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Lent is a challenging time for me.
At my conservative Catholic high school, it often felt like a competition. Who is fasting the most? Who is giving up the hardest thing? Who is going to Confession? Who is going to Mass the most? It was distant from fostering relationship with God, and so each year as Ash Wednesday dawns, I’m torn between the competitive spirit of high school and my own desire to grow with God.
In college, I rejected the ritual of Lent. Like many who come from a polarized environment, my energy swung the other way. No fasting, no rituals, and no Mass! It wasn’t until last year that I really discovered how Lent is an invitation to grow in the abundance of God’s love and to seek God’s justice in all areas of our lives. Yes, I started going to Mass more, I did fast (not from food/drink, but from social media and negativity), and I participated in rituals not because it was a competition, but because God was inviting me there.
This year, I am energized by the season of Lent. Our 40 Days of Just Words program on social media is reminding me that a season of growing closer to God is a season of forgiveness, of practicing self-care, of seeking out the other, of taking the time to breath in and notice who God is and where God wants us to be. Despite this energy, I am still tempted to perform my Lenten fast by giving up ice cream and pizza rather than engaging the message of the Gospel. So I’ve decided that instead of a limiting fast, I am inviting designated time for reflection and prayer based on our 40 Days of Just Words so I might remember that Lent is so much more than merely giving something up.
I pray this year that anyone who is challenged by the pressure of Lent might be released from the temptation of superficial performances and invited to creative and alternative ways to engage with the Spirit.
Check out 40 Days of Just Words on instagram and facebook :)
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The Just Word
Today, Olga Marina Segura invites us to explore God’s commitment to land and human dignity through the Haitian Revolution against colonization; engage our own Catholic Social teaching themes, made deeper through an understanding of the Haitian Revolution; and embody what the first free, Black republic has to offer us as we struggle to care for ourselves and our lands amid ongoing and violent border struggles worldwide.
"In today’s readings, God establishes a covenant with Noah, promising, 'Never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed.' A promise to never destroy. After the flood, after the deaths of humans, the destruction of land, God promises to never destroy. This feels powerful, our God, deeply moved and full of remorse over the flood’s destruction. The creator of creation, the universe, us, deeply moved and committed to never destroying again. God’s promise is rooted in care and love for not just us, but for the lands that feed us."
Olga Marina Segura is a writer, editor, and the author of Birth of A Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church. She is the founder of the newsletter, Bronx Frontlines, and a co-founder of the multimedia project, Religion in Revolt.
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Catholic Women Preach
Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Diana Marin invites us to enter into the desert spaces of our lives with trust in God:
"This past week we entered into Lent, a season of intentional desert traversing. I like to think of Lent as a skills building time. It’s a desert that is measurable and measured: we know when it begins and when it ends, we know the rules, we know to deepen our prayer, fast, and give. We do this in community. This doesn’t mean it’s not challenging, it is. But it’s a desert that invites us to build spiritual muscles, so that when life wallops us sideways, we can get back on our feet and see, even if it’s only in distant retrospect, that God softened our fall."
Diana Marin serves as the Program Manager, Young Adult Mobilization at Catholic Climate Covenant. She earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages and Literature from Harvard.
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| Join Us for Our 2024 Lenten Retreat! |
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| February 24; 1:00 pm-4:00 pm EST |
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| From Unfathomable Grief to Unsurpassed Joy – Women of Lent and Easter |
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Join FutureChurch on Saturday, February 24th from 1:00 pm- 4:00 pm EST as we welcome author, storyteller, and Episcopal priest, Rev. Lindsay Hardin Freeman, who will guide us on a beautiful journey with Mary and Martha of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, Jesus’ mother. Accompany them as they each offer gifts: sheltering Jesus, standing with him at the Cross, and witnessing the greatest miracle of all — the Resurrection.
This afternoon of reflection at the beginning of Lent will offer presentations from Rev. Hardin Freeman, time for optional small group conversation, and prompts for personal reflection. All are welcome!
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| Upcoming FutureChurch Events |
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February 20 at 7pm ET
Co-Creating Beauty: Queer Bodies and Queer Loves Beyond the Anathemas with Craig Ford, Ph.D.
Dr. Ford's presentation, "Co-Creating Beauty: Queer Bodies and Queer Loves Beyond the Anathemas" explores how our roles as co-creators with God allows for new ways to understand the truth revealed by sexuality and gender identity beyond the boundaries of heteronormativity. Such redeployment of this theological status as co-creator, Ford argues, may provide a pathway beyond the impasse currently experienced at the level of official church teaching with respect to these topics.
Craig A. Ford, Jr., is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Saint Norbert College, where he teaches courses in Christian Ethics, Ecclesiology, and on Race, Gender and Sexuality while also serving as Co-Director for the Peace and Justice Interdisciplinary Minor. He is also on the faculty at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies—hosted at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only Catholic HBCU— where he teaches courses on Black Theology as well as on Topics in Moral Theology from a Black Perspective. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Boston College, Dr. Ford writes on topics at the intersection of queer theory, blac studies, and the Catholic moral tradition. His most recent book project, All of Us: The Future of Catholic Theology From the Perspectives of Queer Theologians of Color is a co-edited volume with Bryan Massingale and Miguel Diaz, drawing scholars and activists from North and South America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and Europe who seek to chart new directions for Catholic theology when the oppressive realities of racism, heteronormativity, and sexism within church and world are engaged equally and fiercely. This volume is currently under contract with Fortress Press.
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February 29 at 7pm ET
Lenten Fasting and Body Hatred: A Feminist Critique with Jessica Coblentz, Ph.D.
Join us as Jessica Coblentz presents on her article “Catholic Fasting Literature in a Context of Body Hatred: A Feminist Critique” in which she argues that the social conditions of misogynistic body hatred and the culture of fasting during Lent perpetuates disordered eating.
Jessica Coblentz, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where her research and teaching focuses on Catholic systematic theology, feminist theologies, and mental health in theological perspective. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and Harvard Divinity School, and received her PhD from Boston College. She was previously a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota, and has taught at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California.
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April 2 at 7pm ET
Mary Magdalene, Her Easter Proclamation, and Why it Matters
On Easter Tuesday this year, FutureChurch Program Associate, Olivia Hastie, will moderate an intergenerational panel of women in scholarship and ministry to explore how Mary Magdalene continues to inspire today, why it is important that we reclaim and tell her true story, and what difference it would make in the lives of people of faith to hear the full story on Easter Sunday.
About our Panelists:
Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ was professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago for 26 years, and is professor emerita from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University. She is the author or editor of many books and articles on topics of New Testament and Early Church.
Laura Boysen-Aragón is the Development Director at the Loyola Institute for Spirituality (LIS) in Orange, CA where she brings to her work a deep commitment to Ignatian spirituality and a faith that seeks justice. Laura has felt a strong call to the priesthood for many years. She continues discerning how to live out that call.
Molly Cahill is an assistant editor at America Media, where she previously completed a one-year media fellowship after her graduation from Boston College. She is passionate about theology, activism, journalism, and the arts.
Martha Ligas is a spiritual director, lay minister, preacher, and educator. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Ministry at Fordham University, serves as pastoral minister at the Community of St. Peter in Cleveland, OH, and is communications coordinator for FutureChurch.
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| Tuesday, March 19, 8 PM ET |
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The ongoing Synod on Synodality calls for the global church to continue deepening its understanding and practice of synodality, and to “listen more to those on the periphery.” As a response to that call, Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR) is hosting “Sharing Our Wisdom: Speaking to the Synod as a Community of Love,” on Tuesday, March 19 at 8 p.m. ET. In a dynamic event inspired by the model of “conversation in the Spirit,” COR will feature testimonies and wisdom from theologians and advocates who are most excluded from the synodal process and documents and community discernment through sharing in a “town hall” format. We are inviting Synod Delegates and members of the USCCB Synod team to attend and listen to the testimonies and comments presented. The event will be facilitated by Dr. Annie Selak, director of Georgetown University’s Women’s Center.
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| Director, Preach all Ways Initiative, Marian University |
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As a part of a diverse community of faculty and staff who represent many faith systems and worldviews, Marian University seeks a Director of the Preach All Ways Initiative to promote their Catholic Franciscan mission and identity by engaging and empowering leaders to develop compelling preaching forms to reach youth navigating major questions of meaning, identity, and relationships. The ideal candidate will be entrepreneurial and have a joy-filled missionary spirit. S/he will be creative, highly organized, opportunity focused, collaborative, and a strong teacher with the ability to empower others in preaching.
See Full Description/Apply Here.
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| Program Director, Mercy Center Burlingame |
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This role is responsible for the creation, development, and oversight of all program functions, and ensuring quality programming in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy charism and Mercy Ministry Corporation values. The Program Director will further the mission of Mercy Center Burlingame through program design, implementation, and evaluation while collaborating with current staff to promote retreats and programs.
Learn More/Apply Here.
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| Executive Director, Centre for Biblical Formation in Jerusalem |
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CBF, affiliated with Notre Dame de Sion (NDS, Rome), promotes understanding of scripture and interfaith peace. It's focus is: the Bible, the People, and the Land. Responsibilities of the job include: Lead CBF, uphold its values, strategize, manage operations, ensure fundraising, and support staff/volunteers.
Learn more here.
To apply, email Sister Margaret Zdunich at director@biblical-program.com.
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| Toward a Constitutively Synodal Church |
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March 2-14, 2024
This March, Boston College is excited to offer its third Intercontinental Massive Online Course (MOOC). This time the MOOC will address the theme Toward a Constitutively Synodal Church. All videos will be facilitated virtually during the month of March 2024 and will be offered at no cost to participants worldwide. Boston College uses a fully online asynchronous format. Lectures which are pre-recorded and available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Polish and German can be watched at any time throughout the month of March
Learn More and Access Recordings Here.
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| Becoming a Synodal Church: A Conversation with Massimo Faggioli and Maureen Sullivan, OP at The Center at Mariandale |
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Saturday, March 23 | 2:00-3:30PM, In-Person or via Zoom
The Roman Catholic Church is engaged in a three-year process of listening and dialogue, “The Synod on the Synodality,” which will conclude in October 2024.
This historic time for Catholicism raises important questions about the future direction of the church. Synodality implies a commitment to dialogue and an openness to voices that have been marginalized. Where is the Church now in the Synod process? What is the impact so far? Where does the Church seem to be moving in preparing for October 2024? What may be the implications for the future of the church if a model of synodality takes root in the leadership and day to day life of the church?
Please join The Center at Mariandale for a discussion with a leading church historian, Massimo Faggioli, and an expert on Vatican II, Maureen Sullivan, OP. This 90-minute session will provide opportunity to learn from key scholars, dialogue with people of the faith, and to ask questions important to you.
Fee: $20 Donation
Register Here.
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| We seek changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life and leadership. |
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FutureChurch is a national 501(c)(3) organization and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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