A reader sent an email about an old post I did on a Catholic community in Arkansas, called Star of the Sea Village. The reader writes:
"I just read your blog [post titled It Takes A Catholic Village…] about ‘Star of the Sea’ and found it interesting to hear others’ opinions on … a Catholic community. I am sorry that I was not aware of it earlier so I could also repond. However, if in the future you would like to open another blog [post], the residents here would love to comment and let others know what it is like to live here at Star of the Sea."
Done. Let the comments begin!
Author: Jimmy Akin
Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."
View all posts by Jimmy Akin
I would like to clear up the “escapist/isolationist” idea. We are definitely not that, nor is our neighborhood a Catholic Utopiaville. Instead, what some of us are – are parents trying to raise their children with other like minded families in a Catholic manner. Our children are safer here to play, ride bikes, have quality friends, and attend well chaperoned activities. I can think of no better place to raise our children with the love and support of Christian neighbors.
Our children attend local & state colleges and public schools (if not home schooled). They hold jobs out in the community. We have computers, TV and gardens. What we try to do is hold onto their purity/innocence/beauty longer by lovingly guarding outside influences and teach that the ways of the world are not always in line with the Catholic faith. Hopefully, in this way they will be more prepared to face this immoral world.
Our children have left the nest. Some have married (all to Catholics). Some are in college. They are not naïve to the world. No, they have not returned to live here, nor is that expected of them. We pray we have prepared them. Not to say that families cannot do this otherwise – they can. This is just the way we have chosen.
And with this country/rural life comes a cross. It is not always easy to be in a neighborhood of head strong Catholics and a weak job market. Sometimes we cross paths with each other. The devil would prefer our neighborhood to not exist at all. It’s a blessing to live here….a short distance to a neighbors house for prayer or parental support.
I concur with Michelle. In addition, we are so blessed to have a very orthodox parish, with both the English and Latin Mass available, and a first rate choir at the Latin Mass. We receive solid, authentic, and fearless instruction from the pulpit on all the challenging issues of life in modern America.
Our children at home are also fortunate to live in a neighborhood with other Catholic homeschoolers, as well as children who attend the fairly decent public schools here.
For home school families, it is a particular blessing to live here. We mothers lean on one another’s shoulders, because having 24/7 responsibility for all our beloved children is both invigorating and draining. We participate in soccer and other local sports teams, orchestra, 4H and Boy Scouts, and have a Little Flowers group at the church. With all this and several Adoration Hours per family, who has time for TV?
Those of us who remain after the struggles of a few years back, are older, wiser, and more gentle with each other. It helps us to have more realistic expectations now, and we appreciate the general serenity of our neighborhood. We are always delighted to welcome guests and visitors. You don’t have to guess what this community is like – come and see for yourself!
Here is our website.
http://www.staroftheseavillage.com/pages/9/index.htm
We will be happy to answer your questions, and might even throw a party at the community center when you visit.
what are the troubles of a few years back?
I’d like to add to Michelle’s and Anne’s observations that Star of the Sea is not in any sense an isolated or escapist community.
I’m a full time writer, a specialist in the Israelite origins of the Catholic Church. Star of the Sea has been a blessing to me in many ways.
The immediate presence of so many devout and inspiring Catholics as neighbors and fellow parishioners has helped me with my books, magazine articles, and web site articles that reach inquiring Jews, and Catholics who work with inquiring Jews, all over the world.
Living in a rural area helps me maintain the sense of Christ’s spiritual presence that I want to sustain in my writing. Here we spend our days looking at the works of God, not the works of man. The big cities where I spent most of my life had too many distractions.
Beyond that, Star of the Sea is an experiment in applied Catholicism. Most devout Catholics today live in parishes were most of the Catholics are lukewarm. That environment certainly allows for local evangelization, and we need more men and women doing that, but Christ intended that His followers all be devout. It takes living in a community like Star of the Sea to understand interiorly what it means to live as Christ intended.
One thing it does not mean is that we all live like contented sheep. The Apostles weren’t contented sheep either. We all come from different backgrounds and life experiences, but we all care passionately about the Faith. Some of us love the Tridentine Mass, while others prefer the Novus Ordo. Some are charismatic, others are not. We have a wonderful nun who lives under an eremitic rule and prays for us several hours each day. We have one man who collected 214 first class relics and donated nearly all of them to Mother Angelica. We have another man who has closed down six abortion clinics through extraordinary concentrations of prayers to the Blessed Virgin. We don’t always agree with one another. For a while, Satan tried to use our passions to start arguments among some of us. But Christ has given us the grace to wake up and see what was happening. We’ve had Perpetual Adoration for more than seven years now, pretty good for a parish of some 300 families, and His grace has held us together.
Have a blessed day!
I appreciate those comments, but you try to say it’s not an isolationist or escapist community, and then go on to describe that very thing–an isolationist and escapist lifestyle. You mention protecting your kids from the evils of the world, and mention getting away from it all.
Just hear me out… 🙂
Here’s an interesting podcast with Cardinal Arinze. Think about what it says. They’re going over what John Paul II wrote about the Eucharist and its relationship to the Church. About 3/5 of the way into it, we have this conversation, which is very relevant to the topic at hand:
After listening to the podcast, if you do, I wonder what your thoughts would be. Not to give anyone a hard time; I just wonder if you might have other reasons for being at Star of the Sea besides “getting away” that the rest of us aren’t aware of.
I appreciate those comments, but you try to say it’s not an isolationist or escapist community, and then go on to describe that very thing–an isolationist and escapist lifestyle. You mention protecting your kids from the evils of the world, and mention getting away from it all.
Just hear me out… 🙂
Here’s an interesting podcast with Cardinal Arinze. Think about what it says. They’re going over what John Paul II wrote about the Eucharist and its relationship to the Church. About 3/5 of the way into it, we have this conversation, which is very relevant to the topic at hand:
After listening to the podcast, if you do, I wonder what your thoughts would be. Not to give anyone a hard time; I just wonder if you might have other reasons for being at Star of the Sea besides “getting away” that the rest of us aren’t aware of.
I took a look at the Star of the Sea web site, and it looks like a really wonderful community. I would be curious to know the history of the community — when, how, and why it was founded, why rural Arkansas was chosen as the location, etc. Maybe this information was on the web site, but I didn’t see it. If any Star of the Sea residents are still reading these comments, perhaps you could give a very brief summary of the community’s history?
If protecting your kids from the evils of the world is isolationist and escapist, then count me in!
Recently, we discovered that a neighbor couple who had once lived across the street from us had been sexually abusing their own children (and other relatives) in the worst ways, as well as exploiting them on the internet.
They were exposed and arrested.
Our ten-year-old daughter saw their pictures in the paper, so we explained in as simple and broad a way as possible what they had done.
Two days later, they committed suicide.
We still have not told our daughter about that part. She does not need to know, at her age, that the world is that sinful and sick. She is sweet and innocent, and the evils of the world will break in on her soon enough.
Our kids are comparatively naive, and that is just fine with us. Everyone will lose their innocence at some point, but being shielded somewhat from the full weight of a fallen world, and being strengthened with the grace of the sacraments, their innocence will have the chance to harden into virtue, rather than decaying into cynicism or dissolving into despair.
I certainly would not hesitate to join a community with other like-minded Catholic parents.
Just to clarify, I should say – all other things being equal – I would not hesitate to join a community with other like-minded Catholic parents.
Just so I don’t start getting brochures in the mail.
😉
I guess the question would be, then, where is the line between protecting something lest you’re negligent towards your family, and neglecting how you must do your Christian duty? Cardinal Arnize’s words hit pretty hard against the concept of holing yourself in–even if it’s for your family.
As evil as the world can be, not every town outside of the Star of the Sea is a pit of evil, and much can be controlled in one’s own home. There’s really not a 100% guarantee that creeps won’t move into Star of the Sea either, I’d think.
Anyone have any guesses as to where to draw the line?
I think everyone has to prayerfully draw that line for themselves, Karen.
Our kids now go to public schools, though they have homeschooled as well, and before that they attended a private Catholic school.
We have always been committed to doing what we feel God is calling us to do at the time. If things turn sour at public school, we could homeschool again in the blink of an eye.
Our son is in junior high, and is less shielded than his sister. He has begun to find out that you can find friends in unexpected places, and also that some people will hurt you just because they can. He now knows that some folks are just plain crackers, and it’s best to leave them alone.
But we still keep tight control on what he watches on TV, on the computer, who he talks to on the phone (and how long), what music he listens to, etc…
This doesn’t mean that he is allowed only what we like. We have allowed him to download songs and watch movies about which we had serious reservations, but we know about them and we talk about them, and they are the exception and not the rule.
We have told him, “Son, if you’re ever in a situation where someone is pressuring you to break one of the family rules, you are free to say ‘I better not. My parents can be real a**holes about that.'”.
Hey, if that’s what it takes…
Karen,
Everyone has different gifts. Cardinal Arinze’s comments cannot mean we should not have cloistered nuns and brothers. The Little Flower is the patroness of missions and she was a cloistered nun.
Each family must decide how best to use the gifts God has given them. Star of the Sea is how these people are using their gifts and God bless them. Their commitment reminds me of my responsiblity to make my community better.
Take care and God bless.
J+M+J
(SOSV resident) I only have a moment, so I will answer a few of the new questions that have been posted. I’m sure you can empathize with that. If you *want* to know more, keep posting, or contact us through the website!
1. Tim, to reassure you, we won’t be sending you unwanted brochures – frankly, all of us involved in helping make our neighborhood more well known and understood are volunteers, and we are simply too busy earning a living and raising our children!
2. (Karen) “After listening to the podcast, if you do, I wonder what your thoughts would be. …if you might have other reasons for being at Star of the Sea besides “getting away” that the rest of us aren’t aware of.” The most important reason my family is here because this was the specific answer to our prayers (and a pilgrimmage I made with my mother to European shrines) asking where Our Lord wanted us to go when dh retired from the military. We were surprised at the answer, but here we are.
3. (Karen) “If a Christian does not witness to Christ in society, something fundamental is missing.” I hope it will relieve you to know nearly every resident here is involved in some way with the surrounding community. One of our couples run the RCIA class at church (in town, not in our neighborhood) – which is attended by my son’s girlfriend, an unbaptised young woman of 17 now on fire for the Church!
Another couple from SOSV are the leaders of our parish St. Vincent de Paul outreach; another couple lead the parish Bible study. I’m so pleased to know my husband has even found himself evangelizing, in his own gentle way, in the *cockpit* of a commercial airliner! (And he lives a holy life to witness by his actions when he is travelling all over the country.) The parish secretary is a long-time member of our community, and she deals daily with indigent and troubled strangers who come to our church for help.
Of the four young people (all I can remember on short notice) who have married since their families moved here, 2 have married cradle catholics from our community and parish, one helped bring her fiance’ into the Church just prior to marriage, and one is married to (as far as I know) a non-Catholic.
The children are involved in many activities out in town. Their Orchestra director, for instance, has confided her new respect for Catholics since she has been dealing with these children and their parents.
Marty, who has also posted, can describe his full-time evangelization of the Jews, which he conducts from his home here, and his wife’s work for respect-for-life issues. The same for Ronda, who was with us until recently (and is still here in our hearts.)
There are more examples, but this will be a start. We deal with non-Catholics and non-Christians on a daily basis, just as you do, and we try to witness with our lives, using ‘words, when necessary.’
4. (Karen) “where is the line between protecting something lest you’re negligent towards your family, and neglecting how you must do your Christian duty? ” I think the preceeding answers that question some. Parents have to be listening to the promptings of the Holy Spririt, because each of our children has different sensitivities and needs for protection. Since my dh was a career AF officer, we have lived in *16* neighborhoods. This one has been best for ‘drawing the line’ for all of them.
5. (Paul) “perhaps you could give a very brief summary of the community’s history?” This should be on our website – thanks for drawing my attention to that! I will try to make that happen within a few days. Briefly – SOSV is here because land is inexpensive here compared to most of the country! It was founded as a place of rest and rejuvenation for weary pro-life Catholics, because someone had the idea and the courage to act on it!
6. (Karen) “There’s really not a 100% guarantee that creeps won’t move into Star of the Sea either, I’d think.” You are absolutely correct. And we have had some difficult, but holy anyway, neighbors. We have now several non-Catholic neighbors who are in need of evangelization.
7. (Tim) I got a chuckle out of this one “My parents can be real a**holes about that.” My mother gave me the same permission 30+ years ago, and I have done the same for my children! Great minds….
I see such communities, and the discernment of the family to live in one, as being similar to the discernment of an individual for their lives. While the individual has to discern if God is calling one to ordination, religious life, or marriage (and then within each of these there are subgroups; monk or mendicant, which order, etc). Each family needs to discern where God is calling them as far as a place to live.
We have lived here for nearly 9 years. We moved here with four of our six children at home.One going into your her senior year and one her freshman another his second grade and our youngest kindergarten. We feel we lost our first two children to the world (don’t even go to church etc) our third only had one year here and resented moveing here but might come home soon(meaning return to her faith). Our three younger children are completly different children. They love their faith and are excited about being Catholic. For me it was the positive Catholic peer group they have here at SOS that made the difference. Mom and Dad can tell them the truth and be living it themselves but if kids don’t have a peer group to relate to that is also living their faith it becomes very difficult. Thsy have also seen the other parents living their faith and telling their kids the same things we are telling ours. I feel SOS has saved three of our kids from HELL and I pray theirs and our lives will witness to their siblings in the long run.
I am a resident at SOSV since 1997. I do believe when we first moved here we felt that we were getting away from the “world” to seclude ourselves from some of the “evils” that seemed to be choking us out. I speak for myself on this issue. I didn’t know it was wrong. We felt that after praying the rosary every day during that lent(1997) we happened to see the article on SOS and felt we (my husband and I) needed to move here to save our family. Not an easy move for us and took great courage to up root but felt nothing was too hard for family. After we moved here the Lord took care of the isolationist problem. It wasn’t meant to happen.
My husband travels all over the country in his business and has many opportunites to witness to his faith and also has an internet cafe on the Hwy. that brings in the public for many opportunities to witness and feels he is strong enough to do this because he lives in the neighborhood of SOS. Our neighbors encourage us and build us up.
I, myself play the guitar at our Sunday Mass and at Magnificat which is a ministry to Catholic women and others who wish to come.
I think our presence in this Bible Belt community has witnessed very powerfully to the truth of the Catholic Faith.
My son is 17, a junior at the local high school. He is definitely not an isolationist as he is a witness daily to his Catholic faith. Not easy in a 3% Catholic state. He needs much strength and prayer.
I am still homeschooling my 8th grader who is planning on going to the high school next year.
Good night and God Bless
Thanks for the thoughtful answers and the honesty. Food for thought! I understand Star of the Sea a little better now.
Ronda emailed me yesterday asking me to post the following for her:
“I lived at Star of the Sea for a year and a half. I loved being surrounded by deep, ardent, Catholics. I found the people extremely friendly, open, and welcoming.
Dr. Ronda Chervin”
Interesting discussion, but I think Cardinal Arinze’s comments must be placed in context. In Nigeria, it’s one thing; in the United States, the situation is quite different. The loyalist Catholic in the U.S. finds himself surrounded by lukewarm Catholics and may begin to feel isolated. Star of the Sea is like a “support group” for loyalist Catholics. We’re not expected to throw our children out into the toxic, soul-endangering culture that prevails in the United States; that is not at all what His Eminence meant. At Star of the Sea one can find the companionship of other dedicated Catholic families, which is helpful for getting our children through the formative periods of their lives. Not that it’s just for young families, either; people of all ages reside there. We have a weekend home there and spend most of our weekends at Star of the Sea. The parish nearby, St. Michael’s, cannot even be compared to the other parishes in the area. They have Eucharistic Adoration 24/7 and loyal, dedicated priests who are unafraid to teach the Catholic Faith. I think St. Michael’s has been influenced by the people from Star of the Sea who sought and found companionship in a Catholic sense; this is not the same as “holing up.”
Of course, St. Michael’s has also been influenced by a very orthodox priest – from Nigeria of all places!
Dave