7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 41)

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What Not To Wear: Religious Vocation Discernment Retreat Edition.  A dear friend will soon be heading out to California to visit a convent of discalced Carmelites, and I put this photo montage together in hopes of making her smile even in the throes of serious vocational discernment.  There is only one item in the picture that she was genuinely considering wearing while she's there.  Can you guess which one it is? 

 

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Nothing Ever Goes Right for Me! Have you ever felt that way?  Click here to read another hilarious, and so-true-to-human-nature short reflection from Matthew Archbold.  I can so identify with the “nothing ever goes right for me sentiment” as it’s juxtaposed with a number of things going smoothly and one that’s going miserably.   I can get so wrapped up in one thing not going the way I want it too, that I pass right by all the things that are working just fine on my way to the couch.  Fortunately the Lord loves us even when we are oblivious to our multitude of blessings. 

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Chasing Miss Vivi Yesterday, I got to take one of my favorite cuties, Vivi, to Deep Run Park for a while.  She had fun going down the slide and spending lots of time watching the other kids play from her spot on the swings.  Thank You, Lord, for the gift of a beautiful day and the sheer joy of children at play!

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Liberals Are Lost! Wow!  I thought I’d read and seen quite a bit about religious freedom and the arguments from both sides as to what is really at stake when discussing the Health and Human Services mandate, but this ad certainly takes the cake.  My response to the NYT Ad recommending people quit the Catholic Church: "If you wholeheartedly agree with this letter to "liberal Catholics," then you neither understand nor are you living out and in communion with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.  If you are still inclined to pray to God the Father, then please do so and in earnest ask Him to reveal the Truth to you.  Only by genuinely seeking and experiencing His Truth will those who go along with this line of thinking have a change of heart and mind.  The work of conversion may be aided by Christians, but the root of it is always the Holy Spirit." 

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Wrongly Accused No one likes to be accused of committing an injustice or crime, but it’s always much worse when the person publically blamed is completely innocent of the charges brought against him or her. 

     I can still remember rather vividly the incident that occurred…Read the full post here…Lord, help us to reconcile with those we have wrongly accused and with those who have unjustly blamed us.  Remind us how honesty, integrity, and truth can and will always overcome lies, deceit, and falsehood.  Lead us to be Children of the Light. Amen.   

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Active Listening!  On Tuesday, friends of ours invited us over to have a Cursillo Group Reunion at their place.   The meal, conversation, prayer, and fellowship were wonderful, as per usual, and there was a prevailing theme that went throughout what the Lord has called each of us there to do during this Lent in our relationship with the Father as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ.  The theme is active listening.  Making quality time alone with God and giving others the opportunity to share while we listen, absorb, and genuinely be present to them are two things we’ve been reminded over and over again to make priorities.   God has something to tell you.  Will you take the time to listen? 

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I just had to laugh yesterday when my mom told me that a priest asked her if she was kind of involved in the pro-life movement.  Her answer was something to the effect of: “Yeah, you could say that.”  Yes, this from the woman who has been involved in the respect life movement for over twenty years, and who's currently the local leader again for our city's 40 Days for Life campaign.  It boggles the mind that there aren’t more clergy involved in 40 Days for Life in Richmond.  I mean, cardinals, archbishops, priests, deacons, and seminarians show up in droves to support the campaigns in other cities, but here many local pastors don’t have a clue that an international respect life campaign of prayer, fasting, and community outreach is going on right around the corner from them. 

This Lent, please open our hearts, eyes, ears, and minds to the suffering going on right where we live and work, so that we may be moved to deeper prayer and action.  Lord, have mercy on us.  Christ, have mercy on us.  Lord, have mercy on us.  Click here to find the closest vigil to you. 

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.