Consecrated Life in the 21st Century

"When I think of my hope, my dream, and my wish for consecrated life in the 21st century, it is moments of grace such as these that are my source of inspiration--in the present and for the future. Amidst the shadows cast by our divisions and tensions, whether real or perceived, these moments of grace reflect the light that shines upon and through the bonds of affection, solidarity, and mutual concern that continue to hold consecrated persons together in God's love and service to God's people. Amidst the scandals associates with our sins and failures, such moments of grace are manifestations of the good, the true, and the beautiful ways in which God's holy manner of working shines upon and through our charism- an our very lives!" - Sr. Margaret Eletta Guider, O.S.F. "Let Your Life Shine"

C21 Resources Spring 2011
The Vocations of Religious and the Ordained

C21 Quote of the Day

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before people, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14,16

Prophetic Witness

There is much that twenty-first-century women who are Catholic and love their faith tradition find disheartening about the current institutional church. It is disappointing, for example, that the thousands of women who make up a majority of the workforce of the church have little or no voice at ecclesial polity tables... Fortunately, these dispiriting dimensions of Catholic church life in the twenty-first century do not represent the full story... Without a question, some of the most exciting and creative theological work being done on the world stage today is by Catholic women. One hundred years ago, women were not welcome in the theological community of discourse. Fifty years ago, it was still most unusual for a woman to choose theology as a career. But today, in graduate programs throughout the United States, the number of women doing advances theological degrees frequently surpasses that of men. In historically unparalleled ways, women theologians today, solidly trained and choosing theology as their vocation invite us to stand up anew and reclaim the riches of the Catholic tradition in more emancipatory and expansive fashion. This volume gathers many of their voices.  - Colleen M. Griffith

This excerpt is from "Prophetic Witness: Catholic Women's Strategies for Reform". The book is apart of C21's award winning Book Series.  In 2010, this book won first place in the gender category by the Catholic Press Association.

http://bc.edu/church21/publications/c21bookseries/prophetic_witness.html

Passing on the Faith

"Our young people want to see ideals of the Gospel lives in our lives. One of the worst results of the current scandal in the Church can be a cynicism about the call to holiness in the Church. We run the risk of being overwhelmed by the bad example of priests and bishops and need to remind people that there have always been saints and sinners in the Church. The Church's task is to call everyone into conversation. We have our successes and our failures. The saints are the success stories and our young people need to know it. It helps them to see what we, their teachers, are struggling on the same path to holiness. "

"Passing on the Faith"
Most Reverend Sean P. O'Malley, OFM CAP
Archbishop of Boston

The following is an excerpt from the keynote address for a Church in the 21st Century conference held at Boston College on September 16, 2004. A free streaming video of the Archbishop's presentation can be viewed at http://bc.edu/church21/webcast.html

Prayer for the Day

Falling in Love with God
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evening,
how you will spend your weekends,
what you read,
what you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love,
stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

From Crisis to Renewal

Check out the inaugural event for C21 from 2002 on a discussion of Church crisis and the road to renewal.

http://www.bc.edu/church21/webcast.html?09.18.02_From_Crisis_256K_S.mp4#feature-area

For hundreds of C21 webcasts from events that you my have missed, go to the following web address:
http://www.bc.edu/church21/webcast.html#feature-area

Student Apostles

For over a century, Catholic college students have played an important, yet all too often under-appreciated, role in the life of the Church. Inspired by their faith and moved by their youthful idealism, young Catholics have sought to live the gospel in a wide variety of ways- from establishing small faith communities on college campuses to launching national and international campaigns for social justice. Every day around the world, millions of undergraduate and graduate students are living out a truly apostolic vocation, one that is rooted in the call of Christ.  Given the complexity of life today, Catholic students, now more than ever, need to discover this sense of the student vocation. They need to discover what is means to be a follower of Christ. The primary challenge is to empower students to see themselves as active and responsible members of the Christian community. -Kevin Ahern

The following excerpt is from the C21 Resource publication from the Fall of 2010

One of the focal issues for The Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College is "Handing on the Faith to the Next Generation." The center understands the important vocation that students have. C21 lectures, publications and student events such as Agape Latte and Veritas et Venium engage in a conversation about topics related to their lives.

Check out our student corner on our website!
http://www.bc.edu/church21/studentcorner.html