Idea For a New Blog

I have this (what I would call awesome) idea for this new blog, but I want to get some feedback to see what you all think...

So it all began the other day while I was watching EWTN and they had a panel of a couple of great priests and and a consecrated lay man, I can't remember their names. They were discussing the topic of Fr. Alberto Cutie and one of the priests who was actually a friend of his, Padre Pedro said "If only the media would follow around the priests who are out there sacrificing their lives for the church instead of blowing up those who fall, the churches would be filled with people". And at the moment, the journalist in me woke up and I thought...

What a great idea! To start with something as simple as a blog, and follow/interview/tell the story of a priest who's out there (maybe even in your neighborhood!) and is "extraordinary", and even those who don't seem extraordinary, every priest has a story to tell and a lesson to teach us.

So let me know what do you guys think, any ideas, questions, comments. Your feedback helps a lot!

Much Love

Some Old Pics

Here are some of my favorite pics I've taken...I hope to take a photography class sometime...

Living With Another

So the end of the semester is near and it's time to evaluate how it all went. And although I should really be typing up my research paper instead of this blog, I will write about my experience here.

Dorming has taught me a lot. You get put into many situations that test your integrity, beliefs, and especially your faith. My freshman year I decided to leave my roommate selection up to school hoping for the best. I got paired with a 20 year old international student named Ana. She came from Venezuela although one would never know by hearing her speak English which was probably spoken better than most Americans I know. Little did I know that in the next 2 years she would teach me one of the biggest lessons I would ever need to learn. Patience, love, and compassion.

For those who don't know, Ana is very different from me. I am a neat freak, super organized, anal person. She is pretty care free, messy, "I'll do it eventually" kind of person. I thought I was opinianated but meeting her I found I'm more reserved than I give myself credit for. I try to find the positive spin on situations where as when things go wrong she is very negative and loses all hope. Now don't think I am bashing her (lol), these are all things we are both very aware of and have admitted about eachother and ourselves.

Living with her I learned so much about myself. I learned that sometimes it is best to just stay quiet. I learned that sometimes we need to let things go in order to move forward. I learned that it is easy to be an example to everyone "out there", but to the ones on the inside, the ones you live with, not as easy. I also learned that in order to live with anyone for that matter, you need lots and lots of patience, love, and compassion.

We live within 4 walls, constantly invading eachother's space, so comfort is a privelage. Getting to know her my first reaction was: "She needs Jesus!", easier said than done. Little by little, I show her through my lifetsyle, through my experiences, what God can do for your life. I remember one of the first nights we shared together, and how we stood up until 3 AM just talking about life and our expriences. She shared with me how she had been in a really bad car accident that May before school began and how it changed her life. The driver died and she was badly injured. This experience led her to drink heavily and pretty much lose hope in God. That night as she spoke I thought "God, what do I tell her? What do I say? What do I do?". But at that moment I could only do one thing. I told her that even though she didn't want to turn to God, God was always turning to her and that if she ever felt she wanted to come closer to Him that I could help her. She took my words into consideration, telling me she knows deep down she will eventually turn to God, just not now. Those simple words may not have produced the actions I wanted from her but it was later on that I came to learn that the action had to come from me.

The one year anniversary to her accident came, April 1st. She stayed in the room, curled up in a ball crying all day. Her bestfriend had abandoned her days before and she had no one. It was a busy day for me, but i managed to buy her some icecream, sit her up, make her eat it and even make her laugh a bit. It was then that I saw God's plan. This person, totally different from me, different beliefs from mine, I had to love. It's my calling, it's what I was made for. To love her, as weird as that sounds (lol).

I know God placed us together for a reason, although the school calls it "random selection", it was not random for God. Everyday she pushes me to be a little more loving, a little more compassionate, a little more patient, without her even realizing it. I have had to learn to love and be there for her even when I'm angry at her, even when she's annoying me, even when I don't want to be around her. It is in those moments that my actions show her what God is really about. What the difference is between those who have God and those who don't. I thank God so much for her because she has never judged me. She has seen me fail and fall and she has never came to me, or behind my back for that matter and said "But aren't you a Catholic? Don't you follow God?", even when she has all right to. Instead she understands that I am not perfect, that we as Catholics are not perfect, but that we are trying.

Until the day comes where she choses to take the hand to the one who is always extending it to her, all I can do is be the example and pray. I pray that one day she comes to Jesus through her own decision, even though I will always be here to invite her to a retreat or event. I pray that through me she can see the Truth. With patience and love I am sure that day will come, in God's time.

Love & Understanding

What does it really mean to be understood? Is understanding that point where someone agrees with you? Is it when they have been through what you're going through? Is it when people empathize with you? Or is understanding that point where the other person feels they need to take on full responsibility of helping you feel loved?

Lately this idea of "understanding" has been in my mind a lot. I see it everyday with conversations I have with people, friends, family. Sometimes we come to a point in life where we just want to be understood, but we're not even sure what that means. We seek for that comfort, that warmth, that need in everyone around us and end up feeling empty.

In my personal experiences I have come to understand (lol) that understanding is not found when another person agrees with you, or better said supports you. It isn't found when someone says "aww I'm sorry". Not even when they say "I know how you feel". Understanding in my life, has been found in those people who are willing to lay down their life for my own well being. Maybe not take a bullet, leave the baby home alone, and abandon work. That is just reckless living. It is when that person feels they need to do anything they can in order to help you feel like you are understood. Like you are loved. Like there is hope.

Sometimes we need that friend that will just sit there and hear us mope and cry about how horrible our lives are until we have no more tears left. Sometimes we need that person that will say nothing, but listen. Not even comment, just listen. It is through actions like these that we feel understood, understood because the other person sees the need we have for them in our lives.

It's inevitable. We were all made for each other. We need each other to survive. The simple caress of another human being helps us live longer. Everyone longs to be understood somehow. Reality is that sometimes just praying is not enough, we need to know that someone will be there. Everyone wants to have that friend, that person, that you can contact at any time and they will be living proof to you that Jesus lives. Lives within that person, within every word, every gesture, every kind act they do for you. And that is exactly what we need today, to be Jesus for each other. For that stranger on the bus, for that acquaintance in the group, for that friend in school. For everyone. It is only when we love each other that we will be able to understand each other. Love as Jesus loved. Love everyone.

I'm Gonna Throw Up

Really? Your baby is pro-choice?
Nausea and an upset stomach were my initial reactions when i entered the "Catholics for Choice" website. My first instinct would have been to just take some peptobismol, but in this case, not even pepto could do the job.

They're mission? To "shape and advance sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, [to] reflect a commitment to women’s well-being and respect and affirm the capacity of women and men to make moral decisions about their lives." So the question is, moral or Godly?

"The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships." -Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae

Now "Godly" can be interpreted in many ways, all I do know is what our Catholic Church teaches but I guess "Catholics for condoms" totally skipped the intro to one of Pope Paul VI's most informing and guiding documents which we use very closely to guide us today. They tell us to act "in good conscience", however, condone the use of condoms, birth control, and even abortion if it is in the "moral decision" of the woman making it. And you call yourselves Catholics? Since when is killing an innocent being moral?

I believe that sometimes it is hard for people to simply accept the Truth that God teaches us and in defense want to replace it with what is more convenient for us, for our life, for our own pleasure, not God and the life HE gave us. We want everything to be easier for us, but do we really stop and ask ourselves, are we acting in "good conscience"? Are we aware of what is right and wrong? Do we believe what is right and wrong? And even more yet, are we bending that "right" or "wrong" to better fit our lifestyle and/or convenience?

First Blog yay!

So this is my first blog and i'm very excited! I'm new to this so bare with me everyone. So today I decided to start this blog not just to share my thoughts but I also think it's great to get feedback on them. I have lots of random thoughts in my head and it's about time I put them to use. So feel free to comment and be a critical critic, just no haters please =]. Through this blog I want to be a social rennovator, helping you as you help me because sharing helps create knowledge to those who are open to it. I will touch on everything from school to religion to friends to books to anything that comes to my mind. So get ready world, put on your reading glasses, cause here I come!