Spreading a Good (and Modest) Message

Since modesty has been brought up a few times in the past week, I thought that I would link this great interview of one of our very own bloggers and her mission to spread the message of chastity and modesty to young girls. Go Jes!

The Modest Power Ranger
http://tonyrossi.blogspot.com/2009/03/modest-power-ranger.html

"Who Painted it?"

During her visit to Mexico last week, Sr. Hillary Clinton made an unexpected visit to the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, leaving flowers for her "on behalf of" the American people.

After observing it for a while, Mrs. Clinton asked “who painted it?” to which Msgr. Monroy responded “God!”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15511

Brides of Christ

The love song of St. Philomena is a beautiful meditation, and I highly recommend it if you've never heard it. It gave me a lot to think about today as I listened to it. The line, "when will you come to take me home?" holds so much emotion.

If I think of my final hour, it brings me anxiety, and sadness as the thought of leaving my husband and daughter breaks my heart. Yet, for a bride of Christ, what solace must they have in that hour so many dread. My vocation is natural, and holds me to things of this world, which makes it harder to leave, but also harder to remember I am not meant for this world. Theirs is supernatural, and they spend their lives as I pray we will spend eternity.

My husband was talking to a Sister for Life and in the conversation, she humbly said, "When you look at me, you are seeing Heaven," because we will all be spouses of Christ there. How true this is. Death, for these beautiful women will only be the removal of the barrier which separates Lover and the beloved. Let them bring consolation to us all as they allow us a glimpse of eternity with our Divine Spouse.

Thank you Brides of Christ!

Women & Dress

Right now I'm reading an awesome series of talks for young women given by a solid priest in the 1920s. Though written almost a century ago, his words still ring very true. I highly recommend the entire booklet, but this excerpt on modesty struck me today...

"Of course I know that many excuses will be given for indecency in dress. Some girls say that they cannot spare the time or money to have a dress made, but must buy it ready made, and they can only get what is in style. But many of the dresses that are objectionable are not obtained at the stores, but are made to order.

Moreover, if the store style is extreme, it is because the demand for it is great. If Catholic girls insist on the proper style, it will be found on the counters. In most of our cities, the Catholic trade is worth having, and stores will supply that trade. But even if the stores are to blame, which I do not concede, a modest girl will know how to make a modest alteration.

Why should Catholics take up the fashions of those who are living merely for the life that is passing? Our forefathers suffered confiscation, imprisonment, exile and death for the Faith. Were they all fools? Millions of martyrs endured indescribable torture for the the Faith. Were they wrong?

Is what Christ says true, or not? 'What does it profit to gain the whole world and lose your soul?' The life is more than the body, and the soul is more than life. Because there is a sort of Christianized paganism abroad, are we going to be swallowed up by it?

In the early days of Christianity, the followers of Christ had to take their stand. If they had not, there would have been no Christian civilization. And are not we going to take a stand to preserve what was established in their blood!"

Bottom line, it is worth the extra time to look at our outfits on a daily basis and question ourselves. Do we look like Christian women, or do we blend in with the crowd? Looking fashionable and attractive is a good thing, and we should take our time getting dressed, embracing our femininity. But there is no excuse for immodesty. It should never be acceptable to leave the house with the potential of leading one of our brothers in Christ to sin, and giving other women the example that such dress is ok. Women are God's beautiful creatures and we should embrace this beauty by dressing with dignity.

Human Respect

A good friend of mine and I have recently been having a discussion about the vice of human respect. Human Respect basically means not saying the truth out of fear of offending someone. It is crazy to think that it is ever justified to withhold the truth of God because of someones feelings. Just today someone I don't even know sent me a very angry e-mail because of a comment I made on Facebook. A girl I know posted that she is having a bad day and looking for a reason to not get drunk. The reason I gave her is that God would rather she didn't. Accord to the girl who e-mailed me, that was very insensitive and I should apologize. Why would I ever apologize for encouraging someone in the truth? I have seen instances though where someone does state the truth in a way that appears unloving. We have to balance never be afraid to preach the gospel but at the same time not be offensive in a way that will turn someone off to the Lord. Mother Theresa was the master of this. Even if people did not like what she had to say, they respected her. I guess if one day I am as holy as her I will be capable of this too. Maybe in the meantime it is better to risk offense then hide God. Souls are thirsting for God. We can get upset and fight it but ultimately it is what we long for in the depths of our souls.

St. Patrick, Pray for Us

Happy St. Patrick's Day? In my opinion, this "holiday" is absolutely ridiculous in the United States. Green food, pinching and beer. That's all I have to say.

Read about the awesome Saint that American's (mostly non-Irish and non-Catholics) are apparently so "happy" about today.

http://catholicexchange.com/2009/03/17/116775/

Women's Health??

Yesterday President Obama signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. The council's mission is to "ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all public policy". In addition, the critical focus of the council will be to build healthy families and improve women's health care. This council will also serve as a forum for the involved agencies to focus on women. What agencies, do you ask, will be involved?

Here is the official roll call:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/03/obama_signed_order_creating_co.html

Just to name a few who stand out to me:

United States Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Kim Gandy, NOW

Susan A. Cohen, Guttmacher Institute

Irasema Garza, Legal Momentum
Judy Gold, Chair, Women's Policy Council, Obama for America

Silvia Henriquez, National Latina Reproductive Health Institute

Nancy Keenan, NARAL

Mara Keisling, National Center for Transgender Equality

Ellen Malcolm, Emily's List

Sarah Morgenthau, Women for Obama

Darlene Nipper, Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Laurie Rubiner, Planned Parenthood

Sloane Kuney Rosenthal, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association

Vicki Saporta, National Abortion Federation

Ellie Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation

Ann Lewis (H. Clinton's Sr. Advisor)

Mary Snider, HRC

Kate Michelman (Former head of NARAL)

I'll give you one guess about which organizations are without representation...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-White-House-Council-on-Women-and-Girls/

My Lack of Control

Eating Disorders are often connected to a person’s desire for control. Being unable to control outside events during one’s life, it is common for victims to focus on their weight and body image- to a point of an obsession, or disorder. Being a dancer who has gone through hours of eating disorder counseling, I thought that I have had my desire for control over my body, under control. That is, until I became pregnant. If there is one thing about pregnancy that is absolutely clear, it is this: I am not in control. Sometimes it is unclear whether my precious little baby boy is in control, or whether God is in control… but it is never me!

In the first trimester, sickness and nausea forced me to constantly nibble on carb-rich foods. To make things even more challenging, my nausea made exercise impossible… And believe it or not, this lack of diet and exercise was disturbing enough to keep me awake at night, feeling lousy about myself.

As timed passed, my aversion to many healthy foods, such as grilled chicken and vegetables faded, and I felt as though I could be “good” again (in diet language, good means healthy). But of course, the lingering nausea as well as my body’s desire to gain weight made me throw my food plan out of the window…again. Nope, still not in control.

As I approach the end of my pregnancy, now comes another challenging new aspect: my intense fear of being fat. For somebody who has spent so many years of her life putting value in appearances, suddenly feeling like a balloon version of myself has been a great struggle. It doesn’t help that the first thing people around you do is check you out from bottom to top, and even comment on your appearance. Talk about feeling self-conscious!

My purpose for this post is not to rant on about my insecurities and worries about my body. Nevertheless, since our blog is titled “Defining Beauty”, I felt that this subject is very appropriate, and I am fairly confident that I am not the only woman who has struggled in this area. In theory, I realize that pregnancy makes women are even more beautiful, due to the fact that God entrusts their bodies to house His brand new souls. So why is it that society’s standards of beauty are so engrained in our minds, that it is difficult for women to see the beauty in giving their life for their child?

The thing is, we are NOT in control-- God is. And God has made us all beautiful, in His image. If we let go and let Him stay in control of our lives, then we will reach our most beautiful potential. God has called me to motherhood, and answering this call is worth more than any pair of size 0 jeans.

The War has begun...

We need to increase our prayers and fasting. President Obama lifted the ban on stem cell research today. This means he is now allowing federal funding to be directed toward research on innocent babies made in labs. This is in my opinion worse then abortion because an entire group of babies can being made with the intention to destroy them. President Bush placed a ban on this in 2001 in order to protect the sanctity of life. Obama is wasting no time with his full attack on life.

Here is an article from today if you are interested in reading more about this sad event.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/09/politics/100days/domesticissues/main4853385.shtml

when to ask and when to let it be...

Last night I was driving home and praying about something and a thought came to my mind that I want to share and get feedback on. I often am conflicted between praying that God bring something to me that I desire and just being accepting of His will. We know that we need to trust in the Lord and be uniform with his will but we also know that he said "whatever you ask will be given to you." In the Old Testament we have the story of Hanna who went to the temple every day crying and begging God to give her a child. Eventually he did grant her request. So how does one know when to beg with tears like Hanna and when to humbly accept the Lord's will and move on? Does anyone struggle with this? What are your thoughts?

DO NOT USE THESE VACCINES

I found a comprehensive list of vaccines that use tissue from aborted babies...so try your best not to use these shots. I would highly recommend taking a copy of this list to your child's doctor appointments. Last time we were there they gave her a new shot that combined 3 vaccines and it didn't feel like there was any alternative so I went with it and researched it at home...3 months later I found it that was on this list. :(

http://www.cogforlife.org/fetalvaccines.htm