Ask Ellen: Can you give me a resource I can use with my family to engage in Mass more fully? Joan

Cavins, produces a great resource every year.  It takes the Sunday readings for a year and creates activities and prayer that you can do as a family.  I have done it with my kids at Sunday dinner and I was pleased to see how much more they understood what was read at Mass after engaging in the activities.

Cycle C begins in Advent so this is the perfect time to buy it and begin.  You can find it at: catholicfamilynight.com.  You can download it and be ready to go when Advent rolls around. 

If you decide to use it with your family, please let me know.  I’d love to be able to share with Emily how it has enriched your family.

- Ask Ellen: I am currently pregnant with our first son and I was as well a teacher (before now)in my previous life, like you. I just wanted to say that I admire your vocation to motherhood, as I find myself constantly praying for wisdom as I embark in this new role. I guess that I was just wondering if you felt like that too when leaving teaching behind.

Thanks so much for getting in touch with me.  Congratulations on your pregnancy.  It is one of the most exciting and terrifying times of your life, I assure you.  I also had very mixed feelings about leaving teaching behind.  I loved my students and coworkers and was very afraid of the isolation of new motherhood.  The first few months were very difficult as I learned about my daughter and adjusted to life away from the workplace.  But I will also tell you that even now, more than 12 years later, I look back on the first few months as the best of my life.  Even though I had a son later and I love him dearly, those first few months of just my baby and me were priceless.

I have not regretted my decision to stay home once.  Sure, some days were lonely and the world doesn't value my choice as much as I did.  But for me and my children it was the right thing to do.  You are ahead of the game as you see motherhood as a vocation.  A life-long one at that.  I will be praying for you as you make the transition.  I hope you will keep in touch and let me know how it goes.

I appreciate your kind words about my work.  I am blessed to be able to do it all from home.

Ask Ellen: You mentioned that you practice Lectio Divina in your podcast interview. Can you tell me more about that? Jay.

Firstly, Jay, thanks for taking the time to listen to the podcast.  I really enjoyed being a guest on Among Women.  If you didn’t get a chance to hear the interview, it can be found here:  http://amongwomenpodcast.blogspot.com/2012/07/among-women-139-conversation-conversion.html

In the interview, I said that Lectio Divina is one of my favorite ways to pray.  Lectio Divina is an ancient Catholic tradition that brings to mind the fascination with New Age mediataion.  Catholics have been practicing meditation for centuries with one major difference fro the New Age stuff that is so popular today: Lectio Divina is centered on God.  In the process you prayerfully use Scripture to enter more deeply into prayer with God.

Before beginning the process, it is important to set aside the space and time.  As I mentioned in the podcast, silence is essential.  That was very difficult for me in the beginning.  There are four stages to Lectio Divina.

The first is simply reading.  Choose a passage of Scripture that interests you.  Read it slowly and prayerfully.  Read it as if God is speaking just to you.

The next step is to meditate on the passage.  Focus on a word or phrase that jumps out at you.  As I mentioned in the podcast, I will often write the phrase down and carry it with me all day.

Next, speak directly to God.  Tell Him what you understood and what was over your head.  Be honest.  Reveal your thoughts and emotions.  Unload what is bothering you.

The last step is to contemplate.  Just be in God’s Presence.  Be open to what HE is saying through the passage and how He is speaking directly into your life.

This is a powerful way to center your day on God and your relationship with Him.  I encourage you to give it a try.

Ask Ellen: Who is the patron saint of art? Anna.

I have to admit, Anna, I had to look this one up.  Officially it is St. Catherine of Bologna.  Her feast day is March 9th.

I think she was named the patron saint of art because she painted the many glorious visions she saw.  She also drew lovely pictures that were contained in manuscripts.

She lived a very private and simple life.  She died when she was 49.  Eighteen days after her death, the people reported a beautiful fragrance around her grave.  It was discovered that her body remained untouched.  It is now housed in the Chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna.  You should get your dad to take you there.  Get some spaghetti while you are there.

A great way to honor St. Catherine would be to have an exhibit of your art on her feast day.  You could have some fun party foods and celebrate the gift of art in your life.

Best Of....Ask Ellen If I am divorced, that means I can’t receive Communion, right? Lisa.

Thanks for the question, Lisa.  This is one of the most misunderstood things in the Church today.  Yes, you can receive Communion if you are divorced.  You may not receive if your marriage hasn’t been annulled and you are involved with or married to someone else.

In the eyes of the Church, a legal divorce does not end the marriage.  It is still a sacramental marriage (meaning a sacrament took place)  So you can receive Communion as you did in your married life. (assuming you are free from any other mortal sins).

The problem becomes when you are involved with someone or remarry without an annulment.  See, cause in the eyes of the Church you are still married to person number one.  Therefore, you aren’t free to marry anyone else. 

In order to do so, you must seek an annulment.  This is a process the Church uses to decide whether or not a sacramental marriage occurred.  Many times and for many reasons it might not have been a sacramental marriage and it is annulled.  This means you are fee to remarry and to continue to receive Communion.  Does that make sense?  If not, I encourage you and anyone else with questions about annulments to ask your parish priest.  If you are unable to do so, contact me and I will put you in touch with someone who can help.

Ask Ellen: Are Catholics even Christians? Julie.

I do not usually answer questions as forcefully as I will this one but it pushes my buttons.  Yes, Catholics are Christians and anyone who told you we aren’t was telling you a lie.  All Catholics believe in Christ which is what defines a Christian.  But there is more to it.

Catholics are different from all other Christians in that we do not belong to a denomination.  All other Christians denominated from Catholicism.  The term “catholic” means “universal.”  From the very beginning, the Church spread universally.  In the Early Church, if you were Christian, you were Catholic.  It was that simple.  That is all there was.

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ Himself.  He made Peter the Rock on which He built the Catholic Church.  This Church is apostolic, meaning it has been passed on through unbroken succession for the last 2000+ years.

All other denominations broke off from this one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church and were founded by a man or woman.

So, yes, Catholic are Christians.  I would go as far as to say the original Christians.

Ask Ellen: What is Gracie's favorite color? Lexi.

What a cute question, Lexi.  A lot of times we see Gracie wearing her school uniform which is a blue plaid.  Do you wear a uniform to school?  If you do, you might agree that it isn’t your favorite thing to wear and might not be a color you would choose.

If you look at the strips, you might notice two things.  For one, Gracie likes her pajamas.  I think comfort is very important.  She also wears pink shirts a lot.  I think Gracie likes to bring color into the world.  Remember when she said she was “a pink candle girl in a purple candle world”?

We will probably see more colors and trends as Gracie grows.  I think she would want you to bring color anywhere you go too.  When you wear a bright color this summer, think of Gracie and smile, ok?

Ask Ellen: How can I keep from being distracted during prayer? Tricia.

Great question, Tricia.  My answer in short is practice, practice, practice.  When I first made the decision to get serious about prayer, I found it nearly impossible to sit still.  A good friend told me that I just needed to sit in the quiet.  This terrified me.  I had always surrounded myself by noise.  I would have the TV on even if I wasn’t in the room and an Ipod blaring upstairs even when I was outside.  I didn’t do silent.  But I believe it was the key in going deeper.

Once you get used to sheer quiet, you begin to open yourself up to what is going on inside of you.  You are able to “pour your troubles out to the Lord” like we saw Hannah do this week.  It becomes easier each time you sit down to pray.

It also carries over to public prayer.  I used to spend my time at Mass people watching.  Once I learned how to pray, I could be in a room full of people and hardly notice.  For me, the quiet was the key.

In fact, I just noticed that I am sitting in my office, typing away and the only noise is from the keys tapping and the birds chirping and I am at peace.

Go, unplug, sit in a chair and be quiet!

Ask Ellen: Why do Catholics use a crucifix and not a regular cross like other Christians? Holly

This is a great question, Holly.  Can you get to Easter morning without going through Good Friday?  I ask because that is what the crucifix represents.  As Catholics, we remember the suffering that was required to bring about the glory of Easter.  We all know that suffering is part of life.  The Church doesn’t want us to overlook the pain and anguish Jesus went through on His way to Glory.  Therefore, we are reminded every time we see a crucifix.  The crucifix is a promise that through our sufferings, we see God.  To take the Corpus off of the Cross, is to take away the power of suffering.  The next time you see a crucifix, think about what Jesus went through for you and bask in the promise that through your sufferings, you will see God.

Ask Ellen If I am divorced, that means I can’t receive Communion, right? Lisa.

Thanks for the question, Lisa.  This is one of the most misunderstood things in the Church today.  Yes, you can receive Communion if you are divorced.  You may not receive if your marriage hasn’t been annulled and you are involved with or married to someone else.

In the eyes of the Church, a legal divorce does not end the marriage.  It is still a sacramental marriage (meaning a sacrament took place)  So you can receive Communion as you did in your married life. (assuming you are free from any other mortal sins).

The problem becomes when you are involved with someone or remarry without an annulment.  See, cause in the eyes of the Church you are still married to person number one.  Therefore, you aren’t free to marry anyone else.

In order to do so, you must seek an annulment.  This is a process the Church uses to decide whether or not a sacramental marriage occurred.  Many times and for many reasons it might not have been a sacramental marriage and it is annulled.  This means you are fee to remarry and to continue to receive Communion.  Does that make sense?  If not, I encourage you and anyone else with questions about annulments to ask your parish priest.  If you are unable to do so, contact me and I will put you in touch with someone who can help.

Ask Ellen: Why do we even bother with the Old Testament? It is so boring. Travis.

Thanks for the honest question, Travis.  Many people share your sentiments.  I know many people have told me that they don’t bother reading the Old Testament.  They believe all they need to know can be found in the New Testament.

While it is true that Jesus came and offered us the way to eternal life, many truths are contained within the Old Testament.  I would go so far as to say, we can’t fully understand Jesus and His words and actions or even our Catholic faith without the Old Testament background.

For instance the full meaning of Jesus as the Lamb of God is wasted without a complete understanding of the stories of Abraham and Isaac and the Exodus.

I think the problem is that people have not been taught the Old Testament in an engaging way.  I was fortunate enough to find “The Bible Timeline” by Jeff Cavins.  http://biblestudyforcatholics.com/catholic-bible/study-information/111/timeline-adventure-story-salvation

I have recommended this study before.  I think it should be run in every parish throughout the country.  It was truly an eye opening experience.  In fact, I invite anyone who has done it, to comment below.  When you study the Old Testament, you see how pregnant it is with meaning.  It literally sheds light on Jesus’ every word and action.

We are also fortunate as Catholics that the Old Testament is read at Mass.  It is not a coincidence that it is paired with a reading from the New Testament and the Gospel.  The three are grouped together for a reason.  If you listen closely, you will see the correlation between the three.

My advice would be study the Old Testament.  Don’t give up on it.

Best of Ask Ellen...

Ask Ellen- What is the apocrypha? -Cindy, NC

Great question, Cindy.  Thanks.  The Apocrypha is a name given by some to the seven books that have been removed from Protestant Bibles.  Catholics do not call these books the Apocrypha because they are part of our Bible.  The books are: Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Baruch, as well as longer versions of Daniel and Esther

To put it in the simplest terms I can, Luther and many after him rejected these books based on the fact that they were not part of the Hebrew Canon at the time of the Reformation.  Most Protestant Bibles do not contain these seven books or have them in section in the back known to them as The Apocrypha.

The Catholic Bible accepts the books for two reasons.  Firstly, the Jewish Canon was not fixed in Jesus’ time.  Therefore, we cannot be completely sure which books were included.  But more importantly, the first Christians, including Paul, used the Septuagint to preach to the Greek-speaking world.  This contained these seven books.  Jesus Himself actually quoted Scripture from the Septuagint.  When the Catholic Church developed its canon it used the Greek translation of the Septuagint that the Apostles and early Church Fathers used which included these books.

If you’d like to learn more about this, I recommend the following article:  http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0120.html

Oh and one more thing that bugs Ask Ellen….If you throw out Maccabees, how do you explain Hanukkah?  It seriously perplexes me.

Ask Ellen: What grades are Anthony and Gracie in? Sophie

Thanks for the question, Sophie.  We haven’t placed them in a grade in the webstrip.  I can tell you that Gracie is in her early elementary school years.  Anthony is slightly older than Gracie, probably about two years.

When the books are published I think you will be able to tell what grade Gracie is in.  In fact, write me again when you figure it out.  OK?

And thanks for following our girl.

What spiritual lesson can we learn from the battle of Jericho?

Ask Ellen: What spiritual lesson can we learn from the battle of Jericho?  Joe.

I saved this question until now.  I thought it would be appropriate since we are in the Book of Joshua.  The spiritual application that I see is the value of liturgical warfare.

The Israelites were up against a formidable opponent.  It was seemingly impossible to bring down the walls of Jericho and lay siege on the city.  Yet the Israelites triumphed.  They answered the battle call with liturgy.  They walk in unified motion, marching around the city.  They blew trumpets as a battle cry and united through music.  And they prayed.

This makes me reflect on what we do at Mass.  We also have a worthy opponent, the world.  Yet we join together with our motions, our words and our music to break down walls.  I think that is the beauty of liturgy.

I encourage you to think about this when you attend Mass this weekend. (especially during this joyous season of Easter).  Pray that you begin to realize the power you have been given through the Liturgy.  Pray that we all do.

How Do Two People Write One Comic Strip? Hannah

Jimmy: How did I get roped in to this? “It's Ask Ellen” not “Ask Ellen AND Jimmy”

Ellen: Well Ellen doesn't do Gracieland by herself, does she?

Jimmy: Not yet.

Ellen:That won't go well, because I can't draw. ANYWAY... in answer to the question...

Jimmy: Well, it's generally started on Skype (Ellen lives in Maine, and I'm in Pennsylvania). Ellen brings a list of possible topics that might make good Gracie ideas. Some are specifically Catholic, some are based on the characters' personalities, and some are just funny ideas.

Ellen: Jimmy ignores at least half of my list, and then focuses on the one or two that interest him. Usually it's the one idea I'm least comfortable with and I end up spending the rest of the week worried about it. I think he does it on purpose! Which now that I think about it, kind of offends me.

Jimmy: Well, if I worried about offending you, we'd still be on the first strip.

(Long Pause)

Ellen: Ahem. ANYWAY... Once we select the topic we want to work on. We play out various scenarios, keeping in mind the personality of the characters.

Jimmy: Right. And we also try to be mindful of which character we've used lately and try to make sure that the whole family gets rotated in and out of the various strips.

Ellen: Once we decide on the structure, we work on the dialogue, which we usually come up with by roleplaying the different characters. Then Jimmy gets his homework (drawing the strip) which he submits to me for approval.

Jimmy: Oh brother!!!! Let's just say I draw the strip, ok? I use blue pencil for the underdrawing, and then ink it with a Windsor & Newton #0 watercolor brush and india ink. That artwork is scanned into Photoshop which I use for coloring. While I'm doing all of this, Ellen takes a nap.

Ellen: My favorite part! When I wake up there are a series of photos Jimmy texted to me showing the artwork in various stages of completion.

Jimmy: Then once the artwork is colored, I upload it to the various places on the internet.

Ellen: And I go off and write the Table Talk Questions.

Jimmy: Easy Peasy.

Ask Ellen: Why do nuns take vows of poverty when priests do not? Adrian

Thank you for another excellent question, Adrian. Most nuns belong to orders.  The orders decide which vows the sisters profess and many include the vow of poverty.

I assume the priests you are referring to are diocesan parish priests.  Many of our parish priests do not belong to any particular order. This is not to say they can’t and some do.  Priests that are not part of a particular order are not required to profess the vow poverty.

However, many priests belong to orders that do include a vow of poverty.  The Jesuits and Franciscans leap to my mind.  These orders (and many others) take a vow of poverty.

To answer your question, each order of nuns and priests determine the vows they profess and often poverty is among them.  A parish priest who is not part of any order is not required to take a vow of poverty.

Ask Ellen: Can a woman who was married but widowed become a nun? Adrian

Thank you for your question, Adrian.  To answer it in its most general sense, yes.  A woman who is widowed is freed from the covenant of marriage.  That means she is able to enter into another covenant either through marriage or entering the convent.

My daughter's teacher is in the process of becoming a sister.  She has grown children and has made the decision to spend the rest of her life as a sister.  It is such a unique and exciting thing for my daughter to see.

I need to add that the final decision on whether a widowed woman could become a nun would belong to the order she sought to join.  A person who is contemplating a vocation to the religious should spend much time in prayer discerning God's will for her life.  I would recommend that she speak to a trusted spiritual advisor.  I would also introduce her to Saint Rita Cassia.  She can inspire and intercede for women who find themselves in the same position that Saint Rita did.  Here is a link for more information on her:  http://www.marypages.com/Rita.htm

Sisters do such great work.  The Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary educated me through twelve years of school.  Their impact on my life is significant.  It is my prayer that more women, no matter what their circumstances in life, open themselves to the call to the religious life.

Ask Ellen Needs Your Help

I need your questions!  What have you always wanted to know about Catholicism or Scripture?  Is there something you'd like to know about Gracieland or the process we use to make it?  No questions should go unanswered.  

Send me a question today.  Go to the Ask Ellen tab on the left side of the page.  At the top of the Ask Ellen page there is a "Submit A Question" tab in blue at the top of the page.  Click on it and fill out the form. 

Thanks in advance for your help.

Ask Ellen: Why do we say “Thanks Be To God” at the end of Mass? Should we really be that happy that Mass is over? Madison, GA

Thanks for your question, Madison.  It does sound like we are happy that Mass is over.  However, we are really thanking God for the opportunity to attend Mass and to be able to bring the blessings Mass gives us to others throughout the week.

Sometimes the responses we use at Mass can seem confusing at first.  If we take the time to think about them and study their meaning we will see how relevant each one is.  “Thanks be to God” is no exception.

This week when the priest announces that Mass has ended, let’s all respond with a joyous “Thanks be to God.”  Then we will take that joy to others in a hurting world.

Ask Ellen: Conclusion of Catholic Social Teachings for Middle School Students

Theme 7:  Care of God’s Creation

We have talked a great deal about caring for each other as part of God’s family.  Students also need to be aware of this requirement of our faith: to care for creation.  I would take the opportunity to ask students what environmental issues plagues us today.  Answers could include: global warming, drilling for oil, protection of wildlife etc.

I would make students aware of the need to protect the resources God has given us.  I would brainstorm ways the class could become involved with protecting their school environment.

The last thing I would address before concluding the series on Catholic Social Teachings is the responsibility of voting with an informed conscience.  Students should realize through this study of the Church’s position that no candidate lines up perfectly with the Church’s standards.  I would encourage them to ask their parents why they choose to vote the way they do.  I would explain to them that this is a life-long responsibility: to vote for people who align themselves as closely as possible to the Church’s teachings.  I would leave them with the realization of how fortunate they are to belong to a Church that doesn’t change its policies to reflect public opinion or to align itself with a particular candidate.  They have been given access to Truth and should measure all they do and support against this Truth.  That is truly a gift.