7 Quick Takes – Where I Gross Everyone out by Talking about my Night Sweating

--1--

The Palmiest of Sundays

This Sunday will be Palm Sunday and although I LOVE waving around those palms, it always reminds me of the first time I was an altar server. I was 8 or 9 and had just completed my “training” – which let’s be honest, was just a bunch of kids in one room pretending to pay attention. I was scheduled for my first mass on Palm Sunday with an older/ more experienced altar server. Well I showed up, but my trainer never did. I was stuck doing the altar serving all by myself and to add to the confusion, mass started at the back of the church which completely threw me off. Thank God the priest that day was patient, and he guided me through the entire mass, letting me know what to grab and what to do. Other than the “deer in the headlights” look I must have had, I think I came out of it generally unscathed – that is, unless you count the terrible psychological trauma I endured.

--2--

Pregnancy and Night Sweats

 

I’m 27 weeks pregnant today which means that I’m in or almost in my third trimester – some doctors will say 27 weeks, others 29 weeks – I say I feel big enough to be in my third trimester therefore I am in my third trimester. Pregnancy developments this week include the swelling of my hands and feet (Goodbye wedding ring and nice shoes), severe heartburn, shooting pains in my pelvic region and hot flashes. The hot flashes are seriously getting out of hand though. No matter what I wear to bed, I will wake up drenched in sweat. Dane keeps telling I stink in the morning, like I can’t smell or feel how sweaty I am. I would like to see how nice he smells after sleeping with a little furnace strapped to his stomach.

--3--

A Week without my Husband

Last week, Dane went to Lake Louise for his brother’s wedding. Since my pregnancy is borderline high risk ( ok it is high risk… I just hate to say that because it sounds scary) I was told no travel until this baby has vacated my womb.  That left me alone for four days which is the longest I’ve ever been a) without Dane since we started dating and b) home alone.  The first day was hell, I spent most of my time crying, but by day 3 I was starting to enjoy the quiet. Boots was calmer, I watched girly movies and shows, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted AND the house was clean. But regardless of the all that, I truly missed my husband and I am so glad he is home. However, it seems like the house got messy as soon as he walked through the door so I’m guessing that’s just something I’ll have to live with as long as he’s around.

--4--

A Tale of Two Houses

Since Dane and I are set to move in about 2 weeks and we have the keys to our new house, we’ve slowly been starting to pack up/ move over our belongings. My parents came by last Saturday and we powered through the office, the guest bedroom and most of the basement. After they left I was able to pack up my pre-pregnancy clothes, shoes and some of my purses.  I also got to packing up some of the kitchen appliances that I won’t be using in the next two weeks. All in all, our house in the Bay is slowly emptying out and soon enough, we’ll only have the big stuff to haul over to our new place.  Although it does make me feel like I’m in a house limbo at the moment since we’re not really settled anywhere. I can’t wait for all this to be over so I can start nesting!

 

--5--

Sell, Sell, Buy, Buy

Speaking of the move, I’ve taken to Kijiji once again to try and get rid of some stuff I do not want to bring to the new house. So far I’ve sold my dining room table and the bed in the guestroom (to hopefully be picked up tomorrow). After speaking to the buyers, I’m glad I didn’t over charge ( we sold for way under what they are worth) since both the items are going to people who are having a hard time financially.  Even though Dane and I aren’t exactly wealthy, we can still try to make life easier for others when we are able to. It kind of makes me angry to think of how much Dane and I paid for the dining room table and the bed, since we were very naive and didn’t understand the real value of things. I would hate to do that to someone else.

 

 

And since we’re already talking about good deals, Dane was able to find an awesome used dining room table for me! I can just imagine our family sitting around the table, complaining about how they don’t like supper and asking me why they have to eat [insert food here] when Daddy gets to pick around it.  We also bought an island to put in the kitchen for extra counter space and a cabinet for extra storage. I think that will make our new kitchen a little bit more functional, since right now it has about 5 inches of available counter space and limited storage.

--6--

Cranky Boots

 

Boots is not the most easygoing cat around. Actually, between her mood swings and her constant need for attention, I’d say she’s high maintenance. Over the last couple of weeks though, she has been very cranky with everyone but me. I don’t know if its spring or the male cat that prances in front of the windows every day, but something has got that cat really angry. When my parents came over to pack she was being a complete brat, hissing at my dad and just generally being unpleasant. Dane thinks it’s because she can sense something big is coming (i.e. the baby and the move), my mom thinks she needs to be socialized. Either ways, I’m hoping this recent episode of crankiness will end once we move to the new place and she gets used to her surroundings. In the meantime, I’ll just keep doing my best to ignore her when she’s in a bad mood and give her attention when she’s being a good cat.

--7--

Delivery Confession

Dane and I ended up going to evening mass in Orleans last Sunday since he got home so late on Saturday night. I guess this will be our new parish since it’s closest to our new home.  After mass, they had an hour of adoration and confession for whoever was interested. Since Dane and I had missed our Lenten retreat, I hadn’t had a chance to go to confession and I had promised myself I would go as soon as I got the chance. Well “as soon as I get the chance”, turned into whenever I find a convenient time and a convenient time had turned into me ignoring the fact that I needed to go to confession.  So when they announced that confession would be available, I knew that I needed to go (even though I just wanted to go home).  It was like God was saying, “I’ll make this real simple since you can’t be bothered to come to me, I’ll bring confession to you”.

I told Dane that I needed to go and asked him if he wanted to go and he declined because he wasn’t prepared. I was disappointed but you can’t force someone to go to confession. I then got on my phone and used the confession app. I mean it wasn’t the greatest examination of conscience but it was all I had available.  Once I was done, a little line had formed near the confessional booths, and I went to take a spot.  As I was waiting, I saw Dane get up and join me in line. He told me that he had asked God to make him more humble and while waiting for me he had read that confession is a good way to be more humble. He knew, just as I did that God, was calling him to the sacrament of reconciliation.  Which proves once again just how important it is to be open to the influence of the Holy Spirit, since without it neither Dane nor I would be in a state of grace.

 

-----------------------------------

 

Well that rounds up my week! Now to get back to packing and preparing for Holy Week!

 

 

An Open Letter to Mrs. Beyoncé Knowles

 “There is unbelievable power in ownership, and women should own their sexuality.  There is a double standard when it comes to sexuality that still persists. Men are free and women are not. That is crazy. The old lessons of submissiveness and fragility made us victims. Women are so much more than that. You can be a businesswoman, a mother, an artist, and a feminist -- whatever you want to be -- and still be a sexual being. It’s not mutually exclusive.” – Beyoncé Knowles

 

Dear Mrs. Knowles,

I recently came across the above quote from your interview with “Out Magazine”. Although I can appreciate the sentiments expressed, I cannot say that I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. Yes, women should own their sexuality, but not in a way that allows a woman to pose with her breasts exposed in a magazine.

Sexual freedom does not allow me to engage in sexual acts with whoever I want whenever I want. Neither does it allow me to act unchastely whether in word, dress, or deed. Furthermore, sexual freedom does not give me the right to have control over my God-given fertility via unnatural means. Finally, it does not give me the ability to choose to end a life when the repercussions of this so-called “freedom” have surfaced.

When sexual freedom is described to me as such, I can’t help but think that the sexual revolution led all women a step backwards.  Instead of enjoying the benefits of the marital embrace, women are being duped into giving away part of themselves to men who could care less about them. Instead of being respected and cherished for their hearts and minds, they are being lusted after for their body and sexual prowess. Instead of openly accepting the gift of fertility, they are forcing chemicals down their throats and interrupting their natural cycles. Finally, instead of lovingly accepting new life, they “choose” to kill their offspring.

I’d like to know exactly how the above equates to freedom, when to me it sounds a whole lot more like slavery.  Slavery to a society that has tricked women into believing that this type of “feminism” is what we should be working hard to achieve. Women truly are better than that. We are better than the promiscuous, irresponsible, murderers that society is trying to make us become.

When I think of sexual freedom, I think of making love to my husband who truly loves and appreciates all of me. Engaging in the marital embrace with him does not degrade me, hurt me or leave me empty but rather brings us closer together as a couple. Sexual freedom also makes me think of my wedding vows, when I promised that I would honor my husband for the rest of my life. Those vows mean that the things I do, the things I say and the things I wear need to be respectful of our relationship. Finally, sexual freedom means truly accepting the gift of fertility that God has given me. There is nothing more liberating than handing over that aspect of my life to God and lovingly welcoming new life into our family.

Women need to wake up and realize what is going on. They need to stop allowing their true nature to be altered by societal ideals, and get back to who they truly are. I am a woman and I can proudly admit that I am submissive to my husband and that I am fragile. That does not mean I am not free. It means that I trust that my husband will make the best decisions for me because he loves me and that he will take care of me because he realizes just how fragile I am. There is nothing more liberating than knowing that I have someone who loves me so much that he will sacrifice himself to make sure I am well cared for.

To me what is truly crazy is that women would rather be objectified, degraded and used by random men than be submissive to their husband. I’m sorry but I’ll take the kind of love my husband gives me over feeling as though I “own my sexuality”. Especially considering the fact that my sexuality never really belonged to me; it belongs to my husband and to God.

And so Mrs. Knowles, I ask you to reconsider your statement for the sake of all the little girls out there (including my daughter and yours) who will one grow up into women. Because,  I’m not sure about you, but I’d rather have a submissive and fragile daughter that finds a man who loves her for who she is, rather than one who “owns her sexuality” and is used or lusted after by strange men.

Thank you for your time,

Justine

May It Be Done To Me According To Your Word

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, which means that Dane and I get to have dessert tonight BUT more importantly, it means we are celebrating the moment the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would conceive and bear the baby Jesus in her womb.  This is a HUGE moment in the history of Christianity because THIS is where it all began.  (This is part of the reason that us  pro-lifers are ALWAYS saying that life begins at conception. )

 This year, possibly because I’m pregnant for the first time, this story hits me more than ever. Here is this young single girl, who has never “known” a man but is being told that God has chosen her out of ALL the women in the world, to bear the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.  Mary is troubled at first, possibly because it must have been upsetting to see an angel appear to you, and also because he says the Lord has found favor with her, which she thinks is a really weird to greet someone.  However, she listens to him and in the end just calmly agrees, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38.

Ok so God has just dropped this HUGE bombshell on her and instead of whining or asking Him to pick someone else (*cough cough* Moses), she just agrees to it.  Handmaid can also mean servant so basically she is saying “Lord I am your servant, do what you want with me and I’ll gladly go along with it”.  I’m willing to bet this was NOT an easy decision to make. First she’s just agreed to be a young, unmarried mother who just happens to be pregnant with the SON OF GOD. Then to add to her worries, she has to somehow explain to her fiancé that no, she didn’t cheat on Him, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. And yet, even with all of that going on she gladly agrees to what God is asking of her.

Now, I’m not going to go comparing the conception of my child and my future children, to the conception of Jesus. Those are two completely different situations. However, Mary’s willingness to accept this life into her womb is similar to the decision that married catholic couples have to face almost every time they are intimate.

When you are married in the Catholic Church, they ask you if you “Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”. For some, that may mean will we one day have children, but in reality it’s not that easy. Accepting children from God means that you let Him decide when and how many of these children you will have.  So essentially, you agree to give up control of a huge aspect of your of your life, one that influences pretty much every other aspect from finances to leisure.

When Dane and I got married, we agreed to let God make that decision for us. We did not use birth control but we also didn’t plan our “intimate times” around my fertility cycle. It was scary to think that every unitive act between my husband and I could change our lives as we knew them, but there is also a beauty in trusting God with that decision.

Knowing that every time we made love could possibly lead to the creation of our child, a brand new life, made every act so much more meaningful. I remember sitting there wondering afterwards if this was the time that we had (with God’s hand of course) conceived a baby. It was a scary at first, but then when I got my period after our first month as a married couple, I couldn’t help but be disappointed.  I cried and Dane had to remind me that since we agreed to be open to life, we had to welcome life WHEN God wanted it. That month had not been our time to conceive and we had to trust that God would decide when that time would be. I didn’t have to wait very long after that because our daughter was conceived two weeks later.

As we have more children and the stresses of life start taking their toll on us, I’m not sure Dane and I will be as open to life as we are now. I know it will get tougher to say yes to God’s plan as we worry about providing for the children we already have. But I also know that God doesn’t give you things you can’t handle and if He blesses us with a child He will give us the means to provide for it.  I think it’s during those tough times that we will have to turn to our Mother Mary and ask her for the grace to gladly accept God’s will, just as she did when the angel Gabriel appeared to her.

You Are Dirt and You Will Always Be Dirt

Today is Ash Wednesday which means mass, ashes, fasting and the beginning of Lenten penances!

 Usually I’d be grouchy by this time of the day, but since I’m pregnant I don’t have to fast which means I’m in a surprisingly good mood. It’s not like I’m indulging in sweets and junk food. I packed a meat free lunch and I’m having boring foods which include: bread and peanut butter, a banana, a can of tuna, an orange, bread with margarine, an apple, chopped vegetables, a yogurt, a container of cottage cheese, raisins, almonds, vegetable juice and boring “healthy” crackers.  For supper, I’m making mac and cheese using a Velveeta loaf and a side salad.

 

That folks is what eating for two looks like. Considering I couldn’t stomach anything during my first trimester I’m trying not to feel guilty for having become a culinary vacuum. But then I get texts like this from my husband, and I start to feel like I’m not being very pious.

 

So after I’m done my Ash Wednesday “feasting”, my husband I are going to Church to receive our ashes. I’m kind of excited because we didn’t get a service last year and so I didn’t get to walk around with dirt on my forehead. Thankfully, Father very casually decided that we would have a service at 7 pm. The decision came during his homily on Sunday when he asked if people would show up for the service, and parishioners nodded, and the decision was settled.  

Speaking of receiving ashes, I remember my aunt telling us a particularly funny story about a little boy going to an Ash Wednesday Service. When they questioned him about what the priest said when he received the ashes, the little boy responded “You are dirt and you will always be dirt”.  I know they don’t say that (they say: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”) but I still laugh every year imagining the priest telling me I’m dirt.

But today is not all about ashes and “feasting”, it also means that I need to begin my Lenten penance. After a lot of thought I’ve decided on two things for Lent, (well actually three but the third is iffy). First, I’m going to give up an half an hour of sleep every day in order to clean the house. So instead of sleeping in, I’m going to wake up and clean the kitchen or vacuum or just tidy up. Today I managed to clean the bathroom which I think is pretty good considering I am not a morning person.  So when I’m grumpy and tired, I can try to remember that I’m suffering alongside Christ. But the good thing is its not needless suffering because my house will be clean which means I get to spend more quality time with my husband on weekends.  Second, I’m going to say a rosary every day. I find my devotion to Mary (who leads us to Jesus) has been lacking lately and I think the rosary is the perfect way to get back in touch with her.  The third Lenten penance is iffy since I don’t know how tempted I will be, but I’m tentatively giving up sweets because that’s what my husband gave up. I feel like it would be unfair to eat sweets in front of him BUT my cravings during pregnancy seem to be donuts, chocolate pudding and chocolate. That means that I may or may not (probably not) be successful.

So that marks the beginning of Lent 2014 for me! I hope everyone is having a good Ash Wednesday and for those fasting out there, remember catholic fasting is one regular meal and two small meals that do not equate the regular meal (don't starve yourself).  

7 (Relatively) Quick Takes – About Moving, Napping, Food, Kijiji and Boots

--1--

The Brason’s are moving!

After a winter of spending close to $700.00 a month on ONLY heating (oil is soooo expensive, never EVER move into a house heated on oil), Dane and I have decided that it’s time to find a new place before the baby comes.  We spent a week looking at places for rent near where we live, but none of them would be practical for a little crawler. So after some discussions and some tears, we’ve decided to move back to the east end of town to be close to our parents.  Since Dane is now working with my dad and I’m about to go on maternity leave for a year, we no longer needed to be situated in the west end. We signed the rental agreement last week and we will be moving into a cute little 3 bedroom townhouse at the end of April.

I’m excited to be moving into a house that functions better for us (not to mention having an en-suite and walk-in closet) but I’m not looking forward to moving while pregnant.  My belly gets in the way of everything AND I’m not allowed to lift anything so I’m really hoping to get lots of help with the packing (*cough cough* sisters).  I know I will also miss our 1 acre lot, having no traffic, the country roads and the people at our parish, but I know this decision is for the best.  

--2--

 

Napping at Work

I wish they had a nap room at work.  Working full time and being pregnant is taking A LOT out of me. I would nap during my lunch break but there are not private spots for me to sleep and it’s freezing outside so I can’t go sleep in my car.

Most of the people I work with have never been pregnant before (because they are men), so I get very little sympathy for my condition AND I’m pretty sure if they caught me sleeping at my desk I would get fired.  To make matters worse, my tiny bundle of joy has decided that she likes to practice her karate moves in the middle of the night which is keeping me up. Between the kicks, getting up to take half a bottle of tums, and going to pee 8 times a night, let’s just say I’m not getting the beauty sleep I need.  I hope I find a solution to this soon because I’m about to turn into a zombie.

--3--

Salmon Cakes

Now that I’m no longer repulsed by food ( thank you second trimester) I’ve been trying lots of new recipes in the hopes of adding some variety to our boring old menu list. I think I’ve been doing a great job (though I could be biased because I want to eat EVERYTHING lately), but the recipe I’m proudest of are my salmon cakes. Dane HATES fish and so I feel bad every time I cook it because he eats it like I’m serving him a plate of worms. However, the salmon cakes I made on Tuesday night were a HUGE hit. My husband actually said “MMMM” and he ate one of my portions.  Essentially you mix crackers, 2 cans of canned salmon (bones and all) egg and onions together. Press them into patties, coat them with flour and fry them in a pan for about 10 minutes. I served mine with garlic aioli which seemed to give them the extra flavor they need.

 

--4--

 

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner

It’s Shrove Tuesday next week and that means that Catholics/Christians everywhere will be going to their parish hall and stuffing themselves silly with pancakes, sausages and syrup.  I had NEVER heard of this tradition until I started dating Dane and I thought it was so weird.  Maybe it’s because I’m French Canadian and this is just not something that we do, or it could be because I never really paid attention to the church events around me.  However, I decided to look into it and the reasoning behind the tradition makes total sense. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which means the beginning of Lent, a time of penance and fasting.   Apparently, everyone wanted to get rid of their rich foods (cream, milk, sugar, etc…) before Lent started and so, the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper began. If you ask me though, I would have a Shrove Tuesday Steak and Shrimp dinner because that seems a lot more indulgent then pancakes, but I guess our ancestors didn’t have access to those foods.

--5--

Lent “Resolutions” ???

Speaking of Lent, I’ve been putting some thought into what to give up. Since I can’t fast from food I also have to think of what I should fast from on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. So far the only thing I’ve come up with is Facebook/ Twitter. I’ve also thought of fasting from smoking, drinking and casual drug taking, but I don’t do those things anyways so I don’t think it would count.  If anyone has any suggestions please let me know or else it’s looking like I’m going to be MIA from social media websites (and every friend I have on Facebook is now cheering).

--6--

A Day in the Life of Boots

Boots, our cat, has gotten very clingy lately. I mean she was always clingy but the past few weeks, she’s taken it to a whole other level.  I feel like I can’t do anything without her following me. I’m hoping that maybe moving into the new house will make her more independent.

Lately, this has been her everyday routine. In the morning she wakes up at the same time as Dane and follows him around the house until he leaves. AS SOON, as I hear the door close, she is in bed with me either sleeping in Dane’s spot or on me. Then she whines when my alarm clock goes off (and doesn’t let me snooze), until I get up and go to the bathroom. I have to leave the door open when I shower, and she sits on the bath mat waiting for me. When I get out of the shower, she runs to the bedroom and watches while I do my hair, get dressed, etc… The only time she leaves me alone is when I’m blow drying my hair, because she hates loud noises. During that time she runs around the house like a maniac and when I turn the blow dryer off she comes running in the room panting and out of breath. Then she cries when I leave for work and I can see her doing those sad eyes (like Puss In Boots from Shrek) from the window. When I get home she is waiting for me at the door and follows me so closely I almost trip on her. She watches me cook supper and whines for attention and then she goes to do cat stuff for about two hours (which includes sleeping, secretly playing with her toys and flirting with the cat that lives next door). When she reappears, she tries to sit on my belly as I’m watching television and then around 10 PM she goes to the bedroom and waits for us to turn on the humidifier. (She loves the humidifier and can stare at it for hours.  We still haven’t figured out why.)  Sometimes she will get into bed with us right away, other times; she will go play and comes back within an hour. She will then sleep in our bed until Dane gets up and repeat.

--7--

 

The Kijiji Challenge

Since we are moving soon, are poor and are in need of some new furniture, I’ve been looking to Kjiji in order to find some nice used pieces.  I’ll be honest, there is lots of junk on Kijiji, but if you are patient and scroll through 14 pages, you can sometimes get lucky. So far, I’ve been able to get a nice little 3 drawer dresser for the baby’s room and a cute white rocking chair that barely needs any work done to it. I spent $30 on each of the items, and I’m really happy with what I got. Next up on the Kijiji challenge, a television and a TV stand for Dane’s “caveman” as my dad would say (because he’s French and sometimes gets expressions confused).

10 Annoying Things Your Hear From Cafeteria Catholics



I think we all of us know at least one cafeteria Catholic. Some of them are our friends, family members and fellow parishioners. These are people who identify as catholic but yet don’t seem to follow anything that the Catholic Church teaches.  They pick and choose elements from the catholic faith that work for them and reject the teachings that are too hard to follow.

 Most of these individuals are grossly under-catechized, and so in the hopes of educating some of the cafeteria Catholics in my life, I put together 10 false ideas that seem to be common with these individuals.

1.       “I personally would never get an abortion, but I believe that every woman should have the right to choose.”

By saying you would never get one yourself, you are proving that you recognize the value of that unborn life. Having said that, would you knowingly let a woman kill her newborn child? Probably not.  So why would you sit idly by, and let a woman kill the life that you clearly see as worthy of value, whether that life is in your womb, or another woman’s womb or out of the womb?

2.       “My husband and I use contraception because we don’t believe the Church should be telling us how many children we should have.”

The Church is not telling you how many children to have. God is. And part of having faith, is trusting that God will not give you more than you handle. Furthermore, there are natural methods of planning pregnancies that are recognized and encouraged by the Catholic Church, namely Natural Family Planning (which is actually just as effective-if not more-than the birth control pill).

3.        “I just don’t see the problem with homosexual marriage. They love each other, so they should have the right to get married. Didn’t Jesus tell us to love each other?”

When Christ came to earth, he permanently established marriage as a sacrament between a man and a woman.  The purpose of marriage is twofold. First, by joining together in a covenant, man and wife become each other’s vocations, in other words they will lead each other to heaven. Second, through their sacramental love, a new life is conceived (a reflection of the Holy Trinity). Since two men and two women, do not have the physical attributes necessary to conceive a child, it is unnatural for them to be united in the covenant of marriage because the twofold purpose will never fully be achieved.  Let’s keep in mind however, that even if the marital act does not end in the conception of a child, the act is still sacramental as it has the possibility to create a new life, without that possibility, the act is invalid.

4.       “I don’t need to go to confession because God knows all my sins and forgives them without me having to tell a priest everything. It’s not like the priest needs to forgive my sins.”

During his public ministry, Jesus himself forgave sins (the story of the adulterous woman, the story of the woman washing his feet with her tears), so clearly we should be asking God for forgiveness when we sin.  Jesus himself also established Confession as a sacrament. He gave the apostles authority to act in persona Christi (in Jesus’ Name) and that authority is passed down through the Church to all priests. When you go to confession the priests acts as Jesus, therefore it’s not the priest forgiving your sins it’s Jesus himself!
 

5.       “Only God can judge me”

You are absolutely right, only God can judge you. However, God left us some pretty firm rules as to what we will be judged on. When you break one of those rules, it is our Christian duty to point out, with love, that you have done something wrong. Also, God being your sole judge is not an excuse for bad behavior.

6.       “I think that if you are a good person, and you do good things then you don’t need to go to church every Sunday and follow every rule to get to heaven.”

If I had one of those game show buttons that make an “EERRR” sound, I’d press it every time I hear this. First, Jesus said that the only way to the Father (i.e. heaven) is through Him. Cool, so to go to heaven you just need to believe in Jesus? Well that’s true, but you also need to listen to what He says and follow His commandments.  So unfortunately, just being a good person and doing good things does not buy you a one way ticket to heaven.  The good news is that Jesus left us a Church to guide us so that it can help us know what to do to get into heaven.

7.       “We were both raised catholic and still consider ourselves catholic, but we won’t be baptising our children because we don’t want to impose a religion on them. We want them to choose by themselves.”

If you are telling me this, than you better be bringing your kids to church, to temple, to the mosque, etc.. How can your kids choose if you are not exposing them to any type of religion? Sure you don’t want to impose religion on your kids, because they might feel suffocated by it, but it is your duty as a catholic parent to raise your kids according to the teachings of the Church. By having your child baptized, you are ridding him/her of original sin and letting God give this baby all these spiritual graces in order to help them grow in faith.  Why wouldn’t you want that from the very beginning of your child’s life?

8.       “Women should definitely be allowed to become priests. I mean men and women are equal.”

The Church definitely views men and women as equals. However, just like all humans have different vocations, God has called men and women to have different purposes/roles within the church.  Married men are called to be the head of the household and to lead their wife and children to God. Married women are called to let their husband lead their household and support their decisions. And so, just like married men and women, men and women who choose the consecrated life are called to different purposes.  Consecrated men are called to priesthood in order to lead the church community, and consecrated women are called to support the church through prayer and acts of charity. Both of these purposes are very different but equally as important within the church.

9.       “My fiancé and I are getting married in a catholic church because that’s where our parents expect us to get married.”

If you don’t participate or believe in what the Catholic Church teaches, then please don’t get married in a catholic church. The catholic sacrament of matrimony is so much bigger than a quick ceremony at city hall. The sacrament binds you with that other person for the rest of your life. From the moment you say your vows, God will see you and your spouse as ONE person.  That’s why the Catholic Church requires that couples take pre-cana classes before they get married.  Therefore, if you don’t understand the immense significance of a catholic marriage, don’t get married in a catholic church.  After all, you can always get your marriage blessed by the Church if you come to understand its true meaning one day.

10.   “We take communion to remember what Jesus did at the Last Supper. It’s more symbolic than anything else.” 

I was going to answer this, but I think this verse from John 6: 53 – 66, answers it way better than I ever could.

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[e] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

"Jesus I Trust in You" is Easier Said Than Done

I love the Divine Mercy Devotion, from St. Faustina’s Diary to the Novena and Chaplet; I believe this is a devotion every Catholic should hold dear to their heart! For those that are not familiar with it, I strongly urge you to look into it and get a copy of St. Faustina’s Diary. The truths revealed in it are contemporary, catholic-church approved, answers to today’s decaying sense of morals and values.

I think part of the reason that a lot of people end up liking this devotion so much is because in times where everything just sucks, it’s nice to know that you can trust in Jesus and know that He will help you get through everything. And as a general rule, when things don’t work out like I want them, I’m able to breathe and say “Jesus, I trust in you”, which usually makes me feel better.

But sometimes, I feel as though Jesus hears me saying that I trust Him, and He asks me to prove it. It’s as though telling Him I trust Him, is an invitation to let Him give me opportunities to trust Him even more. And that’s where you have to truly give yourself over to Him, and not just say that you trust Him. 

I try to think of it as a trust fall with God. If I stop myself before landing in my partners arms, the exercise is not completed and I’ve just proved that I don’t trust the person who is going to be catching me. However, if I let myself fall into the other person’s arms, I have given my trust completely over to them and I’ve let them decide what will happen next (either I fall or they catch me).  But with God, we don’t need to worry that He will drop us, because He has guaranteed, through Christ’s passion and resurrection, that He will ALWAYS catch us.

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that. For my husband and I, we have to work hard every day to remember to trust Him. From having financial worries, to determining if we will use natural family planning, there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t struggle to let ourselves fall into God’s arms.

Part of the blame, definitely needs to be put on today’s society which urges us to take control of everything right down to bringing new life into the world. However, Romans 12:2 reminds us that we need to be in the world but not of the world. As Christians we need to remember that even if society/ the rest of the world is doing it a certain way, we as Christians need to do it Christ’s way. And Christ’s way, means trusting Him with every aspect of our lives.

Handing everything over to Him, does not happen in one fell swoop. It’s an exercise that needs to be repeated every day for the rest of our lives.  Sometimes, situations where we need to trust Him are obvious but others aren’t as clear.  I think that as long as we try to make Christ the center of our lives, we’ll be able to see where we are lacking when it comes to putting are trust in Him.

So next time you know you need to trust God, but you are having a hard time giving it all over, just remember that after the initial fear of the fall, you’ll be falling into the arms of someone who loves you so much, he already gave up His life for you. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t think of a better person whose arms to fall into.