Soooooo...Happy New Year?

I AM STILL ALIVE!!

Ahem.

Now that we have that cleared up...;)

I am terribly sorry for not posting in...what? Over a month? Yeah. Unfortunately, nothing really exciting happened in that month for me to tell you a story about. Unless you want to hear my final SAT story...well, okay. You talked me into it.

(Actually this is going to be more of a rant on how low the standards of our public school system have slipped...consider yourself warned.)

So...I walk into the highschool -- which is about as big as 5 hotels smooshed together...just sayin' -- to find my fellow SAT-takers dressed to the nines in...pajamas. Seriously, guys? I know it's Saturday morning, but if I can drag myself out of bed and at least run a brush through my hair and put a pair of jeans on, so can you. And it's not even that early. Work with me, people!! :P

Now really, it went pretty smoothly, for the most part. Except none of the kids knew how to write in cursive. Or sign their name in cursive (what are they going to do when they have to sign important legal documents to, gee, I don't know...get a student loan for college? Buy a house? Get a car?), or bring their IDs with them when they left the room during the breaks. *headdesks* Plus, they were loud. And talking most of the time. Which is weird, because I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be. One of the guys was even making goat noises. I "kid" you not. (Hah! See what I did there? Ayyyyy?? :D)

But the one thing that made it really interesting was when one of the guys in my class got caught trying to use his cellphone. In the classroom. On the last section. Right before we were about to be let out. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Do public-school kids have any concept of the "real-world"??? Please tell me this is just a fluke, because....I mean, really?? :P I mean, I'm sure most of them did fairly well on the SAT, and I'm not saying they're all idiots. Not by a long shot. But they have no concept of responsibility, or being an adult! I mean, the whole reason they're taking the SAT is so that they can get into a good college, get a good education, and be successful adults, right? Btw, I don't actually think that college guarantees you a successful career, but it doesn't hurt. Neither does learning a little responsibility and good work ethic.

Anyways, end of rant. If y'all have any interesting SAT stories, please feel free to comment and share! :D

As far as New Year's resolutions...I have a million and one things I want to do this year. Whether or not I actually get them done is another story. ;) But I do have three main ones:

1. Be less of a smart-mouth. I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I tend to try to make "clever" remarks without thinking about whether or not I'm going to hurt anybody. Sooooo that's one of the faults I have that I'm hoping to at least minimize this year. :)

2. Figure out long-term plans. Let's face it; I'm a teenage girl. Stability is not really my middle-name at the moment. But I do need to try to set out and solidify some plans I have for the next few years, at least. I'll keep you updated. ;)

3. Learn how to really pray. This is one that I should have been working on for awhile now, but I'm finally going to stop procrastinating about it and do it. Starting with at least one rosary and one holy hour per week, plus reading St. Theresa's The Interior Castle. We'll see how it goes. Pray for me, haha. :)

So there you have it! Pretty much my life between Christmas and present! Except for my college classes this semester, but I'll save that for the next post...hopefully I'll have something more interesting to say next time! ;)

Happy New Year, y'all!

~Grace

Parish Mission Talks: Night Three (and Other Happenings)

So Wednesday night was the final night of our parish's Lenten mission. The topics Father Warkulwiz discussed were basically on how to pray and pray well. He talked primarily about how difficult it is to pray and not be distracted (I wholeheartedly agree). He used a story about St. Bernard to illustrate this:

The Saint was traveling to another city with a young friend. This friend spent the first day in looking about him and appreciating the beautiful surroundings. In contrast, the priest kept his head bowed and his eyes fixed firmly before him. The friend noticed this, and towards the end of the day, asked St. Bernard why he did not look around him at the scenery. The saint replied that he was trying to avoid distraction while praying. The young man scoffed and replied that he had no trouble focusing while he prayed. The priest smiled and said, "If you can say one 'Our Father' without being distracted, then I will give you this fine donkey on which I am riding." The young man agreed and, after a moment, began to pray.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name....can I have the saddle and bridle as well?"

Overcoming the temptation to become distracted during prayer is a hard struggle. Fortunately, the more you pray, the easier it is to focus, until you have no trouble at all (*sighs dreamily at the thought*). The same applies to visiting Our Lord in a Holy Hour frequently. The first hour might seem to drag on and on, but each time you go, the time passes faster until an hour doesn't seem like enough.

Another point he talked about was how important it is to be consistent and confident in prayer. He mentioned the story of the woman who kept pleading with the judge until he ruled in her favor. He also told us that praying to Mary is the best way to reach Our Lord, because she takes our prayers and perfects them, and then offers them to Jesus.

After the talk, Father did Exposition and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament, and it was beautiful (even if I did miss the cue to start the "O Salutaris"...).

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this year's mission. Usually I don't really because we tend to invite very...charismatic priests. But this year was quite enjoyable, and I hope Fr. Warkulwiz comes again next year. :)

As a side note: I wanted to ask you all to please please please pray for the soul of a woman from our parish who died quite unexpectedly last Saturday evening. The circumstances of her death were...not the best, and she desperately needs our prayers. :( Thanks!

~Grace