To Be a Saint

I came across a post I wrote last year called The Message of Love:

...I'm not talking about the sappy kind of love that pervades our culture today. I'm talking about real love, as in the "let us love one another, because love is of God" and "God is love" (1 John 4:7,16) kind of love. 

It all comes down to how we define love, which we read more about in St. Paul's letter to the Romans. Many non-Catholics (and unfortunately, even some Catholics!) would cite this passage as evidence that we no longer have to follow the ten commandments given to Moses by God, in the saying that we "owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8) Adultery? Coveting? It's okay if I do these things as long as I do them because of love. 

Yet, what does Paul mean when he says to love one another? By whose standards should we love? My standards? Your standards? The standards followed by the president of the United States? No, we are commanded to love by God's standard. This means loving the entire person, where "love does no evil to the neighbor." (Romans 13:10)

Read the rest...

I find that we as Catholics have to constantly be reminding ourselves of what it means to Love, and what it requires of us to love by God's standards. No, it's not always easy, but we are all called to speak the Truth, especially in the current state of our society.

We have to remember that Catholics are so very blessed. We belong to the Church that Loves us, wholly and completely, and wants the best for us. We belong to the Church that wants us to get to Heaven. Sometimes, that means the Church has to say no to us. Even us Catholics don't always like it, but we have to remember that this message of the Church is always one of Love.

Recently, the Church, her leaders, her shepherds, including my priest, and her followers have come under attack for standing up for Truth and speaking out against things such as abortion, contraception, and gay marriage. In the past few weeks even, how many of us have been called intolerant and judgmental bigots, when all we are trying to do is Love the whole person? I found this quote from Peter Kreeft, and I pray that this is the message that we send to the world:

The Church is the best friend of homosexuals, both because she tells them they are made in God's image and have intrinsic dignity and rights and are called to be saints, and because she is the only social force left that insists on moral absolutes. So when they sin against themselves she says NO, just as she does to heterosexuals who sin against themselves sexually, but when others sin against them she says NO also. No one else dares to say NO. She speaks up for everyone, including homosexuals. Source

We are all sinners. Every single one of us. I'm a sinner! But, we are all worth it.

As my favorite Catholic radio host would say, "Be a Saint! What else is there?"

Christ died for each and every one of us, because we are all in need of a savior. He died for each of us because we are worth it. We are all called to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. The path to holiness is never easy, but it releases you from slavery when it is freely chosen. The Church Loves each and every one of us, for who we are in our entirety, and not by how society labels us. Yet, the Church also wants us to aspire to be the person we each were created to be. She is willing to lead us there - are you willing to accept that path?

Scripture Meme - My Three Favorite Verses

Trista tagged me in the "Three Favorite Scripture Verses" meme that has been floating around the Catholic blog world lately. Since I've been eagerly awaiting a tag for weeks, I was very excited (and then took about a month to get this post up, but who's keeping track of time?), so thank you Trista!

After my initial excitement, I then jumped to a feeling of "How on earth can I ever pick just three Scripture passages?"... I might have to do some more reflections on Scripture in the future because the Bible is SO GOOD.

1.

The Bread of Life Discourse - John 6:35-68

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst... 

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves... I am the bread of life. Your fathers at the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." 

The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will love for ever." This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 

Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." 

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him. Jesus said to the Twelve, "Will you also go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Growing up, I think I always knew that I was supposed to believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist, but it didn't really click with me for many years. When I moved to DC and started hearing the words "Real Presence" in pretty much every homily, I was just completely overwhelmed by the whole concept... until I encountered John 6.

There have been countless scholars and theologians and average everyday people who have spent endless hours analyzing this passage - the word choice, the sentence structure, the translation, the meaning behind the words, etc. - and have picked it apart word for word. Protestants will rebuke all Real Presence arguments with the fact that Jesus then claims that only the spirit matters, after he talks extensively about his flesh. Many people just grumble, "Why can't Jesus just come out and say what he means?!"

But if you put all of this aside, and place yourself in the scene, it is obvious that Jesus means exactly what he says. The Jews mumbled and grumbled not once, but twice about this teaching, but Jesus didn't say, "Oh, I'm sorry, you misunderstood what I was saying, I really mean..." Instead, he reiterated what he had already said. Even his own disciples questioned his words, and many of them actually left! Did Jesus shout out to call them back, "Hey, I didn't really mean that whole thing about eating my flesh and drinking my blood! You can come back now!" No. When Jesus said that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life within us, he meant it. 


Reading and reflecting on this passage over and over again made me realize that I couldn't ignore the Real Presence, and this passage led me on my way to believing that the most perfect gift given to us is right in front of us in the Eucharist.

2.

Psalm 139

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. 

... 

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. 

... 

Psalm 139 is one of the many passages given to me for spiritual reading on my silent retreat. When I first read it, I realized that I'd heard it before - in Audrey Assad's song "Known" - and I got really excited.

This passage has really consoled me at times to know that God knows everything about me. Even when I can't feel His presence, He has searched my heart and knows my desires. He knows my thoughts before I even think them. He even seeks me on whatever path I choose to follow. There's nothing that God doesn't know about me, and I can't hide anything from Him. This can be a very scary thought, but also very freeing to be known and understood better than we know and understand ourselves. Audrey Assad eloquently describes this feeling by singing that God knows us "as a lover knows his beloved's heart, all the shapes and curves of her even in the dark."

3.

Mark 9:12-29 (vs. 23-24)

Jesus said to him, "If you are able! - All things can be done for the one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

So I had about two or three other passages I was thinking about for my third choice, but I couldn't make a decision (typical me!). I was then listening to Catholic Answer Live on podcast as I tried to fall asleep one night, and one of the callers asked about this passage from the Gospel of Mark, specifically verse 24. It was one of those times, I think, where God answers some of your prayers in a way where you least expect it, and so I quickly looked up this passage while listening.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Just as Jesus prays to the Father and gives thanks before receiving his gifts, so he teaches us filial boldness: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and you will." (Mk 11:24) Such is the power of prayer and of faith that does not doubt: "all things are possible to him who believes." (CCC 2610)

I think that one of the areas I've been struggling with in my prayer life recently has been that I don't have complete faith that God will take care of me. I have doubts about trusting God enough to give Him complete control in my job search. I realized that this has been one of my stumbling blocks when I heard the caller ask about this passage. Now, my new prayer has become one of asking for complete faith, so that when I pray, I won't doubt in the fact that I will receive in abundance.

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I won't tag three other people, because I am not really sure who all has tackled this already... but if you haven't posted about this yet, then let's just say that I tagged you! You can even leave a comment and I will add a tag to this post so it's official!

I'm addicted.

It's official. I've become such a Catholic Answers Live addict that I even had to make a label for it on this blog!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that bad.

Ha.

On a more serious note, I will listen to the podcast on my commute to and from campus many days. This afternoon, I listed to Abby Johnson's interview from early February and she spoke about her change of heart in the life movement, the details behind Planned Parenthood, and how she's converting to Catholicism!*

*Can I just point out that it seems like lots of really sweet pro-life people are converting/have converted to Catholicism? And by "lots", I mean Lila Rose and Abby Johnson, of those that I know... I'm sure there are lots more. But does anyone else see a trend??!!?? I do.

Anyway, everyone needs to listen to this interview. It provides so much insight into how Planned Parenthood works - from someone who used to be high up in the organization - especially about the lies they tell everyone and the way they train their staff so they can earn more money. I think my favorite part is when she totally dished it out to a caller who couldn't see anything "wrong"* with the latest Live Action stings... it was EPIC.

*I mean, did this caller see the same videos that we all did... because I think you'd have to be blind and deaf to not realize that there is something wrong going on there...

To make your lives easier, I've provided the link for you. You're welcome.

Click me to listen online or right click and "Save as..." to download to your computer!

Now, I just need to get my hands on a copy of her book! The library doesn't own it yet... epic fail, libraries of Northern Virginia, epic fail.

7 Quick Takes Friday (#17)

Conversion Diary

1. I think regular readers will get that I am a fan of Catholic Answers Live by now, but I listened to a great one on Mormonism this week. I learned so much I didn't know before, about spirit brothers and changing doctrine... oh goodness. I can understand how many Protestants believe that they're trying to be the true faith by (incorrectly) going back to the way the early church was in separating from the Catholic Church, but by having that you can change doctrine in your doctrine... how can you even claim to be the only true faith? I would like to be enlightened on this topic. (Right click on the Mormonism link and Save As... if you want to listen to it on your iPod or download to your iTunes).
2. For those of you who haven't seen these videos yet, be sure to check them out. Lila Rose alluded to these videos she had coming out when I heard her speak at FOCUS conference and she said they were BIG. Well, she was right. Let's see if the law officials actually do anything about it this time...
3. I just had one of those starts to my Friday morning. You know the one where I have to treat my 18 and 19 year old college students like first graders? Yea, that one. To me, it's pretty simple. You don't talk amongst yourselves when I'm going over a quiz or lecturing on material. If you're going to talk, don't talk loud enough that I can hear you. Well, not only did I have to say that I would break up this "talk fest" - which they thought was *hilarious*, by the way - if I had to, I then had to say when I turned back to the chalkboard and they started talking again that just because my back was turned didn't mean my ears stopped working. Any ideas on how to earn more respect from them without going all first grade teacher on them? I didn't have issues with this last semester at all.
4. I saw The King's Speech yesterday and it was really good. I highly recommend it. It's easy to see why it's been nominated for so many awards, and Colin Firth totally deserves to win, as does Geoffrey Rush in his supporting role. It also throw some great history into it as well. Check out the trailer:
 
*Note: For those of you worried about the R rating, it's because Colin Firth's character drops the F bomb multiple times in a row - it's one of his methods for getting words out - see, he doesn't stammer when he curses. Otherwise, it's a clean movie!
5. I have a lot of things that I need to get started on that aren't due for awhile but will quickly start to pile up... but I'm finding it difficult to get motivated. Any ideas?
6. Has anyone seen The Rite yet? I got a free pass and will probably go this weekend. I would post the trailer, but I feel like this post is already so YouTube heavy...
7. It's the weekend! On the to-do list this week: finish up an application, write a lab report, pick a topic for my presentation, clean like a madwoman, go through my old clothes and find stuff to give away, hang out with some friends, and sleep. Whew. 

FOCUS Conference 2011 - Answering the Call

This past weekend, I attended the FOCUS Conference in Baltimore, MD. For those of you who aren't familiar with FOCUS, it is the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and it is an organization dedicated to the new evangelization. They send out dynamic teams of missionaries to college campuses throughout the nation to engage students in discussion about faith, start Bible studies, and bring students home to Christ throughout those very difficult and tempting college years.

Someday, I hope to be a diving board model.

There's only one way to describe the conference experience: AMAZING times ten. Really. My personal experience was very introspective, where light was suddenly shed on a lot of things about which I have been praying. No one can doubt the presence of the Holy Spirit at the conference... but what else can you expect when you put about 1500 college students and young adults in the same place to worship Christ? I feel like this always makes God preeeeeeetty happy - to see young people in love with His son.

One of the best parts of the conference was the opportunity to hear so many amazing speakers. They each centered on the theme of "Answering the Call." I got a lot out of each of the talks, although sometimes I think I missed parts of their talks due to something they said that sent me off hurriedly scribbling away in my journal. Like I said, an introspective experience for me in many ways - the Holy Spirit was busy at work!

**Long blog post awaits all ye who enter... ye be warned**

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She should wear a superhero cape.

Lila Rose - I was pumped when I found out she was speaking at conference, because I have watched many of her undercover videos on Youtube. Lila is a recent college graduate and convert to Catholicism that has answered the call to pro-life activism through starting Live Action. She goes into Planned Parenthood clinics across the country posing as an underage teenager who has discovered she's pregnant, and the video she's gotten... well, let's just say that people should be getting into WAY more trouble than they are.


She gave a lot of interesting - and frightening - facts about abortion. Like the fact that there's an abortion in our country every 23 seconds. Or the fact that ONE-THIRD of my generation has been the victim of abortion. ONE. THIRD. Can you believe it? I can only begin to imagine the great things that could have been accomplished by now if we didn't live in a culture of death.

One of the most profound things she said was a prayer that she says she prayed many years ago, and still does today. I want to be used by you, Lord. Tell me what you want me to do. Teach me to love you more. Show me what to do and help me act. She admitted that this is a dangerous prayer - look where it's gotten her! - but that it's what we are designed for.

You're gonna wanna buy this album.

Audrey Assad - What a beautiful musician! Audrey Assad was absolutely amazing - it was like an intimate concert despite the fact that our setting was a conference hall in a hotel. Her music was so full of emotion and personality, giving each listener insight into her personal faith journey. She shared with us about her awkward school years, how she was the girl that was way more into band than normal - hello, that was basically me. She worked through her awkwardness and struggles with life, faith, and love through music - so it's something to which we can all relate in some way or another.


After the concert, I was able to buy her album, where I got to tell her thanks for her music as she signed my CD insert! Let's just say that I've pretty much listened to nothing but her album since I got home from conference. My favorite song off of her album is "Restless", which is based on writings by St. Augustine, who said, I am restless 'til I rest in you. The song is simple, but incredibly beautiful.

I think the best thing that I got out of listening to her perform was that while she was singing, my mind started to wander and take off, leading me through thoughts that I've been trying to unlock for months. Thankfully, I had my trusty prayer journal with me... which is probably why I got a couple of strange stares from the people next to me as I furiously wrote before my thoughts got locked up again. Probably the most productive concert I've ever attended in my life.

"I want YOU to answer the call!"

Jeremy Rivera - Jeremy spoke on spiritual gifts and how to discover and use them for what God intends you to do. He said a lot of profound things. One of my favorites was when he asked all the full-time ministers to raise their hands. Priests and the FOCUS missionaries raised their hands. Then he asked everyone to raise their hands, saying that this response was the answer to the next question: Will all the full-time ministers raise their hands? He made the point that we are all in full-time ministry, just some of us are in disguise as teachers, students, construction workers, etc. What a great thing to tell college students - we are ALL full-time ministers! If even half of us go out from that and are even just part-time ministers - think of all the lives that can be touched. Some other great things he brought up:

• When you're operating within your gifts and passions, weariness is low and effectiveness is high.
• Where do we begin to answer the call?
• What are you passionate about? What brings you alive? The word passion means to suffer, so are you willing to suffer for what you think your passions are?
• What are your spiritual gifts? If we start serving in our communities and churches, our gifts will start to bubble to the surface.
• What are your previous job experiences? What did you learn from them, and can you answer the call through them?
• Don't compare yourself to others, because each of us has a place in the Lord's plan. Don't judge others, but don't belittle yourself either.
• Evangelization is just one bum telling another bum where to find food. We are all broken, in need of a Savior.

Again, the floodgates of my brain and heart were once again opened while he talked. Let the furious scribbling ensue once again.

Jesuits are smart. He's no exception.

Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J. - Fr. Spitzer spoke on the historical proof of Jesus. I think the most interesting part of his talk was how he started - by giving us six questions to ask people who believe in God but question His authority and awesomeness in sending His only son to save us all.


Q: What is the greatest power that you have, a power of human beings that brings good into the world?
A: LOVE! The power of empathy, where doing good for others is easier than doing good for ourselves.

Q: If you have this power, do you think the Creator is devoid of love?
A: NO! God must have at least some love.

Q: Do you just want some love, or do you want infinite, unconditional love?
A: Through our relationships with others here on Earth, we all long for unconditional love from others. We all long to receive it and desire to love in that way as well. Could this be the meaning of life? Intriguing thought...

Q: Do you believe that the Creator could be devoid of unconditional love?
A: No, not if this kind of love is what we all long for.

Q: If God is, or is capable of, unconditional love, what would He be like? Would He want to be with you, not just spiritually, but physically? Would He be Emmanuel, "God with us"?
A: Just like when we love another person unconditionally, we want to be with that person, in his or her presence. This is what God also wants, to be in our presence in a perfect act of humility. Not just spiritually, but physically.

Q: Is Jesus the One?
A: YES! God the Father can seem way up there sometimes - distant - but Jesus is about God having infinite affection, humility, and love for each human being.

Whew! A logical progression of thought can lead to Truth. Good thing God gave us the power to reason as well as to love!

He also brought up the point that Christianity experience geometric growth proportional to the degree in which is was persecuted in the early Church. This growth is different from every other Messianic movement... why? Because the resurrection gave hope to the disciples and because of the Holy Spirit. Would you die for something that was a hoax, that you didn't believe in with your entire being? I wouldn't, and neither would the disciples and the many martyrs throughout history. People look for evidence of Christ's resurrection - you don't really have to look very far.

Whoa. (stupid surfer voice)

Chris Stefanick - This man walked out onto the stage and started playing classic rock licks on his guitar. What are we about to hear...? is what a lot of us were thinking, I'm sure. Well, we were in for a ride - but a good one. He is filled with love for God, but has a way of sharing Truth and catechizing in a very dynamic and hip way. He had the best one-liners, and he had the entire crowd cracking up one second and then "Aww"-ing at a picture of his baby girl the next. Some of the best thoughts and one-liners:

• Reverence is when you stand back from something and feel WOW. But the closer you get, the more familiar it is. We get used to the most amazing things - i.e. GOD - and then they don't seem so amazing anymore. God is the creator of the universe... we should be saying WOW!
• "Atheism is dumb... it's like the flea denying that the dog exists."
• "You're telling me the Big Bang big banged itself billions of years ago?"
• We need to step back as if we've never heard or seen this before and say, "Whoa." ... like a stupid surfer would say it.
• The world gets a picture of "Happy Jesus" in their heads, especially with difficult teachings. The world thinks something is harsh and asks WWJD... "Well, have you read the Bible? He made the comfortable very uncomfortable."
• Jesus taught that he is God. He's either God or had the biggest ego in history.

This guy is a hilarious, rock guitar playing saint! Can you imagine if he were canonized hundreds of years in the future - the card on your refrigerator would be him with his guitar going "ROCK ON!" Here's just a taste of his talk. If you ever get a chance to see him in person - do it.

His Dad-of-8-look: "You better answer the call, or else!"

Curtis Martin - No, I'm not talking about the former NFL running back (thanks Wikipedia!). I'm talking about Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS! I've heard him speak on Catholic Answers Live before, and so I was more than excited to hear him speak in person. His talk especially left an impact on me. Again, in the middle of his talk, I went off on a page and a half tirade in my own thoughts. I eventually came back around to catch the rest of his talk.


He told a joke (in a hilarious Italian accent!) that brought up the point that answering the call can be difficult sometimes - we pray for it and ask to know God's will, and then when we get an inkling of it, we blow it away.


Thank God he answered his calling and started FOCUS! He thought, "We live in a great but scary world - how can we solve this problem?" More Catholics! He quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who has said that evangelization serves the end that we address poverty in all forms. I've heard other people say that social justice issues wouldn't be issues if everyone knew Christ. No one would go hungry. No one would be abused. No one would live without a roof over their head.


He said that there are only three things that you need to live:

1. To know God - to be in a relationship with Him (see CCC 1).
2. To know God's plan for you - the only way to know His purpose for you is to know God.
3. To go out and live that plan with zeal and passion.

He recommended that we all join him in the habit of prayer - so that we can become people who don't just walk with Christ every once in a while, but who will always know and walk with God.

What a privilege to hear him speak - you can tell that he is in love with his faith and hopes to spread it to as many people as possible. FOCUS seems to be doing a pretty good job so far - may it continue to grow exponentially!

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Well, if you made it through my whole post, congratulations! You get 5,000 bonus points... that go towards something really cool. Trust me.

7 Quick Takes Friday (#14)

Check out Conversion Diary for more!

I thought I would give a shout out to some great blogs and links that I have found for my 7 Quick Takes this week. Without further ado...

1. I have become... for lack of a better word... addicted to Catholic Answers Live in the past couple of months. I've listened and learned about saints, Church doctrine, Marian apparitions, the early Church fathers, abortion, contraception, Protestantism, Scripture... the list could go on and on. I enjoy listening to the podcast on my morning commute or during long car rides. Be sure to check it out.
2. I just recently discovered Startling the Day by Elizabeth, a young Catholic woman living up the faith, and I just can't get enough of her entries. From her entries on finding spirituality in a secular song to teaching Theology of the Body to teens, to marriage and dealing with the lads, she has a fresh way of relating Catholicism and faith to the world in which we live. I completely relate to a lot of what she writes, and I secretly wish that we could be friends... well, I guess it's not a secret anymore. Whoops!
3. Over break, I read this amazing book recommended to me by a friend about Marian apparitions and the end times. Pierced by a Sword scared the crap out of me, but it was also beautiful. I highly recommend it... you can order free copies through Catholicity, along with the other two novels and a wealth of free CDs. What can I say, I love free things.
4. If you're looking for interesting discussion and great entries on Church teachings, check out Little Catholic Bubble. While I try to stay away from the heated discussions on some of the posts, I find the entries refreshing, informative, and sometimes even fun. Yes, Catholics can be fun, who would've thought!
5. I stumbled on this blog by stumbling onto another blog, etc. and well, it's been a nice stumbling. Modestia is written by Rebecca, a young Catholic woman who highlights how to be... well... a young modest Catholic woman! I find her links interesting and helpful, the fashion pictures are much more pleasing to the eyes than those in my Glamour magazine, and her entries are very honest and real. She's also got some great links for... take a guess... FREE STUFF! I love free stuff.
6. I couldn't post a list of links without sending everyone to the GW Catholic blog. He posts homilies, links to cool Catholic videos and sites, and interesting topics relevant to young adults and all Catholics. Be sure to look at the recent posts on exorcisms. 
7. Probably most people reading this are familiar with Conversion Diary. I am kind of in love with this Saint Generator she made, and I've been having fun "generating" saints and reading about them. I think in an effort to learn more about the saints, I am going to "generate" a saint each month and make him or her the patron saint of my month! So, this month's saint is (drumroll, please)... St. Michael, the Archangel! (Trumpet fanfare!) His feast day is September 29, and he has been honored as patron and protector by the Church! I liked this comic strip, that had the prayer to St. Michael written by Pope Leo XIII.

Yes, I like to picture the saints as kicking butt and taking names.