From the WI State Journal Sunday:
He remembers praying the rosary with his family as a middle-school student outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s East Side, which provides abortions. He figures he’s been back 30 or so times, sometimes by himself, other times with friends.
“I pray not only that the institution would close down but also for the women who’ve been affected,” he said. “It saddens my heart to be there, but it’s great to be able to go there and witness and say, ‘There’s another way.’”
Wanta co-leads his school’s [St Ambrose Academy!] Guardians for Life group, whose members hold diaper drives and volunteer at the Sharing Center, a program run through Pregnancy Helpline of Madison. He plans to attend seminary this fall, with hopes of becoming a Catholic priest.
This excerpt is from one of several little profiles in a “Roe v Wade anniversary” series on youth who are either “for abortion rights” or “anti abortion” as seems to be the WSJ’s terminology for being pro abortion or pro life. I know the Wanta family a little bit and was so pleased Michael wants to be a priest. think we are up to 35 seminarians? Phenomenal. Pray for them. These most recent ones have only just applied, though I’d say Michael is a more than promising candidate.
Want to meet some of our other Seminarians?
Where are our future Sisters, though? Certainly there are a few, and every one I’ve known personally with a religious vocation has gone to quite an orthodox and traditional kind of community–but someplace else, not here in our diocese. The fact seems to be that the Sinsinawa Dominicans were our biggest group of local Sisters and they’ve gone off a cliff, and that situation is not going to turn around. There are the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, but they are actually a Secular Institute and not religious Sisters. And there are some other little groups of religious Sisters, anyone know more about these? Please let’s keep a dream alive in the heart for more Sisters again here, some day, even if it might not be soon.
I didn’t know that about the Schoenstatts. I went to school at Queen of Apostles and always thought they were a religious order. They worked beside /with the Pallottines. They wore the nuns outfits. At least some did including our choir teacher. They were not the same as the more free thinking ones that were at Edgewood who butted heads with the local governing Bishops time and again. I can remember even back then thinking they should’ve been held accountable for their words and actions. The Schoenstatts were so sweet though and Godly. At least the ones that worked and taught at our school. And there were ones at Edgewood and throughout the diocese who were too.
I’ve been wondering if we actually have sisters teaching in the private schools like they did when I was growing up. I remember St. Patricks, St. James, Queen of Peace, Blessed Sacrament, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Dennis, Edgewood, even St. Bernards before it closed all had sisters who taught. I thought they still did. I agree with what you are saying. We hear a lot about the Seminarians which is wonderful. It would be inspiring for the girls in the community to have women of grace and virtue to look up to as well. 🙂
PermalinkThe funny thing is that more than a few of the Sinsinawa Sisters, and some of the other religious live like typical Secular Institute members, in their own apartments, with a secular job, and having their own belongings, and wearing no habit. And the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary are the most unusual of Secular Institutes, because they live in community, and they have a uniform they often wear, which they do not say is a habit but they call it their Marian dress. But the Schoenstatt Sisters do not make vows, they do not even make “promises”, I forget they call the commitment they make but I think the idea is that they should continually and sincerely re-commit to that life. I also have always found that the Schoenstatt Sisters are clearly very good Catholics.
I think there are indeed still some religious Sisters around in the Catholic schools etc, I know recently when I went to St James School in the fall to do a “protecting God’s children” training about what to do if you suspect a child is being sexually abused, the training was led by a Sister who was the principal there, I do not know of what Order.
The Society of Jesus Christ the Priest which has the traditional priests from Spain who celebrate both forms of the Mass at St Norbert’s and a couple other parishes, is also a Secular Institute. And I have heard about there being some women members of that Secular Institute in the area, for instance I had heard they were helping at St Ambrose Academy. I know little about that and have not met them, though I would like to.
I definitely think girls need them to look up to as examples of total dedication to Christ and the Church, and we need Sisters for many other reasons too. They also are for us signs pointing to heaven, and an image or icon of the Bride of Christ (the Church).
PermalinkGreat job, Elizabeth! Great job, Michael!
PermalinkDon’t mean to double post but the thought just came up that maybe there are more sisters than we know but they are not interested in bringing attention to themselves because that would go against the nature of their calling. I wish I could articulate it better. I hope it makes sense.
PermalinkI don’t know, many people don’t realize the Church says congregations of Sisters must have a specific religious habit (they seem to have broad leeway about what this is… for some today, their “habit” is just that they all wear a particular medal). The Church actually intends that they be visibly distinct from seculars. If you look at my recent post that had a homily by an Archbishop addressed partly to the superiors of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, he talks about what Canon Law says religious life has to be, including life lived in community and set apart from the world, not withdrawn from being in relationship with people but should be distinct from secular life because it is meant to be a sign and a witness to charity through their life in common. So when they are just invisible that is indicative of a breakdown in the way religious life is lived. Problems like that (that also affect the well being of Sisters themselves) are part of why there was the Apostolic Visitation and the Church has a hope to help communities to get back to an authentic way of religious life.
PermalinkThanks for responding Elizabeth. 🙂 When we were growing up the sisters did live in communities but I know what you mean about how some are off on their own. I knew and cared for one that was just like that. She also had some “progressive” views I actually argued with her about. LOL If you can believe that. Her heart was good but I didn’t and never will understand how you can be a sister and not support the church, it’s leaders and doctrine 100%. In other words, it’s bad enough that we have “Cafeteria Catholics” in our churches, we definitely should not have them in the religious ranks. Thanks, again, for all you do! 🙂
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