Video: Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Shhh.....

John Lennon didn't believe in over-population either!

I have to agree with Thomas on this one: I never thought I'd agree with John Lennon!

American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic!

Grace pouring out on me . . .

This past Tuesday was the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

I really love this feast and was excited about celebrating it. For those who may not know, it is the celebration of our Mother Mary's conception in the womb of St. Ann. It's a common misconception that this feast day celebrates the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb. That is actually the feast of the annunciation, March 25 (exactly 9 months before Christmas).

I attended mass Tuesday morning and my husband was going to attend that evening, at 7 PM. after work, I went to the gym and then decided to meet up with my husband at the church to attend adoration for a little while. We sat and reflected and prayed for about 30 minutes before heading back out into the pouring rain around 8:30 PM. Tim hopped in his car and I tried to get into mine - only to find that the key wouldn't turn in my lock.

My interior door handle had been broken, but usually locked and unlocked just fine. I thought perhaps this was just one of a very few exceptions. I walked around to the other side of the car to unlock the door, only to realize by looking through my window that the door was already unlocked!

Walking back to the driver's side, I opened it and got in, thinking that my lock must simply be broken now, along with the already broken handle. It was a few moments before I realized the truth: my gym bag was missing.

My heart sank into my stomach as I thought frantically and searched around the car - but it was gone. Someone had stolen it from my car while I prayed inside our beautiful, peaceful church. I was shocked.

It took me a few moments to realize all that I had lost: my gym toiletries and clothes were of little matter. But my nice sneakers - that was quite a loss. I was a little upset, but that was okay. My driver's license - replaceable. My debit card - a slight hassle to cancel, but I could deal with that. I called my husband to tell him briefly and then began to drive home. Quite suddenly, I realized: my iPod had also been in my bag. I cursed aloud.

When I got home, I immediately called and filed a police report. I also called our insurance company to find out the coverage, but the deductible wouldn't be met so it wasn't worth filing a claim. When Tim arrived home shortly after me and questioned me about the incident, I suddenly burst into tears.

I was angry. Angry that people could be so selfish. Angry at myself for simply being upset. After all - it was just STUFF! Did it really matter? I tried to tell myself that it didn't. But I couldn't shake how violated I felt.

Why did someone do this? And at the church of all places! Why did God let this happen? I had gone out of my way that evening to go and see Him, to worship Him, to pray to Him; and this was the thanks I got?!

The next morning, I emailed my manager to let her know that I was going to be late to work as I needed to replace my license and bring my car into the shop ASAP to have the lock fixed. Her reply was soothing to me:

Hang in there, it seems Our Lady gave you a special cross on her feastday.

She was right. Have I not always, time and time again, asked for Our Lady to pour out the beautiful graces of suffering to me? And here she was, bestowing that grace upon me and all I could do was reply in anger? I was snubbing that great gift; and by doing so, I could not obtain the merits of it.

I'm not saying my anger is gone. But I am trying, step by step, to accept the reality. And I hope, more than anything, that whoever took those items from my car truly needed them more than I did.

God bless,

Lauren

Bible Yoga

A fellow blogger did a review of our beautiful new bibles. You can read his review here:

http://absnospin.blogspot.com/


My favorite part was this:

Caption: "Bible Yoga Success"

In the spirit of the holidays...

Get into the holiday spirit with the famous holiday hawk!

Belated Thanksgiving thoughts. . .

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone this Thanksgiving weekend. I would like to just make a few quick comments about what I am thankful for this year.

First of all, I am thankful for my husband, who is not only a spouse and lover, but my very best friend.

I am thankful for my extended family. For my mom, dad and brothers, Brian and Matthew. I pray for you daily. For my grandma who is and always will be, my best friend.

To the wonderful company I am a part of: Saint Benedict Press. I am SOO blessed to have been given the opportunity to have this job. I love working with all of these wonderful people and I LOVE having holidays off so I can visit with my family! (Thank you, Frances, for recommending me and Conor, for hiring me.)

To our Lord above and His Holy Mother Church, for loving each of us frail beings. We would all be lost without You.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'll leave you with these words from my fellow blogger, The Crescat:

http://thecrescat.blogspot.com/

Dear Turkeys; 

I am sorry God made you inferior and flightless. Therefore it is your plight to suffer the fate of being devoured by millions of Americans tomorrow. I apologize in advance for the ravenous way in which myself, my family, and the citizens of this nation will masticate your tender juicy golden browned carcass. 

Love, 

Carnivore Kat

The Blind Side: a story of compassion, family and love

For most of his life, Michael Oher couldn't have thought of himself as much of anything. With a mother high on drugs or drunk out of her mind so often that she could not even remember how many children she had given birth to over the years - nevermind who the fathers were of these various children - Michael's life was nothing much at all.

When he was still young, he and his brother were taken from his mother, split up and put into foster care. He moved from one foster home to another . . . running away many times to try and find his mother again. He often slept in a chair in the laundromat when he didn't have anywhere to go.

Okay, wait - this story is getting to sound pretty depressing at this point, don't you think?

No, you don't. At least, if you know Michael's story at all, or have at least seen a preview for The Blind Side, you know it is not depressing in the end.

You see, Michael doesn't sound like much from this perspective, with just words. But Michael LOOKED like something quite different. Especially if you put him in a uniform and stuck him on a football field. At a height of 6' 3" and just over 300 lbs, Michael is one of the best you'll ever see.

But even that is not what makes Michael different. Because the way Michael's life started out coupled with his athletic ability was not what made him a member of professional football. It was one woman, and one family, who opened their home to him and gave him something to believe in: himself.

The film, The Blind Side, which arrived in theaters this month is a beautiful journey into Michael Oher's life. Quite frankly, I have no idea if the details I gave above are completely accurate to the true story, but they are how the movie portrayed it. Whether it is the truth or not is irrelevant because this movie should stand as an example for us all.

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy took Michael into their home during his junior year of high school. However, the true charity in this decision was taking this homeless boy into their hearts. He became part of their family and, more than that, they grew closer as a family. Michael gained a brother and a sister and the family of four became five. Michael continually showed them what family life was about, though he'd never had a good home life before.

On thanksgiving day, after serving up the food, the family hops quickly back to the couch to continue watching football. When Leigh Anne can't find Michael, she discovers him sitting politely at the dining room table. This prompts her to turn off the TV and corral the rest of the family to the dining room to sit down for a proper "family-time" meal.

The entire story was wonderfully acted as well. I've always thought of Sandra Bullock as a mediocre actor (though she is my husband's favorite movie actress) but she did a phenomenal job as Leigh Anne. I found one reviewer who said:

I sure wish Sandra Bullock would get out of the business of making crappy rom-coms and make more movies like The Blind Side ..

I couldn't agree more.

Leigh Anne was a woman with money, a loyal husband and two beautiful children, she had no good reason to pull Michael out of the rain and give him a place to sleep, except that she cared deeply for him. All the same, she had a hard time showing him how much he meant to her. When she drops him off at college at the end of the movie, she gives him a quick squeeze and then hurries away, leaving the rest of the family to say their goodbyes. Michael decides this isn't enough and goes to the car door, opens it, and finds her trying to turn her head away to hide the fact that she is crying.

The dynamic of this women is beautiful because she a stunning example to all women and of so many women. We want to be beautiful, successful women with good families. We want to reach out to those in need. We want to feel a deep sense of belonging, of love, of LIFE. But how many times do we try to push away our tears of joy . . . ? How often do we shy away from revealing to others how much we care? Leigh Anne gave Michael everything. Michael knew she cared for him. But she still couldn't reveal to him how much Michael had touched her heart.

I would like to add one negative aspect about this movie. This is truly the only thing I wasn't fond of and should not stop you from going to see it. One review I read about the movie was that it was a conservative, Christian story but still seen through the eyes of a liberal Hollywood. This statement was never more evident than in how Leigh Anne and Sean's marriage was portrayed. Whether it was accurate or not, I do not know, but I was disappointed by how controlling Leigh Anne was in their marriage. They took a light tone with this concept, Sean was making jokes constantly about how he really had no say in anything and that she did whatever she wanted whether he liked it or not. (This is not to imply that Sean didn't want to help Michael - he did.) But I felt that this was yet another example of Hollywood undermining the marital state and the husband's role as the leader of the family. It just left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

The final verdict: this is a MUST SEE. If nothing else, it will remind you how precious your family should be to you.

I hope it also inspires more lower class young men and women to remember that they have abilities to do things that perhaps their society thinks they could never do. Michael was lucky because the Tuohy's reached out to him. But that doesn't mean other young men and women can't find similar opportunities in different ways. Reach for your dreams . . . they aren't far away, but you have to go after them.

NOTE: This movie contains no foul language, no sex and very little violence. There is one brief fight scene but it is pushing and punching only, no blood. There are a few guns in the film but they are portrayed in appropriate light as being abused (as in the case of a young man threatening someone) or for protection (Leigh Anne proudly admits that she is always "packing"). There are a few references to extra-marital sex but they are perceived in a negative light. Oh, and there is one scene at the very beginning that is a little gross as you watch a football player's leg snap.