Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

It’s almost time for Advent!

Are you ready?
If not, head over to Karen’s and read her Guide to Advent (the No-Panic way!).

“Doing theology as the Church understand it requires the theologian to ‘deepend his own life of faith’ and make prayer an integral part of his or her work. Theology is not only done at one’s desk, or in the library; theology is also done on one’s knees, or in the chapel.”

–George Weigel, God’s Choice

So I have worn the veil to Mass three times since I received it. The first two times were at daily Mass, which are less crowded, and today was the Sunday unveiling (unveiling of the veil…haha!).

The first time I wore it, I felt a bit self-conscious. It also brngs up questions like, when do I put the veil on? When I’m in the church building? Before I enter the sanctuary? In the sanctuary? When I get to my seat? I decided to put it on upon entering the sanctuary. If I’m wearing a coat this can create some issues, because I don’t want it to fall off when I remove my coat, but so far that hasn’t happened. When I leave Mass, I take it off when I’m out of the sanctuary, meaning that if I was going to get doughnuts or whatever post-Mass, the veil would be off.

So I get to my seat, veil in place, and Mass proceeds as usual. It helps me focus, because my peripheral vision is sort of skewed by the veil. My veil is lace, so I can see through it, if I try, but I sort of like the fuzziness on either side of me. It helps me concentrate.

I try not to fiddle with it, but it does have a tendency to slip back on my head so I have to pull it forward sometimes. (I like it right about where bangs would begin.) But no far it has not fallen off, even when I bow or lower my head.

And no, I haven’t received any looks or questions. But at this parish, it’s not uncommon to see girls of about six or seven wearing a small chapel cap or veil, so I’m not really doing anything all that special. At another, less traditional parish, I’m sure I’d get some looks.

So, this is my veil experience thus far. I have found it helps me concentrate (I’m not wildly looking around anymore, because I don’t want the veil to fall off!), which can only be a good thing at Mass.

has arrived.

Tried it on in the mirror, and I think it looks pretty sweet. It doesn’t fall off when I bow or lower my head either, so that’s a good thing!
Hopefully I can make it to Mass tomorrow and give it a first run. I’m excited!

Happy All Saints’ Day, friends. Don’t you love this feast?
I do–as a kid I always thought it was weird to be juxtaposed with halloween (sacred and profane, and all that), but as I grew older and realized how important the saints are to us, and how close they are, I’ve really grown to love this feast.

Here are the three saints I’m celebrating this year:

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, as always. She was the saint I chose at my confirmation, and the more I learn about here, the more I fall in love with her. She’s the most popular saint of modern times for a reason. If you’re looking for a good book on her, I recommend this one.  And there’s the movie!

St. Francis is the saint I have been studying this year. I got the idea from “Around the Year With the Von Trapp Family” to pick a saint every first Sunday of Advent that you will study during the year. I chose St. Francis since, at that time, I was applying to Franciscan University and wanted to learn more about St. Francis and the order he founded. This book is a good introduction, and this movie (also featuring St. Clare) is fantastic. (Also, in my family, my grandfather’s name is Francis, and it is my brother’s middle name.)

And finally, St. Dominic, whom, as we know from here, I have been studying. Right now I don’t have any books or movies to recomment, except–say the rosary! This great gift was given by Mary to St. Dominic, and is such a powerful prayer.

In addition to these, there is also St. Emily and St. Michael the Archangel, who are my name saints (Michele is my mom’s name, and my middle name.)

What about you? Who are your special saints?