Prayer Request

I found today that a member of my extended family who is 17 weeks pregnant was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Please pray for her and her family. Thank you!

Respecting Women is Respecting LIfe

I'm currently reading an advanced copy of Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood by my friend and colleague Pat Gohn and was excited to see an article by her on the Washington Post website: Respecting Women is Respecting Life. Sadly, some of the comments are quite angry, especially in light of the fact that Pat advocates respect for women.



Here is a brief excerpt:

A woman’s womb, her uterus, signals that she is made for something and someone more than herself. This reality touches a woman at her very core -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The womb’s raison d’etre illuminates this gift that welcomes and receives the life of a child, sheltering and nurturing it, until finally, a woman gives birth. We even use the expression -- giving birth -- denoting the gift that it is. The maternal gift ought to be honored and celebrated.

What’s more, a pregnant mother is entrusted with carrying an immortal soul besides her own -- a soul that is destined for eternity. That’s why a woman really needs to be aware of the dignity of her feminine creation, and the sublime gift of her maternity, so she can confer that dignity on her child, and upon others through her love of life. 

The gift of maternity is inherent in all women. They are predisposed to motherhood by their design. Yet, as we know, not all women bear children. Even if a woman never gives birth, a woman’s life is still inclined toward mothering. All women are entrusted with the call to care for the people within their sphere of influence. This broadens our ideas of maternity beyond gestation and lactation. 

A woman’s relationships with others, even though they may not be fruitful biologically, can be fruitful spiritually. Therefore a woman’s life--her feminine genius--is characterized by physical and/or spiritual motherhood. 

40 Years Too Many

January 22nd marks 40 years since Roe v. Wade made the right to abortion the law of the land. Columbia Magazine reported that

Although the violence that the decision has wrought is largely hidden from public view, abortion has claimed more than 55 million innocent lives - and has wounded countless more hearts - in the United States since 1973. On average, more children are killed through elective abortion every year under Roe v. Wade than the American death toll of every war in the nation's history combined and more innocent lives in America are lost to abortion every day than perished in the attacks of 9/11. Acknowledging this fact does not diminish the horrors of wars or terrorist attacks, but simply illustrates how utterly incomprehensible abortion's impact really is.

Where are the flags at half-mast, the public-outcry, the horror at the atrocity? How can people stand by and allow this to continue? Please pray and work to end abortion.

My Fertility MD App Review

Over on CatholicLane, Sarah Reinhard has offered a review of the MyFertilityMD App: http://catholiclane.com/myfertilitymd-app-review/.

This looks like a great resource for all of us who practice NFP or for those seeking to try it out. It's wonderful to see these technological resources to help with charting and interpreting fertility signs.

As Sarah writes,
Not sure if this sign you’re having is normal? Worried about something? Just confused by your body?
Or any number of other things…there are real doctors (people with MD after their name, not theologians, mind you) on hand. They’ll look at your charts, answer your questions, pass you the coffee–oh, wait, I’m getting my apps confused…
The FAQs and instructional videos are very good, too. (Yes, I already mentioned that, but it bears repeating.)
In the event that you want to share your chart with your own medical professional or someone else (like your spouse?), you can easily export them.

Inexpensive

The cost of classes? Between $100-200. The cost of ongoing learning? I don’t know.
Right now, the app costs $4.99 in iTunes. That’s a special introductory price, and I think this app is worth at least three times that (or more).

Homeschooling Support

Each Friday, my children and I get together with our local Catholic homeschooling group. The children play while the moms pray, vent, exchange ideas, do some spiritual reading, and support each other through whatever challenges or blessings we happen to be experiencing at that moment. I don't know what I would do without the friendship of these remarkable women.

Today we were discussing HSLDA - The Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Some of us are members; some are not. I am - as I told my friends, I consider my membership as "homeschooling insurance." In the event I ever need some legal support, they are there for me. But, HSLDA also offers some wonderful support services and information. A full list of their resources can be found at www.hslda.org/resources.  I enjoy the email bulletins that they send out as well as their quarterly publication: The HSLDA Court Report. While it includes information regarding recent legal issues surrounding homeschooling, it also includes general information and encouragement about homeschooling. 

The Autumn 2012 issue, which came in the mail yesterday, featured an article by J.Michael Smith, HSLDA president: The Strength to Homeschool is Found in Weakness.

This is an excerpt:

Homeschoolers need to remember that homeschooling is not a sprint - it's a marathon. In the race, you'll be confronted with problems such as children who refuse to do schoolwork, children who don't like homeschooling, husbands who don't help much, running out of money, opposition from in-laws, out-laws, and friends and church, illness or injury, difficult pregnancies, complicated school subjects, special needs and learning struggles, legal challenges (that's where HSLDA comes in!) and finally, feelings of inadequacy and doubt. And why wouldn't we have those feelings with all the changes that we face in homeschooling? . . 

Perhaps the greatest thing that we can do as homeschooling moms and dads is admit we can't homeschool without God and simply ask for His help. 

God did not design man to be self-sufficient, but to be dependent on Him. In some ways I believe that homeschooling moms and dads are tremendously blessed because they have to live out this dependence upon God.

So, if the challenges of this school year are overwhelming you - and they probably are! - take comfort in knowing that if you persevere and call out to God, you're going to see some great things happen in your family.

How to be Beautiful

Every woman longs to be beautiful, and while some beauty is certainly external and subject to personal preference, the most important and lasting kind of beauty comes from within.

Rachel Zawila offers some great tips on how to have an interior beauty that can't help but be reflected on the outside in this article from St. Anthony Messenger: True Beauty Lies Within

Zawila writes: “Every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit” (Mt 7:17–18). Matthew was on to something. In these days of fast fixes, our society jumps at any lotion or potion that promises smoother skin and shinier hair in an instant. 


But those quick cures are just that—temporary. The long-lasting glow you’re going for isn’t found in any bottle; it lies inside of you.

Your body is a mirror to your mind and soul: what you’re feeling on the inside is reflected externally. We all know the effects lack of sleep, stress, or anxiety can have on our bodies. Studies routinely link high levels of stress to dullness and dryness of skin and hair, wrinkles, and lethargy. But the opposite is also true. A calm and peaceful mind and spirit radiate outward in the form of dewy skin, sparkling eyes, and higher levels of energy.

Who we are is an intricate system of mind, body, and spirit. When all are rooted firmly in faith and nurtured with care, the tangible results are bound to be good.

Please read the full article here (which includes Zawila's tips for achieving this beauty): True Beauty Lies Within.

This Life vs. Eternity

My aunt died Christmas morning, and as often happens when someone I care about leaves this earth, her death has had me thinking about life - its purpose and its brevity. My aunt was a wonderful woman - hard-working, full of joy and with a big heart - who lived 78 good years on this earth. She had a life well-lived.

Any one familiar with the Baltimore Catechism knows that we were made to know, love, and serve God and to share eternal life with Him in heaven. Regular readers of my blog also know that I do have a fascination with life on the other side. I like to read stories of those who have had near-death experiences -to have a glimpse of what the other side might look like. After all, in terms of eternity, the amount of time we spend on this earth is like a grain of sand on the beach. We are going to be spending a lot more time there than we are here.

In that light, probably 99 % of what we worry about or concern ourselves with here on earth doesn't matter at all. Think over your life. What were your concerns 10 years ago, 5 years ago, last year? Do they still matter? Will they matter when you are on your deathbed? Yet, we spend so much time and energy on them.

I do try to make the most out of life. I do believe (at least on my good days) that life is a gift. I also believe it is a test - that a great deal is riding on how we live out our life. Suffering has a purpose. Sacrifice out of love is often the order of the day. I also think that life is meant to be enjoyed a bit - that God created this wonderful, beautiful world for us to appreciate. I often struggle to find a balance between the sacrifice and the enjoyment.

Trying to figure out what matters in the long haul isn't easy. Even though we are eternal beings, destined for something better than this existence, for the time being, this is where we are. God has a reason for creating us and putting us here. We have daily duties and responsibilities. We have vocations to live out, jobs to do. We have been given certain gifts and the responsibility to use them. We have been given the commandments to follow.. Sometimes, it is all too easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty of life and lose sight of the big picture.

I'm most likely at least half done my life. I hope that when God decides to bring me home, I will have fulfilled my purpose on this earth. There are so many things about life and death I don't understand. I just get up every day and try to do the best I can. When I fail, I get up the next day and try again, even when I don't want to. I hope that what I do each day and how I choose to live my life matters, but I'm really not sure. I hope in the promise of eternal life, even though I don't know what it holds. Life and death are both such a mystery. All I can do is take things on faith, trust in God, and hope for the best.