Inspiring Mom

No this post isn't about my own mother...that one comes later. This post, or rather homage, is to another mother, a very amazing one in fact. For so many reasons, especially this one:

Amazing right? You see, there are a lot of really ugly things in the world. Not to judge, but the girl who told her that she "was horrible for not aborting" her baby boy, was probably one of them. If you go on YouTube, and watch this video, you would be shocked by some people, few that they were, and the horribly ugly things they say. Some have used the video as a platform to spew their pro-abortion and atheistic bile. Some have said things similar to that girl that was referred to in the video. But for all the ugliness, no matter how much or how great, it can be tempered by one, even minute, beautiful thing or person. This little baby boy...he's one of those beautiful things. His mother...another one. For every single ugly comment on this video, there were hundreds of people to rebuke them.

I do want to say one thing. As much as we are tempted to use this video in our pro-life campaigns, because it is an appropriate and great one, let's not. Let's appreciate it for what it is without ulterior (albeit good) motive: a loving mother and a beautiful boy. You see friends, in our world today, the story of life and family does not alwats have a happy ending. I thank God that we are so amazingly blessed that, at least, this story does.

Happy Mother's Day. Peace and blessings.

Homeward Bound

As soon as I'm done cleaning, I'll be hittin' the road on my way back home. I miss it so much. Not really lookin' forward to a 2.5 hour drive, but it'll be worth it.

Motorist's Prayer

Grant me, O Lord, a steady hand and watchful eye, that no one shall be hurt as I pass by. 

Thou gavest life, I pray no act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine.
Shelter those, dear Lord, who bear my company from the evils of fire and all calamity.

Teach me to use my car for others need; 

Nor miss through love of undue speed, the beauty of the world; t

hat thus I may with joy and courtesy go on my way.
St. Christopher, holy patron of travelers, protect me, and lead me safely to my destiny.

Stressed

Just a little bit stressed, so I thought I would post the Serenity Prayer. It's not exactly a Catholic prayer, but beautiful nonetheless.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity 

to accept the things I cannot change; 

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; 

Enjoying one moment at a time; 

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it; 

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life 

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

Finals Finally Done

Finals are finally done. Couple of grades are already in and they are fantastic! Praise God. Still waiting to hear from a few more, but all in all, I've come out of this no worse for the wear.

Looking back on this particular Finals season, I had a few moments of...utter despair. A breakdown, if you will. There was some crying involved, some freaking out, some anger. But mostly, a whole lot of prayer. My studying was dedicated to the Holy Mother, along with the intercessions of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino. As is fitting, it is my duty and privilege to let others know of this intercession on my behalf to the Father and His Son. So with joy and thanksgiving, thank you St. Thomas and St. Joseph (along with Blessed Pope John Paul II and my patron, St. Lorenzo) for your prayers. But most of all, thank you Mama Mary. May those who read this post know of the power of the intercession of these saints.

In honor of St. Joseph, St. Thomas, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, I offer these things for your enjoyment:

A trailer of The Reluctant Saint, a movie about the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino. I really want to watch this:

A Gregorian rendition of Adoro Te Devote, the eucharistic hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas, typically sung during Eucharistic Adoration (click here for the Latin and English verses):

And lastly, in honor of Mama Mary, probably without a doubt, my favorite version of Salve Regina (some of you may cringe, but I still like it nonetheless. Rest assured, I intend no disrespect, it's just fun):

All praise, honor, and thanksgiving is due to the Holy and Immortal One, our Heavenly Father, for the sacrifice of His Son, for granting the intercession of his holy saints on my behalf, and for the abundance of blessings He has poured out for you and for me.

Pax vobiscum.

This Song Always Makes Me Feel Better

As a counter to my earlier depressing rant, I offer this song: All Creatures of Our God and King. This is without a doubt one of my favorite hymns to listen to and to sing to. I love it anytime it's sung, but I think it is most appropriate when used as an entrance hymn. I remember during one Easter Mass last year, I was a thurifer and this hymn was the entrance hymn. I'll tell you, hearing it on the organ with a full choir, I felt high...spiritually high, like I was so amazingly and ridiculously excited for the Mass. Whenever I hear it, it brings a smile to my heart and helps me to ready it, especially for the Mass. I think this is how the Almighty One should always be praised and glorified and adored. It's just...awesome.

This version, the traditional version, is amazing. This YouTube video, even with the corny slideshow, is an amazing rendition.

What most people don't know is that "All Creatures of Our God and King" was actually translated from St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun. So for all our Protestant brothers and sisters...you're welcome...another gift of the Catholic Church. Lol.

Now to be fair, David Crowder has his own rendition of this song as well. From the amount of originally Catholic hymns that David Crowder uses, he should convert to Catholicism. Of course, this version has a bit of a more modern feel to it, but I think it goes to show, that Christian music, no matter what its form, can be beautiful. But being the traddie that I am, I still love the first one more. Here's David Crowder's version:

Either way, this song always makes me feel better, as most hymns do. I hope it does the same for you!

Pax vobiscum.

Really Confused

Ever since I've started blogging, I've become more deeply aware of the many issues and topics in the Catholic world. My Reading List is filled with numerous Better Bloggers and I've found myself slightly...addicted, you could say, to logging on and reading the latest piece of Catholic news.

Ever since I've started blogging, I've also become more deeply aware of just how many problems are plaguing the Catholic Church, both externally and internally. You see, it's troubling enough when the faith is attacked from outside sources: atheists, Protestants, secularism, politics, ignorance, etc. But, and I want to emphasize this, it is absolutely horrifying and deeply disturbing when the faith is undermined and subverted from the inside by supposedly Catholic individuals, organizations, and institutions. Take a look at my Better Bloggers list in the sidebar and pretty much every title has something to do with the latest Catholic scandal: the HHS mandate; Sebelius and Georgetown and a whole host of other "Catholic" universities inviting very non-Catholic individuals as "inspiring" commencement speakers; priests and religious (both men and women) teaching issues that counter the doctrine and dogma, essentially bordering on heresy; bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful bringing scandal upon scandal; liturgical abuses; modernism, humanism, pluralism, and borderline schismatic traditionalism; and a whole bunch of other crap (sorry =/) that is literally tearing the [American] Church apart.

Ever since I've started blogging, I have become more and more...depressed...upset...troubled...angry. Take your pick. But I think at the heart of it all, honestly, is that I'm just really confused. Not necessarily confused about outside attack, that just comes with the faith, although I am slightly confused as to how people can still be so ignorant in this day and age. What I'm really confused about is subversion from the inside. I know, I'm using really loaded words, but that's a college student for you I guess. You see, in my opinion, our Catholic faith is both simultaneously extremely difficult and extremely easy. Difficult because a lot of our teachings and tenants are difficult to accept or follow, particularly in today's society...at least some would say. Easy because all our beliefs, all our doctrines and dogmas, are right there, plain and simple. It's called the Catechism. We know what makes us Catholic and we know what doesn't. See? Easy.

Now I know that most likely, a majority of the lay faithful, probably don't know some of the more deeply theological and spiritual tenants of Catholicism. But every Catholic, especially given recent news, knows the major moral stuff: abortion, death penalty, homosexuality, poverty, euthanasia, basic Ten Commandment type issues. In the Catholic faith, there isn't any really moral ambiguity. That's not to say the act of sinning and a person's reason is completely black and white. There's always a chance of grey area when it comes to personal reasons for sin. It does not change the fact that sin is sin, just our level of understanding when it comes to the sinner.

So here's where the confusion comes in: why, if the Catechism spells out for us, plain and simple, what is right, do supposed Catholics insist on teaching everything that is wrong? It's one thing for an individual Catholic to hold wrong teaching and keep it to themselves. They are just ignorant or misguided unto themselves, not really doing much harm to anyone else. But its a completely different thing when those individuals are in the public sphere, influential at multiple levels, and insist on spreading their...misguided-ness...to others. Pseudo-Catholics like Sebelius, Biden, and Pelosi who call themselves Catholic, but act completely opposite to it. Or the small number of women religious leaders of the LCWR who have significant doctrinal issues. Or the priests in Austria openly dissenting on priestly celibacy and women priests (or better yet, the Australian priest who has outright come out and said he was married!). I can post and rant for a million more blog posts on these topics and barely scratch the surface. So the question becomes: how can they call themselves Catholic?

I came across this saying: "I'd rather have a good atheist than a bad Christian". I know that it might be crazy for me to say so, but I really like this statement. I don't know who to attribute it to, but there seems to be a small amount of truth in it, don't you think. For the purposes of this post, I want to alter this statement just a bit: I'd rather have a non-Catholic than a subversive Catholic. That is to say, I'd rather all these supposed Catholics convert to anything else, instead of spewing non-Catholic trash under the Catholic umbrella. Some of you may say, that its a good thing to have a lot of Catholics. Candidly and respectfully, you would be wrong, especially if we have Catholics who are anything but. Because in the end, it will be those Catholics, and not outside forces, that will destroy the Church.

I know I've said some really loaded things. But given all the latest news, it needed to be addressed. Of course, many of the Better Bloggers are saying and arguing things more eloquently, but I think it is important for people to know that these issues aren't just affecting the adult Catholic world. Young adults such as myself, and even the youth, know what's going on. Our voices are smaller and less experienced, but that doesn't mean we don't know that there is a significant problem, and it will take a united Church, with the intercession of St. Michael, and God's holy help, to combat it.

I'll talk more of my reasons in a later post, but for right now, I need to be studying for World Religions.

Pax vobiscum.

Classy Flash Mob

Saw this on Deacon Kandra's blog. And I love flash mobs. I feel like all college kids do. But even more than flash mobs, I love "classical" (little c) music, in the layman's sense. My music appreciation prof would kill me if I told him this particular piece was Classical (big C). So when you put the two together, you get smiles and warm fuzzies. 

After all my finals, I thought this would be a good thing to post. There's alot of beautiful things in the world, despite all the ugliness. This is one of them. I really wish this would happen to me one morning, particularly one of my way to a class or something. 

In case you were wondering, this is Edvard Grieg's 'Peer Gynt' Suite No. 1, Opus. 46 "Morning". It really does feel like morning. Enjoy!

1 Down...That's it?!

So I've got one final done. Yet amazingly, I feel like I've been studying for a week! Ahh! FYI, in case anyone notices the time stamp on this particular post, yes...that's 6am. No, I did not get up super early to post. Yes, I have pulled another all nighter (second night in a row) and this post serves as my study break. But considering my final is at 9am, maybe I shouldn't be doing this, but oh well. Apparently, ranting is a side effect of sleep deprivation.

I'm starting to get a hang of what I want this blog to be. A chronicle of sorts of living out the college life as a Catholic, and talking about it as candidly as I can. Hence the title: Candid Catholic Collegian. Oh man, I really need sleep. But thank the Lord, after this Chem final, my next one (American Constitutional Development) isn't until Monday. This Chem final is the hardest one, so it's all downhill from here. Once this final is done, I may or may not sleep for an entire day. That is of course, as long as I don't drink one of these:

Normally, coffee doesn't do anything for me, but I am terrified of drinking one of these things. The side effects, at least for me, could be...unfortunate. So I just rely on epic music and second winds, or as I like to call 'em, slaps of the Holy Spirit. I've gotten into a better habit of always praying before I start studying, before my exams, after my exams, in the middle of studying...basically just praying when I need to. It helps. I don't know if God hears me or not, but just the simple act of praying and turning my undivided attention to him even for a few seconds gives me strength and perseverance.

Anyways, enough of my ranting, back to Thermochemistry and Quantum Mechanics. I should really look into a Catholic science student prayer.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for me.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for me.
St, Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for me.
Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for me.
Mama Mary, pray for me.

Peace, blessings, and restful sleep!

I Love (Episcopate) Ordination Masses!

Together with the whole Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, the second metropolitan see of Texas and my home, and Holy Mother Church, I rejoice at the Ordination of Bishop George Sheltz as Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston.

Auxiliary Bishop Sheltz,
smiling with Emeritus Archbishop Fiorenza,
after receiving his mitre and crozier. 

Even though we had Emeritus Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza and Retired Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Rizotto (who confirmed me), it's about time Cardinal DiNardo got some help...after all, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is huge!

Here is the video of the Ordination Mass. I love watching Ordination Masses. So many Knights of Columbus, Peter Claver, Order of Malta, and Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (and associated Ladies and Dames), religious, seminarians, deacons, priests, bishops, and just so many lay faithful in general. But most of all, I love them because of their very purpose: ordaining a (hopefully) humble and priestly man to the Order of Bishops, who receives the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and therefore becomes a successor to the Apostles. Holy Mother Church rejoices in this, and so do I!

Other than the beauty and grandeur of the Mass, which took place in the equally beautiful and grand Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, it is always a pleasure to listen to one of His Eminence's homilies. I remember when we talked about Athanasius and Arius during my Christian Heritage class (required at Baylor), and I wish Cardinal DiNardo was my professor at the time. It would have been much more engaging...and I'm sure it would have given the Baptists a run for their money (LOL!, I love the Baptists...well...some of them).  

Auxiliary Bishop George Sheltz is a native Houstonian, so the Archdiocese feels (I think) doubly blessed to have a native son as its new Bishop. He has served at numerous parishes, and was the founding pastor of my own home parish, Christ the Redeemer. Woo...bragging rights! Lol. 

My prayer for Bishop Sheltz is this: That by the grace of God the Father, the mercy of Christ the Son, and the strength of the Holy Spirit, he may lead the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston with love, charity, and faithfulness to the teachings of Christ and of the Catholic Church. That he may always remain obedient to Holy Mother Church, and faithfully and strongly defend her against both inner and outer heresy and attack. That he may fulfill his episcopal duties to the best of his abilities, always with the help of God. And that may serve as an inspiration to the people of Galveston-Houston and the whole Church. 

From a humble college student at Baylor University in the Diocese of Austin, Church of Central Texas, congratulations to Auxiliary Bishop George Sheltz of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on his ordination. God bless him always!

Dominus vobiscum.

Study Break!

My first final is in two days and so far I've stayed up way past midnight every night. And then of course, since I sleep later, I wake up later, and my natural circadian rhythm (that that psychology!) is all messed up now. I don't know about everybody else, but Finals Week seems to bring out the crazy in people. So, before I go insane, I decided to take a quick break, catch up on some blogs, and maybe post a little bit myself.

So for your entertainment, here are some cartoons that accurately reflect my current state of being:

and...

and, although slightly morbid...

And so ends my study break. If any other students are taking a break and happen to stumble upon this, I'm praying for ya! 

P.S. I could use the prayers too! =)

"Keep my Heart Alive"

I know there is a lot of debate out there, especially among Catholics, as to the merit of Contemporary Christian/Praise and Worship/mainstream Christian music. This little debate, at least from what I've noticed, is mainly a generational one: the youth love it and the wise and experienced, at the very least, strongly dislike it. Now, being somewhere in the middle, a young adult if you will, I am a firm believer that Christian music has its purposes, and is best used in certain situations. I love listening to Christian music mainly because there are some very gifted Christian (and Catholic, though less) artists out there, and they put lyric and harmony to my feelings that I could not have done as eloquently. However, I really don't like the use of contemporary Christian music in the liturgy. I know, the teen population out there will say that they love their Christian music during their Teen Masses because they're more likely to sing along. The problem with that is that there are very few Catholic artists out there. And the ones that do exist do not always right generation-appropriate liturgical music. So during these Teen Masses, the youth are loving it, and the rest of us are kind of cringing in our seats. I think the same goes for trying to "youth-ify" existing liturgical music, such as the responsorial psalms. Of course, that's not to say that I love hearing polyphony and a capella during every Mass, although I do for the Extraordinary Form. But for my Ordinary Form Mass, I like some of the more traditional hymns, particularly the ones I can sing to. Despite personal preferences in musical taste, I believe it is important for the congregation to participate in the singing. In my humble opinion, there are few things that sound better in this world than an entire church full of people singing "Sing of Mary" or "Christ Be Our Light". As my youth minister used to say, "singing is like praying twice...give back your God-given voice, to God". So I guess what I'm saying is that Christian music in all its forms is for the sole purpose of glorifying God, singing him praise and thanksgiving. How can such music not be beautiful? Again, despite generations and personal tastes, Christian music can be heavenly, and each type serves a different purpose.

Now before I digress further, let me get to the point of this post. I was walking to a meeting with my advisor this morning, listening to Pandora on my Droid X. My Pandora rarely leaves my Christian music station, and I am a firm believer that sometimes the Lord will speak to you through song. I was feeling particularly...dejected this morning. I had so much on my mind: my future, my present, my past, and all of it was fighting for control of my thoughts. Should I go to med school? Should I join the seminary? What should I be doing? I was also thinking, as pseudo-intellectual college students do, about the world. Friends, allow me to be blunt...there is a lot of crap going on in the world. And its not just the world, I mean, just look at our Holy Mother Church. We have so many problems going on in it at the moment, it is being attacked both from the outside and the inside. It's just a lot to think about, especially if deep in your heart, you want to be able to do something about it all. I'm just a college student, but it is absolutely exhausting thinking about all of this. It is easy to see why so many people become jaded in college. I was just feeling overwhelmed...and empty. But then this song came on Pandora, and it was as if God was trying to tell me something.

I know some of you will snicker or roll your eyes. There is not much purely Catholic contemporary music out there, the majority of genre is dominated by Protestant artists. But that does not mean what they have to say or sing is any less pertinent to a devout Catholic. Now this song that I am starting to love does not have any deep theology or heavy introspection. I think it is just trying to say what many people are feeling...what I was feeling. So no matter what your opinions are, no matter your taste in music, contemporary Christian music does have a purpose in this world, and to many people. At the risk of sounding relativistic (which I'm not by the way), if it brings people closer to God, how is that a bad thing?

The song is Keep my Heart Alive by Sanctus Real. And while I did not do away with all my overwhelming feelings of emptiness or exhaustion, it did serve to remind me of one thing: that no matter, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me".

Hope you enjoy the song.

The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, 

and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’

-Numbers 6: 24-26

Dominus vobiscum.