A New Feature

Hello Readers!

Hope everyone is finishing up school strong, or enjoying their summer break beginnings!

I have several topics I'm planning on posting about in the coming weeks, but I would also like to add a new blog "feature"- which requires your help.

Every Friday is going to be "Q&A" Day, where I'll answer one or more questions submitted by readers.  You can submit these questions as comments- just makes sure you note that they are for "Q&A Fridays" so that I do not publish them as regular comments, but save them for official posting.

The questions can range from religion and politics to movies and music: I'm ready to answer anything.  Please, if you aren't Catholic, feel free to use this opportunity to ask about the aspects of Catholicism which bother you, or which you've never understood.  Important questions will always come first.

Hope you all will participate!  If I don't have any questions to answer from you all, I'll tackle some common misconceptions about Catholics in the world today instead.

Happy Thursday, and God bless!

50 Ways to Heal a Heartbreak

As Summer begins, many people find themselves depressed because they're not having as much care-free fun as all the movies, commercials, magazine ads, and hit songs that come out during this time of year say they should be.  First of all, it is important to note that we, as fallen people living in a fallen world, are not going to be deliriously happy all of the time.  But, there are certainly things we can do to boost our spirits when we're feeling low.

So here's a list for all those out there who are heartbroken, and just wishing they could leave sorrow behind and enjoy the longer days.  I hope that something on this list helps bring a smile to your face, and lift a load off of your shoulders.

1. Go to Adoration and give all your worries to God, and make sure that when you leave, you don't try to take them back...
2. Watch your favorite comedy film
3. Listen to your favorite music while going for a ride on a sunny day, and keep those windows down!
4. Eat ice cream with sprinkles
5. Call a friend and catch-up with each other
6. Go get wet!  Go surfing, do the slip-n-slide, run through the sprinklers, swim in the pool- anything!
7. Get all dressed up, just because
8. Exercise- preferably outside
9. Take in a play
10. Finish that project you've been working on since Christmas Break
11. Buy a new board game and play it with your family or friends
12. Revisit that instrument you played as a little kid, and teach yourself how to play it again
13. Pray the Rosary while sitting outside
14. "Do something for somebody quick!"
15. Visit a frozen yogurt bar and load up on colorful toppings
16. Try a new hair style
17. Spend the afternoon in the library, enjoying the quiet and the smell of books
18. Read a good mystery- Sherlock Holmes preferably
19. Or try a thriller- may I suggest Ted Dekker's Three?
20. Watch a BBC film and smile at all the British accents and proper manners
21. Listen to Michael Bublé's "Haven't Met You Yet"
22. Watch a Blimey Cow video ("Making Time for God", "Playing the God Card", and "Why I Hate Going to the Movies" are good places to start)
23. Go to a weekday Mass, pay close attention to the readings, and ask God to speak to you through them
24. Go to a fair and do not leave until you've done the Scrambler ride and had a funnel cake
25. Take in a blow-up movie in the park, and make sure you bring lawn chairs and cards
26. Learn a new card game or trick
27. Blow bubbles and play with chalk (this is especially fun if you do it with little kids)
28. Spend an hour outside looking at the world as if you were going to lose your sight the next day; it's amazing the things you will notice, and learn to appreciate
29. While doing the above, read some Gerard Manley Hopkins poetry, particularly "Pied Beauty", "May Magnificat", or "God's Grandeur"
30. Play "HORSE" with your siblings
31. Pick a windy day and go fly a kite in an open field or on the beach
32. Check out a local trail
33. Bake sugar cookies
34. Brew sweet tea
35. Enjoy the previous two things together while sitting on the front porch, waving at everyone who walks by.  Northerners, basically pretend your Southern! :)
36. Read St. Therese's A Story of a Soul, even if you've read it before- and especially if you haven't.  Guys- this is NOT just a girl book
37. Have a Lord of the Rings or Star Wars marathon
38. Pray in front of an abortion clinic and thank God for your life as you pray for the lives of others
39. Sign up as a volunteer at your parish, there are all sorts of things to do, from altar serving to reading, landscaping, or singing
40. Buy a colorful piece of clothing and wear it as often as possible
41. Journal about what's bothering you- writing things out often helps to sort it out as well
42. Go to Barnes and Noble and grab a Wreck this Journal.  Even if you don't buy and do all the suggested things, just reading them will be entertaining
43. Pretend to be a photographer for a day, and take as many amazing, crazy, unique, and beautiful pictures as possible
44. Make a scrapbook of your favorites from the day before
45. Take time to tell your family how much you love them
46. Forgive someone who you've held a grudge against for a while- and ask God's help in order to do so, and go to Confession, to forgive yourself and ask God's forgiveness as well
47. Learn about a different form of prayer (a type of chaplet, meditation, a novena, etc.) and experiment with it
48. Go to the movie theater and treat yourself to the expensive popcorn- just this once
49. Study constellations and look for them in the sky
50. Pray EVERY day, and trust that God will never abandon you, keeping in mind that He always loves you.

Why I'm Not Overly Excited About the Gosnell Verdict

Kermit Gosnell

The reports on the Kermit Gosnell case flared up, received as little attention as was possible, and were quickly ditched in honor of a different type of horror house.  During the miniature uproar, proud pro-lifers and staunch abortion advocates stood up, convinced that the chilling stories, heart-wrenching images, and bloody evidence would convert everyone to their viewpoints.  Pro-lifers cried, "We told you so!" and desperately tried to explain to the public that all abortions were done in these violent ways, that these "tools of mass destruction" were shared by even the cleanest abortion clinics, and that- just as the babies whose spines had been cut were murder victims, the children who are disassembled in their mothers' wombs hourly are victims also.  But just as they declared the need to turn away from this violent form of child abuse, the pro-choice sides pulled out their now cliché hangers, waving them as reminders of the filthy, dangerous, pre-Planned-Parenthood, back-alley abortions and warning America that if they outlawed abortion, they were just asking for all women to be subjected to treatment like Gosnell's. 

Well, both sides managed to create such a noisy havoc that neither side won.  Though the Gosnell case did open some people's eyes to the truth about what abortion is, for many it only solidified their belief that offering birth control and "safe, legal" abortion was necessary.  Despite this, what the pro-choice side tries to sell the public is deceptive, and the graphic images which came out of Gosnell's facility are not that different from the horrific sights abortion "doctors" see every day.  The suffering, scars, hurts, and wounds which Gosnell's customers were left with are identical to the lasting pains "safe and legal" abortion procedures cause.  Unfortunately, the media did not take this angle.

To a certain degree, justice was done.  Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of first-degree murder, but only of three babies who were delivered alive before being killed.  Though I am happy that he will suffer punishment for his outrageous abuses against life, I would have been happier to see him convicted for numerous murders- murders which jars of body parts promise existed. 

Which is why, though I am pleased that he was found guilt of something, I feel that other, more clear and triumphant victories which have upheld the pro-life cause and their growing power give more reasons to celebrate.

The Great Gatsby's Relevance

The Great Gatsby, the popular American novel known for depicting the Roaring 20′s with striking honesty, is now a major motion picture, starring the great Leonardo DiCaprio and superhero Tobey Maguire. As I read the book, I had a chilling sensation as I realized that our culture seems to be sliding back into the sinful, sexual habits of that long-gone era. That being said, this book’s story and message are particularly appropriate for the young adults of this age, who are being told by everything, everywhere, that a promiscuous lifestyle is fun, normal, and painless.

Unlike today’s sitcoms, the characters in Gatsby are living glamorous lifestyles, but are not happy with them. The narrator’s cousin Daisy is married to a handsome polo player (though he would rather not be known as such) whose frequent extramarital affairs cause her constant grief. Her husband himself carries on these affairs despite the pain they cause, affairs which not only pull him into adultery, but his mistresses as well. The narrator, Nick Carraway, is repeatedly put in the uncomfortable position of being trusted with scandalous secrets which he did not want to know or keep.

Gatsby himself outshines the filth of the culture around him because he is carrying a love which is more pure and unfailing than the affairs of his frequent house guests, the people of New York, who flock to the over-the-top parties he opens his house up to weekly. His love lasted for five lonely years, as he watched the object of his affection marry for money (partially out of necessity), and he fashioned his whole life around trying to win her back. Unfortunately, though Gatsby’s love is much deeper and more beautiful than that of most, he also makes the mistake of fashioning his life around an earthly love, a worldly longing, as opposed to an eternal one.

Thus, when Gatsby stoops to join the society around him in his efforts to be with his love again, his foundation being built on an unattainable, fallen person, he must suffer the consequences that come with believing “the end justifies the means”. Though his hope is unfailing- and is a virtue to be admired- it was misplaced, and thus failed him. But he is not the only one who suffers, and no one walks away from the glittering Long Island scene without scars.

The movie, which has been receiving quite a bit of mixed attention, captures the suffering endured in
a way which shocked me. Honestly, I had expected Hollywood to soften an ending which warns against the very lifestyle the cinemas sell to their viewers. But this adaptation of the classic novel does its job well, in my opinion. I enjoyed DiCaprio’s Gatsby, and felt he captured the magic, desperation, vulnerability, and virtue of the legendary figure effectively, while the rest of the cast performed well also, though Maguire’s Nick was dry at times.

Many people have complained about the soundtrack, which incorporates modern rap and hip-hop music and is set against the vibrant scenes, but the music helps fulfill a greater purpose – it takes this story and helps make it modern. As the director himself explained, “It’s gotta feel modern, of the moment.” This relevant feeling helps the audience to realize that the short thrills and long-suffering is not something of the past, but something that could happen again, could happen here and now, could happen to them.

Because there was one scene which went further than I feel was necessary, I would not recommend this to anyone not yet in the older years of ”teenagehood”. That being said, I feel that this book has a particularly important message, which this generation needs to hear. Within The Great Gatsby, Pope John Paul II’s words about the degradation of intimacy are played out. As the Blessed Pope wrote in his well-know Evangelium Vitae, “…sexuality too is depersonalized and exploited: from being the sign, place and language of love, that is, of the gift of self and acceptance of another, in all the other’s richness as a person, it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts.” As the pages of the book and the scenes of the movie progress, the false, shimmering depiction of the shallow sexual lifestyle is betrayed, and exposed in all of its confusion and emptiness.

Though the book teaches a somber lesson, the reader is not left without hope or inspiration. Gatsby’s virtues, though misguided, are admirable, and hint at the heights one can reach when he holds onto hope unceasingly. And through Nick Carraway the brilliant author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, leaves his audience with a promise for a better future, if only they would “take arms against the sea of troubles” in the spirit of Shakespeare, and create a future that is brighter than the past:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning-
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

May this honest tale of disappointed hopes and wayward souls inspire this generation to rise above its influences, to place their hopes in a light more bright than green, and to finally reach that goal which all their lives should be striving towards- a goal which is truly worth fighting for.

Written for and originally published at Catholic Stand.

I'm Back Again!

Hello dear followers!

Long time, no "see"!  I apologize sincerely!  My computer had a blocking system which disabled me from being able to access my editing dashboard; now that the problem has been resolved, I will be able to update things here more regularly!

Quite a lot has happened in the last few months of my absence.  We have a new Pope- first of all- the wonderful Pope Francis.  The Gosnell case surrounding Philadelphia's House of Horrors has finally begun to receive long-overdue media coverage, especially now that he has been found guilty of first-degree murder, though the heart-breaking case in Cleveland has now become front-and-center.

There are some long-awaited movies coming out, and some interesting topics on the horizon, so I thank you all for your great patience and invite you to continue to follow me as I attempt to tackle as much of the upcoming news as possible!

God bless!

Frozen Footprints: A Stunning Thriller

Frozen Footprints
-Therese Heckenkamp

This is a long overdue review of Mrs. Heckenkamp's latest religious thriller, entitled Frozen Footprints.  For those in search of a fantastic, edge-of-your-seat thriller to cozy up with during the final days of winter, look no further.  Mrs.  Heckenkamp has outdone herself with her latest young adult novel.

The Perigard twins have grown up in their wealthy grandfather's home, where they have access to anything they could ever want, except love.  Charlene has always been the more sensible of the two, while Max is overly fond of pushing the limits.  The two eighteen year olds have a great relationship, though Charlene's motherly concerns for her brother tend to frustrate him.  After Max and his grandfather end a huge argument on ill terms, Max decides to run away.  He disappears, and a ransom note appears a couple days later, containing threats against Max's life unless the proper amount of money is delivered.  When Charlene tries to meet the kidnapper's requests, she herself falls victim to his schemes, and she and her brother must desperately try to hatch an escape plan that will work while fighting terrors greater than pain itself to do so.  "Devoid of all worldly comfort and consolation, will faith and hope be enough to get them through this chilling nightmare?"

I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Heckenkamp's first suspense novel, Past Suspicion, and was excited when she sent me this one.  In Frozen Footprints, Mrs. Heckenkamp's growth as an author is apparent; the writing style is improved, and the characters believable.  The glimpse into the lives of the rich is extremely interesting, and showcases one's inability to fill the holes in his heart with material goods.  This book is a fast-paced page turner, and will have you on the edge-of-your-seat until you finish.  It is religious without being preachy, and provides guilt-free thrills.  I especially liked the way that the author followed her characters beyond the horrible ordeal, and explored the ways they coped with the different burns they suffered.  It is definitely geared toward young adults, and would be too much for early teens.  The characters are very well-formed, react in realistic ways, and display both flaws and virtues.  The ending is unpredictable; this is the kind of novel which could draw anyone in, and hold them until the very last page.

I absolutely loved Frozen Footprints, and would highly recommend it to all those looking for a book that is wholesome without being boring, exciting without being inappropriate, and leaves you with a satisfied feeling.  I'm looking forward Mrs. Heckenkamp's future novels, and hope she will continue to produce books which are as thrilling as Hitchcock films, but still succeed in teaching valuable lessons.

Those interested in finding out more about the book, or purchasing it, can visit the book's site: www.frozen-footprints.com, or purchase it on Amazon.  It would be a great gift for a friend, daughter, son, or for yourself! :) Happy reading!

Keeping Goals?

Wow- talk about a long blog hiatus, much longer than anticipated!

During the break, a kind lady from Education Database Online contacted me and sent me a neat graphic which displays the human tendency to make, and then forget, goals.  I found the display quite surprising; we as humans really stink at sticking to our resolutions!

I wanted to share it to serve as a reminder to continue with- or revisit- all of those Catholic and/or New Year's resolutions, and to show how much writing the goals down pays off in the end.

So, without further ado, here's the stats!  Thanks to Ms. A. for sharing this with me and thanks to OnlineEducation.net for the image!