We seek the Beautiful.

There are three Churches that I go to Mass at here in Pittsburgh.

One I can walk to in about 3 minutes but I am the youngest person there by at least a half a century.

Another has super convenient Mass times, especially when I work on Sundays and has 24 hour Adoration. It is a small simply cozy Church that feels like it is giving you a hug when you are in it.

The last, is the Cathedral.  A grand beautiful Church with endless art just waiting to be appreciated.  I gravitate towards this Church with its large doors and majestic tabernacle.  A backdrop to Mass that is beautiful.  There is something in all of us that seeks beauty.  We enjoy a sunset, place things in our home just so, and twirl in a beautiful dress. Our God is a great God and it is so right and fighting to build and maintain beautiful Churches to foster our parish communities in.  This advent, seek the beauty to find God in.  Marvel and relish in quiet stillness at the beauty of the babe in the manager.

Purposely Waiting: Singlehood

I was at WalMart today buying a last Chirstmas wish add on of my mother's and the store was a bustling.  As we all decorate the last cookies, wear the ugly Christmas sweater again, and attend another holiday related event I want us not to forget that it is still Advent and we still wait in stillness for the baby Jesus.  Advent related to the single season of our lives is actually one of the things I originally planned on touching on with this Purposely Waiting series so I cannot let Advent come to a close without writing about it.

Last Advent this post on Captive the Heart blog really impacted me.  In particular this line,

"Know this: that every desire you feel for your husband-to-be, emotional, rational, and yes, sexual, is so good and so holy...All through your Advent, embrace the groaning.  Give yourself permission to feel, to hope, and to be purified."

I have literally come back to that line over and over again this whole past year.  Allow yourself to want that vocation, that marriage, that husband, that family. Advent is all about waiting for, anticipating, and preparing for the Christ child.  What better period of time to be purified in what the single years and waiting for marriage mean.  As Advent comes to an end, if you are single, hope for the Christmas with your own little family and pray that your heart is made ready for the Sacrament of Marriage.  Happy last few days of Advent.

Purposely Waiting: Mary

The stomach flu hit, and it hit me good.  It wasn't even the stomach that hit so hard as the flu.  It explains my unschool related quietness around this here bloggity but I return with more Advent ponderings. 

If there is one thing about Advent that comes back into my prayer and heart over and over again it would have to be Mary.  I know I am not unique in this.  How can you not think of the Mother when you contemplate the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a manager.  Luke 1 and 2 is filtered with references to Our Lady.  And there is so much goodness we can gain from meditating on Mary while purposefully waiting this Advent season.

Our Lady wasn't unlike any pregnant woman, waiting for her baby to be born.  I am sure she imagined all that he would be and prepared her heart and home to welcome baby Jesus.  Christ was conceived and carried in her very body.  We too must invite Jesus into our hearts and carry him there for when Jesus is part of our life we conceive new life.  We are lucky as Catholics that in a very real way we welcome the Body of Christ into our bodies-what a gift we have!  Please, next time you receive the Eucharist reflect on the parallels between yourself and Mary.  Ask her to show you what it means to wait, what it means to purposefully wait for the Infant Jesus.  

Purposefully Waiting: Getting Back to Waiting.

Linking up with my linkup, "Advent:Purposefully Waiting".  I hope you will go be enriched by other bloggers posts and post up your own reflections on the season of Advent. 

Guys my shoulders are so sore.  Nope not because I did a steller workout (hardy hard hard) or lifted a crazy number of heavy boxes.  My shoulders are sore from all the studying I have done for the past 5+ days and once I let the stress disappear and my tension release I was left with some sore muscles.  People, that is Pathetic with a a capital P.  Now that those finals are behind me (and I passed another semester if I do say so myself, one more to go!), I can get back to entering into advent in a purposeful, prayerful way.

When I was able to sneak away for those moments of entering into Scripture and meditating on this season the past week, the Lord rewarded me so greatly.  I wanted to highlight a couple of those passages for you here.

"And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them." Luke 2:20

I am a senior at Franciscan University and part of being a senior means preparing yourself to leave a University where you grow so much in your faith.  This piece of the Living Word spoke so much to this.  At Franciscan, at the Mass you attended last Tuesday or in the moment you stole away to enter into prayer the Lord speaks to you in ways that are treasured.  We must like the shepherds, turn then giving glory and praise to God.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I traveled home last week for one of my best friend's dad's funeral.  The whole situation stunk real bad and I am still trying to process it all.  However, the following verses bring hope in a faithful soul's departure out of this world.   Simon, who had been promised by the Lord that he would not die without first seeing the Savior, speaks poetic words of faithfulness, trust, and hope upon holding the Child Jesus in his arms.

"Lord, now lettest thou they servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to they people Israel." Luke 2:29-32 

I hope and pray that when the time comes for the Lord to call me to heaven I can praise the Lord for the salvation He has shown in my life and the lives of those around me.

The Lord is so faithful and if He whispers to you to quiet your heart and life it means there are things He wants to place into your heart and life.  I pray that you and I continue to enter into this blessed season of Advent.  

The Five Stages of Finals and Regular Programing

Guys these finals are killing me.  I have my last one tomorrow, Thursday, morning and it can't come soon enough.  Well really it would be great if more hours could be added to the day so that I know that I know endocrine disorders, shock and other things that you never want to happen to you.  But really I just want it all to be in the past.  

I have so many advent thoughts to share with those who care to listen so expect once I get home for me to be sitting in front of the fire with a cup of coffee/tea/wine and spilling it all out here on the bloggity.  Until then I leave you with the 5 stages of finals.  

1.  Denial.  Coming back from Thanksgiving break you try to deny that finals week is coming.  It can't possibly be that time again, can it? 

2. Anger.  Oh my gosh it is finals week again! No student deserves to suffer through this! Why did my parents ever instil in me a sense of achievement?! 

3. Bargaining.  Ok Lord, if I drink this large cup of coffee I will have 2 more hours of productive, focused studying time.  If I offer this next hour of studying up for my friends'/family's/pope's intentions I will for sure get an A.

4. Depression.  There is no way life is worse than this.  This is miserable.  There is no possible way I can do this for another minute/hour/day.  

5. Acceptance.  Life will go on.  I will finish these finals and I will pass all my classes.  Soon enough I will be watching way too many hours of television, drinking coffee because I want to not because I have to and sitting mindlessly under the Christmas tree.  

Advent: Purposefully Waiting

Oh I am excited about this, really excited.  I love the liturgical seasons of the Church.  They are purposeful, rich and an incredible gift.  If we just float through the seasons without purposefully embracing them we are missing out on so much the Church, the Body of Christ, has for us. Advent is no exception.  It is a time for us to wait for the newborn King.  To enter into the same waiting the Blessed Mother experienced.  To wait for the baby in the stable and to wait for the return of Christ at the end of time.  Advent is filled with so much secularism and if we aren't purposeful about celebrating the liturgical season of Advent we will get to Christmas not knowing where the season went.  We need to be purposeful.  I suggest we need to purposefully wait.

I have decided to be deliberate in celebrating Advent this year and I want this here bloggity to reflect that.  During Advent I will not be posting anything that isn't related to Advent and growing closer to Jesus.  I will not be participating in any link-ups that don't have to do with the true meaning of the Christmas season.  Outside of this blog I will be reading parts of Luke 2 everyday.  I will try to quiet and still my heart in the midst of finals and holiday celebrations.  Each day I will be spending time purposefully prayerfully entering into the season.  I want this blog during Advent to inspire and encourage you in your own Advent walk.  I will post lyrics, verses, quotes, Advent related to singlehood, and Our Lady's Advent.  I want to say I will post at least twice a week but that defeats the whole point.  I will have a link up with this post so that if you are writing about the season of Advent you can link up (however many posts you have) and our Advent can be enriched by your words. We can be so tempted to only post about the gifts, the outfits, the food but I encourage you to be deliberate and write about the liturgical season too.

I want you and I to quiet our hearts and life.  To reflect on the grandour that is the King of the Universe entering the world through a humble woman and laid to bed in straw. I want all of us to purposefully wait this Advent.

Christmas Tree 2012

Remember that time I promised I would show you our Christmas tree, well I now deliver on my promise.

Every year since I went away to college I beg my parents to get a Christmas tree before I come home because I love the idea of coming home and seeing the home all festive. They have never delivered on this wish and in the spirit of celebrating a little closer to the liturgical seasons rather than the secular consumerism Christmas I decided I kind of like the idea of getting the Christmas tree on or near Gaudete Sunday.

We always go to the same tree farm and even though we normally dress so that we can go to the field we always end up buying one in the barn. This year we just came straight from Mass, and being Murphey's law, the pickings were slim in the barn. There was nothing tall or wide enough for our likings. We were debating on going out to the field carefully or just settling on a skinny tree. The guy who owns the tree starting joking and showing us one little tree on top of another tree that had its topped off. He was kidding but we thought it could be really funny. Because we took two trees into our home that otherwise wouldn't have a home we got both of them for only $25.

You can see that the trees do have slightly different colors but once the lights and ornaments are on them you can't even tell! Yes, that is a doll rod to hold the two trees together. Yes, we do have spray painted brown cup connected to the rod to keep the top tree watered. Yes, that is my senior picture in the background, yes 18x20 is large, yes my head in the picture is bigger than my actual head, and yes it can be very awkward.

Live joy.

What I Wore Sunday--Rejoice! (Vol. 7)

I cannot tell you how excited I am to again be joining everyone at Fine Line and Purple for another "What I Wore Sunday".

I can't lie I purposely wore pink today to be liturgically correct and I find it funny that a few people noticed, including my pastor.

This Sunday I was back at my home parish. There was some extra-ordinary blessings-you know besides God becoming flesh and blood before our very eyes.

When I am home I spend alot of time with a dear friend of mine who is an amazing mother to three children age newborn to four. At various times during Mass I was holding either the the two year old or the newborn. There is something special about holding a little one without the stain of sin during Mass. What a joy, although my tune will most likely change when I am a mother myself, to hold a saint in your arms during the greatest prayer we can offer on earth.

Secondly, our pastor today gave a homily about the Newtown, CT school shootings. As he often does, he had one of those "catches you and makes you remember it" phrases. He said,

"We rejoice knowing that God has not abandoned us even though many have abandoned Him."

God is always with us and he is with all those affected by the shooting. These shooting hit me hard, not only because my town only last February also had a school shooting tragedy but also because I have been to Newtown-twice. I have about five household sisters who live in Newtown and I have been to two of their weddings at the parish in Newtown, St. Rose of Lima. The town is so quaint and lovely and the parish is incredibly welcoming. My prayers are with my sisters and their families, with the town, and with all those families who had a hole tragically put in their family. I know how hard it is to process a tragedy occurring in your own town but also I can't absorb how many where killed, a children. Even though a life, is a life, is a life, the number 26 27 is really big. (Whether the victim or the shooter, still a life.)

So after that I now I feel incredibly self-conscious showing you what I wore today but I do suppose that is what you came over for.

Right after Mass we went to get our Christmas tree, hence why the picture is taken in a tree barn. Just wait till you see the tree we got, you will have to stop back to see it in all its glory.

This is not the tree we got, too typically compared to our tree.

Skirt: Target (similar to this one but not exactly, the one I have on has a fold over waist)
Top: Old Navy, a new favorite! I actually became obsessed with it when I saw it on someone else's "What I Wore Sunday" but I cannot remember for the life of me who I saw it on.
Scarf: A flea market in Belgium
Booties: I am pretty sure I got these in middle school. There is something fun about pulling something out that you got a super long time ago but you can still make work.

Live joy.

"For the sake of His Church, be joy."

This past Saturday was the Festival of Priase, or as we affectionately call it up here on the hill-FOP. A time, about once a month, where students, alumni, and many visitors come to the field house and spend time praising the Lord. The Holy Spirit has and is doing doing great things through it-lives are changed, hearts softened, and souls are put on fire for the Truth.

The Lord does great things on this campus. He calls students here to be hope, to be witnesses, to be His hands and feet in a world aching for Him. Being there that night reminded me how much a group of young people can change the world. We are a beacon of hope and a light in the darkness.

However, the problem with living in this kind of place is that "faith" can sometimes become easy. It is easy to go to daily Mass when most of campus is also going. It is easy to be pro-life, believe in Mary's Immaculate Conception, and Christ's true presence in the Eucharist when most everyone else does. Often associatede with this "easiness" is a lack of tru faith. When feelings lack it is easy for true faith to lack to. Fr. Dominic encouraged us at the FOP, when feelings leave and faith is difficult embrace true faith. Cling to the faith and pray the Apostle's Creed

The season of Advent can not be ignored. Preparing had to be considered. Fr. Dominic talked about how we must not only prepare for the God who was, the God who will come but also the God who IS. Be still and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10) As secular culture rushes past us with Santa hats, mile long gift lists, and a focus on the material do not forget to remember that Christ is here with us in this very moment. He wants us to acknowledge His presence.

As studying for finals intermingles with the Advent season we are reminded that faith must always be itnermingled with the present moment. If we are not being joy, if we are not being hope, and if we are not being Christ than what are we doing?

We were blessed to have the Bishop of Pittsburgh visiting campus for the FOP. He talked about how grateful he was to see young people, the body of Christ, praising the Lord. He gave us a blessing at the end and left us with this profound statement, "For the sake of His Church, be joy."

I too challenge you, for the advancement of the Kingdom, for the sake of souls led back to the Truth, for the sake of the Church, live joy in each and every moment. For it is not by words and preaching that conversion occurs, lives are changed, and faith deepens, it is by example, by being Christ to the world, by being joy that our world is changed.

Live joy.

Advent

So a few years ago I took Foundations of Catholicism with Chris Padgett and had to do a 10 page term paper on whatever topic I wanted. I chose to do it on the liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church for two reasons. The first was because I love the richness of the liturgical seasons and find that, if reflected on, the depth of their tradition and symbolism can add so much to our faith and prayer life. Secondly, though I didn't realize this in the beginning it quickly became apparent, it was a topic that could easily be stretched to 10 pages.

Here is what I wrote about advent, a great summary.

Advent: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year. Advent is a four week season during which the faithful prepare themselves for Jesus’ coming, both his coming in our celebration of the nativity and also His promised second coming. The liturgical color of the season is purple. The spirit of the season is meant to be penitential though not as penitential as Lent.

A common way Catholics mark these weeks is by using an advent wreath. Advent wreaths are used both in the church and at homes. The wreaths were first used by Lutherans in Germany during the sixth century but by the mid 1900s they became popular among Catholics. Advent wreaths come in a variety of styles but a typical Advent wreath consist of four candles, three purple and one pink, inserted into a wreath of evergreen branches. The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, commonly called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means ‘rejoice’ and the Church rejoices because Advent is halfway completed and the coming of Christ is near. The candles are lit one at a time over the four week period symbolizing a lessoning of darkness and an increase in light. Greg Dues writes, The symbolism of the advent wreath “lies in the tension between darkness and light. It represents the long time when people lived in spiritual darkness, waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the light of the world. Each year in Advent people wait once again in darkness for the coming at the end of time, and his special coming in every moment of grace.” is physical symbol represents the physical growth occurring in the faithful during the season of advent.

The Catachism of the Catholic Church states,
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.” The people of the Old Testament prepared and waited for the coming of their Savior.

We, the people of the New Testament also wait, wait for His coming again at the end of time. “To detach Christ’s first coming from his second coming tarnishes both events. Jesus’ second coming could not exist without the first coming.” For this reason, the season of Advent is a season of hope, a longing for the fullness of God’s reign on earth. Through the Advent, the faithful are welcomed to ready their hearts for Christ’s coming.

I hope you are embracing this season and preparing for Christ's coming-both as an infant in the manager and His second coming.

Live joy.