First Youth Group Meeting

We had our first youth group meeting last night and it went really well. We are starting completely from scratch. Father took us to the basement where we had Totus Tuus and I almost hyperventilated when I saw what had happened. The youth group room had be split into two rooms, the couches were gone, and there were tables in their places. I honestly thought, "No way is this going to work." Luckily, Father said that there was another option and took us to the basement of the church. It was damp and dirty, with boxes and Christmas trees all over, but it had potential. Father is giving us leave to do whatever we want with it. Thomas and I decided to let the kids have a major role in making it "their own" room.
The meeting itself went well. We got a little confused at one point with our notes but fell back in quite well. The icebreaker went REALLY well. We had certain characteristic written on a paper and they had to go around and find people with those characteristics. It was fun and we learned who was still afraid of the dark, who wore contacts, who was lactose intolerant (turned out no one was), etc.
Anyways, pray for the youth group. They are an amazing group of teenagers and I am really excited to work with them.

Youth Ministry

Thomas, a friend of mine, just asked me to be his co-youth minister. I am very excited about this. It's going to take a lot of work but I really feel God is calling me to do this. The first is this Sunday. It's crazy!
There's so much that I would simply love to do but I got to see how everything starts working out. I taught there during Totus Tuus. I just hope that God will use me. High school is a time where teenagers are making decision that they may regret for the rest of their lives. It's a lot of responsibility. Please pray for me and if you have any ideas let me know!

Happy St John Vianney Day!

So it's been a while since I've posted. I just finished Totus Tuus and am now on vacation visiting my brother. There's a lot of stuff to tell about Totus Tuus. Mostly, I am glad I got the experience. I had a wonderful team, Kelsey, Thomas, and Quentin. I had to sleep in the same bed with Kesley quite a few times so we had many midnight conversations. Quentin were always traveling to a neighboring parish to talk at Mass together so I got to know him pretty well. Thomas and I will be going to the same school come fall so we have a year to get to know each other. We're planning on doing morning prayer together and I hope we actually follow through. Sometimes you plan something but never actually do it. I hope we do.
Deacon Andrew said something before we left for the rest of the summer, "Satan is pissed about what you have been doing all summer and he will be attacking you like crazy so keep up with your prayers. If you abandon your prayers you are opening yourself up." I have been keeping up on my prayers so far. Morning, Evening, and Night prayer as well as the rosary. I pray for strength and I asked you all to pray for me as well.
I will give more of an update soon (I hope). Have a wonderful summer.
Happy St. John Vianney day (my patron saint)!

Be a Nun

I'm the middle girl in the front row until we change and then I am the second from the left.

Let's get down to business: to defeat Satan
Did they send us sinners when we asked for nuns?

For we BC girls are of this world, but you can bet
before we're through

Ladies, God'll make a nun out of you

Obedient as St. Joseph, and poor on Earth
Once you find your convent, life'll have new worth
We're a habitless, loud, pathetic lot
And we haven't got a clue

Somehow God'll make a nun out of you

I've never had to kneel this long
Say goodbye to those who knew me
Boy I was the biggest fool for cutting Mass
God's got me scared to death
Cuz He can see right through me
Boy I really with that I knew how to pray.

Be a Nun... You must be chaste as the Virgin Mary
Be a Nun... With all the force of the Holy Spirit
Be a Nun... With all the love of a selfless martyr
Mysterious as the Blessed Trinity

The vans are racing forward
God is on our side
Learn about our order
For the path's not wide
You were not created for this world
So unpack, move in, you're here

Look how God made a nun out of me/you!

[: Be a Nun... You must be chaste as the Virgin Mary



Be a Nun... With all the force of the Holy Spirit



Be a Nun... With all the love of a selfless martyr



Mysterious as the Blessed Trinity. :]

Nun Run Part I

As many of you know I participated in the BC Nun Run over spring break. I am going to break it up into segments of the different orders we visited, Little Sisters of the Poor, The Pink Sisters, and School Sisters of Christ the King.

Little Sisters of the Poor

We arrived at the Sisters' convent on Friday where we unpacked and then got a "good nights rest." The Little Sisters' apostolate is caring for the poor elderly. What surprised me the most is that when I walked into the facility it did not smell like a nursing home. Usually I gag when I walk into a nursing home because of the smell, but not here. I later asked a sister why that was and she said that it was often the case in many nursing homes that the residents will sit in their own waste for sometime before someone helps them. This was not the case here.
I also noticed how happy the residents were. I did not meet one unhappy resident. They were all so glad to see us. When I work at the nursing home in Atchison many of the residents are very bitter but this was not the case at the Little Sisters of the Poor. The sisters veiw each resident as Jesus and thus treat them with love and respect.
The sisters had us up by 7 o'clock the first day helping the residents get out of bed. Many of the girls had to dress and/or put on makeup. I was asked to talk to the residents while they waited for their medicine. The saddest part was when a women said that she had a brother but she hadn't talked to him in a while so she didn't know if he was dead of alive.
We played uno attack with the residents and they really enjoyed that. Even the lady who did not understand what was going on was tickled when the machine shot cards at her.
I sat with Rose for a while and she end up giving me a scarf because she likes to crochet but has no one to give the things she makes too. It was a very pretty navy blue scarf.
On Sunday we invited the residents to go to Mass and Natalie, Gina, and I were the chior for the day. It was a lot of fun. After we said goodbye to the residents we headed to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sick....

I was sick yesterday (and still am a little icky today). I threw up 7 times and then once that was done my legs hurt pretty bad. I missed out on the mission trip I was going to go on, Mr. Benedictine, and a sleep over. Oh well. I got to watch St. Anthony and two other movies while I had my head submerged in a bucket! :)

Totus Tuus!

So, in spite of the fact that God sought to humble me during my Totus Tuus interview I just received this message from Totus Tuus:
"Thank you so much for your recent Totus Tuus interview. Your interview and application packet were very impressive, and you are exactly the type of person we are looking for to teach in the program."
God has a funny sense of humor.

Nick Alexander

So at Brother Philip's request I checked out Nick Alexander, the Weird Al of Catholic music. I found his myspace page and particularly enjoyed "Should I Stand or Should I Kneel," coming from a parish that had problems with this in the last 5 years and now when I go to the Mass in the abbey and we look like a bowl of popcorn. Some of us have popped and some of us haven't. It made me laugh.
He's not quite as good as Weird Al, but entertaining just the same.
http://www.myspace.com/nickalexandermusicpage

I know it's a little late...

I know St. Valentine's Day is gone and past but I think this it the valentine I should send out next time.

Sigh...

I really need to learn to control my temper and not speak bad about men of the cloth. It's so embarrassing to have to confess it. That's all I really wanted to say tonight. Have a restful night.

Maria Goretti Movie

I went and watched the new Maria Goretti Movie at the sisters' house. It was good except for a few points.
1) Maria hardly fought off her attacker
2) Her attacker repents very shortly after he attacks
3) She does not appear to him
4) When the attacker's father finds her he yells at Maria's mother and she mysteriously knows what happened

What I really liked was that they showed Maria's attacker before he was corrupted by hate. It reminds me that even the people whom do wicked things to me were once children too, with good hearts.

Overall it was a good movie.

Covering Statues: Questions Answered

Catholic Answers:
Q: Can you explain the custom of covering the crosses and images in the Church during Lent? Is this allowed?

A: This custom is one that, except for the Triduum, the Church leaves for local bishops’ conferences to decide. Paschales Solemnitatis provides that on the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of Lent:

The practice of covering the crosses and images in the church may be observed if the episcopal conference should so decide. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil (PS 29).

In his book Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, Msgr. Peter J. Elliott explains that this custom "helps us to concentrate on the great essentials of Christ’s work of redemption."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has decided not to observe this custom; therefore, it is not permitted in the United States:

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has never voted to continue the practice of covering crosses and images and so the practice, in accord with the rubric of the sacramentary, has not been permissible for the past twenty-five years. Individual parishes are not free to reinstate the practice on their own (Committee on Liturgy Newsletter, April 1995, 31:14).

On Holy Thursday, though, crosses are to be covered after Mass. This is something that the Vatican has not left to the discretion of national bishops’ conferences:

It is fitting that any crosses in the church be covered with a red or purple veil, unless they have already been veiled on the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of Lent (PS 57).

Nothing Much

There hasn't been a lot going on here. I had my Totus Tuus interview yesterday and completely botched it. I was too nervous and thus got that shaky sound in my voice. It's all in God's Hands now. His Will may be leading me elsewhere.

Oh and here was the final count on facebook invites...

March for Life

I felt like a spaz when I watched myself.I was talking about the pro-life Mass when I said 10,000 people and it looks like I am talking about the March.

Birthday Presents!

I got money for my birthday from my grandma and grandpa the other day and I went and spent some of it today. I got a Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin CD. Call me a nerd.
The Coffee House for the Pregnancy Center went amazingly well. It was pretty exciting.
Also...
To Brother Philip,
I am not a heathen. I couldn't come to evening prayer the last three nights for good reasons. I have a night class on Wednesday, I went to the Knight's Valentine Dinner on Thursday, and... yeah I don't have an excuse for Friday except I was being anti-social with my suite mate, Peggy. So blame her.
Provided by Brother Philip:
God, who inflames the hearts of the faithful, help me to know my true vocation in life and the grace (and courage) to follow it faithfully until the end.

Little House on the Prarie Meditations

So, I have recently become "re-obsessed" with Little House on the Prairie. I own Seasons 1-4. Right now I have 2 more episodes to go before I am done with Season 4 and then I don't know what I will do. I know that in the last two episodes a baby will be added to the Ingall's family and Mary will begin to lose her eyesight. I have been putting off watching the last two episodes because I do not have season 5 and then I will be stuck.

Two days ago, Alicia and I sat down and watched an episode. A boy, Peter, comes to stay with the Ingalls family in hopes that he will build character. He has been stealing and acting up at a private school his father sends him to and is the nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Olson (if that tells you anything).
Charles Ingalls knows exactly what to do with the boy and he turns his life around.

Granted, this is a TV show but Alicia and I started discussing why Charles Ingalls can fix just about everything and we came up with a conclusion. The thing about Charles is that he lives out his vocation as a man in such a way that everyone around him knows how to live out their vocation as a man or woman. He treats everyone around him in a way that brings out his or her personal abilities and special vocation. When Peter comes Charles is very stern with him but praises him in a way the boy has never been praised before. He says that Peter does a man's work and the he (Charles) has a hard time keeping up with him. He doesn't make fun of him when he doesn't know how to swim, instead he tells him that he will teach him and throws him in the water.

Alicia and I went on to discuss how some men in our lives were like Charles and some were not. When one lives out their vocation they allow others to live out theirs. There's something about the love for others and their own vocation that makes you want to live out yours.

P.S.
I did figure out when/why were are supposed to cover up the statues but I have class in 15 minutes so I'll post later (or tomorrow).

Facebook...

I gave up facebook for lent and only get on it Sundays to check messages people may (or may not) have sent me. I was off facebook from Wednesday of last week until Sunday. I had 56 invites to different applications. I had two wall posts. I think something is wrong with this picture. Not only do I not want to find out what type of bride I would be or what type of granola bar I am most like, it takes just about all Sunday to reject all those facebook applications. It makes me think I should give up facebook permanently, but then what would I do on Sunday?
To prove my point I signed on to facebook to see how many requests I have received since Sunday. I promise, I didn't look at anything else.
Here is the total so far.

I'll let you know how many I have by the end of the week.
P.S.
I also have to be more careful of what I say on here because I found out that Brother Philip reads my blogs... So you know I won't be talking bad about him anymore...

Explanation

The rubric in the Sacramentary (Roman Missal) states: "The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter vigil."

So this practice is dependent upon the decision of the bishops' conference of a given country.

However, the covering is not done throughout all of Lent. The crosses (crucifixes) are to be covered only from the Fifth Sunday of Lent until Good Friday (as the rubric states), and other images are to be covered only from the Fifth Sunday of Lent until the Easter vigil.

The purpose of covering the crosses is to emphasize it being revealed on Good Friday. The purpose of covering other images is to take the focus off the images and focus the attention of the people on the central mysteries of our faith -- the death and resurrection of Jesus.


Also, we are not allowed to sing allelulia during lent. We usually have some other praise sung before the Gospel.

Liturgical Abuses

They covered up the statues in the chapel of my college.
26. The practice of covering the crosses and images in the church may be observed if the episcopal conference should so decide. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.[30]

They also sang Alleluia on the the feast of St. Scholastica.
18. Likewise, from the beginning of Lent until the Paschal Vigil, "Alleluia" is to be omitted in all celebrations, even on solemnities and feasts.[21]

http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWEASTR.HTM

"Who was Jesus looking for in His apostles-- to be the leader of His leaders? Simple sinners, just like us. He looked for men who loved much, whose love made them unafraid, and whose love never put a stop to God's grace. When Jesus said, "Go out without scrip or shoes" they were dumb enough to go-- they were loving enough to go." -Mother Angelica

Let's be dumb enough to preach the Good News at all times. :)

A Cool Avatar

I am not saying that I won't vote for Romney or any of the Republican Candidates once it comes down to one, I was just stating my problems with each. All of them are better than the Democratic Candidate.
I am glad that Romney claims to be against stem cell research but it does bother me that he would make allowances for embryos that are already in existence. Nic said that the embryos are, in fact, dead. I may be completely wrong but I believe you can still unfreeze the embryos and implant them in a woman's uterus then they will grow. Even if that is not the case, it is still not ethical. This only contributes to the making of more embryos with out any intent to allow them a life.
I will say this again. I will support which ever Republican candidate who ends up getting the nomination. The Democratic philosophy makes all the Republican candidate's stances look like pumpkin pie.
Let us pray that God will get us through this dark time. Thanks for your comments Nic.

To Mr Nic Hoch

In response to Nic Hoch's comment on my political views:
I guess I should have been more specific about the embryonic stem cell research that Romeny supports.
"Romney supports research on excess embryos created during fertility treatments. Because couples are making embryos to have a baby, he reasons, it is ethical to use the leftovers for research when they would otherwise just be discarded." -Boston Globe
I cannot agree with this, no matter how the embryos are created they are still babies.
As for the abortion in cases of rape, it really bothers me because it is illogical. If he is against abortion it's because he thinks it's murder. If he thinks it's murder then what difference does in make how the baby was conceived. It's illogical, thus annoying. It shows an inability to reason clearly. On top of that, it's immoral.
There really is no good candidate. Huckabee is a socialist, McCain scares me, and Romney... well I just went through that. In the end it will be picking between the lesser of two evil it doesn't matter what Republican candidate I support at this point since I have already voted in my primary. I miss Fred! :(
~Emma

Happy Lent!

I love lent! It is so wonderful to have a time set up for us to get our lives back on track ;).

A Continued Look at Politics

I suppose I should first discuss why I am a Republican. First I am Republican because of the pro-life and pro-family issues. The conservative ideals stand for the baby in the womb and for the "traditional" family. There is only one type of family, namely a husband and wife and anything other than that is not a family even if we called it an "untraditional" family. It kind of like Thomas Aquinas on laws... if it doesn't fit the definition of a law it is not an "unjust" law, it simply isn't a law. These are givens to any Catholic and I think I will leave them at that.

Often people will tell me I am only a Republican because of the life issues. This is not true. I am Republican economically as well. It is objectively wrong to take money from a person who has earned it and give it to someone who has not. The government is not a charity. That is the churches job. The churches have regrettably given up this job because, well honestly, they don't want to do it. This has led to people taking advantage of the government. Are all people on welfare like this? No. But there used to be a time when if you were down and out, could make ends meat you would do little odd jobs for the church. Americans used to be ashamed to take charity, now we reward people who do not work. The Republican party is not a party that gives hand outs, and maybe that's why we call it a "party of the rich" but that is not the Republican parties job, that is the job of the churches. Own your own business and you will become a Republican.

Environment. We are called as Catholics to protect the environment and Democrats make it a big campaign issue that they are for the environment. There is a difference between protecting the environment and just being ridiculous. It is ridiculous when there are so many law prohibiting you from building a fence because you might upset some bullfrogs. Every time we cut down a tree we plant two new ones. How is this not protecting the environment? You get too many environment restriction and it because insanely difficult for people who want to start new businesses.

Immigrants. Illegal immigrants do not deserve to live in the United States. If they legally enter the United States and become a U.S. citizen then they deserve to live here. That's really all there is too it. It is irresponsible for any government official to reward illegal immigrants.

Death Penalty. When talking with a fellow student he said if I was so pro-life was I apart of the Republican Party if it support capital punishment. First, I do not support capital punishment. The belief in capital punishment is one with out hope for redemption that being said, it is not one of the five non-negotionables. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "Not all moral issues have the same weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion." I am not very knowledgeable about politics, I will be the first to admit, but I do firmly believe that the Republican party does not conflict with Catholicism. Unfortunately, it is falling away from its ideals and thus we must pray and "voted" it back to the way it was meant to be.

Many people will not claim to be part of a certain political party because they think it is some sort of stigmata but I will say that I am Republican until the time that its philosophy no longer coincides with mine.
~Emma

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I will finish my blog later this week but I want to tell everyone Happy Fat Tuesday and let them know that it's a winter wonderland here! :)

A Look at Politics

I was looking through the blogs I usually read daily and found that a few of them were about politics. Some of them looked into who they would be voting for in their own primaries where others looked at the political system in general, questioning the Catholic place with in the political system.
I have a problem with a lot of what people are saying and I agree with some. I agree with the fact that hardly any of the Republican candidates have aligned themselves with conservative principles. That is a given. The few that are truly conservative, Duncan, Thompson, Brownback (to some extent), have dropped out of the race leaving us with poor alternatives. Huckabee, a conservative only on social issues, Romney, on economic issues but supports Stem Cell research and abortion of babies that are products of rape, McCain only in foreign policy, and Paul, who's position on the war in Iraq is troubling to say the least. Right now I am flip flopping between Huckabee and Romney knowing that it is only a matter of time before Hackabee is forced to throw in the towel.
However, I do think that the Republican Party is a place for Catholics. Do I think that the Republican Party is the home of Catholics, giving into blind loyalty? No, I have no loyalties to either party. The Republican Party's philosophy closely aligns to my own philosophical and religious views and thus I believe that the Conservative philosophy is very complimentary to a Catholic lifestyle.
To Be Continued after I finish my homework....
~Emma

21st Birthday

It's my 21st birthday today. Yippee! :) I am now able to drink and while I have had sips of alcohol at Thanksgiving and Christmas today was my first actual drink. It was a wine cooler, fuzzy navel style. It had 4% alcohol. I'm not sure if that's a lot or not. This is how it has effected me.
1. I am very warm which is a new experience for me since I am usually extremely cold
2. It has made me take weird pictures in the bathroom. This is due to the fact that everyone is 21 on my side of the suite and thus we can drink in the bathroom... just to say we did.
3. I don't really like the taste of alcohol.
4. It was still fun.
5. I probably won't drink it that much because why drink something if you don't like it.
6. Everyone at my meeting thought I was a little tipsy, I was really just very warm.
7. Even if I were tipsy I can get this hyper from not drinking alcohol.
8. My head does feel a little weird but how do I know if that isn't just me thinking that I am
9. I still need to do my ethics homework.
10. Ironically the meeting I went to was about alcohol prevention..
11. My suitemates think I am drunk (I am not)
12. My friends just came in with a cake and sang while I was writing this blog.
13. It made me smile.

And since 13 is my brother's favorite number I will stop there! Enjoy God's Blessings!
~Emma

P.S.
I didn't notice some of the comments until now. I promise I will post responses in the near future... It's 12:24 and I really should be getting to bed. I heard alcohol was supposed to make you tired. I'm not tired... weird.... I am no longer warm though.

Quote of the Day

"The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people."--G.K. Chesterton

How often does this seem true? To many times to count unfortunately. Our best friends can become our bitterest enemies because they have the greatest power to hurt us.

More than an Adjective

I think Catholic can be used as a descriptive term such as, "That's a Catholic parish," or "That's a Catholic statue," but when I call myself Catholic I mean something much more. When I say, "I am Catholic it is not just a description of myself, it is who I am. Why is it not a description? Because it is very different from being a blonde, or blue eyed, or a pointy noised. If any of the change (which I am sure the blonde hair will eventually) I will still be Emma. On the other hand, if I ceased to be Catholic I would cease to be Emma. Yes, I would still retain my name but I would not longer be me. The Catholic Church penetrates every part of my being so much that to remove it you would have to remove my being.
Have you ever had Jello cake? My roommate makes awesome Jello cake. She makes the cake and then pours the liquid Jello over it and then it runs into the cracks of the cake. Then she lets the Jello harden till it is part of the cake.
Now imagine that I am the cake, the actual bread substance of the cake. The Jello is the Catholic Church. To get rid of the Jello you would have to get rid of the whole cake. This is the same with me. To get rid of the Catholic, you must first get rid of me.
~Emma

Looking at Christ

I went to Mass today and I usually try to hold one thought in my head as I go up to receive our Precious Lord. I do this because if I don't I start to let my mind wander to the other people around me. My thought this time was that I was that I was looking into the face of Jesus. As the Body of Christ started to dissolve in my mouth I walk to the chalice and as I said, "Amen." The chaliced tipped, I could look directly into the Blood and realized that staring back at me was myself, reflecting off the bottom of the chalice.
As I knelt down to pray I contemplated this and realize what better thing to see then my own face at the bottom? Should I not be immersed in the Blood of Christ, surrounded in it?
~Emma

A Letter To a Fellow Student

Dear Sir,
I was walking behind you today as I was going to class and couldn't help but noticed that your pants were riding right below your bottom. I've seen such things before I usually don't comment because the pants usually cover at least half of the person rear end.
Granted, you were wearing "basketball shorts" underneath which does do you some credit for had it been boxers I was observing, I might have voiced this letter to you personally. This put aside, the fact remains that everything about your attire forced all eyes to the region not covered by your pant.
I am writing this to you because obviously you don't have a belt and thus I am offering you one if you will simply stop by. These so called belts are good for many things namely, holding up the pants, not looking like a moron, and modesty. Not only this but it will keep your bottom very warm in the blizzard like temperatures we face in Kansas. It will also stop accusation thrown your way about being homely or a thug. All this you can have by taking this belt, not mention it is a fashion plus.
No, I'm not old fashion. I'm twenty years old and haven't had the time to be old fashion yet but if it is old fashion to pull up ones pants then I suppose I have been old fashion since the day I dressed myself. Perhaps you were never taught how and I am sure I can find one of my gentlemen friends to teach you.
I hope this helps and no need to thank me, not seeing your rear end will be enough.
Signed,
Emma

Deaf to a Whisper

As I was walking on the balcony, taking that dreaded thing called laundry to the machines, I noticed a girl walking by. She had her backpack slung over her shoulder and there was not anything to draw my attention to her. She was most likely going to class, where she would sooner or later fall asleep.
What caught my attention the most that in her ears were two white headphones. They were so small I only noticed them because of the wires that were protruding from them. I, personally, don't own an ipod. This is not to say that I don't love music. I do. One of my hobbies is listening to musicals but it seems that we are taking it to an extreme when we can walk from one side of campus to another with out something humming in our ears, which I dare say is a ten minute walk at the most.
Why did this make me a little uneasy? I think that we have forgot how to listen. When one is able to switch on sounds at their slightest whim one forgets that one is not always the commander of what one hears. I say this because so often we say, including myself, that we can't hear God, but if God is the wind blowing past us then how can we hear Him when we are listening to Josh Groban every time there is silence. If God speaks in whispers maybe we need to take the headphones out and strain our ears to listen. Unlike the music we listen to God is not in the background and He needs our full attention.
~Emma

College Student Soldier

I'm putting off homework. Basically because I don't want to do it. It's homework for Tuesday but I should do it just so I do not get behind. Ethics, it takes a lot of effort to read Aquinas.

In my free time I enjoy spending time on Christian Teen Forum. Granted, I haven't been considered a teen for almost 3 years but I find their company a little more entertaining then other forums. Perhaps this says something about my intelligence or maturity. :) I don't mind.

Right now I have taken up my newest battle. As president of the pro-life club at my college I have decided that our next big project is to make the college completely pro-life. It annoys me that we should even have to do this seeing as it is a Catholic college and even one mentioned in Father Benedict Groshel's new book on Catholic colleges, but it has been brought to our attention that the Psychology department and the Education department both have insinuated that they promote, or approve of, birth control.
Personally, this leaves me in a sticky situation. I am in the Education department and it is those teachers that decide whether or not I graduate. I don't think they'd hinder me in anyway but they will know where the attacks are coming from. I recently e-mailed one of my professors asking which union they recommend for me to join and if I find out they support NEA (a very pro-choice organization) they will know who is sending around lists of pro-life teachers unions.

Pray for me that this won't effect my future career as a teacher and that if it does that I am able to with stand it.
~Emma

Shattered Pieces Make a Heavenly Mosaic

Peace be with you!
Suddenly all the Catholics will automatically reach out their cold hands and mutter, "And also with you."
Yes, that is right. I am Catholic. Have been since birth and will never be anything but Catholic. I love my faith. It is what pulls me through the snow that we call life.
Shattered Pieces Make a Heavenly Mosaic. That's the title of this blog which I must admit took me a while to come up with. I often tell people, "Often God breaks our hearts so that He might form them more like His Sacred Heart." Unfortunately for me God hasn't broken my heart very much but it needs to be broken because it is so unlike His. So I will start off the Blog with a prayer...
Shatter my heart God. Make it as dust so that only you can form it again. Make is into Your Heart. Amen!