The trouble with shirts nowadays.

Ok, so I'm going to rant a little here.  Today I attempted to go shopping for some tops, blouses, shirts, what have you.   Apparently it's been EONS since I went shopping because I didn't get the memo that you can't find a stylish, cute shirt without it being see-through.  Not too long ago, flipping through a cooking mag, I happened across this photo and I was immediately struck by the girl on the far right and her, well, almost completely visible chest due to her transparent tee shirt and push-up bra.  I am not EVEN going to go into what I think of the show Modern Family; I don't think I need to, lol.  But, doesn't she look pretty young?  I mean, obviously she's young because in the show she still lives at home with her parents. I hate to think of the millions of young girls who see this show and then think it's ok to wear something like that.  But, why wouldn't they since that's practically all there is in the stores!
I am going to admit that I am NOT the queen of modesty by a long shot but I know where to draw the line.  I was livid in the dressing room as I tried on a couple of shirts that looked like normal skin covering articles of clothing but then, as if my magic turned into pantyhose fabric when I put them on. I thought, well maybe you are expected to wear a tank top underneath but then I remembered this photo and just got ill about it.
I don't WANT a shirt that when someone looks at me their eyes immediately get drawn to what's underneath it, even if it is a tight tank top.  This fashion "trend" is offensive to women's dignity and cruel to men who can be weak in controlling their eyes and imaginations.  Modesty and style can go hand in hand.
Now I just have to find a clothing company that believes that and is within my budget.  Wish me luck!  Oh, and thanks for listening to me rant...

Holy Thursday

Tomorrow night will be my first time at a Holy Thursday Mass. For the Catholic Church this Mass celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and the institution of the Priesthood and the institution of the Mass itself. Wow, that's amazing! I'm not sure exactly what to expect but there should be some washing of feet by the priests, I believe.
During the last supper, Christ blessed the bread and wine with the very words used by Catholic and Orthodox priests today.  In telling his disciples to "Do this in remembrance of Me", he instituted the mass and made them the first priests.
After Mass, there will be adoration from 8pm until midnight. This is our opportunity to watch with our Lord for one hour in remembrance of his disciples who fell asleep during his suffering in the Garden of Gesthemane.
I am learning slowly in life that suffering is a sweet gift Jesus gives us in order to be closer to Him.  I actually look forward to uniting my tiny sufferings with him on the cross these next few days.





O you souls who wish to go on with so much safety and consolation, if you knew how pleasing to God is suffering, and how much it helps in acquiring other good things, you would never seek consolation in anything; but you would rather look upon it as a great happiness to bear the Cross of the Lord.


-St. Paul of the Cross

Etsy is so great!

I am so excited to have had this beautiful chapel veil custom made for me to wear to Mass on Easter Sunday!  If you are not familiar with etsy.com it's a wonderful place to find handmade treasures of all sorts, especially jewelry.

I was having a hard time finding a nice white chapel veil that would cover all my hair until I discovered a Catholic mom and artist who specializes in making them.  Wearing a chapel veil is a relatively new custom for me.  I've been wearing a black one for the past six months.  Pre-Vatican II, women were required to have their head covered in church, but many women today are choosing to wear them to imitate Mary's humble example and to show reverence for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

May we all be joyfully anticipating the Resurrection of Our Lord this Easter!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyinBlueShop

                                  “Veiling is the outward sign of an internal gesture of reverence to God. “

                                                                                               - Unknown

My Augustinian Conversion

A Catholic friend of mine recently described her  conversion as a "Pauline" conversion.  Wiktionary gives the definition of this as:

1. the conversion of Paul of Tarsus to Christianity on the road to Damascus
2. (by extension) any life-changing event in which one's views are significantly altered

This got me thinking about my own conversion experience and what it might be called.  I can't find a definition for "Augustinian conversion"  but I'm sure that's what it was.  St. Augustine of Hippo, of the 4th c. was seriously astray as a young man and lived a hedonistic life that resulted in having a child out of wedlock.  Eventually, with the many prayers and tears of his mother, St. Monica, he began his search for truth. But, he was stubborn and although at some point he intellectually had to admit his boyhood faith (Catholicism) was true, his attachment to sin, particularly sexual sin, kept his heart from following his head, until FINALLY he got it.
Oh, how familiar this is.  I remember being asked some questions by an Episcopal friend of mine a few years ago.  She didn't understand how in the world as a Catholic I would not let my future daughter take birth control. She asked me if I actually believed all that stuff the Church teaches about sex and birth control.  The sad thing is I said yes, I believe they are right about all of it but was I LIVING that?  No.  I was so stubborn and prideful that I didn't even realize how hypocritical it was of me to believe it but to think it didn't apply to ME.  I used birth control, I shacked up, as if I could be immune from their consequences.  
I'm not sure why I didn't feel compelled to change my ways, but I know that attachment to sin was the main reason I wouldn't even entertain the thought.  Pride should have been my middle name at that point.  Of course, the interesting thing is I only realize that in retrospect. I entered the Catholic Church in 2002 but it took until 2009 for me to even realize what that meant.  Thank God for the gift of my children who taught me that you can't be a hypocrite when you are a parent.  You need to live what you preach! And thank you, Blessed John Paul II for the Theology of the Body.  Within my Augustinian conversion, I did have a mini-Pauline conversion when I discovered that treasure on the true meaning of human sexuality. For anyone interested in learning more about it you can go here:


http://www.theologyofthebody.net/


It was not until I learned about that, finally picked up my Catechism and started reading Scripture that I GOT it.  The Church is a beautiful painting where all the brush strokes work together to form the whole; if you leave some of them out, you will not have that beautiful painting that is coherent, reflects reality and feeds the soul. Of course, this is what Christ asked of us.  To lay down our life for him, no more and no less...

Why I think children deserve a Mom and a Dad

I have been noticing something lately about my children that made me think about the gay marriage controversy, especially after my sister and I got into a little conversation about it today.  My daughter is only three and a half and my son, eighteen months but I have been amazed as a mother how set they seem in bonding in a special way to the parent of the opposite sex and I am talking at a very young age, as early as six months or so.  This has to be for a reason, right?  I mean, don't they say that's how we figure out how to have healthy attractions and relationships with the opposite sex?

I will say up front that I agree with the Catholic Church's teachings on the immorality of homosexual behavior but that's not what I want to discuss. Although, I will say the natural moral law plays a huge part in that teaching and that is what I want to discuss. I would love to hear other parents' experience as well. I know as far back as I can remember having a very special closeness to my father that just seemed very instinctual, like it came from a certain complementarity inherent in our genders. Now, having a son I am blown away by the same experience with him. We have an intensely affectionate bond that I simply don't have with my daughter, even though I love her just as much.

I think we need to be careful that we don't forget that men and women were created to complement each other, even though in a sinful world that doesn't always happen.  But, when we are in a marriage where our womanhood and manhood are respected and lived out properly our children naturally have their needs met and come to have a healthy understanding of their own sexuality and the special roles women and men play.

Obviously, cohabitation and divorce are also grave injustices against children and I certainly see that as well.  I know many of you will want to comment and I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.  I know this is a controversial issue for my first post, but oh well, these are the things that I think about and thus, blog about!

Disclaimer: The below photo was used primarily for aesthetic reasons.  I do not have a particular fondness for John F. Kennedy and did not mean to imply that I did by using the photo.  Anybody who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for the 1950's and 1960's eras!

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm so excited to finally be blogging.  This will be my space to share my adventures in Catholicism!  I hope you enjoy.  First real post coming soon!