7QT {v. 12} - we happy few

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Finally, back to the blog. It's been a while - a much-needed hiatus, if you will. Every now and then it's a good idea to take some time and refresh your mind, your spirit. So, I thought, what a great day to return to blogging - St. Crispin's Day!

Also known as, An Excuse to Put Tom Hiddleston On My Blog Day

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At last, The Furlough has ended! Things can kind of go back to normal around here... It was a wake-up call to have the rug pulled out from under us like that; everything you depend on can be taken away just like that. Politics has always involved a certain amount of theatre (the Tudors, anyone?) but this was really too much. 

-3

Speaking of monsters, completely coincidentally, Ignatius Press is releasing a new edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula that coincides with the premiere tonight of NBC's "Dracula" series. Though I think this new series is more about sex than ancient pagan rituals, it's striking to me how obsessed with the occult and/or demonic our culture has become. Movies, books, TV shows, etc. - for a society that has decided religion is medieval hogwash, they are awfully obsessed with it.

Not your grandpa's Dracula...

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“The world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters … we go out as the old knights of the Cross.” -Van Helsing, Dracula

What's not included, notably, in many (if not all) of these depictions is any sign that the forces of good in this world stand a fighting chance against evil. Should we, as Christians, be dwelling on this as much as our culture is wont to do? Of course not. (“…there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men’s eyes.”)  But we do have a role to play. In this brief article on the new Ignatius edition, the author notes how Bram Stoker accords this vampire the exact right silliness he deserves, and the exact right seriousness. Maybe we have something to learn from this. Maybe we shouldn't get too cozy with this strange, uneasy alliance. What do you all think? Agree, disagree, confused?

-5

Is it just me or do you feel like Pope Francis is speaking right to you? Lately, reading reports of his daily homilies, I have been so convicted by his words. 

 "The royal road the Lord paved for us 'is not a path to poverty for poverty’s sake' but rather 'an instrument so that God might remain God and the only Lord of our lives."

"For idolatry is a form of impiety...What is lacking is the sense we all have within us to adore God ... we all need to adore, because we have God's very imprint within us” and “when we do not adore God, we adore creatures”

"To hear the voice of God in one’s life, one needs to open his heart to surprise. Otherwise, one can start 'fleeing from God."

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And one more amazing quote from another awesome pope:

via Cassie Pease Designs

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Fall is slowly fading into winter; you feel the new cold snapping at your skin in the air now. What I love (among other things) about these fall-winter months is finding a good, long book or two you can really sink your teeth into. I just picked up the much-hyped, Man Booker-nominated book, The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, because it was shiny and new in the library.

 + 

via pinterest

So far so good. But I'm think of finally tackling War and Peace or Middlemarch this winter, and finishing up an Austen novel. Has anyone read these before? What is your favorite curl-up-with-a-blanket-and-cocoa book for this season?

7 quick takes {v. 11} - it is well

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What a wonderful couple of weeks it's been! I finished helping out at my church's summer CCD and it's been a really wonderful, surprisingly humbling experience. These kids were so open to the Gospel and had such great questions. For example: "Why can't God just snap His fingers and make all the bad things stop?" And that's from a 10 year old, ladies and gentlemen.

-2

Blessed are the men whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the roads to Zion. - Psalm 84:5

 I'm coming out of a somewhat difficult season in my life and have become very contented with the various quiet, daily routines that we take for granted. Maybe it sounds silly but looking out the window and seeing green all around me, pine trees, even the mailman, have been balms for my soul. I guess you never know how much you love home until you leave for a time.

-3
On a lighter note, Austenland is coming to theaters soon. I love all things Austen and am excited to see what this movie is all about. Seems like a cute summer rom-com. Also, where exactly does one find a life-size cutout of Colin Firth/Darcy?



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The new Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist CD came out this week, too. It's a beautiful order of sisters and the CD is amazing. It's so relaxing to just turn on the hymns and let them wash over you. It's even been a big help for me to get into the right stillness before prayer.

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Another neat ministry I read about this week was the relatively new brewery of the Benedictine Monks at St. Benedict's Monastery of Norcia, Italy. Not only is their beer (Belgian style) supposed to be amazing, but they've found it's been a great way to "preach the Gospel without preaching the Gospel".  Interesting, right?

-6
There's been so much evil in the news this week that it's hard to take in. Some of these articles I couldn't even get through because of the depth of evil. I'll never understand how a human heart can become so dark. The only thing I can think to do now is pray. Let's keep these intentions in our prayers this week.

-7
I'm starting the 33 Days to Morning Glory consecration program at my church this week and, really, I don't think it could've come at a better time. Have you any of you done this? I've heard so many good things. Pray for me, if you can, and share any intentions you want me to pray for too!

7 quick takes {v. 10}: lobsters, gungors, & harry potter

-1

What a week! World Youth Day came to an end and we were all left to read and ponder and pray over Pope Francis' messages. If you can read Spanish, here's a handy little compendium of all his messages from World Youth Day. If not, please do yourself a favour and read them. All of them. Chew on them for a while. I promise, it'll change you. I mean, come on, 3 million+ young people, on a beach, in Eucharistic adoration? Listening to a pope say Mass? That is nothing short of a miracle.

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On a similar note, I've been seeing people really trying to understand his supposed comment to "make a mess", given to his impromptu meeting with the Argentinian youth. As an Argentinian youth myself, I want to put it out there that this is a MIStranslation. The phrase in Spanish is, "¡Hagan lío!" It's hard to directly translate into English but it really comes closer to "stir the pot" or "make trouble" or "cause a ruckus". I love having a papa Argentino!

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In other, less global news, it was my birthday last Friday. I celebrated by heading up to Maine for some lobstah and coastline. There is nothing like fresh, seasonal Maine lobster! It was so wonderful to just relax with my family and hang out by the water. I don't think I could ever live anywhere away from the ocean again...

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As part of this awesome birthday, my parents got me tickets to a New England Christian music festival where I had front row spots to see Hillsong Live and Gungor! In case you don't know, I'm an all-things-Hillsong superfan. It was so awesome not just being close enough to touch the main singers, but just because there's nothing like a live music experience. Check these bands out if you haven't already!

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 On top of all the other cool things happening, this month is the 15th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I don't think I'll ever get tired of Harry Potter! Scholastic debuted some new covers for the books; what do you think? I personally like the originals better, but that's probably because those are the ones we grew up with. There's also a list of 28 things that happened after the series ended, according to good old J.K. (or Robert Galbraith, if you please) herself. (Thanks for the link, Julie!)

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 If you were watching the Saturday night vigil at World Youth Day, you may have spotted Matt Maher, Catholic music extraordinaire playing for El Papa himself!

 
His song, "Lord, I Need You" is a beautiful take on an old hymn. Here's Matt talking about it: 

 

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"I hope that a UK buyer comes forward so this simple but elegant ring can be saved for the nation." 

Once upon a time, Kelly Clarkson anonymously purchased a rare piece of jewelry owned by Queen Jane Austen herself. After a quick Wikipedia search, the British auctioneers/Austenites realized this Clarkson character was an American(!) and was trying to pull a Wickham and run away with the family goods! If only there was a gallant, British Darcy out there to save the day....

Have a good weekend, everybody!

7 Quick Takes: Beach days, WYD & Tolkien

1.

I finally made it to the beach this week! And it was later in the day so it was nice and cool out, instead of boiling and humid. It was so good and refreshing to just lay there and read a book, the sounds of the waves just washing over me. I plan on doing a lot more of this before summer ends.

2. 

Picked up my Divine Office today, and nothing felt better than the familiar thin sheets of paper, the red letters, the rhythm of psalm-antiphon-psalm-antiphon-psalm-reading. It was like drinking from a cool glass of water after subsisting on nothing for so long. I'm ashamed to say I stopped talking to God for a while, back when I was still working in South Dakota. And it hurt. I felt like God had gone silent on me, so I did too. I've been going to Mass again, and adoration. And now, today, I opened up my book of prayer. One that had sustained me for many long, hard months.

What do you do when you feel spiritually dry? Distant?

3. 

Found this heartwarming little story amid all the World Youth Day Rio preparations. Two small stories in this wide world; simple faith.

 

4.

Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth...The only cure for sagging or fainting faith is Communion.

Who doesn't love a little J.R.R. Tolkien? I found this quote at just the right time, just when I needed it.

5.

It's been a rough few weeks, a rough news cycle, a rough economy, just rough. We've seen, played across our screens, and our Twitter feeds, some really dark places in the human heart. But I think we, as Christians, need to be the ones to keep hoping, keep praying, keep believing that God is alive and working and healing.

6.

And if I do speak, I still want it to be holy and broken. I want to find this pain and minster out of it because it’s through His own broken body we find our healing.

This. This beautiful post from over at Deeper Story about being and knowing God in the silent places and the broken places.

7.
So my quick takes this week were kind of a downer, I know, but this is what I felt these things needed to be said. Let me know what you think about anything I've mentioned above and if there's anything you want me to pray for.

This week, though, you should really be catching any World Youth Day coverage you can. Here are some places I like to follow along at:

For the telly - EWTN, CatholicTV
For the internet - SaltandLightTV, Magis,
For the Twitter - WYD official, The Jesuit Post guys, USCCB

WYD Cross & Icon on Sugarloaf Mtn, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

7 quick takes {v. 7}

1. 

Is it just me or did this week feel reeeeaaaalllly llloooonnngggg? I think it's because of the Fourth of July. Speaking of which, did you all see that video from San Diego where, due to a computer issue, an 18 minute fireworks show (all 7,000 fireworks) went off at once, in 15 seconds? Yeah.

2.
This week my family and I went to see the new Spider Man movie. At first I didn't want to see it because I thought it was kind of silly that they were rebooting the series. But I LOVED it!! It was absolutely nothing like the Tobey Maguire movies. I highly recommend it (although it might be too long for little ones!)

3.
Besides Spider Man, this has been kind of a weird couple of weeks in pop culture, yeah? "Magic Mike" was released (blech) and Fifty Shades
of Grey has somehow become THE book for American women. Now that someone has finally told me what the book is about I'm stupefied, horrified, and mystified.

Remember the good old days? *jk*

4.

I'm thinking of doing a post on these happenings, especially in terms of a single girl trying to live a chaste life. It doesn't exactly help keep impure thoughts away when I've got Channing Tatum's abs thrown in my face! World, give a girl a break! If any of you have any thoughts on this, let me know by tweet or here or whatever so I can incorporate it! 

5.

Now if you're looking for a good book to read, I've been going through Papa Benedicto's latest Jesus of Nazareth book. I promise you, you'll be blown away. His writing style is so personal and like a teacher who gently guides you through the Scriptures until you see what he sees, which will change the way you see Jesus. Here are a couple of excerpts to show you what I mean:

"When all is said and done, the future will not place us in any other situation than the one to which our encounter with Jesus has already brought us." (p. 50)

"'Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away' (Mk 13:31). The word--which seems almost nothing in comparison to the mighty power of the immeasurable material cosmos, like a fleeting breath against the silent grandeur of the universe--the word is more real and more lasting than the entire material world...[It] is the solid ground on which we can stand, which holds firm even when the sun goes dark and the firmament disintegrates." (p. 51)

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Fifty Shades of lame, guy!

6. 

When I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago that on my maternal grandmother's side (which is German) I have a great-aunt or something who used to be a barmaid in Bavaria! I saw this picture of her when she literally looked like one of those Viking women with the outfit and an armful of giant beer mugs. This wouldn't be so cool, except for the fact that she was barmaid to THE POPE!! 

Ja!

Apparently, he was one of the regulars and my dear old great-aunt would plop a cold one in front of him whenever he came in. What's more, the whole family from Bavaria even went to the church where he was pastor! Ahh! I'm pushing for them to see they can wrangle a personal visit with the Pope (does he even do that?) but it's a work in progress. Still, how cool is that??

7. 

If you've made it this far, I want to personally thank you for putting up with my little rants and raves! Stay tuned, because I have some neat plans in the near future for this place! God bless!

7 quick takes (vol. 6)

1.)  Last week found me in a very strange place. A Piggly Wiggly's, to be exact. And this place: 

I really like grits. Just sayin'.

And here too:

That girl! Where did she come from?!?!

Where is this magical land, you ask?

2) Georgia! 

3) And yes, we saw Miss Paula Deen's digs. And, yes, it was too expensive to eat in. 

4) Don't you just love vacation? We abandoned soggy old New England a couple of weeks ago and headed south where it was warm and toasty and the Confederate flag still hangs out on billboards and the backs of pickup trucks. Basically, South Carolina. It was soooo much fun! We got to spend some time with family and some pretty chill gators and even a dolphin!

5) I introduce: Casper the Friendly Dolphin!

Aaah!! A real, live dolphin!!

(Ignore my brother's head. He got in my way! Gah!)

6) Basically, there's this little cove sort of thing where rich people live. 

You can't really tell but this house was huge! And it had an infinity pool!

And in this cove, there is the Walmart greeter of dolphins who likes to come up alongside entering boats and say hello. I came THIS close to touching his nose but when he realized I was just a human (and not a fish) he swam off. It was still pretty awesome!

7) But back to the Piggly Wiggly's. I love traveling to and experiencing different places! I love going down South especially (despite the "damn yankees" comments and Tennessee drivers. Sorry, Tennessee, but it's true). It's so different from where I live that it just refreshes my soul!

We just don't have trees like this up here!

And the time away from daily distractions was so good for me. I had time to really think and meditate about what God has in store for me this coming year. Taking time to just relax and sit by the sea, allowed God to just pour out peace on me and soothe my anxieties. Have you found time to just be still yet this summer? To refresh yourself in Him? 

7 quick takes Friday (Vol. 5)

1.

Wow - it's been a looong time since my last 'quick takes'. Since anything, really. Nothing much has been going on here although I am starting to feel the anxiety and reality of the fact that in just a few months I'll be heading out west to start a totally new adventure. I'll be moving to a place of abject poverty, recently discussed in the New York Times, out in the middle of nowhere, working with young people who have have had to deal with more crap than I probably ever will. It's starting to hit me now that I'm booking plane tickets and actually having to think about what I'll be taking with me. Let's just say it's put me in a Bon-Iver-listening, lots-of-tea-drinking, leave-the-curtains-down, French-level-angst kind of a mood.

Where are all the pine trees?!?! Where's Starbucks???!!!

2.

Take that, Loki, you big jerk!

In other news, I saw The Avengers! It felt so good to just veg for a couple of hours with the superhero hotties of Marvel. And it was actually, surprisingly hilarious. There were so many unexpected comedic moments, though plenty of gravitas when needed. Robert Downey, Jr. was his usual awesome self, Chris Hemsworth was his usual hot Australian self, and Captain America was even more '50s-Americana than usual, but, trust me, it worked. Seriously, go see it. You won't regret it.

3.
Speaking of Chris Hemsworth, are you all as excited as I am to see Snow White & the Huntsman? Probably not. Although, I must confess, I really wish I could just see the Hunstman.

Get thee behind me, Kristen Stewart!

4.
Also speaking of Snow White, everyone should watch "Once Upon A Time"! I realize it's kind of late if you haven't started because the season finale is this Sunday but I know that episodes are up on Hulu. I know it seems like it would be kind of cheesy but it really isn't. Honestly, next to Mad Men, it's one of the most thoughtful, interesting shows on TV. Which, as you've probably surmised, I've been watching a lot of.

5.
I don't know if you've seen these awesome posts on modesty and the young Catholic lady but they've really pushed me to think more deeply about what I wear. Even though the weather here can best be described as "I-now-understand-why-it's-called-New-England", I've started my summer wear search. (I'm taking it on faith that summer will actually arrive eventually.) It's always tough for me because I am little curvier than average so what may not be revealing for the typical girl, is extremely so for me. I'll probably post something on this once the sun comes out, but let me know what you all think!

6.
I like to have fun with what I wear, though I am always careful not to get too carried away with labels and whatnot. Here are some great "street style" blogs from all over the world that show some really lovely looks (some not-so-lovely) that can give you some ideas. They've been really helpful to me in terms of figuring out what works and what doesn't for my body type.

Garance Dore - she's pretty well known and has a great eye

The Sartorialist - a little more up-scale but still awesome

Sea of Shoes - this girl knows her shoes and color schemes

Gabifresh - curvy doesn't mean you can't look chic!

Saks in the City - french but the pictures are what matter, lol

Lookbook - people can post their own pictures from all over

Also, check out my Pinterest there on the sidebar! I have an album of modest yet cute clothes so I'm always on the lookout.

6a. 

Also - this was on TV last week and you need to see it.

7.

Looks like my time is up for now! I leave you with two cute and interesting videos from the interwebs:

There is hope for humanity yet if we can still produce moments like this.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 4)

1. Nothing for a month and then suddenly...bam! So much has happened to me this week that I'm still journaling and processing and thanking and blessing and wishing I could go back to Monday and live it all over again. Don't you just love weeks like that?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 3)

1. Fourth week of Lent, everyone! Easter is almost upon us. It's time to gear up for the Triduum and Holy Week and get ready to receive the waterfall of graces Christ wants to pour out over us! What have you learned over Lent? What has God been showing you guys? I'm working on a few posts that go into a little bit more of my own journey and I'm excited to see what God's been doing in your lives as well! (All three of you that read this, haha!)

2. I somehow stumbled onto this video this week and I'm glad I did. This nun, in case you didn't recognize her scooting around Brangelina on the red carpet at this year's Oscars, was in a few movies with The Elvis Presley back in the day. She's pretty much the only nun who's ever smooched Elvis! She is also the subject of the documentary, "God is the Bigger Elvis," (I agree, weird title) which was up for an Oscar this year. She has a really incredible story and is cute as a button, to boot! (Okay, I'll stop sounding like a "Golden Girl" now...)

3. In other news, I still haven't heard back about my PCOS test results. My doctor likes to send me letters--yes, actual snail mail letters--with test results so I guess we'll just wait and see. This week, though, has been pretty rough on the health front. My mother suffers from chronic daily migraines which sometimes get extremely severe. This week was one of those times. It is really hard to watch someone you love so much suffering so. But God is merciful and she finally received some emergency, very strong, pain meds so we didn't have to go the ER. 

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 2)

1.  It's been so long since I did one of these! No matter, I'm going to proceed as if I've been doing it forever. This week has been kind of weird as I continue hanging out in limbo here. The job I applied to would be a huge life change for me and something I swore I would never do (teach) but God has a way of gently nudging you into impossible situations and somehow making a way. I've really been learning how to offer things up to Him. Who knew I had such a death grip on things?

2. Third week of Lent, church! We're halfway there! Anyone have any interesting things God has been teaching them? I've been reading this awesome biography of St. Catherine of Siena who, fyi, was a BEAST for the Faith (that's a good thing, by the way.) I mean, she routinely told popes, evil Breton mercenaries, and hotheaded, rich, Italian noblemen, to "be a man." Here is one of my favorite passages from a letter she wrote to her mentor, Raymond of Capua:

We must strip ourselves of ourselves and clothe ourselves in Christ crucified. We must board the little ship of the most holy cross and fearlessly navigate this stormy sea... The ship is provisioned with every food the soul can imagine. True, [God] may often allow the little ship to be swamped by the sea's waves. But he does this not to drown us, but to make us better and more perfectly able to discern peaceful weather from stormy....Those on board shouldn't simply stand at the edge but should leap into the hold at the heart of the ship, into the abyss of the blazing and anguished love of Christ crucified, and the waves won't hurt them at all. (180)

Beautiful, right? Just sit with that for a minute. Imagine it in your mind. That icy cold fear when the boat is tossing about too much, or the airplane has a little too much turbulence. Whatever it is. Hold that fear in your hands and then toss it overboard! Take refuge in the fire of His love!

3. Okay, enough theology...for now. This is a video I saw this week which talks a little about the making of the new movie October Baby. It seems like the movie is loosely based on the life of the indomitable Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor. I don't even need to say any more; the video speaks for itself.

4. Speaking of movies, I was thrilled to be able to hang out with a college buddy and we got to see "This Means War." A delightful tale of two "CIA" "agents" who "fall in love" with the same girl. She gives herself a week to decide between them. Yeah. Chaos ensues. 

Chris Pine: Rawr! Just call me Captain Kirk, toots.
Reese: Oh, my! *hair blowing in wind*
Tom Hardy: Rawr! I'm sexy and British.
Reese: Were you that guy in Downt--
Hardy: DO I LOOK LIKE A BLOODY SERVANT?!
Pine: So who's it gonna be, bab-y? *tooth sparkle*
Hardy: Inception.... *echoes in the wind*
Reese: Ummm..... I pick myself! 

There was little to no moral value but it was otherwise a great girls night out movie! Okay, basically, there were a lot of things that went boom, hot guys, and...um...hot guys! But if you're looking for a meaningful movie, try "October Baby" instead. Anyone see anything good lately on tv or in the movies?

5. We've been hearing a lot this past week about "Kony 2012", a campaign by the organization Invisible Children to bring awareness to the crimes of Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA. Now, I'm pretty familiar with Invisible Children but I know there's been some controversy over this video in Uganda and here in the US. I'll let you decide for yourself. But I stumbled onto this sweet little documentary which gives you a glimpse of real, tangible hope amidst the trials of life in Uganda, and what can happen if you really let God use you. You can watch it free on their website.

'Moving On' Official Trailer from Light Gives Heat on Vimeo.

6. This week I also learned that I may have PCOS. I've had symptoms before, including an extremely painful, ruptured cyst in college, but the doctors never really made a conclusive diagnosis of any kind. Recently, some of my symptoms have been appearing again so I went to see my doctor. She said it "seems like" I "might" have PCOS but ordered a bunch of tests. When I got home and started reading some more about it I started panicking but, #Cathsorority came to the rescue! It's so encouraging for me to have some amazing godly women to talk to, even if it's just on Twitter. So thank you, ladies! Please continue to pray for me as I await results!

            6a. Also-- if anyone has anything they want me to pray about for them please let me know!! I                   spend way too much time thinking/talking about myself! You can post it here or email me. 

7. Lastly, I want to alert everyone about the prayer needs of an awesome Catholic couple who write for Ignitum Today. I learned about Andrew and Cristina through their ministry there, and with Jovenes de Valor in Brooklyn, NYC. They're an amazing witness for chastity in dating & are so on fire for the Lord! They're recently married and recently pregnant, but learned that their precious baby girl, Maria Isabella, has spina bifida. They have a tough road ahead and need our prayers! 

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 1)

1. 

My first Quick Takes post ever! I thought it would be fun to do one right before Christmas because I probably won't be blogging again, or around the blogosphere, much until 2012.