I activated the comment moderation feature earlier today. I think I might keep it up for a bit as an experiment. Comments are still welcome, I just get to read them before they are posted. And I reserve the right to reject comments that are inappropriate, hostile or otherwise unwelcome.
I was prompted to enable comment moderation by an anonymous comment that I deleted this morning. I'll admit, I overreacted. But I've been feeling very vulnerable lately (vulernability being part of the universal novitiate experience as far as I can tell) and didn't feel like dealing with what I took as an unecessary hostile comment to a post that took a lot for me to write.
So, to Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, I apologize for deleting your comment. If you'd included an e-mail or blogger ID, I would have contacted you directly. For those of you who have NO idea what I'm talking about, the comment was in reaction to an Article I quoted from our Groovy Sister Constitutions at the end of my last post. My anonymous friend did not appreciate the fact that the Constitutions talk about "Joseph" without the preface "St." The deleted comment has gone to comment heaven, but it said something like "how hard would it be for them to write 'St Joseph.' I just don't get it."
Well, first of all, it's not for you to get. I'm sharing my journey here, and it's a journey that I'm taking in the company of some very prayerful and amazingly groovy Sisters. We are in fact the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Joseph is our patron. And yes, he is a Saint as our Congegation's name attests to. But our Constitutions are an internal document (approved by the Vatican by the way) that guide our life of prayer, community and ministry. I often use them for prayer. And I LOVE the fact that they express a personal relationship with our patron. He knows that we know that he's a Saint. I don't think he's offended by our leaving the title out in our Constitutions. In fact, I have a feeling he enjoys the close relationship with him started by our founder and continued to this day. Hope that quenches your curiousity a bit.
Back to the larger concept of comment moderation ... I try to keep this here little corner of the blogosphere peaceful and respectful. Yes I am a more liberal member of the Church and as the groovy quality of my groovy sisters implies, so is my religious community. I do not hide that fact. If you are offended by such things, by all means feel no need to read my blog or leave a comment. I know that other corners of the Catholic blogosphere have different philosophies and welcome debate and a harsher attitude. To each their own.
Now, I'm afraid I need to cut things short. I'm cooking dinner tonight and I've got to check on my meatloaf.
Peace to you all, whatever corner of the church you inhabit.
3 comments:
Might I point out that when we mention Joseph in the Eucharistic prayers at Mass, we don't use "Saint" either - and those are as official as it gets!
Terry
I wonder if that's the same M. Anonymous that I was trying to decide if I should delete or not .... mine, though, was more for the resultant comment on my community. Bad-mouth me all you want, but don't slam my sisters! :-)
Merry Christmas to you, my friend.
What the heck is it with these self-styled defenders of orthodoxy, anyway? You'd think they'd have the fortitude (how's that for putting it delicately) to sign their own names. I've seen a spate of hateful comments in the guise of "authentic Church teaching" lately on a variety of blogs. It's sad that the face of Catholicism on the "blogosphere" is one of hate under the aegis of orthopraxy.
Pray for the Church, I guess.
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