A Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan

August 9, 2011Spiritual ReadingCadyLy

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

A Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan by Father John McCloskey
Titles highlighted in green are ones I own. If I’ve read it, the date of completion will follow the entry.

Catechism of the Catholic Church – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Adams – The Spirit of Catholicism – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Augustine – City of God – Spiritual Classics
Augustine – Confessions of St. Augustine – Spiritual Classics
Aumann – Spiritual Theology – Spiritual Reading
Baur – Frequent Confession – Spiritual Reading
Baur – In Silence with God – Spiritual Reading
Belloc – The Great Heresies – History and Culture
Belloc – How The Reformation Happened – History and Culture
Belloc – Survivals and New Arrivals – History and Culture
Benedict XVI – Opera Omnia – Misc
Benson – Lord of the World – Literary Classics
Bernanos – The Diary of a Country Priest – Literary Classics
Bouyer – Spirit and Forms of Protestantism – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Boylan – Difficulties in Mental Prayer – Spiritual Reading
Boylan – Tremendous Lover – Spiritual Reading
Burke – Covenanted Happiness – Spiritual Reading
Carroll – History of Christendom (All Volumes) – History and Culture
St. Catherine – Little Talks with God (modernized version of “The Dialogues”) – Spiritual Classics
Cervantes – Don Quixote – Literary Classics
Chautard – Soul of Apostolate – Spiritual Reading
Chesterton – Everlasting Man – Spiritual Classics
Chesterton – Orthodoxy – Spiritual Classics
Chesterton – St. Thomas Aquinas
Chesterton – St. Francis of Assisi – Holy Men and Women
Chevrot – Simon Peter
Cizek – He Leadeth Me – Spiritual Reading 4/7/2011
Crocker – Triumph – History and Culture
Caussaude – Abandonment to Divine Providence – Spiritual Reading
Dante – Divine Comedy – Literary Classics
Dawson – Christianity and European Culture – History and Culture
Day – Long Loneliness – Holy Men and Women
de la Palma – The Sacred Passion – Spiritual Reading
de Sales – Introduction to Devout Life – Spiritual Reading
de Sales – Treatise on the Love of God – Spiritual Reading
d’Elbee – I Believe in Love – Spiritual Reading
Eliot – Christianity and Culture – Literary Classics
Endo – Silence – Literary Classics
Enzler – My Other Self – Misc
Escriva – Christ is Passing By – Spiritual Reading
Escriva – Way, Furrow, Forge – Spiritual Reading
Escriva – Way of the Cross – Spiritual Reading
Faber – All for Jesus – Spiritual Reading
Garrigou-Lagrange – Three Ages of Interior Life, I – Spiritual Reading
Garrigou-Lagrange – Three Ages of Interior Life, II – Spiritual Reading
Granada – Sinner’s Guide – Spiritual Reading
Guardini – The Lord
Guardini – End of the Modern World – History and Culture
Hahn – Rome Sweet Home – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Hannam – God’s Philosophers – History
Hildebrand – Transformation
Hildebrand – The Privilege of Being a Woman
Holzner – Paul of Tarsus – Spiritual Reading
Hopkins – Hopkins: Poetry and Prose – Literary Classics
John XXIII – Journal of a Soul – Holy Men and Women
John of the Cross – Dark Night of the Soul – Spiritual Classics
John Paul II – Opera Omnia – Misc
Kelly – Rediscovering Catholicism – Spiritual Reading 2/2/2011
Kempis – The Imitation of Christ – Spiritual Reading
Knox – Enthusiasm – History and Culture
Kreeft – Christianity for Modern Pagans – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Leclercq – Love of Learning and the Desire for God – History and Culture
Lewis – Problem with Pain – Spiritual Classics 7/18/2009
Lewis – Mere Christianity – Spiritual Classics 6/30/2009
Lewis – Screwtape Letters – Spiritual Classics 11/16/2007
Liguori – 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation – Spiritual Reading
Liguori – The Practice of the Love of God – Spiritual Reading
Liguori – Uniformity with God’s Will – Spiritual Reading
Martinez – True Devotion to the Holy Spirit – Spiritual Reading
Montfort – True Devotion – Spiritual Reading
Lovasik – The Hidden Power of Kindness – Spiritual Reading
Manzoni – Betrothed – Spiritual Reading
Masson – Companion Guide to Rome – Misc
Merton – Seven Storey Mountain – Holy Men and Women
Monti – King’s Good Servant but God’s First
More – Sadness of Christ – Spiritual Reading
Muggeridge – Something Beautiful for God – Holy Men and Women
Neuhaus – Catholic Matters – Misc. 9/26/2010
Newman – Apologia Pro Vita Sua – Holy Men and Women
Newman – Essay on Development of Christian Doctrine – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Newman – Idea of a University – Literary Classics
Newman – The Rule of Our Warfare
O’Connor – Flannery O’Connor: Complete Stories – Literary Classics
Ott – Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Oursler – The Greatest Story Ever Told – Spiritual Classics
Percy – Lost in Cosmos – Literary Classics
Percy – Love in the Ruins – Literary Classic
Perquin – Abba Father – Spiritual Reading
Pieper – The Four Cardinal Virtues – Catholicism Explained/Theology
Phillipe – Opera Omnia
Plus – Winning Souls for Christ – Spiritual Reading
Rice – 50 Questions on the Natural Law – Misc.
Rohrbach – Conversation with Christ – Spiritual Reading
Scupoli – Spiritual Combat – Spiritual Reading
Sertillanges – Intellectual Life – Misc
Sheed – Theology for Beginners – Spiritual Reading
Sheed – To Know Christ Jesus – Spiritual Reading
Sheen – Life of Christ – Spiritual Reading
Sheen – Three to Get Married – Spiritual Reading
Sienkiewicz – Quo Vadis – Literary Classics
Stein – Woman – Misc
Suarez – Mary of Nazareth – Holy Men and Women
Tanqueray – Spiritual Life – Spiritual Reading
Mother Teresa – Meditations from a Simple Path – Spiritual Classics
St. Teresa of Avila – Interior Castle – Spiritual Classics
Teresa of Avila-Way of Perfection – Spiritual Classics
St. Therese of Lisieux – Story of a Soul – Spiritual Classics
St. Thomas Aquinas – My Way of Life – Spiritual Classics
Tolkien – Lord of Rings – Literary Classics
Trochu – Cure of Ars – Holy Men and Women
Kristen Lavransdatter 1 – Literary Classics
Kristen Lavransdatter 2 – Literary Classics
Kristen Lavransdatter 3 – Literary Classics
Vann – The Divine Pity
Walsh – Our Lady of Fatima – History and Culture
Waugh – Brideshead Revisited – Literary Classics
Wegemer – Thomas More – Holy Men and Women
Weigel – Witness to Hope – Holy Men and Women

Last Chance Mass

August 7, 2011SacramentsCadyLy

This weekend I did … pretty much nothing. I didn’t feel very well and spent the weekend on the futon watching episode after episode of Kyle XY, followed by (when I had seen all the episodes) 17 Kids and Counting. Exciting times.

I didn’t make it off the couch and into the shower in time for 10:15 am Mass. Then, I got hungry and didn’t have the requisite hour fast for the 12:15 pm Mass. Ditto the 5 pm.

I was still not feeling well and permenently affixed to the couch at the end of the night. Time for the Last Chance Mass. Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Church has an 8:30 pm Mass on Sunday night. I made it over there, but was still in my shorts and T-shirt. So, I hid in the chapel with people who were there for Reconciliation. It was quite nice. All the lights were off, so we were praying in the light of the vigil candle.

As Mass proceeded, however, I felt increasingly dizzy and nauseated. Finally, I felt that I had to leave early while I was still able to drive home. So, shortly after Communion began, I headed to the car.

And entered a monsoon. It was *pouring* out. I was soaked in 5 seconds. What is this? A second baptism? Is God angry I left early?

But…

I *love* storms. And heavy rains. I thought it was great. 🙂 So, I was the idiot heading to her car (at the far, far corner of the lot) with her hands orans, giggling at the water. And I felt a little bit better. 🙂

Is Something More Needed?

July 31, 2011Health and MedicineCadyLy

I went to the doctor’s office last week. I have a lot of different medical conditions, and as we were discussing one of them, my doctor suggested that I go on a particular medication to try and ameliorate one of the symptoms of this disease. However, this particular drug is contraindicated in patients who have a clotting disorder, which I have. My doctor knows of my clotting condition, yet wasn’t thinking of it, or the side effects of the drug, when she suggested it.

I reminded her of my clotting disorder, and she agreed that I should not be on the suggested medication. No harm, no foul.

However…

I couldn’t keep from wondering about other patients. What if they didn’t know the ramifications a medication could have on other medical conditions that they have? What if they blindly trusted the suggestions of their doctor?

It’s not a question of the doctor’s culpability — everyone makes mistakes and can’t be expected to keep everything in mind. This is why on most patient’s medical charts, a list of their allergies is featured prominently. So that a medication to which the patient is allergic would not be accidentally prescribed. However, I am not aware of any such alert system for other medications which might be contraindicated for whatever reason.

Perhaps another section should be featured on medical records? A list of medications which should not be prescribed for the specific patient?

An Awesome Morning!

July 28, 2011UncategorizedCadyLy

Sanctuary, a photo by CadyLy on Flickr.

I’m not sure why this morning was so great, but I loved it! 🙂 I was feeling quite sick last night and went to bed ridiculously early. Like 7 pm early. Which meant that I woke up at 1 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but there was nothing to be done. I was up for the day. Finally, at 1:48 am, I gave up and giggled my way out of bed.

I had my 2 am Cheerios and checked my e-mail, Facebook and all that necessary news.

Then, I had a great idea! 🙂

See, Fr. John had asked in one of his recent homilies for people to be stationed at the doors of the Church to greet people as they arrived for Mass.

Looking at this, and in particular the 6:30 am Mass that I was about to attend, I saw a critical problem.

Who was going to greet Fr. John?

I mean, this is a serious oversight, right?

I wouldn’t want my priest to feel unwelcome. And I *certainly* want him to keep coming back for Mass. We kind of need him. 🙂

So, I got the great idea of arriving early to greet him at the door. Of course, he prays a holy hour prior to Mass, so I’d have to arrive before 5:30 am in order to catch him. Which pretty much means leaving the house at 4:30 am, since I had to stop and get gas and Starbucks on the way. Good thing I was already up! 🙂

At Starbucks, there was a uniformed Marine openly mocking an Air Force serviceman who had a photo up on the community board. I chastised him for his lack of military solidarity. “Dude. You are so uncool…” 🙂

It was raining on the way there, but once I arrived, it had tapered off a bit. Sadly, the only place to sit was on the sidewalk leading up to the door. Which was wet. Oh well.

I didn’t even know if Fr. John had this Mass. But I took the chance and even packed my last chocolate pot de creme dessert for him … just in case. If he didn’t have Mass, I would take it in for a lucky co-worker. 🙂

But he did arrive. As he walked up, he said, “Hey! Look who’s huddled in the corner!” And I chirped in reply, “Good morning! Welcome to Mass!” He ended up greeting me to OLGC. LOL!

I got to spend my own holy hour in the chapel reading “The Living God” and the Bible prior to Mass.

And this is how I started my work day: seeing friends, getting a new book (Thanks, Jeff!), praying a holy hour, drinking an iced mocha, and receiving Jesus. Just try to tell me that my morning was not awesome! 🙂

St. Alphonsus De Liguori’s Conclusion to a Short Treatise on Prayer

July 18, 2011Neat Things I Didn't Author, Prayer/Prayer RequestsCadyLy

I found this on the internet here, and thought it was so good, I needed to share with you! Enjoy!

Let us pray, then, and let us always be asking for grace, if we wish to be saved. Let prayer be our most delightful occupation; let prayer be the exercise of our whole life. And when we are asking for particular graces, let us always pray for the grace to continue to pray for the future; because if we leave off praying we shall be lost. There is nothing easier than prayer. What does it cost us to say, Lord, stand by me! Lord, help me! give me Thy love! and the like? What can be easier than this? But if we do not do so, we cannot be saved. Let us pray, then, and let us always shelter ourselves behind the intercession of Mary: “Let us seek for grace, and let us seek it through Mary,” says St. Bernard. And when we recommend ourselves to Mary, let us be sure that she hears us and obtains for us whatever we want. She cannot lack either the power or the will to help us, as the same saint says: “Neither means nor will can be wanting to her.” And St. Augustine addresses her: “Remember, O most pious Lady, that it has never been heard that any one who fled to thy protection was forsaken.” Remember that the case has never occurred of a person having recourse to thee, and having been abandoned. Ah, no, says St. Bonaventure, he who invokes Mary, finds salvation; and therefore he calls her “the salvation of those who invoke her.” Let us, then, in our prayers always invoke Jesus and Mary; and let us never neglect to pray.

I have done. But before concluding, I cannot help saying how grieved I feel when I see that though the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers so often recommend the practice of prayer, yet so few other religious writers, or confessors, or preachers, ever speak of it; or if they do speak of it, just touch upon it in a cursory way, and leave it. But I, seeing the necessity of prayer, say, that the great lesson which all spiritual books should inculcate on their readers, all preachers on their hearers, and all confessors on their penitents, is this, to pray always; thus they should admonish them to pray; pray, and never give up praying. If you pray, you will be certainly saved; if you do not pray, you will be certainly damned.

Working My Way Through the USCCA! Ch. 2

July 16, 2011Catechism, Of Vice and Virtuecommunity, integrity, Superman, virtueCadyLy

When friends and family members converse with one another, what do they reveal about themselves?

I think that when we speak with those closest to us, we reveal what is most important. We tend to lose the “public persona” and speak of things which are really in our hearts. We are more “ourselves.”

What does God reveal of Himself to us in treating us as friends and family members?

God is saying that He wants us to know Him intimately, as He is. He wants to share His life with us.

How does God’s Revelation give meaning to our lives?

What a question! Seriously, how does one go about answering this?! 🙂 Here’s a stab, anyway: I think that by the mere fact that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us that He wants us to be in an intimate relationship with Him. He doesn’t want to be uninvolved. He wants for us to be in communion with Him. The whole point of our lives is supposed to be that we end up sharing in His divine Life forever in Heaven, right? So, I guess that a simple way to put it would be for God to say to us, “I am the meaning in your life.”

What is meant when we say that we have a “revealed” religion?

It means that our religion is not something which is known entirely naturally or intuitively, but via a self-communication of one person to another (or multiple others). Because God is not a “thing” or a “concept,” but a person; and while you can know things about a person from an external observation, you can never truly know a person unless she or he decides to share herself or himself with you. And this is what God has done. He has made Himself known.

What are positive features in our culture?

I think our collective drive for self-improvement is a good thing. I think we often are misguided as to what is important, but the fact that we are looking to make ourselves into better versions of ourselves is a good thing to seek after. The way that we question things and test things to see if they are good is a positive action. The more that we continue to think critically and engage each other in the pursuit of truth — even if we don’t agree, so long as it is done in charity — is both present in society and becoming less appreciated, in favor of emotional reactions (“This makes me happy/mad/sad.”) or sound bytes that we can hear for 15 seconds on the radio or iPod or headlines which we can get from a news feed.

I think that the things we think we stand for are great: integrity, charity, humanitarian aid, a positive moral example to the world, innovation, creativity, a willingness to be a participant in the global community… We just need a little help living the way we envision. Back to critical thinking and integrity.

How can culture be converted and transformed by the Gospel?

If we truly try to live as disciples of Christ, there’s no question that society would change. Can you imagine what your street, your workplace, your city would look like if everyone acted in every instance so as to serve the interests of the people they meet? If our thought when we see another person is, “How can I help him? How can I make her day a little better?” What if we let the mother with the screaming infant go ahead of us in line at the grocery store, even if she had a huge cart of groceries? What if we bought coffee for the stranger standing behind us in line at Starbucks? What if we raked our neighbor’s yard as well as our own? What if we acted so as to say to all people, “It is good that you exist”?

What would help you to spend more time reading and praying over God’s revealed word in Scripture?

Sometimes it is difficult to start, because you don’t know where to start. Reading straight through from cover to cover is rarely a good way to go. I’ve found that Bible studies are great, because they hold you accountable for reading a certain passage and perhaps answering questions before the next meeting. But what to do when you are not in a Bible study? Plus, usually Bible studies are only once a week or so. What about the other days of the week? A reading plan might help. There are several available as apps on your phone or online that can help you track your progress.

Another thing I have found to be helpful is to have the Bible available to you in multiple different formats. I have several Bibles in my house, but I also have it on my Kindle, my phone, my desktop and my laptop. I even have the Bible on CD for my car, and on my iPod.

Just knowing that Scripture is inspired can help, too. Inspired means “God-breathed,” and this means that when you are reading Scripture, God is speaking personally, to you, through that text. It is not just for people who lived in that day, but has meaning for you right now. And it is not static. What it means to you today, and the way that God is communicating with you through His Word today is not the meaning or the communication that you will have tomorrow or next month. So, you can’t get away with saying that you’ve read that already or that you know how the story goes.

Ultimately, it has to be a commitment on my part, to want to read His Word. To understand its value and to want to have it transform my life. Because it will.

Why can we say that growth in our faith will strengthen us to affect public policy with our beliefs?

I think that faith helps us to grow in virtue, and one of the virtues that we can grow in is integrity. The more we seek after truth and the more that we choose to live lives of integrity, the more that we will fight for what is truly good. We will not be as willing to ignore the evils that we see around us. We will want to change things to benefit not just ourselves, but our communities. We will want others to grow in virtue as well and will want to foster communities which help people grow in virtue.

What is virtue anyway? I think some people think that to want a virtuous society, we are asking for a society where everyone tries to force others into seeing the world as they do. To “force” their religion upon others. This is neither virtuous, wise, or the way the Christ acted. I think our idea of a hero or a superhero is more in line with what it means to live a virtuous life. Idealistic, perhaps, but it gives concreteness to the concept. People probably wouldn’t think twice about rolling their eyes and sighing if they see someone holding up the line at the security checkpoint, searching for their ID and boarding pass when they had the whole time in line to get ready. But if we watch a movie and see Superman displaying this irritation, then we know that there’s something wrong. Superman wouldn’t normally act that way.

My two cents, anyway. Feel free to chime in and answer the questions with me! See you for Chapter 3! 🙂

Working My Way through the USCCA!

July 1, 2011Catechismcatechism, United State Cathoic Catechism for Adults, USCCACadyLy

@ 35000 ft / Reflections / nature / sky / clouds / Blue Sky / Blue / animated / animation / Background / IMG_2204-refl

Since school is out for the summer, I decided to pick up on some of my reading which has fallen by the wayside. Since I have about 38 books going at the same time, picking which one I am going to focus on is not as easy as one might think…

I started reading a little of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, and was just reading straight through. But then, I flipped back and looked again at the questions at the end of the first chapter. You know, if I’m going to read the book, I might as well think about the questions, right? So, I think I’ll reflect upon them one chapter at a time… 🙂

Chapter 1: My Soul Longs for You, O God (Ps 42:2)
What are you looking for in life?

I guess I don’t have too many expectations of life, but I enjoy all that it has to offer. I love new experiences, new places and interacting with people. I hope of myself to be a person of integrity and to seek after truth. I expect that life contains objective truth and that I have the possibility of knowing this truth.

What are your goals and ideals?

My goal is to really live my life and to not allow myself to be merely an observer. I value personal integrity and think that people are incredibly important. I tend to be an optimist. I’m basically a really happy person. I try to fix things or make people feel better — or at least make them laugh … at me, if nothing else. I throw everything in for love. Authentic love, not just warm fuzzies.

How do God and the Church play a part in what you are seeking?

Well, as God is Truth and Love and the Church helps me to know this, I’d say they play a huge part…. 🙂

How is your life a journey toward God?

I think the more I try to live a life of integrity, the more I try to love people, and the more I try to experience life itself; I cannot help but be drawn closer to God.

As a seeker, how do you look for truth?

I’m not very scientific or systematic about this, sorry. But I listen to the Church, because she is guided by the Holy Spirit. I have been blessed with many great teachers of the faith in my priests, professors and friends. In a way, you know truth in your heart, and you really can’t learn it from a book.

When you hear of truth or behold beauty or experience goodness, what do you think?

Usually, I thank God for it. For letting me witness it.

If you seek for God, what has made this possible?

Truly, I think that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. I really mean that.

What have you found in your search thus far?

There is a God, and He is FAR more faithful to me than I am to Him. Blessed be He. I have found that the Catholic Church does contain truth. That faith is a strength and not a weakness. That love is more important that anything else. That prayer is the best gift you can give. That I don’t have any reason to worry about anything, although I still do. That God loves me, and I don’t have to do a thing to earn that love.

As a Catholic, how are you searching for God?

Diligently?? 🙂 I suppose I try to seek out God in all aspects of my life. Certainly in reading Scripture and participating in the Sacraments, but also in my day-to-day interactions. I pray. I try to discern and do His will. I try to know Him and to have a real relationship. I mean, I go to school at Seminary and I attend Bible studies and go to talks and things like this, but that is … secondary, I suppose. I do those things because I love doing them. Like they say, when you love someone, you always want to know more about them.

Why does seeking God keep your relationship with Him dynamic?

Because God is not some remote, static thing somewhere. He is present, immediate and always interacting with us. I suppose what they really mean by this question is ‘why does actively living out your faith keep your relationship with Him dynamic’? The counter-example to this would be the married couple who has fallen into such a routine in their lives that they really don’t engage each other any more — not a healthy thing to do. If I am actively living out my faith, then I am not just ‘checking the box’ and can deepen my relationship with God.

How does the Church help you in your search for God?

She makes sure that the deposit of faith — God’s self revelation — is wholly and accurately transmitted throughout the ages. I do not have to worry about corrupt teaching on faith and morals when it comes from the Magisterium. God has ensured this for us. What a remarkable blessing! She also helps me by providing me access to the Sacraments, which allow me to come in actual contact with God. Through confession, I can receive God’s mercy for my sins and restore my relationship with Him. She also gives me a spiritual home and a community of people who show me Christ through their love for me and encourage me in my journey.

How does your family affect your faith?

My family mostly does not believe in God. It’s sad for me, because this is something that I love, and I don’t feel that I can share it with them. It’s like I cannot be fully me, or that they do not love all of me, because they do not accept this part of me. I am not silly or weak and have not lost my reason. I pray for them — not in some holier-than-thou way, but because I love them and know that God loves them and would wish for them to know Him and be able to feel His love for them and to have that security that can only come from Him. I love them very much, and I wish I could share this part of me with them.
As for my “other” family — they are a remarkable collection of people. Their faith inspires me. Their love humbles me. How can I not live with joy?

Run for Your Life!

June 30, 2011Exercise & Fitness, Health & MedicineCadyLy

My doctor is trying to kill me! Okay, he’s not really trying to kill me — just almost kill me. Under the notion that ‘whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.’ He guarantees that within 3 months, I will return to clinic saying, “You are the best doctor ever!” To which he will humbly reply, “What? You did all the work!” 🙂 LOL! He’s hilarious. I enjoy our meetings.

So, since (for insurance reasons — apparently I am in that in-between of sick, but not with the correct diagnoses; i.e. I need to actually have a heart attack first) PT, Pulmonary Rehab and Cardiac Rehab have all rejected me, he’s going to start me on my own training program.

Sounds simple, right?

Ha!

My exercise tolerance is about nil. Which is what he’s looking to strengthen.

He got all excited when he heard that I had an elliptical trainer in my house. This is to be the instrument of my torture. Little does he know that my house … doesn’t have central air. Someone, please, set up a collection for this! 🙂

Four times a week, starting at 5 minutes per day. Increase by 5 minutes every week until we get to 30 minutes a day, four times a week.

Easy, yes? Are you laughing at me yet? What a wimp!

But I’m game. Nothing like the present. Maybe I’ll have a good day, even though I was so exhausted after my appointment that by 3 pm I just drove home and immediately took a nap.

So, I put on my iPod and got a nice running song and started. Ah, “Rhythm is a Dancer” by Snap. Brings back memories of high school. 🙂

30 seconds in: Yep. This is not easy, when you have a neuromuscular disorder.

1 minute: Muscles are starting to burn. So glad that I took anatomy, since now I can name them. 🙂 The first one to go was the left rectus femoris. Then the gastrocnemius.

But I can work through the pain, right? I’m tougher than that. I used to roller blade for 4 hours straight on feet 90% covered in blisters. What’s this?

5 minutes: done! Yes! I had turned on the AC in the bedroom before I started, and am sitting right up against it, with cold air blowing on my neck. Ahh. Now, the question is, do I bother getting up and making dinner, or do I just go to bed for the night? 🙂

Father John Corapi

June 21, 2011Neat Things I Didn't Author, Of Trials Opportunities and Gifts, Of Vice and VirtueCadyLy

Father John Corapi, Hilton Omaha Nebraska Sept. 10, 2010, a photo by Caldeira & Co. on Flickr.

It seems like everyone has a blog post about Fr. Corapi and his stunning statement released on June 17th. Emotions are running wild and people are divided into pro-Corapi and anti-Corapi camps.

Fr. Corapi had a positive influence on many people and was able to break down church teaching in a very accessible way.

But what is the take-away now? What are we learning from the events which are still unfolding? I think it is still too soon to tell and too soon to be making any predictions. However, I’m a little saddened by what I’ve heard.

Anytime any priest decides to leave the priesthood, it is a tragedy.

Anytime a person is treated unfairly by systems which are supposed to discover truth and uphold justice, it is a tragedy.

Anytime people are more concerned with the latest gossip than with displaying love and compassion for another person, it is a tragedy.

Anytime someone stops following the ways of Christ and begins to follow the way of the world, it is a tragedy.

These statements may or may not apply to the current event, I do not claim to have any particular knowledge of Fr. Corapi’s situation. Sure, I have heard things… I think everyone’s heard something at this point… But as for the truth? I don’t think I will ever know that. And that’s fine. I don’t think I particularly need to know the details.

There are people rabidly defending him and people rabidly attacking him. There are people like Al Kresta, who don’t believe that he is acting in a Christ-like manner and think that he has been indulging in self-pity. As long as the discussion remains charitable, I think it is a good thing. We can discuss actions with which we disagree and still love the person(s) who has(have) committed these actions. We should point out right and wrong, so as to help inform the consciences of others. Charity remains the one attitude we need to keep in the forefront of our minds as we enter into these discussions.

Whatever your feelings are on the subject, I think the best attitude to take is the one expressed by my blog-friend, Jen Fulwiler. She notes in her post that Fr. Corapi was very helpful in her conversion to Catholicism in teaching her the faith. However, the important part, is that the Church is bigger than any one man. And God’s Truth is always out there for us to know and embrace.

I don’t care who your priest is, how well known he is, how close you are to him or how much he has taught you of the faith. Or even how betrayed and lost you might feel if your priest leaves the priesthood or begins to behave contrary to a life of holiness or preach something other than the Gospel. What matters is that the Church has been guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. And if we know anything about God, it is that He is faithful. Even when we are not. (Or perhaps especially when we are not.)

So, at the end of the day, I can only pray that the Lord’s healing and love envelop all those who are affected by these events. No matter what the truth was, there are people significantly hurt. And they deserve our compassion and our prayers. Also, we must remain vigilant in our own faith and not allow it to be weakened by doubt or scandal. The Church is our mother and will not lead us astray, and nothing can pry us from the hands of our Father, so there is nothing to fear.

New Jersey Roadtrip!

June 14, 2011Photography, TravelCadyLy

I was asked to be Marissa’s sponsor for Confirmation, and the day had finally arrived! I took about a week off work and decided to drive out to New Jersey. I asked people about places to stop along the way, and managed to spend at least a little bit of time at each of them.

Thursday, May 19, 2011
I got off to a late start because I was giving people “just a minute more” to send me their prayers for Fr. John’s birthday project. 🙂 I didn’t actually get on the road until about 1 pm. I used my new enhanced driver’s license at the border in Sarnia for the first time and entered a foreign country (!!). It was sunny and beautiful and I quite enjoyed the Canadian countryside as I cruised along listening to Catholic talks on CD. Everything was in bloom, and the wildflowers made wide swaths of yellow, blue and purple in the green of the grass.

When I arrived in Niagara Falls, I stopped on the US side. The park entrance was gorgeous with all of the flowering trees:

Everything seemed to be in bloom and it was just gorgeous:

The path took me down to the rapids right before the Falls:

It was a lovely day, and I wished that I had some more time to spend in the park.

However, I was starting to not feel well and thought it better if I pressed on to Letchworth State Park, where I was going to stay the night. But first, I wanted to walk along the river one more time and maybe walk across that bridge up there…

This is the view from the bridge (not THE bridge, but a little bridge):

At the end of the bridge was this flowering tree. I know, it’s a lot of flower pictures, but I’m a sappy flower-loving girl like that! Deal with it! 🙂

Tulips, tulips, everywhere!

This is the view of the bridge passing into Grand Island:

Along the drive through upstate New York, there were several areas with these windmills.

This part of the drive had the most hills warning trucks to be in low gear. I had been a little anxious about traveling this “mountainous” part of the journey because the weather report had indicated severe thunderstorms, but Thank God! the weather held out. As I got closer to Letchworth, there were fewer and fewer rest areas and cities. By the time I got to Castile, I hadn’t seen another car or another human for a couple hours. It was really disconcerting. It was also getting dark and was about 8:30 pm or so. I got to where the GPS said the park should be, and didn’t see anything. I drove down the road a little further and saw some signs for it, and finally made it to a sign that indicated for me to turn left for the park, but I promise you, there was NO place to turn left! I continued on the road, getting increasingly anxious (mostly because of the lack of people). My GPS wasn’t working, it was getting darker, I couldn’t figure out these signs (there must have been multiple park entrances), and I had 100 miles to empty. I was sure that there was a gas station within 100 miles, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find it. Plus, I was still feeling sick and was looking forward to the bed in that cabin I was going to rent for the night.

After seemingly driving around in circles for 30 minutes, I finally found a park entrance. I was so relieved to see the guard shack! Pulling up to buy my park ticket and arrange for the cabin, I saw that there wasn’t anyone in the booth. Okay. Well, it’s later in the evening, they probably just pulled in to another booth further in, right? There wasn’t any barrier to the park, so I continued my way in. Didn’t see another booth. Didn’t see where the campgrounds or cabins were. Didn’t see any people. Okay, this is creepy. I passed a house on one side of the street and a little parking lot with another building on the other side of the street, but these weren’t labeled as anything, so I continued down the road. I got to the end, where it said, “Service Vehicles Only.” Obviously, this wasn’t where I was supposed to be either. I turned around and headed back. I got back to the house and the parking lot and parked next to the only car in the lot (no people, again). I resigned myself to sleeping in my car for the night. I got out of the car and took a walk around to see what was there. I followed the sound of water down this trail and found a scenic overlook. In the distance, I could see one of the waterfalls lit up:

I went back to the car and checked out the building next to the parking lot. It was a public restroom! Running water, electricity and everything! Score! 🙂 I turned in and tried to sleep. Not the most comfortable thing I’ve done, but it wasn’t that bad.

Friday, May 20, 2011
I got up pretty early and thought that I should exit the park before I got arrested for trespassing or something. The first think I did was go back down the path to the scenic overlook I had run across the night before. Sadly, it was so foggy that I couldn’t see a thing.

I cleaned up in the public restrooms, rearranged my car and started to make my way out. My phone, of course, was about dead, so I couldn’t check the GPS or anything. As I made my way back to the park entrance I had come in, I saw a sign for “Lower Falls” and decided to follow it. It ended at a (deserted) parking lot, with a trail leading to the Falls. It was wet and foggy, but quite nice.

Right off the parking lot was this cute little restroom, much more rustic than the one by the parking lot where I stayed the night:

This is the “trail”:

This was my first view of the river:

These were the stairs in the park: stone steps, wet and half covered in leaves. Just what a girl with a neuromuscular disorder needs to be climbing on when there’s not another soul around. Good thing I fancy myself a billy goat and lack a self-preservation gene! 🙂

Some even had warning signs, which was nice of them.

This is the first rocky outcropping that I happened upon and immediately scrambled atop it for a better view of the river.

Views from the rock:

On the one side of the path were signs like this:

warning us not to get too close to the edge. The forest just dropped off into the river, and there were no fences or anything to keep people safe from their own stupidity.

This is a picture of how it just drops off into nothing:

This, I thought was funny, the trail was covered in tree roots. And it was all wet and muddy and quite slippery.

What was I getting myself into?

My first view of the lower falls! And look, see how it just drops off? I could just walk right over the edge. No safety net.

There was so much spray coming from the falls that I had a hard time keeping my camera lens dry enough to take a photo.

I actually was good and didn’t hike beyond the sign. I merely hiked…laterally…closer to the drop off above the falls. 🙂

Since it was the end of the trail, I had no option but to turn around and head back. This time, I took a moment to check out the other side of the path, dragging my attention away from the water (I’m such a sucker for water!).

By my first rocky outcropping there were incomplete “stairs” going down to this overlook:

The outlook itself was almost completely flooded out and very muddy, but it had some great views:

Here’s looking back at the Lower Falls:

On the far side of the overlook was another set of stairs heading down, in parallel with the river, leading to a bridge which crossed over to the other side of the park.

This bridge was pretty high off the water, which is important to remember for the next part of my story:

See, the bridge itself was flooded out, and I was not a fan of the idea of getting my shoes and socks any more wet and muddy than they already were. So, here I was… Looking at the bridge, trying to think of how I would cross it without getting wet.

Did you see that? The wall of the bridge? It’s like a ledge. About 18 inches wide. I bet I could walk on that ledge across the bridge.

I tried to get a picture from the ledge of the river. You know, to document my stupidity, right? So here I am, on an 18″ ledge, looking through a camera… 🙂 I got about 1/2 way across the bridge before I started to get scared of falling, since, despite my billy goat tendencies, I am actually afraid of heights… So, I turned around and went back.

Now, it was time to ascend back to the car and head again towards New Jersey.

But first, a stop at another overlook, right by the entrance of the park. You can see why they call this the Grand Canyon of the East. 🙂

There was another guy there, taking photos. I was so thrilled to see him, because I hadn’t seen another human in 12 hours. I asked him where the nearest gas station was, and after a while, he understood what I was asking and tried to give directions. Thank the Lord the GPS was working, despite the fog! 🙂

Here’s a video clip of the last overlook, before I left Letchworth:

This is what the drive was like: a little rain here and there, some Catholic CDs and a river alongside the road for most of the trip!

Now entering Pennsylvania!

There was not too much to see in Pennsylvania, so I pretty much blasted through. However, as I got close to New Jersey, the last exit in Pennzie, in fact, I decided that I had some time to kill and stopped by the Crayola Crayon Factory.

Completely ironically, Derek was also at the Crayola factory (but the real one, not the tourist one) for a job interview! I picked up some Dry Erase Crayons and Glass Markers and headed off again. 🙂

Now for the raison d’être! Marissa’s Confirmation! We ate dinner that Derek made for us, then got cleaned up and on the way to St. Magdalen de Pazzi Catholic Church in Flemington. All the confirmandi were dressed in red robes. There were a lot of kids being confirmed, and this was just one of two groups! 🙂 Sadly, the church asked that family members not take photographs during the liturgy, so I don’t have too many.

Here’s Marissa in the car on the way to church. Her dress was lacey; she thought it was a rather “Churchy” looking dress. 🙂

After Mass, we briefly stopped in the social hall and had our picture taken with her priest. We went to TGI Friday’s for a late night snack. There, along with expressing a desire for a disco ball for her room, Marissa said that she wanted to go to confession. Since we were planning on taking a trip to New York City in the morning, I suggested that we see if we can make confession at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. High-fives were exchanged. 🙂

Saturday, May 21, 2011
What can I say? I love trips into the city! 🙂 The crowds of people don’t bother me in the slightest. 🙂 I love all the different buildings and stores. It’s all quite beautiful. Diane got us passes on the Grayline Uptown Bus Tour, which was good, since all my previous trips have been downtown, below say, 60th street. I’ll try not to glut you with photos, but it’s rather difficult for me to not share them all! 🙂

Times Square

Diane on the tour bus!

Columbus Circle

Time-Warner

All kinds of fancy old buildings on the Upper West side! 🙂

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

And my favorite of this cathedral:

Union Theological Seminary

General Grant National Memorial

Brownstones in Harlem

Public Service Announcement from the City of New York:

Central Park: I wish I had more time in the city where I could wander around the park

The Seal of the City

I love the bird flying on top of this roof!

The Guggenheim Museum

This is MY kind of sidewalk! 🙂

FOOD HALL!
It was getting pretty late in the afternoon and we hadn’t eaten yet…

I love how detailed this building is!

The Irish Pub: I wish this pub were more noticable…

I still have to see this play one of these days!

Times Square, Again

Madame Tussaud’s: Our Next Stop!

Pope John Paul II and I
He’s trying to help me take the photo!

Marissa and a Rockette

Diane finding someone shorter than she!

That’s right, dude! I’m stopping your puck with my foot! Bwahahaha!

Happy Feet 4D
We are stylin’ in our shades!

Watch out!

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Chrysler Building

Church of St. Francis of Assisi

We had dinner at a place called, I think, Lucky’s, across the street from Penn Station.

Sunday, May 22, 2011
Today was a pretty relaxed day. Diane and I caught the noon Mass at St. Magdalen’s. When we got home, we found a little kitten in the driveway. She was taken in and adopted by the family.

Throughout the night, we debated names for her.

Eventually, I think Diane settled on the name Chloe, but we will see if it sticks.

Monday, May 23, 2011
Their house is next to a farmer’s house, and they even have one cow which is theirs!

The tub is for washing the dogs. Don’t worry, there’s indoor plumbing! 🙂

Today, Marissa went to school and Derek, Diane and Garrett headed off to work. I thought this would be a great time for me to head over to Wernersville, PA to check out the gravesite of Fr. Walter Ciszek, who wrote the book “He Leadeth Me” which I recently read.

On my way out of town, I passed by St. Magdalen’s and decided to stop and take a few pictures, since it is such a pretty church:

As I was taking photos, I saw people going into the church. I asked someone and as it turns out, they were having Mass in 5 minutes! What awesome timing! 🙂

Jesuit Retreat Center at Wernersville, PA

Fr. Ciszek’s grave

I walked through the entire cemetery, praying at each grave marker. It was foggy and wet out and my shoes and jeans got soaked! 🙂 But I loved it. I then popped into the retreat center for a look around. There was a sign on the door that said, “Walk in” and so I did. 🙂

I took pictures of their artwork, too!

And their living spaces!

And their worship spaces!

Even the entrance to the retreat center was pretty, so on my way out, I parked my car in the middle of the street and took a few photos. 🙂

It took about 2 hours to get to Wernersville from Stockton, and on the way back, Diane messaged me on Facebook and let me know about some Lost Caverns. I wasn’t sure if I was going to stop by and see them, but as I came up to them on the highway and saw the signs advertising them, I decided to pull off and check it out.

It was pretty neat. This is a photo of one of the first rooms, which had been used previously for weddings. The stuff on the wall is called flowstone.

This one is an apparently rare and delicate formation where the water comes up from the rock:

It was interesting to hear stories of how the caverns had been used variously as wedding sites, dance hall, cool storage for the golf course across the street and even for stashing bootleggers’ treasures during the Prohibition!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Today’s the day I had to leave to head for home. I had packed most of my stuff the night before and left about 6 am. I drove to Rochester, NY where I met up with Bill McDonald, my godmother’s brother. He met me at the memorial park and showed me her site.

It was a beautiful area in the forest. There was a tiny waterfall and creek nearby.

We then headed into Rochester proper and had a lovely lunch. It was really nice to be able to catch up with him.

After lunch, I started on the second half of the long trip home. It was pretty uneventful. I didn’t make any random stops, really, although I did make a wrong turn and start heading toward Toronto when I was in Canada. And the thing with my GPS in Canada… It will track you and tell you the upcoming turns and things, but it will not update if you make a wrong turn! But I managed to turn around and find my way back to the correct highway without too much anxiety. It was almost too bad, because I’m sure I would have enjoyed Toronto!

And, who minds a detour when you have cool driving sunglasses like this? Until the next trip, Ciao!