Happy Feast Day!

Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most appropriately I stumbled on this quote from the beloved author J.R. R. Tolkien:

"All my own perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady."

Happy Feast Day!

Photo of the day

I took this photo at the National Museum of China.  It is amazing how in a country whose policies do not emulate many of the teachings of the Church, a beautiful image such as this can be found in their National Museum.  I got chills when I first saw it.

Quote to ponder...

"Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is." -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Post-Lenten Reflection 2009

I decided for Lent in 2009 to not talk about my fast here on blogger until after celebrating Easter. I decided this mostly because posting what ones fast is at the beginning of lent doesn't leave much to say. It is a post that says "I am fasting from this. THE END." Now that we are celebrating Eastertide,I think it is due time for me to discuss my Lenten happenings.

This Lent I gave up pants with the exception of pajama pants in the privacy of my own home. Now, giving up pants may seem like a strange sacrifice, but in the past year and a half I have come to the realization that modesty is a necessary part of a Catholic woman's life;pants are not meant to be women's clothing and when worn by women, they are not modest. Despite having attempted to be pants free for almost a year, I have run into my own human nature on several occasions. I often found myself wearing pants because they were more comfortable or better protection from the cold. I kept coming up with excuses as to why I was wearing pants instead of choosing modesty and feminity. As Ash Wednesday rolled in the Lenten season this year, I was in a pants wearing slump choosing them over modest skirts and dresses most days of the week. God would understand me wearing immodest clothing and being an occasion of sin for others so I wouldn't be so cold waiting for my bus in the morning--that was my rationalization for my sin. Wearing modest clothing as my Lenten sacrifice this year was an obvious choice as I found myself constantly making excuses for my immodesty.

Do I think it was a worthwhile sacrifice? Yes. Not wearing pants was an incredibly difficult choice for me in a harsh New England winter, but each morning as I pulled on my skirt, I felt as though God's call for women to return to feminity in a culture rattled by "feminists" telling us to objectify ourselves before men get the chance became ever clearer. Cold mornings were not easy, but they were a lesson in how following God's will is not always easy. In this case it meant physical discomfort and often pain as having cold legs causes shooting pains in from my ankles up to my shoulders. This pain often led me to long for the warmth and comfort of pants.

This Lent led me on a journey to be pants-free from now on. To anyone reading this who feels led to dig deeper into what it means to dress modestly, I highly recommend Colleen Hammond's book Dressing With Dignity. This book has had a profound impact on my life. May it help you on your path to a more modest existence.

Stephen Colbert on the Divinity of Christ

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Just in case you needed a laugh....

Lost and found...

The lost and found photo of the day is dedicated to Andie.  Despite the oddity that this photo presents, Andie, although indeed weird, is one of those people who touches lives wherever she goes.  I got the opportunity to see her interacting with her students during her mission year--if those children never know God in their daily lives, they certainly got more than a glimpse of Him working through this remarkable woman during the last year.

Lost and found continues...

I thought I'd continue my lost and found photo theme with this picture of 2 people who have had a profound impact on my life.  Msgr. Szupper was the Catholic priest for the University of Delaware for 42 years.  He is currently UD's Chaplain Emeritus.  His kind heart and endless hospitality helped make my return to the Catholic church a much smoother path.  Kim is the Catholic Campus Minister at the Oratory (Catholic Chapel at UD).  With her help I was able to take a leadership role at the Oratory when I was a student.  She is an amazing woman and I am pretty convinced that she works more than she sleeps.  Her dedication to students has never ceased to amaze me.  Kim and Monsignor have provided me and many others with an excellent example of what it means to live a life of faith.

Lost and found photo of the day

I have been sifting through some of my old photos, and have decided to start posting a find a day for the month of July.  This photo is from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; it was taken on a 1 day Marian Pilgrimage in October 2005.

Prayer request...

I have a job interview next week for a position as a Catholic campus minister at a local college.  Please pray for me and for the ears and hearts of those who will be interviewing me.  

What is freedom really?

Check out the webcast of Cardinal Arinze to find out. The first few minutes are an intro to what he will be discussing.

Exciting revelation!

As I wrote about before, I have found a church that celebrates the Extraordinary Rite or Latin Mass here in the Boston area,  What I did not realize before is that it is totally accessible by public transportation!  Mind you I realized a little bit late for this week, but I know where I'll be next Sunday!  Sweet deal.

Quote of the Day

" I say, if we can believe someone can be saved by a blister, is it really too hard to believe that bread and wine can become Jesus Christ in the flesh?"--Mickey Addison,Saturday Morning Catechesis 

Change the way world thinks...

This is my current song of choice. It is absolutely beautiful and totally inspirational. Enjoy!

Another beautiful day...

You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. --Daniel 3:82

It was another beautiful day today.  I took a long walk on the beach.  Once I got past the really rocky part, I was able to take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the sand.  Warm sand on my feet is one of those things I find really comforting.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I grew up with a beach down the street.  When the sand got to be unbearably hot I waded in the water a bit.  It was surprisingly not frigid--just cool and soothing on my burning feet.  It was such a peaceful walk.  I find walking in nature to be a good reminder of the beauty of God's creation.  Sometimes I need that reminder more than I would like to admit--today it came with perfect timing.  While I was walking, I was reminded of the prayer in Daniel 3:52-90 when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are invoking all of creation to praise God and how we are all called to take a place in this hymn of praise throughout our lives.

I think they doth protest too much...

If you have ever wondered why the Catholic Bible has more books than Protestant versions, this article is a good way of explaining the validity of both Judith and Tobit.  For all of you Baruch, Wisdom, Maccabee and Sirach fans, I'll try and find something for you.  Also, anyone who loves the extras in Daniel and Esther, I'm working on it.

Catholic Education...

Something that has bothered me for a while is reports I have heard of Catholic colleges allowing and even promoting things contrary to Catholic teaching.  Pope Benedict XVI is clearly concerned too.  Here is a wonderful (and rather amusing) article that summarizes what he said to Catholic Institutions of Education  while he was here in the USA.   I can only pray that people heed his words.

One big family...

I read about this in the newspaper and then Kimberly at Catholic family Vignettes posted this. I felt moved to post it as well. Please take a few minutes to watch the video. It is beautiful.

Amen to that!

"Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility."--Pope Benedict XVI

He may be 81, but Benedict XVI is a very intelligent, yet clearly humble, man.  

Latin Mass

I have been reading a bit about the Latin Mass recently and have become very interested in attending one.  Since Ishmael is visiting this weekend and he is also interested, we are going to go to a Latin Mass on Sunday here in MA.  I am very excited for the chance to do this.