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Hi Losties...If you're interested in a spiritual analysis of the "Lost" finale, please check out my blog post at http://tonyrossi.blogspot.com/2010/05/afterlife-of-lost.html. Feel free to leave a comment. Thanks,
| Center Aims to Give Pregnant College Students True Choice | By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service | | Monday, October 05, 2009 | WASHINGTON —Lacy Dodd, a 33-year-old banking professional and mother of one, knows precisely where supporters and opponents of legal abortion can find common ground.
It's on nearly four acres donated by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey in Belmont, N.C., where Room at the Inn, a Charlotte-based pregnancy resource center, hopes to build the nation's first campus-based maternity and after-care residence for pregnant college students.
Dodd, an alumna of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and a member of the board of directors of Room at the Inn, knows firsthand how daunting it can be for a young woman in college to face an unplanned pregnancy. Back in 1999, she was a Notre Dame senior, pregnant and under pressure to have an abortion from the counselor at a local women's clinic and from her boyfriend, also a Notre Dame senior.
She never considered abortion, and with the help of supportive family and friends is now the proud mother of a 9-year-old daughter, whose name she prefers not to make public.
Dodd told her story to Catholic News Service and to radio listeners on Christopher Closeup, the half-hour weekly radio interview produced by the Christophers, to mark Respect Life Month in October.
The radio interview airs Oct. 4, Respect Life Sunday, at 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. EDT on the Catholic Channel (Sirius 159 and XM 117), on the Relevant Radio network at 2:30 p.m. and online as a podcast at www.christophers.org/CloseupPodcast.
"The great unique thing about our project is that it's nonpartisan, it's an initiative that everyone can support," Dodd told CNS Sept. 29. "Pro-life or pro-choice, if we want women to feel that they have a choice, this is where we can all agree.
"The lack of resources is a huge cause of abortion," she added. "If women feel that they don't have the emotional resources, the financial resources, the educational resources" that they need to choose to give birth, "we can focus on giving them that choice."
Dodd found the resources she needed at pregnancy resource centers in South Bend, Ind., and Clearwater, Fla., and from friends and family, including her twin sister, Amanda, also a Notre Dame senior at the time. She graduated from Notre Dame on schedule with a bachelor's degree in American studies and received her ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
The Army deferred her service until after she gave birth, but then she and her daughter traveled to Giebelstadt Army Airfield in Germany, where her twin sister was stationed with a different unit. When Lacy Todd was deployed to Iraq for three months, Amanda Dodd cared for Lacy's daughter, who attended day care on base.
After five years in the military, Lacy Dodd and her daughter moved to Charlotte, where she "finally had some stability in my life" and "felt called to get involved with a pregnancy resource center." That led her to Room at the Inn, the only Catholic pregnancy resource and maternity after-care facility in Charlotte.
Prompted by studies that showed that most young women do not perceive college campuses as places where pregnant students can get support, even when such resources are actually available, and thanks to the monks' donation of the land in 2005, the Room at the Inn board began a $3 million capital campaign to build a residence that they hope will be a national model for other college campuses.
The facility—which will be open to students at other colleges or vocational schools in the region—will have two residential wings housing up to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers, as well as a chapel, laundry, playroom, kitchen and family-style dining room. Staff members with social work backgrounds will be on duty 24 hours a day.
The capital campaign is about halfway to its $3 million goal, Dodd said, adding that she hopes it will be a model for other Catholic colleges nationwide, including her alma mater, Notre Dame.
She said she is encouraged at the decision by Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, to form a Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life to recommend ways that the university can support the sanctity of life.
"I hope this is an initiative that Father Jenkins' task force will consider, because it would meet the goals of the task force," Dodd said.
"This is a way that campus administrators can start walking the walk to help" pregnant and parenting students, she added. |
| Center Aims to Give Pregnant College Students True Choice | By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service | | Monday, October 05, 2009 | WASHINGTON —Lacy Dodd, a 33-year-old banking professional and mother of one, knows precisely where supporters and opponents of legal abortion can find common ground.
It's on nearly four acres donated by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey in Belmont, N.C., where Room at the Inn, a Charlotte-based pregnancy resource center, hopes to build the nation's first campus-based maternity and after-care residence for pregnant college students.
Dodd, an alumna of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and a member of the board of directors of Room at the Inn, knows firsthand how daunting it can be for a young woman in college to face an unplanned pregnancy. Back in 1999, she was a Notre Dame senior, pregnant and under pressure to have an abortion from the counselor at a local women's clinic and from her boyfriend, also a Notre Dame senior.
She never considered abortion, and with the help of supportive family and friends is now the proud mother of a 9-year-old daughter, whose name she prefers not to make public.
Dodd told her story to Catholic News Service and to radio listeners on Christopher Closeup, the half-hour weekly radio interview produced by the Christophers, to mark Respect Life Month in October.
The radio interview airs Oct. 4, Respect Life Sunday, at 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. EDT on the Catholic Channel (Sirius 159 and XM 117), on the Relevant Radio network at 2:30 p.m. and online as a podcast at www.christophers.org/CloseupPodcast.
"The great unique thing about our project is that it's nonpartisan, it's an initiative that everyone can support," Dodd told CNS Sept. 29. "Pro-life or pro-choice, if we want women to feel that they have a choice, this is where we can all agree.
"The lack of resources is a huge cause of abortion," she added. "If women feel that they don't have the emotional resources, the financial resources, the educational resources" that they need to choose to give birth, "we can focus on giving them that choice."
Dodd found the resources she needed at pregnancy resource centers in South Bend, Ind., and Clearwater, Fla., and from friends and family, including her twin sister, Amanda, also a Notre Dame senior at the time. She graduated from Notre Dame on schedule with a bachelor's degree in American studies and received her ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
The Army deferred her service until after she gave birth, but then she and her daughter traveled to Giebelstadt Army Airfield in Germany, where her twin sister was stationed with a different unit. When Lacy Todd was deployed to Iraq for three months, Amanda Dodd cared for Lacy's daughter, who attended day care on base.
After five years in the military, Lacy Dodd and her daughter moved to Charlotte, where she "finally had some stability in my life" and "felt called to get involved with a pregnancy resource center." That led her to Room at the Inn, the only Catholic pregnancy resource and maternity after-care facility in Charlotte.
Prompted by studies that showed that most young women do not perceive college campuses as places where pregnant students can get support, even when such resources are actually available, and thanks to the monks' donation of the land in 2005, the Room at the Inn board began a $3 million capital campaign to build a residence that they hope will be a national model for other college campuses.
The facility—which will be open to students at other colleges or vocational schools in the region—will have two residential wings housing up to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers, as well as a chapel, laundry, playroom, kitchen and family-style dining room. Staff members with social work backgrounds will be on duty 24 hours a day.
The capital campaign is about halfway to its $3 million goal, Dodd said, adding that she hopes it will be a model for other Catholic colleges nationwide, including her alma mater, Notre Dame.
She said she is encouraged at the decision by Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, to form a Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life to recommend ways that the university can support the sanctity of life.
"I hope this is an initiative that Father Jenkins' task force will consider, because it would meet the goals of the task force," Dodd said.
"This is a way that campus administrators can start walking the walk to help" pregnant and parenting students, she added. |
| Center Aims to Give Pregnant College Students True Choice | By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service | | Monday, October 05, 2009 | WASHINGTON —Lacy Dodd, a 33-year-old banking professional and mother of one, knows precisely where supporters and opponents of legal abortion can find common ground.
It's on nearly four acres donated by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey in Belmont, N.C., where Room at the Inn, a Charlotte-based pregnancy resource center, hopes to build the nation's first campus-based maternity and after-care residence for pregnant college students.
Dodd, an alumna of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and a member of the board of directors of Room at the Inn, knows firsthand how daunting it can be for a young woman in college to face an unplanned pregnancy. Back in 1999, she was a Notre Dame senior, pregnant and under pressure to have an abortion from the counselor at a local women's clinic and from her boyfriend, also a Notre Dame senior.
She never considered abortion, and with the help of supportive family and friends is now the proud mother of a 9-year-old daughter, whose name she prefers not to make public.
Dodd told her story to Catholic News Service and to radio listeners on Christopher Closeup, the half-hour weekly radio interview produced by the Christophers, to mark Respect Life Month in October.
The radio interview airs Oct. 4, Respect Life Sunday, at 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. EDT on the Catholic Channel (Sirius 159 and XM 117), on the Relevant Radio network at 2:30 p.m. and online as a podcast at www.christophers.org/CloseupPodcast.
"The great unique thing about our project is that it's nonpartisan, it's an initiative that everyone can support," Dodd told CNS Sept. 29. "Pro-life or pro-choice, if we want women to feel that they have a choice, this is where we can all agree.
"The lack of resources is a huge cause of abortion," she added. "If women feel that they don't have the emotional resources, the financial resources, the educational resources" that they need to choose to give birth, "we can focus on giving them that choice."
Dodd found the resources she needed at pregnancy resource centers in South Bend, Ind., and Clearwater, Fla., and from friends and family, including her twin sister, Amanda, also a Notre Dame senior at the time. She graduated from Notre Dame on schedule with a bachelor's degree in American studies and received her ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
The Army deferred her service until after she gave birth, but then she and her daughter traveled to Giebelstadt Army Airfield in Germany, where her twin sister was stationed with a different unit. When Lacy Todd was deployed to Iraq for three months, Amanda Dodd cared for Lacy's daughter, who attended day care on base.
After five years in the military, Lacy Dodd and her daughter moved to Charlotte, where she "finally had some stability in my life" and "felt called to get involved with a pregnancy resource center." That led her to Room at the Inn, the only Catholic pregnancy resource and maternity after-care facility in Charlotte.
Prompted by studies that showed that most young women do not perceive college campuses as places where pregnant students can get support, even when such resources are actually available, and thanks to the monks' donation of the land in 2005, the Room at the Inn board began a $3 million capital campaign to build a residence that they hope will be a national model for other college campuses.
The facility—which will be open to students at other colleges or vocational schools in the region—will have two residential wings housing up to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers, as well as a chapel, laundry, playroom, kitchen and family-style dining room. Staff members with social work backgrounds will be on duty 24 hours a day.
The capital campaign is about halfway to its $3 million goal, Dodd said, adding that she hopes it will be a model for other Catholic colleges nationwide, including her alma mater, Notre Dame.
She said she is encouraged at the decision by Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, to form a Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life to recommend ways that the university can support the sanctity of life.
"I hope this is an initiative that Father Jenkins' task force will consider, because it would meet the goals of the task force," Dodd said.
"This is a way that campus administrators can start walking the walk to help" pregnant and parenting students, she added. |
Center Aims to Give Pregnant College Students True Choice | By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service | Monday, October 05, 2009 |
Describing Dean Koontz as a popular author of suspense novels is an understatement. His books have been published in 38 languages and sold more than 400 million copies worldwide. But what I discovered when I read his book Brother Odd a few years ago was that you can enjoy a Koontz story strictly for its engaging writing, characters and plot. But if you read the same story through a spiritual lens, you’ll be able to appreciate it on an even deeper level. I recently had the opportunity to interview Dean Koontz on “Christopher Closeup” full podcast here). Here’s an excerpt: CC: I’ve heard a number of converts to the Catholic faith say that, initially, it wasn’t theological or intellectual arguments that won them over. It was the example of good Catholic people. You had a similar experience in your life. Tell me about that. Dean Koontz: By the time I was going to college, I was looking for a different path from where I had been. Then I began to be drawn to — I wouldn’t say more organized, but a more formalized kind of faith. I did become engaged, more and more as the years went by, by the intellectual rigor that lies behind the Catholic Church. A lot of people will possibly laugh at that but if you know St. Thomas Aquinas and some of the other famous writers of the Church — or laymen who wrote brilliantly from a Catholic perspective like G.K. Chesterton — then you understand what I’m talking about. There is a deep intellectual basis behind it and that always appealed to me.
Check out the video for a fun summer song by one of my all-time favorite American Idol contestants, Brooke White: http://www.idesignprod.com/brookewhite/videostreams/RadioRadio.mov
I'm posting this in response to the conversation going on at Abby's blog about the importance of outward appearance in a relationship. It's an excerpt from an interview with GAC TV host Nan Kelley talking about her battle with cancer, the change chemo made in her appearance, and how her husband responded to it: Nan Kelley: You know, Charlie shaved my head for me when I was losing my hair. It comes out in weird patches and spurts, and it’s frustrating because you have no control over it. So finally I said, “Charlie, I want you to shave my head today.” And Charlie ran into the bathroom and got the scissors and said, “Okay, let’s go!” So we went out to the backyard in broad daylight. I’m crying and it’s emotional. But you have to cut the hair first, you can’t just start shaving. So he starts giving me these haircuts – and he’s no haircutter, trust me (laughs). And he said, “Oh look, a little bob. Look how adorable you are.” And I was like, “Thank you” through tears. Then he goes and gives me this punk, rock-and-roll, messed-up do and he goes, “Oh look at this, that’s funny!” I look in the mirror and go, “That’s pretty wild looking!” Then we get to the shaving part, and by that point I’m laughing. He turned it from tears to laughter. And my head is bald at the end and he says, “Look how beautiful you are.” I don’t know if there will be a more bonding moment in our marriage than that one because he took me from what is trauma for a woman – to lose your hair – to, “Okay, my husband thinks I’m beautiful and he did this for me.” There will never be a more bonding moment than that one.
I entered the "Christopher Closeup" podcast in 2 categories in the Catholic New Media Awards (People's Choice Podcast and Most Spiritual Podcast) so if you've ever listened and liked what you heard, please vote at http://www.catholicnewmediaawards.com/. You have to register but it's free. And unlike "American Idol," you can only vote once:-( Thanks, Tony
 Bob Lesnefsky, a graduate of Franciscan University, found musical success as the award winning Christian rapper Righteous B whose albums include “Get the Kids to Revolt,” “Sweatshop Sessions,” and “How a Wound Bleeds.” But Bob’s true passion – what he considers his vocation – is a program he co-founded called Dirty Vagabond Ministries which currently operates in Steubenville, OH, Queens, NY, and Rochester, NY. I recently had the opportunity to interview Bob on “Christopher Closeup” ( full podcast here). Here are some excerpts: TR: I want to focus on Dirty Vagabond Ministries because I was on your web site and I saw a description where somebody said, “If you want to know how these guys operate, think of Mother Teresa with earrings and tattoos.” So tell me about Dirty Vagabond Ministries. Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: In the most simple description, it’s youth ministry to the inner-city church… We come into a city and make a long-term commitment to that city. We place two urban missionaries there that live among the people. The style of ministry they do we call incarnational ministry; they’re not waiting for people to sign up or show up. They’re going out to them, hitting the streets, and really everything happens in the context of that relationship. TR: Did you grow up in the inner-city yourself? How did your vocation for this develop? Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: I really have no idea to be honest (laughs). God kind of sucker-punched me. I definitely didn’t grow up in the inner-city. I grew up in about as suburban, white, upper-middle-class culture as it gets. Just outside of Philadelphia (is where) I grew up. But when me and my wife started doing youth ministry, we ended up at a little inner-city parish in New York. I didn’t realize how urban it was. About a year into it, we found ourselves in just a whole mess of problems with police there all the time, violence. We were about to quit and leave but something happened where our hearts were changed and we really fell in love with that kind of kid and we felt this is what we wanted to do with our lives. TR: Give me an example of how relational ministry works with the kids. Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: We go up to the projects or a basketball court or we show up at a park with a grill and start grilling hot dogs and feeding people. The first time we maybe just see them, get to know their name. Over weeks or years, it eventually builds relationships and develops into a friendship. It’s much more effective for me to share Christ with someone who considers me their friend than someone who I knock on their door and try to give them a five minute plug. These are people we have an authentic relationship with. There’s an element of trust that happens before we even tell them about God. They begin to see we care for them outside of whether or not they ever come to the church. TR: Bob, on the Dirty Vagabond web site, it says, “We believe the greatest intimacy with Christ is found in the sacramental life of the Church.” A lot of these kids don’t have a foundation of faith, so how do you and your volunteers convey the relevance of the sacramental life of the Church to teens who may not have ever been exposed to anything like that?  Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: It’s difficult. We have a little storefront building; it’s called “Urban Underground.” Kids come in there, there’s a pool table, it’s kind of a fun, cool place. A lot of those kids when they come in, I’ll hear them say, “Yesterday at church…” and they’re talking about coming into our building and hanging out. In some sense, we’re like, “Uh, we’re not church.” We’re trying to bring them to the Church and Christ and the sacraments. But on the other hand, there is something true about what they’re saying. They are experiencing the sacraments in a living way in someone who’s really trying to live that out and be Christ for them...But as far as how we make that tangible, we’ve got an old school bus we drive around every day. We pick kids up. On Sunday, we fill it up and go to Mass. Afterwards we have a big family style meal. So some of it is just exposing them to (the church) which is a little jarring when you’ve never come to church. But there’s a beauty in it too that they’re attracted to. TR: Do you think the fact that they’re lacking in a lot of worldly things opens them up to more spiritual nourishment? Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: Yeah, I think so. I think half of the difficulty in ministry situations is first convincing people of their need. We’re one of the richest countries in the world. We have lots and lots of stuff and things to distract us. When you remove those distractions, you don’t have to spend as much time convincing them that we’re a people who are desperate for God. They’re well aware that they’re desperate. But for them, it’s trying to grab onto anything that can give them satisfaction or fulfillment for the moment. When you can point that in a genuine way (to Christ as) the person that’s going to fill that (need), it’s kind of a beautiful awakening. TR: Bob, in everything I read about your work with Dirty Vagabond Ministries, you cite your wife Kate as helping to create everything. So tell me how did you find this incredible woman who’s so in tune with your life and your faith? Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: It’s all God’s grace. When I met her, we were just good friends. She told me she was going to be a nun. She had already visited some convents. Somehow, we fell in love. My friends always tease me that when I die, I’m going to hell for stealing her from the convent (laugh). But she’s far more holy than I am. The thing I appreciate the most about her is that – in her holiness and in her relationship with Christ, she’s just willing to step into the adventure. She definitely has a missionary heart. She has a very simple heart and a very pure heart for God. So the rest of the stuff of the world and the things that a lot of times we feel like we need, she’s just okay without them. She’s also willing to take the risk of following God’s call wherever that’s been…She’s definitely my better half.
For more information on Dirty Vagabond Ministries, go to www.DirtyVagabond.com. To download the full interview, go to www.christophers.org/closeuppodcast.
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Bob Lesnefsky, a graduate of Franciscan University, found musical success as the award winning Christian rapper Righteous B whose albums include “Get the Kids to Revolt,” “Sweatshop Sessions,” and “How a Wound Bleeds.” But Bob’s true passion – what he considers his vocation – is a program he co-founded called Dirty Vagabond Ministries which currently operates in Steubenville, OH, Queens, NY, and Rochester, NY. I recently had the opportunity to interview Bob on “Christopher Closeup” (full podcast here). Here are some excerpts:
Bob 'Righteous B' Lesnefsky: It’s difficult. We have a little storefront building; it’s called “Urban Underground.” Kids come in there, there’s a pool table, it’s kind of a fun, cool place. A lot of those kids when they come in, I’ll hear them say, “Yesterday at church…” and they’re talking about coming into our building and hanging out. In some sense, we’re like, “Uh, we’re not church.” We’re trying to bring them to the Church and Christ and the sacraments. But on the other hand, there is something true about what they’re saying. They are experiencing the sacraments in a living way in someone who’s really trying to live that out and be Christ for them...But as far as how we make that tangible, we’ve got an old school bus we drive around every day. We pick kids up. On Sunday, we fill it up and go to Mass. Afterwards we have a big family style meal. So some of it is just exposing them to (the church) which is a little jarring when you’ve never come to church. But there’s a beauty in it too that they’re attracted to.