Triduum 2012- Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday is still my fave.

I know I have written about memorable Holy Thursdays past, but the memories continue to be made and remembered each Holy Thursday for me. I got more than one text and/or tweet about my amazing "Last Supper" in my 20s last year and a text from my friend who I traveled to Spain with in 2005 during Holy Week about her fond memories of this day, shoot, seven years ago. 

I try to make where I celebrate each part of the Triduum special. This year, I wanted to give my new parish a try, but was a little apprehensive. I love my parish and enjoy going to Sunday liturgies there. They have an awesome holy hour and Confessions each Wednesday evening. Amazing! But they are UBER traditional. Like Latin Mass traditional. Now, we know I love me some bells and whistles, but when it comes to the Triduum, I like to recall how it might have been in Jesus' day and that was probably more wood and dirt than gold and incense. 

But I am also kind of LAZY. And since it is my Spring Break, I am just kind of seeing where each day takes me (that is, of course, until it takes me to PUERTO RICO on Monday! :) I could have sought out a Mass that matched more of my spiritual taste, but my parish is within walking distance. So when I finally pulled myself away from the Hunger Games trilogy with minutes to spare to get to Mass, my parish it was!

And it ended up being really nice. I was a little overwhelmed with all the men and boys marching down the aisle  during the processional without even a woman in sight until the psalmist from the choir, but after that, I appreciated alot of their liturgical choices. (NERD!)

Father washed feet of twelve of (the many) altar servers. And I was struck by in all of my Holy Thursdays, I don't think I'd ever seen a priest actually kiss the feet of those he was washing, which Father did and I'm pretty sure Jesus might've too. It was a humbling gesture, I thought, and brought out the sentiment of the action of the washing of the feet. 

We sang the Gloria, but to remind us we are still (while not in Lent TECHNICALLY) not quite to the Resurrection, the organist did not play after that. Everything else was acapella which I also thought was an interesting move (liturgically speaking :) The altar server also did not ring the bells at the consecration, but rather hit a block of wood three times, again to remind us of the difference in the events of this evening some 2000 years ago.

My favorite moment of any Holy Thursday liturgy, though, is singing the Pange Lingua and moving to the altar of repose. That was one of my favorite parts of the memorable 2005 Holy Week that my friend texted me about and my parish tonight also made this part of the liturgy really special. 

They brought out the umbrella! Okay, so it's called an ombrellino (and I had to google "Eucharistic Umbrella" to find that out...I'm sure that is the true technical, theological definition...)

I've seen one used before in Eucharistic Processions on the Feast of Corpus Christi, but I don't think I'd seen on at a Holy Thursday service. But it makes sense. Even though there for sure wasn't one used on the fateful night itself, I do think it highlights the sacredness of the Eucharist and reminds us that Jesus, our King, is present:

They then had a beautiful altar of repose set up with plants around the tabernacle and I always like to feel like I'm walking with Jesus to the garden after the Holy Thursday liturgy to see if I can "stay up with him for but an hour." (I didn't make it an hour- 40 minutes, though :)

As I walked home tonight, I also thought of the Feast of the Passover from Exodus. I had gotten into a kind of awesome debate about the meaning of Passover and the Eucharist via Twitter earlier today which was kind of an awesome way to start me thinking about the meaning of this feast. (Twitter- the new evangelization, I tell you!) 

So as I walked home and saw lights on inside homes and the moonlight shining from above (a full moon at that) I thought of what the night of the Passover in Moses' time would be like. Nowhere near as comfortable as we have it now, probably eerily quiet or mysterious, fearful, and nerve wracking. I imagined the Israelites putting the lamb's blood on their doors in the hope of being saved.

All foreshadowing the blood that we remember tomorrow that was shed on the cross for us. 

I'm grateful for a great start to Triduum! Definitely more prayerful and subdued than last year :) What can I say, I'm 30 now! I'm OLD. 

Have a blessed Triduum!

Peace,

Julia

5th Week of Lent?! Holy Week?! April?!

As you can tell, I was not prepared for the end of Lent and this coming month!

But at the very same time, oh, so very ready. The countdown to Spring Break pretty much began once we got back to school in January.

Looking back at Lent and towards Holy Week, I have a lot on my mind. This Lent was not my strongest, but I did find out the following things:

1.) I don't think I can become a vegetarian. That has been solidified.

2.) My 30s are going to be different than my 20s and that is a good thing.

3.) I don't have to always been discerning some "big thing" to draw me to God.

4.) I am grateful for the foundation God has laid for me, especially in the moments where it is difficult to see where God might be taking me.

And where I am going:

a.) I'm going to try and really engage in Holy Week, since my Lent was not as strong as I would have liked.

b.) I'm going to once again unite my experience of Triduum with the Exodus, Passover, and our Jewish roots.
(Here is also a cool reflection on a Christian song written about being God's "Beloved" and the Jewish roots of the Last Supper- two of my favorite things to reflect on!! ;)

c.) I AM GOING TO PUERTO RICO,!!!

I keep wanting to just jump to that last point, but there is a lot of praying and uniting myself to God before that :)

Speaking of uniting in prayer, if you all could PLEASE pray for my friend Dan from college. I may have mentioned him a couple of years ago when we found out he had leukemia. He was in remission, but we just recently found out he relapsed. He really needs your prayers. Thank you so much.

May your Holy Week be blessed and may you be drawn into the mystery of the saga of our Salvation History and the beauty of His covenant :)

Peace,
Julia

Lent Week 3: Back Here!

Yup. You're Welcome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l95MMbls0GQ

1.) You knew with the post title it was coming.

2.) Things to consider when watching the video: why is the whole band following around the SAME. GIRL.

3.) Fun Fact: At my last wedding of 2011, this song was played as per mine & my besties' request. And it was amazing.

4.) I've already had not one, but TWO weddings of 2012!

 But more on those later.

Back to Lent.

Third week already! I think I mentioned last post that I was giving up meat as my fast. That's been going fairly easily (which isn't exactly a good thing. that's not how Lent works...) with the occasional longing for the convenience of chicken or turkey. I've been eating lots of fish & nuts for protein. I am finding that I'm not connecting the sacrifice, though, as much I thought I would with the Cross, and that is something I need to re-focus on as we hit the middle of Lent.

My almsgiving, though, with trying to spend more time with friends, colleagues, and roommates, has been proving the front runner for me this lent, and so I'm praying that this will bring me "back here" to Jesus.

The "return to God" theme has really been striking me this Lent. I can't believe I haven't blogged since my women's group met right after Ash Wednesday! I spoke about this with my friends in the group because I have been wanting to "return" to the way I was with God when I was discerning or aka in  my 20s for a while now. But we discussed at our meeting that we don't approach God like we did perhaps when we were 20 something.

Back then, we would run to God and say: "Help me! Fix me! Teach me about myself." Now, in our 30s, we know a little more about ourselves and don't find ourselves running to God for the same insight. This was helpful for me as I thought about how I might "return to God" in a NEW way this Lent, as a 30 year old. I still haven't quite figured it out yet, though.

The important thing is to still search, to always search, as Father mentioned on retreat to us back at the beginning of the year. The search is going to look a little different than it did in our 20s since we do have the self awareness and self knowledge we didn't necessarily have a decade ago.

I have also been struck this Lent by how Jesus made Himself the sacrifice- that He stood in our place. The first reading today from the prophet Daniel spoke to this:

"We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.
But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame."


When Christ was on the earth, he told us about new ways to do the old. He made our rituals new, Sacraments new, sacrifices new. He became the sacrifice. And so we must figure out how we can sacrifice in a new way. I think this goes the same for how we must search in our 30s differently than 20s...


I am trying to adapt new attitudes to things, and I think I am succeeding with God's grace. The 2 weddings so far in 2012 have been fun because they were each very different from the typical ceremony/country club wedding reception model. The first was for my first cousin back in Ohio. It was a small wedding reception at a friend of the family's house, so it almost felt like we were just all gathering like we do at Christmas (except minus the Christmas carols, plus the Slovak drinking games ;)

My most recent wedding was somewhat of a destination wedding- the groom's family had some ties to Florida, so the couple chose to get married in St. Augustine. It turned out to be a really great weekend getaway and there is lots to do in the very touristy town of St. Augustine. So I flew in Friday, walked around and took pictures, shopped on Saturday morning, went to the wedding, then we had a trolley ride around town, which took us to the reception. Sunday the family had a brunch at a beach house, and my flight wasn't until the evening so I got to do MORE touristy things! Including visiting the fountain of youth! (Like I need it... ;)

 View of marina in St. Augustine from the Castillo de San Marcos

 The bride, a friend, and I!

 Trolley ride around St. Augustine

Tasting the waters of youth!


I will continue to meditate on "searching" and "returning" this Lent...next wedding in May for those keeping track! I should create some kind of wedding bracket...

...and last but not least...some exciting news!

I am going to GREECE and PUERTO RICO!!

Greece is a school trip this summer aka FREE for me! I've always wanted to go to Greece, not exactly with 20 teenagers, but my friend from school is organizing and we are cruising the Greek isles for free, so I'm not going to complain.

I'm going to spend my Easter Alleluia this year in Puerto Rico! This trip is not school sponsored, much to my wallet's dismay, but another colleague and I said happy 31st and 32nd birthdays to us and bought tickets for the week of Spring Break!

So Spring Break and the end of the School Year will be even more exciting than they already are to me this year.

Continue to have a blessed Lent! Until we are "back here" again...heh...
Peace,
Julia

Ashes.

It's that time of year! (Also, sometimes Catholics are funny. See Rick Roll above :)

I am fascinated each year with what people expect from or why they participate in Lent. More specifically, Ash Wednesday. Technically, it is NOT a "Holy Day of Obligation." It's not a high feast! All Saints Day, Solemnity of Mary, Ascension, Easter, Christmas...these are some of our high feast days. And yet...people LOVE them some ashes!

I think I've made the point the before that people just love them some FREE (Catholic)STUFF.

I heard on the radio this morning that an Episcopal Church (I think) was dispensing ashes like at a Metro stop or in their parking or lot or something. You didn't even have to go to the service. People just want the ashes.

And this is fascinating to me as a "signs and symbols" kind of girl. Why do people want to wear the ashes? What does it signify to them and to others? What do we get out of it? Are we supposed to get anything out of it?

I also love other people's fascination with the ashes and the little Catholic childhood stories that surrounds our traditions. For example, I was in our "ministry center" at school where students can come by during their study hall and talk with a campus minister (mostly, I've just become really good at Uno and card games, but it has its moments...) and the ashes on each other's foreheads was naturally a conversation.

Student: "Ah! I really want to touch my forehead!"

Me: "you are good! at least you are conscious they are there still. I touch my forehead then remember when I feel the remnants on my  hands."

Another student: "You can barely even see mine!"

Me: "you wanted them darker?"

Student: "yeah!"

This was interesting to me. When I was in Junior High, people would run to the bathroom to try to wipe off their ashes so they weren't so dark. Not me, though, of course. Not because I'm holy, though. Oh, no. I didn't want them to appear dark either (omg, that was SO embarrassing to have the priest with the monstrous thumb who would just dig into those ashes and you just KNEW you were going to get them all over so much so that they dripped onto your nose!!) but I was too afraid to touch them. Someone somewhere in my catechesis  had convinced me that it was super sinful to wash them or wipe them off. I wanted to wipe them off like the cool junior high kids, but I was apparently too conscientious of a child.

I shared this memory of mine with my students. When I made the point that I was too afraid to wipe off the ashes, one student sighed: "aww!" And this made me pause for some reason.

1.) I guess I had forgotten what a very conscientious child I had been. I never wanted to do ANYTHING wrong or disappointing.

2.) Am I still as conscientious today?

I was kind of impressed that my students wanted to have the darker ashes. Today when I was driving home I saw a girl running in my neighborhood. She had to be about the same age as my students, possibly from the neighboring Catholic school and her ashes were very dark. I was struck by them and that then reminded me of mine, which I had forgotten since my swoop bangs conveniently cover them (Junior High Julia would've LOVED the swoopy bangs! Full Ash Coverage with NO guilt! Too bad Junior High Julia's bangs were curled, feathered, and teased early 90s style...joke's still on me, I guess...)

Anyway, all this to say: what do we think about Ash Wednesday? Is it significant to us and for what reason? Is it because we GET something and get to show something off? And if so, why are we proud to show it off? What is our intention?

Lastly, everyone always wants to know: "what are you doing for Lent?" I have wanted to try and go vegetarian for a while, and so I have taken Lent as my opportunity to try and do so. Of course, diets and personal goals are not the reason we should try something out for Lent, but for the sacrifice. I do think giving up meat will be a sacrifice since the majority of my (ahem, frozen, "Lean Cuisine") meals right now consist of chicken and/or turkey. I also haven't done a food fast, personally, in a while, so I'm looking forward to the challenge. One of my best Lents was the Lent of '99 when I fasted from food in a somewhat extreme way- only one large meal a day (I drank alot of milkshakes and smoothies, though :) I did it truly for the spiritual sacrifice of it, which was impressive for a 17 year old, I think. I remember reaching for pretzels and snacks in the middle of the day, but really thinking of the Cross in those moments. I grew alot spiritually that Lent because of it, and the weightloss was only a side benefit, as it, of course, should be.

So when I was talking to my students about Lenten fasting, we read the Gospel for today Matt 6:1-6, 16-18. It is a temptation to try and use Lent as a diet or for personal notoriety but Matthew's Gospel is very clear: do not boast. Do not even "let your left hand know what your right is doing." My students actually understood these points: don't whine about your sacrifice. Don't boast about it. Your Heavenly Father hears you in secret.

And of course, Lent is more than just "giving up." There is prayer and "almsgiving" too. I plan on really trying to focus on the almsgiving this year by spending time with roommates and friends more throughout Lent. I have become kind of the introvert since teaching took over my life. I spend all day TALKING to people. So  when I get home, I just DON'T. I think this will be a good offering for me.

And also, prayer. I do try to "journey" with a saint. The Blessed Mother and I have an on again off again relationship, and so I would like it to be back "on" during these 40 days, 40 nights ;)

Pray for me and I will pray for you all during this Lenten season! I pray we are drawn closer to God through whatever offering/sacrifice we choose.

Happy Lent!
Peace,
Julia

Love 'N' Lourdes

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes- the apparition of Mary that St. Bernadette saw in Lourdes, France in 1858.

Many of my closest friends have been to Lourdes and have a great devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes because of it. When this date rolls around, I think of them and the great things that have happened for them because of their devotion. And then I pray that Mary will hook me up as well :) (I did have a friend light a candle for me there this summer on pilgrimmage! So it was like I was there, right?? )

I think it's cool that my close friends and I can share a devotion like this together. But then again, I am a huge nerd :)

In my grad studies and in the readings at Mass this week, a theme that keeps popping up is idol worship. In the daily readings, the stories of David, Solomon, and their successors show how the Israelites were weak and needed a king and then the kings themselves were weak and poor examples to the Israelites.

In idol worship news: Many non-Catholic Christians think that we "worship" Mary. But we believe that she is our strong intercessor and believe that since she IS the Mother of GOD, Christ is likely to listen to her prayers :)

But back to this week's readings...The kings didn't always have bad intentions- we know David's intentions were often good, and God will reward Him with the descendant of Christ Himself because of it- but they often did bend to their own wills or the will of the people. (Solomon- exhibit A: allowing his many wives to worship pagan gods...)

In my grad class we just read Ezekiel and BOY if my students only knew the racy stuff that was in there! They might start to think the Bible was almost as "good" as Jersey Shore!

I always kind of brushed over Ezekiel because I never understood it. And for good reason- his prophecies rival the crazy that we see in the images of the Book of Revelations. Who can decipher it?

Um, my 90 year old priest prof of course.

No, but for reals...Ezekiel Chap 16 and Chap 23 would get my students interested for all the wrong reasons. Ezekiel swears that God is telling him that the people of Israel are like a man who would sleep with a prostitute and goes into detail. (Also, there is nothing more uncomfortable than reading said details with two priests in a small classroom, one at the age of 90...)

I will never find myself teaching Ezekiel Chap 16 & 23, I'm pretty sure, even though I now know the meaning. Which is a shame, because I think that it is something we can relate still relate to (not the prostitute part!! Get your head out of the gutter...)

Over and over we see the Israelites falling away from God and He keeps sending prophets and kings and judges to get them back. Finally, He sends His only Son who can truly redeem us all.

With Valentine's Day coming up, "love is in the air." But these readings of late speak to me of love (and not because the women in Ezekiel are giving it freely)

I always start out my Scripture course with Taylor Swift's "Love Story" because 1.) I'm hip like that. 2) because I want the students to see that the Bible is God's Love Story with humanity...

...even the crazy parts like Ezekiel and Revelations.

The Bible is God continually reaching out to a broken world and THIS is what we can relate to. Our lives and our world is still broken. But we have the Good News that God has sent His Son into the world and we have only to "love God with all our heart, soul, and mind." (Mt 22: 37)

God loves us sooo much! And so I am inspired to share in that love this Valentine's.

ALSO, yesterday, one of the religion teachers at school had a speaker come talk to her students and since I wasn't feeling so well, I hopped on that train and took my students to hear him too :)

It was a guy who I had actually heard speak on Theology on Tap and found his story inspiring. Long story short, he is a young guy who had some huge heartbreaks in his life: loss of his mother, a failed marriage, and health issues. But he took up running and felt God calling him to run across the U.S. and use prayer as his motivator.

His story is pretty unbelievable- 3,700 miles!! Running!! Um...I can barely run a 5k.

I think the kids were inspired by his athletic achievement, but I was inspired by how close he stayed with God. He took prayer intentions from others before and while on the road and the prayers kept him going. And he has heard back from people saying that their prayers were answered. The power of prayer and his commitment to holiness and prayer is really what inspired me.

If prayer can motivate him to run across the country, certainly prayer can inspire me just reap the benefits of a deeper relationship with God! He persevered TRULY in "Running the Race." It's a good reminder that I need to persevere in prayer...even if it seems pointless or hopeless or monotonous at times.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

Peace,
Julia

SuperB Owl Sunday

WHOM do you wish to win the Super Bowl?


I saw this clever play on the Super Bowl- "the Superb Owl"- on Facebook and I prefer owls to football, so I thought I'd address Super Bowl Sunday in this way :)

Plus, birds- and owls in particular- are ALL the rage these days. Also, mustaches. That may seem like an aside, but they are both very much related and both very much hipster. I should know, since I have hipster tendencies myself.

Let it be known, however, that this blog had a bird background well before this trend, true to my hipster tendency form. ( This is an aside and a beloved joke between my friend @ChristineMarieN and I: "Why did the hipster burn his tongue?" "He ate pizza before it was cool ;) My blog's bird background was simply a sick homage to my Twitter obsession, but now it is widely known that if you want something to seem cool and infinitely more expensive, simply "Put a Bird on It".

While I do care to keep up with pop trends, I don't care much for professional sports, I must say. But I get that people uphold these athletes and teams in the same way my family might uphold Rock and Roll or the Beatles. And I do think there is something about it that brings humanity together and we should honor those who reach high achievements... I get it.

I, however, also taught an excerpt from Gaudium et Spes (The Second Vatican Council document on The Church in the Modern World) and had my students reflect on a few paragraphs including this passage:


"But what is man? About himself he has expressed, and continues to express, many divergent and even contradictory opinions. In these he often exalts himself as the absolute measure of all things or debases himself to the point of despair. The result is doubt and anxiety." - The Church in the Modern World, 12.


I had the students reflect on how we exalt certain celebrities or athletes and then how that can lead to our own "debasement" of ourselves. We go to the two extremes- either wanting to exalt ourselves or not realizing our self worth.

St. Paul, however, has something for us again today in this morning's readings:

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!...


Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it. - 1 Corinthians 9: 16-23

St. Paul makes himself "a slave to the gospel" and makes himself "weak" so that others may be saved. Is this debasement? Does St. Paul not know his self worth?

Of course not. We know St. Paul takes his new identity in Christ and when he is trying to "win people over" it is not for his own glorification or desire to be liked. He truly just wants others to find the truth in Christ. It's his "obligation" (as it is ours as Baptized Christians, like it or not!) and he embraces the challenge fully and purely.

This pure motivation for the gospel is easier said than done, which is why we are "running the race." :)  St. Paul and the epistle writers often use athletes as images and symbols because of their discipline. And what greater discipline is there than to follow the gospel inside and out for its own sake and the sake of others??

So perhaps we can admire our athletes for their discipline and take it as an example to exalt the Gospel- not ourselves. But also to know that we are worth so much since we are made in the image and likeness of God and Christ gave his life for us.

Also, I just want to give a shout to God for His help in overcoming one of the struggles I began this year with. I know we are only a month in, but He has given me MUCH grace in choosing to be supportive and joy-filled for these upcoming weddings and celebrations I've got going on this year. I was a little leary in beginning 2012, but now I have much hope and joy for this year and I know that's all His doing :)

Enjoy the SuperB day!

Peace,

Julia

St. Paul and the Single Ladies

Even some 4-5 years later, St. Paul still has my back.

Now, I don't want to talk about the fact that it was almost 5 YEARS AGO now that I took a leap of faith and entered religious life. Nope. I don't want to talk about that. Five years just does  not seem accurate so I just can't be bothered by that fact.

However, one of the girls I entered postulancy with did make her first vows this weekend. So I suppose the numbers don't exactly lie...

Shoot. That's kind of a lot to think about. I could have been wearing a veil right about now. And not like the ones on "Say Yes to the Dress." But how did I celebrate yesterday as my co-postulant friend was receiving her habit and vowing to religious life?

Um, I was at one of the bars that was very significant during my time of discernment 5 years ago. Naturally.

This is one of the items which I just noticed yesterday when at this illustrious establishment. This is my kind of home decor. WANT. 


Yup. About 4.5 years ago, my friends were sending me off with a "bachelorette party" at this bar and now, 4.5 years later, I was back, talking with one of my single friends about my decision to enter. And leave. Like it was just yesterday.

I just want to say my past 2 weekends have been great because they have been filled with quality time with some of my favorite single ladies. Last weekend, I drank some wine and played an epic game of trivia pursuit with a co-worker and then hung out at a bar listening to a 90s cover band with one of my favorite uber-Catholic YM friends. This weekend, different names, but kind of the same: lunch with an uber-Catholic single gal like myself and then shopping/dinner/drinks with another co-worker. All single ladies. All fabulous gifts to me right now in my life!

So my coworker last night was asking me over beer (and next to this amazing table piece above!) about why   I decided to enter religious life in the first place. I still kind of can't believe that 4-5 years later I'm still talking about and processing this, but I guess it's going to be a fact that I discuss the rest of my life since it was a significant decision in my life.

I articulated to her for the first time in a long while that I had done it because I want to give of myself in a special way. Of course, there was more than that and there are many ways to do that type of giving without signing up for an order. But it was good to hear myself say it again and remind myself that I still want to give of myself for God in a special way.

And I believe I am doing that now with the single vocation and the way I am living my life through teaching and trying to be as holy as I can be (while still drinking at bars now and again ;)

St. Paul gave me an extra boost years ago when I was discerning and he gave me more insight today with this second reading at Mass:

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband. 
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

This reading definitely affirms me in my focus on "things of the Lord" in  my singleness. As I think I mentioned before, our society today says that the advantage (if there is an advantage at all) to being single is getting to do all the UN-holy things. But here, St. Paul seems to say almost the opposite. We get to focus solely on our relationship with God and making ourselves holy while married people can become distracted. 

Now, of course I know MANY holy married people with families and they give me hope for the Sacrament of Marriage and that if I am called to that vocation, the beauty and grace that can be given in that call. But I like thinking of the advantages I have as a single person since society doesn't always seem to think there is one.

In the midst of my bar-evangelization conversation with my co-worker (my favorite kind of evangelization :) and the telling of my religious discernment story, she looked at me and said: "I just got a flash of what a good mom you would be. I think you are going to be a mom." To which I said:

HAHAHAHAHAHA...KIDS. HAHAHAHA...oh.

For now, I just want to focus on living this vocation that God has placed me in with the focus that St. Paul says it requires. Thanks, St. Paul!

And many prayers for Sr. Emily Beata on her first profession :)

Peace,

Julia