Doubting God - Finding Hope in Him

I was just playing a game of solitaire on my computer, and it looked like it was going to be a bad game so I went to hit the F2 button in order to deal again, but I paused for a second to think about what I was doing. I made the moves I could make with the opening cards and flipped through the deck once, and decided that was enough of a chance that I was giving that deal. In less than 5 minutes, I had given up hope of ever winning in that game. 

How often do we give up hope in life? How often do we doubt God, and doubt what he can do? 

My friend and I had a brief conversation about this the other day. She leaves Tuesday to study abroad for the summer and was really stressed about getting everything done in time to leave very early on Tuesday. My friend said, I know God will take care of it all, but it's so easy to doubt, and I doubt him all the time. 

One of my other friends dropped everything at home, packed up his bags and moved to Columbus to serve the Lord, after having lived in the South all his life. He said before one of the greatest struggles in this journey has been trusting the Lord will continue to provide for him. 

I could continue telling you all these times where people have doubted, but I'll only share one more, my personal experience, which played a major role in my conversion. Before my conversion, a personal relationship with God was a strange idea to me. I thought the whole idea of prayer and a relationship with someone or something I wasn't sure even existed was super sketchy. But I eventually gave it a shot...and realized God does exist, prayer life is important, and there is something beautiful about having a relationship with Christ. However, for the longest time I still struggled with hope. I struggled to know and to trust that my future was in God's hands.

When speaking on hope the catechism says, When God reveals Himself and calls him, man cannot fully respond to the divine love by his own powers. He must hope that God will give him the capacity to love Him in return and to act in conformity with the commandments of charity. Hope is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God's love and of incurring punishment (article 2090). When speaking on hope as a theological virtue the catechism says, Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit (article 1817). The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness, which God has placed in the heart of every man (article 1818).  

What does all that mumbo jumbo mean?

For starters, it means we as human beings are weak. We cannot serve our Lord without strength from him. It means we must learn to believe in the existence of God. Then we must learn to trust that He is going to give us the ability to love, if we let Him work in our lives. So in all reality, we need to be open to the idea that God exists. Then we need to come to believe in him through our searching and desires. And then, we need to allow him to work in us. We need to develop a relationship with Christ, so that we can trust Him and trust that He will provide.

We need hope in order to obtain the happiness that we desire. Therefore, we need to pray for the virtue of hope in our lives, trusting and knowing that God will provide for us, and rely not on our own strength, but on his.

This is not an easy task. I’ve been working at growing in the virtue of hope for about 6 months now, and it’s so beautiful, but I’m constantly doubting and questioning the power of our God. It’s so easy to but a limit on our God, but I promise you, our God is limitless, His power is endless – we just need to allow Him into our 
lives and to take control, constantly fighting a battle against the contemporary, materialistic world. 


For you are my hope, O Lord God: you are my trust from my youth 


Psalm 71:5

Closing a Chapter - Beginning Anew

This time of year is so funny, especially for those still in school - whether it be high school, jr. high or college, because there is change. People in your lives are moving onto different things, some are graduating high, and soon will be moving out, living on their own for the first time. Others are graduating college and entering the ;real world', whatever that means...and still others are only beginning the journey we just ended - freshman year of high school.

This weekend I graduated from high school - congratulations class of 2011, we successfully ended the first major chapter in our book called life. It was a funny thing because I wasn't there this year, I participated in a post secondary option, and succeeded quite well. And not to toot my own horn, but it was said that I was the model senior-to-sophomore student. It was the best year of my short 18 years of life so far. I made many new friends, strengthened many relationships, and lost a few along the way, all in the glory of God.

I really wanted to post on this today because I want to encourage my followers on here, and my many friends and classmates to keep going. As Mr. Boylan said today, it is not the end, but only the beginning. Many of us have goals for our immediate future, my we always set goals in our life, and keep searching and seeking and adventuring about this world.

I pray those of you who do not know Our Lord, our God and Savior, that you may meet Him along the way. May God bless you!

Amber

Embracing Femininity

I'm currently in a class entitled "Dealing with Diversity", today I was working on a chapter assignment for the class, our last chapter in fact, and the chapter is on women. While I was reading this, I became rather frustrated because it was an entire chapter on the feminist movement. Now don't get me wrong, I think women should have equal opportunities, but there is something beautiful about being a woman, that gets overlooked into today's society. 

One of my dreams in life is to be a mom, actually that is my most important goal - to be a wife and a mother. Yet, in America today, this goal, this dream is looked down upon. Women feel like they are treated unfair because they want to be treated like men, which is a generalization... I personally do not want to be treated like a man. I want to be treated like a woman. I want a man to open doors for me, to respect me, to treat me like a lady. 

It is a known fact that men and women's brains are wired differently. Women are more emotional, more sentimental; men have a problem, they look for a solution, this why men are better at some jobs then women, and women are better at other jobs than men are. Therefore, women should not feel oppressed or looked down upon because they are not in the same types of jobs as men. Men are probably better at that job than women would be anyway. 

Instead of feeling frustrated, shoved aside, forgotten, unequal, and looked down upon, remember that you are a woman! We are different from men, and that is a beautiful thing.

My dear sisters, we have the ability to bear life! So many women look down on that and see it more as a burden than as a gift, friends, this is a gift! We, as women, have the gift, the joy, the pleasure of giving life! How beautiful is that!? I encourage you to embrace this gift. Reject modern culture. Reject society's belief that we should be able to do and act as men, then embrace womanhood.

You are the crowning of creation! You are beautiful! You are treasured gift! Dear sisters, you are meant to love and to give love. Succeed in this society by jumping off the bandwagon and embracing your feminine nature, embrace your natural beauty, embrace your natural gift of giving life, embrace your natural ability to love; for it is in all of this that you discover yourself, and your true happiness! For our true happiness rests in God, and in leading and living the life of love He intended for women.

God bless!

Restless

I love the Gospel today. It is most fitting for this time of year, as many are on the way to transitioning in their lives.

Fr. Michael used the quote "we are restless until we rest in you, O God" by St. Augustine in his homily, and talked about how we are made for happiness. Today's Gospel says we are in God and He is in us, and He will never leave us. John 14:18 says I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Sometimes, it is easy to forget our Lord comes to us. Often times, we place Jesus on a back-burner and forget about Him. Thus, we leave Him. But, He tells us He will not leave us; rather, He will come to us and remain in us. He then continues to tell us that our views will change as we come to know Him more because we will realize we do not need things of this world. We will come to learn we only need Jesus, in order to be happy, to be joyful, to be peaceful; for just as St. Augustine says, our hearts are restless, until they rest in you, O God.

Therefore, I encourage you to start a personal relationship with our Lord. Seek to know our Lord, for it is in knowing our Lord that we receive graces we need to be joyful and peaceful.

May we always remain in Christ and find our happiness, which we were created for, in Him.

God bless!
Amber

Change

"It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness, he is waiting for you... It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, and making the world more human and more fraternal. " -Blessed John Paul II - World Youth Day 2000


Today my parish hosted a Senior Mass & Brunch in honor of those of us who are taking the next step in our lives. We were given the above quote, in a frame. I was greatly inspired by this quote. Our Parish Pastor, Fr. Michael Mary Dosch, celebrated the mass and gave a beautiful homily. He always reminds us why we were created...for happiness. I thank God often for sending Fr. Michael to our parish because he does so many great things, and I've learned much from him in the short time he has been present at St. Patrick's. During his homily, what stood out most to me was when he quoted St. Augustine - "Our hearts are restless, until they rest in you, O God". Our happiness, our joy, our peace, all rest in God, and we are restless until we rest in our Lord. Our Lord is restless, until we rest in Him, for he desires us. He desires us to be with him. He desires for us to remain in Him. He desires for us to have an intimate relationship with him. 


This is the time of year for change. Many graduate, either high school or college. There is change. We are moving out of our current place of residence and moving back home. We are moving into a new apartment. We are preparing to say good-bye to long friends as they follow their path in life. However, this change is good. We are being sent off into the world to change. We are to be Christ to others. We are to love, and to love with the love Christ. We are to rest in Christ, and remain in Him always.


May we allow the changes in our lives to come willingly. May we embrace the change. May we continually follow our Lord, Jesus Christ, wherever His path may take us. Lastly, may God bless us abundantly as we are sent off into the world to serve and to be Christ to those we meet - at work, on campus, in school, through ministry, and through our daily lives. 


God bless!
many prayers. 


Amber

Modesty - Where Do We Go From Here?

We’ve gathered all this information – modesty is an issue in today’s society, starting with the differences between how men and women work, how he is not just a pervert, it is our problem…so, where do go from here? How do we fix this problem? What can we, as women do, to help our brothers grow in holiness, and 

us? Well, buckle up, because here we go!

I have a four-step plan for you. This plan will help us, as women, to be more modest, and in addition, help our brothers grow!

Step 1 – Pray for men

Sounds simple enough, right? Right! We are to pray for our brothers, especially youth. Pray that they will be strong and steadfast in their personal fight against impurity. Pray for them each time you see immodest women – on the street, in the mall, in school, in mass, on television, in advertisements (you will find you pray quite frequently, almost constantly!). Pray when you see an adult bookstore, magazine rack, and men’s only clubs. Pray that men will have the wisdom, strength, knowledge, and will-power to say NO to those items.

Step 2 – Pray for other girls.

Upon seeing another girl immodest, there is sadness in my heart. My youth minister says “When I see an immodest girl, I feel sadness for them because I know there is a hole in their heart and that they don’t know their worth.”

A woman dresses the way she feels. If she feels like trash, she dresses like trash. If she feels like an object, she dresses like an object. If she feels she’s not good enough, not attractive enough, not smart enough, not kind enough, worthless, she dresses to draw attention to other things, and when they are noticed, she feels better. If she feels like a daughter of God, she dresses like a daughter of God. If a woman knows her worth, her beauty, her love, her goodness, her uniqueness, her dignity lies in God, she will dress so that her body glorifies God. Therefore, pray for each girl you meet, whether she is dressed like a woman who knows her worth rests in God or not, because you never know how that girl is feeling or when she’ll need that little quick pray you send to heaven.

The worth of every woman is more than human mind can fathom; it is beyond this universe. My youth minister said, “Ever woman is worth so much. You are worth more than the entire created universe and you reveal more beauty than the entire created universe.”

Sisters, we are the crowning of creation. We are WOMEN! We are BEAUTIFUL! We are WORTHY! We are worthy to be loved. We are worthy to be cared about. We are worthy to be treasured. We are worthy and deserve to be treated like princesses because we are all princesses in the eyes of our creator. Therefore, I say to you, pray for your fellow sisters. Pray for their purity. Pray for their modesty. Pray they have the strength to fight the culture of death. Most importantly pray they have the wisdom and the knowledge to realize, to understand, to grasp they are worth more!

Step 3 – Fake it until you make it!

Maybe you still don’t understand why modesty is so important. Maybe you still haven’t grasped your worth. Maybe you still think this topic is stupid. That’s okay! However, until you realize it, until it hits home, you need to choose to dress modestly anyway. In dressing modestly, despite understanding, you learn the beauty of dressing modestly. You learn the comfort of dressing modestly. I would even go so far as to say you learn your worth, and your beauty in dressing modestly.

We don’t need someone to measure our neck line, our short length, or our skirt/dress length. You don’t want to shoot for just “making the line.” Think: how can I look truly beautiful – making Jesus look at me and say – this is my beautiful daughter!

Use accountability. Just like when you are struggling with gossip or judgmental remarks about others, you might ask close friends to tell you immediately if they catch you doing this. Thus, ask your friends to tell you if your dress is immodest.

Step 4 – VERITAS: To seek and defend the truth

Dear sisters, I encourage you to strive for modesty and purity, and try to be aware of your dress, speech, and action; to those who already do so, thank you and keep up the good work!

We have 2 tasks – change of heart and help others convert. Therefore, it is time to rise up! Be a herald of the good news in deed and in action. Dress modestly, to be an example to others. Lose yourself in Christ, so you may find your dignity in Christ. Hold your sisters accountable, and lovingly inform them of immodest dress, and help them change and find something better.

When it comes to sports, tell your coaches, the athletic director, present in front of the school board, if necessary, and tell them volleyball does not require spandex and it does nothing, absolutely nothing to aid the game. Runners – of track and Cross Country, short shorts are not necessary, bring this to the attention of those in charge. Make the change. Be the change. Start the change. If that doesn’t work, be counter-cultural, be an individual, and dress modestly, dress purely, talk purely, carry yourself with dignity, knowing you are a daughter of God who is worth more than this world!

Start a revolution at school. It only takes you! It takes one person to make a change. Eventually other girls will catch on, and there will be a chain reaction; before you know it, girls will be dressing modestly school wide, city wide, county wide, state wide, nationwide!

Lastly, defend your modesty. If a man, offends your modesty (makes fun of you), cut him off, be firm, and be truthful. Tell him, do NOT talk to me like that. I am WORTH MORE than what you are saying. If a girl offends your modesty, inform her otherwise, inform her of her dignity and her worth, most importantly – love her. 

Modesty - News Flash: It IS Our Problem

“The good of our soul is more important that the good of our body; and we have to prefer the spiritual welfare of our neighbor to our bodily comforts. If a certain kind of dress constitutes a grave and proximate occasion of sin, and endangers the salvation of your soul and others, it is your duty to give it up” Pope Pius XII in Moral Problems In Fashion Design 1957.

In 1957, Pope Pius XII called out the importance of modesty in one’s dress throughout their life, reminding us it is our duty. We have responsibility to the other. We are all called to holiness and we are all called to help each other attain holiness; therefore, it is our duty to be sure we help our brothers avoid the sins of impurity and lust by dressing modestly, and it our duty to hold our sisters accountable by calling them out when they dress immodestly.
How do we call our sisters out?

Do’s	Don’ts
Pull them aside Be nice Say it in a way that won’t offend them Suggest ways to help Offer to go shopping Continue to hold her accountable Pray for them Example – Hey Sue, I just wanted to let you know your shirt the other day was a little low, you try putting a cami over it or wearing a cardigan	Call them out in a crowd Call them out on facebook Be rude Yell Become angry Feel betrayed if friend doesn’t respond well

It is easy for us to rationalize our immodest dress – ex. It’s hot outside, it’s not that bad, you can’t see anything, etc. However, this is just laziness. We want to modify the standards of modesty to ease our struggle and we don’t want to change.

It’s said in many books when you willfully cause a person to sin, it is a sin itself. Jesus says that if one causes another to sin it would have been better for that person to have never been born – now that sounds a little extreme, but if you think about it – striving for holiness is a challenge and it is our duty. Failing to fulfill our duty as Christians is no small task. However, don’t become overwhelmed. It’s hard to do and something we must work at.

This is hard for me to say because I think of my past and how I’ve dressed, and because I know it’s hard to hear, but I know it needs to be heard, and I say with love and with the desire my fellow sisters will realize the important of modesty. Willful immodesty is a grave, grave sin. Willful immodesty stems from two main reasons: 1. You are too lazy to dress modestly, go through your closet and get rid of modest clothes, take the time to shop and look for modest clothes, and help your brothers get to heaven. 2. You are choosing to draw attention to parts of your body reserved for your spouse, seeking the glorification of your body rather than the glorification of God and the Holy Spirit who dwells within you. Both points 1 and 2 are extremely severe cases of sin.

Remember that each day you are making an impact on others around you. What kind of impact are you making? Are you revealing the beauty of God? Or are you a spark lighting the fire of impurity for men?
Ask yourself that question each time you get dressed.

Continue reading as we will discuss where to go from here and how to change seductive immodest dress to beautiful modest dress!