Secretum Meum Mihi means “My secret is mine”

Secretum Meum Mihi

Volume 2, Number 2 October 2007

A Newsletter for Catholic Women

Copyright 2007 All rights reserved Secretum Meum Mihi Presswww. MySecretisMine.com P.O. Box 1501info@mysecretismine.com Great Falls, MT 59403-1501

ST. JEROME ANDSS. PAULA and EUSTOCHIUM

Feature Essay: Page 1Laying Down Your Life for a Friend

Interview: Page 3Amy Uelmen: Loving Jesus at the Office

Scripture Study: Page 5I Corinthians 12:4-13

Many Gifts, One Lord to Serve

Prayer Intentions: Page 6For Women and Their Careers

Historical Sketch: Page 7Jerome’s Temper

Book Review: Page 8 My Antonia,

by Willa Cather

Laying Down Your Life for a Friend

The young widow Paula and her daughter Julia Eustochium and a company of ascetic virgins abruptly left Rome in 385. Their friend Jerome quit the city a month previous, and discreetly awaited them in Cyprus. The gossips in Rome were correct; the group was headed to Palestine, together. They eventually settled in Bethlehem, and established two monasteries, including a scriptorium for Jerome’s intellectual work, and schools for both the monks and the nuns.

The tongues wagged for a reason. Jerome’s tactlessness alienated many matrons in the city after his arrival in 381 to serve as a scribe for Pope Damasus. He quickly made a name for himself, and the pope weighted his service highly as an ascetic and a scripture expert. His extensive travels and experience as a hermit in the wilds near Antioch further added to his exotic cache. He was of an age to be noticed, at the top of his game.

Paula was descended from prominent Roman families, and had lost her husband in 379 at the young age of 32. She begged Jerome to teach the scriptures at her home, where like-minded virgins gathered to support one another in a sacrificial lifestyle.

(continued on page two)

Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta ) was a Jew who became Catholic in 1922 after reading

the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. When

asked why she converted, she wrote, “secretum

meum mihi.” She became a Carmelite in 1934, but

perished in Auschwitz. Her feast is August 9.

Patient and detail-oriented, Paula mastered Hebrew so well that she could chant the Psalms in Hebrew without a Latin accent. But her accomplishments merely egged on their detractors: an old man tutoring young virgins, wasting his time on women, “studying the scriptures.”

Jerome appreciated Paula’s zeal and spiritual insights to the scriptures, while she revered his accomplishments as a scholar. They were indeed soul-mates, though not in the way that lascivious Roman minds thought.

Jerome’s true passion was scholarship, and notwithstanding his devotion to ascetical practices, his sanctity developed from his studies. During his travels throughout the empire, Jerome listened and studied the languages and dialects, and made friends with native speakers. When he finally settled in Bethlehem, he was prepared to begin his life’s achievement, the translation of the original Hebrew Bible into Latin to produce the Vulgate Bible.

Although Paula handled most of the logistical details of building the monasteries, Jerome did teach the monks and nuns to read the Scriptures, and even taught young boys the classical Latin texts, work that he found most satisfying. Paula didn’t do all of his copywork; he received stipends for copyists from benefactors.

Paula’s provided a safe house for Jerome. She lived the ideals he so zealously promoted throughout his career. In return, he provided an outlet for her intellect and wealth. In keeping with their spiritual friendship, he curbed some of her more excessive penances. It is doubtful that he would have finished his translation of the Vulgate without her stabilizing influence.

Page 2 October 2007

Jerome stopped writing for several months after her death in 404 at the age of 56. He was simply speechless. Eventually, with Eustochium taking the reins of the monastic leadership, he finished the last few books of his Vulgate translation. When Eustochium also died in 418, Jerome was again completely undone. His grief drips from the words of his letters, until his own death two years later.

Did Jerome merely use Paula and Eustochium to further his own intellectual accomplishments? Or did he honor their sacrifices by serving the Church with a Vulgate translation and treatises on monasticism that presaged the work of Benedict? We won’t know about the fairness factor this side of the veil. However, we do have the record of a doctor of the Church taunting his male detractors with the fact that Paula and Eustochium were better Hebrew scholars than most men of his acquaintance.

Who’s zoomin’ who? Is it oppression to provide a place for souls to rest, or to spend a lifetime helping another gifted man to achieve brilliant successes? Edith Stein says, “...whoever makes her will captive to God in this way can be certain of a special guidance in grace.” (Essays on Woman, p. 124) Heroic sanctity attracted many followers to their desert abode, proof of such guidance.

Although the Church celebrates only Jerome’s contribution to biblical scholarship, I fully expect the Bibles in heaven to bear the following inscription: to the saints Paula and Eustochium, who birthed the Vulgate.

Yours, because His,

Page 3 October 2007

(Amy Uelmen is the Director of the Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work at Fordham University. Formerly an associate at large law firm, she also is a consecrated member of the Focolare community house in New York City.)

Kristen: Where did you grow up? Amy: I grew up in Los Angeles, and then headed east for college and law school and then pretty much stayed east.

Kristen: And your family was Catholic?Amy: Yes. We went to Catholic school and were very active in our local parish. But the fabric of my spirituality comes from the Focolare Movement, a set of strong ideas that has permeated how I think about myself and my faith. We got involved in Focolare when I was 8 years old. Later, a Focolare house opened in L.A. and my sister and I were very involved with the youth there.

Kristen: What is the Focolare movement?Amy: It’s an ecclesial movement started by Chiara Lubich. The overarching core of Unity plays itself out in many levels. There is a strong emphasis on building relationships of mutual love, and on that verse in the gospel of Matthew, “where two or three are gathered, there I am in their midst.” This presence of Christ in the community helps us to find a way to love all kinds of people. Focolare is well known for ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.

Kristen: Where did you attend college?Amy: First I attended Georgetown University, and then GU Law School, and then I spent two and a half years in Italy and Switzerland

attending a program of formation for living in a Focolare community house.

The break was super healthy and a way of soaking in an alternative perspective. It was a tremendous strength coming into a high pressure work environment. That’s where I got the guts to buck the tide of some aspects of firm culture.

Kristen: Was the actual practice of law a real shock to you?Amy: (laughs) Well, we should make distinctions. Any kid coming out of school finds the change from college to the work world challenging.

But, yes, the context of working for law firms is hard, and I think it’s getting worse. The system of making money for the firm is billable hours. Time is money. That’s where the rewards are perceived to be.

Kristen: How long did you work as an associate?Amy: I was there three years full time, and then I went part-time.

Kristen West McGuire interviews Amy Uelmen onLoving Jesus Even in the Office

Page 4 October 2007

Kristen: But don’t conflicts arise in community?Amy: When conflicts arise, the question often becomes, “How can we grow in accepting and loving each other as we are?” It means discovering all of the ways in which we are a gift to each other. Discovering God’s love brings a ray of hope to so many circumstances. Transforming what you have already in your life, that is the raw material to be permeated by God’s love.

Amy Uelmen’sFavorite Quote“This is the great attractionof modern times:to penetrate the highest contemplationwhile mingling with everyone,one person alongside others.I would say even more:to lose oneself in the crowdin order to fill it with the divine,like a piece of bread dipped in wine.I would say even more:made sharers in God’s plansfor humanity,to embroider patterns of light on the crowd, and at the same time to share with our neighbor shame, hunger, troubles, brief joys.Because the attraction of our times, as of all times, is the highest conceivable expression of the human and the divine, Jesus and Mary:the Word of God, a carpenter’s son;the Seat of Wisdom, a mother at home.” -- Chiara Lubich, Essential Writings: Spirituality, Dialogue, Culture (New City Press 2007), p.169.

Kristen: What?! Now wait, you’re not married, and you don’t have children, and you live in a Focolare community house. Why go part-time?Amy: My reason was to reclaim space for aspects in my life other than work. My colleagues were mystified. I think it ties in with this sense of identity that people invest in their work. There are ways to work through the economics of going part-time, but the greatest tensions to work through are cultural. An eighty hour work week does not allow for a broader sense of identity.

Kristen: Was your move frightening or freeing?Amy: As long as the reference point is only about balance, you have competing priorities, and that can be frightening. When you work in a strong all-absorbing cultural context, you need an alternative frame of reference, which for me was love. It’s not about balance so much as letting love permeate everything you do. And that’s freeing.

Kristen: How do you manage professional relationships differently now? Amy: In having love as a focal point, it helps me to see when to challenge others to grow, and at the same time love also suggests when to stay in the background, rejoicing in the ways that others can be more and do more.

This applies to life in community, too. ere is simplicity in seeing how love can transform everyone and everything we do. Focolare communities welcome everybody: doctors to plumbers to housewives, lots of education to little education, Republicans and Democrats. Everyone can set out on the journey and experience God’s love and respond to it.

Page 5 October 2007

Bible Study: Many Gifts and Talents, ButOnly One Lord to Serve

I Corinthians 12:4-13

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God

who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and

to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy,

to another the ability to distinguish between spirits,

to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and

all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

(Revised Standard Version)

Context: St. Paul was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey when he received word that the Corinthian church had “issues.” Its membership was quite diverse, so much so that many members were literate enough to seek their own answers to some of the questions they posed to Paul. This passage on the unity of the “Body of Christ” comes after a key section on the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the faithful Christian.

Translation: St. Paul was a typical Jewish Pharisee of his day. He read the Old Testament in the Greek Septuagint, but his written Greek betrayed his Hebraic origins. St. Jerome later complained of his lack of elegance as a Greek stylist. His theological insights, however, were first-rate.

Vocabulary:gifts: Greek charisma - a spiritual endowment, given by Godservice: Greek diakonia attendance as a servant, aid, service, ministryworking: Greek energema – an effect, result of working, or operations that have effects, derived from energeo to be active, effectual, to just do it!utterance: Greek logos the word as in spoken word (refers to Word in John 1)wisdom: Greek sophia wisdom won through skill; insight; understandingknowledge: Greek gnosis, spiritual/experiential aspect of knowledge, connotes a systematic treatment or a proof

Prayer Intentions: Pray for Women and Their Careers

Women enjoy a wider array of career opportunities today than in any time in history. At the same time, women struggle to balance the demands of work and the demands of personal priorities such as religious observance, spouse and children, and mundane household tasks. Many women solve their time crunches by following non-traditional career paths.

But this strategy rarely ends up in the corner office, in terms of prestige and salary. To “on-ramp” back into the “nine to five” grind after taking time off for family needs, women sometimes end up working as support staff. No wonder the number of women entrepreneurs is double that of men! The juggling act will continue, as the baby boomers age and their children struggle with caregiving responsibilities. Companies looking to hire and retain high quality women employees will have to adapt their workplace policies accordingly if they want to retain their white collar workers.

The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) is the world’s largest association for support staff. They provide research on office trends, access to educational resources and personal support through local chapters. www.iaap-hq.org.

For nearly 50 years, Catalyst has supported women in the workplace. They provide information and data about women at work, and honor business initiatives that promote women’s leadership. http://www.catalystwomen.org/

Page 6 October 2007

Meditation

There are indeed talented Christians out there, and the gifts strewn at the altar are amazingly diverse. It’s easy to see how disputes might arise about the relative worth of the gifts, and even the givers. Humility is a necessary gift from every giver.

In many parishes, about ten percent of the people do ninety percent of the work. But is it fair to say that the rest are merely freeloading off the efforts of the few? Sometimes. But what if the “work” simply isn’t suited to the gifts that the other members bring to the altar? What if we are missing out on many gifts, simply because the frenetic pace of modern life is keeping us ignorant of the gifts that others are too busy or too overwhelmed to share?

If God wants the job done, He’ll send the workers to the vineyard. But we must be sure that the hours of the vineyard are conducive to work, and that the overseers are sensitive to the needs of the workers. And, sometimes, we might have to redefine “necessary work.” Will we spend less time in purgatory if the annual chicken dinner gets bumped off the calendar one year? I’m not sure, but it’s worth asking the question.

Discussion Questions1. Have you ever felt that your gifts were not appreciated in the parish? Has Jesus helped you find somewhere else to share your gifts?

2. The unity we seek is offered to us in the love of Christ Jesus. Thank someone in your parish this week for his/her gifts, especially if you suspect that the person often isn’t noticed. Then, pray for unity in your parish, whether it already exists or not.

Page 7 October 2007

Historical Sketch: Jerome’s Temper

When you consider the nasty personal insults Jerome wrote during his long years of scholarship, the friends he managed to keep are notable evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. For example, he sent St. Paula a letter rebuking her for her lack of faith in the resurrection while mourning the death of her daughter Blaesilla in 384:

“When you were carried fainting out of the funeral procession, whispers such as these were audible in the crowd. “She weeps for her daughter, killed with fasting. She wanted her to marry again, that she might have grandchildren. How long must we refrain from driving these detestable monks out of Rome...They have misled this unhappy lady; that she is not a nun from choice is clear. No heathen mother ever wept for her children as she does for Blæsilla.” What sorrow...Christ endured when He listened to such words as these!”

Their departure from Rome in 385 was in part due to the blistering caricatures he composed about the immorality he saw in Rome:

“Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when (as often happens) they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder. Yet it is these who say: “’Unto the pure all things are pure;’ Titus 1:15 my conscience is sufficient guide for me. ...And when they see another pale or sad they call her “wretch” or “Manichaen;” quite logically, indeed, for on their principles fasting involves heresy. When they go out they do their best to attract notice, and with nods and winks encourage troops of young fellows to follow them. Of each and all of these the prophet’s words are true: “You have a whore’s forehead; you refuse to be ashamed.” (Letter to Eustochium, 384)

The International Institute for Women Entrepreneurs (IIWE) at the College of St. Catherine in Minneapolis helps women entrepreneurs with business growth, professional and personal development, and providing opportunities for student involvement in entrepreneurship.

h t tp : / /m in e rva . s t ka t e . edu / o f f i c e s /administrative/iiwe.nsf

Lord, let us pray:* for women in the workplace, that their temporal success would inspire other women to dream bigger dreams;

* for women who earnestly seek a better job for the sake of the personal priorities they cherish, that they would find opportunities;

* for the men in the lives of women workers, that they would encourage the development and application of all the talents of their beloved, at home and at work;

* for those women who are discouraged in the workplace, and feel trapped, that they might find encouragement and support in other venues;

* for younger women just starting out in their careers, that they would find mentors who respect the spirituality of a Catholis woman;

* for all women, that they would be paid an equitable wage with men, and

* that the Catholic Church would explore expanded leadership roles for women, within the parameters that are open to them.

Amen.

Page 8 October 2007

Jerome was a first-rate Latin scholar, and his eloquence clearly gave him pleasure. Copies of his letters and treatises circulated widely throughout the Mediterranean region. He was at his most vehement when combatting heretical doctrines, adding parenthetical digs like,“Jovinianus, condemned by the authority of the Church of Rome, amidst pheasants and swine’s flesh, breathed out, or rather belched out his spirit.” (Treatise Against Vigilantius, 406)and,“But if he refuses to write, and fancies that abuse is as effective as criticism, then, in spite of all the lands and seas and peoples which lie between us, he must hear at least the echo of my cry, “I do not condemn marriage.”…I should like every one to take a wife who, because they get frightened in the night, cannot manage to sleep alone.” (Letter to Domnio, 394)

Even St. Augustine received his due measure of Jerome’s pointed pen, although his velvet-smooth responses charmed Jerome sufficiently to stem the tide permanently, as demonstrated in this letter written in 416:

“But I beg your Reverence to allow me for a little to praise your genius. For in any discussion between us, the object aimed at by both of us is advancement in learning. But our rivals, and especially heretics, if they see different opinions maintained by us, will assail us with the calumny that our differences are due to mutual jealousy. For my part, however, I am resolved to love you, to look up to you, to reverence and admire you, and to defend your opinions as my own.”

In his final years, he composed a treatise against the Pelagians with fewer insults and greater respect for the heretics. Ironically, Pelagius’ champions in Palestine torched his monastery. Jerome was quite upset, but in truth, he probably had it coming. You might call it just punishment for prior sins like this, to Onasus in 384, “Hide your big nose, and keep your mouth shut: then you’ll appear handsome and an excellent speaker!”

Book Review: My Antoniaby Willa Cather(New York: New Millenium Library, 2000. 232 pp., $10.95)

Willa Cather is rightly remembered for her vivid descriptions, insightful observations and keen eye for detail. Readers familiar with the worlds she explored were never disappointed. My Antonia doesn’t relate the story of a different world, such as her acclaimed novel Death Comes for the Archbishop. It is an autobiographical ode to the Midwestern roots that she cherished.

Protagonist Jim Burden is Cather’s stand-in. She also was born in Virginia, and moved to the Nebraska prairie as a child. Unusual for her era, Cather also attended the University of Nebraska and later moved to New York City, just as Burden does in the novel. She landed a succession of jobs in the editing and publishing worlds, and taught Latin and English in several venues before achieving financial success as a novelist in 1910, with the publication of O Pioneers.

The novel begins with Burden, a middle-aged lawyer, reminiscing with a fellow transplant about the town of their youth, and their memories of Antonia. Despite the possessive title, he does not claim Antonia for his own. Rather, throughout the novel, Jim Burden’s memories impose their own mark on his shared history with Antonia, and in this way Cather highlights Antonia’s merits, unmasked by a sympathetic friend with a romantic view of his childhood home. Her hardships only made her more beautiful, at least to Jim.

Page 9 October 2007

Jim and Antonia were neighbors in the beginning. The young boy Jim was an orphan cared for by his grandparents, while Antonia’s Bohemian family struggled to adjust to American farming. Her father commits suicide, and his desperate heirs rely on Jim’s family, a fact that partially alienates Antonia from Jim, and colors the rest of their relationship. While she is out plowing in the fields, Jim’s life proceeds in a sheltered pattern.

Both move to town, Jim as a student and Antonia as a hired girl for a wealthy family. Their lives begin to diverge here. Cather weaves a bit of social commentary between the lines, as she highlights the life and energy of the immigrant woman with the Victorian belles who were pampered and showcased in novels by authors like Edith Wharton. Work ennobles the worker, and muscles masked ambition and intelligence.

Antonia’s friend, Lena Lingard, is also no stranger to work. The eldest of a large, Catholic family, Lena leaves her tired life at home and moves near the university in Lincoln, where she and Jim are friends during his tenure there, sometimes more, sometimes less. Contrasted with Antonia, Lena is the sexy, sophisticated urban woman. And yet, in Jim’s mind, she lacks some of the vital forcefulness that Antonia had to muster to survive.

Meanwhile, Antonia moves to Denver to marry, but ends up back at home, abandoned and pregnant. Devastated, and suffering her family’s disapproval, she keeps the baby and returns to help on her brother’s farm. Jim spends some time with her while home on vacation when the child is two, secretly depressed at her tragic story, and yet impressed at her perseverance.

Twenty years pass before he visits her again, at the suggestion of Lena. Married and now the mother of a huge brood of children, Jim finds in her joyful home a wonderful gestalt of the rich soil of his youth.

“She was a battered woman now, not a lovely girl; but she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one’s breath for a moment by a look or gesture that somehow revealed the meaning in common things… All the strong things of her heart came out in her body, that had been so tireless in serving generous emotions. It was no wonder that her sons stood tall and straight. She was a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races.”

Cather’s My Antonia is a tribute to the women who worked even harder than she ever did for the bare necessities of life, and thus stood even taller for the successes they could claim. Cather hoped to stand with them when her work was done. A quote from My Antonia is on Cather’s tombstone “that is happiness– to be dissolved into something complete and great.”

Discussion Questions:1. Is this novel a pious fable? Does hard work and tragedy ennoble the human soul? Have you ever met a woman in real life who reminds you of Antonia? Tell about that person.

2. Cather walks back into her own past to discover a story that revealed her ideals and the centering experience of being at home. If you were to walk back into your past, what persons or places (or both) would you highlight to show your values, and why?

Secretum Meum Mihi PressKristen West McGuireFounder/Editor in Chief

Editorial Advisory Board

Alexandra BurghardtMeredith GouldBeverly MantyhMargaret McGuireSandra Miesel

Secretum Meum Mihi is a monthly periodical dedicated to fostering the spirituality of Catholic women. Individual subscriptions are $12.95/year for download, and $24.95/yr for U.S. Mail delivery. (International mail delivery $29.95). Parish subscrip-tions are $119.95. Address all correspondence to the address below, or visit our website at:

www.MySecretisMine.com

Coming Next Month: Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica

Interview: Lucille Canaday, Singing for Good Reasons

Bible Study: The Story of Miriam and Aaron

Book Review: 100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel M. Marquez

Historical Sketch: One Last Visit

Secretum Meum Mihi PressP.O. Box 1501 Great Falls, MT 59405-1501

Page 10 October 2007

“You are not the only one to make a lot of mistakes day

after day-- we all do that. But the Lord is patient

and full of mercy. In His gracious household, He can make use even of

our errors, if we put them on His altar.”

– Edith Stein, in Self-Portrait in Letters,translated from the German

by Suzanne Batzdorff

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