I love me some podcasts.
Like a lot.
I feel like I am constantly editing what I subscribe to and am always on the hunt for new ideas.
So here is just a sampling of what is new that I am enjoying (plus a couple favorites I cannot seem to do without!)
For The Love with Jen Hatmaker I have seen this one recommended in a few Facebook groups I am in right now. Jen does a 4 guest series rotation on a different topic. She has a variety of guests and discussions on everything from race, culture/spirituality, creative entrepreneurs, speakers, writers, etc. This is one I enjoy having in the background while I am making dinner or getting ready for work in the morning.
The Gathering Place A brand-new podcast put on by Blessed is She. This has such a cozy, homey feel for me. It is only about 30 minutes, but it feels deep and leaves me thinking about the topic without dragging on too long. I love the conversational style and flow, and Jenna and Beth (the co-hosts!) have a different guest on each time to talk on a topic together.
What Should I Read Next? Okay, confession time. I listened to a few episodes of this when it first came out, but I didn't love it. Sorry Anne. BUT, about month ago I gave it another try and this time I am hooked. What I love most?
The crazy, good book recommendations I get and such a wide variety! I lvoe Anne's blog and giving this podcast another try was a good call for me, not to mention my read list continues to grow and grow.
Abiding Together This is a new-ish one to me. I actually heard about the first time from Debbie Herbeck last Fall when she and a team of young adults led the Confirmation retreat at the parish I used to work at.
Led by three women (two married and 1 religious sister), I like the conversational style of this one as well. My favorite episodes so far have been the book study they did over Lent on Henri Nouwen's Life of the Beloved.
SO.good.
Here are two of my favorite oldies:
Up First This one is my companion as I stumble into my kitchen each morning, ground my coffee beans, and get my French Press moving and grooving. Usually around 10 or 12 minutes, it gives a brief recap of the last 24 hours of world news.
Since I do not have a TV (I actually love not having one!), this is a simple way for me to be aware of what the heck is going on in the world these days.
On Being THIS is the podcast I tell everyone and their brother about. I love it. Krista Tippett is the host and has a wide variety of guests and conversations: religion, science, art, creative dreamers and doers, poets, movers and shakers of culture, etc.
This one always leaves me thinking and helps broaden my perspective of people and the world.
What are your favorite newbie or oldie podcasts?
Listening to anything particular good these days?
I can be a bit of a loud person. Growing up, I never loved activities that required me to be sitting down. I was always on the move. I am a big feeler and an even larger verbal processor.
I have sometimes struggled with messages in the Church or from other people that to be female, to be a woman means you have to act a certain way. More specifically, that women are supposed to be mild mannered, gentle, tender, quiet. etc. That somehow quietness is better.
It is almost as if sometimes there is an attitude that particular traits of women are more honored or recognized than others. (Now please don't hear this as a slam or negativity to women who are more quiet or even introverted).
I have often noticed this in the ways our Blessed Mother is talked about. Looking back on my life as a Catholic, I feel the majority of homilies I heard or talks on Mary often were connected back certain traits: her meekness, gentleness, tenderness, etc.
Now there is nothing necessarily wrong with those traits, in some ways I would use those words to describe myself at varying times.
When I think of Mary, I do think of words like tender or gentle (sometimes).
But those are not the only words that come to mind.
I think Mary was brave and courageous. I think she was fierce, and even a strong force in her own way.
Was Mary an introvert or extrovert? Honestly, we'll probably never know this side of Heaven. I like to think she was a mixture of both, and that she was a variety of traits.
There is no one way to be a woman, to be feminine.
It is not a one size fits all.
And similarly, I think there are many words we can use to describe Our Lady.
On this first celebration of a new Marian feast, Pope Francis said in his Monday morning homily:
"The Church is feminine. When this trait is lacking, the Church merely resembles a charitable organization, or a football team; when it is a masculine Church, it sadly becomes a church of old bachelors, incapable of love, incapable of fruitfulness."
And later on:
"The Church is feminine, because it is church and bride: it is feminine. And it is with this attitude that comes from Mary, who is Mother of the Church, with this attitude we can understand this feminine dimension of the Church."
I love hearing the Holy Father speak of this important, dynamic feminine nature of the Church. It needs to be explained and taught more.
To be a woman, to be feminine is not summed up in just a particular phrase or certain words.
Women can be both fierce and tender-hearted, both gentle and passionate. both quiet and spirit-filled.
Here a few places I am finding peace and growth in my understanding what it means to be a woman, to be feminine:
-Edith Stein
-FemCatholic
-The Catholic Feminist Podcast
What are ideas or people helping you understand your role in the Church as a woman? Who is teaching your heart right now and stretching you in your spirit?
I have a good group of trusted friends. Women who I can call any time of the day or who make time to talk and pray with me when I need help or encouragement.
While these women are my earthly sisters, mentors, and friends, over the years there are several holy women whom I consider my "spiritual soul sisters."
These women who have gone before me show me what it means to be a woman seeking the heart of Jesus through my dreams, passions, desires, and creative pursuits.
One such woman is Edith Stein, or St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
Raised in a Jewish home, Edith eventually became an atheist. Highly intelligetn, she went on to study at a univeristy level where she eventually became a lecturer and philosopher. She lived a vibrant, creative as a single woman for a number of years before getting baptized Catholic and eventually entering a Carmelite convent. Her life was cut short when she was sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.
Words I would use to describe her would be smart, articulate, passionate, creative, and self-aware.
Over the last year I have spent more more time reading biographies and writings of Edith Stein; specifically her essays on what it means to be a woman.
In a culture where there are so many mixed messages on what it means to be a woman, Edith offers women words that are beauty and truth on their worth, dignity, and place in the world.
The older I get (I am a young 32 1/2 right now!), I am convinced that women today are hungry for deeper meaning in their lives. We are struggling to understand who we are called and created to be.
And that is why I am so drawn to Edith.
Because she has something to say to each of us, no matter what our state or vocation in life. She challenges us to to embrace and come to a deeper understanding of the essence of who we are as women and how we can make a unique contribution to the world and those around us.
If I had a rally cry for what summarizes what Edith taught and believed it would be, "Woman, Know Thyself!"
One biographer of Edith put it in this way: "Before they can be ready to assist others, women first need to be securely anchored in their own depths."
What we need to possess is an inherent and soul-deep understanding of our dignity and worth as women in the eyes of God.
For Edith, this is only possible in the context of grace and through a life of interior prayer, silence, reflection, and inner detachment from the world. She modeled this in a way for me as a single woman in a way that is practical and non-shaming.
As a writer, lecturer, and philosopher, Edith was a woman of deep thought and her insights from the 1930's are even more relevant and applicable to women today searching for meaning, purpose, and joy.
So Woman (yes you!), know thyself!
Nurture your spirit and soul.
Chase after your creative dreams and pursuits, even if it feels silly, make time for the things that fire you up and bring joy to your life.
Learn about what your charisms are.
Find out your temperament, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram type, and your love languages.
If you need it, go to counseling. Do your own healing work.
Make room for "breathing spaces," as Edith says and take time to rest in God.
Do not wait for your life to "start" until you get married or meet someone.
You are worth the time, energy, and focus of caring for and knowing yourself.
Are there certain ways you are being called to know yourself in a deeper way?
How can this "rediscovery" of yourself help you become more "anchored in your own depth"?
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