All posts by CadyLy

Self-Awareness

November 28, 2010Bioethics, Health and Medicine, Photography, Right to Life IssuesCadyLy

“Conceptual” Art
Originally uploaded by kenneth_rougeau

When does life begin?

That has got to be one of the most important questions of the day. I posit that this occurs quite early.

The female egg and the male sperm are haploid cells belonging to each person. They have a function and belong to the organism, yet they are not of themselves a unique organism. Their DNA, although haploid, is identical with that of the person. Their function is to unite: the egg works to chemically attract the sperm, and the sperm works to get to the egg. “If fertilization is not accomplished, the oocyte typically ceases to be within twenty-four hours after ovulation; and sperm degenerate within two to five days.”[1]

fertilisation
Originally uploaded by abhilasha1190

Once the first sperm enters the egg, the entire scenario changes. Now, you have a new entity with its unique genetic code. How do we know this? Because it is in some way self-aware of the fact that it is now different, and reacts chemically for the protection of the new organism. This is known as the egg cortical reaction.

When the sperm fuses with the egg plasma membrane, it causes a local increase in cytosolic Ca2+, which spreads through the cell in a wave… There is evidence that the Ca2+ wave or oscillations are induced by a protein that is introduced into the egg by the sperm, but the nature of the protein is unknown. The Ca2+ wave or oscillations activate the egg to begin development [Development of what? Of the new organism], and they initiate the cortical reaction, in which the cortical granules release their contents by exocytosis… The contents of the cortical granules include various enzymes that are released by the cortical reaction and change the structure of the zona pellucida. The altered zona becomes “hardened,” so that sperm no longer bind to it, and it therefore provides a block to polyspermy.[2]

“…there now appears to be a distinct organism directing its own processes of growth and development… The [egg cortical reaction] especially seems characteristic of a new organism, whose existence depends upon a structural barrier to outside forces, rather than of a gamete cell, whose existence is fundamentally oriented toward uniting with another gamete…”[3]

[1] Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen, Embryo: A Defense of Human Life (New York: Doubleday, 2008), 36.

[2] Bruce Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4^th ed., (New York: Garland Science, 2002), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26843/ (accessed November 28, 2010).

[3] George and Tollefsen, Embryo, 38-39.

What Kind of Logic is This?!?

November 19, 2010UncategorizedCadyLy

Blastocyst: – Day 5

Originally uploaded by lounbern

From Embryo: A Defense of Human Life by Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen

[There is a] claim made by some supporters of embryo-destructive research that because early-stage embryos can split into identical twins, they are not yet individuals or determinate human beings. (Pg. 22)

I don’t think this conclusion necessarily follows.

The only thing the twinning phenomenon changes is how many persons there are, not whether it’s a human person.

Why We Tell the Story

November 6, 2010Neat Things I Didn't AuthorCadyLy

Is anyone else daunted at the challenge we are all called to? Of evangelization? Proclaiming the Gospel to all the world?

Oddly enough, I gain inspiration to do this from one of my favorite musicals: Once on this Island, which I was introduced to in high school (which happens to be polytheistic in presentation). In particular from the closing song, “Why We Tell the Story”:

And she stands against the lightning and the thunder
And she shelters and protects us from above
And she fills us with the power and the wonder
Of her love

And this is why
We tell the story
Why we tell the story

Why we tell the story
Why we tell the story

If you listen very hard you hear her call us
To come share with her our laughter and our tears
And there’s mysteries and miracles befall us
Through the years

We tell the story
We tell the story!

Life is why
We tell the story
Pain is why
We tell the story
Love is why
We tell the story
Grief is why
We tell the story
Hope is why
We tell the story
Faith is why
We tell the story
You are why
We tell the story
Why we tell the story
Why we tell the story
Why we tell the story

So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow
It will help your heart remember and relive
It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow
And forgive

For all the ones we leave
And we believe
Our lives become
The stories that we weave

I find resonance in this song of the Christian life. There is joy, sorrow, pain, grief, and hope. Stories connect us to each other and stories teach us. Why do we proclaim the Gospel? To help others live this life well. To grab people by their hearts and impart the faith which saves.

What does this song highlight for me?
There is a God who fills us with the power and the wonder of His love.
A God who calls us to share with Him our laughter and our tears. Our prayer should be sincere and intimate, and not reserved for those times when we feel pious, but perhaps especially when we are not, or when we do not feel like praying.
The Gospel has relevance for every aspect of life.
The Gospel is the reason for our hope and our faith.
We need to keep ever before us His passion, which He suffered on our account, and to forgive those who have wronged us.

But perhaps most of all, because our lives do become the stories that we weave. What we say, what we repeat, what we choose to expose ourselves to… all these things shape us into the person we are. We are what we repeatedly do. What stories am I incorporating into myself and sharing with others?

It also contains a fundamental truth of the interconnectedness of all human persons. We are made for relationship and we are made to uphold and uplift each other.

So, why do we tell the story?

YOU are why!
🙂

Halloween 2010

October 31, 2010Holidays, PhotographyCadyLy

I love Halloween! It’s so much fun to dress up…and then, there’s the candy! 🙂

I actually managed to buy pumpkins early this year (instead of stealing from children and knocking over little old ladies on Devil’s Night to get some pumpkins).

I let my brother, who is my personal pumpkin carver (and who is WAY AWESOME at this), have free reign over this year’s theme. I ended up getting Freddy and Jason! Sweet! Look at them, aren’t they great?!

Lindsay and I celebrated the evening by meeting up with Erwin at a bar which was having a costume contest. I left before the judging, but Lindsay won 2nd place! 🙂

Here’s Lindsay in her SuperGirl costume (This outfit is rated PG-13):

And this is one tough chick! Look! She’s not even afraid when confronted by PacMan…and he’s notorious for how much he eats! 🙂

Everyone knows that superheroes congregate at bars, so when Captain America arrived, we knew it was time for a photo op! 🙂 This is the two of them looking fierce:

And at the end of the night, Bo Peep went home to count her sheep — to make sure she hadn’t lost any….

Birmingham in October

October 24, 2010PhotographyCadyLy

Today was a beautiful day. Terry and I decided to take some pictures while we walked around Birmingham.

I loved the colors of the leaves on the trees!

Some of the neighbors had decorated for Halloween. Oddly enough, one had a little statue of me. They must have caught me on a day I didn’t go to Mass and hadn’t been to Starbucks yet. 😛

Then, a bunch of random photosniping:

And there was this:

We walked over to the little park they had downtown. In the middle, there was this odd statue. I’m not sure what the significance of the sculpture is, but I like to call it, “Here, honey, I’m throwing you to the birds….”

And just look at all these cute kids in their Halloween costumes! 🙂

My only question…
What IS this??!?

Everything I Need to Know in Life, I Learned from Noah’s Ark…

October 4, 2010Neat Things I Didn't AuthorCadyLy

One: Don’t miss the boat
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark
Four: Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you do something really big
Five: Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done
Six: Build your future on high ground
Seven: For safety’s sake, travel in pairs
Eight: Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs
Nine: When you’re stressed, float a while
Ten: Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals

H/T: Lindsay Mine

Detroit Institute of Arts

September 24, 2010Art, PhotographyCadyLy

We took Terry to the DIA for her birthday. We got to participate in Drawing in the Galleries for Adults in the African Collection! 🙂 I only had my phone camera with me and I quickly ran out of battery, so I’ll have to go again with my camera! It was a lovely evening.

Even with only a phone camera, I managed to capture this picture of the building on the way in:

I really like how it turned out! 🙂

Terry is the artist in our group. Phyllis and I went along for fun. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to draw a thing and have it be recognizable… I think I’ll just show you and let you decide for yourself how I did.

After we had finished our drawing session, we took some time to wander around the museum. This painting of the Seven Sacraments is one of my favorites. 🙂

Amen!

September 24, 2010Jennspeak, Of Vice and Virtue, Prayer/Prayer RequestsCadyLy

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1061 The Creed, like the last book of the Bible,[644] ends with the Hebrew word amen. This word frequently concludes prayers in the New Testament. The Church likewise ends her prayers with “Amen.”

1062 In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word “believe.” This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so we can understand why “Amen” may express both God’s faithfulness towards us and our trust in him.

1063 In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we find the expression “God of truth” (literally “God of the Amen”), that is, the God who is faithful to his promises: “He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth [amen].”[645] Our Lord often used the word “Amen,” sometimes repeated,[646] to emphasize the trustworthiness of his teaching, his authority founded on God’s truth.

1064 Thus the Creed’s final “Amen” repeats and confirms its first words: “I believe.” To believe is to say “Amen” to God’s words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the “Amen” of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. The Christian’s everyday life will then be the “Amen” to the “I believe” of our baptismal profession of faith: May your Creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you believe. And rejoice in your faith each day.[647]

1065 Jesus Christ himself is the “Amen.”[648] He is the definitive “Amen” of the Father’s love for us. He takes up and completes our “Amen” to the Father: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God”:[649]
Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

How many of us say “Amen” in a thoughtless or empty fashion? Do any of us really understand what it means when we say this?

I think paragraph 1064, of all of these, is most important for us to reflect on today. For God calls us all to live with integrity. That means that if we say something, we should mean it.

So what does it mean?

I think that when you say, or pray, “Amen,” you are saying a few different things:
1. I believe and adhere to my baptismal profession of faith and to the Creed.
2. I believe and am faithful to the entirety of the Truth that is God.
3. I am saying “Yes” to all that God is asking of me.
4. I pledge my faithfulness.
5. I consecrate my life. [Meaning that I set myself apart for the service and worship of God.]

We should be putting our entire selves into that word and offering ourselves as a gift back to the Father. Especially in our prayer. Prayer is not supposed to be a quick listing of all the things in my life that I want God to fix for me, with a quick “Amen” at the end. It should be a dialogue, a conversation, an encounter with the Father/Son/Holy Spirit who LOVES ME.

Yes, we should have all confidence and trust in God as the only one with power. Yes, we should know that He is all good and that He loves us and that this means that He always has our best interests in mind [even if those best interests may be painful or cost us]. Yes, we should remember that He always hears us.

But this is a love relationship.

I cannot see myself as disengaged from this. Prayer is never a one-sided affair. You can never think of prayer or encounters with God as a disconnected transaction, as an impersonal withdrawal from God’s Bank of Grace.

We need to give our entire selves back to Him in return. We need to engage our hearts. We need to enter into the relationship with the persons of God. Because God *is* a person — or, rather, three persons — and not a vending machine to feed my whims and desires.

We need to have integrity when we pray “Amen.” We need to recognize that it is an affirmation of our adherence to and reliance upon Him, the Almighty, who has done, is doing and will continue to do great things for us.

Our “Amen” should be an “I love You.”

A Difference in Relationship?

September 21, 2010UncategorizedCadyLy

In Genesis 4:1, Adam “knew” his wife and she bore Cain. (NAB translation, “had relations with”).

In Genesis 6:4, the sons of God “came in to” the daughters of men, who bore them children. (NAB translation, “had intercourse”).

Both translations appear to show a difference in relationship. The sons of God appear to be merely using their partners for physical pleasure, rather than engaging in a rightly ordered marital union.

Reconciliation

September 12, 2010Photography, Sacraments, Scripture PixCadyLy

This is in follow-up to my last post.

I went back to SS. Cyril and Methodius tonight at 8 pm, to try again to go to Confession. There were about 12 people already there, scattered around the room. I was difficult to keep track of who was next. Over time, new people would come in. One woman asked if she could go ahead of everyone, since she had a small child. Another older woman just cut in line. The man sitting next to me looked over and said, “Don’t worry, we will get in there eventually!” and we had a short conversation about this. I tried to be patient, but in my head, I pictured myself jumping up and down shouting, “Me! Me!” Obviously, I really *needed* to go to Confession. I spent my time reviewing what I was going to say. Not to make it sound better, but to try to be as accurate as I could and minimize the rationalization and contextualization that I often try to stick in there to make it sound as if I really wasn’t as bad as I was.

When I got in, my confession was kind of like a series of bullet points. I committed sin X, Y, Z…. Bare and hanging out there, with no justification for why I committed them. The priest stops me for a minute to ask a question, then says this:

“You are a young person, you could be such a blessing to others…. But you need to make a routine, or you will never go anywhere in your spiritual life.”

I hadn’t said anything yet about feeling like I have been slacking off in my prayer life, or feeling disconnected from God this week, but here he is! Speaking about that very thing! You need no further proof to know that when you confess, you are confessing to Christ himself working through that priest! And that is so true. I really do need a routine in my life when it comes to spiritual matters. I am so haphazard about it and that bothers me.

After confession, I went back to St. Anastasia and spent some time with the Lord in the chapel. I took the Bible off the shelf and sat there for a moment, thinking of where I should start reading. It popped in my head to start reading in Hosea. So, I opened to Hosea and started reading at the first page I came to:

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and burning incense to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one,
who raises an infant to his cheeks,
and I bent down to them and fed them.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
How can I make you like Admah!
How can I treat you like Zeboiim!
My heart recoils within me,
my compassion grows warm and tender.
I will not execute my fierce anger,
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come to destroy. — Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9

Basking in God’s love and God’s forgiveness, I knelt down to pray. A minute later, I felt a warm glow on my face and opened my eyes. The light from overhead was reflecting from the gold of the cover of the Bible.

God’s Word was shining on me.
Such a lovely way to end the evening.