NAS: Spiritual Writing

Linking up (late) (again) with Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe!

What are some of your favorite or go-to books, devotionals or even blogs that help encourage you in your spiritual life?

Sooo many good blogs out there!!! I also LOVE reading!!! This link-up seems perfect to share a little!!!

First, blogs!!

A priest friend, Fr. Daren has dzehnle.blogspot.com 

He keeps me updated on many things including Isis and the Islamic State. He also shares his homilies and is a very good blog to check out when looking to see why we Catholics do what we do. He is studying Canon Law in Rome.

Then there are the "nun blogs" I like to read because it helps with my discernment. Sounds crazy, but it makes the whole process less scary and gives me somebody to connect with.

There is Tracy at sisterintraining.blogspot.com

And then the Sisters of Charity at futureofcharity.blogspot.com

Then there is the blog database at catholicblogs.blogspot.com

It is simply a list of a BUNCH of blogs written by Catholics! 

Now, books!

I really liked My Sisters, the Saints. Check out my post about it here. I think just about everyone had read it, but it's really good! I think I will read it again before passing it on to a friend.

Then, devotionals!

This one is AMAZING!!!

I picked it up at the Pauline Bookstore while I was on a nun run in October. It's a good devotional for young, single women! Each month focuses on a different topic, from your vocation, to chasity, one day I was challenged to imagine being dead! What I REALLY like about it is that it offers a journal prompt and something to do. One day, I explored the meaning behind the miraculous medal and then purchased one and wear it daily. I REALLY encourage you all to check it out! Sr. Helena Burns is also on Twitter and is worth following! 

This journal is what I'm working through now:

It was given to me by the order that I'm currently discerning with. I would suggest it for all people who are discerning where God is calling you. It's not just for those discerning religious life.

I'm always looking for good suggestions for reading, so let me know what you have enjoyed!

Praying, Fasting, Almsgiving: What I'm doing this Lent

This Wednesday, we celebrate Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

In grade school, we always had to write down what we would be giving up and then we would take our sacrifices to the alter. After grade school, the practice of giving something up grew less important each year. I don't remember ever missing an Ash Wednesday mass, but I have always struggled with giving something up and obeying the rules for fasting and abstaining from meat.

I had a great priest in grade school who, among other things, encouraged is to not only give something up, but to pray more and to give back. This same priest also physically buried "Alleluia" in his front yard!

In the spirit of not only giving something up, I will also be spending more time in prayer and giving back.

Without further delay, my Lenten promises for 2015:

Praying:

-Attend a weekday mass once a week

(Super excited my church will offer a 7pm mass 3 Tuesdays during Lent!)

-Spend my time in my car saying the rosary instead of listening to the radio.

Fasting

-No QT/gas station stop in the morning

(I will instead drink water or bring something from home)

-Speaking ill of others

(This specifically is about my one co-worker who doesn't seem to respect me)

Almsgiving

-Clean spare change from car and donate.

-Clean out closet and donate what I don't wear.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

I have been spending my St. Valentine's Day doing some discernment. First, I read the first chapter in my discernment journal. 

I just noticed the title...seems perfect to start today!

Then, I let myself daydream about visting the sisters in Witchita, KS. I'm thinking of maybe visiting during Holy Week. I looked up possible flights and what days would be best. I also looked into Catholics on Call this summer in Chicago. This is something the ASCs want to send me to, to help with discernment.

Finally, I will wrap up my valentines day with my valentine, Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist. 

I just love my little church! Tonight's mass was special in its own way. Some of my cousins whom I don't see often sat in front of me. Their little boy read the church bulletin during the entire mass. He found something funny and had to share it. Then, someone else grabbed me while in line to remove a sticker from my pants...never a dull moment.

Today also marks 29 years since my Grandma Harbaugh passed away. I never had the chance to meet her, but I'd like to think that she (and my other grandparents and Uncle Tom) are all praying on my behalf during my discernment journey!

Today was one of the best St. Valentine's Days I have had!

Pet Peeves: Church V. Mass

We all have them. Those little things that drive you crazy.

I can't stand people balancing on two legs on a chair

Like this!!! It drives me nuts and I have been known to tell adults to sit flat! I also walk around at lunch time pushing chairs down onto 4 legs. I also won't serve snack to students not sitting correctly.

My BIGGEST pet peeve is about how people interchange church and mass. They are two different things and should not be used interchangeably

Church:

"Church" is the building. (This is my church! The foundation limestone came from my family farm) It's also the people that fill the church. We are "one, holy, and apostolic church."

Mass:

(Not my church, but this is a mass)

Mass is, well, mass! It's where we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. 

It's broken into 4 parts: 1) Introductory Rites 2) Liturgy of the Word 3) Liturgy of the Eucharist 4) Concluding Rites 

You attend mass. People (at least my family) ask how mass was.

Do you see the difference? I try my best to educate people who often use these words interchangeable. Will you help spread the word that they are two, similar, but different things?!?!

Thank you! And PLEASE sit on all 4 legs of the chair!!!

New (Liturgical) Year Resolutions: An Update

We are through Advent, the Christmases Season, and almost to Lent. I think it's time to update on my New (Liturgical) Year resolutions. You can view my previous post here

1. Go to reconciliation once a month.

Why is this so hard??? I joked with a friend that I try hard not to sin so I don't have to go. I had a not so good reconciliation experience as a kid so I am really struggling with making the time to get to confession when it is being offered.

2. Don't miss any holy day and Sunday masses.

I missed January, 1, the Solemnity of Mary. Between Christmas and New Years I was battling a pretty gnarly cold/sinus infection. I also missed a Sunday mass due to poor weather/sick. Then I missed last weekend because I was working our church's Super Bowl Dinner/Bingo. I'm doing much better than a year ago!

3. Attend a weekday mass at least once a week.

Again, I'm riding the struggle bus. I want to find and evening week day mass that is within a reasonable distance. During Lent, I will make a mass a week, even if it means going at 8 a.m.

My resolutions aren't going great, but I'm trying. Please pray for me as I continue to struggle, especially with the sacrament of reconciliation! 

NAS: What am I Looking For??

What are the qualities and characteristics that you are looking for in your future husband? We have talked about what we don't want, but it's good to have an idea of those things that are important to us. Discerning religious life? This applies to communities, as well!

Linking up with the NAS girls (a bit tardy) this week. Jen is hosting this week and Morgan is supporting!

So, I use to dream about the perfect husband. I was looking for someone who accepted me as I was. He wasn't going to try to change me or pressure me into something I didn't want. I wanted a "knight in shiny armor". Meaning someone who would come rescue me from myself. (It would also be handy if he could change a flat tire)

Now, not so much. I imagine God as the perfect spouse. He will catch me when I fall. When I'm struggling through my day, a quick conversation with Him soothes my anxiety. I couldn't imagine a more perfect husband! (And I can still call my dad to come change that flat tire)

I'm currently still looking for the right community for me and the talents I have. My top two would be the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJs) and the Adorers of the Blood Christ (ASCs). I love their charisms. They both serve people. That's what I want to do! I feel called to help others with my gift of teaching. I also feel called to help older adults like I helped my grandpa.

Many people I talk to tell of a strong feeling to wear the habit and some say they don't. I'm not totally sure. The few communities that I visited that wear a habit, I don't think I'm being called to. But, it wasn't the habit that led me to this conclusion.

The TEC program is and always will be a big part of my life. A community that let's me continue to be part of the TEC community is a must. There may be a time when I am unable to be as active as I am now, but I don't want to leave TEC forever.

Being with other people my age is also important. Often, I find myself easily the youngest person in a group. This is okay sometimes, but I also want a chance to be with other sisters who are of similar age. I know that both ASCs and CSJs have very few "younger" sisters. I know both participate in an "intercommunity novitiate  program". Also, I won't be isolated to just the sisters from the community I pick. Hanging out with both communities, the younger sisters know each other!

This has been a HARD post to write! The qualities of the community I'm looking for are similar to that of a husband. There are certain "non-negotiables" (cloistered life isn't for me) and other things that could go either way (habit or not, that is the question!). I know I want to serve people, but where and what capacity I'm still discerning. That right community may be the one I was so sure I would never even consider, and it may be the one that I haven't found yet. Guess I'll continue discerning!

Excuses, excuses, excuses!

"Church is soooo boring"

"They need to make mass more relatable to us young people"

"The little old ladies are scary"

"I have no one to go with"

"I don't like waking up on Sunday mornings"

Raise your hand if you have ever used one of these excuses to "get out" of going to mass?

 I have! (And the old ladies still terrify me so I attend mass on Saturday evenings, which also knocked out the excuse of not being a fan of mornings!)

These are excuses. We need to dig down and find the true reason why we are avoiding mass.

I found mine. I was like Jonah. God had told me what He wanted me to do, but it scared me so I ran! But, we all know how that ended with Jonah

 

Yep, he spent 3 days in the stomach of a whale. Whale, whale, whale, (teehee) Jonah still ended up doing what God had called him to do. 

That is how I feel. The "whale" I spent time in was a feeling of extreme happiness of where I was in life and the feeling that I was on a dead end road leading to no where!

Well, I, like Jonah, have realized that following God's Will leads to pretty amazing things!

I went through stages of coming back to mass. 

First, I would only go to mass at 5pm on Sundays at the Cathedral. This lasted a couple of months. I liked going there because it is a large church that I can easily blend in at. I liked the anonymity. No one was looking at me.  

Second, I became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. This gave me a reason to attend my home parish.

Third, I began attending Saturday evening mass at my home parish. I liked this because often the people scheduled to be Eucharistic Ministers don't show up, so I get to do it.

Becoming a Eucharistic Minister has made me WANT to attend mass at my parish.

I have missed 3 Sunday masses and 1 Holy Day of Obligation since July. (I was battling a pretty intense cold/sinus infection over the Christmas season. Sometimes it's better to keep my germs to myself.)

So, are you using these excuses to run from God?