Life

Heading out to the March for Life out in DC later today. =)

I went for the first time last year and really enjoyed being there despite the cold and rain. Because really, it was less of a protest/demonstration than it was this HUGE party. People from all over the country had come, even some who had to travel over 8 hours to get there!

It made me think of another rally that my home state had. It wasn't as big, but it was pretty good for one of the most liberal states. =)
As we were walking at some point, someone asked, "Well, what about war? War kills people too." My poor highscool self didn't know what to say at the time. She wanted to respond, but didn't know how.
I wish I could've told him that 55 million people are missing since Roe v. Wade...which is more than any one war.
I wish I could tell every single mother considering abortion that she is loved so much more than she thinks, and abortion will only hurt her. I wish I could tell them how much pain and trauma I can see in the people I know who have had abortions.

I wish. I can't do anything big enough now to do that.
But I can do little things instead.

I can attend this march and witness to how much life means to me. I can go and tell the world by going how much fun life is! I'll laugh with my friends, skip down the road, sing, and just celebrate life.

I can live the life I have. And by doing so, maybe they'll change how they see life... maybe they'll give others a chance.

Life is beautiful, and everyone deserves a chance to live it.

Will you march with us?

Don't think I need to say anything more. Except maybe...you should come see the epicness. It's a party. For Life.

I think there's snow in my ears.

Have you ever been in a snow storm? Or at least, in a rush of icy wind that threatens to knock every warm breath clean out of you as snow flakes hurl themselves at your face?
Well. To be honest, it hasn't really happened to me either, at least, not literally. But figuratively? As an overachieving college student...yes. (Which is why I'm sitting here in the library...not studying...) Projects, papers, work. Then there's the balance of prayer life and being social. Not that I find being with friends a nuisance - just the opposite! Somedays that's all I wish being here was about! But work has a sneaky tendency to pile up rather quickly, and well....I feel sheepish when I forget and keep God waiting at the Tabernacle.
Then, zoom out just a tad, and there's life as a whole. So much has happened in the past year alone. Very many of them wonderful events, some that caused me and those I know to grow, and some disheartening that I never thought would have happened.

That's just in my own life.

It certainly doesn't take much to look at the world and become frustrated.
For example. In media class today, a couple of my friends and I weren't sure what to make of the "future of media." Think about it, we're using and relying on it more and more. It's seeped into our cell phones, our living rooms, our car rides, and who knows where else! But did you know that some people are looking into embedding media into our bodies, so that we can connect with each other automatically without the use of a handheld device or a push of a button? I might be a media major, but I don't exactly want it to take over my life. (My life is crazy as it is. See above.)
Then you have things more crucial like abortion, or same-sex marriage, or euthanasia just to name a couple. There's division between countries. There's division in our country. There's growing division in families, communities, and even within ourselves.
The presidential elections really brought out the worst reminders. If you really wanted to become upset in two minutes, it seemed like all you had to do was sit and watch the debates. It all seems to be hurling at a thousand miles per hour in every which direction without any inclination of stopping.

But rather than letting the wind tear you to shreds, the snow batter your face, and the chill bite your poor nose as you battle it out to get wherever it is you're getting to, have you ever tried to stop for a second?

There's as sort of saying here at school nowadays that a very dear friend of mine often says; something that, what with all that is happening in the world, is fitting. It's come up even more with the Feast of Christ the King and with Ordinary Time drawing to a close and all the readings that remind us of the end:

"Whatever happens, Christ is the King of our hearts."

So as long we allow Him to reign over our hearts, we don't have to be afraid of whatever will happen. As a student with a huge, impending, dark cloud of loan over her head, living in a world that seems to be tearing itself apart, I find this truth to be very comforting and heartening indeed.

It might not bring a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart at all times; in fact, it's hard to remember what warm and fuzzy is when you're out in 20-below degrees. But it's there. And I know He's there, deep within the quiet retreat of my heart when I stop and seek Him - sometimes a little scrupulously just to make sure He's really there. He is, and will never leave. The snow will melt, and the wind will die, but God reigns forever and is here to stay.

Tripping on Dust

Some people have the incredible ability to trip UP stairs. Or those tiny cracks in the sidewalk? Yups, it takes certain skills to trip on those too. And let's not forget the knack for tripping on dust! Pesky little things, those tiny pieces of dust. Unfortunately, I have that ability. Well when you have a million things on your mind, planning out your day on your way to class, and are always looking forward to what's up ahead...you tend to fall...forward...and on your head.

It's not just walking down the street either; I seem to be able to do that with the rest of my life.
Not that looking forward to something is a bad thing. I mean, if you're stuck in an office for eight hours in the middle of summer when it's all bright and sunny outside, of course you're going to look forward to the end, right?

But that doesn't give me the excuse to forget to smile in the morning when it's most crucial. I can't be so wrapped up in thinking about the future when the person next to me is in need. Even if it's that halfhearted-sleepy-coffeedeprived hello in the morning, chances are they don't want to be there any more than you do and the least you both can do is get through it together.
I really am looking forward to the end of it all, but before I get there, it makes sense to watch the steps I take now to get there.
Tripping on dust. No wonder I've found myself flat on my face this summer!
The future will come eventually. But this very moment? It will never happen again.

After all, it's the little things in the present moment that help us get to Heaven.

‎"The most important hour is always the present; the most significant person is precisely the one who is sitting across from you right now; the most necessary work is always love."

Beauty

I grew up in a valley. Almost every morning, the rain would shroud the verdant mountains with its light, cool gray, and the clouds would gently brush the tops with their ethereal touch. The sun would eventually peek over the ridge, flooding the valley with a rich, warm, golden light. The wind would run through the trees, sweeping away the humidity before the heat could settle between the limbs. And if you breathed it all in, you would smell all of it at once; the beauty and wonder of the life all around you.

We have sleek, high tech computers and iPads, state of the art buildings and furniture, smooth cars that run with little more than a whisper. We busy ourselves with so many things that we loose track of it all... sure, these do have a certain beauty to them, but do you ever sit in the middle of it all and have that feeling as if there were more? If only you could reach higher? As if there were something to be desired on the top shelf of the kitchen but you were too small to reach up and grab it?

Perhaps we've forgotten what beauty is.

I think this is what we've forgotten nowadays; we've forgotten the beauty of simple things. From the grace of the rolling hills to the magic of a humble dandelion, God's wonder can be found everywhere. We await grand miracles and wonders with such bated breath that we don't think to look at the miracles right under our noses. We try to build a tower to reach the unknown upon the highest shelf, but don't realize that we don't need to try so hard. There is something in the stillness if we take the time to quiet our selves in our busy lives. God is waiting there. He is always waiting.

Albert Einstein once said that there were two ways to live: to see nothing as a miracle, and to see everything as a miracle.

"The Garden of the Soul"

Gardening does such wonders for your soul.

Doesn't it just give you an angsty feeling when your little garden is filled with dead leaves and twigs burying all your poor struggling plants, random bugs crawling through the misplaced mounds of dirt, and weeds parade in clumps? Well, it does for me anyway...

So this morning, I needed something to do; something to take my mind off all the dizziness of life. The past couple of days at work have been difficult and it was becoming hard to swallow words and keep myself from saying things that couldn't be taken back. I felt like the poor, neglected garden outside, pleading for a good blast of wind to carry all my dead leaves and twigs far, far away. After standing there for a few seconds, I snapped out of the fantasy that it actually would happen. I picked up a rake and began to comb the leaves out of the strands of green grass that were just beginning to grow.

As I continued to clean up the garden, it slowly began to reemerge before my eyes. I could hear the grass sing God's praises, happy to be able to reach up to Him; the buried plants breathed the fresh morning air; the light revisited the green and brightened it in vibrant patches. The entire garden danced freely with the wind.

There was a hint of Paradise in the garden, and after what was unnecessary was removed, a light rain began to fall. The grass could finally reach out and be refreshed by the cool mist, and the little drops of God's grace could be taken in.

"Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord;
Praise and exult Him above all forever." ~Daniel 3:76

"Be satisfied with Me"

I posted something about waiting a while back, and (re) found this poem and thought it might go well with it.

God needs to be our first love. After all, if we cannot truly learn to love Love Himself, how can we begin to truly love another?

Be Satisfied with Me
by St. Anthony of Padua

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,

To have a deep soul relationship with another,

To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But to a Christian, God says, "No, not until you are satisfied,

Fulfilled and content with being loved by me alone,

With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me.

With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with me alone.

Discovering that only in me is your satisfaction to be found,

Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship,

That I have planned for you.

You will never be united to another

Until you are united with me.

Exclusive of anyone or anything else.

Exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning, to stop wishing, and allow me to give you

The most thrilling plan existing . . . one you cannot imagine.

I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching me, expecting the greatest things.

Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.

Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you.

Just wait, that's all. Don't be anxious, don't worry

Don't look around at things others have gotten

Or that I have given them

Don't look around at the things you think you want,

Just keep looking off and away up to me,

Or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love

Far more wonderful than you could dream of.

You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready,

I am working even at this moment

To have both of you ready at the same time.

Until you are both satisfied exclusively with me.

Government Fail.

Seriously? Has it really come to this? Has an unconstitutional law just been passed as "constitutional"? 


Well.


 When something breaks, do we solve the problem by throwing it away?

According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America: The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41% The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60% The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73% Stats found here.

 When we have a "problem" we get rid of it.

We like to avoid "problems." But guess what? Avoiding the problem doesn't solve it.



We try to tell the world how bad things have become and are told to mind our own business. Mind my own business. Excuse me, but which generation encouraged this mess? As a young person who now has to live with all of this, this IS my business. I have to live with everything that's happening, and so do you.


And when we try to save what we have and try to fix them, we're called old fashioned. Yes, if keeping to morality is being old fashioned, then that's exactly what I am.

But do you know who else was?
Do you remember who this man is?

Or this man?

Or any of these?

Do you think they would have approved of the recent decision? They did, after all, write the constitution itself.










So. What have we come to, America? When did we trade in our morals for our selfish wants? When did morality become known as immorality?

"Love is patient, love is kind..."

What is a young, Catholic, single girl to do on a Valentine's day? Why, enjoy it of course! Dance around in the snow, drink warm tea with honey, make and send cards to all your friends, scour the library's book sale, go shopping, have a party with all your girls, and bake cookies! Most of all, go to Mass. Because there you'll receive the greatest Valentine a girl could ever ask for: Jesus Himself. So enjoy your day. Celebrate and bask in God's abundant gift of Love. I can't say it'll be easy; walking around, passing couples hand in hand with red roses...who wouldn't feel that little (or big) twinge? But by being happy for them, you share in their joy.


I refuse to be mopey today, as far as I am able. I'm going to enjoy the day and spend time with my Valentine. =)


Love is "not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails."
~ 1Cor 13

Oh, and here's more for the young Catholic girl:
A Single's Valentine

Second Sunday of Advent

"Wait for the LORD, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the LORD!"
~Ps. 27

Waiting...

December is full of waiting. Waiting for letters, waiting for the semester to be over, waiting for relatives to arrive, waiting for trains and planes to depart, waiting in shopping lines, waiting for snow, waiting for the next adventure...
...waiting for that one day that everyone looks forward to.

I'm not exempt from the waiting game. It usually drives me nuts in the long run when nothing seems to be happening and I know I can't do anything to make it happen faster.
Something's about to happen...I know it is...now..?..no...when will it happen...?!?!

Then God laughs at me and drops the Psalm into my lap.
Waiting does take courage. It can even hurt having to stay in one place for so long a time when you long to be in another. You have to swallow your pride and accept the fact that you can't do or have something. You have to stop yourself from asking at the top of your lungs, "WHEN God??"

But...While I'm waiting, there's so much time to grow. Just because I'm waiting, that doesn't mean that I can't do anything to prepare. Maybe I'm not given this time to "wait" per se, but instead to grow and prepare for what God has planned up the road. Maybe this state of waiting is where He wants me for now.

Trusting God isn't always easy (actually, is it ever?), but He always pulls through. Even if the Israelites waited how many years for their Savior, it all worked out in the end. Hopefully waiting this time around won't take as long, but even if it does, at least there's a reason.

Adventures part 2 (aka, the more interesting part!)

There's one more story that happened over break that's worth mentioning...I'm very sorry for not having more time to write the rest of them out, but I'll leave you with this one at least.

So there was one point on our adventure where we were still getting used to navigating the streets. New York isn't really all the difficult to navigate through since the streets are numbered and in a grid, but getting used to which way was up or down took a bit of thinking (and walking)!

We were walking on 6th avenue and decided to find 5th avenue since we heard it was one of the best streets to go window shopping down. Well. We couldn't figure out whether going left would bring us down the avenues or going right would. In the end, we decided to wing it like the rest of the trip and head right! Off we went, headlong into adventure!

Yes, you guessed it, we ended up on 7th avenue. Actually, we weren't all that surprised (especially since things like this seemed to be the theme of the entire trip). We turned the corner and started walking back the next block.

Much to our surprise, there was a large, glowing Cross on one of the buildings. As we got closer, we found that it was a Catholic church. Whispering a prayer for it to be open, we went up the steps. Lo and behold, we stumbled into the last few minutes of Benediction! I couldn't help it. It took a whole lot for me to keep from bursting out in laughter. Here we were, semi-lost in the city, and we find Jesus - no, He found us! (Plus, just being able to be with Him in the middle of all the hustle bustle of the city made me incredibly happy! Yes, I'm that type of person.) On top of that, we found out that the Extraordinary Form Low Mass was about to begin! Dear God, how You spoil me so! =D We get lost and we find a lovely unexpected surprise! Honestly, I didn't expect to be able to have any quiet time whatsoever on that trip, much less at church for Mass. Apparently, I was quite wrong.

Well...I think I like being wrong once in a while.

Oh the places you go!

Ack, I'm not a very good blogger, gomenasai. There's so much that's been happening!

Thanksgiving break!! There was so much to be thankful, especially on the adventure over break!

It was kind of a "wing it" sort of trip, and we had bought our tickets the day before leaving campus. God has a knack for turning the topsy turvy into something that fits perfectly with everything else. And so our random trip became randomly amazing.

So last Tuesday, my friend and I took the bus to New York. We were supposed to leave at 3:20, but somehow it got delayed and we ended up leaving an hour and a half later. Well, ok. Thanksgiving break crowd, what can you do? There were actually quite a few other homebound college students, so we couldn't really complain. It was a rather nice drive once we got to the leaving bit. That's the thing about road trips after those long, hectic weeks of school: sitting and doing nothing but stare out the window. It was a pleasant change. But then came the twist! Things were going a little too well apparently, and someone decided that something needed to happen. Things always happen. We were supposed to stop at Philly, but the driver didn't have a GPS and got lost. It was hilarious, the people on the bus had to go and give him directions. (Thank goodness for people who know their way around!)

We got to the station at 2:30am, but had to wait for a friend. It wasn't too bad, there was an

interesting contraption at the station that had to do with pool balls and bells. Not to mention being able to watch people pass by. When you're in a big city with people from all over the country (and world), you pretty much get a world tour of cultures. After a couple of hours, our friend arrived and we hopped on the subway. It was exciting; I've never taken the subway

before! Though honestly, it wasn't as "sub" as I thought it would be. Anyway, we ended up arriving at our final destination at 5 in the morning...four hours later than we expected.

Wednesday, we slept in. We hopped on the bus, took the subway, and headed into the city to explore! Our first official stop ended up being at a church. (yup, typical Cy =D we started to keep a count of how many churches we visited) Honestly, we weren't really sure where we were headed after that, just being in the city was fun in itself.

Oh dear, have to run to class in a bit. I'll post more later...

Life is crazy...but it's so worth it.

Have you ever had one of those days wherein one thing just happens after another? (Yes you have, don't deny it!) Well, fear not. You aren't the only one! There are days when I trip over the sidewalk trying to get to class in a hurry, only to arrive realize that I'd forgotten one of my books. Or when I fall asleep on my books while studying for a test. Or times when I absentmindedly walk halfway across campus, only to remember that I was supposed to be back on the other side in five minutes. Or when class is about to start and I can't find my pencil anywhere!

It's days like these when I run to Chapel and beg God to help me keep my sanity...but in doing so, I am reminded how very blessed I am to be able to actually be in Chapel. How many people have a Chapel within a couple of minute's walk? How many people are actually able to get an education? Only so many people have such a beautiful campus to walk around absentmindedly in. Goodness, there are probably people who have never even seen a pencil, much less know what it is!
Suddenly, the end of the world doesn't seem all too soon. Within a few seconds, God has turned my bumbling day into a day full of blessings.

And so, this is what this little blog is all about - finding the blessings in the crazy instances of life....
All in the life of your not-so-average Catholic college girl. =)

Without further ado, here's the inspiration for this blog: