— 1 —

Today was my last concert chorale performance. You can watch a video of my favorite piece below, but make sure to turn the volume up so you can hear it well. Follow along with the lyrics!

O God Beyond All Praising

O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.

Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.

— 2 —

I have a history paper to finish up. It’s been quite lovely this semester, because I haven’t had to write too much for school. I’ve been able to stick to writing mainly for my blog and for Live Action which is just the way I like it! I love writing when it’s something I’m passionate about, but would really rather not have to write for school assignments. Anyway, this history paper is interesting because I’m writing about women throughout the 20th century using primary documents from the time. One of them is by Margaret Sanger. Yes, I do find ways to intertwine pro-lifeness into many things 🙂

— 3 —

This week I’m putting together a Pro-Life game night! It’s been fun putting a trivia Jeopardy game together, and I’m excited to help Ravens Respect Life (our student group) put on a fun night.

— 4 —

I saw Les Miserables (last year’s movie) for the second time yesterday. It was even better the second time around, and I noticed so much more with Christian symbolism. If you haven’t seen it, or have only seen it once, you should watch it again!

— 5 —

Have you heard about Kermit Gosnell’s trial? It was fun (as much as it could be) to participate in the Tweetfest pro-lifers organized about him earlier this week to force the media to start covering the story. You can watch the video below to get a feel for what I’m talking about. Be warned that there are graphic pictures included.

— 6 —

This past week I was able to go to a talk by Allen Hunt, a mega-church pastor turned Catholic speaker. It was really, really interesting. When on vacation (before his conversion), he would go to Catholic masses instead of protestant services on Sundays. It took him many years, but he eventually was able to see the truth in the beauty of Catholicism and the Eucharist. He said the most important thing we need to do is to remember that we are the people of the Eucharist. Many ex-Catholics, he says, are that way because they have forgotten who we are.

— 7 —

And now, enjoy a good laugh before the week begins!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

My name us Laura, and I’m a tabaholic. I don’t know long I’ve been one, but my computer suffers from this when I open 20-bajillion tabs and leave them open for some time. Right now I have 14 opened, which is pretty good since I’m working on some articles. It gets worse when I’m researching sources for an article, but right now most of them are stories to read…

— 2 —

Today was my first concert chorale performance! We sang selections from John Rutter’s Requiem mass, and the songs O clap your hands, and O God beyond all praising. The last one is my favorite, and so, so beautiful. I can’t find a good YouTube video to share, but will hopefully have someone tape us at our performance next Sunday. Here are the words:

O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.

Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.

— 3 —

I loved reading this post this week. It was awesome how Calah talks about how our country treats kids, and then how we should actually be treating them (her perspective is neat too).

— 4 —

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! This was my first year saying the Divine Mercy Novena, and it was awesome. Bookmark it for next year!

— 5 —

Watch this video! I wish I could embed it so you could watch it here, but I can’t. It’s a super adorable video of a baby cracking up; Start your week off right with lots of laughter 🙂

— 6 —

I was just at my library to copy off an old article for class tomorrow, and this book popped off the shelves at me! I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time, and am so glad I can now. It’ll probably be one of my next On My Bookshelf posts.

 

— 7 —

Are you looking forward to summer? I sure am! Only 31 days until the school year is officially over – yes, I have a countdown on my white board. It’s been so nice lately, and I am SO looking forward to this summer.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Happy Easter! It’s weird to not be home for Easter this year, but I’ve had great opportunities here. I went to a Last Supper Mass with feet washing, a Good Friday service, and Easter vigil. I’ve never been to an Easter vigil before, and it was awesome. My favorite parts were when we processed to our seats by candlelight and when all the lights were turned on (and the altar was decorated) during the gloria.

— 2 —

We decorated Easter eggs yesterday (which turned out interesting with no vinegar). We ended up using sharpies for the first time. Dying eggs is definitely a must for Easter traditions!

— 3 —

Speaking of Easter break, it’s been lovely to have down time and cook real food. We’ve made chicken alfredo, pizza, pancakes (comin’ out the wazoo!), REAL eggs, and spam. Reminds me of home…but we keep making too much food because we’re from big families 🙂 Anyone want a 13 x 9 in. pan filled with pancakes?

— 4 —

It’s been so beautiful recently (like 60’s-70’s). I love the sunshine! I’ve definitely broken into my flip flops and sundresses. COME ON SUMMER!

— 5 —

Speaking of summer, I am definitely doing a water balloon pinata when I’m home.

— 6 —

So, I’ve never been one to follow tv shows, but during this break I’ve been enjoying some (especially Nanny 911). Time to get back to the grindstone and finish up the last 5 weeks of school though!

— 7 —

This video. Nuf’ said. I love being Catholic.

Have a perfectly lovely week, and visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

— 1 —

Happy Palm Sunday! Here’s a link to how to make a palm leaf cross. This will be my first Easter away from home, and it’ll be weird without all the family traditions. But I’m still going to watch the Passion, do Stations of the Cross, and lots of other stuff. We have Thursday – Monday off, so I’m looking forward to a nice little break. Yay for half weeks of school!

— 2 —

I have a cold. Well, at least my nose and throat are weird – I never really get very sick. Anyway, it’s snowed a bunch in the last couple days too. What did this call for? An afternoon date with my comfy bed, my kleenex box, and lovely blogs to catch up with (not to mention my mug of hot chocolate)!

— 3 —

Chocolate is delicious. Thank goodness for Sundays in Lent. Speaking of chocolate, I saw this on Pinterest today. If someone wants to mail that to me sometime, that would just lovely 🙂

— 4 —

Speaking of Pinterest….I found this painting called “Grandma’s Smile” on it last Sunday. So precious!

— 5 —

Last night I went to a new talk by Sarah Swafford. Dude. Every girl needs to hear what she has to say! Check out her website for more info, and pass it on to the young girls in your life! I am so excited for the book she’s writing which should be out in November. She focuses on emotional virtue (Never heard of it? Look at her site!), true beauty, and just awesome girl stuff from the perspective of a ‘big sister’ who’s been there. The book will be available for bulk orders for $3 each, AND they’re writing a study guide so girls can read it together. I am so pumped and want to lead a study next summer!

— 6 —

Now, that I’m getting to the end of these, I’m remembering that I need to go finish up an assignment for tomorrow. For my political science class, we’ve been talking about the economy, and how 60% of Americans hold only 5% of the wealth in the U.S. Isn’t that an insane statistic? We all had to write about if, in light of that number, we think the “American Dream” is possible. I may be an idealistic teenager, but I firmly believe it’s possible. If you work hard and use your God-given talents, there’s no telling what can happen.

— 7 —

And now, enjoy a laugh as you look forward to another Monday. Click on the picture below for hilarious reviews for this recipe for ice cubes….

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Habemus Papam! When the white smoke went up on Wednesday, I was sitting in my room doing research on my laptop. I got a text from my brother (“WHITE SMOKE!”) as the bells of our Abbey began to toll. A couple friends and I made a mad dash for the TV downstairs, and some screams were definitely emitted as we ran. We turned EWTN on, and waited. It was a while until Pope Francis was revealed, so we headed over to our student union where the President of BC, one of our priests, several of the professors, and hundreds of students skipped class to watch the historic moment. People cried and cheered. We knelt as Pope Francis gave his blessing. It was an incredible moment to be part of, and one moment in which I was so proud to be a raven.

— 2 —

I have finally memorized the Sanctus! We didn’t do it often in latin back home, but I’ve memorized it here. We’re doing it in my concert chorale class, which we’ll be performing next Sunday. My favorite song we’re doing is O God Beyond All Praising. Look it up! It makes me tear up sometimes, it is so beautiful. If I could find a good YouTube video, I would share it. But alas! A good one is not to be found.

— 3 —

I just got word the 5k I signed up for is cancelled. Oh well. I went on a 2 mile jog last week, which felt really good. Now I just need to come up with a realistic plan to stay in better shape. What’s new?

— 4 —

After an experience outside an abortion clinic yesterday (and hearing about a similar but worse story from my Mom), I felt like I needed to write this post.

— 5 —

Last night I watched Casablanca for the first time. Apparently it’s one of those movies you “have” to see…I kept falling asleep because it was late and I was tired because of getting up early for the clinic, so I didn’t catch the whole thing. I’ll have to watch it again. Older movies are so different from newer ones – it’s so refreshing!

— 6 —

This week I’m registering for classes in the fall! It looks like I’ll be taking lots of business classes. Yay math? I think it’s funny because I have said for years that I would not take math in college. I was also saying a couple weeks ago I would not major in business. And now I’ll be doing both…

— 7 —

The son of the Dean of Student at BC was in terrible car accident last week. Can you join me in praying for him? More info can be found  here.

Have a lovely week! For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!