tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32867901198192091192024-03-06T00:53:52.447-06:00Home to CatholicismHaleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-51915030905425961632017-01-02T13:32:00.001-06:002017-01-02T13:48:45.685-06:00A Time (a tribute to 2016)<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace." </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">— </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8</span></blockquote>
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I was probably fifteen when I first read this passage from Ecclesiastes. Immediately, I was drawn to it, though how much of that was because of the truth within the verses or because it reminded me of the opening lines of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...") is anyone's guess. What better time could one find such words than during teenage years, when we long to find contradictions if only to point them out to others, when we need someone to acknowledge that life isn't always easy or rosy, when we need assurance that light can return and shrink the shadows?</div>
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As I have grown older, I have realized two things: 1) dark, difficult moments do not disappear. When we're children, we think, "If only I can get older, then I will have everything figured out." Then we get older and think, "If only I can finish school, find a job and/or get married, then I will have everything figured out." We thought that having everything figured out, having everything be easy, was a given. But the problems we face do not become easier. Instead, all those decisions we made as children and through school and in our first jobs were only practice. Each "mini" milky problem set is followed by tough meaty problem sets. And if you didn't do well at the practice round, the real problems are going to be that much more taxing to solve. But I have also learned: 2) light-filled moments of respite exist, and these moments strengthen us for our next foray. There is forgiveness, there is mercy, there is healing, and all we have to do is ask.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So here are some of the times that I have remembered that there is dark and light and a time for everything.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Times that have made me weep</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">the fear of being forgotten</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">talking about my deceased friend</span></div>
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not knowing how to help someone</div>
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knowing the right thing but choosing the wrong thing anyway</div>
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<b>Times that have made me laugh</b>:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">scribbled lyrics in the back of my notebook</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">comebacks from eight year olds</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">enthusiastic responses to sweet potatoes</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">almost every conversation with my husband</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Times that have paralyzed me</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">not knowing whether the answer is "no" or "not yet"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">realizing how much others' struggles eclipse mine</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">thinking I could have done more</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">knowing I can only do so much</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Times that have made me smile</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">easily doled out baby laughter</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">the fascination in toddler eyes at new experiences</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">the true, shepherding "dad-ness" of priests</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">seeing expectant mothers worry and assuring them "no, really. you're going to be a great mom." because it's true</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Times that have strengthened me</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">the right song at the right moment</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">kneeling at Adoration and being able to think nothing but "thank you, thank you, thank you"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">making intentions and sticking to them</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">reuniting with creative writing</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Times that have given me peace</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">quiet moments with my husband</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">letting go of failure and frustration</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">walking out of the confessional</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">God's promise of a future and a hope</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">May your 2017 be full of healing, laughing and dancing. But when death, mourning and loss come, may you meet them with strength and grace.</span></div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-899671834492182302016-10-08T11:58:00.000-05:002016-10-08T11:58:14.663-05:00A Reflection on Tragedy<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">It rained for the first time in a while. I awoke and a steady tapping caused me to peek between the blinds to see raindrops on the window. While some would frown at such a sight, I felt my lips curl into a smile. After a few days in which one tragedy followed another, I smiled, because when it rains, the leaves seem greener, avoiding a puddle-filled path becomes a complicated game of hopscotch and the very smell of the air is calming.</span></div>
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I think part of the appeal of rain is that it makes everything clean. The tragedies of the world can be washed and, if not completely healed, then treated. Rain brings new life, asks us to have a different perspective on our routine and reminds us that accepting the stillness and silence of tragedy can, paradoxically, bring us peace.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without the rain, though, my perspective is different. At some point in my life, I learned that, when faced with troubling circumstances, it was better to bottle up emotions. Even if my mind was racing with doubts or worries, it was better not to let anyone know. The stronger and less affected you feel, the better. And so, I clamped down on the lump in my throat, blinked back tears, focused on the texture of clothing under my thumb, repeated a mantra in my head of "It doesn't matter," did anything to keep tragedy from getting to me.</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Time, of course, will show you that this method does not work. Eventually, your body breaks. While your hands grab hold of anything you can reach in order to stabilize yourself, the lump in your throat turns into gasps for air between tears and cries of "Why is this happening? I don't understand."</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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The weird thing is that on one occasion during which a group was mourning, I heard the sniffs and saw the dabbed eyes of those who were crying and I didn't think, "They are weak." Instead I thought, "They are strong." It takes strength to sit in the silence, the stillness, the "I don't understand" of tragedy.
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<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">When tragedy strikes, we have two choices of action. We can choose to dwell on tragedy and see only tragedy: a bad morning turns into a bad day, grief paints the world in gray, one conversation highlights the desolation in your relationship with that person or in your experience with the topic at hand. Or we can choose to see the small good moments that hide behind a curtain of tragedy: the slow smile of a friend, the curiosity and restless energy of a toddler on wobbly legs, the determined glint in the eye of someone who will not settle for prior failure. These latter moments are beautiful, and I was only able to see them because I had sat in the silence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tragedy is still here. A few difficult days does not win us a "get out of tragedy for a week" card. But it does, hopefully, make us still, make us remember that our routines and friendships do not anchor us. That is a role for God and He will be in the stillness and the silence with us. He will be with us when it is time to return to our routines and friendships. And I hope that, because of the times we experience tragedy, we can more easily commune with those who suffer when we do not.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid</i>. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">John 14:27</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"<i>For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope</i>." </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">—</span>Jeremiah 29:11</div>
</span>Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-35830659285227835172016-08-09T14:16:00.003-05:002016-08-09T14:16:33.984-05:00When Summer Blues Hit<div style="text-align: justify;">
Every now and then, I have a bit of a cruddy day. Sometimes it's a problem in my life that needs to be dealt with, sometimes it's just a funk, sometimes (especially as a woman) it's hormones being ridiculous (or maybe I'm being ridiculous). I can choose to wallow in "blah" feelings (let's be honest: this is often my first step) or I can take steps to relieve them. Since I am an introvert and an intuiter (INFJ personality type over here), I like to deal with an issue on my own first before I'll bring it up to other people. I just need more time on my own to process things. It seems silly that I'm only now figuring out what to do about such things at 24 years old, but this is a list of some things I like to do to combat what I am at this time calling the "Summer Blues."</div>
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1. Take a walk.</h4>
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When I awoke, something in me could not stay still, so I had to get out of the house. I don't know if it's a vitamin D thing or what, but somehow getting outside and going for a walk can improve my mood majorly. Living so close to campus gives me a nice path to walk, as well. I can walk through the secret garden-esque grounds of a nearby library, amble along a line of rosebushes and pick one of several crisscross pavements to follow. One of my favorite things to do is sit by a centrally-located fountain and people watch as students cut across the quad to class or play with their dogs. Granted, such walks have to take place before 9AM if I want to avoid the brunt of Texas Summer heat, but the timing is nice, since even less people are out and about and I can enjoy the quiet time.</div>
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2. Talk to God.</h4>
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This item should go at the top of the list, but it happened in conjunction with walking, so I've placed it second. I have been trying to get more in the habit of thinking of God when I first awake, thanking Him for one more day and trying to prepare myself spiritually for the day ahead. As I walked, I poured out my thoughts to Him. My worries, my fears, my insecurities, anything goes (preferably, I do this after thanking Him for some things. If I'm going to nag and complain, I should probably try to be a little bit grateful, too, right?). I know that He will listen and won't tell me how absurd my concerns are (some of them doubtlessly are, and I come to realize that). I remember the psalms: "Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth. Guide my heart to fear your name." (Psalm 86) There seems to be a psalm for every emotion and state of mind. I might ask the saints to pray for me (Mary, Joseph and Th<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">érèse</span></span> are standard; other saints are included if I have a special case).</div>
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3. Write it down.</h4>
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When my mind is buzzing with thoughts, it is comforting to write those thoughts down, if only to have them stored somewhere else (praying is good, of course, but there is something about doing tactile work to get restless energy out). Writing has always been therapeutic for me. I may never show someone the page. I may just throw it away after. The point is, everything is said. If I am dealing with a problem, it can also be nice to, once that problem is resolved, come back to the page and see that has been worked out or that the prayer within has been answered.</div>
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4. Do something mindless.</h4>
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One of my first steps when I am stressed out is to do busy work. It usually manifests itself as cleaning, cooking or baking. I may even sit in my closet and reorganize my things. I don't think it is really appropriate as a first step, because it really is just busyness and does not address the issue at hand. However, after I have taken the above steps, I do like to do something mostly mindless as a way to "detox" from the stressful period. My mind goes from worrying, for example, to "hashing out" the issue with God and myself, to entering a resting state. I think it's best if I can do something that can be deemed productive, like the above examples. That way, I can at least feel a little good about being asocial for a while. ;) After the "busy" stage of mindless work, I can shift to something less productive and more fun. Singing and dancing like a silly person is always a good option.</div>
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5. Reconnect with people.</h4>
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The danger of being mild and shy person is that I can stay in my head too much. After I've done the above steps, I need to reintegrate myself into social interaction. This can manifest itself as having a discussion with my husband, checking in on friends I haven't spoken to for a while, meeting with a friend (I think this is an especially good option if they need help with something), chatting with my sister, going to Mass, making plans for later in the week, reading about a saint, etc. If the things in my head are me-focused, it is a really good help to be around other people and remember that I am not the center of the world. ;)</div>
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Anyone have steps to de-stress? Would you add anything to my list? Leave a comment. :)</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-53064707836634988952016-07-08T10:27:00.004-05:002016-07-08T10:27:54.220-05:00Stat Crux Dum Volvitur Orbis<div style="text-align: justify;">
Very late last night, I heard about the Dallas shooting (which is only about 100 miles from where I live) and watched as the number of deaths and injuries climbed. Last week I heard about the death of a kidnapped priest. A couple weeks ago, I found out that the priest who heard my <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2012/12/first-confession.html"><b>first confession</b></a> and <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2013/03/easter-vigil-scene-i.html"><b>confirmed me</b></a> has been diagnosed with a brain tumor (<a href="http://stpatrickmerna.org/About/Staff"><b>contact him here</b></a>, if you like). Last month, I learned about two couples who had both lost their babies during or shortly after pregnancy. A few months ago, we took a collection at Mass to support people who had lost their homes from a tornado. Before that were the Paris shooting, the scandals associated with the university my husband attends, the kidnapping of several young girls from a village...</div>
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It seems as if every hour offers a new crisis. Even this list, which includes so many awful things, does not speak of the homeless mothers who beg to feed their children, the men who have been laid off and can't find work, the sick children who doctors can't cure but instead offer to make the remainder of their lives as comfortable as possible, the elderly in nursing homes who rarely receive visitors, the addicts who try but just can't quit, the people who have counted every last cent but barring a miracle will not be able to make rent this month, or any of the people who see these problems and feel like hope is too elusive. At some point, we are tempted to say (or we really do say), "How much more of this can I take?"</div>
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I went to Mass this week and Father (who was a visiting priest) talked about gratitude and how we do not show it as often as we should to God. This is not to say that we should be grateful for awful things that happen (though good can come from bad events). Rather, when so many things happen in the world that we deem "bad," it can be very difficult to notice the good in the world. How can I look at a student's drawing and appreciate their creativity and passion if I am thinking instead about how other kids throughout the world don't even have crayons, don't even have an education, don't even have a supportive family to encourage such pursuits? How can I receive God's grace if I am focused on my sins and instead of doing something about them and myself, I am wallowing in my sinfulness?</div>
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But wallowing in thoughts of how many bad things are happening does not make good things happen. It does not bring compassion, mercy and kindness to those who have suffered. It does not bring light into the darkest of situations. It does not make us, as Christ's body on earth, do the job which was given to us: to teach everyone of God's goodness and to love as He loves. We may be the only Christian or positive influence another person encounters: we ought to make each moment of our lives a testament to Christ, so that even in those single moments, people see Christ in us.</div>
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So no matter what is going on in your own life, in the lives of your friends, or in the life of the world, do something to communicate God's love and grace to others. Take heart that chaos and crises are not the ultimate plan for the world. Take heart that there is great mercy in the Sacrament of Confession and (in Father Z style) go to Confession! Take heart that there is great grace and strength in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Take heart that the cross is steady while the world is turning. </div>
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<i>"In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world." [John 16:33]</i></div>
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<i>"Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world." [Pope Benedict XVI]</i></div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-9563486491447710082016-03-27T13:53:00.000-05:002016-03-27T13:53:03.276-05:00Alleluia<div style="text-align: justify;">
Happy Easter!</div>
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After a very long Lent, I am so happy it's finally Easter, and also happy that I can now say alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpagbxMBJTX52DJMX1mWB_iSpxMHt17VTsKgz9dHJC2wrBY1uQBFCw2aw5wS-pEK1lFhTGBMhfn51RLXJWuYW2OfuC9BztErOuoyigV3cVYWb5fs05jfan6MDpVxBPGz24tgQPK4kbn6s/s1600/alleluia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpagbxMBJTX52DJMX1mWB_iSpxMHt17VTsKgz9dHJC2wrBY1uQBFCw2aw5wS-pEK1lFhTGBMhfn51RLXJWuYW2OfuC9BztErOuoyigV3cVYWb5fs05jfan6MDpVxBPGz24tgQPK4kbn6s/s640/alleluia.png" width="464" /></a></div>
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This morning at Mass we prayed for converts, and I realized that I was received into the Church three years ago. Sometimes it seems that I have been Catholic for much longer, while at other times I feel very much like an infant. I don't know that I'll ever get over that contradictory feeling, nor do I want to: I want to be thankful every year.</div>
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And I am thankful. I think with all the difficulties and sorrows of life, it is easy to get bogged down or to do things in a robotic way. It is easy to forget the joy. It is easy to forget the Easter that comes after Lent.</div>
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But I can't forget Easter. I can't forget the evening I so anticipated. I can't forget the evening I was confirmed while my sponsor had my back. I can't forget the evening I received the Eucharist for the first time and felt absolute peace, as if Jesus was steadying my heart because He was holding it close to His own. I can't forget His forgiveness, His grace or His goodness. "What return shall I render unto the Lord for all he has given me?"</div>
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May you never forget the goodness of the Lord, and may you and yours have a very happy Easter. If you were received this Easter, welcome home.</div>
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Alleluia!</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-15927787984281373712016-03-22T09:10:00.000-05:002016-03-22T09:10:38.074-05:00Lent 2016: Week Six (Holy Week)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3-A1TqZADmJMAl658WENAlW8yE7VAUIM_EUDe6XKfpCv4xcM9gSVq3KNLW5u9WV74fwvxPcdd5W3o7DOFn3AiD2-H9gRnBJZdyCkRYJrIDzPvFXWvm_xaqNqHRs6wBrdx-17P1dlaHY/s1600/lentwk6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3-A1TqZADmJMAl658WENAlW8yE7VAUIM_EUDe6XKfpCv4xcM9gSVq3KNLW5u9WV74fwvxPcdd5W3o7DOFn3AiD2-H9gRnBJZdyCkRYJrIDzPvFXWvm_xaqNqHRs6wBrdx-17P1dlaHY/s640/lentwk6.png" width="470" /></a></div>
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<u>Six Weeks Down</u><br />
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Here we are in the last week of Lent, which just seems bizarre. Though the husband was gone from Thursday until early Monday morning, I did not have a quiet week. On Thursday, my women's group swapped items we no longer wanted (hello, baking pans and cute skirt), ate many snacks and talked about the pregnancies of multiple women in the department. On Friday, I went to a potluck and met some prospective students who visited the department for the weekend (I didn't meet all of them, though, so now I'm wondering whether the accepted list will be people I don't know. Woops.). I also got to meet a new priest, so booyah. On Saturday, I had a much needed lie-in (after the most insane dream), then went to a St. Patrick's Day party, which was hosted by very kind and fun woman. I'm still daydreaming about the scones, so I may need to make some soon.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5J9auULkLb3yNdswcNrt91sNqjeoa_3m63SQRKl3FCODvPklHmBDr-XErNBr16_JucJfiSxJPChgjDF07krJIvYYEyApAci7fTDN655N6FedONul-GWlr3eOLEME4SaRHiksgwu58LjM/s1600/IMG_8312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5J9auULkLb3yNdswcNrt91sNqjeoa_3m63SQRKl3FCODvPklHmBDr-XErNBr16_JucJfiSxJPChgjDF07krJIvYYEyApAci7fTDN655N6FedONul-GWlr3eOLEME4SaRHiksgwu58LjM/s400/IMG_8312.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the delicious food I wish I could eat every day.</td></tr>
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Strangely, I almost don't want Lent to be over. Holy Week, however, is like the countdown to the New Year: the anticipation is now much more felt. In addition, the sorrow is now much more felt after Palm Sunday. Every year without fail, when the congregation recites the lines of the crowd who called for Christ's crucifixion, I cringe. I almost steel myself, as if I can will the Lord's subsequent suffering not to happen because it's just too horrible. I am still stunned that God came to Earth and this is how we treated Him.</div>
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I'll be thinking on these things throughout this week, and hope I am drawn closer to the cross by it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKuD9zLtDqEgk_zYiEqCCsDTY9PlTPfgssxs4OyjXgsTgXd73OdCHdgD5mgloKq0c4etw6v7oQq-AKcyYsxO_Di5Nsj3ZAj6danXcbzxFSjISpyTeGujhxEd_feMgom1p50yoCm8-1wc/s1600/IMG_8147.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKuD9zLtDqEgk_zYiEqCCsDTY9PlTPfgssxs4OyjXgsTgXd73OdCHdgD5mgloKq0c4etw6v7oQq-AKcyYsxO_Di5Nsj3ZAj6danXcbzxFSjISpyTeGujhxEd_feMgom1p50yoCm8-1wc/s400/IMG_8147.png" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even my body shall rest in safety. For you will not leave my soul<br />
among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay.</td></tr>
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<u>Quotations</u><br />
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Lift up thy face therefore unto Heaven; behold, I and all my saints with Me, who in this world had great conflict, do now rejoice, now are comforted, now secure, now at rest, and shall remain with Me everlastingly in the Kingdom of my Father</i>." (IOC. 3. XLVII)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>And I the most miserable and poorest of men, how shall I receive Thee into my house, I that scarce know how to spend one half hour in true devotion? and would that I could even once spend something like one half hour worthily</i>!" (IOC. 4. I)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Jesus died outside the gate, to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us go out to him outside the camp bearing the insult which he bore. From here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come. Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge his name</i>." (Hebrews 13:12-15)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress where his anointed find salvation. Save your people; bless Israel your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them for ever</i>." (Psalm 28:8-9)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Ours were the sufferings he bore. Ours the weight of guilt he endured</i>." (Midday Responsory)</li>
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<u>Final Notes</u></div>
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Last week, an interview with Papa Benedict XVI came out like a surprise hug. You can read the <b><a href="http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/4650/full_text_of_benedict_xvis_recent_rare_and_lengthy_interview.aspx">full text here</a></b>.</div>
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Prayer request: on Saturday evening, a relative died. Please keep Mary Jo and her family in your prayers.</div>
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Check your parish's schedule and go to a Tenebrae and/or Good Friday service this week.</div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-68693015541939178432016-03-15T14:03:00.000-05:002016-03-15T14:03:00.582-05:00Lent 2016: Week Five (Passiontide)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRNCQ6NA1XNFy4qjkV4PsyPb8gQR_kOKDoVfUX56BUzSPVqakBFN60JOkcnc9IvPWuifE10rq138zgVwJdS8nkd0qKy8EtUAWBVfnyTijSia_ZXDjCJyrZXmqUlJ_sGu8FLBVJbBt5ts/s1600/lentwk5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRNCQ6NA1XNFy4qjkV4PsyPb8gQR_kOKDoVfUX56BUzSPVqakBFN60JOkcnc9IvPWuifE10rq138zgVwJdS8nkd0qKy8EtUAWBVfnyTijSia_ZXDjCJyrZXmqUlJ_sGu8FLBVJbBt5ts/s640/lentwk5.png" width="470" /></a></div>
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<u>Five Weeks Down</u></div>
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Passiontide is upon us. It's a bit of a shock to the system to walk into Mass and find the crucifixes covered with violet cloth (the weather was on board, though, because it poured all week). I usually spend a good deal of Mass looking at the crucifix, so to have that routine unavailable to me was like another small Lenten penance. Looking at the crucifix is a good practice, but it is good to give up even good things. Without the benefit of a visual aid, I had to focus in other ways. It made me think about the faith. We will not always feel so very close to God. We will not always have the luxuries (simple as they might be) we have now. We will need to stay on the right path anyway even when we don't feel like being holy, even when it feels difficult, even when we feel little consolation.</div>
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The Gospel reading on Sunday was about the death of Lazarus. Jesus goes back to Judea to see him, but he had already died. Martha says, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." (John 11:21-22) Even in this seemingly impossible circumstance (Martha did not know what Jesus would do), Martha still has hope. She still believes that something good can come from the bad. We have all had bad circumstances in our lives, and we've probably heard people say, "What good can come from this?" I realized then that I haven't been asking that question with hope. Instead, I've asked it with worry. I've asked it without the assurance that Martha shows above. That's something I should change.</div>
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On a more delightful note, I have rediscovered the <b><a href="http://catholicstuffpodcast.com/wordpress/">Catholic Stuff You Should Know</a></b> podcast. A group of priests take turns in pairs hosting the show and they discuss topics from holy water to saints to artists to book passages to sacraments... Any Catholic thing you want to know about, they've probably talked about (or you could ask them to cover something particular, maybe). Some of them are in Rome presently, so I love when they talk about life in Italy. I used to listen to the podcast a lot while in college but somehow it went off my radar during my last semester (I think I thought they had stopped, which would have been a bummer). Now I have a good hundred shows to catch up on. Check them out. :)</div>
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Other highlights of the week included buying a coloring book (because I am secretly five) and taking a walk on Sunday evening to a point which gave us a great view of the river and surrounding towns. Now all the trees are very green and leafy, so it really feels like Spring (or Summer sometimes, to be honest). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMYWZDcctbdQSeKQ8teo1saMRceG6JgoVnDIlNg2WOfUGdRZjq4Q7wIYTvOCYYxAHTn_QHaroaE-QCC0cyVDgznVhSHQrkMtZAPhxAS1s1GjAWJ79RCYGkofdrB9NV9_oJc5LinkjMrE/s1600/IMG_8282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMYWZDcctbdQSeKQ8teo1saMRceG6JgoVnDIlNg2WOfUGdRZjq4Q7wIYTvOCYYxAHTn_QHaroaE-QCC0cyVDgznVhSHQrkMtZAPhxAS1s1GjAWJ79RCYGkofdrB9NV9_oJc5LinkjMrE/s400/IMG_8282.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I obviously didn't give up childishness for Lent.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEYGFz4qah7n0TLM2k8tAMLf7D6wjPypO2X84jbzPj6a3F0_YHbbmlVXyBChObXf8ibF3CHOwG-mwFxIbmML9TYNuhM1Ky54tOW3n-W6VJnHUAU4g19qQMRueoOdCW26rH16xeElro04/s1600/IMG_8298.2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEYGFz4qah7n0TLM2k8tAMLf7D6wjPypO2X84jbzPj6a3F0_YHbbmlVXyBChObXf8ibF3CHOwG-mwFxIbmML9TYNuhM1Ky54tOW3n-W6VJnHUAU4g19qQMRueoOdCW26rH16xeElro04/s400/IMG_8298.2.png" width="337" /></a></div>
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<u>Quotations</u></div>
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<ul>
<li>"<i>Thou shalt not long toil here, nor always be oppressed with griefs. Wait a little while, and thou shalt see a speedy end of thine evils. There will come an hour when all labour and tumult shall cease. Poor and brief is all that which passeth away with time</i>." (IOC 3. XLVII)</li>
<li>"<i>Unto Thee I commend myself and all that is mine, to be corrected: better it is to be punished here, than hereafter</i>." (IOC. 3. L)</li>
<li>"<i>St. Joseph, Most Obedient, Pray for us</i>!" (<b><a href="http://www.praymorenovenas.com/">join the St. Joseph novena here</a></b>)</li>
<li>"<i>O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge</i>." (Psalm 7:2)</li>
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Stay strong. Look for the good. Buy some crayons. Happy Lent. xx</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-71981313204924623662016-03-11T09:00:00.000-06:002016-03-11T13:03:21.517-06:00Italy Trip: Days 4-6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Here is part two of the Italy adventure! Again, these are excerpts from the journal I kept while in Italy. The first two days are in Venice, the third day back in Rome. <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2016/03/italy-trip-days-1-3.html">Click here to read part one</a></b>. :)</i></div>
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<u>DAY FOUR</u></div>
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In the morning, we got ready, had breakfast and went back to S. Marco's Square, this time to visit the museums. The Correr Museum now takes up what were once the rooms of Elizabeth of Austria. When C went to Vienna in 2014, he got me a hair pin modeled after ones Elizabeth often wore. It was neat to now see her study, dressing room and bedchamber, which look out onto the water. A very pretty gray-blue is used in a lot of the decorative paint in these rooms. We continued to more rooms filled with sculpture of mythological figures and philosophers. Religious artwork, especially of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, filled the next rooms. The archaeological rooms had replicas of ships and coins dating back to the 1700s. My favorite rooms were the libraries: ceiling high bookshelves, three foot diameter globes, missals and books of mathematics on display and paintings of people reading, writing and studying astronomy....</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Missal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirR4o2He6vuoaxX5ZQVfkhkHInrEpWpDqCS0jvDtDNYFbmrvXPlaGVE6c6VbwrY6FCnwWb7DqWK4IR3i-ncG4D7zdWwpxasjvrmeewtSJWYvNfJKe40i0J51YbvZ-YnkMI8SEkk8ZoJk8/s1600/IMG_6740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirR4o2He6vuoaxX5ZQVfkhkHInrEpWpDqCS0jvDtDNYFbmrvXPlaGVE6c6VbwrY6FCnwWb7DqWK4IR3i-ncG4D7zdWwpxasjvrmeewtSJWYvNfJKe40i0J51YbvZ-YnkMI8SEkk8ZoJk8/s400/IMG_6740.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can I live here?</td></tr>
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We made a short excursion to a shop on the lower level where C picked out some Venetian silk ties, most decorated with fleur de lis. We crossed the small square south of S. Marco to Doge's Palace, or Palazzo Ducale. This palace held council rooms large enough for more than the ten, twenty or forty members who would meet there. There was also a room which still had some of a fresco which had suffered damage from a fire. It depicted Paradise with Jesus and Mary, the Evangelists, saints and angels of different ranks. There was a contest to find out who would recreate the scene. The chosen man's work is in the same room. He was meant to do a large piece in the next grand room (53 x 25 meters, one of the largest rooms in all of Europe), but his son had to finish it. He added a Marian-focused spin. Jesus and Mary are seated in Heaven. St. Michael the Archangel holds out scales to Jesus. St. Gabriel holds out lilies to Mary, a nod at the Annunciation. They are surrounded by angels and saints, some 500 faces in total. The painting had to be done in stages and brought over piece by piece. The artist found it to be more of a privilege and service to the public and asked for a lower commission. It is amazing to think of such circumstances and imagine being a fly on the wall while such things were happening. The next room had a large wall painted as the Last Judgement. Christ welcomes saints into Heaven and sends others to Hell. The peace of the former and the despair of the latter are almost tangible.</div>
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We then went up S. Marco Campanile (Bell Tower) and had the most amazing view of the city. After being in the narrow, winding labyrinth-like streets, it was a great new perspective to see everything from above. Terra cotta roofs stretch across the island, broken only by the grayish white gleam of the Basilica and palace walls. We looked out to an endless, slightly hazy coast dotted with traghettos and broken occasionally by towering churches. The wind was cold and my fingers were nearly frozen, but it was absolutely worth it.</div>
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From here we left to the armory and prisons. We saw a ton of arrows, swords and daggers, as well as a rather terrifying looking chastity belt (though I suppose it is ore terrifying for the men than for the women). There was also a collection of guns and armor for horses. When we reached the prisons, it felt eerie. You descend half a dozen steps to a bridge called the bridge of Sighs, so called because this would be the last time prisoners would be able to set their eyes on the city through the grated windows. This path is maybe six feet high, so C had to stoop. More gate-like doors and wooden doors with severe looking locks bring you to the prisons themselves. There were maybe half a dozen prisons a bit bigger than a standard American bedroom with round holes in the walls, presumably to transfer food through. Some people must have managed to sneak in, because there was graffiti on some walls. I was relieved to step out of the prisons and get out of the building entirely after that damp and dreary experience.</div>
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We escaped to the hotel to get warm and decide on dinner plans. While I initially wanted to have a "nice" dinner in Venice, the truth is, that is easier said than done. So many restaurants are tourist traps with sub-par food, cover charges and gimmicks. The ones actual locals go to are more focused on chiccetti, similar to Spanish tapas. We attempted to go to a pizza place, but it must have closed because it was nowhere to be found. We went looking for a different place and stepped into...dun dun dun [not even joking. This is what my book says]...a tourist trap that smelled strongly of fish and had overpriced drinks. Two minutes and an interesting conversation between C and the waiter later and we left for the same place we had the previous night. We were welcomed with a "Nice to see you again" and no cover charge, so we were pleased. C got some gelato afterwards, but all I had on my mind was sleep, so we went back to the hotel and I passed out at 9.30 [anyone who knows me knows how ridiculous that is, night owl that I am].</div>
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<u>DAY FIVE</u></div>
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I awoke at a bright and early 3.00 AM [really??] and stayed up eating chocolate, watching videos and conversing with family. I was able to sleep for another hour and a half, had a croissant breakfast and packed while C showered. We checked out at 10.00, but left our luggage behind to pick up later. We made our way through S. Marco's Square again past high end shops (Burberry coats are pretty, but 2000 euro) to the University district. On the way we ran into a man displaying paintings on the street. We only stopped to take a picture of the street (Calle S. Christopher) and when he approached us and pointed to the painting in his hand, C said no. The man said, "Oh, no. People think I come up to them to sell painting and say no. no, I just like to paint. It's a lot of work. Other people make prints and sell them for a big price. I give them to galleries I am an engineer and teach mathematics." "Did you get your Ph.D in Michigan?" C asked, pointing to the man's shirt. "Oh yeah. Michigan. I have family in New Jersey. I paint for a hobby. It is many layers on top of each other--magnifico!" He complimented my picture of C in front of the street sign. "--But if you want a painting I only charge twenty euro." [I'm still laughing.]</div>
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A few bridges later and we arrived at the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, a large church at the water's edge. The Basilica (unlike my photograph of C) really was magnificent inside and out. There are too many statues to count, because I still find more in the pictures I took. The white stone and gray-green dome look beautiful by the sea. About twenty steps lead you up to large green double doors. Posted above the door was a notice saying absolutely not to give anyone money, because admission to the church was free. This didn't stop a woman inside from trying to get money from us and following me when I went into my purse for my glasses. The church is octagonal with many side altars that could be high altars on their own. Old fashioned confessionals are dotted throughout, which I hope are still regularly used. Titian did much of the artwork, a lot of which is Marian themed. THe main altar has a Byzantine style icon of Mary and the Infant Jesus. Another interesting feature is Pius X's chair, which is golden, flanked by statues and probably fifteen feet tall. We took our time enjoying the view outside. It was comparable only to St Peter's Basilica (smaller but more meaningful) and the view from the bell tower which we had the previous day. The sea seems to stretch out forever.</div>
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Of course, we became lost on the way back, but we were serenaded by a cheap gondola blasting dance music, so that's nice. We also found Cafe India, a decent sized restaurant with fair prices and a man who either whistled along with the 80s classic rock that was playing or modified the lyrics to make them tell his friend/coworker that he would love him every day/forever. I had to make C stop from joining in for fear that the three would form one boy band and make it big in Venice, which would mean I would be stuck in a land with almost no greenery for the rest of my life. C got a meat lover's pizza and I go a pancetta, egg and cheese sandwich. It was the best food I had in Venice hands down. No other tourists came in while we were there, but several locals did. We relaxed inside for a while, then returned to the streets. We were still lost but eventually realized we were close to our hotel. We went looking for a magnet for C's mom (her standard souvenir request) and I managed to track down the Kiko makeup shop I was looking for (where everything was 30-50% off. Score!).</div>
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We returned to the hotel to sit and warm up before Mass. We went out for Mass, but the doors were closed as we arrived and we could find no other door (!) [Thankfully, it was Saturday night, not Sunday night]. We wandered again and I ended up ducking into a shop and purchasing a black, long sleeve dress. We stole more time and phone-charging electricity at the hotel, then emerged for the final time to walk very misty, winding streets. When we came upon Ponte degli Scalzi (the bridge to the train station), the whole canal was covered in a dense fog, which was amusing because our friend Fr. W had just commented on a Facebook photo that it was very misty when he visited. We boarded our train to Verona [with neither time nor sunlight to adventure in Romeo and Juliet's city] where we waited for our second train [and an Italian woman tried to converse with me so I looked like a total idiot], which unfortunately was not as nice, since I was crammed in a car with four strangers. Gotta do what you gotta do.<br />
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<u>DAY SIX</u></div>
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I woke on the train several times before it arrived in Rome (strangely on time). We took a bus to our hotel and only realized when we got there at 6.30 that we would be able to have breakfast in half an hour. We had doubted our train would make it on time and just ruled breakfast out. We were going to go to the Angelus, but C wanted to take advantage of having a bed, rather than a cramped train car, to sleep in, which means we snoozed and didn't start our day until the afternoon [sorry, not sorry. We were exhausted.].</div>
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Since we slept in, we had to find an evening Mass and we were lucky enough to find and English one. San Silvestro in Capite was sizeable and covered with art featuring various saints, including St. Francis. As we walked in, the choir and musicians were practicing. As we prayed before Mass, an older Irish priest came up to C and asked his life story [joking. Just what he was doing in Rome], then asked him to do the second reading during Mass. Of course my husband would be picked out. I joked about being put to work while on vacation. The celebrant was a visiting priest who had studied with a priest of that parish (I think they were from Nairobi). On top of this, the congregation was mostly Korean, so a lot of countries were representing that night. The Irish priest talked to us again at the end of Mass and, after taking a second look at C said, "You're very tall" and said he must have to stoop to look me in the face. I liked him. :)</div>
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We then walked to Trinity College Pub which was full of Italians (I guess I was expecting Irish or tourists or Irish tourists). It was nice to be in a place where English was dominant, at least in written word. They also had free wifi, which is always a plus. During dinner, I was able to send a message to my mother telling her I was having Coke (after, I had to explain to her that European Coke is superior to the American variety and tastes similar to Pepsi) [and now I want European Coke...].</div>
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We walked up Corso, a very busy shopping street [if you are impatient, read: a nightmare], which was especially packed with last minute Christmas shoppers. On the way, we found a mall strung with lights. We walked down the strip, but most shops were closed or closing. We continued toward the Spanish Steps and came across a monument dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The BVM stands at the top with a crown of stairs around her head and a wreath of flowers on her arm. At the base of the pillar, Moses, Isaiah, David and Ezekiel stand with Old Testament inscriptions below. The next square over is where the Spanish Steps are, but they were undergoing renovation and open during certain hours, so we got gelato [at a place with the best pistachio I had in Rome] and walked around looking at the shops. We were still tired from travel, so we turned in early.</div>
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<i>That's days four through six! I'm tired just thinking about how tired I was on that last day. Stay tuned for day seven (we went to St Peter's, so I decided that's a bit much to squash into a post with two other days).</i></div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-66665993578291898582016-03-10T13:31:00.002-06:002016-03-10T13:32:44.370-06:00How We Should Raise Our Sons and Daughters<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"I just don't want a lot of daughters."</i></div>
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<i><i>"Why not?"</i></i></div>
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<i><i>"Because I don't want to have to beat up a lot of guys who are interested in them when they're older."</i></i><br />
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<i><i>"It's not her I don't trust. It's any boy she likes that I don't trust."</i></i></div>
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<i><i>"All teenage boys think about one thing. I know because I used to be one."</i></i><br />
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I have heard these lines and conversations pretty much word for word, some multiple times, in my fairly short lifetime (although, let's be real and point out that that last one is impossible). Most of the time they are uttered by fathers about or to their daughters. That teenage boys will at the least break a girl's heart and at the most push them to do immoral things is not treated as a question, but rather as a certainty. That is, unless the father manages to step in before too much damage has been done. Because this is such a recurring theme, I've thought on it enough to find <b>three problematic views</b> this trend perpetuates:</div>
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<b>1. Boys are a danger to girls.</b></div>
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Whenever I hear the above sentences, they are uttered as absolute statements. In fact, they are stated similarly to the way that "Boys will be boys" is stated, as if there is nothing that anyone can do to change the way the male sex acts. This begs two questions.</div>
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The first: what kind of epidemic has to hit a society in such a way that we "know" how a whole group will behave? What factors combined to cause such a sure behavior? The second: why do we treat a whole group of human beings as if they cannot use the rational nature they were born with to act in a respectful manner?</div>
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As a bonus question, would we treat any other group in the same way? Would we adopt the phrase "Girls will be girls" if we saw that there had been a great increase of female-on-male assault? Would we tell Johnny that Susie likes him, that's why she pulled his hair at recess?</div>
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<b>2. The only way that a boy will not be a danger to a girl is if another male presence is involved.</b></div>
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"No kissing boys" is the motto of my step-father, who began to recite the words when I was in middle school. As if I cared that boys existed. The majority of my middle school days were spent at sleepovers watching horror films and eating chocolate ice cream. Sure, I had friends who started to see boys as "cute," rather than "another student I need to beat at test scores." Nevertheless, I was cautioned from an early age to avoid messy situations...before I even knew what a messy situation could be.</div>
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I should feel bad for my step-father, considering he has only daughters and probably had miniature crises when my sister and I got to our teenage years. But a part of me doesn't want to feel bad. A part of me wants to demand that no father ever has to joke about getting his gun when a boy asks his daughter out. Some would say this is my overly positive idealism coming out. Some would say that isn't reality. It isn't realistic to expect boys to know how to respect girls. It isn't realistic to expect fathers not to have to stress themselves out protecting their daughters.</div>
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<b>3. Sometimes, even (2) is not the case.</b></div>
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Sometimes, after the worry and stress spent over what could happen to a girl, we completely drop the ball. People figure, "It's going to happen anyway. Might as well have it happen with the least possible consequences." ("It" being a relationship, heartbreak, sex...) So now parents listen attentively to their ten year old girls talk about the boy they're dating. Now mothers put their daughters on birth control pills years before a sexual situation arises. Now fathers watch their daughters become withdrawn after boyfriends cheat on or break up with them. Instead of offering guidance and protection, families and society say that it is inevitable that girls will get hurt by boys, so we may as well just accept it now.<br />
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<b>This is normal?</b></div>
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Why, when faced with this problem, do we choose to stand by and watch it unfold? If a fire starts in our house, do we not try to put it out before it can swallow our home? How much more precious are our families than our homes? Surely if they are more precious, they need our protection and care, too. If we would put out a fire, install smoke alarms and call firefighters, why wouldn't we take similar precautions with the people we love?<br />
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But we shouldn't just say that men are at fault. Women are capable of immoral acts and attitudes as well (hi, yes, I am female and I'm totally a crappy human being at times). I've seen and heard both sexes inappropriately gesture toward or comment on the opposite sex. To be honest, it gets a bit juvenile after a while. Perhaps a better way to put it is, it gets a bit base. This issue is about human kind.<br />
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So what do we do?<br />
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<b>1. Raise our sons well.</b></div>
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Instead of accepting the bizarre present way of things, we ought to counteract it. Let's teach our sons the virtues. Let's teach them to be mindful and self-controlled when they interact with women. Let's teach them that women are not objects, amusements or conquests. Let's teach them chastity (and not just in regard to the physical, but the emotional as well). Let's teach them to be wise in their actions and courageous in the face of public opinion which would oppose them. We should raise our sons to see that "the dignity of the human person is rooted in the image and likeness of God." (CCC 1700)</div>
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<b>2. Raise our daughters well.</b></div>
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Let's teach our daughters the virtues. Let's teach them to be mindful and self-controlled when they interact with men. Let's teach them that men are not objects, amusements or conquests. Let's teach them chastity, both physical and emotional. Let's teach them to be wise in their actions and courageous in the face of public opinion which would oppose them. We should raise our daughters to see that "the dignity of the human person is rooted in the image and likeness of God." (CCC 1700)</div>
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Let's not be content with "that's just the way it is," but instead <i>change </i>the way it is.</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-91286172806381229092016-03-08T12:39:00.001-06:002016-03-08T12:39:24.473-06:00Lent 2016: Week Four (The Rose Among Violets)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChtRIEz0W9JKGjiypJIuLNFDPhslojQRne8vQpuoLLzfu38MNXFXTcBUeVVyHiaC6tiTOPQX_s8znVACa5ujsk3fVcyKDf07qOThCTrgXXmxyHMmgcH5HmkX9IANc7byyOuOy6tzBvbY/s1600/lentwk4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChtRIEz0W9JKGjiypJIuLNFDPhslojQRne8vQpuoLLzfu38MNXFXTcBUeVVyHiaC6tiTOPQX_s8znVACa5ujsk3fVcyKDf07qOThCTrgXXmxyHMmgcH5HmkX9IANc7byyOuOy6tzBvbY/s640/lentwk4.png" width="470" /></a></div>
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<u>Four Weeks Down</u><br />
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Oh man. How was your week? Even though we've made it past the half-way point, I am really starting to <i>feel</i> Lent. Do you know what I mean? And it's not that I've taken up such difficult penances and religious practices or that I'm struggling to keep my life together. Rather, I have become more aware of how much of a wait Lent really is. Lent is six and a half weeks leading up to Easter, which sounds like a small amount of time from some contexts (a semester? a pregnancy?), but makes me think of how long of a wait it is until Eternal Rest. How many times will we know suffering in our own life or see it in another's? How many times will we ask, "Why?" or "When?" How many times will we flee temptation? How many times will we return sinful and sorrowful to our merciful God? (Perhaps I've been reading too many psalms of lament. I spent a lot of time alone this week, so that also makes me a bit morose.)<br />
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We cannot know the answers to these questions, nor can we know how many days we will be given until we face eternity. The latter should make us pause, examine ourselves and continue striving for sanctity. I'm hoping that each day of Lent guides me in that direction, in the direction of God and his goodness.<br />
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Appropriately, this Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent) was Laetare Sunday, so called for the Introit at Mass, which begins "Laetare Jerusalem," which means "Rejoice, O Jerusalem," taken from Isaiah. Advent sees a similar day on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday. On both Sundays, the priest wears rose vestments, which show us a glimpse of the light to come through the dark violet surroundings of Lent. It will not always be Lent. Easter will come. It will not always be suffering and difficulty. Joy will come.<br />
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<u>Quotations</u><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"<i>Although thou shouldest possess all created good, yet couldest thou not be happy thereby nor blessed; but in God, who created all things, consisteth thy whole blessedness and felicity; not such as is seen and commended by the foolish lovers of the world, but such as the good and faithful servants of Christ wait for, and of which the spiritual and pure in heart, whose conversation is in Heaven, sometimes have a foretaste</i>." (IOC. 3. XVI)</li>
<li>"<i>And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; even my body shall rest in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay</i>." (Psalm 16:9)</li>
<li>"<i>King of kings, yet born of Mary, / as of old on earth He stood, / Lord of lords, in human vesture, / in the body and the blood; / He will give to all the faithful / His own self for heavenly food</i>." (Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence)</li>
<li>"<i>Hail, Queen of Heaven; / hail, Mistress of the angels; / hail, root of Jesse; hail, the gate / through which the Light rose over the earth</i>." (Ave, Regina Caelorum)</li>
</ul>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-31719001631005895382016-03-04T12:41:00.001-06:002016-03-04T12:41:24.691-06:00Italy Trip: Days 1-3<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Finally! The Rome trip! For those unaware, my husband and I went to Italy for two weeks over Christmas, three days in Venice and the rest in Rome, my new favorite city. I'll be sharing our adventures in five parts with excerpts from the journal I kept while we were there (and my present commentary), as well as photographs (of course!). I absolutely loved Italy and still feel so lucky to have been able to go. :)</i></div>
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<u>DAY ONE</u><br />
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Christopher and I arrived in Rome yesterday morning after an eight hour flight with surprisingly good plane food (for some reason I was especially excited about that bit) [for real, guys. I love airplane food. I'm like a kid in a candy store when the attendants roll out their food carts. "Chicken or pasta?" Yes. Anything and everything, please.]. After landing, we took the FL1 train to our hotel. For much of this journey I was irritable, which I now blame on heat and hunger [story of my life]. Our hotel room is very European (i.e. small), but nice. We recuperated from the flight for a while, then headed out, taking the 60 bus to Santa Susanna, the church which held our free tickets to the Papal Audience for the next day. We took to walking around, ambling along small Italian streets that small Italian cars are still able to navigate. Many streets are done up with Christmas lights and some shops have garland and Christmas trees on display. Musicians play (or in one man's case, bring radios?) in open squares and larger streets. Waiters stand at restaurant doors, inviting people in for warmth and candlelit meals. Young people, mothers with strollers and (my favorite) priests walk along the dark cobblestones. It is all very idyllic. Still, I couldn't really grasp the fact that we were in Italy, finally, after waiting for such a long time.</div>
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As if the city knew I still held such reservations, if reservations they could be called, we turned a corner into the square which houses the Trevi Fountain. C was talking as we did so, but I would be hard pressed to remember what he was saying. The Fountain looms over you--I don't know how high--and if you aren't careful, you'll miss the details in the grand size of the piece. A flourish of sea flowers clings to the marble cliff. Each statue of the women has a unique character. The inscription at the top tells when and by whom and to what purpose the piece was constructed (which is all in shorthand, so you kind of have to know what it says already to know what it says). At night, it is lit up by lights throughout the square where people scrabble to get good angles for their pictures and vendors sell souvenirs and (the latest gimmick) selfie sticks. It seems to be a haunt for local teens, as well, who joke and shove each other on each stair level. Maybe it's my virginal Italian eyes or maybe it's that the Fountain was recently restored and cleaned, but it is a beautiful and stunning sight.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine that you are only half as tall as the statues and you may have an idea of how large the Trevi is.</td></tr>
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The Pantheon was a smaller, granted no less greater, surprise than the Trevi, at least as far as shock value is concerned. Still. Try not to be impressed by a building that has been standing for that many centuries. We entered about ten minutes before closing, which gave us enough time to see many paintings and sculptures. Maria e Gesu' Bambino was my favorite. Mary stands tall and strong with baby Jesus in her arms. The statue itself looks as smooth as realistic skin. I was pleasantly surprised to find Raphael's tomb beneath, who made many of the pieces there. On his tomb is written: “Here lies Raphael, by whom nature herself feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die.”</div>
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We took a north west path through lights and police motorbikes, headed for the Vatican. Somehow, I was more intent on making it to a particular street that the thought of the Vatican slipped my mind until C said if I looked carefully, I could see St. Peter's from our spot on Lungotevere in Marzio. I spied the cupola, the highest point in the city and started to feel a tingling of the thought “This is happening.”</div>
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We crossed Ponte S. Angelo to get to (what else?) Castel S. Angelo. The river is lined with statues of angels, some bearing staffs and ready to fight. The bridge is also a perfect place to watch cars pass on one side of the river and people pass on the other side. Lgt. Vaticano turns into Via della Conciliazione, a straight shot to the Basilica of St. Peter.</div>
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Ah, St. Peter's. What can I say that others have not? I Can only repeat the Basilica is beautiful but not only for the architecture. The Basilica is breathtaking, but not only for its size. The Basilica is magnificent but not only for its history. It is all of these things—art, enormity, history—as well as the anticipation I have ahd in waiting to see it and my religious history. Rome sweet Home was one of the first books I read about conversion and its cover had the Basilica of St Peter on it. “All roads lead to Rome” and the road of my life started in a very Protestant family and background Through circumstances of meeting people, being a naturally curious person, wanting to know the truth and having good examples of the faith, I became Catholic. I think it must be quite normal for converts to feel like weary, but immensely pleased pilgrims. For a time, they are on a journey of spiritual discovery and investigation; they must question beliefs they have long held; they must examine themselves. They must do all this in the face of opposition, whether that opposition comes from family, friends, or society. They must deny themselves and follow Christ where He leads them, He the good Shepherd who patiently bears his sheep and brings them truth, grace and mercy.</div>
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God has been with me on the journey of my life and on this journey to Rome, the seat of Peter, the stones where martyrs' blood has been spilt, the place where saints are buried, the city where walls, floors, ceilings and streets are covered in priceless art depicting scenes of the faith, the balconies where popes have greeted the people, the land where I expect to come away from changed, my home.</div>
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<u>DAY TWO</u></div>
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Morning came a little too
quickly. We wanted to be sure to get to the Basilica in good time to
get decent seats for the Papal Audience. The buses were incredibly
packed when we got on (60 by the hotel, 64 at Nazionale-Quirinale)
and I worried a little when one bus seemed to break down [!!!]. It
turned out alright, though. Finally, we got off the bus and queued up
with others to go through a very easy security line. Even though we
had visited only twelve hours ago, I was still surprised at the scale
of the place. We did luck out in finding two seats in the sixth or so
row. I could hear people speaking in French, Italian and Spanish as
we waited for the Audience to begin. What a testament to the
universality of the Catholic church to have so many different people
gathered in one place.<br /><br />Suddenly, the murmur of many voices
broke into cheers as Pope Francis entered the square. He greeted
thousands with a large grin and waves. It is surreal to see buildings
you've only seen in photographs and it is likewise surreal to see
people you've only seen in photographs. He stopped every so often to
kiss babies and reach out to people. Many of us who were not close to
the perimeters stood on chairs to get a better view of the Holy
Father. Finally, he made his way up to the platform in front of the
Basilica. Bishops from around the world took turns reading from the
Gospel, in which Jesus says He is the way. The Gospel was spoken in
multiple languages and then Pope Francis gave his address. He
reminded us that the Jubilee for the Year of Mercy had begun and the
Holy Door had been opened (this door is only opened for Jubilee
years). Ur focus must be on the mercy of God, which Christ welcomes
us to receive in love and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He also
said that mercy and grace come from God's love and our hearts, not
from work we can do on our own. This statement elicited applause from
the crowd. Following, the bishops extended prayers to Pope Francis,
as well as happy birthday wishes (he would turn 79 on the 17<sup>th</sup>).
Finally, they told us we could have our objects blessed at the
closing benediction. He also blessed those in attendance, their
families, and sick loved ones. At the end of the audience, one group
sang Happy Birthday and a line of people met the Pope.</div>
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We followed the stream of
people out of the square and turned onto Via di Porta Angelica to
purchase religious items. A sizable shop had many things on display:
rosaries, probably a hundred different kinds; key chains; mugs;
sweatshirts; statues; decade bracelets; medals and more. I was
tempted to purchase a statue of St. Therese of St. Christopher, but
worried about something happening to it on the travel home. I picked
up a box with Pope Benedict XVI on it which had a delicate looking
blue rosary inside. While I liked it, I didn't think Benedict was
involved so inherently. I asked the girl if the shop had more
Benedict items (there were several Francis and JPII items) and they
found a center piece I could attach to a rosary [but as I don't make
rosaries, I nixed that option] and a key chain with Benedict on one
side and the four Papal Basilicas on the other. I was more pleased
when the girl found one with St. Christopher on the other side
[score!]. I scooped the key chain up as well as a rose-scented rosary
to be blessed at the Sunday Angelus.</div>
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We couldn't dawdle all day, though. We crossed a bridge into a thanklessly shaded road [it was nice and sunny in St. Peter's Square] and stopped first at Largo di Torre Argentina, where Caesar was murdered. The ruins are beautiful and almost haunting. It is amazing that such old sites have been preserved and stood through so much history. Of course, C had to insert a joke about posting a picture and saying, “Here is where I shanked Caesar.” Oof. A nearby fountain gave us some good water. The water from such fountains is known to be good and it is certainly much better than our hotel's, which is none too enjoyable.<br /><br />After a good look into the past, we met a priest friend, Fr. M, outside of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio, a church in the square where the Trevi Fountain is. We followed him down the street to a cafe. Along the way he pointed out the apartments where he and other studying priests live in Rome. We sat in a narrow cafe with espressos and hot chocolate and talked about his assignment. It sounds like a lot of work because they have eighteen hours of classes per week. It all sounds very interesting, so I hope it goes well for him.</div>
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We then headed to the Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco, a (free!) museum which houses ancient Roman and Egyptian sculpture, vases and excavations. As I looked at the Roman artifacts, it hit me that these pieces did not have to travel far to be here. They did not come from some far away land. Instead, we had come to the far away land to encounter history and art for ourselves. We finished and ventured out for some dinner. I had carbonara (the best I had in Rome) and C has a tomato basil pasta.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't eat in Rome without Papa Benny's favorite soda.</td></tr>
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Back at the hotel, I looked into how to get to Termini station that evening. We arrived in plenty of time and I used the hour for gelato and journaling. We boarded our train at around 10.15 and departed twenty minutes later. As it was an overnight train, we were in a sleeper car and shared it with two Italian boys. I can't remember their names, but one was friendly and going to Mestre to attend his girlfriend's graduation. He had spent a year in New York and Fordham studying law. After a while, we fell into quiet as we amused ourselves with writing, reading or music. At around 1 AM I finally fell asleep.</div>
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<u>DAY THREE</u></div>
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I awoke at 7 AM in a
panic because we were meant to get to Venice at 5.20. However,
Italian travel is not often without some delay and we arrived at
8.30. We were also given breakfast. Mine included a giant honey
croissant and a kiwi apple juice. We got off the train, declined the
opportunity to pay money to use the toilet, and exited the station to
what has easily been the most beautiful sunrise of my entire life.
Venice is gorgeous and I am so happy we decided to come here.
Buildings with arched windows, flanked by small alleyways and broken
up by grand museums and basilicas are bathed in an early morning pink
and golden hue. The air smells slightly sweet and the stone bridges
and streets resound pleasantly with the clack of footsteps. I could
never describe the scene well enough. We stumbled upon the Rialto
market, a visual onslaught of colors and an olfactory overpowering of
smells (for the former, mostly of vegetables and fruits; for the
latter, mostly of fish. Fish smells great early in the morning. It
was probably swimming that morning...). C managed to guide us to our
hotel, a cute B+B with an older, traditional décor that I quite
like: soft yellow diamond patterned wall paper and dark wood dressers
and armoirs. Our bathroom is up a flight of stairs and designed in a
nice mix of traditional and contemporary with porcelain and terra
cotta.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New best friend?</td></tr>
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On our way to San Marco's, we must have passed one hundred shops. Many shops are designed with tourists in mind. They show off a bit of Venetian character, as well. Elaborate glittery masks for carnival, lace tablecloths, knockoff purses in several shades and sizes, glassowrk (a Venetian specialty), beaded jewelry, scarves, gelaterias and pizzerias (neither of which are as agood as their Roman counterparts)... Tourist trap restaurants send out waiters who advertise their “very fresh food.” The closer you are to Rialto bridge, the crazier it is. The bridge is covered in young people, older tourist couples, mothers with strollers, and people with maps and selfie sticks. Shops line the bridge as well.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwq8Z53vmMyfrX1zJg4zqTZS3EIefSVWXRMR3yBoVJqvzMsjCLT5NbLqs2Gv4l7yW7EJpKBbePqJkEfsR58f8KQxv__UZVGIGWY85oivKjt03ktgWBGwmrvjg5T56CJ5lOnwyJZ6lTuI/s1600/IMG_6626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwq8Z53vmMyfrX1zJg4zqTZS3EIefSVWXRMR3yBoVJqvzMsjCLT5NbLqs2Gv4l7yW7EJpKBbePqJkEfsR58f8KQxv__UZVGIGWY85oivKjt03ktgWBGwmrvjg5T56CJ5lOnwyJZ6lTuI/s640/IMG_6626.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just pretend the construction and red poles aren't there.</td></tr>
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Emerging onto the Square is another momentous scene. The Basilica itself is enormous and in the Baroque style. Great gilded horses flank the terrace. There are hints at the Evangelist throughout, especially with lions: on the edifice, as statues guarding a twenty foot tall Christmas tree, at the top of a monument. The other three sides of the square are made up of the Correr Museum, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciano and archaeological museum. Beneath these grand levels of historical note are shops and cafes. For Christmas, lights are strung in the walkways. Out on the square, it is a mix of people taking photographs, vendor carts selling scarves and scammers trying to push roses into women's hands. There is a thick layer of pigeon over everything. Pigeons looking for food, pigeons dive bombing, pigeons landing on people's arms [!]. The light was running out, so I ducked into San Marco's while C spoke with his mother on the phone. The church is very pretty and adorned everywhere with lions. The crucifix above the high altar is simple but nice. I also liked the Marian side of the altar. As I left, the sunset cast another beautiful warm rosy glow over the square.</div>
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We had dinner at a takeaway pasta place (cacio e pepe for me, bolognese for C), then went to Tre Mercanti, a specialty grocery store which sells 25 flavors of tiramisu. I was pleased to discover that they also had macarons. Satisfied with our traditional tiramisu and passion fruit macaron, we continued our [misty and slightly creepy] night time stroll, ducked into a supermarket to buy some cookies and chips, and returned to our hotel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf7GkdGaZe1SUqqDB53pDMhIo8mAa5R8Xqy63qEVhRYWdJz5x6qnKRAJYTiQyTF8Z2rRlhC9E3ouA_lJVU7DEL_HBYcH8UVl5ywveBNHIfUykdYEjnFpa03YOycAo2zZJwL1-QtwZkLE/s1600/IMG_6637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf7GkdGaZe1SUqqDB53pDMhIo8mAa5R8Xqy63qEVhRYWdJz5x6qnKRAJYTiQyTF8Z2rRlhC9E3ouA_lJVU7DEL_HBYcH8UVl5ywveBNHIfUykdYEjnFpa03YOycAo2zZJwL1-QtwZkLE/s640/IMG_6637.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<i>That's the first three days of the trip! Stay tuned for days 4-6. :)</i></div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-18486350578707348022016-03-01T10:30:00.005-06:002016-03-01T10:30:51.390-06:00Lent 2016: Week Three (Animals and a Finished Book)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMqjL2xYyqTSK-Sh-mo-roIp1H9WA6QwAGsyNHhxDRWvRivYnvZxBFYxaPYKDWqgWsRKoNXI4p6HmC0YwHmJbKZKYu0n8D0vlwuL-OEWEvsG1IAt15FHu2Lg2oAhbGqFYhqZbARrG-gU/s1600/lentwk3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMqjL2xYyqTSK-Sh-mo-roIp1H9WA6QwAGsyNHhxDRWvRivYnvZxBFYxaPYKDWqgWsRKoNXI4p6HmC0YwHmJbKZKYu0n8D0vlwuL-OEWEvsG1IAt15FHu2Lg2oAhbGqFYhqZbARrG-gU/s640/lentwk3.png" width="470" /></a></div>
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<u>Three Weeks Down</u><br />
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Ohhhh we're half way there! Almost, anyway.</div>
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This past week was more relaxing and less eventful than the <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2016/02/lent-2016-week-two-on-thankfulness.html"><b>previous</b></a>, during which I realized, "Dang. I have a good life." I have finished my new Sigrid Undset book, Jenny, and let me tell you: it is pretty dang good. It gets a bit dramatic as it approaches the end, but the descriptions of the surroundings make it amazing. Of course, it makes me miss Rome, but that isn't such a bad thing. An excerpt:</div>
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"In a few places only a space could be seen between the mass of housetops, as of streets. All this world of reckless lines, crossing each other in a thousand hard angles, was lying inert and quiet under the pale skies, while the setting sun touched the borders of the clouds with a tinge of light. ... Here and there the upper part of a high house rose above its neighbour, its dark, hollow windows staring at one out of a grey or reddish-yellow wall, or sleeping behind closed shutters. Loggias stood out of the mist, looking like parts of an old watchtower, and small summer-houses of wood or corrugated iron were erected on the roofs. ...</div>
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Beyond the valley, where the roofs covered the silent city<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;">—</span>it well deserved the epithet 'eternal' tonight<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;">—</span>a low hill stretched its longish back toward the skies, carrying on the far-away ridge an avenue of pines, the foliage of which formed one large mass above the row of slender trunks. And behind the dome of St. Peter the eye was arrested by another hill with villas, built among pines and cypresses. Probably Monte Mario.</div>
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The dark leaves of the holly formed a roof over his head, and behind him a fountain made a curiously living sound as the water splashed against the stone border, before flowing into the basin beneath it."</div>
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On Friday, I talked about <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2016/02/my-favorite-female-saints.html"><b>my favorite female saints</b></a> and had the pleasure to babysit the toddler of a grad student couple. He was super chill all night, so we watched cartoons, played with toys and practiced identifying colors. I was pretty excited to hang out with this guy as well:</div>
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On Saturday, my husband and I took a walk in the nice weather (Texas had been in the chilly mid-fifties, which is laughable after below freezing months in the Midwest) and paid a visit to the two bears at their habitat. Yes, I realize having bears on campus sounds crazy. They used to be brought to football games, but that was stopped some time ago. Now they hang out in their campus home when not out in the wild (this location I forget). By the way, only females are kept by the university, so there's no chance of baby bears, which if I'm honest is a little disappointing. </div>
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I finally had to admit that my Valentine flowers were too wilted to keep (they lasted more than twice the "guaranteed fresh" date!), so I got some new blooms. Our local grocery store has different bouquets for only $4. Major deal! I think my flower obsession is safe to continue. :)<br />
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<u>Quotations</u></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>God of hosts, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be saved</i>." (Psalm 80)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>The sufferings of this present time, although thou alone couldest suffer them all, are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which is to be won</i>." (IOC. 2. XI)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>You will raise me from the depths of the earth; you will exalt me and console me again</i>." (Psalm 71:20-21)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Blessed by Thou, my God: for although I be unworthy of any benefits, yet thy noble bounty and infinite goodness never ceaseth to do good even to the ungrateful, and to those who are turned away far from Thee</i>." (IOC. 3. VIII)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>He that endeavoureth to withdraw himself from obedience, withdraweth himself from grace</i>." (IOC. 3. XIII)</li>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Ciao!</span>Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-58101650832615304392016-02-26T08:28:00.001-06:002016-02-26T08:28:26.344-06:00My Favorite Female Saints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;">I love that the Catholic Church gives us examples of lives well lived in the saints. Especially since I was a convert who did not know many Catholics, reading about saints made me feel that I wasn't truly alone. Others before me had made great changes, sought God above all else and exhibited heroic virtue. Over time, I have met some saints who have stood out to me, whether because I admire what sacrifices they made, found something of them in myself, or just been drawn to them. Here is my list of (a few of my) favorite <i>female</i> saints.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_V4oOWx_gs6mD4mHDUtvwG-ahckLyOGD_R97p6G9sUotsPSDFQJI0v_G9yPB2xmHK1vIAd5ihJ4d1mYw0Y9Z8KXVeJJ7p-YiZuRRfkFcJL49WG6Z1NfDbWsdrKmAi33T9HjPj8aNhypo/s1600/femalesaints.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_V4oOWx_gs6mD4mHDUtvwG-ahckLyOGD_R97p6G9sUotsPSDFQJI0v_G9yPB2xmHK1vIAd5ihJ4d1mYw0Y9Z8KXVeJJ7p-YiZuRRfkFcJL49WG6Z1NfDbWsdrKmAi33T9HjPj8aNhypo/s640/femalesaints.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
1. Blessed Virgin Mary</h3>
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We all know the BVM, don't we? To be honest, I didn't really know her before I started investigating Catholicism. In my Protestant upbringing, Mary was only really mentioned at Christmas-time. As a Catholic, I began to learn more about her life: her parents' names (Anne and Joachim), her significance at the Wedding of Cana, and her sorrow at the Crucifixion. The apostle John took care of her after Christ's death, and she was assumed body and soul at the end of her life. It is difficult now to imagine not knowing her and following her life along her son's. The Rosary was a great help when I wanted to get to know Mary better. The prayers guide you through moments of Christ's life, plenty of which show Mary's role as well. What was once a flat image became three-dimensional and filled out. Mary is a good woman to follow the example of: humility, patience, perseverance, trust, sacrifice...they're all in her.<br />
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<b>Patronage</b>: EVERYTHING + EVERYWHERE. But also: bicyclists, nuns, sailors, travelers<br />
<b>Feast Day</b>: MANY. A few: Mary, Mother of God (1 January), Annunciation (25 March), Assumption (15 August), Nativity of Mary (8 September), Immaculate Conception (8 December)<br />
<b>Quotation</b>: "Be it done to me according to thy word." / "My spirit rejoices in God my savior."</div>
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2. St. Thérèse of Lisieux</h3>
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Thérèse Martin was born in France on 2 January 1873, the ninth child to her parents Louis and Zelie (now also canonized). She was only four when her mother died, and her sisters joined the Carmelites one by one as she grew up. This left her feeling motherless and, after her sister Pauline left to the convent, Thérèse became ill. It was only after many months that Thérèse one day looked up at a statue of the Virgin Mary and saw her face radiating in love. Thérèse was cured and took Mary as her mother. She decided at a young age to join the Carmelites and even traveled to Rome in November 1887 to meet Pope Leo XIII to ask his permission to let her enter (she had been turned away on account of her age). She joined the convent at Lisieux on 9 April 1888 and took the habit 10 October 1889. The decreased health and eventual death of her father in 1894 brought her much sorrow. Afterwards, however, her last sister joined the convent. She had what appears to be a good life at Carmel: she painted, cleaned and wrote poems, eventually writing down her autobiography at the request of her sister Pauline. In 1896, she began battling tuberculosis and struggled with depressive and suicidal thoughts. However, she stayed focused on God and Heaven and doing good for others. She died on 30 September 1897 at the age of 24.<br />
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Of course, I should need to include my confirmation saint. When I first read the words of St. Thérèse's autobiography, or even small quotations posted elsewhere, I found something alike between us. Also called the Little Flower, her simple humility, embrace of suffering and compassion for others appealed to my own temperament (which still needs a good deal of work to become like hers). I thought, "Here is a girl who I can see in myself, the kind of person I want to be, a good older sister to guide me by example."<br />
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Thérèse seems to polarize people. Some think she is fantastic, as I do, while others think she is overrated. I would challenge the latter to reconsider this little soul. "Though she be but little, she is fierce." There is strength under the surface of Thérèse, like a delicate looking flower whose roots dig deep into the soil. She clings to God and there finds her strength. I feel I can face any trials because Thérèse, who appears as small as I sometimes feel, held her ground in God's love. If I don't feel strong, that is okay: I am weak. But He is strong.</div>
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<b>Patronage</b>: missionaries, florists, HIV/AIDS sufferers<br />
<b>Feast Day</b>: 1 October<br />
<b>Quotation</b>: "I understood that LOVE COMPRISED ALL VOCATIONS, THAT IT EMBRACED ALL TIMES AND PLACES...IN A WORD, THAT IT WAS ETERNAL!...MY VOCATION IS LOVE!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctdkCPZWei_P8Dvw-UbgX1hthGZjHIRKsJ6M5x9dU2KeBBOr8BYOnHPwYprw1A1r-ZBGae7DEZcZuFHLImu4S3aSPGj6drCh34HvMPEPP6Q347DtTWipAZ8MU8OKmugWTmXFLiaCKa1I/s1600/IMG_6367.2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctdkCPZWei_P8Dvw-UbgX1hthGZjHIRKsJ6M5x9dU2KeBBOr8BYOnHPwYprw1A1r-ZBGae7DEZcZuFHLImu4S3aSPGj6drCh34HvMPEPP6Q347DtTWipAZ8MU8OKmugWTmXFLiaCKa1I/s400/IMG_6367.2.png" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Therese . Notre Dame Cathedral . Paris, France</td></tr>
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<h3>
3. St. Elizabeth of Hungary</h3>
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Elizabeth was born in 1207 and was the daughter of the King of Hungary, Alexander II. She was married to Louis of Thuringia at the age of 14 and with him had three children. She is often depicted in art carrying bread and roses, because she would often go out to feed the poor. On one occasion, she was stopped and when she opened her apron, the bread was replaced by roses. Her husband approved of her simple and charitable way of living, and they had a happy marriage. It was cut short at six years, however, when Louis was killed in the Crusades. Elizabeth left court and joined the Franciscans, continuing to work for the poorest and the sick at a hospital. She died in 1231 at the age of 24.<br />
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Elizabeth was one of the saints I looked into when considering a confirmation saint. She struck my as a strong, devout woman. I admired her tireless work and the way she carried out the corporal works of mercy. I also thought on her life and wondered if I could act with as much apparent trust in God. She suffered, but lived a life devoted to God in spite of that suffering. I should like to embrace suffering in that way.<br />
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<b>Patronage</b>: widows, young brides, death of children, bakers</div>
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<b>Feast Day</b>: 17 November<br />
<b>Quotation</b>: "How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns?"</div>
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<h3>
4. St. Agatha</h3>
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Agatha was born in Sicily in 231 to a rich family but at a time of persecution. At a young age, she dedicated herself to God and did not want to marry. One man wanted her so much that he, as a judge, imprisoned her at a brothel and later a jail cell (where St. Peter appeared to her), as an attempt to make her succumb to his plans to marry her. When these methods did not break her, she was subjected to torture, at one point having her breasts cut off. She died in prison in 251 at the age of 20.<br />
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Saint Agatha was one of the very first saints I ever read about. I cannot remember the exact book now, but at some point I owned a book in which the author talked about her martyrdom. I cannot remember why he brought it up, for it was not a book about saints or about martyrs, but there she was. I now wish I could remember the book, but, since I can not, I can use my time to learn more about her and seek to imitate her steadfastness in the face of persecution. Agatha is a heroic woman and (fun fact) commemorated in the Mass, so I can grow close to her every week.<br />
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<b>Patronage</b>: martyrs, breast cancer patients, fire, rape victims<br />
<b>Feast Day</b>: 5 February<br />
<b>Quotation</b>: "Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."<br />
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5. St. Veronica</h3>
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Veronica is actually named Bernice (surprise!). "Veronica" came from "vera icon," meaning true image, a nod to when she wiped Jesus' face with her veil and retrained the image of his face when He carried the cross. She is featured in the Stations of the Cross (sixth station).<br />
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I think often of Saint Veronica, especially when I go through the forth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary: Christ's carrying of the cross. It seems like such a little thing to wipe someone's face (mothers perform this task multiple times a day), but it is the simplicity of the gesture which always makes me pause and think on what that moment must have been like. For only a moment, Jesus was comforted during His Passion, by a woman who seemingly had no connection with Him (some say she is the woman cured of a blood issue in Luke 8, which would make her story even more amazing). A small act done with compassion becomes great.<br />
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<b>Patronage</b>: photographers (naturally), laundry workers<br />
<b>Feast Day</b>: 12 July<br />
<b>Quotation</b>: (possibly, given above) "If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed."</div>
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I always enjoy learning about new (or old!) saints. Have a favorite? Tell me about them in the comments.</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-15472401129227245822016-02-23T11:39:00.002-06:002016-02-23T11:42:10.676-06:00Lent 2016: Week Two (On Thankfulness)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDQWQ7fPgqvrqsQmuwpBYtCP4i2A5InCRYWb8T1PubH8-vGLR9khXr4wb8F4kuZHqH0ieyPtsrb3DoZY1YtODOmVTNiondgcRIoUcUbsrR8ofx6nVu9KsZv57xGQBRWo14_P8cgA_njM/s1600/lentwk2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDQWQ7fPgqvrqsQmuwpBYtCP4i2A5InCRYWb8T1PubH8-vGLR9khXr4wb8F4kuZHqH0ieyPtsrb3DoZY1YtODOmVTNiondgcRIoUcUbsrR8ofx6nVu9KsZv57xGQBRWo14_P8cgA_njM/s640/lentwk2.png" width="470" /></a></div>
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<u>Two Weeks Down</u></div>
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First things first: let this second week of Lent be known as the week I discovered orange and chocolate milano cookies. Best flavor combination ever.<br />
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This week seemed to go by insanely quickly, which is always good news for the work week. This weekend saw a good deal of activity. I meet with a women's group each Thursday evening, most of whose members are in some way connected to the university (if not also the philosophy department). This past week, we made crepes and just had a good chat together. One woman in particular had been absent recently from our meetings (for good reason, if you ultimately think, as I, that morning sickness is a good reason) and was able to make it!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFU5aWXJdTFRqgqRTzzAb4eZclz_2ph6k1d8Mcce4ZRGGde1MoyiioxSG6Q8UFW9XiFMQ4trhK916Go4Fxsyo_pY2JiqXAWozVaywCLEuK1ej2WjQYA2BtHfDozmj5X124im9YWuwtqY/s1600/IMG_8080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFU5aWXJdTFRqgqRTzzAb4eZclz_2ph6k1d8Mcce4ZRGGde1MoyiioxSG6Q8UFW9XiFMQ4trhK916Go4Fxsyo_pY2JiqXAWozVaywCLEuK1ej2WjQYA2BtHfDozmj5X124im9YWuwtqY/s400/IMG_8080.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We also purchased a little blue side table, which I like very much.</td></tr>
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On Friday morning I attended another philosophy colloquium (the speaker was a fellow first year, so that was pretty cool), followed by a trip to the library to pick out some new books. I finished Kristin Lavransdatter this week and feel like I've accomplished some great mile stone, not only because of the more than one thousand pages I read, but also because it threw me into an emotional whirlwind in the last hundred or so pages. It was very bittersweet to finish. Luckily, I looked into some other books by Sigrid Undset and came upon Jenny, about a young painter in Rome. This book is the marriage of Kristin Lavransdatter and my love for Roma, so I am very happy (and already almost half done with the book). Friday evening was spent having dinner with a couple women at a local Italian place, then going to another woman's apartment. She was a good hostess and has her living room styled very nicely with some custom artwork and mementos which speak to the traveling she and her husband have done.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1dVVaiEivS1ZSWZWyRo6UGPU40s_3ceJJuVJL8CUKZehZTljJh5akrza84Y0Yyv_bJEyFYc7G7ZSLbazGL9LHhVK9noIDGvtBJT5-ICTA2lPtdRvvD6zjPDNVgq2eRp9SvXya1JOypQ/s1600/IMG_8075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1dVVaiEivS1ZSWZWyRo6UGPU40s_3ceJJuVJL8CUKZehZTljJh5akrza84Y0Yyv_bJEyFYc7G7ZSLbazGL9LHhVK9noIDGvtBJT5-ICTA2lPtdRvvD6zjPDNVgq2eRp9SvXya1JOypQ/s400/IMG_8075.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ros<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 37.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">é</span></span> French 75 and honey goat cheese? Don't mind if I do.</td></tr>
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C and I slept in quite a bit on Saturday, but I eventually rolled out of bed to make nutella cookies for that evening's potluck. The department puts on monthly potlucks which I have come to love not least because there is fried chicken. I do a bit of an internal happy dance when I get fried chicken, let me tell you. When the actual eating at the potluck wound down, we started up a game of poker that I fantastically lost at, even after buying in again. Losing isn't such a bother to me, considering I spent the rest of the time talking about personality types (Myers-Briggs and enneagrams) with the potluck hosts.</div>
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This succession of social activity, which would usually be exhausting to the introvert that I am, actually made me realize just how good it is to be where I am in life. I have quite possibly the most patient, constant and loving of husbands. I am happy with the work that I have found and excited about my many little hobbies. I have made friends who have already taught me so much, not only about Texan life, but also about academics, hospitality, craftiness, painting, mixology and child-rearing. They have listened to my ideas and let me listen to their concerns. They have made me more compassionate and more comfortable with myself. I am finding life-long friends here, which for some reason wasn't something I thought was a possibility (note: not that I thought I would hate everyone here. Haha. Rather, that it wasn't even a consideration.). I am incredibly thankful for each of them. I am likewise constantly reminded of Who I owe all my gratitude. Thanks be to God!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9fZobwjSYohT8qKlaLh-7G0C5cWwiOMCothUfaTT9ADlb25Amz2tLxIwSl_wURYOSMdAwumUuyJ8UmRyUEBCvrQc8-zPZ8j0AvbjmbjaX9N21GSeGWAUYFkpCDDGxM0yXvxnw1c6jPY/s1600/IMG_8074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9fZobwjSYohT8qKlaLh-7G0C5cWwiOMCothUfaTT9ADlb25Amz2tLxIwSl_wURYOSMdAwumUuyJ8UmRyUEBCvrQc8-zPZ8j0AvbjmbjaX9N21GSeGWAUYFkpCDDGxM0yXvxnw1c6jPY/s400/IMG_8074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and all my new chums. Ha.</td></tr>
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<u>Quotations</u></div>
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I am finding inspiration this Lent from more than the Imitation, so I am changing this section's title.</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>King of glory, Lord of power and might, cleanse our hearts from all sin, preserve the innocence of our hands, and keep our minds from vanity, so that we may deserve your blessing in your holy place</i>." (Psalm Prayer 1, Lauds. 16 Feb 2016)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying, or meditation, or endeavouring something for the public good</i>." (Imitation of Christ 1. XIX)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Spare not, we pray, to send us here some penance kindly but severe, so let your gift of pardoning grace our grievous sinfulness efface</i>." (Iam, Christe, sol iustitiae)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace</i>." (Luke 1:78-79)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>If thou knowest how to be silent and suffer, without doubt thou shalt see the help of the Lord</i>." (IOC. 2. II)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">"<i>God alone is everlasting, and of infinite greatness, filling all things; the soul's solace, and the true joy of the heart</i>." (IOC. 2. V)</li>
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I wish all readers a holy Lent, a time of growth and renewal. May you take account of all you have to be thankful for.</div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-91947995771417544662016-02-19T10:30:00.001-06:002016-02-19T10:30:18.498-06:00This Does Not Rule Me: A Lenten Reflection<span style="text-align: justify;">One of the first things I looked into when I learned we would move to Texas was finding a Catholic church to attend. The nice thing about Catholic Mass is that you know what is happening at every parish: the liturgies (of the word and of the Eucharist) are all the same (or close: there are different Eucharistic prayers). We were thankful to find that the university parish is solid. It isn't very large or decorative and has only one priest (complete opposite of the Cathedral in Philly), but this priest is awesome. He loves the liturgy, offers the Latin Mass, hears Confessions almost every day and includes people like Benedict XVI and Abp. Ven. Fulton Sheen in his homilies.</span><br />
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Fr. L's homilies are often quite long, so there are many things to pick out and think on for the next week. During his homily this Sunday, he talked about Lent (of course). When talking about the things we give up, whether good or bad (you can do both or either for Lent, fyi), he said we should say to ourselves, "This does not rule me."</div>
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It was only a few words, but those words struck a chord with me. "<b>This does not rule me.</b>"</div>
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For the first Lent that I ever observed, I gave up something that was and encouraged addictive behavior. For years, I had let this control me. It was a part of my daily life for so long that, when it came time for Lent, I thought, "Can I really let go of this?"</div>
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I've heard it said that it takes two weeks to form a habit. If you're trying to return to a fitness regime, give it two weeks and by the third, you should be reaching for your gear automatically. If you want to stick to a prayer schedule, pretty soon you'll feel weird after being awake for too long without praying. The same happened in this case. Each day I made a concerted effort to steer clear of this behavior which, on its own, was not sinful, but which gave me a sinful mindset, which could then play out in sinful work. If my mind started to wander, I'd reel it back in, focus on something else, remember the promise I made to myself and to God for this Lent. I believe that without the aid of God, even if that was only thinking on Him, I could not have overcome this as I did, in what seemed such a short span of time.</div>
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"<i>Occasions of adversity best discover how great virtue each one hath. For occasions do not make a man frail, but they shew of what sort he is</i>." (Imitation of Christ 1. XVI)</div>
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On many occasions, I have not shown how great virtue I have. I suspect that is much of how my life has gone. Instead of cutting temptations down when they first rear their heads, I have let them linger before I think to vanquish them, at which point sin has already come. Only by trying again and again can I hope to show any virtue I have. Only by repeatedly calling on God's help and denying myself can I have such hope.</div>
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Lent is a good time to try again and again. Lent is a good time to call on God's help. Lent is a good time to deny oneself. <b>Lent is a good time to say, "This does not rule me." </b></div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-15593190369050915972016-02-16T09:41:00.000-06:002016-02-16T09:41:15.198-06:00Lent 2016: Week One Roundup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u>One Week Down</u><br />
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Only a few days into Lent and I've already been jonesing for a Twitter fix. As one of my friends would tell her young son about raw meat, it's no joke. (Ground beef is no joke, baby J!) It is absurd how much time I can waste on social media. I pick up my phone and get ready to click on an app out of reflex. I also notice how often I will turn to the internet when I'm bored.</div>
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Instead, I've been filling my time with (hopefully) better options. My rough schedule: wake up, say morning prayer, read daily readings, breakfast, shower, clean, read fiction, work, evening prayer, dinner, read Imitation of Christ, recreation, bed. Recreation is playing a game or watching a show with the husband, meeting up with a friend or, now that I've purchased more canvases, painting. Sometimes the schedule switches up, like on Friday when I went to a philosophy colloquium (which I should do more often).</div>
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The weather must not have gotten the Lent memo, because it is anything but somber outside. We're talking seventies and sunny. It was so nice this week that my husband and I took a few walks around campus. Students were playing ball games, relaxing on the quad with puppies and going for runs. The South certainly is different.<br />
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This past weekend included Valentine's day which, for the most part, I've not recognized in my life as the romantic, commercialized day the world usually makes it to be. In fact, in high school I had friends who made the day an anti-Valentine's day (I'm not sure why, but it was probably just to feel cool. We're weird when we're teenagers.). After becoming Catholic, it felt especially strange to consider the day in light of the fact that the day is named for SAINT Valentine, who is the patron of couples. This year, however, I did want Valentine's day to be recognized a little, especially as it's the first year of marriage. The husband was rather nice and complied with my wishes by getting me some very pretty flowers, which I split up into three jars, so there are flowers in every room now. Some of them are purple, so that's nice and liturgical, isn't it? I wish I had a garden so that I could grow flowers and have them in our home all the time.</div>
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For a bit of fun, here's a picture of the pet turtle from the school I work at. His name is Tertullian (awesome, right?). He's a pretty alert and active fellow and was following me back and forth in his tank, probably hoping I'd sneak him some food. Sorry, buddy. I had a turtle once and that little lady got super fat (my sister and I blame the overfeeding on her dad). And then we let her play in the garden for a while and she snuck out of the fence and ran away. Not even joking. Anyway, the good, not running away turtle:</div>
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<u>The Imitation of Christ</u><br />
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I've started to keep a notebook for Lent to write down my thoughts throughout the season. Likely, it will mostly contain quotations that I like from IoC.<br />
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<li><i>"Vanity it is to set thy love on that which speedily passeth away, and not to hasten thither where everlasting joy abideth." </i>(1. I)</li>
<li><i>"This ought to be our endeavour, to conquer ourselves, and daily to wax stronger than ourselves, and to make some progress for good." </i>(I. III)</li>
<li><i>"True peace of heart therefore is found by resisting our passions, not by obeying them." </i>(1. VI)</li>
<li><i>"Glory...in God who giveth all things, and above all desireth to give thee Himself." </i>(1. VII)</li>
<li><i>"Speak those things that may edify." </i>(1. X)</li>
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<li><i>"Many seek to fly temptations, and do fall more grievously into them. By flight alone we cannot overcome, but by patience and true humility we are made stronger than all our enemies."</i> (1. XIII)</li>
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Hope you all are having a good and holy start to Lent!Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-71161929525157306532016-02-12T08:24:00.002-06:002016-02-12T10:58:18.196-06:00I Don't Want to Be in Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"I love you, I'm just not sure that I'm <i>in love</i> with you."</div>
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If you have been in a relationship, had a friend explain their troubles or watched a romance play out on television, you have probably heard this line. The people involved are looking for something which is hard to describe. "In love is a feeling," they might say, and then go on about heart-warming, stomach-flipping, can't-think-about-anything-else sensations. Being "in love" is supposed to be the pinnacle of all states of being.</div>
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In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis says, "Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling." If you go off of what the sitcoms say, the feeling of being in love is the highest ideal we could attain. Their characters look for soulmates and switch from partner to partner in order to find whoever it is that really makes them <i>feel </i>fulfilled. But if we have only this understanding of love, we truly miss out by avoiding the Source of all Love, God.</div>
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"What a Christian thing to say," one might scoff. But I think it is a far cry better than what the words and the world suggests. In the first case, we often speak of "falling in love," as if we could just as easily and accidentally "fall" for someone else. This is a <i>passive</i> relationship with love; it is something that happens <i>to</i> us, <i>beyond</i> our control, even <i>against</i> our wishes. As a result, such a love might rule us, rather than us ruling our own lives. In the second case, the "in love" culture of the world feeds other cultures: the "being in love is more important than <i>just </i>loving a person" culture, the "I'm not in love with you anymore, so we have to split up" culture and the "I won't be complete until I'm in love with someone who is in love with me" culture. <b>These cultures encourage skewed logic, flightiness and unhealthy dependence</b>. Is it any wonder that the divorce rate is so high when we think if we are no long "in love" with someone, we should no longer commit to the person? We should not rely only upon such feelings, for they shift and change even over the course of a day. We should not submit to ideas which perpetuate restlessness, for our hearts are restless until they rest in God (St. Augustine).</div>
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Now, being "in love" is not a completely abhorrent thing. C.S. Lewis continues:</div>
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"But, of course, ceasing to be 'in love' <b>need not mean ceasing to love</b>. Love in this second sense<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;">—</span>love as distinct from 'being in love'<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;">—</span>is not merely a feeling. It is a <b>deep unity</b>, <b>maintained by the will</b> and <b>deliberately strengthened by habit</b>; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself."</div>
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If falling in love is chance, loving is choice. Each day, we can choose to give love to another, whether that is in a romantic sense or a filial sense. We are in charge of the love we have to give to others. This can be difficult, especially when our loved ones seem difficult. Just ask my husband: he can tell you about the times I have been difficult to love (maybe he would if he wasn't too much of a gentleman). And I can attest to the times that he has been frustrating (granted, I am an impatient person). It is the ones who know us best, who we love best, who know exactly which buttons to press.</div>
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Choosing to love is not always a simple task. Loving, as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) wrote, is demanding. "Love consists of a commitment which limits one's freedom," he wrote in his book Love and Responsibility. This limitation could be as minor as redirecting our plans for the sake of what a loved one wants to do, or it can be major. Have you ever heard a man refer to his wife as the old "ball and chain?" If we view people we love as a punishment rather than a joy, we completely miss the point of love. Wojtyla continues, "Limitation of one's freedom might seem to be something negative and unpleasant, but love makes it a positive, joyful and creative thing.... If freedom is not used, is not taken advantage of by love, it becomes a negative thing and gives human beings a feeling of emptiness and unfulfillment." Not only is there freedom in love, freedom requires love in order to be directed toward a life worth living.<br />
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Loving, then, is not a burden, nor is it deficient when compared to being in love. Love has the power to order our whole life, to give us the opportunity to live well. This is a great joy and something we should strive after, rather than be barely content with. Our greatest Love gave Himself over to great suffering and death, so that we might be made free. By so doing, He has taught us what it is to Love and what true freedom is.</div>
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Where does our beginning quotation stand now? "I love you, I'm just not sure that I'm <i>in love</i> with you." It wasn't enough for person A to love person B. But for me, I don't want someone to <i>only</i> be in love with me. <i>In love</i> isn't enough. <i>In love</i> is fleeting and temporary. I want permanence, choice and freedom. I want to be made better by love, not merely feel something for a time. I don't want to be <i>in love</i>. Only love is enough.</div>
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*Thank you to Fr. L for his homily which was the inspiration behind this post.Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-31471689647729565792016-02-08T13:26:00.000-06:002016-02-08T13:26:01.451-06:00Lent 2016 (and many ideas!)With Ash Wednesday on one of the earliest possible days this year, Lent is going to be upon us in a quick second. I always think it sounds strange (but I have heard others echo the sentiment as well) that Lent is one of my favorite times of the liturgical year. It is an opportunity to simplify our lives and redirect our hearts to God in preparation for the celebration of Easter. Hopefully, we've had the time to think about what we're doing for Lent. Here are my plans as well as some ideas for you.<br />
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My plans are as follows:<br />
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<li>SPIRITUAL READING: Read The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. I have read snippets in the past and every time I would think to myself, "This is so great. Why do I not read this more often?" I'd like to complete it in the forty days of Lent by reading a few chapters each day. I also intend to read the daily scripture readings.</li>
<li>PRAYER: Pray Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer). I used to do this consistently, but have fallen away from the practice. I love the Liturgy of Hours because it helps me to organize the day and will more easily help me to carve out times in the day to devote to my spiritual needs.</li>
<li>GIVE UP: As of late (i.e. the last several months), I have been a little too enthralled with the internet (i.e. spending several hours with it?!). I will be using my phone only for email and correspondence (and any Catholic apps) and my computer only for blogging and Catholic-oriented research. No more games, silly article reading, bored social media scrolling, or Netflix binges (I'll make exceptions for Netflix "dates" with the husband, since that is one thing we like to do together, but even then, I want to limit those as well). I also remember reading about St. Therese sitting very straight and not resting on the pew during Mass, for example, as a small penance (we're talking, "I'm just going to do some penance in ordinary life," not "This is my complete Lenten penance") and want to take that on as well.</li>
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There are so many things you can do for Lent. Do make sure, however, to keep in mind the following guidelines of the Church:<br />
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<li>One should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The "rules" allow one meal and snacks which, when combined, do not equal the size of the meal. This way of fasting may seem like a normal day for some people, so I would encourage you to completely fast from all food on these days if you can. The ill, pregnant and nursing are exempt.</li>
<li>One should abstain from meat on all Fridays of Lent as well as Ash Wednesday. Fish is permitted on these days. In the olden days, Catholics abstained from all animal products, including butter, eggs and milk. This is why eggs feature greatly in Easter traditions (hidden eggs, chocolate eggs) and Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday has been celebrated as Pancake Tuesday to use up these ingredients.</li>
<li>One might think of Lent as a time to give up something that isn't very good for them (excessive chocolate/internet use), but you can also give up something you enjoy (drinking coffee/reading fiction). Catholics are also urged to take on spiritual practices, like prayer (Rosary), devotional reading (literally thousands of options), and almsgiving (give more at Mass).</li>
<li>Remember that Sundays are not in the 40 days of Lent, because on Sunday we remember the Resurrection, not the suffering of Christ to which we are aligning ourselves. Take these days to go to Mass, relax with your family, and enjoy a little of whatever you have been giving up.</li>
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Lent can be a good time to root out sin in your life. Addiction, gluttony, laziness, anger... They all can inhibit our spiritual lives. If your vice is pride, service, self-denial and thankfulness are good things to take on. Maybe you just want some more holy practices. Or you need to learn to accept suffering, which will all the more help you endure suffering later on. Lent is beautiful in its versatility. Here are some ideas for you:<br />
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<li>skip the snooze button and get. on. up.</li>
<li>start your day with prayer instead of caffeine</li>
<li>cut out all sugar (you can do it!)</li>
<li>take only cold showers</li>
<li>do your least favorite chore without hesitation or complaint</li>
<li>simplify your diet: beans, rice, veg. no indulgences (boxed cereals, candy, seasoning)</li>
<li>forego entertainment/going out and give that money to the Church or an organization</li>
<li>decrease meat consumption to two/three days per week. you may do the same as above with saved money.</li>
<li>pray the Rosary</li>
<li>cut back on negativity and envy by giving compliments</li>
<li>learn to be thankful by thanking God for three new things a day</li>
<li>only eat meals you have prepared instead of fast food</li>
<li>increase daily Mass attendance</li>
<li>treat Lent as a semester to dig into a Church topic you are confused about</li>
<li>pray on your way to work/school instead of listening to music or making a phone call</li>
<li>listen to only sacred music</li>
<li>do chores you know your family member dislikes</li>
<li>turn off the television. for forty days.</li>
<li>do not choose your favorite flavor/first choice entree</li>
<li>if you are married, abstain from sex (I've heard of people taking on this idea. Some might say that would shirk marital duties, but hey, if it's become something that you've let sin get in the way of, it might be good to be a little more chaste.)</li>
<li>fast until you receive the Eucharist at daily Mass</li>
<li>do the Stations of the Cross on Fridays</li>
<li>make cuts to your social calendar and spend that time with God</li>
<li>dress slightly too warm or slightly too cold for the weather</li>
<li>avoid saying, "I" in conversations. focus on someone besides yourself</li>
<li>pray the OF, HM, GB very slowly, meditating on each word or short phrase</li>
<li>journal about the reading/prayer/spiritual time you've had each day</li>
<li>limit/eliminate recreational computer usage</li>
<li>when you worry, redirect your mind to prayer or real, helpful action</li>
<li>stop weighing yourself/counting calories (if this is a problem area for you)</li>
<li>de-clutter your home and donate the items</li>
<li>hold your tongue when it comes to sarcasm and criticism</li>
<li>use your phone for calls, texts and emails. no other apps!</li>
<li>be present in the moment. give someone your full attention. practice patience.</li>
<li>create a simple wardrobe for Lent. learn to be grateful for what you have and not care excessively about appearance</li>
<li>practice corporal works of mercy (feed, clothe, visit the hungry, homeless, sick)</li>
<li>give up cosmetic luxuries (makeup, perfume, heat hair styling, nail polish)</li>
<li>who irritates you? find ways to serve them. talk, listen, give.</li>
<li>go to Adoration</li>
<li>go to Confession to prepare yourself to receive the Eucharist at Easter, accomplishing two precepts of the Church</li>
<li>get involved at your parish with opportunities to serve the community</li>
<li>pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy</li>
<li>read Scripture or daily readings (<b><a href="http://blessedisshe.net/devotions/">blessed is she</a></b> is good). you could finish the Gospels!</li>
<li>pray for priests</li>
<li>pray for the persecuted</li>
<li>pray for the holy souls in Purgatory</li>
<li>pray for conversions</li>
<li>pray for women considering and who have had an abortion</li>
<li>pray for the Pope</li>
<li>pray for Papa Benny</li>
<li>pray for your family</li>
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Choose one of these or choose a few of these. Whatever you decide, spend time with God first and try to discern what He is calling you to. Do not try to push yourself with too many tasks: it is better to do a penance well than to do many poorly. A great tip I heard if you are struggling to figure out what to do is ask those you live with (family/friend/roommate) what you could work on. They can see your habits.<br />
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Still looking for more resources?<br />
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<ul>
<li>Here's what I did for <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2013/02/ash-wednesday-2013_13.html">Lent in 2013</a></b>.</li>
<li>Here's what I did for<b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2014/03/lent-2014.html"> Lent in 2014</a></b>.</li>
<li>Kendra from Catholic All Year has <a href="http://www.catholicallyear.com/2014/02/outside-box-66-things-to-give-up-or.html"><b>a great post with 66 things to give up or take up</b></a> .</li>
<li>Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas has <b><a href="http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/2016/01/31/40-resources-for-lent-and-february-liturgical-traditions/">a ton of links for Lent and the month of February</a></b>.</li>
<li>Haley (CfM) and Christy (<b><a href="http://fountainsofhome.blogspot.com/">Fountains of Home</a></b>) helped motivate me with <b><a href="http://fountainsofcarrots.com/foc-039-get-inspired-for-lent-with-meg-hunter-kilmer/">their podcast</a></b>.</li>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-37667075464834416352016-02-02T12:12:00.000-06:002016-02-02T12:12:16.500-06:00Silence and Solitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When was the last time you were alone?</div>
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No family talking around the table, no friends laughing at your side, no barking dogs, no social media notifications. Just you in the stillness of your house or your street or your office.</div>
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Recently, my husband was away from home, giving me multiple days of alone time. Some wives would take full advantage of such a time to watch trashy shows, cook food their husband doesn't like and refuse to make the bed (I identify with you women!). Still, there is a time, usually late at night, where I find myself in silence. No body breathing next to me, asking how I am, typing up a paper, taking a drink. No one whose thoughts whir or about whose thoughts I wonder. It isn't until even these barest indications of another human presence are gone that I realize how dependent I am on the presence of another. This is not a parasitic dependence, but a very human dependence I imagine many can relate to.</div>
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In these moments, I sometimes think of priests. While they have parishioners, family and friends of their own, how often do priests spend time alone? How often do priests sit in silence? How much more for contemplative orders?</div>
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Our world does not know how to handle silence. We turn on our stereos while we shower or clean the house. We put headphones in on our way to work and class. We keep televisions on for white noise as we sleep. We stumble verbally to fill lulls in conversation. We laugh too enthusiastically, ask too many questions, maybe even speak to ourselves out loud. Silence is awkward and uncomfortable.</div>
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Our world does not know how to handle being alone. We check and recheck and triple check social media. We go out at night in hopes of meeting someone new. We send a few text messages because surely one of these people will respond. We are out of a relationship for a while and wonder with dread whether some people are meant to stay single their whole lives.</div>
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But silence and solitude are not things we should fear.</div>
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"And rising very early, going out, he went into a desert place: and there he prayed." (Mark 1:35)</blockquote>
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"He retired into the desert, and prayed." (Luke 5:16) </blockquote>
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"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and he passed the whole night in the prayer of God." (Luke 6:12)</blockquote>
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In the Scriptures, we frequently see Jesus go off by Himself. And boy, do I get it: if I were routinely surrounded by crowds in the thousands (Matthew 14:22), my introvert self would <i>run</i> for the hills. But Jesus wasn't retreating for the sake of quenching anxiety. Furthermore, Jesus wasn't going off to really be alone: He was going away to be with the Father.</div>
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Whenever we are alone, we should get into the habit not of thinking that we are completely solitary, but that we are with God. With the world so full of distractions, retreating is good for the health of our souls. Let's get into the habit of retreating, just a little, every day.<br />
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<li>Build miniature retreats of<b> reading and prayer </b>into your<b> morning routine</b> (I subscribe to <b><a href="http://blessedisshe.net/category/devotions/">Blessed Is She</a></b> devotions; the Liturgy of Hours is also a favorite of mine.).</li>
<li>Pause at noon to <b>reflect on the first part</b> of your day.</li>
<li>Close the evening with a moment to <b>examine your conscience</b> and <b>make resolutions </b>for tomorrow.</li>
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Take advantage of each moment of <b>silence</b> and <b>solitude</b> to <b>sanctify</b> your life.Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-72124166259996059882016-01-27T11:33:00.000-06:002016-01-27T11:33:17.420-06:00Lex Orandi Lex Credendi: Kneeling and the Eucharist<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i>What we do informs what we believe. What we believe informs what we know. What we know informs what we care about.*</i></div>
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While we were in Rome, one of the biggest cultural shocks was not the language, the money (coins are a much bigger deal in Europe than in the US), or the number of times I heard "prego" in one conversation. The biggest cultural shock, rather, came on the eleventh day of our trip, Christmas day, at Mass. We heard Mass at Maria Maggiore (Mary Major), which is one of the four papal basilicas. Though the smallest of the basilicas, it is a grand church, ornately covered in Marian art. Beautiful and historic spaces, however, do not necessarily align with similar practices in said spaces.</div>
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We found seats in some of the plastic chairs provided, the occurrence of which is not uncommon in these great old churches. Pews, after all, were not a common feature of churches for over a thousand years. No, the chairs were not the strange part. <b>The strange part was the posture of the congregation during the Mass.</b> Everyone sat during the readings, save the Gospel, for which people stood as usual. However, as the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) concluded, I saw only one older gentleman join me and C in kneeling. Everyone else remained standing through the Pater Noster (Our Father) [we stood], standing more at the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) [we knelt] and <b>still standing</b> <b>during the Consecration.</b>** (<i>For anyone unfamiliar, "consecration" describes when the bread and wine become the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.</i>)</div>
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The same scene played out at the Mass we heard at San Giovanni in Laterano (St John Lateran, another papal basilica), where there again one other man joined us in kneeling. I have replayed these scenes in my mind several times since their occurrences, both in confusion and frustration. Could I attribute these changes to a difference in culture? Is it less likely for Romans/Italians/Europeans to kneel? I remember kneeing at both Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris.<br />
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Since then, it has been pointed out to me that these churches did not have kneelers. Upon reflection, most of the churches that I have attended have had kneelers, including the churches in France. On the occasion that I have been in a church without kneelers (or without kneelers at my particular seat), I have still knelt. Still, why dissect the posture of the congregation during Mass? Why do I care if people stand during the consecration? Does it really affect me so much whether the people around me are standing, sitting or kneeling? <b>Yes. Yes it does. In fact, it affects the whole Church Militant.</b><br />
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<i>What we do informs what we believe.</i></div>
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If you look into your friend's fridge and see only fair trade chocolate, you might conclude that they value just commerce (or maybe that chocolate is delicious; two birds, one stone). If you see someone recycle, you might conclude that they care about their impact on the environment. If you see someone give money to a homeless person, you might conclude that they have compassion for all people, not just those who can give them something in return. We draw these little conclusions, perhaps subconsciously, but we draw them.</div>
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We know also that what we do can sway others. "Actions speak louder than words," goes the saying. One of my step-father's favorite lines was: "Do as I say, not as I do." because he understood that his actions were an example (in this case, one he didn't want me to follow). The example of our actions is a stronger testament to who we are at times than the example of our words. People remember our actions more than what we say. Think of job interviews, guides for which so greatly emphasize the non-verbal aspects. Have a good hand shake, maintain eye contact, nod and smile. Is someone attracted to you? See if they cross their legs in your direction, play with their hair or lean in. You can take classes on body language and physical cues. We file away this information, picking up such cues and interpreting them as confidence, shyness, aloofness...</div>
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Similarly, what happens around us informs our actions. From infancy, we imitate the actions of others. For example, babies learn to play peek-a-boo, pick up on mannerisms, and copy the accents of their parents when they begin to speak. It is apparent also when it comes to something like Mass. If you are a convert like me, or even a revert, you spend many of your first Masses glancing around at what other people are doing to make sure you are following the steps correctly. In time, you recognize why there are different postures, a sort of Catholic calisthenics, as some have joked. Sit in order to listen to the Old Testament and Epistle. Stand as if at attention during the reading of the Gospel, the words of Christ. Stand to raise prayers to God. Kneel at the words of consecration, the moment Heaven and Earth meet, when Jesus Christ is in our midst in an amazing way, in a way which defines Catholics. The Eucharist "is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life." (Lumen Gentium 11)</div>
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<b>If I believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul and divinity, I am going to kneel.</b> If "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow," why not at the consecration [Philippians 2:10]? We kneel in prayer. We kneel when we genuflect (literally, bend the knee) before entering the pew. We kneel during Adoration. We kneel before the Pope and Bishops (with the left knee).</div>
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<b>Or we used to.</b></div>
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We used to kneel at all of these things. We used to kneel much more during the Mass when it was the old form. We used to fast from midnight to Mass instead of only an hour before Mass. We used to take on harsher penances, deny ourselves of more than just chocolate during Lent, and observe the seasons of the liturgical year with more rigor. I will perhaps be taken as too conservative or traditional in my take on such things, especially on kneeling. "That's something people used to do. It isn't important anymore," some might say. Why? <b>Is Jesus any less present at Mass than He was one hundred years ago?</b> No.</div>
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So why is this happening? <b>Ignorance and apathy.</b></div>
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<i>What we believe informs what we know</i>.</div>
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We once understood that the material and the spiritual are intertwined, until they were divorced with the rise of dualism, the turning point of modern philosophy. In a way, we are at the mercy of the point in history in which we exist. In a way, we are not entirely at fault. Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni Laterano are not entirely at fault. Remember that I said our actions can sway others. So others' actions have brought us, by the culmination of a few popular ideas, to this point in history. <b>As a consequence, the Church faces a universal problem.</b></div>
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When we divorce the material and the spiritual, we run into one of two problems as far as the Eucharist goes. We can admit the spiritual and deny the material and, in so doing, say the Eucharist doesn't really matter. God, then, is not in the Eucharist in any more special a way than He is in any part the world. Most Protestant groups would take this side, which contributes to the rise of such slogans as "I am spiritual, not religious," for religion hinges on practices, and practices hinge on actions, and actions hinge on the material. On the other hand, we can admit the material and deny the spiritual and, in so doing, say the Eucharist is nothing more than a piece of bread (or any of the other more...deplorable...descriptions).</div>
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The Sacraments simply dissolve under either of these views, for the Sacraments require material and spiritual dimension, matter and form, power and will (for more information, read Lang's <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Why-Matter-Matters-Philosophical-Reflections/dp/1931709343">Why Matter Matters</a></b>). <b>What else dissolves under these views? Our understanding of who Jesus Christ is.</b> How can we say Jesus Christ is true God and true Man if we deny either the material or spiritual dimension? Well, I can tell you, because the Church has faced such heresies. In the fourth century, Arianism arose, a belief which denied the divinity of Christ (and St. Nicholas punched Arias at the Council of Nicaea, so you can see how that went). Docetism, the belief that Jesus only appeared to be a man but really was pure spirit, accepted by and definitive of Gnostics, is denied by the Nicene Creed: "[Jesus Christ] was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became Man."</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRIgHDkvryt0zfYf7dbJpon0KJiKq3SutXHgwIq6t-lfXNwfGqSZOt-OXx4aROL34ystwBGmsAPCq9ZFei1KsIPMWhA9ogZfNsLqX-ce6QQXyRBktgaeNKpB2n1m0MBjpArrpYm3ZECc/s1600/St+Nicholas+Meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRIgHDkvryt0zfYf7dbJpon0KJiKq3SutXHgwIq6t-lfXNwfGqSZOt-OXx4aROL34ystwBGmsAPCq9ZFei1KsIPMWhA9ogZfNsLqX-ce6QQXyRBktgaeNKpB2n1m0MBjpArrpYm3ZECc/s400/St+Nicholas+Meme.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">shared from <a href="http://www.stpeterslist.com/11939/when-santa-punched-a-heretic-in-the-face-13-memes-on-st-nicholas/">St. Peter's List</a></td></tr>
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<i>What we know informs what we care about.</i></div>
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If you don't know about these things, you can claim ignorance. However, careless ignorance does not excuse you. Now you do know these things (because at the very least, I have told you). If you know, you either care or you don't. When you don't care, you become apathetic. Remember those who say, "That's something people used to do. It isn't important anymore." But again I ask: who has changed? God has not changed. <b>Jesus Christ in the Eucharist has not changed. </b>We have changed. Jesus calls us to more. We are to take up our cross and follow Him [Matthew 16:24], not take it up like a January exercise regime and drop it after a couple of weeks. We have become lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, and Jesus will spit us out [Revelation 3:16]. The apathetic do not hear "Well done, good and faithful servant!"</div>
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<b>What is the solution?</b></div>
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The solution to ignorance is conscious religion:</div>
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We need to study the Mass, the Scriptures, the texts of the Church Fathers and understand why they say what they do.</div>
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We need to examine our actions and understand why we carry them out.</div>
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We need to invest in our Catholic schools and parishes if we don't want them to close and combine with other schools and parishes, as many in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are doing, for example.</div>
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We need to hold Catholic universities to a Catholic standard when they begin firing Catholic professors and handing out contraception.</div>
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Parents need to bring up their children in the Faith and take on the responsibility that is theirs to catechize them (catechesis is <b>not</b> only the responsibility of a parish or a school).</div>
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Parents need to remind their children that marriage is not the only vocation: encourage them to look into the priesthood and religious life.</div>
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We need to seriously examine ourselves and return to Confession. Has it been years? <b>Go!</b> <b>The grace that awaits you is more powerful than any sins which seem to ensnare you.</b> (We pray to St. Michael to defend us against the snares of the Devil. Do not despair: snares can be undone.)</div>
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We need to pray for priests, for the persecuted, for the souls in Purgatory, and for the whole Church Militant.</div>
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We need to understand that Jesus Christ is present body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist, and that the Eucharist is an incomparable gift, worthy of adoration and bent knees.</div>
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Are we going to be defined by the age or are we going to define it?</div>
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<i>Quotations by early Church Fathers about the Eucharist:</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break <u>one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ</u>."</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">-St. Ignatius of Antioch [Letter to the Ephesians, 80-110 AD]</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">"<u>This food we call the Eucharist</u>, of which no one is allowed to partake <u>except one who believes that the things we teach are true</u>, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we <u>do not receive these things as common bread or common drink</u>; <b><u>but as Jesus Christ our Savior</u></b> being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food <u>consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him</u>, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, <b><u>is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus</u></b>."</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">-St. Justin Martyr [First Apology, 148-155 AD]</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">"The Blood of the Lord, indeed, is twofold. There is <u>His corporeal Blood</u>, by which we are redeemed from corruption;<u> and His spiritual Blood</u>, that with which we are anointed. That is to say, <u>to drink the Blood of Jesus is to share in His immortality</u>. The strength of the Word is the Spirit just as the blood is the strength of the body. Similarly, as wine is blended with water, so is the Spirit with man. The one, the Watered Wine, nourishes in faith, while the other, the Spirit, leads us on to immortality. The <u>union of both</u>, however, - of the drink and of the Word, - <u>is called the Eucharist</u>, a <u><b>praiseworthy and excellent gift</b></u>. Those who partake of it in faith are <u>sanctified in body and in soul</u>. By the will of the Father, the divine mixture, man, is mystically united to the Spirit and to the Word."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">-St. Clement of Alexandria [The Instructor of the Children, 198 AD]</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">*Thank you to my husband, C, as well as two priests, Fr. W and <a href="http://wdtprs.com/blog/"><b>Fr. Z</b></a>, whose conversations and posts have helped me in the drafting of this post. I should also thank the Saints, whose examples and writings have edified the Church. Ss. Nicholas, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria, pray for us!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">**If you have some sort of physical ailment (injury, old age, late stage of pregnancy, nursing, and the like) which prevents you from kneeling, that is quite a different thing. I would suggest sitting with bowed head when genuflections occur.</span></div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-27581315751824815262016-01-11T14:39:00.003-06:002016-01-11T14:46:04.105-06:00Why Conversion is Like Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Ever since I announced that I was converting in the Summer of 2012, I have received questions (and sometimes, incredulous comments).</div>
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"Why are you converting?"</div>
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"How did you know the Catholic Church was the right one for you?"</div>
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"But what about [insert doctrine here]?"</div>
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"But...you've been Protestant your whole life!"</div>
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My simple, reader's digest, keep it simple stupid response was: "Because I believe the Catholic Church holds the truth." Only recently have I realized that one of the best analogies I can give is this: conversion is like marriage.</div>
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Now, what could that possibly mean? Imagine people asking you these questions instead:</div>
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"Why are you getting married?"</div>
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"How did you know he was <i>The One</i>?"</div>
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"But what if he puts the toilet paper roll on backwards?" (He does.)</div>
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"But...you've been single your whole life!"</div>
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In a way, going through the conversion process is like going through the dating process. (I should admit that my dating experience is limited: my husband was only my second boyfriend.) You get to know someone/something you thought at first glance you might not be interested in. Or maybe something catches your eye at first sight and you dive in. You want to understand, and so you ask questions, you learn about their past, you try to see the world as they see it.</div>
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In our world of casual dating, many a convert approaches the Church in this way. "Oh, I'm just curious," I would tell myself. "I just wanted to know more. I just wanted to understand." There was no immediate commitment. I was not binding myself to the Church after the first Mass, just as I would not have married someone after knowing them for a week.</div>
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But there is something about the Church which prevents the convert from being too casual in his relationship with Her. The Church is mysterious, strong, constant and beautiful. Are we (those of us called to marriage, at least) not attracted to those qualities in our spouse? The Church is, after all, the bride of Christ.</div>
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This comparison, then, shouldn't be too surprising. It isn't that joining the Catholic Church is like finding the spouse God planned for you and marrying that person. It's that marriage reflects the relationship of Christ and the Church.<br />
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At our Nuptial Mass, our celebrant (a really awesome priest, by the way) had some very good things to say in his homily. Some excerpts:<br />
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<i>"[You] now await in this Mass those precious moments which will make your union not merely a contract or a convenient arrangement, but a reflection of heavenly realities."</i></div>
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<i>"Even though they make their vows to each other in the presence of the Church and Her minister, they quickly turn, taking their own love and offering it on the altar of God. In a sense, the vows of these two people are similar to the bread and wine which will be placed on the altar. They offer up their human love to the Source of all love."</i></div>
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<i>"What better place is there, then, for an earthly marriage to take place than in Mass, the image of the marriage of Christ to His Church, the image of Heaven itself?"</i></div>
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The Sacrament of Marriage is understood to be lasting, faithful and fruitful. These words describe the Catholic Church as well. When one finds his spouse, he falls in love, and he commits to her in the presence of God. When one finds his spouse, he stops looking for another. It is likewise with the Catholic Church. When I found the Church, I fell in love, and I committed to Her in the presence of God. When I found the Church, I stopped looking for another, because the Catholic Church held everything that I desired, and more importantly, everything that I needed.</div>
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I am reminded of a quotation (on which <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-great-love-affair.html"><b>I have commented previously</b></a>) by G.K. Chesterton:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"</span><i style="line-height: 18px;">It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it. But when that affection has passed a certain point it begins to take on the tragic and menacing grandeur of a great love affair</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i>."</i></span></div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-10615441798729615682015-12-31T07:49:00.001-06:002015-12-31T07:49:36.428-06:00A Letter from 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jet lag or new routine adjustment or plain exhaustion somehow found me awake at four in the morning. So now I'm curled up in a cozy corner of the living room with blankets and pillows, toast and homemade hot chocolate, looking at the Christmas tree lights and listening to <a href="http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/2014/12/24/pain-joy-love-and-a-christmas-playlist-for-you/"><b>Haley Stewart's Christmas playlist</b></a>, thinking about the last twelve months. This year has been one of the best and most exciting years of my life.<br />
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In January, I started a new job at a tutoring center, where I discovered that children are hilarious, teaching is very enjoyable and Korean is fun to learn. I gained more confidence with teaching and with kids because of this job and will always be thankful for that.<br /><br />In May, I truly began to <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/05/mayday-18-days-to-figure-out-how-to-be.html"><b>freak out</b></a> about my ability to be a decent wife, and at the end of the month <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-wedding-part-one.html">I GOT MARRIED</a></b> (?!). Our wedding was a beautiful and practically perfect day. I loved our Nuptial Mass, which we celebrated in the old rite with an amazing priest, incense we got to design ourselves (with orange and rose. I wish I had a perfume like that incense), a gorgeous choir and our family and friends. We topped off the celebration at an Irish pub with whiskey, poor dancing and many flavors of cake. I am more in love with and thankful for the husband God gifted me with every day.<br />
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<br />In July, Christopher and I <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/09/washington-dc.html">went to Washington DC</a></b> as a mini honeymoon. We got to see so many sites, my favorite of which was the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. It is a massive church with great, colorful mosaics splashed everywhere. It was nice to be a tourist there at the 4th of July.<br />
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In August, <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-going-home-is-like.html">we visited my family in Illinois</a></b> where my mother put on a reception for family who were unable to travel to the wedding. It was so good seeing people I hadn't seen for over a year. It was also good to see my little monkey of a cousin. I'm hoping she becomes a pianist. I became incredibly nostalgic when I realized I was going off to start my own life.<br />
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In the same month, <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-starting-home-is-like.html"><b>we made the move to Texas</b> </a>where Christopher is continuing his PhD. Texas has been immensely friendly and welcoming. I've made friends that I think I'll keep all my life, joined an editing business and entered into one of the happiest times of my life. I truly think I could become a southern girl and I don't terribly mind the 70 degrees in December either. ;)<br />
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In December, we traveled to Rome and Venice for two weeks as a belated honeymoon. ROME and VENICE! TWO WEEKS! Even though we've been back for a couple of days, I still have trouble believing it happened. I count myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to Italy, which has been my number one destination for years. Given my conversion, my experience in Rome was so much more meaningful than I anticipated. A post (or a few) on the adventure is forthcoming and I'll share all the details there. You can catch a few glimpses on my instagram, siriuscomet2, in the meantime.<br />
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All these things considered, 2015 has not been without negativity. I have had difficult work experiences. An old friend and family member died this year. Multiple moves have been stressful. Self-doubt has entered the picture several times. I'm trying to focus less on the negatives, because I notice that when I do, everything becomes that much worse.<br /><br />But no matter what, there is forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession. There is beauty in the Mass. There is incomparable joy in the Eucharist. No matter what happens in my life, God holds everything together. He has been present in each high and each low. He has guided me to this point in my life.<br />
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I am reminded of Pope Benedict XVI's words to the youth in Madrid:<br />
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<i>"Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your own weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world."</i></div>
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May God bless you in the new year!</div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-52106567591440116772015-11-14T14:37:00.003-06:002015-11-14T14:45:40.506-06:00When Catholicism is "Unrealistic"<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point, this news from the Synod has been discussed hundreds of times. Go me for being late to the game (or: not paying as close attention as I should have in the moment). I was prompted to think of the Synod again this week when I saw an article about a </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.6px;"><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/my-parents-lived-as-brother-and-sister-for-25-years-so-they-could-receive-c" style="line-height: 25.6px;"><b>priest's parents who lived as brother and sister</b></a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (that is, they did not have sexual relations). Why would a couple choose to do such a thing? The father of the priest (...the Father's father...get it??) had previously been married, divorced the first wife, and married the mother of the priest. Their son came home from school one day concerned that his parents were sinning by not going to Mass. The family went to Mass the next Sunday and continued to do so. They desired to receive Holy Communion but could not, as they were committing the mortal sin of adultery. Their parish priest said that they could petition the Church to see if the first marriage could be annulled or they could abstain from sexual relations, confess their sins, and return to the Sacrament. So they took the priest's second option and remained in such a relationship for the rest of their lives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While I find this story to be a beautiful testament to the Faith, others would find it preposterous. It is too harsh, some say, to tell people that they cannot participate in receiving the Body of Christ. As if the Blessed Sacrament is a participation trophy. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Blessed Sacrament is not free </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">merchandise distributed at an event. The Blessed Sacrament is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. When we treat the Blessed Sacrament a car that Oprah gives away ("You all get one!"), we have truly disgraced Our Lord. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">Receiving the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, while living in a state of unrepentant mortal sin is a poor way to thank Christ for His most generous and incomparable gift.*</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the Synod last month, the topic of admitting the divorced and remarried (that is, people committing adultery, a mortal sin) to Communion was discussed. Cardinal Marx said, "<u>The advice to refrain from sexual acts in the new relationship not only appears unrealistic to many. It is also questionable whether sexual actions can be judged independent of the lived context</u>." [Note: Let's be straight up. Marx is not the only person suggesting the Church deviate on various positions She has held for years, even since Her institution, even positions from which it is impossible to deviate. Pray for the Church, for those who oppose Her, and for those who need guidance.]</span></div>
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I will address the second sentence first. "<i>It is questionable whether sexual actions can be judged independent of the lived context.</i>" I wonder what kind of context is required. Do we need to know that two people really care about each other? Do we need to know that the new couple has had children? Do we need to know that these people adopt stray animals? While all of these things may be the case, they do not change the fact that sin is being committed. I would like to see someone explain to Christ what the appropriate context is, when Christ Himself has said, "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery." (Luke 16:18) What does Christ tell the woman caught in adultery? "Go, and now sin no more." (John 8:11)</div>
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This reaction is seen again and again when Christ meets sinners. He confronts the sin. He and the sinner both know it. Then He forgives and tells the sinner to go and sin no more. Our God operates under perfect justice and mercy. Our God IS perfect justice and mercy. For this reason, I cannot understand it when people deliberately go against what Our Lord has commanded us. It is not reasonable. Speaking of unreasonable, let's talk about unrealistic.</div>
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"<i>The advice to refrain from sexual acts in the new relationship not only appears unrealistic to many</i>." Unrealistic is what I am told it is when I suggest that people practice abstinence or NFP. It is <i>unrealistic</i> to expect that people should refrain from acting on the passions (what low esteem we hold each other in!). It is <i>unrealistic </i>to expect people to act based upon reason. It is <i>unrealistic</i> to live as an all good God has commanded us to do. In a way, it is unrealistic: it is unrealistic to expect that we shall, all on our own, be perfect as Our Father in Heaven is perfect. Sin can seep into our lives. What a good reason to have Confession! We can go to the priest who acts in the person of Christ to absolve us of our sins and help us to be holy.<br />
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What about the unrealistic things we cling to as part of the Catholic faith? Is it unrealistic to profess a man to be the Son of God and born of a Virgin? Is it unrealistic to say that the Son of God established His Church among sinners? Is it unrealistic to say that He gave us His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the beauty of a most glorious sacrament? Is it unrealistic to profess that He died and was resurrected? Is it unrealistic to say that He ascended to Heaven? Is it unrealistic?</div>
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All these things are unrealistic to the skeptic. Christians have endured persecution for professing a number of unrealistic things. I wonder: if it is unrealistic to believe that men and women cannot rise above their passions, how realistic is it to believe the tenants of the Faith? If we deny the words of Christ, how can we profess to belong to His Church?<br />
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<b>I purport that it is unrealistic to allow sin to reign in our lives and at the same time claim we adhere to the Church's teaching.</b> How can we speak of God's loving kindness and ask for His grace when we turn from Him? It is a slap in the face. We are told to love God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength. We are told to put God before all else. We cannot say, "Yes, Lord, I give you everything. But not this. Not this sin that I want to hold on to." When Jesus told the rich young man to give away his possessions and follow Him, the man went away sad (Matthew 19:16-22). He could not serve both Christ and the world. Neither can we serve both Christ and the popular opinion of the world. We cannot submit to sinful lives. Jesus is not in the sinful lives business. Jesus is in the salvation business. Jesus is in the follow me business.Jesus is in the calling it as it is business. <b>Jesus is in the making sinners into saints business.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>I could perhaps go into quite a discussion about problematic Church leadership, but I'll keep it brief and affirmative. What kind of leaders do we need in the Church? What kind of role models do we need in the Church? Who are the people who are willing to live out the life God plans for us? Who are the people who love Him fully, who put Him before all else? <b>Look to the saints.</b> Look especially to the martyrs. These are the people who, no matter their situation, said, "Yes. I will give everything to You. Even my very life. Because You are the Truth. You are Good. You are Justice and Mercy and Perfection." The saints are the people who didn't settle. The saints are the people who turned from sin and toward God. The saints are the people who stood at the foot of the cross, who battled dark nights of the soul, who led nations, who raised holy children, who sacrificed themselves for the love they had for their brothers, who served the poorest of the poor, who gave everything to God. The saints are the people who hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant."</div>
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<b>So when Catholicism is "unrealistic," when it seems to ask too much of you, when it tells you to abandon sin, listen up! Respond to Christ's call. Return to the God of your fathers. Recall the doctrine of the Church. "Do this in remembrance of me." Remember the saints. The saints before you have followed Christ. They have kept the faith and run the race. Be a saint in our time.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*I couldn't help but include a Harry Potter reference. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Lupin discovers that Harry has been wandering around the school at night and says, "[James] and your mother gave their lives to save yours. And gambling their sacrifice by wandering around the castle, unprotected, with a killer on the loose seems to me to be a pretty poor way to repay them." Christ gave His life for us. Wandering around spiritually, letting ourselves believe that sin is okay, playing right into Satan's hands is a poor way to repay Christ and His sacrifice. It is a poor way to repay God's love for us.</span></div>
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</span>Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-18630269113302731922015-11-05T12:14:00.003-06:002015-11-05T12:14:42.821-06:00Coming Out As Catholic To Your Family & Friends<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>This post will probably be most helpful for those who have religious parents of a different faith, particularly those of a different sect of Christianity (that is, a Protestant denomination like Baptist or Methodist), as that was my situation. It may be helpful for people in other social circumstances, but I won't claim to be able to speak to something I don't have the experience to cover. Okay, let's jump in.</i></div>
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So, after careful study and thought, you've decided to convert (or return!) to Catholicism. First, that is awesome! I'm super stoked for you and hope that you're finding a nice parish, getting yourself to an RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program, learning Church history, choosing a Confirmation saint, preparing for Confession and getting ready to get down at Easter Vigil. You've got a great road ahead of you. But you still have to tell your family and friends about your decision. That can be super difficult, but it is an important step in the conversion process. Here is some of my advice when it comes to having "the conversion talk."<br />
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1. Remember Your Roots</h4>
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Always remember where you came from, especially when it's from a non-Catholic Christian background, especially when your family is pretty devout in their own sect. Your family probably remembers you participating in Sunday School plays and learning about the faith right beside them on Sunday mornings. If your church was as fellowship-focused as mine, you'll probably have a long list of potlucks, picnics and house visits under your belt. In this circumstance, you have faith and community to contend with. You may find that when you say, "Hey, I'm converting," people hear "I don't appreciate what you did to help my faith," or "The memories I have of our times of fellowship together mean nothing."<br />
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Just because you now believe the Catholic Church is the Church Christ established while here on earth, you should not feel or communicate arrogance about your conversion. Did you come to the Church all on your own without God's grace? I didn't think so. Instead, be grateful for what God has done in your life, and that includes being thankful for the journey and where it all started.<br />
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2. Know Your Audience</h4>
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Your audience will largely decide your delivery. That is not to say that you should be dishonest about why you are converting. Rather, only you know what kind of people you are telling your epiphany to. If your family is very devoutly Protestant, as mine was, you might find yourself with a large discussion on your hands (*see #3). You might need to emphasize how much they have helped you develop your faith and that this decision is not made against them, but for Christ. If your friends are not incredible apathetic to any religion, as many of mine were, you will face more confused looks than anything else. You may get to thrown down some fun facts (eg. "Do you know about St. Lawrence? He was a martyr who was tied to a grill and slowly roasted to death. Part way through, he said, 'Turn me over. I'm done on this side.' True story."). Knowing who you're speaking to will help you know how to say what you need to say.<br />
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Now, this doesn't have to be a huge speech, but knowing what you want to say ahead of time can help you out when nerves might be hanging about. [Just don't be like me when I have to talk on the phone and write it all down, only to go off the cuff. "Uh...hi...hello...how are you? My name is Haley. ...Oh, right, I called about<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;">—</span>" Don't be a bumbling mess.]<br />
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If you are at a loss, just keep it simple. "Hi, so-and-so. I want to share some exciting news with you. I am converting to Catholicism. I have thought and prayed about this for a good while. I appreciate your prayers and would love it if you came to my Confirmation. Any questions?"<br />
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Don't make excuses. Don't tiptoe around the topic. If your audience is in the "That's interesting. I have many questions" camp, enjoy the opportunity to tell people what you love about the Church. If your audience is in the "What utter nonsense this is!" camp, be patient and charitable. You have had time to think about converting, while your people have not. Continue to be patient and charitable through any questions or exclamations. Looking back, I will always see the ways I could have said or done something differently, and the only thing I regret about converting is that I definitely could have handled telling the news in a more charitable way. Again, this is an opportunity to tell people what you love about the Church. Time to represent.</div>
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4. Find Your Support</h4>
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If your loved ones respond positively to the news of your conversion, then celebrate! That is great! If your loved ones are straight up baffled by your decision, then pray for them and find the support you need in the Church. Invoke the saints: Saints Helen and Monica are patrons of converts (and the mothers of Constantine and Augustine, respectively). We also live in the age of social media; use it to your advantage. I have made many Catholic friends because of blogs and Twitter (check out my "favorite blogs" link above and follow me at <b>@bakeorbake</b>!). Get involved at your parish with Bible studies and weekly Rosaries, and get to know other converts. Find your own support group.</div>
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In Conclusion</h4>
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We owe a great deal to our family and friends. These are the people who have seen us grow up, who know us better than others, and who have our best interests in mind. Remember these things when you share your news. Though this may be a difficult step at first, with time, your loved ones will likely adjust and may even consult you on an aspect of Catholicism. My family and friends came to my <a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2013/03/easter-vigil-scene-i.html"><b>Confirmation</b></a> and showed their support again at my <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-wedding-part-one.html">Nuptial Mass</a></b>. The process of converting can be exciting, but the result is important, too. <b>Always show others the light of Christ.</b></div>
Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286790119819209119.post-75685433194253154492015-09-26T11:58:00.002-05:002015-09-26T11:58:21.623-05:00Forgive Yourself<br />
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This morning I prayed day five of the St Therese Novena. If you would like to join in the one I'm doing, <a href="http://www.praymorenovenas.com/podcast/day-5-st-therese-novena-2015"><b>you can find it here</b></a>. Part way through the prayer of the day, it says:</div>
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"Loving God, You gave St. Therese the gift of forgiving others even when she felt hurt and betrayed. Help me to be able to forgive others who have wounded me, especially..."</blockquote>
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Do you know who popped into my head? Myself!</div>
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I lay in bed for a moment, stunned into silence by my response. Perhaps for some, forgiving oneself sounds cliche. Perhaps several people pop into one's head: "My siblings, for being insufferable annoyances. My spouse, for doing everything the wrong way. People in general, for altered bus schedules, crappy work days, taking all the close parking spots, and global warming." For me, though, there are no truer words when it comes to me forgiving someone. <b>The person I am worst at forgiving is myself</b>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnv_Tw0wbDvUGrFo3FYX1CoZbeXtqr0D-srn38Wey9as1i3IxwBQ2NXDvmmXIhluijjGi9I494jBpWuqNHdtGDuSYVw27T6a029pbNgiZCWCadyyonUPzbwQeekxUnNMBctjYvyYOXZ9c/s1600/forgiveyourself.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnv_Tw0wbDvUGrFo3FYX1CoZbeXtqr0D-srn38Wey9as1i3IxwBQ2NXDvmmXIhluijjGi9I494jBpWuqNHdtGDuSYVw27T6a029pbNgiZCWCadyyonUPzbwQeekxUnNMBctjYvyYOXZ9c/s640/forgiveyourself.png" width="382" /></a></div>
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Now, there are different ways this manifests.</div>
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One way is in day-to-day inner monologues. I make a mistake<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c2336; font-family: Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">—</span>forget to return library books on the right day or slosh a cup of tea all over myself<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c2336; font-family: Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">—</span>and I think, "What an idiot!" I remember all the fights I had with my sister and think, "There is no worse sister than me." I realize that I haven't talked to a friend in months and think, "We shouldn't be friends anyways. Why would they want me as a friend?" I ask my husband a question I've asked him three times before and think, "He probably can't stand me. He should have chosen someone who paid better attention."<br /><br />Obviously, this cycle of negativity does no good. Not only does it confuse other people (for I withdraw into myself when I am upset and then they probably do think I am upset with them), it makes me treat myself in ways I would never treat another person. I would never tell another person they are lousy, undeserving, or the worst person/sister/daughter/friend/wife ever. <b>So why do I do it to myself</b>?</div>
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Some flaws, though, may help me realize when I am wrong. Maybe I have serious sins on my soul that need to be confessed (and I need to brush up on <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-guide-to-confession.html">a guide to Confession</a></b>). In that case, I should make myself right before God. For the most part, I find Confession to be a truly freeing experience. I am blown away by the mercy of God. But sometimes, in my imperfect heart of hearts, I'll confess something and still be thinking on it months later. Why? <b>If God can forgive me, why can't I forgive myself?</b></div>
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If I have been forgiven, what use is it to dwell on the past? In the Gospels, Jesus told those he healed, "Go and sin no more." He did not say, "Go and dwell on your past failures." What did I say <b><a href="http://hometocatholicism.blogspot.com/2015/06/my-favorite-verse.html">my favorite verse is</a></b>? "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) This verse is a reminder that in Christ I can be new. So why do I insist on holding on to the old?</div>
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The St Therese Novena continued: "I try to forgive, Lord. Help me to forgive 70 times 7 times!" 70 times 7 times! Could I forgive myself that much? I should forgive myself that much! If Our Lord can forgive the people who denied Him and crucified Him, surely I can forgive myself for burning my morning toast.</div>
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<i>If you struggle similarly, I don't know the secret to treating yourself with the respect you deserve. I do know that if God lowered Himself and became man for our sake, if He endured ridicule, persecution and a gruesome death for our sake, then we can all manage to be a little bit nicer to ourselves. Let's talk in the comments.</i></div>
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Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15761459978142719226noreply@blogger.com0