Back in the Saddle

To be honest, it's really hard to keep my mind on my faith when the holidays are happening.  This is the first year that I have been focusing on god and my catholic studies, and all was going really great until I went out of town for Christmas.  I still went to church.  It was a weird Catholic church, it was a new one, in the woods in South Carolina...well, my husband summed it up by saying it was like a "baptist church that decided to become Catholic"...if you can picture that.  Anyway, I was focused on enjoying my in-laws and I was really taking a mental break, which is probably not good.  The only way I can spin it in my favor, is to say that I was surrounded by love and enjoyed the giving more than the receiving, truly, and that is what god wants us to do.  I am pretty sure of that.

St. Francis of Assisi in my in-laws yard

Tomorrow is new years eve, I am going to try to focus on my great life and be thankful for my many many blessings.  God is love and I have plenty of it.

Holidays

Good morning!
I am leaving for my in-laws tomorrow and I just wanted to say, to my few followers, MERRY CHRISTMAS!  It's nice to be able to say that, instead of Happy Holidays.  I am very excited for my first Christmas where I am actually partly schooled in the Catholic teachings.  I bought a little pocket prayer book that has prayers for everything and I am ready to use it on my trip.  I hope all of you have a blessed holiday and remember that loved ones are the most important gift.  I also like the food too!

The Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo

Ciudad Rodrigo Cathedral

I rented some DVD's from the library, just to get a little more visual with my studies, but also to give my brain a little rest from the heavy reading.  I watched the PBS piece, Secrets of the Divine: the Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo, which you can watch here at this link I found.  I of course, had no idea what this was about when I borrowed it, I just thought it sounded important.  It is.  This video really delves into the research, the heart of the researchers, and some scientific aspects of art history.  It was very educational...of course it is, it's PBS.  I love art, I have taken a couple of art classes, and this was really cool for me.  I like learning about catholic art and architecture, it's so purposeful.

Minute Meditation 12/19

Give it your All 

This Christmas, celebrate the season as though it were your last. One day, you'll be right. 

— from A Catholic Christmas


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A little too morbid for me this morning, 6 days before Christmas, but it's true.  Whenever I have lost a family member, like my grandfather in 2010, 5 days after my daughter was born, it always seems to make the holidays mean more.  We need these loved ones more during this joyous season, mostly because it is about god's love, and we have so much love for those we lost, and it's like we can't give it to them.  Coming into the faith this year has been comforting during this holiday season.  I feel like I can share the holidays with my grandfather, he is all around me and watching us and sharing with us, we just can't see him.  I am so happy to have all that I have this holiday season and I will continue to try to make it the best one yet.

My answer for "if you were granted 3 wishes"

If I were granted 3 wishes, I would say:
"How about just one, to have been born without original sin".
Last night Deacon Mike was talking in class, about how awesome it would be to be like Mary, because she was born without original sin.  "Original sin" has always kind of confused me, but he was saying that you would be basically (I am paraphrasing) the perfect person.  I would not have anger, resentment, greed, hate, etc.  I would not be fighting with myself to choose right over wrong, and believe me, I do that all day long. I feel like the worst sinner sometimes.  If there were a sin percentage, I would be in the top 3rd.  I should clarify though, venial sins mostly.  On most days I don't want to do my housework, I have a hard time not losing my temper with my daughter, I am self absorbed, among other things.  It would be so great to wake up and just be happy, be happy to get up, happy to play with a baby, thoughtful of everyone else's needs and just be good.  That is what I would wish for.  It's easy for most to respond "then, just be happy", but as any catholic knows, it's not that easy, or we would all be perfect and society wouldn't be so jacked up.

Minute Meditation12/13

The Right Afterthought 

How often we jump with enthusiasm into a project, then fade out as it becomes difficult. Sometimes there's virtue in the second thought, the delayed response, restraint rather than zeal. 

— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day


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That is me all summed up.  I am that girl.  My college degree?  Liberal Arts.  I couldn't pick just one thing.  I am always latching onto something that interest me, then I go all crazy about it for a week or month, and then I loose steam and fizzle out.  My current obsessions...sewing and baking (other than my catholic endeavors).  I was actually thinking last night, before I even got this email, that I hope I don't lose steam on my religious studies.  Then I remembered though, that there are infinite trains of thought about god and jesus, the bible and existence.  I really never get bored of it.  I just started to read catholic books recently, but I have always had conversations with god.  I have always had a love for church and god.  I am hoping...no I AM...going to use my studies in faith and being more christian to enhance my determination and perseverance in other areas, like baking and sewing.  Why lose steam?  I have so much time, so much life to live and there is no reason why I need to drop hobbies, there should be room in all of us for many joyful activities as well as room to improve in those areas.

When you can't participate in the Eucharist

When I was in high school, my best friend and I went to her dad's place down south for the weekend.  Her father, a devout catholic (my friend....not so much), told me very sternly that I was NOT to participate in communion because I wasn't catholic.  I was pretty hurt by it, insulted really, and no real explanation made it worse.  Now, I absolutely understand why I wasn't allowed, but I didn't then.  That is the problem with looking at a religion based on the person who presents it to you.  A lot is lost in translation, and I bet most religious people have no idea how to explain their doctrines in a positive and helpful way.   It would have been way more christian of him to have a quick and helpful chat with me about "why" I wasn't allowed.  Unfortunately, just because we believe that something is true and just, doesn't mean that everyone else does...and if you want them to respect you and your belief, being rude doesn't help.

Me, my hubby and my baby this summer in Myrtle Beach SC

My real reason for this post was to say that I respect that I am not supposed to participate in the eucharistic portion of the mass.  I have been told, wisely, that I should focus and pray during that time.  My prayers should be centered on making myself ready to receive the true body of Christ.  I know I am not ready for that yet.  I have much to do with my spiritual self before I can REALLY say that I am fully involved.  Christ's sacrifice is a lot to digest (pun intended) and I need to make sure I respect that.

Minute Meditation 12/10

Today's emailed minute meditation:

Hidden in Plain Sight 

We often miss the prophets in our midst. A few signals might point them out: they disrupt our cozy routines, present new ideas we find unsettling and ask us to reach beyond our comfort zones. 

— from Catholic Update: Advent Day-by-Day

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"Prophet"...that is a term I would not have used for someone that gets me all riled up.  Dictionary.com says that a prophet is a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.  For me, it is a lot easier to think of a prophet as a guy with a beard in a frock and sandals, circa 100a.d.  I have a hard time seeing someone in today's light, as a true prophet.  It is a good idea to keep an eye out for who is one.  I know for me, the Deacon who teaches my RCIA class is a prophet. Each wednesday night, when I leave class, I am always full of ideas and I am ready to take on the world.  After a couple of days though, I start to fall back into my routine of selfishness.  Luckily I have sunday mornings to put me back in my place.  I guess that is the importance of attending and using the church, our home for faith, as a tool to keep the faith in Jesus and God alive in our hearts 24/7.  The church is full of modern day prophets, people who can disrupt our routines and make us try harder and be more like Jesus.  

Natural Family Planning

I am ashamed to say that I have not until now, made any effort to use the NFP method for conception.  It's better late than never right?  I was thinking I would just look up a couple of websites and BOOM, I would know what to do.  Not the case.  It is like going to law school. I got a book from the library and it is huge!  Taking Charge of Your Fertility, it's not that simple.
Have any advice for me?
The good news is, is that I am researching NFP and making it happen.  I know that just like most things, once I start charting, I will get used to it, and like the book says, it may become enjoyable.  I am excited to get to know my body better, which is something every 30 year old should know by now.

Thoughts on Today's Feast

Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Conception.  I don't know much, I have really only scratched the surface of the blessed mother's awesomeness.  Last night in class, Deacon Mike told us that Mary said "I AM the immaculate conception".  That was pretty deep for people in those times.  Just that sentence alone can give you a feast of thought that would last a lifetime.  For me, I like to focus on the mother aspect of Mary, being a mother myself.  Once you have a child, you know what a miracle it really is.  Deacon Mike also said that most catholics don't know what this day is about.  It's not truly about her conceiving Jesus, but actually her saying "yes" to god, and therefore the focus is on her being exempt of original sin.  She is the perfect embodiment of the mother, and the perfect vessel for the son of god, our lord Jesus.  It's a lot to think about and today is the perfect day to research and reflect on it.

http://www.oocities.org/reginamundi77/

Minute Meditation

Devotion to Angels 

If we sincerely want to do the right thing, angels can help us. So we should cultivate a devotion to the guardian angels. They're powerful spiritual beings who want us to succeed at being good. They want us to end up in heaven. 

— from Angels of God

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I get emails daily, from americancatholic.org, which I found through my parish's website, of "minute meditations".  It's basically the smallest and laziest way to have at least one moment of your day be about god.  I love it.  It would be nice if we could all be like Jesus all day, but that is not really possible for most of us.  I am taking this one day at a time, after all, we are all just sinners.  I am not in any way content in being a sinner, but I am aware that I am, and that is progress right?  

Today's minute meditation is not one that I can really meditate on...yet.  I have not been schooled in the ways of angels in my RCIA class yet, so this is something I will need to seek knowledge of.  I am just now getting the whole "saints" thing, which I am devouring books on, and really enjoying.  I am a little sad that I didn't have all these saints to look up to as a child, growing up protestant.  But, a family friend of ours a catholic, recently told me that the way I am going about it, is the right way.  She meant, that I am an adult, finding out the true meanings and teachings, and actually learning them and enjoying them fully.  I think that's what she meant.  So, angels will be my new task.  

Happy Catholic: Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, bishop

The real St. Nicholas on the true day of celebration. I would never have known if it weren't for this blog post, and also the catholic saint of the day email. Good to know for a new catholic.

Happy Catholic: Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, bishop: Saint Nicholas and the Daughters of the Nobleman at Pataria This is the true St. Nicholas Day, celebrating that Turkish bishop who generou...