Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

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!

“God has brought you here to stretch you.” –Dr. Miletic

So today at around 5:00 I went back to school. 

A big box, delivered via UPS, was waiting for me in my apartment office. Inside was one spiral bound course text and two binders–one for Principles of Biblical Study I and one for Sacraments. I opened the box rather ceremoniously, with scissors, as opposed to my usual grab and tear open method. 

I read the course materials, the Distance Learning Guidelines and ‘how to submit assignments.” Biblical studies has no exams, just papers, which increase in the difficulty (the first was really just a worksheet!), culminating in a 10 page exegesis paper, which is basically a close reading of a Biblical text. Sacraments, on the other hand, has no papers, just a midterm and a final. I had to order the documents of Vatican II, which I should get on Saturday, so I decided to start Biblical Studies (211/511) today. 

I found a blue legal pad left over from my days at Cap, grabbed a mechanical pencil, and put the CD into my DVD player. Perched on my rocking chair I selected the first lecture. 

It was great. I felt like I was right in the classroom with them, on the first day of some balmy August. The professor, Dr. Miletic, is 1) VERY easy to understand , 2) wickedly intelligent and 3) very funny. My hand was flying over the notepad as I took notes. It was incredibly exciting, invigorating, astounding. 

He talked about the usual things–class expectations, the syllabus, the texts for the class. Then, since the class focuses on the Old Testament (OT), he talked about how it came into being–first in Hebrew, then translated into Greek by Alexander the Great around 330 AD. He discussed how the OT and the NT are intertwined, how you cannot really know one without the other. We even talked about the hypostatic union! (which is the idea that Jesus is both God and Man–he is an invisible, eternal person who also took on a finite human nature).  He was great. All the ideas flowed seamlessly into another. And then the class was over.

The assignments were: start the worksheet (asssingment 1–I actually finished it, go me!) Read 40 paragraphs of the CCC on Sacred Scripture (101-141), and then read Dr. Miletic’s handout on what we just read in the CCC (very helpful). Then, start reading Genesis. 

OK so I got through the first three things. CCC, handout, worksheet. Done. Filed the worksheet to be mailed in when it was due. 

Then I picked up my Bible. For my MA I’m using the Ignatius version since I love the RSV translation. I thought, well, I’ll just read until I get bored. Genesis is 50 chapters and I have weeks to read it. (We have a long time with Genesis. Then we’re reading like a book of the Bible every two days.) 

I picked up the pencil and notepad again and began to read. I read the whole thing, noting typology (where Jesus is prefigured in the NT), the covenant, and made a rough timeline–who was born when, who married who, when Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt. Which of Jacob’s wives had which of his 13 kids. 

When I was finished I wanted to go on to Exodus–much like I wanted to go on to the next lecture. But I didn’t. I typed up my notes (might come in handy later) and checked off the assignments. 

Tomorrow I’ve got my first Sacraments lecture. There’s no actual assigned reading, so I’m not quite sure how this will work, but whatever. We’ll find out. 

On the tentative schedule I made, I will be done with both these classes in mid-September. I have six months from the date the courses are mailed to finish, so my completion date was early-to-mid November. I LOVE being ahead! Basically I set it up like so: MWF–Sacraments; T Th–Biblical Studies. Now if Sacraments ends up being longer than 50 minutes, I’ll switch, but I think this will work well. Biblical Studies has a ton of reading with it, so I’ll probably need more time to get that all done as I get to things like “Numbers/Deuteronomy in two days”.

I offer link for pondering. 

 So many times in my life I have been close to death. And, since abortion was legal when I was born in 1982, my mother could have chose to abort me, based on my genetic make-up. And she didn’t. I’m still here, and I am so glad of that every day. Does that mean that I love waking up when my alarm clock goes off exceedingly too early? Well, no. But every day is just a fantastic gift.
Please pray for all those who are considering abortion. Pray for our politicians that they will be pro-life!

Today’s her feast day, and Elizabeth has this list up over at her blog. I liked it so much that I stole it.  

It is most important that we have this [love for one another], for there is nothing annoying that is not suffered easily by those who love one another…If this commandment were observed in the world as it should be, I think such love would be very helpful for the observationce of the other commandments.”

I would counsel those who practice prayer to seek, at least in the beginning, friendship and association with other persons having the same interest. This is something most important even though the association may be only help one another with prayers.”

“Be gentle to all and stern with yourself.”

“The soul is much more more than we can imagine, and the sun that is in this royal chamber shines in all parts. It is very important for any soul that practices prayer, whether little or much , not to hold itself back and stay in one corner.”

“Pain is never permanent.”

“God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person.”

“Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices.” (I have this on a holy card that is pinned to my office corkboard.)

“To have courage for whatever comes in life – everything lies in that.”

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.”

“We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can – namely, surrender our will and fulfill God’s will in us.”

“We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.”

“When you suffer often, praise God that He is beginning to teach you this virtue of patience and strive to endure…He gives it to you, and you do not possess it save as though on deposit.”

“There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.”

“I complained to Him for consenting that I should suffer so many torments. But his suffering was well repaid, for almost always the favors afterward came in great abundance. I only think that the soul comes out of the crucible like gold, more refined and purified, so as to see the Lord within itself.”

“It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found – not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.”

In spite of all her wisdom she asked the angel: How can this be?but after he answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you; the power of the Most High will overshadow you, she engaged in no further discussion. As one who had such great faith and wisdom, she understood at once that if these two intervened, there was nothing more to know or doubt.”

“Let us look at our own faults and leave aside those of others, for it is very characteristic of persons with such well-ordered lives to be shocked by everything.”

“Mutual love is so important that I would never want it to be forgotten. The soul could lose its peace and even disturb the peace of others by going about looking at trifling things in people.”

I am having a hard time right now getting my will inline with God’s. I need more help than just my own resources.
Any prayers would be gratefully appreciated.

So Lent is upon us. What are you doing?

Here’s my plan:

–Daily Bible reading (apart from the Magnificat). I have the CAtholic Women’s Devotional Bible, and I use their daily meditations.

–Lenten Reading plan: The Confessions; On The Passion of the Christ (Thomas a Kempis), and Lent and Easter with John Paul II (meditations and Lenten actions).

–Attend my parish’s Wednesday soup suppers (which are really yummy!) and Stations of the Cross (new this year–I’m excited!).

–Daily rosary (I hope I hope I hope)

–Attend at least one week day Mass per week

–Confession (at this point, it’s just getting there again. I’m not going to set a grand goal of once a week–yet. We’re working on it!)

–And the fast and abstinence requirements.

For a great Lenten primer, go here and download the guide to Lent. It is great!

A bumper sticker seen on I-70 E, heading home today:

“God is not a Republican….or a Democrat”

(I’m going to leave out he part where the “or a Democrat” was in really small letters at the bottom.)

OK, fine, I doubt that Jesus would endorse all the current policies of the GOP. But both JPII and B XVI have said that capitalism offers man the most freedom to be what he truly was meant to be. I don’t need to tell you how JPII felt about Communism, do I? Or B XVI on Marxism?

But I find it very, very difficult to believe that the Dems can, in any honest way, claim God’s on their side. * They are pro-abortion. They kill babies. End of story. Even if you’re a pro-life Dem, you are voting for people who vote to kill babies.
Say what you want about the GOP, but we don’t do that.**

*Although Ohio’s Democrat, Methodist-minister Governor said that “I don’t read about anything that Jesus said about abortion specifically.” (Me thinks the pastor needs to brush up on his 10 commandments.)

**Yes, there are pro-abortion Repubs. The thing is, they tend not to get too far nationally. And more locally–well that’s anyone’s guess. But pro-life is the party platform.

Please, please, PLEASE pray for this woman, her husband, her new baby, and her family.

She is a fellow CF-er who just gave birth via C-section. She has been intubated and, if she recovers sufficiently (which is “iffy” right now), she may be eligible for a transplant, like she was before the pregnancy.

She and her husband are strong Christians who refused to abort this beautiful baby girl. Please pray for mother, baby, and family!

I don’t normally make resolutions (because I can never keep them, ha), but I found this at the Anchoress, and it seems like something worth incorporating into daily spiritual life. So maybe saying this (and trying to live it!) can be my resolution!

Daily Decalogue of Pope John XXIII

1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
5. Only for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and it my feelings are hurt, I will make sure no one notices.
8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

Happy New year, everyone! I hope 2008 brings all of you peace and joy in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Today we have the RCIA folks at Mass for the first time–I think today was the rite of Acceptance? I could be wrong (we know how my hearing can be in church)…but I have never seen it performed before. Personally, I really enjoyed it.

There is one catechumen that really touched me. She’s an older woman, probably in her late 50s, who was on supplemental oxygen. My first thought: there but by the grace of God…

But it was so touching to see her and her sponsor. Both of them were very emotional, and her sponsor kept hugging her and touching her reassuringly. It was really nice to see that sort of connection between two people. You could tell that this woman really wanted to be received into the Church.

Parish Council meeting tomorrow, along with our parish’s annual Advent Evening of Reflection. Next week–penance service. Gotta tell you, not my favorite thing–but I will go. Especially during this discernment process, I need to go more frequently than my current once-every-few-months habit.

Speaking of discerment–still praying, still asking God to show me His will. Plans seem good for the February retreat in Ann Arbor with the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.

I keep running into Dominicans. I don’t think this is a coincidence.