More from Young Women & Catholicism

“We come to our stories in the middle of them; they are already in progress when we are born.”
--Paul Elie, editor of The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage
Elie explains that this can be the impetus for exploration of other traditions, because we may feel bound by the confines of these stories. But it also can lead to a fuller appreciation of our stories—what makes them unique, how others can relate to them—when we decide to truly live in them as they unfold. What stories are we in the middle of?

“They bring their own world with them.”
--Jen’s Mamita
Recently Jen's mom and her Mamita took a trip to the East Coast. It was her Mamita's first time seeing where Jen lived and meeting her friends, so the three of them made empanadas and tea to celebrate. After an afternoon of sharing good food and good stories around the table with some of our classmates, Jen's Mamita reflected on how full of life each person was. "They bring their own world with them," she said. What world do we bring to the table?

We hear one another into speech.
Regardless of our access to power in our tradition, giving one another a forum from which to name our realities is a first step in doing feminist theology. Further, it is a way of building community. What are our needs as young women with experiences of Catholicism?

The institution of the church is not necessarily synonymous with the tradition.
The institution has the responsibility of carrying the tradition, but it is human and fallible. How does our position in the tradition, whether toward the center or on the margins, make us and our stories unique?

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