BEING CATHOLIC
SISTER SUSAN KIDD, C.N.D. (second from left), enjoying time with her family, knows that support from others is an important part of living her vows.
Can your body be sacred in the age of twerking?
by Sister Susan Kidd, C.N.D.
Despite media messages to the contrary, we feel whole and true to ourselves when we care for our bodies.
Sister Susan Kidd, C.N.D. is a Congregation of Notre Dame Sister. She has served as vocation director for English Canada, was a missionary in Cameroon, and now works at the University of Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada as a campus minister.
I
AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH to have a steady stream of university students through my office, and the day I heard from VISION about this article was no different. “Can your body be sacred in the age of twerking?” the editors asked. So I asked the students. I was not ready for their response: silence, an exchange of glances between them, and then a giggling shy look in my direction. That was not normal. There is often a buzz of chatter in my office, usually accompanied by laughter and on some days with an equal balance of tears; some conversations have both! I am a campus minister, hired by the Catholic Church to work on a secular university campus. The people through my office vary from day to day and include students, staff, and faculty. This day, this question caused the audience to pause. But it shouldn’t have.
We were created to care for creation I am here to tell you that the answer to the question is a clear and resounding “yes!” Despite the relentless media messages that leave us with the impression that there are no boundaries, protections, or sense of sanctity left when it comes to our bodies, the reality is that we feel whole and true to ourselves when we care for our bodies. That is because we are created in God’s image and likeness. We are blessed with duties and responsibilities to be good stewards of all
132 | VISION 2015 | VocationNetwork.org
