Ad Mejorem Dei Gloriam

Lolz

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:32:48 -0500

Lolz

This is a monstrance, where the Holy Body of Christ is held...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:28:59 -0500

This is a monstrance, where the Holy Body of Christ is held during Eucharistic Adoration (what I talked to you about and what I will be doing every Thursday). I will be going to pray in the Holy Presence of Our Lord. Feel free to join me any time :)

Sorry it's been a while, but here's some interesting things about Lent!

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:26:30 -0500

This is all about fasting and abstinence honey. This is what Catholics do on Ash Wednesday, every Friday during Lent, and especially Good Friday. It’s all for sacrifice. Jesus died for us and that is the ultimate sacrifice, so we pay our respects to this grand sacrifice by making a smaller one. This is also why we “give something up” or a lot of times do something extra during Lent. Lent is a time of intense prayer and reflection.

http://www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/fast.htm

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:39:14 -0500

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.”

Nights like tonight make me think of this reading. Sure, it may be one of the most popular for weddings and love, but I can’t think of a better way to describe how in love with you I am. And it is all because of Him. You’re my gift from God, honey. Don’t you ever forget that and always let that be a reason you believe. You are and forever will be a reason I do.

Video

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:41:17 -0500

This is Gianna Jessen. As you will see in her absolutely...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:40:50 -0500

This is Gianna Jessen. As you will see in her absolutely inspiring video, she is an abortion survivor. Now, I’m pretty knowledgeable about the Catholic stance on abortion so if you want to discuss any of this, feel free. What I really wanted you to see in this video is Gianna’s courage and strength and willingness to stand up for her beliefs and faith despite the audience she is preaching to. She is speaking in a secular government setting, where, as you know, abortion is a pretty controversial issue. It takes courage to do what she is doing. But do you see how fulfilled she is?! She is a living miracle. I still hope to one day be as filled with the Holy Spirit as this woman is. My hope and prayer for you is that this video is inspiring to you the way it was for me, and that it shows you that the only way to have a fulfilling relationship with God is to do something. God is always there, He is just waiting for you to seek him. He is just waiting for us to do His will. If you search for it, you will absolutely find the fire and passion that only God can give you as your Creator. And I as well as many other people (not just Catholics either), can tell you from experience that you experience an overwhelming sense of peace, contentment and joy when you find it. I’ll post the second part as well. I love you.

Photo

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:32:44 -0500

Anyway.

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:05:39 -0500

So, I don’t know if you know much about Mother Theresa (I’m guessing you probably do know at least something and I can tell more about her later, but this poem is so great for if you’re ever doubting or fearing anything in your discovery process). She writes:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Dear Chris, You are an answered prayer. Love, Cheryl

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:16:05 -0500

Dear Chris,

You are an answered prayer.

Love,

Cheryl

“Be not afraid; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:17:46 -0500

“Be not afraid; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and your safe path to God.” – Our Lady of Fatima to Lucía dos Santos

Gahh. Also, forgot:

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:17:39 -0500

I was thinking about this story today. Somehow today I remembered how the other day we had that conversation over Facebook about how you could see God in nature and I recalled this experience I had last year that I think you’ll appreciate.

So last year I was in my Critical Thinking class and we were studying this article about the proof of the existence of God. My teacher was an open atheist and was showing us his proofs to counter the article. I don’t quite remember what his specific arguments were, but all I remember is that they were making scary sense to me. I remember one argument having to do with the fact that the universe and everything on Earth could have totally just be some cosmic accident and his premises were making a lot of sense and it made me very unsure. The argument bothered me for the rest of the day. Then later that evening, I went to THIRST. I don’t know if you remember me telling you, but THIRST is this worship band that plays once a week and they just sing generic Christian songs, and I found it a really good way to pray other than on my own and at Church. So I was just enjoying the music and one of the songs they played was this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDap_CV2Y3Q

It’s called “Indescribable” and it’s all about how God created nature and it’s just a really beautiful song and completely put me at peace after the class I had earlier that day. Listen to it, it really is powerful. But it was just one of the little ways God proved to me that he is very much alive in everything that surrounds me, particularly in nature. It was an awesome moment, among many others I’ve had in my spiritual life. My hope and prayer for you is that one day, you are able to feel God in your life like this as well.

Anyways, I love you and pray for you every day :)

So you probably have and will have SOOO many questions about faith, and more specifically the...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:06:36 -0500

So you probably have and will have SOOO many questions about faith, and more specifically the Catholic Church. I still do. I was looking around online today, and I found this website. It is a really good one to look at in terms of apologetics (that is, how Catholics defend their own faith). If you just poke around this website, I’m sure you’ll find answers to at least some of the questions you have. I certainly did :)

http://www.catholic.com/

Well, this hit home today.

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:19:37 -0500

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

-Gospel of Luke

So this was today’s Gospel at mass. And it was an answer to my prayers. There was a movie once that had a line that said “I know I’m in love with you because I carry you in my spirit and because I pray for you more than I pray for myself”. I never knew how true that line would be. I have been praying very hard lately for a sign that I am doing the right thing. I don’t want you to ever feel like I’m shoving anything down your throat and I’m always scared of crossing a line by showing you this blog and my faith. So I prayed and prayed because that always worked for me. And today I got my answer. This gospel is all about Mary’s “Yes” to God’s Plan even though she was unsure of the outcome. The subsequent homily spoke to me as well because the priest said that we can’t live in fear and that we should just trust in God’s Plan and the people he puts in our lives. It was like an epiphany and I just wanted to share how powerful prayer can be. I don’t know if you are going to end up Catholic, I don’t know what the future has in store for us as a couple, and that used to scare me. But today I learned that I can’t live in fear and that I just need to do what God asks of me. He put you in my life for a reason. I am in love with you, and I believe that I am supposed to share this with you. Not to convert you, but so that you can at least be informed and respect the faith I practice and maybe one day share it with me. I know it will take time. But I will wait. I won’t be afraid. I love you.

This isn’t really a long post. In light of what happened tonight, just wanted to share one of...

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:52:14 -0500

This isn’t really a long post. In light of what happened tonight, just wanted to share one of my all-time favorite Bible quotes. And I think of you every time I hear it.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

-Corinthians 13:4-7

Virgin Mary

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:38:51 -0500

Okay. So one of the beliefs that sets Catholics apart from other Christian denominations is our view of the Virgin Mary. I’m sure you’ve probably learned some stuff about her in school, but I decided to include some stuff about her in here because she has always been a huge influence in my life. Maybe you’ve seen my broken statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in my room (I had to scotch tape her back together, haha). But when I was younger and I would have trouble sleeping or if I was scared for any reason, my mom would hand me that little statue and somehow, just holding her would calm me down. I didn’t really know what she meant to my faith until I saw this movie as a kid called “The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima”. We should watch it sometime. It is so innocent and pure and really portrays the power Our Lady has. She has always protected me. Whenever I am scared now, I say a “Hail Mary”. You probably know that prayer, but I am going to put it down here in both English and Spanish (I haven’t said it in English since before high school).

The Hail Mary:

Hail, Mary full of grace. The LORD is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Dios te salve, María. Llena eres de gracia. El Señor es contigo. Bendito tu eres entre todas las mujeres y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesus. Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores ahora y a la hora de nuestra muerte. Amen.

Now I know I’ve talked to you about the Rosary as well. That is a veneration/prayer specific to Mary. I could explain the whole thing, but I don’t want this to be a novel haha. So I’m including an instruction link here (If you have questions, please feel free to ask me):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-w62N4nc8E

Now that you know a bit of my experience and view of Mary, let’s take a look at why the Catholic Church honors Mary in a different way than other Christians do. Take a look at this link, and see the many examples from Scripture and Tradition that sets Mary apart. Take a look at the website when you have time. It’s a really good one.

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/blessed_virgin_mary.html

Lots of Christians say that we worship Mary the same way that we worship God. But I learned in school (maybe you did too) that we do not worship her. We venerate her. Venerate means to regard with respect and revere, whereas “worship” means to show reverence and adoration (keyword there) for a diety. Mary was completely human and not a diety. We pray to her in order that she intercedes for us as Queen of Heaven (intercede basically means that she is praying for us when we pray to her).

So now you know hopefully some new things about why we as Catholics regard Mary very highly. Next time we see/talk to each other (Skype sucks, but it’ll work haha), I would love for you to do two things for me.

1) Ask me about my favorite portrayals of Mary. There are many, each as miraculous as the next. But hopefully this can spark conversation and inspire you to do some more research to see which portrayals of Mary you like :)

2) Sit for five minutes quietly, and say a Hail Mary. Think about what the words mean to you. If you want, you can use this song to get you in the mood. It’s a beautiful song about Mary. (It may be cheesy, but just bear with me okay?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlQSxK3J6o

Thanks for reading honey. As always, I am very grateful for your willingness to read this :)

Yours Forever in His Love,

Cheryl

SAVE THE VIDEO FOR AFTER YOU READ!!!!!! Hi, honey :) As...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:45:16 -0500

SAVE THE VIDEO FOR AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!

Hi, honey :)

As you’ve probably read from the description, I made this blog so I could help you learn more and discover a new faith. I’m just going to go ahead and start off by saying that I am not expecting this to guarantee anything. I am not trying to convert you. If after all of this you still do not agree with Catholicism, at least I will have known that I tried.

This blog will contain everything that I consider to be important about my faith that I have either learned in school, from my family, or have discovered on my own. Don’t get me wrong. I am nowhere close to knowing everything about Catholicism. In fact, this blog is going to help me just as much as I hope it will help you. I still have so much to learn. And I want to share it with you as you begin your faith journey. You know I am always here for you, and I want to help you in any way that I can, and I figured this would be a good way to start (since I know how much you love reading blogs ;) ).

This blog will contain everything from photos to videos to news articles to information to simple reflections to Scripture and Catechism quotes to prayers to stories and I will also try and share some of my experiences that helped me grow as a Catholic over the years. I will try and add at least one thing to it every day for you. For us. I hope that we gain something from this, and I think it will be good for us. I hope you don’t think this is presumptuous or overbearing of me, I just care about you very much and am willing to do anything and everything I can to help you in this because I know it is a lot to ask of you. I will forever appreciate your willingness to be open to this.

You may have heard the title before. “Ad Mejoriam Dei Gloriam” is a Latin phrase that means “For the Greater Glory of God”. It is very popular among the Jesuits and I’m sure you’ve heard it at least once while being here at Gonzaga. I thought it would be a good title because I think it encompasses Catholicism in one simple phrase. I hope to show you why in the posts to come, but as for me, I try to live and do everything for the greater glory of God. And when I do that, I find myself a very content and joyous person. I hope you will learn the power of this phrase over time, because it truly is at the core of what I believe.

I also decided that the first post should include the video above. It is a skit to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse. You may have already watched it on my personal blog. I would like you to watch it so we can discuss it the next time we see each other. Just watch it and tell me what you think, okay? Sorry this post was so long, but the Introductory stuff tends to be that way for a lot of things haha. Anyways, like I said, I really really hope that this will be helpful to you.

Yours forever in His Love,

Cheryl