I guess we will see...

...how quickly money really does talk. University of Notre Dame alumni are withholding donations. This wouldn't be happening if McCain/Palin had been elected... I'm just saying...

Fortitude...

...VIRTUE at work. Praise God for him. Click here to see what I am talking about.

True Confessions

Recently, I was trying to remember the last time in my life that I wasn't overly distracted by a member of the opposite sex. I was racking my memories for a time when either I wasn't emotionally attracted to anyone or I was successfully guarding my heart AND my mind, despite an emotionally attraction.

I was (shamefully) unable to even THINK of a time that may have fit that description.

I've been reading "Every Young Woman's Battle" by Shannon Ethridge. Thus far, it is one of the best books on chastity I have ever come across. The message of the book has been reminding me of the standards I set for myself long ago. It has been holding me accountable to the things I so love to talk about and pray about and read about and yet (all too often) fail to live out.

It is so very easy for me to mentally stalk people. It is so very easy for me to use that boring moment in class, that time just before I fall asleep at night, that time when I really don't want to be doing homework, or that time when (you name it) happens, to day dream about relationships. Trust me, it's REALLY easy. I often find myself frustrated with my inability to focus on this current season in my life.

It is hard for me to embrace being single. It is hard for me to acknowledge that which I believe God is calling me to (marriage and motherhood), while remembering that it is NOT what God wants me to be focusing on now. I'm not talking about simply praying about my vocation or for my future spouse or children. I'm not talking about discerning what God wants for my future or for my relationships. I'm talking about allowing my thoughts and prayer life to be dominated by these things.

I'm talking about denying (through my thoughts and prayers) that God is calling me to great things in the present moment, and that He has graced this time in my life for something of value to His Kingdom.

I'm trying to learn to "bounce my thoughts." It is a wonderful concept introduced to me by this book. Whenever I start to notice that my thoughts and prayers are being far too consumed by my fantasies about the future, I quickly bounce to a healthier thought. I think about healthy ways to interact with my guy friends now. I pray about what I want my relationship with God to look like 5 years from now, a year from now, a month from now, and tomorrow. I try to focus on building my present-self into the best vision I can see, and I ask God for the grace to see His vision for me.

I was talking yesterday to a holy woman I am blessed to know. (Who, by the way, is recently married and pregnant!) As we were finishing our conversation, she laughed and said that she is so glad that this time in her life is over (the time I'm currently in). She said that as she was listening to me talk, she remembered how hard it was for her to wait patiently for God. She offered me (always necessary) hope that everything truly does happen in God's time. In fact, when God's time comes for those who have been faithfully waiting, there is nothing we can do to stop Him!

In Reconciliation ...

...after I finished confessing my sins... Priest: It's Lent. Me: (smiling in an embarrassed sort of way) I know. Priest: You're supposed to be doing the opposite of those things. Me: (Shame building) I know. Priest: Well, you have a week to redeem yourself. Yes Sir! ...Holy Week already... there have been too few times when I have noticed that's it is Lent...

Bishop D'Arcy Responds

Bishop D'Arcy issued the following statement in response to Notre Dame's decision to have President Obama speak at graduation and receive an honorary doctorate.

March 24, 2009

On Friday, March 21, Father John Jenkins, CSC, phoned to inform me that President Obama had accepted his invitation to speak to the graduating class at Notre Dame and receive an honorary degree. We spoke shortly before the announcement was made public at the White House press briefing. It was the first time that I had been informed that Notre Dame had issued this invitation. President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred. While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life. This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop. After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well. I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith "in season and out of season," and he teaches not only by his words -- but by his actions. My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life.

I have in mind also the statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops in 2004. "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Indeed, the measure of any Catholic institution is not only what it stands for, but also what it will not stand for. I have spoken with Professor Mary Ann Glendon, who is to receive the Laetare Medal. I have known her for many years and hold her in high esteem. We are both teachers, but in different ways. I have encouraged her to accept this award and take the opportunity such an award gives her to teach. Even as I continue to ponder in prayer these events, which many have found shocking, so must Notre Dame. Indeed, as a Catholic University, Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth. Tomorrow, we celebrate as Catholics the moment when our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, became a child in the womb of his most holy mother. Let us ask Our Lady to intercede for the university named in her honor, that it may recommit itself to the primacy of truth over prestige.

Let us pray in thanksgiving for Bishop D'Arcy and all of the holy men to whom God has entrusted the care of His Church.

A Piggyback Song for Tonight...

Sprinkle Sprinkle great big sky. How I love the weather tonight. When I go outside and pray, all my worries fly away. Sprinkle Sprinkle great big sky. How I love the weather tonight. Oh how I LOVE thunder storms....

Here is More Proof...

....that we are not in control. It is a small reminder that no matter how hard we try (I had JUST checked to make sure the bag I was shaking was properly sealed) sometimes things do not go the way we plan. Though it may have been the end for those particular pieces of puppy chow, it was a great lesson for me, an impossible to ignore reality check, ensuring that I do not forget how truly funny our plans really are ;) P.S. I responded with hysterical laughter, throughly enjoying the humor of the moment. My mom on the other hand did not find it quite so funny...it is her kitchen after all. Alas, it has all been cleaned up now, and I am a better person for it.

Our Time on This Earth...

I try to make it a point to spend time each day thinking about (and hoping in) Heaven. I reflect on the fact that our souls long to be united with God - we were made for Heaven. I meditate on the glorious mystery that this is God's plan for us. Often times, it is hard for me to remember that my time on earth has value and purpose too. I need to be constantly reminded that there is significance in the journey. Our time on earth is the way that God designed for our souls to come to Him. He has blessed our time here. He bestows grace on us now. This path, which (hopefully) ultimately leads to Him, is a gift from Him. He wants me to be here now. Thus, even as I long for Heaven, I must find joy here and now.

Oh Dear...

This is one of those moments All I can do is shake my head....

Lent 2009

All of this is still awaiting the approval of my spiritual director.... My theme for this Lent is CONSISTENCY. (which is, unfortunately, spelled incorrectly on my desk/in the picture) My Spiritual Commitments: - Daily Meditation - Weekly Confession (this a suite-wide commitment) - Daily Litany of Humility (this is a roommate commitment) - Making daily mass more of a priority - A renewed focus on concretely living the virtue of the day Fasting Commitments: - Drinking only water and milk - No eating between meals - No chicken - No ranch dressing I'll let you know if anything changes.... Today's Virtue = HOPE! (isn't that WONDERFUL!)