Free Will, Pride, and Humility

Last Friday I wrote a post for Catholic Sistas called "Come Holy Spirit, Give us Humility." It is the eighth post in a monthly series we have been doing since December on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

I have known that I was going to write this post since last November. I have had lots of different thoughts about it since that time. I prayed about it, I looked for anything I could find on humility during those many months, I looked for examples of humility around me (lots of that to go around between both Pope Emeritus Benedict and Pope Francis), and I tried to let the Holy Spirit lead me to the right words.

There was one thing on my mind a lot that I thought tied into the virtue of humility quite well. But when all was said and done, it didn't make it into the post at all, which was probably for the best. But it's continued to be on my mind so I'm going with it here in this space.

There are people in our world, some of whom are very well-known public figures, who claim to be Catholic even when they hold viewpoints that are contradictory to the Church. In some cases, these people are just poorly catechized. But in more notable cases, it's obvious that poor catechesis is not to blame.

For those who were educated in the faith at some point with the Church's correct teachings on an issue, I've often seen that a person will still hold onto erroneous beliefs simply because they think they have the "free will" to do so. I'm thinking of one person in particular and her very public stand on her supposed faith and the issue of abortion. However, I believe this applies to a lot of people. She is not an anomaly, just one of many very lost and confused souls.

There are many problems here. First a misunderstanding of Free Will. Second, pride. And third, an unwillingness to humble oneself before the Church.

Free Will
I hate when people throw around the idea of free will as meaning that they can do whatever they want. That's not free will. To properly exercise free will, one has to have a well-formed conscience. Without that, you really are just doing whatever you want.

The God-given gift of Free Will is so that we will love God because we want to. He didn't want a bunch of robots on Earth who would love Him for no other reason than He made them that way. No, He wanted us to freely choose to love Him. The problem is that we can also abuse this gift of Free Will. Adam and Eve did and pretty much every human being since then has at one point or another.

Choosing to use Free Will to take a stand contrary to the Church is nothing more than an attack against the Church. When a person claims to be a faithful Catholic and loves the Church, but then claims to hold beliefs contrary to Catholicism based on nothing more than Free Will, there is no love there. This is a downright rejection of God's Church and God Himself.

Pride
I look at this abuse of Free Will and I can't help but think that it is rooted in pride. Pride is not a virtue. It's a vice. It's one thing to be proud of your husband for completing a big project at work or proud of your kid for getting an A in a really difficult class. In those cases and similar ones, we are showing pride in someone else's hard work and dedication. But the kind of pride that we should not be delving into is the kind in which we are looking inward to ourselves only with the belief that we know better than God.

I was one of those who was poorly catechized. Before I was dragged brought more fully into the Church I held contrary beliefs to Holy Mother Church. But I don't think these were rooted in any sort of pride on my part. I was just ill-educated. However, when you know the Truth and specifically go against it, I can't help but wonder what is going on deep down in that person.

They say Free Will gives them the ability to believe what they want. But at the same time they say they are faithful to Catholicism. You can't have it both ways! The only explanation I can come up with is pride. A sense of knowing better than God knows and therefore, thinking that holding contrary beliefs is somehow justified.

Humility
The opposite of pride is humility. To be humble, you often have to put your own desires aside in favor of others. A prideful person can't do that. Pride is focus on self while humility is focus on the other. Let's go a step further.

When I was learning my way back to the Church I had to reconsider some of my viewpoints that were contrary to the faith. There were things I believed that I didn't even realized were against Church teaching. Some of those beliefs were pretty easy to reverse myself on once I understood the Church's position more. Others took me more time. Contraception was one that I really had a hard time understanding. I read a lot and still couldn't quite "get it." Eventually, I had to make a choice. Set aside my objections and accept what the Church taught whether I understood or not *or* walk away from the Church entirely.

I chose the route that kept me in the Church. Essentially, I willingly humbled myself to the Church. I decided that the Church was much older and wiser than I was and the best path was to trust in Her. This took a great deal of humility on my part. The best part is that by doing this I also opened myself to fully embrace the Church's teachings. If I had not been willing to humble myself I'd still be struggling with this teaching and may not be Catholic today because of it.

When a person is unwilling to humble themselves before the rich history and long-standing beliefs of a 2000 year old faith because of their own pride, they will never experience the richness and beauty that is the Catholic faith.

Overall, I feel sorry for those who can't see beyond the pride and error that has put them on a path contrary to the teachings of the faith they claim to profess. To get them to the point where they can be humble before the Church will take a lot of work. They have many hurdles to get through before that is even possible.

Let us pray for all those who are misguided in their understanding of the faith and who are too prideful to see the error of their ways. Let's pray that they will one day be brought to a point where they are willing to be humble before Holy Mother Church. St. Augustine, pray for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

[This post is my fourth in a row as part of the "7 post in 7 days" challenge.]

Saturday Smiles, no. 18

God has blessed my husband and I in an amazing way. It's hard not to smile at this:

And sometimes, this is all I need to remind myself of His love for me.

Saturday Smiles, no. 17

Andrea del Verrocchio, c. 1475,
public domain

I am currently reading the Gospel of Luke. Each night I sit with it and read some part of it, whether that is one small passage or verse or a whole chapter. Depends on what strikes me. As I read this week this particular passage made me smile:

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. (Luke 3, 21-22)

The image of Jesus being baptized and having the Holy Spirit descend upon Him is one that pretty much everyone is familiar with. I was particularly struck with the small phrase "and was praying." Jesus prayed a lot. For some reason I don't think about that fact much. Up into reading this more carefully there were maybe two places in Scripture that I could point to where Jesus was praying.

Goes to show how unfamiliar I am with Scripture.

I like the image of Jesus praying. It's a very important reminder to me that I need to be doing this more. A lot more! Jesus prayed a lot and He was God. Obviously I need to be praying much, much more myself.

Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me how I can better know You.

Saturday Smiles, no. 16

This week I saw the love of Christ shining through someone in a way that I don't think I ever have before. I couldn't do anything but smile, he had such a contagious glow about him as he talked about Christ and the importance of Him in our lives. I was truly in awe of the deep love I could feel coming from this person as we talked.

To give you a little bit of context, I started spiritual direction this week with a priest that I have known for a couple years or so. Spiritual direction is something I have thought about doing on and off over the past several years. I would think about it, start asking around about it some, drop it, start thinking about it again, and so on. I finally decided to ask a priest I knew. I went to daily Mass one day, deciding that if he was there that day I would try and catch him after Mass just to see if it was a possibility.

But when I went to Mass that day a different priest was there, someone I also knew some. No big deal, there was always email or I'd see him another time. The during the homily I heard a small voice inside me tell me that this was the priest I needed to be seeking spiritual direction from, not the one I was planning on asking. So I did, and now a few months later we finally managed to set up a time to get started.

This was definitely the right choice for me. I can say that with certainty after just one session. To see this priest talk about Christ in such a loving way did so much for my heart. I felt like Christ Himself was shining through this man across the table from me. 

And all I could do was smile!

Now it's your turn: How did you witness Christ in your life this week? Comment below or link up your own blog post.

Image source morgueFile

Saturday Smiles, no. 15

Image source: morgueFile

How did you feel God's presence in your life this week? Or how did you feel closer to God in the last week? I was very busy this week and received some incredibly sad news about a friend and the thought of doing this post was not at all on my priority list.

But then, very early Thursday morning (see Take #2 and 4 on this post) I stepped outside and looked up and was caught by surprise. It was still very dark out; it had been a clear night. And the sky was covered in little bitty stars. It caught me off guard, I think, because I hadn't really looked up at the night sky in a very long time. Something I used to like to do a lot.

It made me smile and it made me think of the vastness of time and space, the indescribable creation God has placed before us, and just how small I am in it all. But despite my smallness I know God loves me. That made me smile even more.

I thanked God for putting me in a place where I could see something again that is always right there for me to see but that I hadn't taken the opportunity to see in a very long time. I definitely appreciated the quiet stillness of the early morning, the coldness in the air, and the beauty of the sky more than I had in the past. God's beauty was everywhere that morning. I'm so glad I got to experience it for a short time.

Now it's your turn! Comment below or link up your own blog post. I'm looking forward to reading your experiences with God this week.

Saturday Smiles, no. 14

God's love blesses me in so many ways. Despite a very busy week, lots on my plate, and feeling like I was always behind on something ... several things also came together for me.

I can feel God's love through the many friendships I have. I'm amazed that I can "hangout" with a group of women I've only ever known through the computer screen and have a great time! Even if we were talking business. But our Catholic faith brings us together, binds us in a way that I've never had a friendship bound before, and our common love for God and Jesus makes our mission and our friendship just work. What an amazing gift God has given me in these friendships with other faithful Catholic women, most of whom I may never meet in person. At least in this life.

And I do have some pretty awesome friends right here at home too. We too are bound by our common Catholic faith as well as the pain and grief of infertility and pregnancy loss. I got together on Friday evening with a few of these women to have a little mom prayer time together. We ended up mostly talking and not getting to the prayer time, but that's okay. We will the next time.

All of this just reminds me that I can often find God's love around me in the people He places in my life, no matter how busy life gets. Near and far, my friendships with other Catholic women consistently remind me of God's love for me.

Thank you God for the amazing friendships you bring into my life!

Saturday Smiles, no. 13

The landscaping around Mary has completely changed
but I haven't had a chance to get a new picture yet.
Still, I love this statue!

I left my office on Friday just after lunch and as I walked to my car in the pouring rain, balancing the umbrella, a couple bags, and my water bottle, I looked over at the Mary statue in the side garden of the Newman Center and pondered what God wanted of me right now, at this time in my life. Did He want something from me? Or maybe He had a lesson for me I am supposed to be learning? What, I wondered, was I not seeing that God wanted me to see?

I know God is with me all the time. Intellectually, I know and understand this and completely, faithfully, accept it. I know His presence is in my life and in the people's lives all around me. But I often feel as if I miss seeing Him. 

These thoughts flitted in and out of my mind the rest of the day. How is God working in my life right now? I'm not sure I can answer that question. And the problem is that I have very little practice at answering that question.

For the first 26 years or more of my life I really didn't think about God's presence in it at all. I have always been a believer, I have never knowingly rejected Him, but He certainly took a backseat in my life for many years.

In hindsight I can see how God worked in my life and I've acknowledged that many times in various posts. But it is the present, the day-in and day-out of living and acknowledging God's work in my life as it is happening. I don't expect to recognize it all the time, but right now it is never. 

So here we are at the 13th installment of these "Saturday Smiles" posts and I am struggling. This will always be a struggle for me, I know. I'm okay with that. But I keep hoping I'll get just a teensy bit better. 

It's a work in progress. I'm a work in progress!

Nevertheless, despite these deep thoughts and my doubts of my own abilities, God has given me plenty to smile about: a wonderful family, family and friends that want to see us when we are passing through town, the ability to take a week off to visit family and take a vacation, wonderful friends in my life, and the ability to attend Mass in any city and have it be the same Mass as if we were at home.

Now you tell me: Do you recognize God's presence in your life? How did you this week? 

Saturday Smiles, no. 12

I'm on vacation this week, so this post is being done in advance. While I take this week off I will be enjoying God's creation, visiting with various family members and friends, and enjoying some relaxation time with my three guys. And there will be wine.

I know there will be plenty of smiles all around.

So in my absence I hope you will share with a link-up post or in the comments: What has made you smile this week??

Saturday Smiles, no. 11

St. Aelred, patron saint
of friendship

The power of friends really showed itself to me this week. I love how God places people in your path that are always the right people for the right time. God knew what he was doing when he made us creatures that desire companionship. Friendship is a big component of that.

So going back to Saturday when I had my talk, the focus of the talks that day were basically on friendship. With those talks on my mind, more so the deacon's talk rather than my own, I went into the rest of the week thinking about friendship. Then two things happened this week.

First, I ran into an issue (one I don't want to expound on here) and was rather angry about it one evening. I had been told one thing and then found out another and was not happy with the situation nor the position it put me in. I went to an online group of women that I trust completely and consider friends (although I've only met a handful of them in person) and used their patience and friendship to vent about it. I wasn't expecting anything from them, I just knew that they would let me vent, not judge me, and offer prayers for the stress I was dealing with. I got prayers, sympathy, no judgement, etc. and much more. I got some assistance and reassurance that I wasn't expecting! I suddenly felt relief for the first time that evening and felt like the problem may solve itself easier than I had anticipated.

Wow, what a great feeling that was!! These ladies were just the friends I needed at a time when I really needed that love and support. And they may just have solved the problem for me. That's still to be seen. But the point is: I felt so much better!! I was assisted in my need by a group of friends in a way that I probably would not have been able to do on my own.

The second thing is directly tied to the talk I gave on Saturday. I gave that talk in my role as a volunteer leader for the Cursillo movement in my diocese. Our Cursillo movement has a men's weekend coming up in December and we usually always struggle to get enough attendees to hold these weekends. This time, however, we are already getting more candidates than I usually have this far out from the weekend. This can be attributed to the power of friendship. Each candidate must have a sponsor and the sponsors really seem to be praying for their friends hard. One sponsor told me he has been working on some of his friends for two years now! He has several of his friends already signed up to attend.

I'm amazed at the response so far! Only through a trusting, deep friendship are we able to pray our friends into attending these weekends. I told the group on Saturday that our goal is not to get our friends to come to Cursillo, but to bring them closer to Christ. Cursillo is just a bonus. Right now we have lots of people who have been brought closer to Christ and now want to do more.

Only through true friendship are these things possible. And true friendship has to be based on something. I believe when a friendship is based on God and faith it can know no bounds.

Thank you, God, for the power of friendship. Help me and all my friends to continue to deepen our friendships with each other and especially with you and your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

What made you smile this week?

Saturday Smiles, no. 10

Courtesy of
DesignsbyBirgit.blogspot.com

I had one of those realization moments this week that made me aware of God's presence in my life. It was a moment that made me see how the Hand of God has been directing my life without me even know it. And when you have that moment of realization it can be overwhelming. Only someone who loves you as much as God does can have that kind of patience with such a stubborn person.

A friend of mine posted a political cartoon this week on her Facebook page. It was one of those cartoons that is funny if you are pro-life.  If you're not, it was probably a little off-putting. as these things go, a conversation had developed under the picture in which one person was arguing the pro-abortion side of things against my friend and all her (our) other friends. The logic the pro-abortion person was using was so illogical that I couldn't help myself and I stepped in to say something.

By her logic, my children that died before birth never actually existed and were not human. So I had to ask her what my son was if he was not human. I had felt his movements before he died, seen his heartbeat, held him in my arms after his death and birth, counted his fingers and toes, touched is perfect little face, and so on. But he wasn't human according to her logic. It was a ridiculous argument, obviously.

As expected she did not respond to my comment. I really didn't expect her to because otherwise she would have had to admit the fault in her logic. I know how these conversations go, I understand ignoring the points that challenge your logic ... because I used to be on her side.

I read the rest of the conversation, but didn't bother contributing again. I had made my point, been ignored, but maybe had planted a seed. That was enough.

But as I scanned through the conversation and thought about where I used to be and where I am now, I can see God's Hand in my life. I know it was He who sent the right people in my path to challenge my ideas and get me to think differently. He placed me in the right places, at the right times to challenge me as I needed to be challenged. And I'm glad He did. I had a momentary thought about how different my miscarriages and Zachary's stillbirth might have been had I still been "pro-choice" at the time. I'm incredibly grateful that I did not have to experience those losses from that point of view.

I often have these little moments of realization where I see how it is all part of God's plan that I am where I am at this time and in this place. This was one of those moments. It's funny how a simple political cartoon can bring about such introspection.

Thank you, God, for guiding me to the life that I have today. I pray that I will continue to trust in you.

Saturday Smiles, no. 9

To be perfectly honest, this week was not all that good. Well, no ... let me rephrase that. It was a horrible week! I was dreadfully sick for a few days at the beginning of the week and, once I was feeling better, I still had zero energy and couldn't look at food. Thursday was the first day that I really started feeling normal again. Friday was much, much better.

Friday morning it occurred to me that I hadn't paid any attention to how God was blessing me this week. I know intellectually that even in the midst of my pain and suffering He was blessing me in some way. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling it and the brain was too foggy to think back on the week.

Which brings me to Friday night, sitting down to write this post. As I sit here contemplating how God has been working in my life I am actually reminded of how one decision about twenty or so years ago completely changed my life, or at least changed the course I thought my life was on. I am thinking about this now because lately I've been feeling a string pull back to the my dreams from before that one decision of twenty-some years ago.

It's funny how one decision can make all the difference. There are probably other smaller decisions that played into that bigger decision from 20+ years ago, but I think back and I know that one really made the difference. That one put me on a path that puts me where I am today. Thinking about this now I can see how God guided me to this place; He had a hand in that decision making process all those years ago, even though I had no thought of Him at the time at all. And now that I'm here, where I am supposed to be according to His plan, I feel like He is placing old desires back onto my heart. Those things I thought would be a big part of my life that took a back seat for more than twenty years are now nagging at me.

So I had to laugh.

First, at myself. Oh how I worry about things sometimes. But God has it all under control.

Second, at God. Even when we think we have given up certain dreams, God has a way of bringing them back to us one day. He is a tricky fella. I laugh and He laughs with me. And probably at me a little too. Which I'm sure I deserve.

And that is what made me smile this week. It wasn't exactly one "moment" from my week, but more of a realization twenty years in the making.

Now God needs to reveal to me how this next step can come about. That may take me another 20 years.

What made you smile this week? How were you most aware of God's presence in your life? Share in the comments or link up your own "God moment" post from your blog by clicking the button below and filling out the fields that appear. Please also include a link in your post back to this one. Thanks!

Saturday Smiles, no. 8

Last week in my Saturday Smiles post I talked about nature. And you know what? I'm going to do it again. Because sometimes, nature is the best place to find God in your life.

The weather here turned cool for a brief time this week. It was awesome! We opened the windows for a few nights and I actually slept with the comforter wrapped around me. I love feeling bundled up, all warm and toasty. But the best part was that I got to sit out on my back porch one evening and do some writing.

Oh how I love that back porch on a nice cool evening. Thank you, God, for such awesome weather!

I know it was just a tease (it's already creeping up again into the high 80s and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the 90s yet). But even so, it was a nice reminder that fall is almost here. Soon the leaves will be changing colors and the air will be cool. We'll be able to open the windows more often and I'll be able to sit out on my porch and enjoy the cool evening air.

I love fall. I love the little hint of fall that God gave us this week. Fall can be dreary and gray to some people, but not me. I see it as representative of the cycle of life. In the fall season I see beauty as trees age and put on majestic colors. They may be heading toward their dormancy for the winter, but they get more beautiful just before that time comes.

Thank you, God, for fall. It's not here yet, but will be soon. Thank you, God, for the reminder that with age comes beauty.

What made you smile this week? How were you most aware of God's presence in your life? Share in the comments or link up your own "God moment" post from your blog by clicking the button below and filling out the fields that appear. Please also include a link in your blog entry back to this one. Thanks!

Saturday Smiles, no. 7

How did I recognize God's presence in my life this week?

One morning as I pulled out of the driveway to head to work I was startled by the presence of a huge spider web in my way. It was strung up between a tree on one side of the driveway and a tall bush on the other side. From the window of my mini van I could see the thin threads stretched across the driveway just barely above my eye level. In the very center, directly in front of me was the the intricate, complex spider web. I was startled by the perfection of it and the incredible place it was hanging. Something like this amazes me, that a tiny insect could create such perfection. I don't think it is an accident, I think God created the creatures of the earth to astound us in their beauty and the things they can create. Nature has such an awesome way of showing us how awesome God is.

It also made me sad because I knew it wasn't quiet high enough to clear the top of my van. So I was the only one who got to marvel at God's awesomeness that morning.

Second, I have recently connected with another Catholic blogger that happens to live in my same city. We've been emailing and it has been fun. We've even found a few things we have in common and I find it amazing that God used the blogging world to introduce us. Thank you, God!

What made you smile this week? How were you most aware of God's presence in your life? Share in the comments or link up your own "God moment" post from your blog by clicking the button below and filling out the fields that appear. Don't forget to also include a link in your blog entry back to this one, please. Thanks!

Image source morgueFile

Saturday Smiles, no. 6

Peter has a lot to smile about too!

I have had a LOT to smile about lately! God is truly wonderful. I am seeing Him bless many people in my life in extraordinary ways. And it makes me almost giddy thinking about it. But what about me?

I actually have a hard time seeing the blessings in my own life. Thus the reason I am even doing these posts, to help make me be more aware of God's presence in my life.

As I contemplated what I could write about this week so much came to mind: the wonderful things happening in the lives of some of my close friends; the joy of meeting my new niece and seeing the joy she is already bringing to her parents and siblings; the fun of spending time with family just sitting around chatting, catching up, and watching the little ones play together; the fun of meeting new friends and seeing how God is blessing them and their families; or witnessing friends coming together to help out a friend in need.

So many choices! I decided I couldn't choose just one.

Instead I see all of those things and plenty of others as one big blessing. God is working in the lives of my friends and family and I get to watch. I get to see what God is doing in other people's lives and it blesses me as well.

I guess what I am saying is that my close moment with God this week is just knowing that He is working in other people's lives and blessing them. In return I feel blessed just to know them. I may have moments when I am down and I know I've had plenty of moments when I don't feel God's presence in my life at all. But I don't lose faith because I see him working elsewhere. And that brings me joy and plenty of smiles.

What made you smile this week? How were you aware of God's presence in your life? Share in the comments below or write your own blog post and link it up here using the inLinkz form below. Please also include a link in your post back to this one.

7 Quick Takes Friday, vol. 45

~1~

We have a stander! One of the boys has started standing for a few seconds at a time. He doesn't always get his balance right away and falls on his butt. But other times he manages to balance himself enough to stay standing for just a few seconds. I find it amazing to see him stand completely on his own. He seems so unsteady, not balanced at all, and yet there he is ... standing.

Now walking ... I think it'll still be some time. But it's coming! Watch out world!

~2~

And while we're on the subject of babies, I have to report our recent successes in the food arena. First, both boys will now take and hold their bottles on their own. Thank you, Lord, my life has gotten infinitely better! Peter took to it pretty quickly, Ethan had a harder time. He'd eventually take the bottle from us and hold it himself, but when we first gave it to him he just broke down into hysterical sobbing until one of us picked it up and held it for him until he was ready to take it (which was usually half way through the bottle, plus he couldn't get the last ounce or so on his own either, so essentially, we were still holding it for him for most of the time). But now! Oh, wow! Now we can just place the bottles on their trays and they take care of it themselves! Seriously, with two of them, this truly makes a huge difference in my life!

Second, they are starting to use a spoon. Sort of. We still put food on the spoon for them and hand it to them and hover over them as they attempt to put it in their mouth, but they are doing it. Peter is funny with it. He loves holding his own spoon and has become quite adept, i.e. I don't hover quite as much. He takes the spoon from us, eats the food off of it, and then throws it on the table so we can fill it back up for him. I know I shouldn't laugh because I certainly don't want to encourage that behavior, but it is so hard. I find it hilarious!

~3~

On a totally different note, I recently discovered a new blog and I love it already. You must check out The Breadbox Letters. I love the art work she uses in her posts and the quotes she finds from a variety of saints, not to mention the reflective pieces she writes which are very insightful. After reading less than a dozen posts on this blog I'm already hooked. I really loved this post, Be Led Gently, which quotes St. Teresa of Avila. It's beautiful. If you're looking for a blog that can be inspiring, has beautiful pictures, and is a quick read, check this one out. 

~4~

Hubby got a new computer recently. Finally! His old one was soooooooo slow. I hated using it. Of course, all our picture software is on his computer which is one of the reasons I don't post pictures as much as I would like to. But now it'll be so much faster. Yay! I think he finally has everything transferred over and the picture software is ready to go. I just looked through the pictures on my camera and realized I never posted the cute-as-can-be pictures of the boys in their sneakers. They are coming! I promise! I can't tell you how many times the people at their daycare tell me how cute the boys are in their little sneakers. Pictures coming soon!!

~5~

In addition to this Quick Takes post, I also compiled a Quick Takes post for Catholic Sistas for today. It's another interview with one of our ink slinger. A fellow Kentuckian, too, though we've never met in person. Go check it out. It's a fun post. 

~6~

Have you checked out my new Saturday Smiles link-ups I've been hosting? So far I have one follower participating, but I'd love to see more. And spread the word too. It's super easy. It's a great opportunity to reflect on the week and write about something, anything, that made you aware of God in your life that week. Write up a post and then post the link on my Saturday link-up. I've made it easy by putting in the inlinkz widget too. I hope you'll come join me on Saturday!

~7~

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm excited to be spending it with my family. I'll get to meet my new niece, see a cousin I haven't seen in a few years, hopefully catch up with some old high school friends, and meet up with some online friends for the first time. I can't wait!

For more Quick Takes, check out Conversion Diary.

Saturday Smiles, no. 4

Lonely Tree
Photo from  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

For some reason I have felt a little heavy around my heart this week. Nothing has specifically happened, I think it is just more a fact of lots of little things weighing on my mind and also on my heart. I don't know that you would guess by looking at me that I have felt this way at all this week. I'm generally a cheery person and try to put forward a positive attitude. Part of my Irish heritage, I guess. 

Even with a lot on my mind and a heavy heart, I can still see God working in my life. Sometimes in very unexpected ways. I was approached this week by a friend who is only a few months out from her first miscarriage. She was hit by a flood of emotions this week when another friend of hers had a baby. She wasn't expecting it and is, of course, happy for her friend. But it is distressing to get hit with those emotions and that sense of loss so expectantly. I knew exactly how she felt. And I'm glad she reached out to me. 

At the time, the conversation made me sad, and still does. I know how she feels and I hate that she has to go through that. I also hate that it recalls those same emotions in myself as well. Those feelings that never really go away, but get somewhat easier to deal with over time. When she then expressed her gratitude to me in being able to find someone who understands what she is going through, I was hit with the realization that this is part of God's plan for me.

God has given me the chance to help others through my own experiences. If nothing else, I am that person who can listen and just understand. I don't even have to say anything. Sometimes a listening ear from someone who has "been there" is all that is needed. I'd gladly give back my experiences with pregnancy loss, but I can't. And if I can't I'm glad that my experiences can be the thing that helps someone else feel not so all alone.

This may seem like an odd thing to post as a "Saturday Smiles" post. But I smile at this because I know that is using our hurts, both mine and my friend's, toward a positive. I still wish that neither of us had to go through the pain of miscarriage, but through it I can see God's love for us as He uses our hurts to help support each other.

And that makes me happy to be a child of God. I know that God grieves with us. And I know He can bring good even out of pain and sadness.

What made you smile this week? How were you aware of God's presence in your life? Share in the comments below or write your own blog post and link it up here using the inLinkz form below. Please also include a link in your post back to this one.

Saturday Smiles no. 3

In my effort to be more aware of God's presence in my life, I have begun this series of Saturday Smiles posts. I look forward to you joining in as well. God can be present to us in so many ways: through the people around us, through our participation in the Mass, through prayer and sacrifice, through nature's beauty, and much, much more. What made you recognize God's presence in your life this week? Or, what made you suddenly feel close to God in some way this week? I hope you'll share in the comments below or on your own blog (and please share the link here). Let's all relish in each other's smiles from God together.

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Have you ever had a special intention that seemed to be the prayer that would never get answered? Well, this week I saw one of those answered. While this intention wasn't mine specifically, I have prayed for this intention as well on behalf of the friends whose intention it was. And many, many other people have been praying for them as well.

To be a witness to a prayer many years in the making finally get answered in an amazing and beautiful way was extraordinary. The day I heard the good news I got chills and I couldn't stop smiling all day. It's a lesson too. You can pray and pray and pray for an intention, but it all happens in God's timing. It can get frustrating, cause us to be bitter or fall into depression, or make us doubt God's love for us. But if we persist and persevere and rely on God even when we feel like he has abandoned us, He can answer those prayers in amazing ways.

What made you smile this week? How were you aware of God's presence in your life? Add a comment to share or write your own blog post and link it up here in the comments. Please also include a link in your post back to this one. [I'm actually considering adding the Mr. Linky Widget here to make sharing easier, but haven't had the time this week to delve into something new. Stay tuned, I hope to add that soon.]

Saturday Smiles, no. 2

In my effort to be more aware of God's presence in my life, I have begun this series of Saturday Smiles posts. I look forward to you joining in as well. God can be present to us in so many ways: through the people around us, through our participation in the Mass, through prayer and sacrifice, through nature's beauty, and much, much more. What made you recognize God's presence in your life this week? Or, what made you suddenly feel close to God in some way this week? I hope you'll share in the comments below or on your own blog (and please share the link here). Let's all relish in each other's smiles from God together.

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This week I got a big smile when I went to pick up my boys from daycare. Usually they are both playing fine when I get there, but then they see me and immediately start crawling toward me and start whining and crying. The crying gets worse for whomever I don't pick up since I can usually only pick up one at a time in order to use my other hand to sign them out. But twice this week, Ethan smiled real big when he saw me and ran to me with a bit more excitement. It warmed my heart.

Peter still starts whining and crying. Oh well, we're making progress.

Regardless, I love seeing Ethan so excited! It reminded me of how much God wants us to be excited to see Him and wants us to run to Him in excitement too. I need to remember that on Sunday when I come forward to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. God so loves us that He gives Himself to us, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the Eucharist. What a gift!

How about you?

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P.S. Sorry for the late post on this Saturday. I actually got the post set up on Thursday but hadn't finished writing it out yet, planned to do that on Friday, and then got side-tracked. :) Hopefully I'll get next week's up earlier in the day. Thanks!

7 Quick Takes Friday, vol. 43

~1~

I just realized, as I sat down to write this Quick Takes, that it has been over a month since I did one of these. That's quite a long time! Did anyone notice? ::big grin::

~2~

Although I haven't posted a QT in this space, I'm not completely out of practice on Quick Takes posts. I have posted three QTs during this time period over at Catholic Sistas. Have you seen them? They are more thematic posts but all geared at getting to know the various ink slingers over at CS. I conducted a survey about our favorite prayers and did two "interviews" with individual ink slingers: Martina, our founder, and Misty, one of our more prolific writers. If you haven't checked those QTs out yet, I highly recommend you do. They are fun posts!

~3~

Massive downpour + two baby carriers = one very wet mom! It went like this:

• Daycare pickup in the afternoon during massive downpour.
• Two babies strapped into their infant carriers, one half flight of stairs, and one mama who CANNOT carry both carriers up and down stairs at the same time anymore.
• Did I mention the rain?
• Get both babies through doorway and onto landing; carry one down the stairs and leave him by the door; go back up the stairs; carry second baby down the stairs and put him down.
• Still raining ... hard.
• Pick up one baby, make a slow dash to the car, get him in, quickly dash back to the door, type in the code and get back inside.
• (There is, thankfully, a very tiny overhang above the door.)
• Pick up second baby and do the same, then jump in drivers side.
• Mom is completely soaked through and laughing.

Yep, laughing. I just couldn't help it and couldn't stop. I had to sit in the parking lot for a moment to collect myself. I was out of breath, a little stressed, and laughing my head off.

~4~

It's not even NFP Awareness Week yet and I'm suddenly seeing lots of NFP-related stuff all over Facebook and Twitter. It's like all of us who advocate for the NFP lifestyle just can't wait. It's a gear up period; and it doesn't hurt that there are at least two new websites on NFP that are starting to advertise themselves wherever they can. We are so excited to spread the news and to help our friends or family members to reconsider their use of the pill or other contraceptive methods that we start early. I even posted something myself without even thinking about it in relation to NFP Awareness Week. It was totally coincidental.

~5~

Speaking of NFP, can I just say how amazing I find the human body? What an extraordinary creator God is! I see my chart, which astoundingly has been looking semi-normal lately, and I am awestruck that cycle after cycle it works just like the book says it does. We've been using NFP to both conceive and avoid for over four years and it still impresses me. God truly does know what He is doing. Why do people try to mess with that?

~6~

Do you watch the Food Network? I do. I watch very little TV, especially since we moved into our new house. But on Sunday night, I watch Food Network. If I watch nothing else all week, I want that one night to watch whatever food-related, reality show Food Network is airing. Cupcake Wars is okay, but I especially like the Next Food Network Star, Worst Cooks, and the special Chopped series they do (all-stars, champions, etc.). The Next Food Network Star this season is coming to a close quickly and I have really enjoyed the new format they did this time. I have two favorites right now, one who was sort of a favorite of mine from the beginning and another that just became another favorite for me this past week. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!!

~7~

Did you see the Saturday Smiles post last Saturday? That was just the beginning. Check in tomorrow for another one. And I hope you'll share in the comments, too. Or post a Saturday Smiles on your own blog and come share the link on my post. I'm looking forward to making this is a weekly tradition!

For more fun Quick Takes posts, head on over to Conversion Diary and say hi to Jen.

Saturday Smiles

Last Saturday I posted about how I intend to be more aware of God's presence in my life and asked readers to join me in this. I hope this will be the first of many posts in which we can share those things that made us smile because we knew God had a hand in it. As I said in last week's post:

What makes you smile? What touches your heart? What takes you by surprise this week? A beautiful sunset splashing lots of colors across the sky can remind us of God's love for the world just as much as changing that horribly stinky diaper can remind us of how much God loves His children (i.e. us) and would do anything for us.

 I hope you'll join me and share your moment when you recognized God around you in some way. Tell us in the comments or share on your own blog and share the link in the comments below. Let's give everyone visiting here many reasons to smile on this Saturday.

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On Wednesday, July 4th, I attended Mass at our parish, also the Cathedral parish in our diocese. If I had to guess, there were about 600 people there, a dozen priests on the altar with the Bishop, several seminarians serving at the mass, and two deacons on the altar and I recognized many, many more throughout the congregation. I saw lots of familiar faces. This was a Mass to end the Fortnight for Freedom in our diocese. I attend Mass at the cathedral every week and the energy that was present throughout the congregation on this day was much more vibrant than I am used to.

It was a very reverent Mass. I saw so many people there I knew from several different parishes. I felt surrounded by people of strong, unyielding faith as we joined together to celebrate our religious freedom as Catholics and as Americans. Despite the fact that I had a squirmy baby in my arms and had to move around the side aisles and back of the church during the Mass, I still felt the vibe of this community coming together. During Mass I remember praying that our religious freedom would not be compromised in the years to come and that my children would have the same freedoms to not just practice their faith within the walls of our churches but also live their lives as people of faith.

At the end of Mass as we started singing America and the crowd of servers, deacons, priests, and the Bishop began the recessional I was overcome with emotion. I truly felt the hand of God among His people at that moment. I felt proud to be a Catholic. I felt proud of my ancestors who remained true to the faith and passed it on to their children all the way down to me. I felt proud of my great-grandparents and the sacrifices they made to come to this country in search of a better life. And I felt proud to be an American.

It did my heart good to know that there is still a strong Catholic faith in this country. I felt honored to be at that Mass. And it made me smile to know that there are so many of us that are willing to stand up and fight for our religious freedom in this country. We are all Americans, but we are Catholics first.

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What made you smile this week? Where did you most feel God's presence in your every day?

Leave a comment below to share your moment so we can all smile with you. Or if you have a blog, write up your own "Saturday Smiles" post and share the link in the comments below.

Thanks for participating!