I Am So Much More

"We invoke Christian unity because we we invoke Christ. 

We want to live unity: we want to follow Christ and live in His love."

- Pope Francis via @pontifex

     I am 24 years old. By stereotype, I should have a big ego, be concerned about all the right things, and be a protester in my spare time. At least, this is what the media shows me. But instead I am a Pro-Life, Catholic, feminist woman. To so many, this is an oxymoron, because how can I simply be all four of those things? They do not seem to go together. In fact, it seems impossible that it could be so. But I write this blog post after two weeks of personal reflection and lots of prayer. I feel I need to do this. 

    Yesterday, I traveled down to Washington, D.C. and participated in the Annual March for Life. I was there with a colleague and four students. I was there with my extended family members and my immediate family members. I was there with religious brothers and sisters. I was there with Catholics, Christians and non-Christians. I was there with men, women, and children. And I was there with people who do not share my perspective. There was no violence, there was no harm, there was no hatred. I was surrounded by peace and prayer. And yet, I know that it is so hard for many to support me in what I did yesterday.

     Catholics and Christians who consider themselves Pro-Life have been under fire. I have felt the heat of this fire so directly but not in a harsh way. I see it on the internet, on Facebook and Twitter. Things being shared that say, "Dear 15 year old me, I'm sorry you marched for life," "Pro-Life is only Pro-baby," and my favorite, "Don't call yourself a Christian if you are Pro-Life but not Pro-child" (because I'm not really sure what that means!). I read these, I listen to the perspectives of the authors, and I scroll past. I wonder what happened to these people that gave them such a negative perspective of someone like me. I sometimes think, they can't be talking about me. BUT they are. Even those who once considered themselves Catholic post these things and I wonder, how it got this way. Perhaps it's not direct, but I feel the heat of these misconceptions. 

    Let's go back in my personal history for a second; let me tell you who I was and who I've become. I marched for life as a high school student and as a college student. Each time I only went with a few of my friends, because most of my friends didn't share the same perspective. I was never heckled for this and we never engaged in arguments. I have friends now who may not agree with my perspective and yet, I can respect them and they respect me. I also teach high school Theology, specifically Human Sexuality and Social Justice. Because of my experiences, I would say that this is the perfect position for me. Yet I do so with the understanding that the students who sit before may have warped perspectives of Catholicism, may not be Catholic or may have been in situations that seemingly the church may be against. I teach the doctrine of the Catholic Church with gentleness and compassion. It is not treading lightly, but rather doing all this with Love. 

     Now let's talk Jesus. He's my main dude. My students fondly refer to Him as a hipster because He broke stereotypes left, right and sideways. Yet, He did so with Love. That is my call, our call as Catholics. To preach the Gospel with Love, gentleness and compassion. This is something I remind my students daily, especially as we talk about the tough topics. It seems these days, there are more and more tough topics. 

    Catholics have a core belief called, "Catholic Social Teaching." There are seven pillars of CST and all of the social justice topics that have been mentioned these past few weeks in the news are in there. Being Pro-Life is the basis of this core belief and I'm going to briefly explain what that means in the next few paragraphs. Because truthfully, it hurts my heart to hear and see such a bad reputation given to Pro-Lifers. And since I was part of the age group that was the greatest represented yesterday at the March for Life, I need to. 

    Pro-Life is, by definition, "respect for life from conception to natural death." Now, I could give you the scientific reasoning behind why life begins at conception but I'll refrain; there's enough of that out there. But let's start at the basis of the belief. Historically speaking, Pro-Life is most often paralleled with the Supreme Court Ruling of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in the United States. Yes, the March for Life is the annual march against this ruling. Yes, it began as a movement to protect the unborn. But no, it is not just the abortion issue. Roe v. Wade took place in 1973. Catholic Social Teaching started forming as a core belief with "The Just War Theory" during the Medieval Ages with St. Joan of Arc and continued with documents like Rerum Novarum in 1891 and so on. CST has been around much longer. Being Pro-life has been a Catholic concept for much longer than 44 years. 

    The Just War Theory is just one of many concepts within Catholic Social Teaching that exhibits the Pro-Life atmosphere of the Catholic Church. The Just War Theory states that unless absolutely necessary, after every peaceful approach has been considered and failed, and if a country or community is in extreme danger should war be declared. Thank you, Joan of Arc, for giving us guidelines for war which basically state that at all costs war should be avoided unless deemed absolutely necessary for protection of human beings. 

     In addition to the Just War Theory there are many other beliefs in CST that state concepts like, "welcoming the stranger and the refugee." If countries in power have the means, the space and the power, countries are obligated by moral reasoning to welcome the refugee with open arms and to protect them from the oppressor. We should also be providing a proper wage for all people to live with all their necessities; there should be no struggle because of low wages. There should be proper healthcare available for all people. There should be no segregation. There should be no racism, sexism, ageism. We should protect the environment and by doing so, protect those who rely on the environment (hey, that's us and all humans because we need oxygen). AND. SO. MUCH. MORE. 

     Yet, I fall into the category, because I proclaim myself Pro-Life, that is none of the above. But, I, in fact, very much am Pro-Life in all of these ways and more. I believe that all human beings, regardless of their distinctions, deserve fair treatment, fair wages, fair opportunities, and fair access to life's necessities. I believe this because I AM A PRO-LIFE, CATHOLIC WOMAN! Yes, this is why. Because my faith is my firm foundation and it is a core belief of my faith to live socially just. 

      Now, of course, I know that so many, perhaps, would still argue that I cannot possibly still be a feminist if I am pro-life and Catholic, especially because stereotypically speaking, the Catholic Church appears to be repressive of women. I beg to differ. I have been elevated to such high esteem by my Church for so many reasons. In fact, I would venture to say that I feel liberated by my Catholic faith as a woman, which is not the common perspective. But here is why being Pro-Life, Catholic and Feminist has led me to feel this way. 

     Now I do not have the time or your attention span long enough to put two courses of material summed up in one blog post. But I can say this. My Catholic faith has led me to believe that I deserve better in terms of my sexuality. I deserve better than to be given birth control as my only options for many health problems (especially because it can lead a woman into even more health problems when she and her spouse attempt to conceive a child). It has taught me that I deserve better than the health care provided at Planned Parenthood (so many of my friends have given me first hand accounts of the lack of health care provided but also the unfair treatment and down right cruelty experienced there). It has taught me that I deserve better than to have my self-worth lie solely in my sexual liberation. Finally, it has taught me that I deserve much better and my future daughters (and sons) deserve much better than to be considered choices. Women deserve better, on this I agree. But we must look for what the better actually is. 

    These past two weeks have been so politically charged and I don't think there will be a calm anytime soon. It has been one thing after the next. But I can promise to my God that I will continue to do what I can to further the Pro-Life message. Every life deserves rights but the greatest right is to live a life to it's fullness. This means, the unborn being born, the refugee and the immigrant being welcome, the homeless being housed, the women being given proper healthcare, the environment being protected and so much more. So please, know that I, as a Pro-Life, Catholic, Feminist Woman stand for the betterment of life for all. Please do not put me in a box created by the media. I am not just pro-baby. I am so much more. I am a sanctuary, a living tabernacle of life.

On The Look Out: Maintaining Dignity

"She is clothed in dignity and strength;

she laughs without fear of her future."

- Proverbs 31:25

Picture Courtesy of IU Respect Week 2013
Taken by: Kerry Wagner

     Imagine a group of people sitting around a cafeteria table, or standing around after class in the hallway, or sometimes even after church services on Sunday. It's not something hard to imagine. Perhaps we can even picture ourselves in that group of people. People congregate all the time and what do they do when they do but talk. Sometimes they chat over the weather, recent changes in life, or really anything to keep a conversation going. But on occasion, it's not always the little things being chatted about. Sometimes, just sometimes (a small hint at sarcasm here), the topic of conversation is another person. 

     I can remember a moment from my grade school days so clearly, that I didn't think about until just this past week. We must have been at an anti-bullying seminar or maybe we were talking about it in the classroom. But I remember this question being posed: if you were with a group of friends and they were talking about someone, would you stop them? I remember sincerely struggling and grappling with the question at probably only ten or eleven years of age. I think that's when my love for moral theology was planted. Of course, I think then I was struggling so much with the question because usually I was the one being talked about. It's a rough life when you're well-behaved and introverted, let me tell you. But I think the more I thought about the question, the more I said, yes. I would definitely speak up for the voiceless. 

      Growing up as a product of a very deeply religious and outspoken Catholic family, I learned that the voiceless were the unborn, the homeless, the marginalized. It came as second nature to say that abortion was against my beliefs, and that we had to always bring in food for the food drives to help with the homeless outreach. I remember hearing stories of my grandmother doing radical things to speak up for the unborn and I love those stories. I remember how all the BIG NAME ITEMS were the topics of respecting human dignity. You know, all the big controversial topics = human dignity. But then I started studying morality. That's when I realized that dignity doesn't just concern those big topics of discussion, but the little things, too. Like that question posed to me and my classmates in grade school. 

       This past week, all of these memories of proclaiming human dignity came back to mind. I remember someone saying to me once that I should be honored when I find my name the topic of conversation among others because it means they have nothing better to do than talk about ME. Oh yes, it's flattering really, when your name is on everyone's tongues for seemingly negative reasons. Instead of feeling honored, as it was suggested, I decided to prove the rumors, the talking, false without directly addressing the topic. That became exhausting so I decided to not care. That was so insanely liberating and freeing. Not caring about what others were saying. Wow. I adapted the philosophy of believing that anyone who knew me and actually cared about wouldn't believe the rumors. This is nice, this is so so so nice. 

      But this isn't a post about my woes and anguishes. This is about the dignity of another person. I was sitting in the car when it hit me. Every time we talk poorly of another person, or we spread rumors, OR we even believe a rumor, we lessen a person's dignity. We have no idea what a person may be experiencing in their lives and yet, if we believe a rumor, or talk about that person, we are automatically lessening their human dignity. The worst part is that more often than not, the person being talked about, has no clue. Name calling, spreading rumors, talking about people. It all seems so elementary, doesn't it? Yet, it happens in high school, it happens in college, it happens in the work force, it happens about the older generations. It happens everywhere despite the fact that it is such an elementary concept. Let me tell you a story:

        The other day I posted this status: "I  think something we all need to keep in mind is that we take away the dignity of another person when we participate in gossip or rumor spreading. The truth is, we don't know where another person is in their life nor do we know their struggle. So perhaps we should lighten the burden and proclaim human dignity instead of talking about others. We should be looking out for and protecting our brothers and sisters not looking to lessen their human dignity." I had been really thinking about how much we take away from another's dignity simply by discussing "their image" or their actions. We lessen another's dignity when we talk poorly of them, when we simply discuss their lives by our own judgments. Something had provoked this sudden outspoken post and I expected many to brush it aside BUT the conversation it began seemed beautiful. Those who commented were among the elder wisdomatic figures in my life and each seemed to agree that life would be different if we simply thought about another person's dignity before we engaged in a conversation. That was when I realized that this issue isn't something among young people, but among young and old alike. 

       It's something we all need to stop and think about. Gossip is part of day to day life. It's inevitable that people will talk and I don't think we are anywhere close to eliminating this issue, but we can lessen it by our own actions. I will start with myself. I know I will find myself in group situations and I know gossip, rumors, or talking will occur, but I must find it within myself to refrain and even suggest a change of topic. When we participate in these belittling actions, we take away from the dignity of another person. We perhaps slowly destroy an image, we judge another's mistakes or actions without remembering that we, too, are flawed. 

      So I think back to the question addressed to me as a grade school student: if you were with a group of friends and they were talking about someone, would you stop them? Would I let one person rob another of his or her dignity? Would I allow the voiceless to go on being voiceless? Would I continue to let others destroy an image of someone simply by their words? Or would I stop it? And would I even allow myself to be in a situation where the dignity of another could be the topic of conversation? Can I allow myself to be surrounded by people who abuse their gift of words and use them to take away another's dignity? 

      My job, your job, our job together, is to be on the look out. We need to look out for and protect our voiceless brothers and sisters when their dignity is in question. We must remember that Jesus loves despite flaws and imperfections. We must remember that Jesus would stop a destruction of dignity. We must remember that as we are brothers and sisters, we must stand up for one another and protect each other. We must build up instead of destroy each others' human dignity because we each are worthy of love and dignity. Truth. 

"Think good thoughts and sunbeams will shine out of your face.

You will always be lovely."

- Roald Dahl

I Survived Death Roe...Bea's Pro-Life Story

   If you were born after January 22, 1973, you have done an incredible feat. You have survived DEATH ROE! Most people have commonly heard the term Roe V. Wade and they know what it stands for. It was the event that LEGALIZED abortions in the US (oh what HORROR!!!) But most people don't know that, "Roe," Norma L. McCorvey, the woman for whom the bill was passed is now Pro-Life, regrets her decision to abort her unborn baby and now speaks all over the US. Maybe you've heard of Gianna Jessen, the woman who survived a saline solution abortion in the 7th month of her mother's pregnancy. And how about, Lila Rose, the college student who sneaks into Abortion Clinics and exposes cases of abuse. She is the founder of Live Action, her pro-life movement. These are all among the most well known, pro-life names. And yet, while all are such inspirations to me, there's one woman who tops it all: Beatrice Gutherman. Yep, my grandmother. 

    Mother of eleven children, she was the epitome of CATHOLIC FAMILY during her time. She was a stay-at-home mother who was involved in both the school of her children and the family Parish. Among all the things she did, her biggest fight was the fight for the right for life. Rumor has it, she was arrested twice and yet, never convicted for being a passive protester outside of Planned Parenthood. Rumor also has it that she told every young woman entering the Planned Parenthood that she would adopt her baby if she went through with the pregnancy. In the end, Bea never had to adopt any other children because those women, touched by her prayers and sincerity, always went through with their pregnancies and kept their babies. Rumor also has it that her Pro-life legacy lives on. Ok, so the first two are really true facts given to me by my Daddy and the last one, that's true, too, because I carry on her legacy. 

      I never knew Bea, but whenever I'm getting ready to fight for the right to life, I beg her intercession. Whenever I'm praying outside Planned Parenthood or Marching for Life, like I did Monday, I feel her presence with me. There's so much of my grandmother I wish I knew and yet, I've heard so many stories that I feel like she's my best friend. When I finally decided to discern the religious life, Bea was the one I wanted to talk to; no one else. I wanted Bea's opinion on it and I wanted her to be proud of me. From what my uncles' say, she'd be more than proud of me. I wanted Bea to hold my hand during Mass, or come visit me at school, or drive me to retreat, or pray with me, or even just sit and chat. Heck, I'd do anything if I could just get a hug from Bea and maybe it's asking too much, but a kiss on the cheek would be pretty great, too. There is SO MUCH I wish to have had from Bea, because I know I am her grandchild, her legacy and her pride and joy. And on nights like tonight, when my world seems to be crashing down, and I am doubting everything, I wish I could call Bea up and talk to her, have her pray for and with me, and maybe she'd visit me tomorrow if she could...if she was here. Maybe she'd make me skip classes and walk with me all day and let me cry with her arms wrapped around me. And while I may never know what Bea would have said to me about my discernment or my fights for the Catholic Church, I still feel her peaceful presence with me. And while I never knew her in this life, her life lives on through me and my legacy that I will leave on this earth. And in the long run, SHE is the very reason I am a Death Roe survivor. My Pro-Life story is her Pro-Life story and her legacy is my legacy.