Preparing for Lent

Still failing on all these Quick Takes, but someday I will manage to actually get on it! Hopefully I'll actually follow through this week, while Miss Hallie Lord/Betty Beguiles is still guest-hosting for Jen.  I'm loving this guest hosting as it gives me an excuse to make extra visits over to www.bettybeguiles.com!

Is anyone else finding it as hard to believe as I am that Lent starts NEXT WEEK! I mean, Christmas barely ended, I still have some Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joes in the cabinet.  Granted, this may be in small part due to the fact that I've been hoarding, but still, that's beside the point!  Well, believe it or not, Lent is walking up the front path, ready to be knocking at our doorstep soon enough.  I don't know about you, but I have a few things left to do before the start of Lent.  I'm sure I could come up with many, many things if I tried, but for now, here is a top ten list.

(1) Reexamine my goals 

Remember my "New Years" post back from the start of Advent?  The one where I laid out my spiritual goals for the new liturgical year? Well as practical as I tried to be, I'm not sure I succeeded in following these goals as much as I would like.  Have I made time for prayer? Yes. Well, sort of.  In other words, I haven't made as much time for prayer as I would like. Appreciating blessings is a fairly easy one, but unfortunately I can't say the same for my Bible reading. And that most important goal of all?  Making God the priority. Well, He is my priority.  No doubt on that one.  But have I been acting like it?  That's where things get questionable... 

(2) Get the sin out of my system 

No, this isn't my excuse to sin as much as possible in the next 7 days (though yes, I am human, and yes, I will undoubtedly sin).  I need to get the sin out of my system. Cast it out of my soul.  In other words, I'm a bit overdue for a trip to the Confessional.

(3) Girl Scout Cookies 

A former roommate once told me she thought Girl Scouts were evil.  She was being more than a little facetious, but she did not appreciate that the delicious Samoas, Tagalongs and Do-si-Dos always made their appearance during Lent.  Sometime in the next seven days I need to get my hands on two boxes of Thin Mints.  One is on the express train to my stomach, and the other is going to enjoy a forty day vacation in the freezer until I get home from Easter Vigil on April 7th.  

(4) Scheduling A Few Dates

If I want to start succeeding on these goals  it is time for me to accept that I'm a busy gal and it's going to take a bit of advanced planning.  For the past few years I've been taking a bit of an Ignatian approach to prayer - I've been trying to pray in my daily life, to achieve that goal of prayer at all times or contemplation in action.  Unfortunately, I took what St. Ignatius knew was a difficult task, and tried to water it into something easy.  Recently I heard the following quote, from the Catechism - "we cannot 'pray at all times' if we do not pray at specific times."  I was using the concept of prayer in action, not in order to pray at all times of my day, but as a reason not to pray at specific times of the day. I thought it was better to simply interweave my day with prayer, instead of separating a "Time" for God, I wanted Him to be part of every moment.  And this would have been great, had I been successful.  So now it is back to the drawing board, time to make "appointments with God," as one smart campus minister recommended a long time ago.  So, before Lent, I am creating a "prayer calendar" and scheduling a date with God for each of these 40 days.  

(5)  Finding A Few Buddies 

Throughout college, and during my time in the Midwest directly following college, I was blessed with a great faith community.  Initially, the loss of this was really difficult for me.  Without my faith community it was difficulty for me to sustain my faith.  Since then I realized that at times, I had come to appreciate the community more than the faith.  Instead of allowing the community to bolster my faith, I had allowed the faith to become a side note, while the community was what I really appreciated. Both were important, but I had allowed them to become so co-dependent that when one part (community) changed, I risked losing the other part (faith). Now I am starting to rebuild my faith and what it means to have a faith community.  I am looking for a few good friends to support the journey, to hold me accountable to all these dates I'm scheduling with God. Maybe we can even go on a double date together, I'm sure Jesus won't mind the extra company :)

Seven Quick Takes Fail....

Well, as I predicted, I haven't quite followed through with the 7 Quick Takes. I actually had most of a post written back on week 2, but my computer deleted it, and I just never got back to a follow through.  It is far too late to link-up for this week, but hopefully next week I'll be back. 

The theme I had planned for the failed 7 Quick Takes was "Words That Are Not My Own," or something to that effect.  Several of the things that are on my mind this week are once again not my own thoughts.  In the wake of the Roe vs. Wade anniversary last week, and the current political campaigns a lot of my thoughts have had to do with abortion and health care issues and the Catholic faith.  So here are a few of my thoughts:

(1) Option of Conscience

As some people have likely already seen from my Facebook statues or posts, I am a big proponent of an option of conscience for medical professionals. I believe it is important that doctors and nurses not be forced to assist in abortion services, and I also oppose the use of tax dollars to provide abortion services or medicines which are abortificent in nature.  Below is a statement on the issue from Cardinal-designate Dolan:

"The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease." 

(2) The "Catholic" Candidate

First off, let me state that I am a political moderate. I do not belong to a political party. I have chosen not to belong to a party because I believe that it is important to look at the individual candidate running for office and their stance on the issues (plural) at hand. I am not a single-issue voter.  And if you tell me that lack of enrollment in a political party means I'm an "uneducated" voter you can expect an earful. Similarly, I will not vote for a candidate simply because they are Catholic. And you shouldn't either.  (Note: You are a grown person, if you want to vote for Santorum go for it.  But for the love of God and Church, please don't vote for him because he is Catholic.)
http://www.fplaction.org/the-catholic-case-against-rick-santorum/
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/santorum-questions-us-bishops-immigration-policy/

(3) Abortion

If we really want to end abortion, we need to look at the whole picture.  Simply outlawing abortion isn't going to help the cause. We also need to educate young women (and young men) about the consequences of sex.  More importantly, we need to create a culture that embraces life.  We need to create a society that supports the vulnerable woman and makes it possible for her and her child to live a happy, healthy, vibrant life. These women know that abortion is a choice, we need to show them why life is a better one.

 

The Post Where I Decide To Take Blogging Seriously.... Again

I've said time and time again, that I want to take blogging "seriously."  And once again I am saying I want to try.  Sometimes it is difficult to explain to non-bloggers, what exactly blogging is, or what I mean by the "blogging community."  But explainable or not, I know that I want to try and become part of the blogging community.  I've written in the past that the lack of Christian community and opportunity for fellowship in my life, sometimes makes faith difficult for me, but there is an awesome Catholic blogging community, and I'd be foolish not to turn to it as a means of finding the fellowship and faith community I'm looking for.