Being Pro-Life

I am pro-life! Does this shock anyone? No? I have developed my pro-life"ness" over many years. I even tried to start a pro-life group at my Catholic high school, but that is a whole other blog post....

Focus, Sarah, this post is about BEING pro-life. I'm not simply anti-abortion, I'm anti-killing, anti-war, anti-taking someone else's life away. Only God has the say in who dies. 

Did you know that there is a difference between being pro-life and anti-abortion? Not many people do and the 2 groups often get clumped together. Often like pro-abortion and pro-choice do. I want to elaborate more on this, but not here...

What made me want to write this post is another death sentence getting carried out.

9!!! people this year, just in the state of Missouri, have been executed!!! I have read these stories and cried a little and prayed for these people and their families. Why is it okay for the state to kill people???

Is what they, the criminal, did wrong? Yes, but is it right to kill them back? Can people change? 

Do you know what the catechism says? 

Well, since you asked:

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."⁵⁶

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

So, the death penalty isn't against church teachings, but read on...

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Can we keep the person detained? I think that our prison systems are pretty good. I can't remember the last time we had a high security prison break.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."⁶⁸

Fun Fact: it's more expensive to sentence a person to death than to sentence them to life in prison. 

Yes, I'm anti-abortion, but, by being pro-life, I'm so much more. The death penalty needs the death penalty...lol...see what I did there...anyway...

Will you join me in prayer at 12:01am for the soul of this man and the person given the job of giving the lethal injection?

UPDATE:

Shortly after posting this and spending a few moments in prayer, I read this on Facebook:

Wow! God does hear prayers!

Update #2: I shared the Facebook post above and asked friends to pray with me for this man, his family, and the person who would kill him. The response from my friends saddens me. They think it'd okay to kill him because he killed first. I will simply pray for these friends, that God shows them that ANY kind of killing is wrong.

DISCLAIMER: I do not know this man, nor the crimes he committed. I am simply against killing people.

NAS: Discernment Challenges

We all agree that discernment is challenging. Figuring out what the Lord is calling you to do with your life can be frustrating and exhausting. But, then add on lack of family support, cultural pressures, and your personal expectations... ugh. And, this isn't just in relation to vocational discernment, but general life discernment, too! How do you keep going? What helps you to push through? How can we encourage one another? What indicators have you experienced that lets you know you're

 going down the right path?

Ahhh, discernment. What does God have planned for me and how can I figure it out?

If you haven't noticed, my blog is about my current discernment to answer the call to religious life. You can read more about how I realized God's call HERE. I'm not going to bore you with that again.

Then there is general life discernment. I have done my fair share of this! For the last 2 years I have been a substitute teacher. It wasn't working! I would have a week where I didn't work and then next week I would be turning down jobs because I would be booked. Then came the snow days...subs don't get paid when there's no school...

So, I spent a large portion of my summer begging God for a change! I was applying for any job at any school. I was also thinking of going back to school to become a nurse. I asked God for a job, but if He thought I should become a nurse, then let me know. God answered with a job. You can read more about how I LOVE my job HERE!

Prayer is key to discernment! Talking things out with God makes His plans more clear to us humans! I just found this awesome prayer for discernment:

Check out the how to pray section! This is something I'm going to be sharing!

I think the number one way to encourage others is by being there. God sometimes speaks through others. My aunt/godmother is a nurse and she has been encouraging me to become a nurse since forever. Was God speaking through her? I'm not sure, but becoming a nurse is still possible!

When I'm "going down the right path" there is an inside feeling of joy and happiness! There is little anxiety and extreme happiness. It's a weird feeling. You will know when it's the right path!

On a similar note, the sadness I was feeling when going the wrong was intense. I could feel myself not only going away from what God wanted, but going away from God! It's important to also be aware of this feeling. There is ALWAYS time to turn around and take the path the God has made for you!

In summary, pray, listen and be a listener to friends and family, don't be afraid to change directions if you realize you aren't doing God's will, and don't let Gid slip away!

Here's another fun picture to close with:

Check out Jen's  and Morgan's Blogs for more NAS Funness!!!

Sarah Vs. Food

Pinterest Picture:

My before cooking picture:

After cooking picture:

Result: best pork EVER!!

Sarah: 3

Food: 0

I think I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing!

For those interested, here is the recipe:

It's a Small World After All!

I was at a parish partnership meeting tonight and it was one if the best I have been to! Everyone let there guard down and we got to know each other! That is what we need if we are going to make this partnership work!

I like to talk to priests. They are all full of such great insight and are very willing to help in my discernment process. It's wonderful because they are very knowledgable! 

Tonight, we were talking I a priest I know from another diocese came up. Turns out Fr. Stan, who I was talking to, also knows Fr. Daren and had been in the seminary with him!  

I find it funny because both of these men play a part in my vocation story. I met Fr. Daren when I was in high school and he had just been ordained. I really fell in love with the mass and planning the mass with his help. He helped guide me to better understand the Catholic Church. I remember him telling me dogs don't go to heaven (but they do) and how we shouldn't hold hands during the Our Father at mass (I try to not hold hands, but will if not holding seems rude). He was one of the first priest I knew that seemed like a normal person. 

I have recently gotten to know Fr. Stan through the parish partnership. He had been at the church that I went to school at, but after I had graduated. He has helped guide me to different communities. There are soooo many orders in my area and it's an overwhelming task to try to discern which is the one I'm being called to. Fr. Stan has helped point me in directions I wouldn't think of looking. He has also been praying for me since the beginning ( my mom had told him even before I had made the news public) Fr. Stan is another priest that I can have a conversation with and walk away feeling enlightened!

I'm really lucky to have a priestly support system! Just on Facebook, I'm friends with 5 priests. There are many more priests that have helped in my faith formation! Some are still living, while others have passed on. Fr. Haas helped me pick my confirmation saint(this will be a story for another post). Fr. Joe showed me to keep going, that God will take care of you. He was also the master of the 5 minute homily, whispering directions to the servers, and always ending mass with a joke! Fr. Flach taught me to ask questions! He would end his week day homilies with a question and answer segment. He also made frequent visits to our classrooms.

I totally got off the point I wanted to make, but I REALLY like the point I made! Therefore, I'm going to leave it.

What priests have played an important role in your life?

Sarah Vs. Food

I am determined to improve my cooking skills! Here are some of the latest tales of Sarah Vs. Food

Saturday, after mass, my patents wanted to go to Home Depot to pick something up. They were going to go out to eat, but I insisted that we had food at home and I could cook while they shopped. 

GAME ON!!!

We had frozen hamburger patties, bacon, onions, and potatoes....bacon hamburgers with twice baked (microwaved) potatoes! My brother was off camping all weekend, so he wasn't there to not eat. Everyone else enjoyed dinner and there were no leftovers...maybe this cooking thing isn't so bad! 

Sarah: 1 

Food:0

Tonight, I made pulled chicken sandwiches. SUPER easy!! I put chicken breasts (because I only eat white meat) into the crock pot at around 10:30 this morning with a bit of water on high. I let it cook all day. 

When I got home at 6pm, I took the mix n chop to the chicken. The mix n chop is the most amazing kitchen tool

It looks like this and it shreds meat, mashes potatoes, and any other mixing and chopping things! It's awesome to use when browning hamburger meat for chili, spaghetti, or tacos!

My dad ate 2 sandwiches and there were only a few leftovers...I have my doubts that my brother ate...I still call this a win for Sarah!

For those keeping track at home, that's:

Sarah: 2

Food: 0

Wednesday night, I take on food again! This time I will attempt a Pinterest recipe!

My plan is to prep it all tomorrow night so I will just have to put it in the crockpot Wednesday morning!

And, the best part is that I have not injured myself! I did break a plate in the microwave while I was making peas tonight...

Stay tuned for more Sarah Vs. Food!

My Recent YouTube Obsession

Hi, my name is Sarah and I'm obsessed with YouTube!

(I know I just shared some YouTube videos, but this obsession is REAL!)

It all started as a way of discernment. No, really, it's a SUPER useful way to connect with others! I watched vocation stories, investitures of sisters, final vow professions, and priest ordinations. It was a really neat tool! I now find myself planning the ceremony when I take my first steps into a community much like I use to plan my wedding!

But, it's not all I have been watching on YouTube. Baby announcements and gender reveals are among my most current videos. I think they are sweet and I love babies and how people announce they are welcoming a gift from God!

My obsession doesn't end there...now I find myself listening to church songs. Singing is like praying twice....most of the songs I have been listening to are very moving...Here I am, Lord, I am the Bread of Life, Prayer of St. Francis, and Hail Mary, Gentle Woman are a few I have listened to. Not to mention Laterns by Birds of Tokyo. This song still gives me chills from the place it has in my vocation story. I also have a slight obsession with Do You Wanna Be a Sister?

It gets worse...Stuff Catholics Say in many different forms...not only did I watch ALL of them, but I laughed and saw myself in most of them! Seriously, "with your spirit" took me a LOOOONG time to figure out and I still need the cheat sheet for the creeds...(I barely knew the old translation) My favorite out of all of the ones that I watched would have been when someone was listening all the horrible things going on and the Catholic saying "we have a patron saint for that" Why do I find it funny? One, we probably do and two, I say that ALL of the time!!

I have also come across some neat (yes, I said "neat") ideas for encouraging vocations. The first is a vocation mass. This would be special mass where men and women learn more about vocations. There would be communities of religious there to answer questions as well as priests. There would be a special blessings for those discerning and in formation and a time for those people to connect and talk with each other. Having a friend who is also discerning is nice because we know what the other is going through. The second is getting my diocese to have more of a YouTube presence. Having the young men and women FROM OUR OWN DIOCESE share their vocation stories would be helpful to others because we are local! There was one story I watched from a sister in St. Louis and I connected with her story because I felt a common bond of location! Also, it would let people know that we do have seminarians, women entering religious life, and men in formation to become permenant deacons!

YouTube is an amazing tool in discernment! Just type in "Religious Vocations" and see where that takes you!

YouTube and Discernment

What??? Don't you pair the two together???

As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of quiet. I don't have a TV in my room, so I often have a hard time falling asleep at night in the quiet. Some nights I spend that quiet time talking to God about my day and thanking Him for giving me another day! Other nights I read until my eyes won't stay open. Then there are the nights where I need actual noise. I turn to YouTube. I have found many useful videos into searches.

There was God or the Girl which was a mini-series on E! about men discerning priesthood. It was interesting, but I only found 1 man's journey and I would have liked to see them all.

There is this fun video parody called Do You Wanna Be a Sister?:

I have found myself writing my own version of this song even before I found this one!

Then tonight I have found these videos from VISION Vocations:

Which give steps and information about discernment.

And then there is this gem!

Wow!!! It shows common "excuses" why someone will give about becoming a sister. Can I just say I said them all? Well, I did and God kept pushing! 

If you have EVER considered becoming a priest, monk, or sister then I strongly encourage you to watch these short videos! Even if the thought has never crossed your mind, watch them so you can help others who are discerning! Especially watch the "Do You Wanna Ne a Sister" that one still crackse up!

All of Me

'Cause all of me

Loves all of you

Love your curves and all your edges

All your perfect imperfections

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning

'Cause I give you all of me

And you give me all of you

--John Legend, All of Me

I have had this song stuck in my head all day. As I'm singing it, I feel like it is God singing it to me. Weird, right?

Go ahead and look at the words in the refrain. God's love for us is amazing! It's kind of overwhelming! He loves all of us!! Our curves, our edges, our imperfections!  All of us!!!

I have struggled with this. How can God love all of me? I'm so far from perfect! I could lose a few (a lot) of pounds, I sin, I don't always do what God wants, I have even questioned God's love for me. How can God still love me? 

Guess what? He does!!! John 3:16 says that "God so loved the world, He have His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him will never die, but have eternal life!" That is how much God loves us and we need to let Him love us, even when we don't feel worthy of that love!

The last 2 lines stick with me as well. God gave his all to us (His son, Jesus) and He has asked that we give all of us to Him. We do this by saying "yes" to His will. Some may be giving themselves to God by getting married and having a family, some by entering priesthood and religious life, others are called to single life. Whatever we are called to do, we need to give our all to Him!

Are you giving your all to God?

I Don't Cook...

I love cooking competition shows!!! Top Chef, Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen, and other such shows. I watch these shows and then try to get creative and cook!

Well, cooking doesn't always turn out the way I hope. Most often, I will make dinner for the family, and then no one will eat. They claim they aren't hungry, but I find them searching the fridge later for an evening snack.

Other times, I end up cutting myself in some way. I stabbed myself last week when opening the package the meat was in. That wound just healed a few days ago. In the same cooking experience, I burned myself with oil when I placed the pork into the frying pan.

Today, I have sliced my finger

This is the 3rd bandaid I have bled through. (Update: I just changed bandaid #6 about 24 hours after the incident. #7 has no signs of blood yet!)

I don't think God is calling me to a vocation that requires cooking. It is also one area that terrifies me about entering a community. The ones that I visited last week seem to take turns cooking. Will they expect me to be able to cook? Will they teach me to cook? Will they kick me out if I burn down the house trying to make popcorn on the stove? (Yes, I have set a pan on fire trying to pop popcorn on the stove) What happens if I cut or burn myself when cooking for other non-related people?

Of all things that I'm worried about during discernment, I'm worried about cooking....

Update:

I tried to make cookies tonight....they where an add some butter and water mix....my results:

Dear God, please help me improve my cooking skills!!!

NAS: My Relationship with Mary

This week's Not Alone Series is about the Holy Rosary! Check out Jen's  and Morgan's Blogs for more NAS opinions!

October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, so we wanted to honor Mary and reflect on her help during this time of singleness. How have you called on her intercession before? What is your relationship with our Blessed Mother like? If you don't know much about Mary or the Rosary, is there something keeping you from getting to know her?

Mary has been a very important part of my life since June. June was the month that my life changed. I started discerning my vocation to religious life and I re-committed myself to God. This was because of Mary!

If you have read my story, then you know that my discernment started by giving a talk on a retreat. The name of my talk was "Mary, the Unconditional Servant". I was struggle with one part of my talk where I was to talk about a time I was an unconditional servant. I couldn't think of any and I "prayed" (I use quotes because my "praying" was much different than it is now) to come up with something. Well, the night before the retreat started, something came!

I feel close to Mary. She has been a very big part of my discernment journey and continues to be!

I LOVE to pray the rosary! I have an app on my phone called Laudate that has podcasts of the rosary. I plug my phone into my car and pray while I drive to work. There are many podcasts to choose from. There is a simple rosary with mediations from the Year of Faith and there's the scriptural rosary. These are my 2 favorites. There is also Latin versions. I don't know Latin, so I choose not to listen to these. If you have a smart phone, check out the Laudate app'

This has helped to give me strength to deal with difficult situations. I also prayed the rosary on my way to the interview I had this summer. I credit Mary with helping me to get this job.

I am a tactile person. I like to touch and feel. I have tried not using rosary beads to keep track of where I am (it seems a bit unsafe to drive and use the rosary), but I lose interest in the task at hand. I was at the Catholic Supply Store and I came across a finger rosary.

This is the perfect thing to use while driving! Also, my grandma used to keep one pinned in the pocket of her pants when she was alive. If I need extra strength to get through my day, I put it in my pocket to remember that Mary is there to help and encourage, much like she helped and encouraged her son!

My finger rosary clips onto my key chain so that I won't forget it or lose it!

My real mom and I have a strong relationship and my heavenly mother, Mary, and I have a strong relationship! I'm one lucky person!

The Nun Run

Today was the day I have been looking forward to for awhile!!! It was Nun Run day!!!! We visited 4 different communities and I felt like I learned a lot at each one!!

Our day started with 7 am mass at the Poor Clare Monestary. Today was the feast of St. Francis and was a special mass. I had never been to the monestary before. It is a BEAUTIFUL church! Also, the mass was beautiful! It was unique! There was a wall/screen down the middle and the priest was on our side, but was facing the sisters. Definitely something all Catholics should experience!

After mass we had breakfast and watched a short video about the Poor Clares. In the video was a priest we had in my home parish for awhile. It was neat to see him in his younger years. When he was at my parish he was much older and not in the best of health. Then we went to the parlor to talk to the sisters. It was another unique experience. 

They gave us each some information about them and shared some vocation stories. I enjoyed our time there, but I don't think this is where I'm being called.

We then went next door to the Adorers of the Blood of Christ Novitiate House. Wow!!! What a difference!! The ASCs are an apostolic community and they don't wear habits. We met with many sisters who live there and their one novice. I have been avoiding this community mostly because..,I'm not sure... Anyway, I felt a connection with them today. The novice we met with has the "teaching job" (it was a half day once a week teaching music) I had last year!! I gave this job up because I didn't care for it and I needed to find a more permeant job. We again were sent with pamphlets and goodies!!

Those were the 2 stops we made in our diocese. I am lucky to live near St. Louis, where there are so many different religious communities!

Our first stop "across the river" was to the School Sisters of Notre Dame. I was REALLY excited about this visit since I'm a teacher. I left with a feeling that this wasn't where God is calling me. Our visit was short, but we were again given some reading material about their community

and a Vision Vocation Guide (I'm super excited about this!)

Our last stop of the day was to the Daughters of St. Paul. I love their ministry! They are all about spreading God's love through different media! Their convent is connected to their bookstore!! How cool is that!?!? While I love their ministry, I spent much of the time there wondering where my talents would fit in. I'm not sure they would.

We had a DELICIOUS lunch cooked by an 85 year old Italian sister! Wow!! Was it good!!! 

We then spent a bit of time (and money) in their bookstore. I bought a daily devotional. 

We were once again given information about them.

I'm very glad I was able to participate in this nun run! I look forward to continue my discernment in a more focused way! I feel like I know for sure now that I'm not being called to a cloistered, contemplative order or to an order that wears a habit. There are two more communities I FOR SURE want to visit: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet is one and then my dad suggest I explore the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ because I had 2 great-aunts belonged to that community.

And here's a car selfie of the group of is that went!

Happy Feast of St. Térèse of Lisieux!!

Happy Feast of St. Térèse of Lisieux!!!

Today, Imagine Sisters, a group that supports vocations to religious life, is hosting "The One Rose Invitation"

"The One Rose Invitation was inspired by St.Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of Imagine Sisters, who said, 'After my death I will let fall a shower of roses.'

They ask everyone to think and pray about a young woman who they know and think would make a good religious sister. Then, today, October 1st, you let her know by offering her a single rose.

The rose is a symbol of the invitation to consider religious life, as well as an acknowledgment of the beauty of that young woman’s soul.

Today, I am sending out an electronic rose to a dear friend who I believe will make a FANTABULOUS religious sister!

Next time I see her in person, I will be giving her a real rose.

Who do you know that may be called to religious life? Will you let her know by sending her a rose???