly because of your good influence! I just wrote in my blog today about how my husband saw that I had taken off the covering I had been wearing, and commented with disappointment that he wished I would wear it to Mass. (I was just in the process of substituting it with one that would stay on my head better). So, yes, there are men out there that think their wives look beautiful when they wear coverings!
If you see a family that is happy, healthy, and holy, what do their idiosyncrasies matter?
Seriously, if the Catholic Church can house the Franciscans, Jesuits (old and new), Dominicans, I.C.K.S.P., F.S.S.P., NeoCat. Way, and the Anglican Ordinariate (all within the Latin Rite alone), surely we have room for families that are not "normal". And with roughly 1.2B Catholics worldwide, I wonder what is a "normal Catholic family"?
I am most certainly not a martyr. Think of the true definition of that word. Pray about it. Pray that we all may be strong enough to give that, if it is asked of us. But let's not bandy the word about lightly, as an insult, and demean it.
You seem to think that I must be unhappy? I love my vocation. I love my life. True I have certainly shared the sorrow of my miscarriage as I've tried to untangle exactly what has been going on, in part because it has been a comfort to receive prayers and converse with other women who have gone through the same thing, but also because it might be what someone who is suffering the same type of loss needs to read, to know that they are not alone.
And to answer your question: if the world were to suddenly become void of technology tomorrow, I would live my life in the same way, albeit with a little less inspiration from the other lovely blogging Mom's that are out there. I blog about the Divine Office, the rosary, modesty, and the sacraments to encourage other men and women who have the same interests. If my blog does not encourage you, if it angers you, why do you hang around? It seems like reading my writing might be a near occasion of sin for you, so maybe you should read something YOU find more edifying.
I remembered you in my rosary this morning when the girls and I were walking. I'm sure after this comment that you'll twist that in some way. But may God Bless you, wherever you are in your journey towards him. And perhaps you could spare a prayer for the rest of us, down here toiling away in the muck of the world.
I've been going back and forth on that too. You see I get so many positive anonymous posts that I'm hesitant to turn it off. But if it gets too much more ugly, I will...
I like your spunk Cam. Keep it up.
As for the headcoverings, "outlandish accessories" :), homeschooling, nun dressed children, and openness to children, well, it looks to me like your on a fun, beautiful, and wholesome path to Heaven.
Don't let 'em bring you down :) Sometimes we need moderation in moderation ; )
Cam - I have LOVED reading your blog! I'm bad at commenting, but I LOVE reading it everyday on my phone's Goodle Reader.
You can switch your blog to approve comments - that way even good Anon comments (or the negative ones you want to address) can be approved and posted. I used to blog LONG ago and have open comments and that just allowed trolls to come looking for attention.
Also, trolls may like coming here because you address their comments and give them power in the drama. If you want to leave your combox open, then maybe just ignore any bad Anon comments and they will go away? That is hard to do...that's why I switched to "approve" only. It's hard to see the negative ones public before I can address them, etc.
That said - obviously you are doing something right to invite trolls, and you are so good at praying for them. When you live outside this world, but in it - the devil wants to target you. So, you are obviously doing the RIGHT thing. I will join you in prayer. Thank you for being you and bless you Cam! I appreciate you!!!
Much love!
VM
I just switched over to closed comments... So... we'll see if that makes a difference...
I can't help but think that someone missed out on some basic elementary lessons here: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. And, more importantly, "If the person in the next pew jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" :)
Cam, you are living your faith and raising your family the way you believe you should. You are not forcing your beliefs on anyone, most certainly not on some anon person online. Don't give "power" to the anonymous snipers in the comments section... if someone wants to have an adult conversation about how their views and yours differ, great, but otherwise, I say you just ignore them. (Ok, and pray for them, too... but I admit that was not my first thought!)
Yeah, feeding the trolls can bring them back a lot quicker, but I have enjoyed reading the posts!
Cam, I have been reading for a while, and each time I see that picture of Sadie in her nun costume, I smile. What I find most beautiful is the pure joy on her face. Your girls, your blog, reflect the joy that resides within you - even in the face of trauma, that joy was still visible to the casual reader (me). This goes beyond happiness, and comes from Him from whom you draw strength: Such beauty when you can see the Lord shine through a person.
I left the Church, turned my back on God, after experiencing a personal trauma and stayed away for nearly 20 years. The beauty of a blog such as yours, is that one realizes there is support available - even if it is only in electronic form. I struggle, I fall, I get back up, I grieve - this is all easier with support: but one must have the strength and courage to ask for help, and the same courage and strength to accept it. Thank you for sharing that part of yourself. It does give others hope, and shows one way into His light.
OH my gosh, how annoying....seriously, I'm mad FOR you. So what if "most" catholic families do or don't do something? MOST catholic families contracept and go to mass once a year at Christmas. So why on earth would you want to follow what "most" catholics do anyway??
"I wonder why Anonymous seems to prize mediocrity in how one lives.
It gets to the point that even straying from the social norm is a bit too rebellious for Anonymous that he feels the need to stamp it out immediately. That of course is doomed to failure.
Mediocrity inspires no one, Anonymouth. And that is why no one will be inspired to listen to you.
~Thomist"
Who said anything about mediocrity? Some people do prize discretion, moderation and humility, but that doesn't make them "mediocre." It makes them "mature."
"KradleKatholic"-
How does living one's faith make a person "indiscrete" or "Immature?" You make connections where non exist. God will not appreciate being "discreet" in our witness or our faith:
'You are light for the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in people's sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven."
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father."
Matthew 6:1
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
Matthew 6:5-6
KradleKatholic-
Thankfully we have the Church to interpret for us, especially for verses like these that would be so easily twistable to say whatever we'd like them to say. He is telling us not to be hypocrites, who only do good so that the world may see it. He's not telling us that we should hide our faith. That's a ridiculous and very un-Catholic, interpretation you're trying to imply.
I'm not going to be posting your comments for much longer, if at all... I don't have an indefinite amount of time to deal with trolls. Just a warning.
KK,
You said earlier:
"Most Catholic families do not have children dressing as nuns, or as Britney Spears, but rather as normal kids. Most Catholic mothers do not wear headcoverings, to Mass, or ever. Most Catholic husbands would be embarrassed to have their wife go out in public dressed in such outlandish accessories. Most Catholic children are not homeschooled. Most Catholic women wear a variety of clothing, including pants and shorts. Most Catholic mothers do not wish to turn their uteri into assembly lines. Moderation, my dear!"
This is a condemnation for not towing the line to acceptable social norms in your deluded world view. My comment in response is that compelling people to live lives of mere mediocrity is doomed to failure because people are naturally drawn to those that inspire them. Your "let's not rock the boat" act (minus the kindness of Christian charity) in complete conformity rhetoric inspires no one.
No one is going to be inspired by you because you are not inspirational, nor do you naturally lead people into wanting to achieve anything better in life.
My guess is that behind a thin facade of quasi-intellectual superiority there is a very unhappy person. One who despite all their self-realized brilliance has lived their life largely unappreciated for their intelligence. LIfe, in general has not panned out as you have hoped. So much so that you linger on Catholic blogs seeking to exercise your intellectual supremacy on those you think are easy cowed and less intelligent than you.
My question is this: If that didn't work the first time you were here, why did you come back?
KradleKatholic - what is so deficient in your own life that you must criticize Cam for how she lives hers ?
Hello, I stumbled onto your blog from the Catholic Answer forums. I have to say that I LOVE the nun birthday and many saints have had this devotion and calling since they were small children. I have 3 beautiful girls and I have learned more from their child like devotion to God the father then anything else. Keep up the good work, she is a reflection of your call to be counter cultural. We home school and call our children (and ourselves) to be better then what society dictates as norm.
Wow, you certainly have gotten some awful comments lately! I dressed up as a nun as a little girl as well, and look at me, I still feel called to the religious life!
Catholics aren't called to be "normal", that doesn't get us anywhere. I've learned that, and I'm much more happy being a social misfit than anything "normal".
I also where skirts and dresses exclusively except for sports and things like that where it would be un-practical. (It would be very hard to ski in a skirt!!), and I make it clear that I do not pass judgment on people who do not do the "skirt thing", because it's just something I've chosen to do, it's a personal conviction that enables me to dress more modestly. Pants are not always immodest, but skirts and dresses can also be immodest, so either way, we just have to choose what we wear with care!
You are happy and it peace because you are following God's Will for your life. You are blessed beyond measure for so few people have found that peace.
We offer up our prayers for this obviously angry and ill at peace heckler.
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