Blood and Lightning: Living Christ Like Mary Did

So I can be Ambiguous at times... And Unmoving at times...

Honestly, a lot of beliefs I hold to like a clamped bear trap. But those are the one are ones that my questions couldn't shake down and make crumble; they didn't spontaneously start like that! They aren't going to just be the first ideas that pop into my head. I grasp, like most people at smoke before finding substance, then stick to it afterwards for fear of finding aught else in the fog. Sometimes, I talk up conflicting things, too. I don't always explain or offer explanations when I do that, (bad Helena! Be clearer!) and I encounter confusion at how I  could think both are true. But, very probably, I don't know what I think, yet!

I have to feel my way as best I can in both secular and religious arguments. Luckily, I have the immense pleasure of having friends with very striking opinions: Thunderbolts that illuminate the fog, that are intimidating to touch but clues in finding my way around.

5 Reasons Why It's Now Absolutely Absurd To Ignore The Luminous Mysteries

The mysteries of the rosary cover the life of Our Lord's birth, death, and Resurrection. In 2002, Pope John Paul II Great added the 5 Luminous Mysteries to the Most Holy Rosary. After all, it only made sense that while meditating on the life of Christ, you meditate on the gigantic part in the middle where Jesus, you know, actually lived.

With the humility of His birth we learn about God's grace and the extraordinary lengths that he will go through to accomplish the salvation of man. His death and Resurrection are the fulfillment of this accomplishment!

Despite this, some insist that the originals were enough. And I felt, for the longest time, that while it didn't make sense to me, their prayer preferences were their own business. Personally, the Glorious are my favorite! But the fact is we are in trouble in a myriad of ways and the Luminous Mysteries have much that we need.

Even if you pray the Rosary, and the Luminous Mysteries occasionally, there are some compelling reasons why you shouldn't skip Thursday!

1. Our Current Crisis of Faith: 

Declare, As Men Among Fairies:

An original poem by Helena Noel

Tell, which steely auth, or law,

Doth  "mustn't" us our beds?

In hour of weary burden, saw

thee justice in this said?

Thou steal from ‘tween the teeth,

O fairy, sustenance and wine:

‘Twould seem a weak and gutless man’s

The fruit of thy design!

Be it the roar of doughty mirth
that quakes thy spritely core?

Or swagger’d waltz of red-blood men

that lillifies daintish ichor?

Thou churlish sprite who simpers ‘neath

The sheathéd olive boughs
Forbids the manly task of paying

Evil what ‘tis owed!

Say "NAY!" then roar and romp, ye men,
And plow thy rivals low!

Rest ye, and drink, and down the wine

That makes thy passions flow!

Ye fairies, steal among the lillies;

Dance thou amidst thy glens.

But lilac feet and ‘mustn't’ bleats

Shalln’t fairify true men!

Fearfully, Awkwardly Avoiding the Gay: My Experience With SSA

What were your early impressions of the word "Gay?"

At a young age, I suppose I didn't understand it. I was a bookworm and a recluse, preferring my family, social only in so far as I was dragged by sibling into street hockey and kickball at first, and then later social among only extremely comfortable friends. As a home-schooler, I was outside of mainstream school culture, and understood words not by their slang meanings, but dictionary definitions. Gay was very much still slang when my generation was growing up, so as a non-insider, I'd hear the word 'gay' and assume it meant "merry."

My first introduction to another possible definition was on the basketball courts near my home. My older brothers' friends constantly teased me, as part-and-parcel of their duty and loyalty to my elder bros. Something which I accepted in stride (while pugnaciously fighting it back.) Smack talk was passed back and forth as much as the basketball, and amidst it, someone called me "gay," asking if I was a "lesbian."

Finally Letting Go of Grudges: Our Bitterness Hurts Us, Too.

There aren't many things to talk about at work for me, as I'm finding I don't have a whole lot in common with my co-workers. Mostly, talk about high school, smoking, and PlayStation and Xbox, when I'm more of an "oh-my-Lord, thank you for giving me lungs" and "oh look, Nintendo!" kinda gal. So when a topic floats up that I can relate to, like bizarre customer behavior, I go all in. But their attitudes were little different than mine.

I don't need to talk; my finger tells you I'm angry

For An Increase In Sacred Moments

Changes I don't really mind:
1) Taking something solemn, like the Novus Ordo, and approaching it joyfully with rousing music. Joy for Him is awesome, God loves it.
2) Taking a generic, normally upbeat "praise and worship" event and solemnizing it, by adding moments for silent prayer or quiet adoration. Its good to love Him in quietude!

Changes I do mind:
Taking an act or symbol of reverence out of something sacred for absolutely NO reason at all.

Intellectual Honesty as the New System: No Strings Attached

In regards to science (specifically, climate science.) I heard someone bemoan the fact that people often vote straight according to the party line rather than acquiring a nuanced understanding of issues. In reply, someone else joked sarcastically that the best political strategy is to check off the #1 name on your party's ballot with no research because "they know what they're doing." It was a joke, and he was funny. I laughed, trust me.

We try, a lot of us, but nuance is hard, now. To be honest, it distressed me to remember that his joke was a little too close to how many of us feel. Why do we have to choose between our deeply held values and ideas? I know there is no such thing as a perfect candidate that completely espouses what we believe in, and in the improbable instance that we come across one for ourselves, he will be an inspiration to horror in our otherwise-minded neighbors. There is always a string attached; there is no "All-American Man" in politics.