Things you won't hear at FUS…

Alright, I know today’s post rides on the heels of a recent post of mine.  If you were hoping to hear from your favorite blogger and got me instead, then offer it up.  The symposium on Catholic education is closing soon so I offer the “Top Ten Questions You Never Hear at Steubenville.”

 

 

 

 

 

10.  “Can I sign up for ‘Protestantism: We are all small “c” Catholics?’”

9.  “Who is Scott Hahn?”

8.  “Where do I sign up for liturgical dancing?”

7.  “Are you going to the Planned Parenthood talk at Tommie More?”

6.  “Why are those guys wearing robes with rope tied around their waist?”

5.  “Where are the birth control dispensers?”

4.  “Can we at least entertain the possibility women can be priests?”

3. “Want to go to the Pro-Choice March with me?”

2.  “Why is President Obama giving an honorary speech here?”

1.  “Where are the co-ed dorms?”

 

Now for a free giveaway…next week.  Hallie Lord of has recently released a collection of essays, “Style, Sex, & Substance”, by the leading Catholic women writers outside Ignitum Today.  Some authors include:

 

  • the ever hilarious, running momma in house clothes, and fearful of scorpions Ms. Jennifer Fulwiler.  If you have not read or heard of Fulwiler, then I think you broke the 11th Commandment and the third of greatest commandments after love God and love your neighbor.
  • The Simcha.  Anybody with a cool name like that gets a “The” in front of it.  By the way Simcha, don’t eat the Honey Bunches of Oats from that couple you saw at the Wal-Mart.  It sounds like they might be soiled.
  • Hallie also has contributed.  She also blogs at Betty Beguiles on “Beauty, Romance, and Style…with a Vintage Twist.”  I get so many fashion and organizing tips and her free ebook brought the diva out of…ummmm…I mean…she is cool.  Plus her husband is the former lead singer of Pain.
  • The rest of the lineup includes other notables: Danielle Bean, Rachel Balducci, Anna Mitchell, Barbra Nicolosi, Rebecca Teti, Elizabeth Duffy, and Karen Edmisten.

 

So tune in next Friday for the first of three free book giveaways and the next top 10 list.

 

 

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://ignitumtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/JTDTAT-Childrens-House-Copy-e1329964684276.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Jared Tomanek lives in the country of Texas with his wife Denise, a Southern Belle from Trinidad and Tobago, and his three children. He holds two graduate degrees from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, an MBA and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Having taught for five years in Catholic education, he now works in the construction industry in Victoria, TX. He is a parishioner of Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Parish in the Diocese of Victoria.[/author_info] [/author]

 

 

J.Q. Tomanek

J.Q. Tomanek

J.Q. lives in the country of Texas with his wife Denise, a Southern Belle from Trinidad and Tobago, and his three children. He holds two graduate degrees from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, an MBA and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Having taught for five years in Catholic education, he now works in the construction industry in Victoria, TX. He is a parishioner of Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Parish in the Diocese of Victoria.

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8 thoughts on “Things you won't hear at FUS…”

  1. Perinatal Loss Nurse

    FUS has its place and it is good in some ways, but we need to quit speaking of it as if it is Catholic Nirvana. I have been there, did guest lectures there and sent my oldest son there. $75,000 in tuition later, he failed out because he was in a deep, serious clinical depression. Not a single staff member (including the Prof who marked him absent for 2 classes my son was in) reached out to my son or our family. The dean did say that she “sent him a letter”…when a failing Jr with a previously good record doesn’t respond to the dean could SOMEONE check on him? The answer was No, they chose not to.

    A good spiritual environment can encourage mental health, but it is not a silver bullet that will prevent 100% of mental health crisis. Good Catholic people become depressed, but their blind spot on this issue is dangerous….and every month when I write out a check for the one loan we took out for his education, I am reminded that the same time it takes me to write the check it the amount of time it would have taken for them to call and say “Mrs ___ there is a problem with your son” (and no, there were no confidentiality issues in play, they had the freedom to call, they just didnt).

  2. Yes, Catholics can and DO get depressed, at almost any age. My DH, a Permanent Deacon, went through a depression nearly 3 years ago. It was diabolical to some extent, and after being told that it was just Satan giving him trouble for all the good work he does in our parish, a Catholic psychiatrist correctly diagnosed and started him on a regimen of psychotropic drugs, day and night, that gradually took away his symptoms and “fixed” his brain imbalance. He was nearly 80 at the time, and this is the 3rd time his brain has gone “out of order” the first two being minor episodes lasting a month instead of half a year. I too have had depression off and on most of my life, but taking an OTC drug for indigestion led to a major episode, when I needed counseling and medication. Some Catholics think it is within one’s willpower and prayers to overcome these illnesses. Probably just as successful as pretending one doesn’t have a broken leg or arm, and learning to live with it, or take painkillers.

  3. Perinatal Loss Nurse

    Rosaryfixer, yes, my point exactly. Im glad he got help. For FUS to ignore that there WILL BE students in their midst who suffer from this and to not understand that often men will hide it, they create a naive and dangerous set of circumstances. There was a suicide cluster at my sons’ high school, but they never gave me the chance to tell them that. Im fortunate that my son isn’t dead. There was one decent fellow from student services who told me that he learned something valuable from my sons case, but the upper leadership closed ranks and admitted no error at all. Their dismissiveness was insulting. One day I calculated that tuition, room & food plan cost over $180 a day and for all the sacrifices I made to earn that money, they wouldnt make one single call to me.

  4. @Hallie, thank you for offering something good and that will attract many people to our Faith. I am humbled by the work you women are doing, and not just the writers but the many women who are blogging like here at Ignitum Today and elsewhere. Catholics have a long way to go in the social media world, but we are making some good strides.

    @Tom Crowe, thanks for the help and for stopping by. Don’t be a stranger.

    @Perinatal Loss Nurse, thank you for taking the time to comment. Good morning and I am sorry for the horrible experience at FUS. I, too, went through a much smaller struggle, I was from out of state and new only one person when I arrived. It was daunting to find friendship. I was blessed to find fellow Texans and eventually a household/fraternity that really helped loneliness. Steubenville is not the beatific vision and has many issues that they struggle with. That being said, it is also one of the strongest Catholic insitutions of higher learning, has faithful and top quality professors, a dynamic student life, very prolife, and a culture of Catholicism I have not seen among the college aged anywhere in America.

    @RosaryFixer, very good comments. It is very important to have a happy life whether that be physically, emotionally, mentally, sexually, or spiritually. Seeking health in all areas is vitally important. This is where it is good to have a good doctor, Catholic or Catholically minded therapist, and orthodox spiritual director.

  5. As a FUS grad (’01), I want to add some perspective. In context, you could very well hear added to
    7) “I really hope they get defunded quickly”
    3) “Showering pro-choicers with love always seems to confound them! Counter-protests rule!”

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