Engaging the Popular Culture

Christians are exhorted to be in the world but not of the world, meaning we live in the here and now among all that is "worldly," but we are called to a higher purpose, namely, spending eternity with God in heaven. How do we engage the culture that is seemingly so hell-bent on destroying everything we believe in?

Sixteen years ago, my husband and I were serendipitously invited to appear on "The Maury Povitch Show," to discuss why we were crazy enough to have five children and admit to "wanting more." We went (against the advice of a couple of priest-friends) because we wanted to do our part to engage the culture. I don't know how successful we were at convincing anyone that we weren't crazy loonies, but we were treated respectfully and graciously on the show and were never made to look stupid. We were buoyed by the presence of Ben Wattenberg on the show, who chatted with us beforehand in the "green room" and gave us an autographed copy of his book, "The Birth Dearth," signing it: "To Joe and Debbie, who are doing their part...Ben Wattenberg."

The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist recently accepted Oprah's invitation to appear on her show. In doing so, they engaged the popular culture and very openly and pleasantly answered the talk show diva's gaped mouth questions regarding how they could possibly survive without having sex and shopping at Target. Their answers were stunningly beautiful and brilliant.

Watch the episodes here to see for yourself.

Dominican Sisters on Oprah, Part 1



Dominican Sisters on Oprah, Part 2



Dominican Sisters on Oprah, Part 3

Dominican Sisters on Oprah, Part 4