Entertaining Angels #6

Forster is quoted saying they the church is "sucking all of the joy right our of life." He is specifically talking about his want to live his life the way he wants. He thinks the church is hindering his freedom to partake is activities such as drinking and partying. He also disagrees with their standing on premarital sex. The church teaches to not be excessive and he sees that as holding himself back. The church does offer other "joys". Dorothy finds joy in helping others. They help the needed and provide support for others.

Theology of Suffering

What is suffering? That is the question that many of us struggle to answer daily. Kenneth R. Overberg identifies 3 important points about Jesus and suffering. 1: Jesus resisted and eliminated suffering- Jesus lived as we all do. He experienced suffering in the same human way that we do today. Jesus did not like the experience and would not want us to go through it as well. 2: Jesus rejected suffering as punishment for sin- As we suffer, God suffers. God does not send evil upon his people. Jesus spoke about how God could draw closer to those who were suffering, but was not causing them the pain. 3: Jesus trusted a compassionate, present God- Jesus was suffering through the most human of pains, both physically and emotionally. Yet, he still had faith in his Father. Jesus wants us to have faith in God that he will forgive us. 
Theology of Atonement portrays an all powerful God who is always wanting more from us. Our sins can never be repaid.  The Theology of Incarnation is God giving us life and love. God sent Jesus so that even through our sins, we can find reconciliation. Jesus was sent in human form to show God's love and forgiveness. I like this portrayal more because is is less overbearing and scary.

And Now...

I have learned that as long as you can stand up and behind your beliefs and you have a reason for doing so, you will be making a solid decision. I realized that unconscious role media plays in our life and that we have to be aware of the true reasons when purchasing products. As I move forward from this class, I will make sure that I keep educated on situations in the news. I will take the time to formulate my opinions on the Church teachings and social norms. I have learned that it is okay to have my own opinion that may be different.  I through my blogs I have seen my opinions grouped into one place. Just as Maddie and Tara say relationships should be self-sacrificing and self-fulfilling, I want to be in a relationship where I can help him to grow while also growing myself.

My religion is a very important part of my life and I have learned to use it to my advantage. I take the time out of my day to calm down and reflect. However, I do not always agree with everything the Church says or does. Holy Saturday is a period of calm waiting. It gives us a chance to reflect on our hectic lives. As we wait together for Christ, we are drawn closer together as a community. We are all waiting for the same person, but we wait for different reasons and in our own ways.
In this stressful time of waiting and anticipation, I will know that God is always with me and that his plan for me will be fulfilled. I need to put my trust in Him and wait it out. At this point in the college search, all my hard work is done. Now it is left up to Him. I must make the choice that is best for me from the choices given to me. I will being to live in the moment for because as Drake says, "YOLO." I am happy to be where I am in life and thankful for all the opportunities that have been given to me. 

Religious Freedom

I think the Church is right in standing up for what it believes in and teaches. The Church also knows and understands the laws of this country and hope that religious freedom will not be hindered. I am also in AP Gov at this time and many discussion have come up about this issue. Does the federal government have the right to force a religion to pay for something it does not believe in or is that unconstitutional? When the first letter came out for our Archbishop, the priest at my church was very emotional when it came to his homily that Sunday. He said that it was the most powerful and important letter he had ever read. I personally feel that the way he went about addressing the letter may have turned more people off because he was banging on the lectern and almost yelling at the parishioners, but I remember this so maybe it did work. I believe that the Church should have the right to religious freedom as long as it is not getting in the way of providing health care to all people. That should be the main concern in our community and country today. 

Love is the Love of Being Loving

I thought everything that the article said was very accurate. Most people just want to be with the person they love. People are truly happy when they can share their everyday simple life with someone who makes it exciting. Just as Norm put his comfort before his wife's on that freezing morning, love brings out an emotion that overtakes all others. Love units people forever, even in death. A relationship is much more than just physical.

The Domestic Church

My parents, from the beginning of my life, have instilled in me a faith that I can build the rest of my life confidently on. As a family, we are always supportive of each other and I can depend on my entire family for love. Last year, my dad decided it was time to change jobs. He took as job in Staten Island. He commutes every day and this means that we do not see him nearly as much as we used to. It reminded my sister and me how important our time with him is. We became much closer even though we spend less time together. Life is changing and marriage is changing right along with it. Before, many people had the same job their entire life. No many families have one parent traveling often or the whole family moving because of new jobs. This can put a major stress on all parts of those relationships.  Like Parenthood illustrated life can be difficult to handle if you do not have people there to support you. Luckily for me, I know my family will always be there for me and that in hard situations I can always turn to prayer. I see how much my parents love each other and truly want the best for us as a family and because of the knowledge and beliefs they have passed on to me, I want to eventually establish the domestic church in my own home.

Dating and Marriage

In relationships, I think that it is essential to look for a person that does have your best interests in mind, otherwise, the situation may turn out poorly. However, relationships are two sided. Both people need to be fully committed and equally engaged. Relationships need to be formed on solid ground and not have high unrealistic intentions of the outcome. I would want someone that would do anything for me, and I in return would want to do anything for him. There has to be respect and openness to allow the relationship to flourish.  I want to be able to just hang out, but also have intelligent conversations with. We both have to realize that relationships help people grow and that we need to accept the opportunity to change for the better. I think my view of a successful relationship includes parts from both modern and Catholic teachings. As individuals you willingly enter, but you last as a whole.

Lent

I have been giving up something like soda or candy during lent for as long as I can remember. As I am getting older, I am now spending more time deciding how I want to sacrifice during the Lenten Season. I have decided this year that what I will do is try to better myself and my community while also, mainly for tradition, keeping my yearly Lenten promise of giving up soda. I will spend less time on line and more time with my family. I will strive to be more aware of my surroundings and those around me. If I see someone struggling, I will try to reach out and help them. Now that I am older, I realize what Lent is really about. I will focus on prayer, fasting, and reconciliation while deepening my  relationship with God through the process.

Love In Music

Love is something that cannot be planned. It just happens. If you spend your life searching for love, you will get hurt far too many times. Love comes through unexpected circumstances and in unexpected ways. We all must be open to all kinds of love because the love we expect may not be the love in our future. Love is portrayed in many varying ways. Many songs depict the positive sides of love while others show the dark side. I tend to enjoy listening to the happy sides of love because I feel like I have an optimistic view of love. For love to be true love, it needs to be healthy and positive.

In Taylor Swift’s song, “Tim McGraw”, she sings,

“When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think my favorite song
Someday you'll turn your radio on
I hope it takes you back to that place
When you think happiness.”

This is about a high school love. She knows that it might not last, and she is okay with that.  It is important to experience all of life to end up finding the right one for you.  Your past relationships shape the person you become and you should not regret that time of love.

Parachute’s song, “Forever and Always,” on the other hand, is about the kind of love that will last forever, even after death. 

“I want you forever, forever and always
Through the good and the bad and the ugly
We'll grow old together
Forever and always”

This is the kind of love to build a marriage upon. I believe that love should be supportive. I want my husband to picture us old and gray sitting on our front porch together. Although love is somewhat in the moment, you must also build a stable relationship to last throughout your life.  In my opinion, a person’s soul mate changes as the person changes. The person you are meant to spend the rest of your life with depends on the choices you make leading up to the relationship.

In Lady Antebellum’s “Our Kind of Love,” the love of two best friends is described.

 “Just like driving on an open highway
Never knowing what we're gonna find
Just like two kids, baby, always trying to live it up
Whoa, yeah, that's our kind of love
Mm that's our kind of love”

I feel like you need to be both in love and best friends with your spouse. Having just one will but a burden on your relationship. Love should be fun and you should “live it up.” Fun should be a main component of your relationship. I want my husband to want to simply go “driving” with me.

Michael Bublé’s “Everything” is a song about having stability in your love.

“And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.”

Your spouse should be the main person in your life. Everything else should form around him/her. You should not spend your life searching for Mr. Perfect because what you think is your everything now will most likely not be your everything in a few years. I want my husband to grow into my everything through love.

Death Cab for Cutie’s Song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, illustrates that if love is true love, it will wait.

“If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark.”

If someone truly loves you, he or she will let you know that he or she will always be there for you. They will wait around and always be a support. Sooner or later, you will realize that they are the true one for you. True love will make itself known. 

Sexuality in the Media 2

This is an ad for American Eagle clothes. I feel like it does a very good job at modeling the product.  The models are all fully clothed and they seem to be doing normal stuff.  In many ads, the models are portrayed doing things normal people never would. This ad is very realistic and people can relate to it. The clothes are portrayed in a way that would make someone want to buy them for the right reason. This ad has a positive effect on consumers because they can easily picture themselves partaking in the photo.  The ad portrays that the  models are having a good time and so will the costumer if they buy the product.    

Sexuality in the Media

The product is the jeans. There is so little of the actual product shown that by just looking at the picture, it is not at all obvious.  There is not anything exactly inappropriate about this ad, but it does portray women in a powerless way.  The seller wants to make their product appealing to young women who find this attractive. They are stereotyping by portraying the male as the one in the relationship with all of the power.  He is holding her arm down and lying across her body. The product could easily be shown in a different light and hopefully have the same results.  The woman could be fully clothed and in a different setting with the man.  This ad makes women stop and look at the ad because of the models and then the look at the product. Its the models first, but the product does get looked at second.

My Family

My family has always been an important part of my life.  Not only am I close with my immediate family, my cousins are like my brothers.  I have four boy cousins who are brothers who live 3 minutes from me.  We all went to grade school together and two of the boys, Alex and Zach (twins), are in my grade.  Ever since we were born (we are 17 days apart), we have been inseparable. Although we are so different, we always have something to talk about.  Every weekend my family goes to their house for Sunday Night Dinner.  No matter what I have going on in my life, I can always rely on my cousins to be there for me.  

Finding my New Passion

Since 1^st grade I have played the piano and since 3^rd grade I have played the flute, but it was not until high school that I started playing percussion.  Being a member of an all-girls orchestra, there are many flute and piano players.  There are very few drummers.  Our conductor, when I was a freshman saw me playing the drums one day before rehearsal.  He immediately told me that I was being moved to the percussion section of the band.  I barely had a choice. I eventually came around to the idea and now am known to fully embrace my position.  Of course, because I was a freshman at the time, I got stuck with all of the odd, yet extremely important, percussion instruments, such as the triangle.  All of my friends used to tease me about playing the triangle.  It’s true it doesn’t take much practice to master, but that doesn’t make it any less critical to the orchestra.  Now, at every concert, all my friends come with triangle shaped posters and signs.  For Halloween this year, I was a triangle.  My leading role as the “first chair trianglist” is a welcomed point of good natured ribbing from my friends.  This self-effacing humor has helped me embrace my new identity.  

Having to Change

The summer before I went to the Mount, I was looking forward to playing soccer in the fall for my new high school and then in the spring playing softball. My whole grade school life revolved around my sports teams. I was looking forward to making many new friends on the team and being part of a new community. My shoulder had started bothering me in 6th grade, but I didn’t really think much about it. I saw many orthopedic doctors over the next three years, but nothing was really being done and I was still playing sports. In the middle of the summer before Mount, my doctor at the time told me that I would need to have shoulder surgery to fix the pain I was having. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to play sports again. Sports were my life and I didn’t think that I would ever be able to live without them. I went ahead and had the surgery. My shoulder felt fine for a few months, but when I started playing sports again, the pain came back. This time it was even worse. I couldn’t even throw a ball correctly. I knew that my sports career was sadly over. Although I did have another shoulder surgery to try and fix the problem, I had a feeling that I would never be the same. I came to realize that I would need to take a positive out of this life changing experience. Because of the process that I went through with the surgery, I now know that I want to be an orthopedic doctor. I never want anyone to have something that they love so much taken away. I learned that out of a bad situation, comes a growing experience. My identity has been changed, but definitely for the better.