All posts by CadyLy

Talking to God about Unity

February 26, 2010Neat Things I Didn't Author, Prayer/Prayer RequestsCadyLy

For your reading pleasure, here is an excerpt from my prayer journal regarding a passage from The Lord“>”The Lord” by Romano Guardini.

In speaking of the people You raised from the dead, he says, “It is expressly stated how profoundly shaken Jesus is by these encounters. At such times, He seems to step into the fate of the individual, ordering the events of the world from the inside. For one instant created by the Savior’s love, a human heart forms the decisive center of world reality.”

Reading this makes me think that somehow unity is essential. Which is why miracles cannot occur if I do not have faith. If I am not open to having You inside me — united to me — then I cannot benefit from Your transforming power which you want to share with me. Because you don’t work exteriorly, but interiorly, even with the physical world?

Somehow, the concept of knowing something or understanding something means that you must penetrate the surface and get to the core of that entity. To control water, you need to understand water in all its aspects — you need to get inside it and almost become the water to see things as water sees things so as to effect change. So, too, with men and men’s hearts — with the necessary allowances made for our free will.

I think that is the problem most of the time; we either don’t let You in, or if we do, we hold back — trying to remain attached to what is us and under our control and thus thwart (to a greater or lesser extent) that unity which You seek and by which You can heal us.

Not to say that if we block You, that You do not have many other avenues to try to reach us, through other things and people who are open to You, but I think the efficacy would be better, more direct, more powerful, if we would submit and allow for this complete unity with You.

Keep Your Focus on the Lord

February 6, 2010Lent, Neat Things I Didn't Author, PenanceCadyLy

This passage from the reflection in the Magnificat really resonates with me:

“When you feel that you have done your best to amend your life according to the laws of the Church, give yourself in earnest to the contemplative work. And if the memory of your past sins or the temptation to new ones should plague your mind, forming an obstacle between you and God, crush them beneath your feet and bravely step beyond them. Try to bury the thought of these deeds beneath the thick cloud of forgetting just as if neither you nor anyone else had ever done them. If they persist in returning, you must persist in rejecting them. In short, as often as they rise up you must put them down….
When distracting thoughts annoy you, try to pretend that you do not even notice their presence or that they have come between you and your God. Look beyond them — over their shoulder, as it were — as if you were looking for something else, which of course you are. For beyond them, God is hidden in the dark cloud of unknowing. Do this and I feel sure you will soon be relieved of anxiety about them. I can vouch for the orthodoxy of this technique because in reality it amounts to a yearning for God, a longing to see and taste him as much as is possible in this life. And desire like this is actually love, which always brings peace.”

This speaks to me on a couple of different levels. First, we were talking about some mystics in Theology class on Thursday and how both of them saw as the summit of prayer life contemplation of God. St. Teresa of Avila, in particular, piqued my interest — so I bought 3 of her books and will work on reading them this Lent. Second, this passage speaks of that sin that you keep doing — almost against your will — and how to try to overcome it by not letting it get in your way, but to keep picking yourself back up, going to Confession, and making the choice every time to follow Jesus. It is too easy, when faced with repeated failure in holiness to despair and think that this particular thing is beyond you. Yet God gives you grace all the time, and nothing, NOTHING, is beyond His power. Nothing is stronger than God. Trust in Him and keep seeking after Him.

What an amazingly graced day today has been! I started off by watching a catch up session for my Epic church history study, followed by reading the Magnificat. This reading has been so inspiring to me, and so helpful in starting to plan out my Lent. Then, I got to get my hair done — something which has been woefully neglected for far too long. I had a quick lunch, then got to spend some time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet with some friends. Next, because I was feeling a little indicted by St. Teresa, I took the opportunity to participate in Reconciliation. I got some materials to aid me in my Lenten project, and came home for some more reading, a lovely dinner, and some Wii (I made my brother’s Mii a Pro at tennis!). I think I’ll shortly retire for the evening and continue my spiritual reading.

I can’t wait for tomorrow! If today was so good, I can’t even imagine what the Lord’s Day has in store for me! 🙂

Jacob

February 3, 2010UncategorizedCadyLy

While I was at school today, my brother helped my new boy move in. He is basically all situated, with only a few things that we still need to find a place for. I’m really excited about him living here and think we will have lots of fun together, although I am pragmatic enough to know that we will have our quarrels as well.

Pre-Lenten Questions

February 2, 2010HolidaysCadyLy

Believe it or not, but Lent is just around the corner!
And I don’t even have my Christmas tree down yet!

Lent is this great period of time where we rid our lives of all the unnecessary attachments that we clutter our lives with and focus more closely on our relationship with the Lord. It should be a time of simplification and purification. It should be a time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. It should be a time of generosity, love and charity. It should be a time of sober self-reflection.

It should be a lot of things.

What will it be?

That’s up to me.

What am I going to put into it?

God gives us grace all the time. The thing is we have to respond to that grace which is offered. It is too easy to put something off for tomorrow or rationalize our way into spiritual laxity. We can justify all kinds of neglects and omissions, particularly when it comes to our own spiritual lives, because we don’t see that as being harmful to anyone. Then, we arrive at Easter, look back at our Lent and perhaps wish that we had spent more time in prayer, or done a few more acts of charity.

What is the main reason for a mediocre Lent? Poor planning. We need to set our goals in mind NOW and work NOW to make sure that we have a rhythm to our season. Praying is most consistent if you set aside a certain time and place — every day — when and where you pray. Lent needs to be for us not some onerous thing which we take upon ourselves for 40 days. Lent shouldn’t be seen as a kind of self-imposed slavery, but as a practicing in the life which we hope to have one day in Christ. A life where we are prayerful and loving of our brothers and sisters. A life where we truly live out the Gospel. God didn’t make us for slavery, and doing things which are pleasing to Him shouldn’t be seen as such. It’s just our sinful selves which distort the truth of reality and make us to see our unhealthy attachments as the path to happiness, when they are in fact leading us in the opposite direction.

So, my challenge to myself, and to you, if you choose to join me, is to map out our plan for Lent, so that we can reap all the graces our Lord is offering to us.

Reflection on the Didache

February 1, 2010Jennspeak, Neat Things I Didn't Author, Of Vice and VirtueCadyLy

I had just started reading the Didache and came across this passage:

“You shall not hate any man;
but some you shall reprove,
some you shall pray for,
and some you shall love
more than the breath of life that is in you.”

And I just stopped reading.

It caught my heart. My soul wanted to scream its assent to this truth.

This is what it means to love. This is what it means to be a total gift of self. This is what we are called to do.

Some you shall love more than the breath of life that is in you.

Of course, the rest of the message is important, too. We should not hate, we should pray for others, and, yes, we ARE our brother’s keeper and sometimes that entails reproving one another, but always with love.

But it is this last part that speaks to me. God is calling me to abandon myself to Love of Other, and, in this moment, my will is beyond eager to wring out every drop of life within me — every breath in my body — to be Love, to do Love and to show Love to another. At the moment, this is particularly directed at that person whom the Lord has placed upon my heart to intercede for, on a continual basis; but I can feel, on the margins, the sense that as I grow in this, I will be called to expand my gift of love, of utter self-abandon, to others. For this is not just a gift to this one person, or to these several people, but it is ultimately a gift, if you will, to the Lord Himself. A small response to the enormous outpouring of love which he bathes me in daily.

As I have said before, “my struggles for holiness are no longer merely for my own sanctification, but because prayers of holy men and women are more efficacious (James 5:16, 1 Peter 3:12).” And so, the deeper I grow in holiness, the more I am able to truly love. The more that I can open myself to love my neighbor — love as an active verb, a decision of the will — the more my will is conformed to the Will of the Lord and the more I will be receptive to and attentive to the perpetual presence of His Love for me.

Something like this:

God loves me –> I respond with love for neighbor and God –> I am more aware of God’s love for me :||

“You shall not hate any man;
but some you shall reprove,
some you shall pray for,
and some you shall love
more than the breath of life that is in you.”

God Bless!

Grocery Shopping!

January 30, 2010Jennspeak, PhotographyCadyLy

Because I know how fascinated you all are with my grocery shopping habits and are dying to see what I buy the few times that I actually make it to the store! 🙂

Many, many mangoes! 🙂 I LOVE these! They had a 10 for $10 sale and I decided to buy a small plethora with the idea of making a mango pie. I’ve tried the mango pie before, and it was good, but a little too juicy the way I had made it, so I’m eager to try again! I really don’t think there’s a way I wouldn’t like this fruit. Yum!

More fruit! Yums! I’ve been on a blueberry kick for a while — can’t explain why….

Eggplant! I have never, ever made eggplant before in my life, although I think I’ve tried it before. I grabbed one, because, well, because it was there and I figured I needed a vegetable in addition to my fruit. 🙂 I’m not certain what I will do with it, but I thought of eggplant parmesan, maybe.

Cereal stuff — the Honey O things were new and I thought I’d give them a try over my usual Cheerios.

The Dairy Food Group (minus the milk, because you probably all know what a gallon of milk looks like):

The Pasta Stuff Food Group (the perciatelli is like a think spaghetti-type thing, looked interesting):

Well, I *AM* sick, so….

Wasting away again in…. Mmmm, salsa….

Is that a wall of soup? Why, yes, yes it is!

And some reading material, because I couldn’t resist the checkout display…I was held hostage…and it was either this, or more on the continuing saga of Jen-Brad-Angelina, and I just couldn’t do that today.

2009: A Rapid Review

January 25, 2010Jennspeak, Of Trials Opportunities and Gifts, Photography, Trips/Vacations, VocationCadyLy

Every year seems to go by both very slowly and very quickly, and 2009 was no exception.

January
I started off 2009 by going to Midnight Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI for Mary, Mother of God. I wanted to make a conscious choice about the priorities I wanted for myself this year: God first. I didn’t want the first thing I did this year be a bar or drinking, as important my friends are to me and how very much I love them — I wanted God to be first. I remember being very tired and nearly falling asleep during Adoration before Mass, but I was so happy that I had gone.

Later that day, I got to bring communion to my godmother, Pat. This was actually the last day that I would get to see her. Her brother and her sister-in-law were in town taking care of her. It’s a year later, and I still cry because my heart hurts at how much I have lost — which is really a testimony to how incredibly much she gave me in her friendship, that her absence leaves such a ragged, gaping hole. People are so precious; and relationships are the greatest gifts you can ever receive. We spent our time talking about a third person, a mutual friend who is very important to both of us. There was something that this person had said about me that she had wanted to make sure that I knew. I can’t tell you how many times I have relived that conversation, and how many times I really needed to hear what she had said.

A couple weeks later, I heard God asking me to take a new step in my life: to go back to school and get a Master’s in Theology and PhD in Bioethics. Wow! That’s not some small thing! I’m not sure I can do it. I wasn’t even sure that I would get accepted — after all, my grades from U of M weren’t that great, and I’d never taken the GRE. Despite all that, I felt that if the Lord truly wanted me to do this, He would find a way to work everything out. I applied to Sacred Heart Major Seminary on January 23rd, and that night attended my first Priests vs. Seminarians Basketball game. I had ordered a shirt that said “Sacerdotes velint! Scholares modo delint!” Which, very roughly translated, means “Priests dominate! Students (seminarians) only hope to!” I arrived early and tagged along on a tour of SHMS by one of the seminarians. Because of my ‘inflammatory’ text on my T-shirt, I kept my coat on and zipped during the entire tour, and was dying of heat by the end!

After the game, Lindsay and I did some exploring on our own and found God:

and did some praying in front of the tabernacle.

Then, we continued our exploration, and happened upon:

Fr. Harry Potter and one of the boys from N’Sync. 🙂

The next day, Jan. 24th, I got to witness two dear friends get married,

along with an astounding number of presbyterati (4 priests and a deacon!).

On a narcissistic note, I was all dressed up and looking cute.

Take note. This doesn’t happen very often. 🙂

February
On the 1st, I served at Mass for the first time as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. I was nervous and excited all at the same time!

The next day, I attended a Mass with our new Archbishop Vigneron, where he gave me permission to belong to 2 different parishes. 🙂

It was a fairly quiet month, although I did get to start a Catechism study with Jerad, hear Fr. Tad speak on bioethics,

attend the Rite of Election:

and of course:

Celebrate Krystin’s 30th birthday!!!

March
Lent was the major theme of this month. Although, we did break our fasting just a bit with Irish Night 2009:

I attended Parish Missions both at St. Anastasia and Our Lady of Good Counsel, did some Stations of the Cross, but of greatest note was the fact that I decided that I just couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to give up the cold weather (for Lent, right?). So, I made arrangements, and Lindsay and I went to:

JAMAICA!!!!!

Ah, Montego Bay… How I miss you! 🙂
And, just so you don’t think it was all fun and surf. We devoted read spiritual books (on the beach) and went to Mass at the cathedral every day (walking a mile to get there, uphill both ways!).

April
Most notable for HOLY WEEK!!!!

Palm Sunday:

Stacy and Michael’s Bridal Shower:

My first attempt at a Passover Seder Dinner:

CHRISM MASS!!!

Lindsay’s Tour of Detroit:

Donny’s in the background. He came up to visit, not realizing the extend of Massapalooza that he would be dragged to. 🙂

Lord’s Supper Mass and Pub Crawl of the Altars of Repose:

EASTER VIGIL!!!

Dinner with the Schmitts (Always a lovely time!); Girl’s Night; Visiting with Adam; and Geocaching

May
My first day at Seminary was on the 4th, Introduction to Sacred Scripture with Dr. Healy. 🙂

I loved that class! 🙂 And Dr. Healy is awesome! 🙂

I had seen a bulletin article about someone who needed a place to stay for a few months, who had been working with a crisis pregnancy center. On the 15th, the young woman and her year-old baby girl moved in.

The very next day, two more lovely friends got married:
Congrats to Stacy and Michael!!!

The next day, we lost a dear friend, Adam, to cancer.

I love you. I miss you. And you had BETTER be praying for me up there! 🙂

We finished the month by having a baby shower for Adam and Tina’s new little girl, Gianna.

June
June is when the medical issues started coming out in full force. I had been noticing a decline in my ability to run and jump and things like this, with an accompanying shortness of breath and chest pain upon exertion. During the first week of June, I noticed a significant amount of edema. So much so that our nurses told me that I needed to be seen by my doctor before the weekend. She ended up sending me to the ER on the 5th, where I was cleared for any DVTs and sent home. I went to a bowling fundraiser the next night, and had Jury Duty on the 9th and 10th.

On the 11th was Father’s birthday, so I dropped off his presents and pie,

went to Mass and work and ended up back in the ER that evening, where they admitted me for a cardiac work-up, looking at congestive heart failure, among other diagnoses. I stayed in the hospital until Saturday, when I was released, cleared of anything major going on with my heart, but still no real answers to what was going on. Oh yeah, and I was seen by Derm when I was there, because in the few days between ER visits, I had managed to acquire a case of poison ivy. Joy.

July
I started off this month with my first speeding ticket. Ever. And I *so* deserved it. 😉

A few days later, there were some aerial explosions:

On the 12th, my grampa died.

August
On the first day of the month, I got to take pictures of Jerad and Krystin at Cranbrook. Not only are they wonderful people, but they are very good-looking, too! 🙂 See for yourself:

Newsboys Concert:

Annual William B. Davidson Golf Outing for St. Anastasia B.A.S.I.C. Youth Ministry:

Wine Tasting and Night of Mayhem at Krystin’s house!

Analee’s Baby Shower was the next day on the 22nd.

Fr. Mark tried to set the Church on fire and blame it on the Young Adults on the 25th…

Smorealicious!

Jeremy Abbott

January 24, 2010UncategorizedCadyLy

Jeremy Abbott figure skating

Originally uploaded by qp2516

I got to see the US Nationals coverage tonight. This guy was AMAZING! He skated a clean program and made all his jumping passes look effortless.

I cannot wait to see him during the Olympic Games in Vancouver! 🙂

What was especially refreshing was his unique choreography. It truly suited him and reminded everyone watching that this wasn’t merely figure skating artistry, but it was a masculine artistry.

Bring on the Games!!!

Happy Thursday!

January 21, 2010UncategorizedCadyLy

Pope Benedict XVI

Originally uploaded by Jari Kurittu

Some days you just need a little smile from your Papa to make you feel better! 🙂

I think today should be Optimism Thursday — just because.

Let’s try an exercise in optimism. Post in the comments what you are optimistic about, thankful for or looking forward to!

While terribly sad for all the people affected by the earthquake disaster in Haiti, I am encouraged by the people who have been quick to give of themselves for their brothers in need.

I am hopeful that this Year of the Priest will be incredibly fruitful, both for the priests themselves as they benefit from the grace offered and multitude of prayers from the faithful, as well as people in general, as they learn more of the vocation of the priesthood and, concurrently, the vocation of the laity.

As we heard recently, it a duty of the lay person to evangelize and sanctify the world. It is the duty of the priest to equip the laity for this task.

No one lives in a bubble — Thanks be to God! We all rely on each other and live in community and in communion.

God’s peace and love to you all!

Philosophical Foundations 1/20/10

January 20, 2010Class notes, Grad School/SeminaryCadyLy

Descartes – French – Jesuit education
He’s not really a skeptic. He wants to prove the existence of God, and that the mind is distinct from the body.

He keeps re-centering himself on doubting everything that comes from the senses.

Movie: “The Name of the Rose”
At this time, the Sorbonne was a very well-respected center of learning.

Natural credulity principle

Descartes – would have had to do Ignatian spiritual exercises

Meditation 1
The senses have deceived us. Dreams. Mirage. Typical sense deception. Small things.
Atypical sense deception – people are robots; props looking like trees and barns. Matrix. Logical possibilities, if not probable.

Dreams – he could be dreaming – problem because it is not real. When you are dreaming, unless it’s a lucid dream, you think it’s real.
But dreams are based on things which actually exist. We have an idea of corporeal nature in general. Had to have gotten this from experience.

First principles come from disciplines such as arithmetic and geometry.

If God lets me be deceived sometimes, could He let me be deceived all the time?

We have feelings of certitude about things which are false.

Can you really withdraw your assent to all beliefs? Not really.

“-doxy” = “belief”

If you do this, you are making yourself crazy. It is our natural tendency to be credulous.

He doesn’t start with beliefs, but with the method of doubt.
Descartes believes we can control our assent.

He concentrates on knowledge and not action because to live in the world, we need to believe in certain things, e.g. the floor, etc.

He hypothesizes an evil genius.
Everything he’s known before could be false. About discernment. What is the truth?

Satan as both a person/presence and a privation of good.

If you think you are continually getting misinformation, it makes a certain amount of sense to try and get rid of all prior knowledge and re-discover truth.

Doxastic habits

Meditation 2

External senses (5)
Internal senses: memory, imagination, common
Descartes rejects all sense information.

If I was persuaded, then I must have existed. If I was deceived, then I must have existed.

If I think “I am, I exist.” – This is necessarily true.

Nicomacian ethics – Aristotle

We perceive that we perceive
We think that we think

This means that we exist

Something beyond the thinking that thinks.

Can a thought exist without a thinker?
If you stop thinking, do you stop existing?

[Lack of critical thinking – lack of true living, true citizenship?]

Maybe thinks of some sort of power of thought. He identifies his “I.” He identifies his self with thought. I am this mind, this reason. He hasn’t said anything about a soul yet. But, doesn’t there need to be some substance underlying these powers? We are not always thinking – it is sometimes on and sometimes off.

He’s looking for something we do that doesn’t involve the body. We need our body to sense things. (Dreaming uses internal senses.) They used to think internal senses were located in the brain and external senses were located in the sense organs.

Mind connected to the brain – evidence;

Brain injury
Alzheimer’s
Probes
You can consume things that affect your thinking

Is there any part of the mind which doesn’t depend on the body?

Hemispherectomy – re-learn or re-wire functions onto remaining tissue

Mind as a power of the soul

Mind is connected to the brain, but can transcend the brain.

Aquinas

	NOT
Sight : Color	Mind : Brain
Mind : Image	Sight : Eyeball

The mind needs something to think with

Images come from imagination, which come from the brain. A reverberation of sense perception. We learn from particulars, from examples.

Mind and soul are technically distinct.

(Descartes – certain he exists. He’s a thinking thing. Doesn’t know about the body.)

Soul – according to Aquinas – in an act and a potentiality. Mind is one potential of the soul. Soul and the body are actualized (come into existence) together/at the same time.

Example of the wax:

Pretty much everything about it changes as it gets close to the fire.

Do we actually see wax? No. We sense the accidental properties. Wax is just a concept of my mind underlying these accidentals. Preference for mind, which can think more universally than your imagination or your senses.
It is extended, flexible, mutable.
Mind alone perceives the essence of the wax.

Things we see that we don’t really see:

Man walking across the street, but could be a robot
We never see concepts – wind is a concept
We speak in universals. We don’t see essences.

Descartes wants to get very precise.