"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." ~ Blessed Mother Teresa
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.
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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!
My sharpie egg
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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?
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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!
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Speaking of summer, I am definitely doing a water balloon pinata when I’m home.
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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!
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This video. Nuf’ said. I love being Catholic.
Have a perfectly lovely week, and visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!
Remember that post I wrote a couple weeks ago about a guy yelling outside an abortion clinic? Well, turns out many people agreed with his tactics. Read my follow up article on how we should respond to abortion here.
We are living in a historic moment which has the potential to legalize gay “marriage” in America. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and am extremely apprehensive about this. Why? Well, legalizing gay “marriage” is something I don’t want to happen. And it’s not because I hate gay people (I don’t), or because I want to prevent them from being happy (I don’t). It’s because I want to protect the holy institution of marriage.
This can be a difficult issue to talk about with people who don’t agree with me, because there are many misunderstandings as to what Catholics believe. I found it interesting that even at my Catholic school, there are many, many people here who do have a basic understanding of what the Catholic Church teaches about this. I was even more sad to see friends and family (some of whom claim to be Catholic) showing their support for gay “marriage” on Facebook today.
Here are some of the most common objections I’ve heard:
Gay parents can raise a child just as well as a straight couple. Kids are better off being raised by gay people than in an orphanage!
You know what? Yes. A child can be raised by anyone. However, a child deserves to know both his mother and father. This whole argument is not about kids anyway. It’s about the institution of marriage.
Gay “marriage” isn’t really that big of a deal, and Catholics should just follow along with society by supporting it. There’s no need to go against society and make things difficult.
Actually, the Catholic Church has taken a clear stance against gay “marriage”. As Catholics, there are 5 non-negotiable issues the Church recognizes as morally wrong. They are: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and homosexual “marriage”. As Catholics, these are 5 immoral practices we are compelled and required by our Church to denounce in all circumstances. They are not something we get to choose whether to support or not. God spelled them out for us in the Bible already.
I support the right of people to love whoever they want to love.
Okay. If you want to support marriage “equality” then I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re fighting for all marriage equality right? That includes “marriage” to family members, to animals, to a rock, polygamy, and heck, why not marry your cat?!?!
I love you! Let’s get married!
If this is just about being equal, then where do we draw the line? Will we stop at animals? If we do, we’re clearly denying people (and animals, GASP – doesn’t that count as animal cruelty?) the right to marry who they want. Do we stop at inanimate objects? I mean, what if a guy brought a case to court trying to prove his hairbrush wanted to marry him? A line has to be drawn somewhere.
The point is, gay “marriage” is not about Catholics, kids, or equality. It’s about a holy institution; a union of a man and woman that is simply impossible between two people of the same gender. As a Catholic, I don’t oppose gay “marriage” because I’m a bigot. I oppose it because I have the duty to uphold the commonsense dignity of the human family.
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!
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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)!
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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 🙂
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Speaking of Pinterest….I found this painting called “Grandma’s Smile” on it last Sunday. So precious!
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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!
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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.
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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….
Welcome to On My Bookshelf – my blog series where I bring my bookshelf to your computer! Something I’ve learned at Benedictine is that we should be lifelong learners. That’s why I started this series: to encourage you to be a lifelong learner through reading. Each post is in a question & answer format and will provide a link to the item on Amazon. All OMB posts can be found on the page to the left. Enjoy!
Choosing Joy
By Dan Lord
Published by Our Sunday Visitor in November 2012
133 pages
Why did you pick up this book?
Because joy is awesome. Who doesn’t want to be happy? I was interested in reading this new book because it talked about living a fully Christian life – something that sounded religiously intriguing (if that makes sense).
What topic(s) does this book deal with?
Joy: what joy is (hint: joy is not equal to happiness), the theological foundation of joy, and how we can work toward living joyful lives in union with God.
What was your favorite part of this book?
The short and to-the-point second paragraph on page 84.
What style is this book written in?
This book is fairly informally written, but also has deep theological portions.
How readable is this book?
This book is extremely readable: certainly not just another ‘boring’ book about Jesus. It’s an encouraging quick read I need to read a couple more times to fully grasp each concept. I read it in a few sittings, but put it down for a while between them. Real-life stories keep you interested as the author explores the concept of joy.
Where can I get this book?
Click on the link below to purchase this book on Amazon!
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 if you did so that I can more easily bring new books to my bookshelf and to your computer. Thank you!
Remember 
A Drop in the Ocean 