The World We Live In

Baby Boy survives for nearly two days after abortion. From the UK Telegraph.

Just the title alone makes you sick, doesn't it?

A live baby, breathing and crying, was left alone in a room for two days after he was aborted. This practice is common among abortions where the baby is still alive, especially late term abortions. Our current president actually voted against a bill to protect babies like this in the United States. Not an opinion, just a fact.

But if you want my opinions, I'd be happy to give them. However, for the sake of this little boy, and everyone in the world who has been affected by abortion, I will keep my opinions to myself, and let other great people who came before me to give their words.

"It seems to be clear as daylight that abortion would be a crime."
Mahatma Gandhi

"How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers."
Mother Teresa

"A person's a person, no matter how small."
Dr. Seuss

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves"
Proverbs 31:8

Please pray for the repose of the soul of all children who have perished because of abortion, and pray for all women and men who have been affected by abortions. The effect that abortion has on them, women especially, is devastating. And please remember, we can never chastise, but only respond with love and compassion. It is not our job to judge, but simply to be instruments of God's love and peace.

My Life

For those who do not already know, I have a wonderful and loving set of parents, and older brother named Will, age 23, and a younger brother John, age 10. I am 21. We also have a dog, Daisy, who we lovingly refer to as the littlest sister.
As someone who loves to read other peoples' blogs, I know that I prefer when blogs have photos. To satisfy people reading this who also prefer photos in blog posts, here is a random assortment of pictures about my life:


I like pretty, bright things. These are some tissue paper flowers that I made with some girls in my bible study and other friends. They are beautiful, and they will last all year long!




This is my family on Easter. I am not in the photo because I am behind the camera. (Cough cough, I want a tripod, cough cough).


This is a typical evening in my house, our own personal blackjack dealer, and my 10 year old brother trying to earn some extra cash. Just kidding.

So there you have it folks, a visual aid full of random photographs of my life. I can't wait until I get to see my family again, once this terribly hectic semester is over! Pray for me to use my time wisely, and to be excellent in my studies!

Be Proud

A good friend of mine alerted me to this article about the wonderful things the Catholic Church has done. The writer, a Jewish man, defends the Church as an institution that has done more good than not, even though the media viciously attacks and degrades the Church for the faults of her human members.

Here are a few of the highlights in my opinion:

"Now let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, research by Richard Blackman at Fuller Theological Seminary shows that 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact. In a 1990 study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8% of clergywomen reported unwanted sexual behavior by a colleague; 17% of laywomen said that their own pastors had sexually harassed them. Phillip Jenkins concludes in his book “Pedophiles and Priests” that while 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia, 10% of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia."

"Why? Why would these enemies of the Church try to destroy an institution that has 230 colleges and universities in the United States with an enrollment of 700,000 students?

Why would anyone want to destroy an institution like the Catholic Church which has a non profit hospital system of 637 hospitals which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people not just Catholics in the . United States today?

Why would anyone want to destroy an institution like that? Why would anyone want to destroy an institution that clothes and feeds and houses the indigent 1 of 5 indigents in the United States, I’ve been to many of your shelters and no one asks them if you are a Catholic, a Protestant or a Jew; just “come, be fed, here’s a sweater for you and a place to sleep at night” at a cost to the Church of 2.3 billion dollars a year?"

There is so much more good stuff, and I encourage you to read the full article here.

The most beautiful prayer I have ever heard

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.
But God, to a Christian, says,
"No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content
With being loved by Me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship
With Me alone.
Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship
That I have planned for you.
You will never be united with another until you are united
With Me alone,
Exclusive of anyone or anything else,
Exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning,
Stop wishing,
And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing,
One that you cannot imagine.
Please allow Me to bring it to you.
You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I Am.
Keep listening and learning the things I tell you.
You just wait.
That's all.
Don't be anxious.
Don't worry.
Don't look at the things you think you want;
You just keep looking off and away up to Me,
Or you'll miss what I want to show you.
And then when you are ready,
I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any
You could dream of.
You see, until you are ready and until
The one I have for you is ready
(I am working even at this moment to have you both ready at the same time),
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me
And the life I prepared for you,
You won't be able to experience the love that
Exemplified your relationship with Me.
And this is the perfect love.

And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love,
I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your
Relationship with Me,
And to enjoy materially and concretely
The everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love
That I offer you with Myself.
Know that I love utterly.
I Am God.
Believe it and be satisfied.

~ St. Anthony of Padua

Adventure

Of the many a times I have spent perusing facebook, I have ended up living vicariously through friends' travel photos. A few close friends have had the opportunity to travel abroad for school and pleasure, and they have such fantastic photos, stories and blogs. I love to hear about their daily adventures, and sometimes I wish my life was as exciting.

But of course, my life could be so much more exciting if I didn't sit and dream about other people's. I remember a priest at my home parish once said, "saying you are bored is the same thing as saying you are boring", and how true it is!

How can I complain about having a mundane life? God gave me this life, and God doesn't do mundane, he only does spectacular. Think about it: you were created for a purpose. You are a unique and unrepeatable soul who is playing a part in the grand history of the human race. There is something you must do in this life, that no one else can do. If you fail, then that part of human history is kaput.

Imagine someone you greatly admire, and they ask for your help to achieve their grand goal or adventure in life. How stoked would you be? To help put it in perspective for me, I imagine F. A. Hayek asking me to help him with his research that won him the Nobel Prize in economics.

But Hayek pales in comparison to the God of the universe.

I want to live my life worthy of the promises of God, and that means loving greatly, and knowing that if I follow God, every day of my life will be a grand adventure. Simplicity becomes splendid and mundane minutia become marvelous miracles.

Dear Jesus,
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, that I may greet each day with a holy determination. May I see each and every person as made in Your image and likeness. Let me not waste Your precious gift of time, but use it only for You. Amen.


Also, a quick 2 or 3 page read about seeing each day as an adventure can be found here, by the wonderful G.K. Chesterton. This small essay changed my life.

Responsibilty to the Poor

As I have stated before, I love economics (Austrian/Libertarian type). I also love social justice. While Milton Friedman wasn't a Catholic theologian, he was a phenomenal economist, who seemed to have his moral compass pretty darn straight. Here is a quick little video about his response to what the government's role or responsibility is when it comes to helping the poor.

Fetching Finds

Here are some fun things I have found around the interweb this week. I hope you enjoy!

-Not true, but totally funny, church sign war!

-A funny joke much appreciated by me, a PC user

-Econ geekery, about the broken window fallacy. Only 2 minutes long, totally worth it!

-A recipe for bruschetta, but not your typical bruschetta, a fruit bruschetta!

-The papist picture of the day. I laughed out loud when i read the caption

Have a wonderful Sunday! Relax, and enjoy the last day of the Octave of Easter :)

Cold Weather and the Fall of Man

Here in stinky, polluted, beachless northern Virginia, warm weather has finally decided to grace us with its presence. Toes are seeing sun for the first time, sunglasses tans are beginning to form, and the quad at my university is spotted with Frisbee games and and impromptu picnics. It is absolutely wonderful. I can feel my seasonal sadness disappearing as the sunshine warms my skin, and I cannot help but think of God's goodness.

I also cannot help but think about something I would like to add to Church doctrine, simply because I think it's true. (Disclaimer: this is NOT church doctrine, it is just a silly idea that I have thought about.)

I truly believe that cold weather was a result of the fall of man. By the first humans sinning against God, they brought upon us not only strife between the sexes, but the need for sweaters and heaters.

Why would I think such an absurd thing? Well, let me tell you. When Adam and Eve were sinless, they were naked; the temperature was not conducive to wearing clothes. Also, when you think about historically and geographically where the garden of Eden most likely was, it's hot.

Perhaps those reasons are merely whimsical and without rationality for the ends in which they try to achieve, but in the words of every American teenager, whatever.

I won't dwell too much on how much I dislike cold weather. Instead I will bask in the sun's rays, trying to get my flip flop tan lines.

Alleluia!

For a good decade of my life, I was a girl scout. I know the joys of Easter like every Christian around the world, but as a former scout, I am able to celebrate in a unique way. Easter, for girl scouts, is that glorious time of year when the samoas, thin mints, trefoils, tagalongs and the like, come out of their hiding place in the freezer. Cadbury is no longer contraband. Those tasty treats that were sacrificed for 40 days are now part of the scrumptious celebration that is Jesus rising from the dead.

Even more sweet than chocolate though, is that some of my dear friends received Eucharist for the first time in their lives. Even though I couldn't be there with them at the Vigil (because I went home for Easter), I was able to see them today at daily mass receiving for the second time! Each one is just as special as the first! God has blessed the church with a spiritual multiplication, and a hunger for Him.

On a more personal note, my visit to home was bittersweet. It was wonderful to see my family, and spend time with them. It will be the last time I see them until after my final exams. Sadly, one of my best friends from high school was involved in a car accident the night I came home that left her with 3 broken ribs and a broken back. I was able to spend a few hours each day with her in the hospital, before her surgery this morning (which went well!). Now she is on the road to recovery, and I'm sure she would benefit from all of your prayers, so please pray for my dear friend Logan.

Even though she was in the hospital on Easter, the Christ-like spirit of this holiest of days was not lost. When I arrived that afternoon in the ICU, she was surrounded with family and friends, and even some stuffed animals from home. I added to the collection by sneaking in chocolate (which was only a small contribution to her bountiful Easter loot). So Logan, I dedicate this blog post to you, meager as it may be. I will be praying for an easy and speedy recovery, and I hope you enjoy the chocolate!