Tuesday Newsday is Overrated

My husband navigated our minivan down the long winding road that led away from the monastery. Our hearts and souls were filled with joyful peace from our time of prayer, and our shopping bag was filled with delicious treats that we purchased from the monks. 

Suddenly, as we drove into town, our gaze was hit by the chaos of culture: noisy cars, marijuana dispensaries, and billboards that cluttered the wide Oklahoma sky. 

"The monks aren't really missing much," I mused. 

Earlier that day, we had knelt in the dark immensity of the abbey's upper church. Amidst the flickers of candlelight, monks in flowing robes had filed into the church. I was filled with an overwhelming sense that I had stepped back in time. The monks soon filled the air with chanting, and as I joined my own silent prayers to the Latin chants of the monks, I thought about how small my problems really were. Yes, whatever problems and challenges I was undergoing were valid, but in the grand scheme of things, were they really that big of a deal? The cares and concerns of my daily life melted into the great stillness and peace of this monastery. 

That day at the monastery offered a chance for prayer and relaxation as a family as we hiked across the grounds, prayed in the church, and looked at the sheep and cows that grazed nearby. Yet, while our monastic outing was a good opportunity for prayer and contemplation, it also provided a good way to gain perspective. All of the stresses in my life and the culture seemed so small when I thought about them from the distance of the monastery. The choir stalls were filled with young monks, old monks, and young men who are discerning vocations to monastic life. These men spend their lives in contemplative prayer and work, offering life-giving hospitality to all who approach. Their lives are centered wholly and completely on God as they actively prepare for eternal life. 

Something Extraordinary: Reflections on the liturgy

I basked in the flow of twinkly lights and newlywed joy as my white dress swept across the reception hall's floor. Greeting the many friends and family who had come, I was approached by a non-Catholic neighbor. Her face was aglow as she began talking about our wedding Mass. I sat back, in awe of God, she murmured. 

Our wedding, a Nuptial Mass in the Extraordinary Form (sometimes referred to as the Latin Mass) moved her. In some way, it touched her heart and soul. The beauty of this liturgy brought us together, despite our different religious backgrounds, in worship and awe of God. 

Several months earlier, my then-fiancé and I stood at the doors of the St. Peter's Basilica as morning light broke through the sky. A a small smattering of people-mainly religious sisters-stood nearby, waiting. Finally, the doors opened, and we burst into the cavernous basilica. A stream of priests flooded from a side door and began distributing themselves among the many small altars that dotted the perimeter of the room. My fiancé and I stood there briefly, trying to figure out which Mass we wanted to attend. As we stood in silence, a young priest approached us. 

Do you know how to celebrate the Latin Mass? he asked my fiancé. 

We looked at each other and grinned. 

No, he responded. But we'll come!

An altar server suddenly appeared, and we followed as the priest led us to a small side altar. There, in the gentle hush of the early morning, we participated in this ancient form of the Mass. The gentle cadence of the Latin language and the silence of the liturgy moved our hearts in prayer. The four of us were brought together with the whole Church in this prayerful liturgy, this offering of sacrifice and praise to God. 

Disheartened by the crisis in the Church? Reflect on this wisdom from Flannery O'Connor

Several months ago, I acquired The Habit of Being, a volume of letters by Flannery O'Connor, a Catholic author from the South. I eagerly began reading O'Connor's letters, but then the volume wound up back on the shelf as I became distracted by other books. In the past few weeks I picked up The Habit of Being yet again, and I grew amazed. Although Flannery O'Connor wrote these letters several decades ago, many of her words fit so well during this current crisis that the Catholic Church is experiencing.

O'Connor was a lifelong faithful Catholic who steeped herself in the rich treasures that Catholicism offers. From using her breviary and attending Mass to reading works of Catholic fiction and non-fiction, this "hillbilly Thomist" imbues her stories and her letters with her faith and a profound recognition of how God pours down His graces through broken and imperfect vessels. Here are some quotations from her letters that particularly resonate with me.

Thoughts on Fatherhood from Doctor Who and Pope Francis

Mother's Day is just around the corner, which is great! Motherhood is beautiful, awesome, and I applaud all moms out there for what they do (including the ever-inspirational single moms!). I have some thoughts on motherhood that I want to blog about sometime, but I need to develop it all a bit more. In the meantime, I'd like to briefly discuss fatherhood. Just last week, Huffington Post advertised a "Dads Don't Babysit" shirt, so I'd be willing to bet that others are thinking about this topic, too. 

Fatherhood is a big deal. I think that sometimes, in our zeal to proclaim the awesomeness of motherhood, we can downplay the importance of fatherhood. We turn parenting into a "her vs. him" competition where we try to determine who is "more important" or "necessary" in a child's life. We really shouldn't do this, though. Both parents are important, and both a mother and a father bring unique gifts to family life and parenting. I recently finished reading Pope Francis' document, Amoris Laetitia, and it includes a couple of awesome points on fatherhood! But first, let's look at Doctor Who. 

Do We Pray for Those Seeking Annulments?

Hello, everyone! Today I'm linking up with the wonderful people of Tuesday Talk to discuss annulments. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gives a succinct definition: 

"An annulment is a declaration by a Church tribunal (a Catholic church court) that a marriage thought to be valid according to Church law actually fell short of at least one of the essential elements required for a binding union." 

(so, to clarify, an annulment is not the same thing as a divorce; an annulment declares that a valid marriage in the eyes of the Church wasn't there) I've learned little tidbits about annulments here and there from Theology classes that I've taken, but my knowledge of the process is not that immense. And, I have to confess, the topic has always seemed rather faceless, clear-cut, and simple when drawn out on a classroom white board. I've never thought about the annulment process much, because it doesn't have an effect on me. How wrong and selfish I have been. 

"Oh, your Baby Jesus has bubble wrap!" What's Bambinelli Sunday?

Happy third week of Advent, everyone! I hope that you all are having a blessed week! Today, as I try to reign in my excitement for the new Star Wars movie and catch up on projects around the apartment, I'm going to briefly share an awesome Advent tradition with y'all. So, I'm linking up with the lovely ladies of Tuesday Talk to share my experience of Bambinelli Sunday! 

Do We Care About Celebrities?

Happy feast of St. Wenceslaus! What a great day to pray for politicians (since St. Wenceslaus was a duke and dealt with political unrest in Bohemia). I also want to thank you all for your prayers for Pope Francis! He's safely home after a whirlwind of a trip to the U.S. Yesterday, he spoke with bishops, inmates, and celebrated his final Mass in the United States. Around 1 million people were expected to attend that final Mass, and Pope Francis preached from the heart, encouraging everyone to do small acts of love in our families and societies: 

Incense and Pope Francis. Can things
get any better? : ) 

"Faith grows with practice and is shaped by love. Therefore, our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. It is the very place where faith and life makes life grow in faith." 

During his visit, the pope encouraged us to live our faith and to live in love. As I sit here with my lembas bread and coffee, I want to reflect on this call to live in love, and how we can grow in our love of others.

Pope Francis: Proclaiming the Epicness of Families!

"Families have a citizenship which is divine. The identity card that they have is given to them by God, so that within the heart of the family, truth, goodness and beauty can truly grow." ~Pope Francis

Tonight, I sat working on a crochet project (until my yarn needle broke...), listening to Pope Francis speak, frantically typing out my favorite quotations from his speech as he gave it, and repeatedly tearing up, because...well, it's POPE FRANCIS we're talking about! Every time he speaks, blesses a handicapped person, or smiles, I pretty much start tearing up. So much love...what an amazing man. I just want to briefly share a couple of things from his talk tonight:

Bringing Hope & Joy to Harlem & Philadelphia-Pope Francis Keeps Getting Cooler

Pope Francis continues to rock this nation, and I couldn't be happier about it! So let's talk about it! I have been out and about Oklahoma City for much of yesterday and today, so I haven't been able to watch the live streams, but-thankfully-the text of his talks are all available! This afternoon, after a morning of  shopping at an outdoor vintage market (can I call this "vintaging"?), I just want to reflect on some of the pope's recent awesome activities. 

Speaking the Truth in Love: Pope Francis is Being Awesome!

Praying for the pope at the park! 

Wow. Is it Friday already? Is this really happening? I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this week has been flying by at a rapid pace!!!! Since Pope Francis is still here, shaking things up like nobody's business, I'm going to touch on a few things he's done recently. Only a few things, though-he has been all over the place, doing all of the awesome things, and I can't keep up with him! 

Are You Living as a Changed Person? (If not, give it a try while Pope Francis is here!)

Happy Thursday! Today I'm linking up with Blessed is She to talk about "changed." And, since we're in the midst of the epic papal visit and World Meeting of Families, we're going to talk about that too, okay? 

Religious Freedom & Environmental Care-And So It Begins...Pope Francis Visits the White House!

Good morning! I hope that you all are having a blessed morning. We made it to Wednesday!!! Today, I really didn't want to get out of bed for Mass, because I was so nice, cozy, and sleepy. However, my husband is wonderful at holding me accountable and being disciplined, so I found myself in church for daily Mass, for which I am grateful. A sacrifice, but a wonderful way to pray for all those who need prayers-especially for Pope Francis! During Mass, I was really holding up in prayer those at the White House, and that they would be open to God's mercy and truth as show in the pope. 

The pope's plan touching down yesterday!!

For those of you who were unable to watch the official ceremonies at the White House today, I've decided to share my reactions throughout the ceremony! (the times given are in the Central time zone, since that's where I live)

Today is the Day!!!! Welcome, Pope Francis!!!

It's here! It's here!!!! Pope Francis is coming today!!! If you can't tell, I'm really excited. 

Chilling at church with #flatfrancis while wearing my Vatican Flag outfit!

Today he travels from Cuba to Washington D.C.
Today marks his first (ever) visit to the U.S.A. 
Today he begins a visit that can change lives, move hearts, and rock our nation. 
Today reporters, the media, and individuals nationwide will be craning their necks and perking their ears up, waiting to hear him speak. 
Today it begins, and I want to say: Welcome!!!

Welcome, my dear Holy Father, Francis! Welcome, my beloved Pope! Welcome to the good ol' U.S.A. Today, I finish my nine-day novena to St. Francis of Assisi for you, and I will continue to lift  you up in prayer and sacrifices throughout your visit. I am so excited for all of the ways that God is working through you! 

Pope Francis has been truly the face of love and mercy on his visit so far. During Sunday Vespers in Cuba, he spoke off the cuff, instructing the people to "never tire of showing mercy to others." He met with both President Raul Castro and Fidel Castro. He unabashedly spoke to Cubans of the evils of abortion. Furthermore, Pope Francis spoke to people of God's love, mercy, and desire for us to unite ourselves to Him. 

"Jesus’ love goes before us, his look anticipates our needs.  He can see beyond appearances, beyond sin, beyond failures and unworthiness.  He sees beyond our rank in society. He sees beyond this, to our dignity as sons and daughters, a dignity at times sullied by sin, but one which endures in the depth of our soul.  He came precisely to seek out all those who feel unworthy of God, unworthy of others.  Let us allow Jesus to look at us.  Let us allow his gaze to run over our streets.  Let us allow that look to become our joy, our hope."~from the pope's prepared homily for Monday, September 21, 2015. 

Friends, Pope Francis  has been on fire with God's love and mercy! Let us read his messages to Cubans with open hearts, and pray for him as he prepares to encounter those in the U.S.A. St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us! 

Cool for the Summer? Scolding Sister Squirrel? Pope Francis? Linking Up with Kelly for some SQT!

Hello there! I hope that y'all are having a grand ol' time on this beautiful Friday! I'm super glad it's the feast of St. Joseph Cupertino, because I petition him for help, like all the time! Anywho, when thinking about today's post, I realized that I had a bunch of little updates I wanted to share with you all...and it occurred to me that it's Friday! For the first time in my blogging life, I can link up with Kelly, from This Ain't the Lyceum, for some Seven Quick Takes! 

Look Past Your Expectations and Get Ready for Pope Francis!

Hey there! I'm linking up with BIS sisterhood to talk about expectations today. Ooh, big word. Loaded word. So let's talk about expectations in light of the forthcoming papal visit, shall we? 

As Rocket Lay Dying (Reflections on the Triumph of the Cross)

Happy Monday, everyone! I am praying for all of you as you begin your work week, and I hope that you will be able to see God blessing your life today! I also want to give a huge shout-out to all of the awesome people out there who were praying for me prior to an interview this morning. Thanks!!!! Y'all are awesome! For those of you who may be going, Wha??? right now, let me explain really quickly: 

On Friday, I received an e-mail from the producer of Seize the Day, a show on The Catholic Channel (Sirius XM radio) with Gus Lloyd. The producer asked if they could interview me on the phone for their live show on Monday morning! Naturally, I spent the rest of the afternoon bouncing, screaming, skipping outside, and texting bajillions of people, asking for prayers. I was super excited for a radio interview with Gus, but I also really needed the prayers-because when I get super excited, I tend to talk fast, mix up my words, and sound a bit like a fool. And while I'm all about humility, I didn't think it would make me or the show look good if I wasn't speaking coherently. So, thanks for the prayers! I think it went well, and I had a lot of fun. I woke up, went to Mass with my husband, came home, and the producer called me up! It was great, and talking about the papal visit was really cool. Also, Gus had the marvelous idea that I could carry around a big sword with Mary on it, to fit with my whole "marian ninja" thing. I approve. I've decided that Gus Lloyd is pretty awesome, and his show seems really cool. 

So now that I've shared that bit of excitingness and thanksgiving, let's talk about today: it's the Triumph of the Cross! Super awesome! There are many ways I could discuss this beautiful Feast, and to begin, I want to talk about a raccoon. 

Do You Hear the Symphony?

I have to be straight-up honest with you: I don't know what has happened to my brain. (I'm going to blame it on excessive sugar and sleep deprivation) Yesterday, I was so excited that it was "the feast of St. John Vianney," and I was appalled that the priest did not celebrate him at Mass. Today, I woke up, prayed Morning Prayer for the dedication of St. Mary Major, and started writing this blog post. And then a quick Google search revealed that today is St. John Vianney, and tomorrow is St. Mary Major. So, um, happy feast of St. John Vianney!

Welp, I guess those cookies last night "for the feast day" still went to a good cause (ie: my stomach). 

Anyway, moving on to a less embarrassing topic...

How Board Games Help my Marriage (and Pope Francis' Challenge for Us)

Marriage is awesome. It’s so great to be living out the sacrament and vocation each day, experiencing all these awesome graces from God to bring my husband closer to Heaven. But you know what another awesome perk of marriage is? I always have a playmate. Settlers of Catan, Risk, Monopoly, Agricola: All Creatures Great & Small, Legendary, Innovation, and Chess, to name a few, often slide into our free time. We both just really like board games, but these games have a greater meaning for me than their face-value awesomeness.

Many times, it seems that married people just get busy. Whether it is children, college classes, work, or individual activities, spouses can begin to lose intimate time together. We’ve never had kids (and I’m not pregnant), but I’ve been told that children need a lot of time and care. However, it really made an impression on me when, a few years ago, my Christian Marriage instructor told the class that he and his wife reserve a “date night” once a week. Yes, they have about 5-6 kids (many of them young), but he and his wife saw the need to prioritize their relationship. As many of you know, my husband and I were married a couple of weeks before we began our junior year of college. While college classes, homework, extra-curricular activities, households, and volunteering could have easily eaten up chunks of our precious time, I found that married life was so peaceful. Instead of being mega-involved in EVERYTHING (which was how I had previously lived), we took a step back. We volunteered a little bit, were involved in faith-related activities, and we were involved in our households a little.

And we played board games together.

A Few of My Favorite Things from "Laudato Si"

Hello, friends!

I JUST finished reading "Laudato Si," Pope Francis' latest encyclical (a much more fruitful occupation than reading through or participating in Facebook arguments about Friday's decision. I'm not a fan of what happened--for many reasons--but Facebook arguments rarely, if ever, do anything good for anybody. But I digress). Some of his discussion points went a little over my head, but I tried to read and understand what I could. He said a lot of fabulous things which The Media and General Public have failed to mention (like his anti-abortion comments, or Sunday rest). 

Well, in case you haven't had a chance to read the document yet, I offer you some of my favorite quotations from this encyclical (but I have lots more, I really had to cut the list down). I even combined some of the quotes with my photographs, just because the Pope's words made me super excited (feel free to use these images, if you so desire)!
 Without further ado, let's read the words of Pope Francis!