tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post8789331986415260083..comments2024-03-05T14:07:28.062-08:00Comments on Ask Sister Mary Martha: Boy Girl Boy GirlSister Mary Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-43595573602255979282010-11-23T11:20:23.854-08:002010-11-23T11:20:23.854-08:00Sister, I, too, have thought about gendered insult...Sister, I, too, have thought about gendered insults. When boys and young men want to hurt each other, they always try to insinuate that the other boy isn't masculine enough.<br /><br />I think that women do the same thing, but in a roundabout way. Women will insult each other's appearances-- "she's fat" for instance. And when women are mostly prized for their physical appearance, calling a girl fat is, in a way, calling her unfeminine. That's my theory, anyway.e.d.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04770627378370469526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-46684259248745521312010-11-22T16:33:03.967-08:002010-11-22T16:33:03.967-08:00mph - my point exactly. What, exactly, have we gai...mph - my point exactly. What, exactly, have we gained from women going against the norm? Planned Parenthood - NOW - abortion - rampant lesbianism - women priests - disobedient nuns/sisters that are so far from the norms of the church that there had to be a visitation - those are just a handful of the uninteded consequences of what started as Women's suffrage (a good thing) and equal pay for equal work. Weeds start out as tiny little plants that look so similar to the plant it will one day strangle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-5310988430665298332010-11-21T20:09:01.403-08:002010-11-21T20:09:01.403-08:00Dear Sister Mary Martha.
I was wondering about a ...Dear Sister Mary Martha. <br />I was wondering about a particular Saint. St Gottschalk. I understand he's the patron of linguists and translators, Linguistics being a hobby of mine. I was wondering why he was the patron of those particular things. I actually guessed Ss. Cyril and Methodius would be patron of linguists, after all, they created an alphabet. <br />Thank you, Dylan.Dylannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-1772258754404672142010-11-21T14:34:28.281-08:002010-11-21T14:34:28.281-08:00The senior cashier at the thrift store where I wor...The senior cashier at the thrift store where I worked in high school was Sister Jeremy, fondly known as Sister J by her largely Protestant or atheist coworkers. I (also a Protestant) had always wondered how in the world a girl got named Jeremy and had never thought of religious names!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-77665091053039023392010-11-21T05:57:30.033-08:002010-11-21T05:57:30.033-08:00Had to laugh because the president of my college w...Had to laugh because the president of my college was named Father Lucey. (Last name, though, not first name.)e.d.http://endingsproject.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-62854269060111739052010-11-21T05:18:27.612-08:002010-11-21T05:18:27.612-08:00Anonymous, I agree about the way things are, but t...Anonymous, I agree about the way things are, but the only reason things did change in regard to womens clothes is because women wore jeans despite peoples attitudes towards it. I'm not saying all change is good or all change is bad for that matter, just that if noone dares go against the norm, nothing will ever change.mphnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-52061888041621723682010-11-19T19:16:38.862-08:002010-11-19T19:16:38.862-08:00I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I think ...I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I think that a man taking a woman's name is rather odd. It's probably more to do with time and customs in our society, but we have to admit this much: when we see a woman in jeans at the local supermarket, we wouldn't give it a second though. But if we saw a man wearing a dress... <br />50-60 years ago, it would have been more unusual to see a woman in jeans. 100 years ago, she would have been thought of as a rebel. Times will change, but until they do, why not stick with male saints for the guys, and female saints for the girls? When we keep 'pushing the envelope' we often find unintended consequences. Just my 2 cents!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-82922769826621505542010-11-18T20:11:39.093-08:002010-11-18T20:11:39.093-08:00The first time I went to daily Mass when it wasn&#...The first time I went to daily Mass when it wasn't a holy day of obligation was on the memorial for St. Pius X, so I didn't have far to look the next spring when I needed a confirmation name; since I'm female, I needed clarification and learned that I needed a saint with no requirement that the saints gender and mine matched.Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15634235894433276073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-79718657607732738242010-11-18T11:36:02.423-08:002010-11-18T11:36:02.423-08:00Our son was born on the date of Blessed Angela Mer...Our son was born on the date of Blessed Angela Merici.<br /><br />His middle name is Merici. We weren't going to be so cruel as to call him Angela.<br /><br />Funny thing though (and I just thought of this now), when we were overseas, the locals kept looking at him and saying "angeli"! because of his curly blond hair!JPhttp://catholicanuck.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-60309168970083256422010-11-18T10:33:34.302-08:002010-11-18T10:33:34.302-08:00I do remember those days. Thinking about my broth...I do remember those days. Thinking about my brother, who has learning disabilities, I remember a mean nun telling my mother at conference "Once a sparrow, always a sparrow" This was in the early fifties. <br /><br /> I can only imagine how special education would have helped him today. He has always been employed and a lower level job, but at least he is self supporting and paying taxes.Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02714440790407126206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-39572054122366980852010-11-18T10:16:38.165-08:002010-11-18T10:16:38.165-08:00i had a Pastor in Brazil who once married a Maria ...i had a Pastor in Brazil who once married a Maria Jose to a Jose Maria...Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17638799349745874062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-38009874325167646802010-11-18T07:37:40.553-08:002010-11-18T07:37:40.553-08:00A layman also comes to mind, the German poet Raine...A layman also comes to mind, the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whose mother was, I understand, a very devout Catholic.rick allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612435616018593956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-44815186370078221372010-11-17T18:30:05.986-08:002010-11-17T18:30:05.986-08:00I know a husband and wife who, when received into ...I know a husband and wife who, when received into the Church together, both chose Therese as their confirmation name! And I'm a woman who chose Jude as my confirmation name. I also have female friends who have chosen Francis and Michael. Yes, it's far less common for a man to choose a female name than vice-versa, but the man of the Therese couple is an example for you.Catherinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-80066148298637955452010-11-17T17:50:17.364-08:002010-11-17T17:50:17.364-08:00I love the way you think.I love the way you think.Donna. Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18393352099473686196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-83389603385834982292010-11-17T17:31:32.519-08:002010-11-17T17:31:32.519-08:00I had a Sister Marilla for music classes. She was ...I had a Sister Marilla for music classes. She was kind, sweet, and brilliant! We used to call her Sister "Mi Re La" because she taught us solfege (do, re, mi, etc.)<br /><br />I'm sure she's still alive, and working wonders with the music students at a wonderful Catholic College in Wisconsin (run by Franciscan Sisters).<br /><br />Catholic School TeacherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-54505820152896882702010-11-17T17:31:23.388-08:002010-11-17T17:31:23.388-08:00Thanks again for a wonderful post, sister. I'm...Thanks again for a wonderful post, sister. I'm only 25 (next week!) but it's always great to hear the reminiscences of the venerable of age.<br /><br />I thought I should point out that the tradition of male religious taking the name of the Blessed Virgin is a lot older and more widespread than the monks of Wyoming. St Jean Marie Vianney for instance wasn't even a religious, he was an ordinary diocesan priest. That said, I don't think men religious generally take the name of any other female saint.<br /><br />As for Japan, the practice of taking a new name at baptism is actually because most of their baptisms (until recent decades) were for adults, and therefore also confirmations. Since baptism (as the moment someone goes from being a pagan to a Christian) is the most memorable of the three sacraments received, people associated the new name with it rather than confirmation.<br /><br />Luke is also Luca in Latin, the language from which they took their transliterations (such as "Yohane" for John).Stella Orientishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15654759332682745087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-43546817969467521272010-11-17T15:36:52.521-08:002010-11-17T15:36:52.521-08:00Thanks so much, Sister! For answering, and for th...Thanks so much, Sister! For answering, and for the laughs. I think she has settled on St. Luke. We recently watched Nun's Story, and I think that's where she got the idea in the first place. Anyway, in Japanese Luke is Luka, which sounds a little more feminine...<br /><br />And, commenting on what Jack said, I have heard of priests with the name Mary, but I have never heard any other female name. On the other hand, I won't officially be Catholic for another three days yet, so what do I know? ;0)Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508033779758406137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-61981234645000341582010-11-17T15:31:20.313-08:002010-11-17T15:31:20.313-08:00After teaching confirmation class to tenth graders...After teaching confirmation class to tenth graders for many years, I have lots of interesting stories about choosing saints' names. Here's one of my favorite moments:<br /><br />A young man by the name of Sam inquired of me, "Can I choose a woman's name for my confirmation name? There's one saint that fits me perfectly, but she's a woman. So, can I do that?"<br /><br />I had to ask...."Who is this saint and why does she fit you so perfectly, Sam?"<br /><br />"She's the patron saint of hopeless causes...St. Jude."<br /><br />I was able to give Sam the happy news that he could choose St. Jude without compromising his masculine name in any way...and I agreed that St. Jude suited him perfectly! LOLdrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-91748194356123614722010-11-17T14:51:38.228-08:002010-11-17T14:51:38.228-08:00Dear Sister -
I would be the LAST person to ever s...Dear Sister -<br />I would be the LAST person to ever suggest a Sister was wrong (that whole ruler thing brings flashbacks), but let's just say that maybe you hadn't gotten the news yet.<br /><br />There are, in fact, male religious who take female names. A prime example are the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (http://www.carmelitemonks.org) who take the name "Mary" in honor of our Blessed Mother. Fr. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified is the prior.<br /><br />Something tells me that this group of guys, braving Wyoming winters in sandals, shaved heads and robes are not a bunch of sissies. They probably don't give a hoot about what we think of their names.<br /><br />Anyway, there's probably other out there too. Meanwhile, I'll go out back and kneel on those peas for a while. Thanks!JACKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437769524164651907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-8694003536546311102010-11-17T14:41:28.578-08:002010-11-17T14:41:28.578-08:00I've actually had a similar question, but sinc...I've actually had a similar question, but since I'm a guy I've been much more hesitant to bring it up. I'm in the RCIA process right now and have been thinking about a confirmation name for a while, but the only saints that have really resonated with me have been female. As a protestant, I was very much drawn to the life and work of Bl. Mother Teresa, and now I find myself fascinated with St. Teresa of Avila as well. I'd pick Teresa in a heartbeat if there weren't a weirdness about a guy picking a girl's name. I'd just like to get your take on that, and if you could think of another male saint whose work closely mirrored that of Bl. Mother Teresa, I'd be happy to hear about it.<br /><br />Thanks.Anonymous Guynoreply@blogger.com