What if St. Faustina had a Facebook??

Last evening I came across the same thing...it gets me every time.  Someone of the Catholic faith misrepresenting it over social media.  A misguided friend on Facebook.  And I came to the same dilemma that I, and I'm sure others, are faced with all the time:  What do I say?  Do I say anything?

Evangelizing over the Internet has some problems and absurdities that saints of the past just didn't have to deal with.  First off is the problem of tone.  For some reason, reading replies over the Internet brings out people's sensitive sides; if they read it slightly the wrong way, it is taken offensively, and their reply is tense, and the whole conversation goes downhill.  Second is misinformation.  Everybody thinks they are the expert at whatever they have started talking about over social media.  It always slightly amuses me how many "experts" there are about the current issues...fiscal cliff, gun control, what have you...in the statuses you read on Facebook.  Everyone has all the solutions. Third is the the ability to be anonymous, or at least hidden, in the world of the Internet.  Even if you say something out in the open on Facebook, you have the luxury of being at the other end of the computer.  You never have to face the person in real life if you really don't want to. 

So, as I looked at this particular post on Facebook, having both these problems in my mind and trying to figure out if/how to respond to this person over Facebook, I started thinking about the saints...if they had had Facebook, how would they have been?  Would they have responded?  What about "Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words?"  Would they have been meek or stern?  My thoughts went something like this...:

St. Pio of Pietrelcina would have used the poke button...a lot.
St. Peter would be "that guy" who wrote a comment off the top of his head without thinking about it and then had to apologize.
St. Faustina would have been admonishing of anybody who was misbehaving. (Something I love about St. Faustina is that she wasn't some weakling...the woman knew how to call people out!)
Nobody would want to talk with St. Thomas Aquinas on Facebook...he's always be asking questions and probably winning his argument.
G. K. Chesterton would be making a lot of those "Catholic Memes".
St. Gianna Molla would be all lovey-dovey and super cute on her husband's page on Facebook.
St. Martha would be updating us on her house cleaning.

Yes, the personalities of the Facebook saints would run the gamut, just as the personalities you find on Facebook now-a-days; there are the political activists, the pro-life activists, the ones with all the witty statuses that you wish you could top, the jokesters, the one's who get on barely once a month.  But when I wondered if they would address somebody who was erroneously representing the Catholic faith, I realized the universal response of the Facebook saints would be to address the issue...whether publicly or in a private message, heresy should not stand.

The New Evangelization is a great challenge to today's youth.  In a world that says do not step on toes, the New Evangelization is calling today's Catholics to be involved, even in social media, and not only represent themselves as faithful Catholics, but also address others who are fallen away or who are misinformed about the faith.  In the past, evangelization has been about Christians converting non-Christians...we are the first era of Christians re-evangelizing fallen away Christians.  That is what the New Evangelization is all about.  It's a tall order, and each of us will find our own way...but this way can never be one of condoning misinformation.  We are each called to be bold and stand for the Church against falsehood and slander.  In the Facebook world it might become a war of words (which I personally try to stay away from, as I'm not good at it)...it might mean someone "unfriends" you...it might mean a loooooong private email debate.  It might mean getting off of Facebook, getting away from the temptation to hide behind Internet anonymity, and meeting up with that friend in person to discuss the issue.  It might mean being sneaky and putting correct information on your own wall and tagging individuals that should read the article instead of directly attacking the misinformed.  Prayer, of course, but also proper response.  Evangelization takes on as many faces as their are personalities in the world.  But it is the vocation to which we are each called.

Picture/News item of the day XXV

The Meaning of Being Human Under Attack

Break beginnings

Six finals and one trip to Wichita and back later, here I am, alive and breathing. 

Oh finals week, it's such a funny, interesting week.  When I'm studying I think about other activities I can't wait to do during break, and when taking a study break I'm thinking of studying.  During finals week, studying consumes my life.  I make an hourly (yes, hourly) schedule, dividing up the hours between the classes for which to study, and structure my life in that fashion.  Which is good, in theory.  It's crazy how vital those precious hours become.  At any rate, I had one final on the 6th, two on the 10th, two on the 12th, and a take-home final due on the 12th.

Then I booked it home for a couple of days.  Dear Matt had his last two wisdom teeth removed on the 13th, and so I went to his house for the day to watch movies with him (the man recovered so fast, seriously).  On Friday I went looking for a dress for a couple weddings coming up and for a few Christmas presents and Matt came along that day.  My parents and I met up at a Mexican restaurant that I hadn't been to before and we had a nice meal together.  Saturday I grudgingly came back to KC to work until I leave this Friday for a wedding, and I'll be back to work on the 25th.  That's right, folks, workin' Christmas.  I can't complain too much...I had Thanksgiving off, I'll be home Christmas Eve, my parents will be with me all of Christmas morning...it's still hard to look forward to, though. 

I have my first scheduled graduate school interview!  Yeah, weird, right?  I will be attending an interview session at WSU on the 14th of January.  Oh man, so crazy that this is actually happening.

Well, back to working on my essay for Franciscan...

Song Recommendation of the Day XXIX

Let's just admit it, Straight No Chaser is FABulous...here's some funness:

Happy New (Liturgical) Year

I woke up this morning (technically now yesterday morning since it's past midnight on the 2nd, but who's being picky?) and it was December.  Still trying to figure out just how that one happened...

What news since Thanksgiving?  Well, I came back to KC that Saturday to work the Saturday and Sunday evening shifts, and came down with a nasty cold in the middle of working on Sunday.  Bad enough that I emailed all my professors that I would not be attending classes on Monday.  Which has still put me in a funk ever since...trying to make up a sick day so close to the end of the semester is difficult...

Tuesday I felt a bit better, which was good because it was a day to celebrate for me...2 years ago, we started our courtship on that day!  Cue the "oooohs" and "aaaaaws".  I had the chance to help him become a bit more cultured...we watched The Polar Express, White Christmas, and The Nativity Story, none of which he had seen before.  Perfect.

And  now it is the weekend, and I just got off of work a bit ago and am settling in for the night.  This week will be interesting.  I have two tests and a term paper due on Wednesday, and a lab final on Thursday.   And then I turn around and there'll be finals.  Yeah, it's kind of obnoxious that I have my last tests right before the finals for those classes.  However, if it's one more opportunity to get a couple good grades in before finals, I suppose it has its perks.  Either way, through Thursday I will probably be sorely lacking in some much needed sleep.  Also after Wednesday I will officially pass on my position of president of Students for Life to the next person.  Which is bittersweet, though more sweet than bitter.  I've appreciated my time in the position, but for several reasons am glad to pass it along.  As much as I believe in what I'm a part of, I recognize that I'm not a super charismatic personality.  Meaning I really don't draw people in.  Someone with more sparkle will be able to do more with a president position.  Also...college students are funny.  They really don't return communication of any kind in any suitable length of time.  Naturally, much unnecessary stress ensues.  Yes, I will be happy to pass this on to someone who is not quite so type A as myself.

Welp, that's life in a nutshell.  Happy beginnings to your Advent!

Pro-Life Feature V

This is definitely one of my new favorite resources...truth, presented with just the right amount of attitude and sass.  Love it.  Take a look for yourself: 1Flesh

Welcome, Thanksgiving!

Well folks, only 3 hours of work-study stands between me and heading home for Thanksgiving break!  It all is quite surreal...five months ago this month didn't even exist in my mind, all I could see was the never ending summer.  Then school got here and has FLOWN BY and here we are, less than a month out from the end of the semester.  Seriously, time is weird.

Since I only have 3 days at home before I come back to KC to work, I'm fitting in quite a bit of people time.  This evening when I get back I'll go to Mass with a friend from high school and tomorrow I'll be seeing another friend from high school and having a certain boyfriend help me extensively on my Philosophy of Aristotle term paper.  Thanksgiving Day will be split between Matt's family and my family.  May I just say, I'm super super excited to spend the day with his family??  Consider this a shout out to them...I super super love them and can't believe how much they've already accepted and embraced me into their clan.  Oh man.  I'm blessed.  And then Friday my mom (strangely enough) wants to see Life of Pi in theatres, so we'll possibly catch a matinée, and that evening some girlfriends of mine are getting together for some fellowship and prayer time, so hopefully I'll be able to make it to that.

Whew!  So that's my week coming up in a paragraph!  This past week was spent preparing a term paper for my Philosophy of Death and Dying class, and the weekend was spent working...a CNA at work broke his leg on a fishing trip, so I filled in the entire weekend on the third floor where he usually works.  Which was fine, kind of stressful since I'm not usually up on third floor and I had to relearn the routine, but fine.  I actually had a nurse tell me she wished I was up there more often, so that's always nice to hear that I can help bring God's love and peace to some people.

Safe travels to everyone, and a blessed Thanksgiving filled with warmth, love, and gratitude to you!

Lessons on Mary V

Since I'm currently starting some reading for New Testament Greek on a passage from The Book of Wisdom, I decided to read up a little bit on Mary as the Seat of Wisdom, as I have heard her called in litanies.  I think I super love this title of hers, and it reminds me that Mary is the path to the King; she is His adornment, His Beloved.  I came across this neat-o explanation of the title HERE. 

Change

Change.

It was the recurrent theme in the elections.  One side saying they were already making change, one side advocating a change to the change.  Even climate change made its way in there.

This theme kept tugging at me.  Why so much push for change?  What are Americans yearning for that they do not think they are receiving?

Is it a cultural change?  Look around America and you see diversity in every walk of life...one need only to move from the country to the city, or vice versa, to get a change in scenery if that is what they so desire.

Change in economics?  In government policy?  Sure, we can shuffle around how money is spent, and try to come up with better solutions to the national debt, and scheme up ways to become more affluent...

...but is that the change that American is really seeking?

I think America's confusion is captured in this need for change.  As I was sitting with my friend tonight, studying and watching the number game of the electoral college and the gamble of trying to figure out what counties needed to be won by which camp to get which state, I knew in my heart that this was not the path to the change that America wants.  I mean, how artificial...to pretend that the "change" that will supposedly improve Americans' lives is based on a president, who is elected mostly from the political climate of a handful of swing states with a handful of populated, influential counties...

No, America.  Your search for change lies outside of a number game.  Your search for change lies outside of a man.

Your search for change...for meaning, if I dare call it that...lies in the person of Jesus Christ.

I mean, really.  Isn't He the one Way we haven't taken yet?  Isn't He the Truth that we have not acknowledged?  Isn't He the Life we have yet to accept? 

If you want change, He's staring you right in the face, America. 

America, I still love you.  Yes, even with your sometimes misguided decisions, your naivety, you are still dear to me.  Silly enough, it reminds me of something I heard from a speaker on my first Steubenville retreat: "There is no such thing as a 'slut'.  There are, however, girls searching for fulfilling love who are severely misguided."  America, I do not, cannot believe that you are really bad, even if I disagree with you.  You are simply on a wrong path to a change that, frankly, I do not believe you really understand.  Allow me to introduce to you a Man who is searching after your heart...

St. Narcissus

1. I just have to say I love the wording of the saint bio on Catholic.org: "...was almost fourscore years old when he was placed at the head of the church of Jerusalem, being the thirtieth bishop of that see [Jerusalem]."

2. He helped preside over a council which decided to keep the celebration of Easter on Sunday and not with Jewish Passover (This is is 195, mind you.  Talk about some Apostolic Tradition going on there.)

3. St. Narcissus served the Church till he was well over 100. 

Glorious??

I'm trying something new with prayer.  Usually I've been blocking out a specific time to say the Rosary, Chaplet, any spiritual reading...making one set time of 30-60 minutes of my day prayer and the rest, well, not.  So now I'm trying to take advantage of the times I walk to campus...it's 5-8 minutes to get anywhere, which is the perfect amount of time to fit in a decade.

As I started walking this morning, I thought, "First Glorious Mystery...ha."  At that moment in my life, I was leaving my house a bit later than I really wanted to, had a list of to-do items of the day running through my mind, had on a light jacket that, in this warm-ish weather, was making me feel less than pleasant, and here I was supposed to be praying on a Glorious Mystery.  I was definitely feeling less than Glorious.

In fact, what part of my life is even glorious right now?  The life of the typical college student...less than glamorous on a day-to-day basis.  Yet glory is exactly that to which God is calling me.  In the midst of my plain Jane life, if I am to imitate the life of Jesus Christ, I am called to His Glorious state.

Woah, yikes.

I guess that's part of the mission and purpose of the Rosary.   If it transcends our repetition of the words, it is to be a call, a walk of life.  My life is supposed to be Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious.  In the fullest sense of the words.  Exuding Joy at the presence of God, Illuminating the presence of God, sharing in the Sorrow of Christ Crucified, and living to experience the Glory of beatitude.  Just adds to a bit more of the Mystery part of the Rosary...how in the world to incorporate those patterns into my everyday life.  It sure isn't easy to be Glorious when you have 8am class...or Joyful for that matter...and I'm sure not Illuminating Jesus when I complain (so maybe I was more suited to the Sorrowful mysteries at that instance).  Definitely something to work on.

Quote of the Day XXX

“God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts' desire except to give us something better.”--Elisabeth Elliot

Catching Up

You'll have to forgive me my extended break from blogging the past week...being immersed in work and school with three tests in a day and then switching to being at home and attempting to milk the time here for all its worth leaves little time for sitting and contemplating which parts of my life are really exciting or relevant enough to put in a post to update my little corner of the blogging world about.  So here's my bullet-style attempt to update on my life.

• Yes, that's right, you read three tests in one day.  Actually, this past Monday I had three tests (Organic, New Testament Greek, and Philosophy of Death and Dying), the Thursday before I had my Organic Lab test, and the Monday before I had my Philosophy of Aristotle test.  Midterms were cruel to me this year, falling all RIGHT before fall break...
• But then there IS fall break!
• Tuesday:  came home, got to hang out with the fam.
• Wednesday:  did some stuff in town, Matt came over to hang out and play some board games.
• Thursday:  I had dentist and doctor appointments.  Then Matt and I drove out to visit a sister at her family's home and then to a brother and sister-in-law's place to visit with them.
• Friday: bummed around the house with my mom, went to see Restless Heart at Newman (loved it!), some friends from KC came into town to see it so I treated them to Freddy's since they've never been (one missionary is from North Dakota, one from South Dakota, and my friend from Rockhurst is from STL and Wichita was the farthest west she'd ever been), and then I went to Matt's to finish my yummy cheese fries and watched the end of the STL vs Washington Nats game with him and his dad.
• Today:  hanging out with the fam, getting ready to head into town for a 4pm Mass and then eating out with the grandparents!

Daily Gospel XVII: Luke 10: 13-16

Happy Feast of St. Faustina (Thank you to Marian Ninja for your wonderful text this morning about it ;-D)!!!!  You can read a tad bit about her here.

Today's Gospel seems kinda random till you read it in context and/or with the first reading.  In the chapter in Luke, Jesus is sending out the 72 disciples to preach in the different cities, giving them instructions as to what to do if they are welcomed and what to do if the city rejects them.  He basically gives them forewarning that what they are setting out to do will not be easy; it is not a question of if, but when, the Good News will be spurned.  But the hope that Jesus gives is that He is with them and on their side.  Anyone who rejects their message is rejecting the Lord.  Their concern is not to rest in how they are perceived, but in giving glory to God through their work in the towns leaving the results to Him.

Easier said than done, right?

Even when one is doing the works of the Lord, it is an easy trap to fall into to think, "Wow, I am doing this!"  Oops.

Pause.

Rewind about a bajillion steps.

Pause.

You are the instrument.  God is guiding you.  God is with you in your failures.  God is working through your successes.  In the first reading, Job has been asking God to prove to him that he deserves any of the numerous struggles he's been handed, and God is responding that He is still in control; does Job think he can do a better job than the Almighty is doing right now?  God is at work.  Your handiwork is God's.  We are the clay, He is the Potter.

Now go.

To Nebraska and back

This past week has been filled with some beautiful times, as well as some difficult.  Lots of late nights studying.  Lots of early mornings trying to wake up and conquer the world, every once in a while with a warm cup of coffee from the cafeteria to keep up the initiative.  A nice wonderful chat with the housemate here and there, catching up with other friends, attempting to keep the head on straight and get through school...the "usual".  This past weekend was a little out of the ordinary for me though.  After a full evening of studying on Friday night a group of 7 of our Students for Life group traveled to Independence to help with a Run/Walk 5K for Life put on by the Women's Clinic from 7am-10am.  Considering that it was an earlier morning than most of us are used to at school, I was so grateful that we had the turn-out we had.  Our duty was to set up barricades along the path, redirect cars, and cheer on the runners/walkers/moms with baby strollers/Sisters (for real, jogging in full habit with pro-life tees on over...precious).

Then, that evening, after playing flute for the Family Weekend Mass (got to see my housemate's wonderful family!!  They're great!), Matt picked me up and we traveled up to Nebraska so that I could meet his grandma!  Apparently everybody cool comes from the same town, because the few other people I know well from Nebraska are from the same town his family is from.  Anywho, so we got to her house and Matt's mom stopped by to say hi as well.  She and Matt's dad and brother were in town for the big game (something tells me I'm going to have to get used to this whole cheering-for-Nebraska thing.  Praise the Lord Nebraska and K-State aren't in the same division/league/whatever [I'm obviously deficient in my football terminology at the moment] anymore).  In the morning Matt and I walked to the church, which was very pretty and quaint and reminded me of home a lot.  We spent most of the morning visiting with Matt's grandma and were surprised when Matt's family came and visited for a bit, since their plan had been to head to Omaha earlier that day.  After a wonderful lunch...er, dinner!...made by Matt's grandma and uncle we headed back to KC so I could study for my test today.

So, yes!  Big full wonderful weekend, and to top it off, today is St. Therese's feast day and October 5th is a SUPER special feast day that I'm SUPER looking forward to (St. Faustina!!!!!!!).  Have a blessed week!

Picture/News item of the day XXIV

I'm a big fan:  

Dorothy Day's Dynamic Orthodoxy

Pluggin' on through

The title pretty accurately describes what life is feeling like.  Just gotta keep on going, whether the end in mind is a break from school, a weekend, or maybe just a few hours between classes to call "my own".

Classes are still going well.  Having five in one day on Mondays is, well, insane.  But the rest of the week gets "easier".  I've had three tests so far this year, with good grades on all, so I have high hopes for the rest of the semester.  I love that I'm in the midst of my classes pertaining to my fields of study:  we dig right in at the beginning of the semester and don't bother with silly introductory stuff except for maybe the first one or two classes.

I now technically have two jobs.  My regular gig at the nursing home, and now I have work-study on campus, which is a desk assistant position at the Learning Center.  This consists of:  sitting doing homework, occasionally signing in students coming for tutoring appointments on the half-hour, and going back to homework.  As you can see, I very much appreciate the down time, and I am productive and get paid!  Love it.

And activities.  Oh activities.  Students for Life is off to a good start...maybe not everything I thought it would be in my mind, but my expectations can unrealistic.  FOCUS is still lovely, although being unable to attend the FOCUS Mass since our Students for Life meeting is at the same time is still very distressing to me...FOCUS is all about fellowship, and I'm missing out on my "fellowship" time with the rest of the group...next semester maybe will hold the promise of a better balance between Students for Life and FOCUS.  And let's not forget the music practices for playing flute for Masses, and tutoring sessions, and other randomosities that present themselves throughout the week. 

Despite how full it sounds, I believe I have struck some sort of balance this semester.  I could definitely use more sleep, but between classes, homework, work, activities, and individual friendship time, I think things are going quite smoothly. 

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mercy :-D

Song recommendation of the day XXVIII

This is admittedly one of those "guilty pleasure" type of songs for me.  Boy bands with cheesy repetitive lyrics are not usually in my genre, but I make exceptions for songs that are fun to sing with friends or that are sweet and simple like this one.  Enjoy :-)

Holy Blush

"Dr. Alice von Hildebrand says that when women no longer know how to blush, it is an indication that a society is on the verge of moral collapse."--

Hammond, Colleen. Dressing with Dignity. Rockford, IL: Tan and, 2005. Print.

The song "What Makes You Beautiful" by OneDirection has held a lot of interest for me lately.   You can listen to the song here, but it's about a girl who doesn't recognize her own beauty, or at least avoids the subject.  It has me thinking on how I respond to compliments of beauty.

I believe as women we sense a pressure to walk a fine line in how we recognize our beauty.  On the one hand we can grasp that we are beautiful creatures, but if we let others know that we have an idea of our worth, then we can be mistaken as being vain in character.  On the other hand, others might tell us of our beauty and we avoid the subject or flat out deny the beauty, thus not giving glory to God for the gift of femininity.  The two together can lead to a reaction of false modesty...we deeply know our beauty, but do not believe that we can "let on".

So what can be the proper response of a woman to her own womanhood?  How can we approach that mystery?  If the Tabernacle of God was approached with reverence, then the tabernacle of the openness of womanhood must be met with due awe.  Awe in a certain sense can be synonymous with fear; fear, though, is often misconstrued in today's society.  There is a fear that leads to being shunned...there is a casting away of fear that leads to licentiousness.  We must rediscover the emotion of holy fear.

Holy fear of womanhood is a powerful force.  It can open the doors to contemplation about the purpose of femininity, and I think even touch on the relationship to masculinity.  If the beauty of a woman can make a man's head float in the clouds, then it reveals two essential truths:  

1. Men have knowledge of the power of objective beauty (whether they know it or not).
2. Man can begin to glimpse the beauty of God, which reveals itself in some way in the beauty of women.

If the beauty of God is revealed in women to some degree, then a proper respect owed to that beauty is made, not for beauty itself, but rather in thanksgiving to the wondrous God who is beautiful beyond all thought.  This beauty is of such a nature that it cannot be ignored; it demands a reaction.  To God be all praise and glory.

So how shall we as women honor this beauty (My focus for this post is on women's own reactions, not men's.)?  I believe that this is where a balanced response of feminine traits come into play.  In order to discover a proper feminine response, the best to study and learn from is that of Mary.  Mary doesn't say much in the Gospels, but there are a few instances of her praise to God that are quite evident.  The two situations I like to contemplate are her reaction at the Annunciation, and her Magnificat upon meeting Elizabeth.  In the first she pondered the mysteries in her heart (many today would classify that as "shyness").  In the second she testified to the greatness that God would bestow upon her and how He would be glorified among the nations for His great deeds (some would say she could be "vain" in thinking she would be great).  Look carefully at both of her responses though.  She does not necessarily grasp the blessings of her femininity at that time; she simply makes the most out of it.  She is deeply in communion with God, and knows that His blessings flow through her.  Her beauty acts as a vessel, and her response is deep respect and awe for the mystery taking place through her. She does not flaunt it, though she does not deny its presence.  She does not pretend it is not existent, though she is modest in her outlook.  I often wonder if her downward glance in many of her depictions, in addition to looking upon her children on earth, is not also a "holy blush", a wonderful acknowledging of God's blessing upon her.

Nowadays a blush is viewed as a "childish" response, a mix of shame and vanity.  Though this may often be the case in our broken state, we as women need to blush, in a sense.  If we cannot blush or be aware of the mystery of our beauty, then we have lost the sense of awe and from whence our beauty comes, which is, in my mind, perhaps a worse conundrum.  A lack of a "blush" or some other such response is often a sign that the time taken to contemplate beauty has been tossed to the side and replaced with "instant gratification" of desires.  In those instances, beauty may be said to be "appreciated", but is rather degraded.  I will try not to have you call to mind instances of women not blushing, even though engaging in less than feminine activities, as I do not want to damage innocence of thought.  But this is what is meant by the profound thought offered at the beginning of this post.  When the blush has disappeared, beauty has been disregarded and the mystery of God's creation is no longer respected, leading to the taking advantage of women, the loss of the respect of dignity of human kind, and further loss of a sense of morality.  It may seem like a huge step, but it is rather a slippery slope.

A "holy blush" is thus the proper response to compliments of beauty.  This can probably manifest itself in a number of ways, from a physical blush, to an aspiration of praise and thanksgiving, to a simple "Thank you" to the compliment giver.  We need not over-think such compliments (a WHOLE other issue for women to deal with...a compliment is a compliment!  It is not a pick-up line, it is not a sarcastic comment.  Be thankful!).  We need simply to be receptive.  It is built into our very nature; it is not something to fight.

Pro-Life Feature IV

Abby Johnson is everything I expect a strong Texas woman to be:  bold, beautiful, daring, and firm in her beliefs...which were once strongly pro-"choice" and now strongly for life.  Her latest endeavor is entitled "And Then There Were None", which is her outreach to abortion clinic workers.  Her approaches are always positive and compassionate, since she was there once herself.  I just read her book unPlanned this summer and definitely loved it.  So go ahead, head on over to her website and the "And Then There Were None" website!

Blurbs

Matt officially gets the "Met Half of the Extended Family of the Girlfriend" merit badge.  He passed with flying colors.  Most of last week I was in "apologizing profusely for any awkwardness" mode...as in, every time the topic of Labor Day weekend came up, I apologized in advance for...weirdness.  Oh family.

Last week was also the first full week of school.  Considering all the first meetings and figuring out schedules for organizations and working and trying to find room to breathe, I'm glad I made it out alive.  And well.  Classes will be just fine, although I'm still unsure of what Financial Accounting will hold.  And O. Chem...who knows.

Students for Life is off and running.  I still get nervous about my leadership position and walking the line between taking up enough responsibility versus trying to control it and getting burned out on it.  It's one thing to delegate, it's another thing to let the delegation be and not attempt to micromanage.

And FOCUS is still lovely.  Unfortunately with scheduling, I won't be able to make it to Masses this semester, but Bible study and discipleships are all now planned and getting ready to start or just starting.  My disciple and I will again be learning about saints, and my discipleship in which I am the disciple has not yet started, so I don't know yet which direction that will lead me. 

Lessons on Mary IV

Living in the Time of the Coronation

The Queenship of Mary brings special joy to my heart. It is the first day of my renewal of my consecration to Mary (my consecration day starts on a Mary feast day and ends on a Mary feast day…pretty legit).  It also calls to mind the Coronation, one of my favorite mysteries of the Rosary on which to reflect.

Most all the mysteries of the Rosary are called to mind year round in the observances of the liturgical year of the Church, and especially the Crucifixion, which happens in all of eternity.  One could say that we live out the happenings of the Rosary continuously.  But especially the Coronation.  The Coronation, which is the last mystery, is that mystery which we are living in now.  Everything else happened pretty chronologically, as far as life and death stuff, but the Coronation happened and is happening.  The Queen of the Universe is constantly being honored for her devotion and piety.  She is constantly being reverenced as the Mother of the human race, the Seat of Wisdom whom we can approach to appeal to the eternal Logos.

And so begins senior year

Oh school.  School and all your friends and activities and work and business that you offer.  Oh, and schoolwork?  Wait, where do I fit THAT in?!  I've already come across my first scheduling dilemma of my semester.  See, if you look at just my classes and work-study by themselves, my week looks like this:

M: Class 8am-7:10pm (with one 1-hour break and another 3-hour break in-between classes)
T: Work-study 9am-12:30pm
W: Class 8am-1:10pm (one 1-hour break)
R: Lab 8am-12pm, Work-study 4pm-6pm
F: Class 8am-1:10pm (two 1-hour breaks)

On Wednesdays I have scheduled two events that are very dear to my hear (Students for Life meetings and FOCUS Mass), so looking at my schedule, my thought process was, "Oh, my Mondays and Wednesdays I for sure can't work, so I'll cram all my other events (other FOCUS events, Christian Life Community, etc., etc.) onto those days and leave Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays free so that, if I need to be called into work, then I won't feel guilty about missing some meeting or event!"  Yeah, problem:  Since Mondays and Wednesdays are now full, all I have for study nights are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.  Silly girl.

Don't let that make you think I'm grumpy though.  I'm incredibly stressed but blessed.  I'm SO much happier than in the summer time...10x happier.  Sure, if I try to think about the next 2 weeks all packed together I get a little light-headed and wonder what in the world I'm doing with my life.  But when I calm down and make myself think in one day segments...man, life is good!

This year my friend Courts and I are living in a 2-person On Campus House (OCH).   The two bedrooms are definitely small and can only handle one person each. But the rest of the house is amazingly spacious.  It has several nice funny quirks (an old mini-bar area in the basement (don't worry, no crazy wild parties for this girl), our house is located behind one of the party fraternity houses on campus (heard one of their parties just last night!), a cat that lives somewhere in the area that we're going to lure in and make our unofficial "house-pet").

Well, I think that's a pretty good update for the time being :-).  I hope your summers are wrapping up quite nicely!

St. Pius X

1. You can thank him for getting to receive Communion frequently from the point of childhood.  He restored that practice during his time as Pope.

2.  He battled against Modernism, seeking to strike newness into the Church with Bible studies and the codification of Canon Law.  Something tells me he'd fit right in these days with the New Evangelization...

3.  Yay for simplicity!!  He had this written in his last will and testament:  "I was born poor, I have lived in poverty, and I wish to die poor."

Courtship

As most of you know, I have been in a courtship with my boyfriend Matt for more than a year and a half now.  As big of a part of my life as that is, I do not write often about it.  "Why?" you might ask. 

I fell in love with courtship and emotional chastity when they were introduced to me.  I looked up reading material and learned as much as I could.  Emotional chastity did wonders for maturing my faith life and making it something more relational than a head knowledge kind of belief after high school.  Many of my conversations with my girlfriends centered around Sarah Swafford's "emoto-coaster", our failures in our pasts, and our hopes for our futures to become better women of God.

When Matt and I began our courtship, I suppose I had the naive notion that I was somehow proficient at the whole courtship thing and keeping emotions under control 100% of the time (ha!).  But then, being an hour and 20 minutes away from each other, the distance acted as a "safe zone" for a long time for me...the distance meant that I was not tempted often in letting my emotions run off at a million miles an hour.  Sure, there were a lot of phone calls where we admitted that we missed each other, yada yada yada mushy stuff, but it was still a safe enough distance that my emotions stayed in check most of the time.

This summer Matt was blessed with an internship in the same city where I was staying the summer to work.  I knew from the beginning that it was prime opportunity for us to be in a close proximity, being a mile away from each other, and discern whether marriage was really the path to which God has been leading us.  Living in the same city was going to give us time to be around each other and learn each other's habits, both good and bad...those we could handle and those we wished we could change.  As much as I knew that we got along on an intellectual level, I honestly couldn't tell you at the beginning of the summer if we could get along on a day-to-day basis. 

Ninety percent of the summer I utterly failed at discerning with him.  Wait, what?  Yes, utterly failed.  The more that discernment became real, the more I wanted to push it away.  On top of being moody from homesickness, Matt got the raw end of the deal this summer.  Only since the beginning of August has communication finally opened up again and discernment and prayer been able to flourish.  When I was finally able to acknowledge that my moodiness towards him was a result of my own homesickness and not anything he had done, I could see the relationship in a clearer light.

So why haven't I written about courtship up till now?  Well, because I'm not perfect at it.  I remember when I first had my mom read "Arms of Love", the book that first introduced me to courtship.  I remember her telling me that something like that was a nice story, but that it wasn't possible.  I wanted to go out of my way to prove to her that it was possible for people to live like that...in control of emotions, with strong convictions and God-centered, purposeful romance.  Do I still think it's possible?  Yes.  Do I still think it's possible for me?  Yes.  Am I good at it?  Heck no.  This summer, even though I recognized the danger, my heart went on the "emoto-coaster" several times.  I spill my emotions easily given the prompt.  I still have a long ways to go in learning about courtship, even if I am a year and a half into a courtship of my own.  The blessing of living near Matt this summer was having a more realistic idea of my boundaries (emotionally, spiritually, physically).  Setting boundaries when you're an hour and a half away from each other is a nice thought, but rather arbitrary.  You never know how you push each other's buttons until you spend the time.

As much as I wish I could portray courtship to make it have some radiant glow around it in your mind's eye, dear reader, the fact of the matter is that I'm me and I stumble and fall.  And I will continue to do so.  But with the support of prayer, friends, mentors, and continual conversion, Matt and I will make our way through finding God's will in this path of courtship.

Quote of the day XXIX

"Rest means recuperation: to gain strength, form ideals and make plans. In other words it means a change of occupation, so that you can come back later with a new impetus to your daily job."--St. Josemaria Escriva

Transition

I'm not talking about transition in the sense that my life in the broad scheme of things is changing (although it could be taken that way in a sense).  No, I mean it in the quite literal sense.  I'll give you an overview of what this past weekend through the beginning of the school year looks like:

One housemate moved out
Matt's internship ended and he's now preparing to return to school
Two new FOCUS missionaries are having me help them house-hunt in the Rockhurst/UMKC area, and until they find something they've been given the "ok" to stay at the house I'm staying at now, so they'll be arriving tomorrow.
The girl who will be living in my room for the year will be moving in on Friday, so I will be moving all of my stuff/furniture out into the main living room and I will be sleeping on one of the couches.
Two of the other girls living in the house will move in around the 15th.  Not sure when the 4th renter for the year will move in.  And I don't move out till the morning of the 18th.

Somewhere in there I study, take the GRE, and work.

Aye yigh yigh.

Coordinating all this moving in/moving out business is going to be the interesting part of things.  Not that I'm thinking about it yet...I have a bigger fish to fry right now (GRE countdown:  2 days!).  But it's going to be messy and disorganized, possibly even fun.  Unpacking and repacking my totes will bring out my crazy OCD packing personality that bursts forth for times like these.  I make lists of what I own, colors, shapes, I take mental pictures of how/what I pack so I can remember it for future reference...so ridiculous.  Utterly ridiculous.  But I can't lie...I'm crazily looking forward to all this transitioning.  It means we're each moving on to the next stages of our lives...the missionaries to their new mission school, two new renters to their new house for the school year, and me to that insane concept of senior year of university.  The world just keeps on turnin'!

Daily Gospel XVI: John 6: 24-35

 

Here's a lovely commentary on a blog post via the National Catholic Register:  A Gift Who Changes The Receiver

Pictures from home

Messy room from packing...check

More organized pile of atlases and itineraries...check

Smiling before 8am...check. Ridder women must be leaving on a trip!

A picture of the zipline we rode on...fun fun!

You can see Table Rock Lake in the distance.

Big checkers game to play to calm your nerves while waiting for the zipline

Mom geeked out over this old washer. Her aunt had one out on one of the family farms when she was growing up.

Fountains!

Mom and I ate at an antique shop/tea room, and on the table we ate at there was a glass covering over old pictures and envelopes, and this one was addressed to an old radio station in Wichita, dating back to 1934.  Even in Branson you can't get away from home!

More of the fountains...you can see how high they could shoot up water!

Add in some flames...

Coming home we decided to stop to see Big Brutus (neither of us had seen it before).

When you aren't even as tall as the wheels, you know it's a big machine...

Info about the bucket.

Standing in the shovel!

The cables were bigger than my hand could hold.

My Grandma Jo was working on some cross-stitch patterns that she didn't finish before she passed away.  My mom has finished up the designs, and now we're turning them into hot pads.

Using a cup to trace the rounded edges.

Prior to being cut...

Nearly finished product.  We actually had to rip out the edging after I took this picture, the sewing machine didn't get it completely sewed onto the main part.

Our hot pad models that we kept referring back to...

Three of the four hot pads

Pretty pretty!

And, because the title of the post reminded me of this song, I'm putting a bonus song for you to enjoy...Letters From Home :-)