Our Hearts Are Restless

Over the last few years, I have developed an interesting relationship with St. Joseph.  In all honesty, I pester him about everything from guys to freelancing to "help me get everything done that I need to get done today."  He's the patron saint of pretty much everything that's relevant for single young adult Catholics.  And having a spiritual father in addition to my earthly father equals the best masculine support system I could ask for. Our friendship started during senior-year chaos, grew through a summer of panicked job hunting, and solidified during my transition to independence.  I figure he could handle it, but I still feel a bit guilty about throwing all the difficult bits of my life at him. Recently, I realized just how well St. Joseph understands me.  Before Christmas, God threw the inspiration for a major writing project at me.  We're talking the kind of God-curve-ball that feels like a ton of bricks dropping on your head.  My respo...

Sully had known love but never true love.  True love wasn't defined as being willing to die for the one you loved.  That was part of it, but the smaller part.  Hell, he had been willing to die for the women he loved, for women he didn't love, and even for a few dreadful women he disliked, which was how he ended up with one eye, one ear, and one hand.   True  love meant being willing to  live for the woman who was the other chamber of your heart, to work yourself threadbare for her if necessary, to know her mind as you knew your own, to love her as you loved yourself, to cherish her above all earthly things unto the end of your years.   There was the valiant and exhilarating life, more thrilling than ten thousand expeditions up ten thousand Amazons! ~  The Dead Town , Dean Koontz, p. 375

It's time to get back into the swing of things!  Writing prompts help me a lot, so here goes for this week's edition of Small Success Thursdsay, hosted by CatholicMom. After a year's worth of planning and preparing, my friends' wedding was successfully pulled off.  The end result was remarkably smooth, thanks to a large crew of friends and family who put so much time and effort into the day!  There were so very many little pieces that all had to "click" in order for the big pieces to happen...and they did, thanks be to God.  But there were always the problems that come up, large or small, which led to some very grateful praises of Divine Providence when they were all solved in time.  So here's to the workings of God for which I was not responsible! Disclaimer: the wedding was held in Virginia; I am from Indiana, the groom is from Texas, and the bride was from Ohio.  Which means that this entire event was long distance and engineered from hotel rooms...

Four years ago, I remember passing by the Christendom chapel one evening and observing a young man and woman standing outside, chatting.  Today, those two are getting married - my dear friends, Brian and Lindsay.  I wrote this while still in the last few weeks of wedding prep, but it's scheduled to post at the time their wedding Mass begins in that same Christendom chapel. I've been with these two the whole way. Brian and I teased and pranked each other freshman year, mutually adopted each other sophomore year, went on double dates junior year, tolerated each other in Rome, and grew a solid friendship senior year. I gave him the big sister speech the day he took Lindsay out for their first official date. I sat next to them as they held hands in the dark at the school play. I helped him comfort Lindsay when her grandfather died - at the Marian overlook where Brian would later propose to her. I watched him grow in his love for and devotion to Lindsay, and I know how joy...

Just a quick update for those of you keeping tabs on me here!  In a week, with the help of St. Joseph and my parents and numerous other kind people, I managed to get a car, a roommate, and an apartment.  The apartment process was agonizing, but luckily we had a lovely saleswoman helping us.  My roomie and I are excited about our little two-bedroom flat in Ann Arbor, and I'm trying not to go nuts with all the college dorm sales at Bed, Bath & Beyond and all the other shops!  I have to keep reminding myself that a lot of things can wait until after the first couple of paychecks. At final count, I packed up twenty-three boxes of books.  Yes, 23.  Somehow Arabic numerals seem more innocuous?  Pretty sure I could build an emergency shelter out of the fiction alone.  I'll post soon about my Survival Kit, books that I've set aside to help me keep my sanity during the first month or so. The other major project on my plate right now is wedding planni...

In honor of all of my friends getting married this year. Photo: wedding of Ryan and Sarah Kiel, photo credit unknown.

Today, a major event is happening which will be ignored by the media.  Today, millions of people will brave freezing temperatures and snow to stand or walk in the middle of Washington, D.C. and all across the United States.  Today, young men and women, clergy from many denominations, families, and religious brothers and sisters will form a seething mass of people bundled against the cold.  Today, those men and women will be united to rejoice in the gift of life, to mourn its persecution, and to suffer for its protection. I'll be attending Indianapolis' local observance of the March today, since I can't make it to D.C.  I've heard it said that the March for Life has no effect, since it's ignored by the media and lawmakers alike.  It does have the very beneficial effect, however, of letting supporters of the pro-life cause experience solidarity and the union of prayer and sacrifice.  Sometimes the defense of life can seem very lonely, especially if you're in a wor...

Today is the feast day of my confirmation patroness, St. Agnes, to whom I have had a devotion since I was little. There is a beautiful article on St. Agnes here (thanks to Fr. Z for the reference). I took St. Agnes as my patroness because I saw in her another Catholic girl, about my age.  Her heroic purity was a model, and I still ask her intercession to protect my purity; but mostly she seemed very human and accessible to me.  Maybe I read her story so much that she just seemed real, or maybe God was giving me the grace to draw close to this virgin martyr in a way that I particularly needed and still need.  St. Agnes is a model not just of purity, but also of humility, a virtue which I sorely need!  She showed immense strength in a time that, in most girls' lives (or at least in mine) was a time of weakness, an in-between childhood and maturing.  I know that at the age of twelve I wanted to be an adult but knew I wasn't.  St. Agnes, however, had the courage and fortitude of an...

The Way Of A Maid - Francis Thompson The lover whose soul shaken is In some decuman billow of bliss, Who feels his gradual-wading feet Sink in some sudden hollow of sweet, And 'mid love's us-ed converse comes Sharp on a mood which all joy sums-- An instant's fine compendium of The liberal-leav-ed writ of love; His abashed pulses beating thick At the exigent joy and quick, Is dumbed, by aiming utterance great Up to the miracle of his fate. The wise girl, such Icarian fall Saved by her confidence that she's small,-- As what no kindred word will fit Is uttered best by opposite, Love in the tongue of hate exprest, And deepest anguish in a jest,-- Feeling the infinite must be Best said by triviality, Speaks, where expression bates its wings, Just happy, alien, little things; What of all words is in excess Implies in a sweet nothingness, With dailiest babble shows her sense That full speech were full impotence; And while she feels the heavens lie bare, She only talks about he...

While sitting in the hotel restaurant with a number of others at the Catholic Writers Conference last week (more on that later!), an interesting conversation sprang up.  It centered around women wearing veils in church - an inflammatory topic in this day and age.  I was so interested to hear varying points around the practice that I was raised with, that I want to synthesize the conversation in a blog post.  Most of the following points originated with others in the tableside discussion, but some are my own meditation and musing on the matter. First, let me explain that I was raised to wear a chapel veil as a sign of respect for the Blessed Sacrament and for other reasons, but it is not, in fact, a requirement based on the current code of Canon Law.  It is a "best practice".  In fact, I disliked wearing a veil for a couple of years because I was being hounded.  Repetitive "joking" reminders of "Where's your veil?" turned the practice into something tha...

Found an interesting article at the Washington Post today.  I took the opportunity to go on a little rant.  Please, weigh in with comments if you have anything to add! Churches grapple with clothing and what’s appropriate as summer heats up As Ann Cabiness stood in the Communion line at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Sunday morning, two things were on her mind: connecting with God and getting out of the humid sanctuary before someone mentioned her skimpy tank top and tight, knee-length running pants.  {Problem right there: if your clothes are distracting you from "connecting with God", from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, then you are not dressed appropriately.} “I know I’m inappropriate, but I’m trying to save time. I know I’m in the wrong. My mother would not approve,” the 30-year-old said sheepishly as she made a beeline from Mass at the Bethesda church to the gym. “But would it be better that I not come?”  {Seriously, how long does it take to bring a bag and chan...

One should not watch more than one chick flick at a time unless separated by a good Indiana Jones or perhaps an episode of MacGyver.  I made the mistake of watching  Stardust and  27 Dresses two nights in a row.  I then made the nearly fatal attempt to watch  The Devil Wears Prada  immediately after  27 Dresses .  I only made it through about 10 minutes of that last one.  I warn you, for the sake of your own mental safety, never repeat my mistake.  If these kinds of movies, and worse, are what teenage girls are watching nowadays...I understand why society is so messed up. Okay, all or most of you, my readers (I assume you exist because I apparently do get people visiting my blog at least once) probably know exactly what I'm going to tell you.  However, I will also remind you that you, my female readers, will also pop a chick flick in the computer or tv every now and then...just when you want something "brainless" or something "romantic" or something "just...

One of the blogs I occasionally read is Catholic Young Woman, written by and for girls trying to be feminine and faithful.  A couple of the authors are Christendom people, which is fun!  I hadn't caught up with it for a while, but when I did go over yesterday I found an awesome article by Clare Asper that not only rang true for me, but I thought might be useful for some of y'all who (I think) read my blog.  The full article is here  but I thought I'd add a few things that particularly struck me.  Now, obviously, I'm at the beginning of a courtship, and this is written by a newly-married woman.  But still, there are a few things that make me happy, because it makes me feel like Kevin and I are doing something right!  Okay, I basically put in the whole article.  But I highlighted in purple the especially relevant parts.  :)  Not that they exactly line up, but just that it is good to know how other people do things too. 1. Why you did court rather than date? Right up front...