Answer Me This: Vol. 1

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

I recently found this new link-up (hosted by Kendra) with random questions each week, so I thought it’d be nice to join. Here goes my first-ever (and late – ha!) installment of Answer Me This.

1. Are you becoming your mother?

Well, I would say there’s a bit of both my parents in my personality. Wasn’t that a fascinating first answer?!?!

2. Coffee or tea?

Tea, in my opinion, is gross. Iced coffee is my favorite (with the milk and all that jazz) along with caramel lattes. However, coffee is a diuretic (tmi, much?) which is not very convenient so I don’t have it very often.

3. What foreign country would you like to visit?

If I were to travel abroad, I would want to go to the Vatican or Ireland. The Vatican because of all the history and the Pope – Ireland because it is so beautiful and awesome. But I don’t have my heart set on traveling, so I don’t know that this will ever happen (and I’m okay with that). I want to see all of America first!

4. Do you cry easily?

It depends, honestly. I sometimes cry when I’m mad, which can be annoying. But I am able to work through it when the issue is going on. I can hold it together when I have to. I’ve noticed that I tend to put up with a whole lot, but when something puts me over the edge I will cry, get over it, come up with a solution, pray, and be done. If it’s an issue with a particular person, I remove myself from their presence to cool off.

I cry when reading inspiring stories sometimes, or watching beautiful movies. The hardest I ever remember crying was watching For Greater Glory. Is that weird? I don’t know.

If you haven’t seen it, skip this next part. It was during the part when the little boy (was he named a saint?) had been caught and was standing near a grave with a guy who had a gun at hand. The boy’s parents came into the scene (details are fuzzy), and were crying. The guy with the gun was telling the boy to renounce God, and he refused. The boy’s parents begged him to, and were frantic. The boy refused, though, and was killed right before their eyes. I don’t know how they made it so realistic. It was the looks between them. The ultimate sacrifice. Gosh, it gives me chills.

5. How often do you wear heels?

Pretty often! It’s definitely a perk of being on the shorter side. I don’t wear crazy high things, but a classy heal is definitely my go-to for Mass and fancy occasions. Check out WIWS posts for pictures.

6. Do you play an instrument?

Not fluently. I took piano for a few years on-and-off, and did voice lessons when I was in musicals in high school. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who can sit down at the piano (or guitar) and just knock out an awesome song, buuuut nope. It takes a lot of work. Perhaps someday I will buy a piano and watch YouTube videos to re-learn.

Check back on Sunday for next week’s post!

NAS: Favorite Saints!

~ Laura ~ 5 Comments

This week’s topic is favorite saints! But not just any saints . . . some related to purity, chastity, etc. Here goes!

Mother Teresa is probably my favorite saint EVAH (and she’s not even technically a saint yet). St. Joan of Arc was quite a boss. I’ve also learned more about JPII recently and love, love, love him. The Catholic church has so many beautiful people for us to look to as role models.

Buuut I’m supposed to be writing about saints related to purity, chastity, etc. 🙂

There’s the obvious St. Maria Goretti who refused to give in to an attacker and then forgave him (yes, that’s rather vague, someone remind me of the story!). She’s one that many people look to as a beautiful example of purity. But for me? I stick to St. Michael and St. Raphael, two of the archangels.

St. Michael is pretty much always pictured defeating Satan. I’ve grown to love (and know by heart!) his prayer which is a beautiful plea to be protected against evil. It’s appropriate in many ways, and definitely for asking for his intercession for the courage and grace to beat Satan to a pulp when he tries to temp us into straying from the straight and narrow.

Here is his prayer:

“St. Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard  against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil creatures who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”

St. Raphael, I’ve learned, is the patron saint of happy meetings (among other things). There’s a beautiful story derived from the Book of Tobit about how he healed Sarah who was grieving and influenced Tobias and after stuff they got together and yay! It’s deeper than that, though. Read about it!

Here’s a prayer I found asking for his intercession (which I think is really beautiful):

“St. Raphael, loving patron of those seeking a marriage partner, help me in this supreme decision of my life. Find for me as a helpmate in life the person whose character may reflect some of the traits of Jesus and Mary. May he (she) be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with chaste and unselfish love we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please God to entrust to our care.

St. Raphael, angel of chaste courtship, bless our friendship and our love that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely that our future home may ever be most like the home of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Offer your prayers to God for the both of us and obtain the blessing of God upon our marriage, as you were the herald of blessing for the marriage of Tobiah and Sarah.

St. Raphael, friend of the young, be my friend, for I shall always be yours. I desire ever to invoke you in my needs.

To your special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future husband (wife). Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God’s Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love and harmony in this life, and attain to eternal joy in the next. Amen.”

And that’s that.

Head over to Jen and Morgan‘s for more on this topic!

On My Bookshelf: Rediscover Catholicism

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

OnMyBookshelfOfficialPic

 

Rediscovering Catholicism

By Matthew Kelly

Published in 2010

317 pages

Why did you pick up this book?

I had been eyeing this for a while, and found it cheap on Amazon, so why not? Reading relevant modern takes on Catholicism is inspiring to me, especially when so many Catholics are disengaged.

What topic(s) does this book deal with?

SO MUCH good stuff. It has four main sections: We become what we celebrate (outlines Catholicism, and why it’s relevant among other things), The Authentic Life (what sets Catholics apart and why they are attractive), The 7 pilars of Catholic spirituality (main teachings explained), and Now is out time (changing the world, one awesome person at a time).

What was your favorite part of this book?

I really enjoy the tips he gave. As I read, I wrote down key quotes, and so many of them came back to this: don’t just go around telling people about Catholicism – show them with your life how much beauty and joy living the authentic Catholic life brings. It’s a challenge, which I always like.

What style is this book written in?

Some parts are more theological than others, but overall the language is not extremely challenging. It’s not Dick & Jane, but it’s not Shakespeare either.

How readable is this book?

Definitely not hard to read, but it took me a long time because I wanted to absorb all the information and quotes…

Where can I get this book?

Click on the link below to purchase this book on Amazon!

Rediscover Catholicism

Thanks for reading! If you have questions about the book, feel free to ask.

Since I am an Amazon Associate, I will receive a small percentage of your purchase value if you use this link. I would very much appreciate the support so that I can more easily bring new books to my bookshelf and to your computer. Thank you!

The Reason I Have Hope

~ Laura ~ 5 Comments

TheReasonIHaveHope

Last Saturday night my school had a watch party for the canonization of (now saints) Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. We watched a beautiful movie about JPII earlier in the day, and oh my goodness. He was an incredible man. I don’t know how accurate the movie was, but to know how much adversity he came from blows me away.

There were moments in the movie where you could just see and feel the mercy he exuded. There was a guy who was dating a student of JPII’s. The guy was hired to spy on JPII, and planted a bug in the confessional, listening to every one. (Sidenote – anyone know if that really happened??) The guy was so moved by hearing the mercy of JPII, and told his boss that he could not find one word to use against the then Bishop.

It hit him hard. And he realized that JPII wasn’t this old white guy telling people what to do. He came to JPII crying, confessing what he did. It was really a beautiful moment.

That night we had adoration, lots of snacks, and a “Whose line is it anyway?” hilarious event leading up to the live streaming of the Mass in St. Peter’s square (which started around 3am). It was tough staying awake since I had gotten up at 5am to sidewalk counsel (up for about 24 hours, whoohoo!).

As I looked around in adoration, it kind of hit me how blessed I am to be here where so many people are striving to live an authentic Catholic life. It’s hard to explain, but there is something utterly beautiful about the church (*ahem* Jesus) that gives us hope and passion for life. Most people, I am convinced, do not understand this concept, and why Catholics do what we do.

You see, there is so much joy in abandoning yourself to the life you were made for.

It’s not easy. There are days when you might be tempted to succumb to the pleasures the world offers. I can’t imagine anyone is really without that in their lives. But when you have faith in something bigger than yourself, life makes sense. Because you know what doesn’t make sense?

– school shootings

– an article I saw today about a model who went in public in a mini-skirt, stripper heels, and bra (yeah, no shirt)

– the rampant technology that is melting people’s brains

– the recent news stories about moms killing their newborns

– all that happened during the Holocaust (which JPII’s story reminded me of)

How do we manage to survive in this world? How can we not be overcome with despair with what our world is coming to?

It’s this faith and hope. I know that no matter what happens, God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I know that he is there to carry me when life is hard, and to celebrate in life’s moments of joy. I can’t lose hope, because I have every reason to hope. I have faith in something, and someone bigger than myself and this world. His name is Jesus.

The movie about JPII reminded me how much believers have suffered for the faith in the past. They were horrendously murdered, tortured, and martyred. And yet, they refused to renounce God. They gave him their lives. In those moments, you can see the beauty that living a faith-filled life brings. It causes us to live differently.

Do you know of anyone who has died in defense of their belief in atheism?

Me neither. There’s just something about God that gives me, and many other people, an inner peace and confidence that the things in this life are incomparable to those of the next. It gives us a courage to face all that life throws us while abandoning ourselves to something so much bigger that our lives. That doesn’t mean people who aren’t Catholic are terrible people. Absolutely not! But at some point you have to ask the questions: What gives us hope?

How are we, when we strive to live the authentic Catholic life, given the grace to live so fearlessly?

I’m not really sure where this is going, except to say that I am so happy and thankful to be Catholic. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you. Maybe you wonder what gives us this hope. Maybe you’ve only seen the rules the church has, and not all the joy. I’m sorry if you’ve never met an authentic Catholic person.

For your sake, I hope that you are able to encounter at least one person who is truly striving to live the authentic Catholic life. It’s something that is hard to wrap your head around until you experience it – this deep, and fearless hope, this confidence in our creator, this faith in truth that has been revealed to us.

Thank you, JPII (and all the saints!) for giving us examples of how to live the authentic Catholic life. Jesus, please give me the grace to reveal the beauty of Catholicism to people in my life. Help me to spread your love everywhere I go, and to “be your light” to our darkened world. You give us hope to live fearlessly while striving to love you more perfectly. Please help us show others why we have this hope.

LiveInAccordance

P.S. Have questions about Catholicism? Ask away! I don’t have all the answers, but am more than happy to talk about my faith.

P.P.S. The fundraiser for my summer internship is almost over! Please check it out if you haven’t already. I appreciate the support!

 

NAS: Marriage

~ Laura ~ 3 Comments

I have somewhat neglected participating in this series because it feels strange publishing things on topics I only talk about with family and girlfriends and such. But I figure it doesn’t hurt. Maybe someone I know will read something good and benefit from it, and if not . . . what’s the big deal? Not much. So! This weeks topic is: Marriage.

I don’t even like this movie that much, but this part is hilarious.

Most of us here feel called to the vocation of marriage…but what is it exactly that you’re attracted to? What have you seen in others’ marriages that you’ve learned from or would do differently? 

Well.

I’ve always loved playing with kids. I babysat and watched my siblings and led things  for kids in high school. It only seemed natural to assume I would get married.

But then I went to a seriously Catholic college.

Shoot.

I actually have to do this whole discerning thing.

How does that work? What the heck was I supposed to do? I don’t want to be a nun! What does this mean? Holy cow I’m going to die, I’m so not sure now! Somebody tell me for crying out loud!

That lasted a couple minutes.

Then I put my big girl panties on (it’s a metaphor, people!) and found out that to discern you really have to look at what the options require, look at your talents and abilities and characteristics and see what matches the most.

Boom bam!

It became very clear to me that I would die am not suited for religious life. It’s hard to describe why or how I knew/know. I just know.

It’s not like I expect to find Prince Charming and run off into the sunset. I know marriage isn’t easy. And I think that’s kind of why it’s appealing to me, strangely. I like a challenge. Promising to love a person through the good and bad until you die is a pretty big deal. You’re vowing to live for the good of this person until you DIE. Whoa. But at the same time, the other person vows to love you in return. And if you put God at the root of your relationship, you’re a cord of three strands (which it says somewhere in the Bible is not easily broken). How awesome is that?

I never, ever, want to live alone in my entire life. I want to share my life with another person, and I hope to someday bring kids into the world if that’s the plan (eh, God?). Marriage requires that you give love unconditionally, and your mutual love create this trinity-mirroring sacred kind of love that God grants to people through the awesome sacrament of marriage. And your spouse vows to love you unconditionally in return.

If I though about it more, there are probably deeper reasons, but that’s it for now. I am thankful to have beautiful examples of people who have made marriage work (both sets of grandparents for almost 54 years, parents for 25). If it’s what God has in store, then I’ll pray for the grace to accept all the challenges and beauty it gives. And until then? I’ll keep on praying for the grace to live my current vocation gracefully.