Relevant Mercy

I recently went away for a four day high school girls's vocations discernment camp. It was my second year going. And it was tough. I was working through a lot of things, as well as trying to deal with some personal struggles. There was a person I wasn't on very good terms with at Fiat, too. Yipee. 

Sunday evening, the day for drop-off, Fr. Jaffe celebrated Mass and gave a homily about "opening your eyes" and showing mercy to others. I didn't think it was very relevant to me and where I was in my state of life right then, so I was kind of thinking, "yeah, yeah, whatever."  

Well, unsurprisingly, I was wrong. Truth is, mercy is very relevant. 


A few of the many things I learned:

1) Have mercy towards yourself, first and foremost.
It's hard to show love and mercy to other people when you don't love your own self. 
Second day at Fiat, I spilled my guts out in confession. The priest reprimanded me, and I cried...in a good way. He told me that I shouldn't worry about who I was, what I looked like, and whether I was outgoing or not. What matters in the end is becoming a saint and being holy. I think that's relevant advice for all of us. 
No one's ever going to love you like Christ does. If you want a reminder, the perfect thing to do is kneel before a crucifix and contemplate the nails driven into His hands and feet, the thrashes, and the thorny crown He endured for you. You're welcome.

2) People aren't always who you think they are. 
A girl I used to be friends with but had hurt me very badly a few years ago came to me seeking forgiveness. I did not see that coming. I discovered every person deserves a second chance...or a third chance, or a fourth. I found out that I had been labeling people for too long. Truth is, people are bigger and so much deeper than labels. The biggest mistake you can make is thinking a person's one way and never getting to know the other side of them.

3) Prayer is your BFF.
I was struggling with a lot, and the only thing that kept my head above the water was prayer. I slipped into the chapel when I was close to tears. I prayed for charity toward the person I wasn't expecting to see there. I prayed myself to sleep. And guess what? I came out of those four days stronger, more confident, and more dependent on God than ever before.

And want to know something even awesomer? A foe became a friend. I found healing from a bad experience in my past. I loved the person God made me to be. I became open to His will for my life. 


P.S. All the young women who read this blog are in my prayers. I hope you continue growing in your relationship with Christ and Mama Mary. Keep praying and being loving and merciful!

Food for Thought: C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity is divided into four individual, but coherent, books: Clue to the Meaning of the Universe, What Christians Believe, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality. C.S. Lewis, the author, addresses morality, human nature, the cardinal and theological virtues, sexual morality, Christian marriage, forgiveness, and pride. 
A few quotes really jumped out to me. In Book III, Chapter 8, C.S. Lewis wrote, "the more (pride) we have ourselves, the more we dislike it in others...the point is that each person's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride." I liked this passage because it made me uncomfortable. One, I really do dislike pride in others. Two, I could remember lots of times my pride had been in competition with other people's pride and how I had acted toward them. This passage definitely didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, and I'm glad it didn't. It was a nice little rebuke that put me back in my place. 
One thing to realize, as C.S. Lewis points out, is that everyone is driven by something--anger, greed, and so on, but everything is rooted in pride--pride in self, pride in possessions, etc. It would be a good habit to start exercising acts of humility to combat that pride.  

C.S. Lewis also describes the meaning of "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God." He explains that you should stop manufacturing feelings in yourself, trying to make yourself love God. Instead, we should ask ourselves, "'If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?'" (Book III, Christian Behavior, Ch. 9)  

This is just a short review showcasing of the gems of wisdom that Mere Christianity offers within its pages. It if you have time on a rainy afternoon, pick up a copy of C.S. Lewis's book at the library and take a look at it. And read whatever jumps out at you. 

Other Books by C.S. Lewis 
                                                                       

DIY Saint Medal Earrings

I love making these earrings--they're super simple, a cute way to wear saint medals, and they make great gifts. 

Supplies:

-- a pair of saint medals

--silver fish hook earrings

--jewelry pliers

--jump rings

1. Replace the original ring on the saint medal with two jump rings.

2. Close the top silver jump ring around the fish hook earrings.

3. Make one pair for yourself and another for a friend!

Giveaway: Tea and Cake with the Saints

The time has come for a giveaway! 

We'll be giving away Tea and Cake with the Saints, by Alice Cantrell. The book is split into four parts: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Each section contains delicious recipes (my favorite being the Vanilla Tea Cake and Cream Cheese Mints), simple yet charming gift ideas, brief lists of saints' feasts, and engaging articles (a few being about Mary Gardens, tea, and letter writing). Tea and Cake with the Saints also provides spiritual bouquet cards and recipe cards to be printed off and further decorated. There are also easy party suggestions for all four seasons, like cookie exchanges and picnicking.

This really is a wonderful book--and definitely an essential one for Catholic teen girls! In my own copy, you'll find that there are many dog-eared pages and smudges on all the recipes. 

So, enter, enter, enter!

                                                       Rafflecopter giveaway 


Even if you don't win, make this book a part of your collection! You can find the book here at Amazon.