1) So Barack Obama goes to the Vatican and meets with Pope Francis for the first time. The Vatican then reports one thing and Obama reports a very different thing about what was actually discussed and emphasized. I wonder who can be trusted to be telling the truth here?
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| Looks a little bit like someone's at the principal's office. |
I liked this insightful observation by Fr. Steve Grunow (h/t Brandon Vogt):
Today the Holy Father met with the President of the United States, one of many meetings with heads of state that happens in the course of the year at the Vatican. The strangeness of this should strike us given that the Holy Father is the successor of a Galilean fisherman, put to death by the powers of the world, a fisherman who was himself appointed to a mission by Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified by the power of Caesar. And now the successors of Caesar make their way to the successor of Peter. It's odd. It is strange and in its own peculiar way, it is a sign that the world has actually been upended by the revelation of Christ.It reminds me of this:
Anyway, let us pray for the softening of
2) Don't be afraid to go see the movie Noah! My daughter looked into and dismissed the largely contrived controversies (fueled by non-Catholic Christian groups), and then she and her husband took my teenaged son to see it last night on IMAX. They are all faithful, knowledgable Catholics, and they all enjoyed it. It was not offensive or stupid… well, except for the "rock people", ha ha.
Disclaimer: I will not refund your money if you see it and hate it. (But do accept my apologies in advance!)
3) Cute!
4) This was fascinating to me!
Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, and doctors said he would never speak. She tried special education programs and therapies aimed at addressing his limitations. When teachers told her there was no hope, she rebelled and took her own path.
“A lot of people thought that I had lost my mind,” she recalls.
Instead of focusing on Jacob’s limitations, Kristine nurtured his interests. Now her 15-year-old son is on track to win a Nobel Prize for his work in theoretical physics.
Jacob and his mother Kristine are interviewed here:
5) Kind of a fun badge of honor, as I am on someone's list of "annoying Catholics":
Well, gosh, I can't blame this person entirely, as I am a Catholic and I certainly can be annoying.
I showed this to my adult, engaged, college-student daughter who laughed out loud and then said, "Wow, that is completely insulting to me." Yes, honey, it sure is. Hey, "pearls_clutched", why not join the discussion instead of being passive aggressive on another site? You're always welcome here. Come state your case, and let's reason it through.
6) If you have a child who is about to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), you really need to get this amazing book: A Little Book about Confession for Children:
My son came home from school with it (thank you, Mary Jo!), and I am so impressed. Trust me, it's fantastic, and it's not only good for children (my son is reading it out loud to me), but for anyone who wants a thorough and easy understanding of every facet of Confession.
7) Look at Julie! Just two years old, and ready to have a family of her own.
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| Click my picture for another photo and more information! |
Here is a description of this lovely little princess:
Julie has a big smile with huge dimples! She plays well alone and is known by her caregivers as being smart, lovely and pleasant. She is a strong little girl who can stand with help. She likes to play hide and seek and giggles when teased. Her favorite toys are those that make noise when shaken. Julie has also been diagnosed with a heart condition.Let's pray her home, guys. Her adoptive parents are out there somewhere.
And while we're at it, thanks to Nubby for directing me to this wonderful video about an NHL coach who has a son with Down syndrome. Truly heartwarming:
Many blessings for a wonderful weekend!
Thanks to Jen, as always, for hosting!
Gosh, you are just more Catholic than the Pope! How dare you out-Catholic the Pope!
ReplyDeleteHahaha... just had to laugh at that post. You keep on being Catholic and spreading the Truth :)
I was not encouraged to get married as a teenager and have a college degree...silly Pearls_Clutched!
ReplyDeleteCecily is my oldest daughter for those who are unfamiliar. :) She married at age 22, after completing her university degree with honors.
DeleteLove you, sweetie!
*love*
DeleteI love the part about you having a normal life until your mid-twenties. Thanks for the laugh Leila.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out how she can say that Leila would disown one of her children....Somehow, I can't see that happening.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet again, this hater proves to be a hypocrite since she is showing ugliness and hatred towards Leila! *rolls eyes*
Oh! And who says Catholics don't have fun????
I agree with Margo. I don't comment often but I read through every post and I would find it HARD to find evidence that you would disown any one of your kids for any reason.
ReplyDeleteomg the hate and the inaccuracy is perf.
ReplyDeletepearls_clutched ought to at least get the title of your blog correct, before sounding off. Amazing how he/she reads your heart and predicts your exact response, should one of your kids ever sin or face temptation. lolz4Dayz
That was the funniest part! I would never disown my children, not for any reason in the universe. Clearly, "pearls_clutched" is not a careful reader of this blog. But maybe it made him/her feel better to emote for a little while. Clearly there are wounds there.
ReplyDeleteMore Catholic than the pope… That's a funny one, too. I would love to dialogue and have him/her actually cite some actual, you know, evidence.
Hi Lelia, I just came across your blog and it is great! I am being received into the Church at Easter and am so happy to find mature Catholics to share faith with. Tomorrow is my first Rite of Reconciliation and I was concerned about becoming scrupulous in a way that could become hellish. The Ligouri link calmed my concerns. Only three more weeks until Confirmation and First Eucharist. I am so excited that I have picked three different outfits because I am not sure it is ok to wear white. I floated the idea of wearing a simple veil but the RICA director did not seem amenable. I think I will end up wearing what I want because you only get these firsts once. Jojo
ReplyDeleteDear Jodie (or do you prefer Jojo?), Welcome and Congratulations. This is a super exciting time for you.
ReplyDelete****************
I would not disown my godson. Leila, I never got the impression you would disown your children.
*****
I wish I could have been there as an invisible person when the president and the pope met.
Leila-When is your grandchild due?
ReplyDeleteJodie, an early welcome home!! I'm so happy for you! And yes, wear whatever you'd like! :)
ReplyDeleteJohanne, the baby is due in early July! A little girl!
You made GOMI?! Hahaha! Celebrity. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou ARE sweetness and light, and thank you for all your help via email! How utterly ignorant is pearls_clutched? smh.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible that people feel they must spread the hate. It's the only way that they know of to relieve themselves (temporarily) of their anger. It's not the right way to handle it and all she has done is make her bitterness worse; because even if she does find people to agree with her, her bitterness will only deepen, because people like you exist and will continue to spread the Gospel. I am sorry for her, sincerely, I hope that she can find healing to her wounds. I don't want to share in her bitterness by being angry at her words, though it's difficult to forgive them. I suppose this is why Jesus advised us to "pray for those who persecute you", because it's very rare when we, ourselves, know how to handle such hate and anger.
ReplyDeleteon another note, the rock people in Noah do actually have a source :
ReplyDeletehttp://tacet.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/some-thoughts-on-noah/
Awesome Scorn Leila! Right during Lent. Must be doing something right. No servant is above her master! :-)
ReplyDeleteI saw Noah over the weekend. It had less of an emphasis on environmentalism than I expected it to have, although there was a reference, I think, to the innocence of animals. I don't know… I don't think a lion is all that innocent around a lamb, so I'm not sure we want to take animals as blanket examples of pristine behavior. Although, I suppose one could say that the lion is acting according to his nature, while humans often act against their own nature.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I thought was good about the movie, although not the context in which it was shown, was the idea that Noah didn't always know what God wanted of him. It can be easy to think that if you're close to God, if he makes you a major player, you would be more likely to see things clearly, but that isn't the case. Mary didn't always know why she or her Son had to experience what they did, and Jesus' cousin, St. John, even though he had baptized Jesus, asked from jail whether Jesus was "the One who is to come, or should we look for another?" You'd think John would have known the answer to that already.
Sharon, good points. My husband (Jewish-raised) can't understand why people are looking at Noah as if he were Christian with a "love your enemies" and "turn the other cheek" mentality. They forget that Noah was NOT Christian and there was NOT the revelation of Christ and the Law of Grace back then.
ReplyDeleteAnd, my daughter/son/son-in-law did not see the environmentalism that the critics are talking about either. Something they were very sensitive to going in, as they are not fans of radical environmentalists.
I like your blog, Leila. I like finding out how Catholics reason - why you have 8 kids, why you won't get sterilised etc. I'm at the stage where I'm thinking about my own priorities and family planning, so it's refreshing to have such a different perspective from the rest of society. I don't come here looking for a lot of stuff about feelings or doubts because this is a reasoning blog. Maybe that comes across as smug to some people - they're offended by your certainty. I guess this blog isn't for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Fiddlesticks!! I'm glad you are here. I think that "pearls_clutched" may have missed a very important directive up at the top of the blog where a tab is marked "Please Read First". It explains a lot. You are so right that this blog is not for everyone.
ReplyDelete"pearls_clutched" and her buddies have a whole lot of psychological projection going on. If you read the thread, you will see these are people who are proud to visit blogs of people they hate, and they are proud to spread it. I'll bet their mantras are, "DIVERSITY!" and "TOLERANCE!" and all other such smokescreen BS that they don't practice.
ReplyDeleteYou don't sicken them, Leila; they are very sick themselves. They couldn't come here to debate because they have no reason or logic with which to debate, just feeeeeeeeeeeelings. They also don't have any understanding of Catholic doctrine, nor do they want to have any. If they consider themselves to be living "normal" lives, thank God I am no longer like them. Signed, an independent woman with a master's degree.
PS I'm glad she linked to your blog. People might come here and get challenged and perhaps even educated.
Wow. The sadness and despair displayed on that site is palpable. Do they see the irony of what they're doing?
ReplyDeleteI had to stop reading the thread when they started talking about Jen Fulwiler dying. It was just evil. It's rather heinous to judge an individual person's medical conditions based on what the person in question chooses to disclose.
ReplyDeleteDeltaflute, what?? I am so glad I didn't read too much. That would have really pissed me off.
ReplyDeleteYes, the stuff about Jen in that thread is sick. There's another comment about you that is even more mean a little further up. The gomi ppl are crazy. The RR trolls have joined a thread there about adoption bloggers.
ReplyDeleteAh, lovely people! I think I'll skip the rest. It's probably best. :)
ReplyDeleteI think they're Catholics who are angry and disillusioned that the Church won't drop some of the teachings they think are unrealistic and they're looking for somewhere to vent. It's a bit sad though when you start hating a mother of eight who's adopted 4 kids just because you think some of her views are a bit idealistic.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you people are a bit crazy, but that's what makes your blogs so interesting. Why else would you read a blog about somebody else's kids if they weren't a bit different? Anyway, when all our kids get wiped out in the next major World War or epidemic we're the ones who are going to look stupid.
P.S. Jennifer Fulwiler is much more likely to die from a scorpion bite than in childbirth. I'm much more afraid of those scorpions than her children!
Leila seems to think that she's been appointed by God to "teach" us how to live according to the Catholic Church teachings.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it. Ok. I'm off. Just got a kick out of that. If she is following this, she should join in.
Fiddlesticks, just to clarify, I don't have any adopted kids, just eight bio kids (forgive me if you were talking about someone else they were trashing, ha ha).
ReplyDeleteYeah so my husband and I saw Noah on Monday and I have to say we didn't like it, womp womp. We went into the movie putting the bible aside and just went into it as watching a movie. It was too dark for our taste. To me it was as disturbing as "hunger games" for how the evils of humanity are portrayed. I'm actually trying to figure out if we could get our money back at all, even though we sat through the whole movie. We did like the fact that there wasn't any profanity or nudity, yay!
ReplyDeleteLeila, I was talking about the 'Just Showing Up' woman. (Should have clarified). They think she adopted her four children (2 with Down Syndrome) for the sole purpose of making them feel bad for supporting abortion.
ReplyDeleteYour eight children are, of course, lovely too. ;)
Re: others hatred of you.
ReplyDeleteThrough much of my business career I negotiated with people of different cultures. Often we did not understand each other; sometimes we vehemently disagreed. Yet we never assumed we hated each other, or we'd never have been able to reach agreement --- and understanding --- on many things.
Leila, those who assume you hate them because you disagree with them will never understand you nor enable agreement on so many things which you could support together. "For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world" (Jn 3:17), nor Leila, by your words to you condemn anyone. It's sad that, like the Jews, some hear words you did not say, and assume the worst of those who might love them the most.
DNBA, thank you! And, Fiddlesticks, thanks for clarifying! :)
ReplyDeleteI think people tend to assume that their way of thinking is the norm. If they hate people they disagree with, they assume that's everyone's way of thinking. If they can't keep a secret, they rarely share personal details incase their secret is gossiped about. Etc...
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad way to be, assuming the worst of strangers because it's what you know you'd give in their shoes.
"They think she adopted her four children (2 with Down Syndrome) for the sole purpose of making them feel bad for supporting abortion."
ReplyDeleteWow. Just...wow.
It's all about them, isn't it? What rampant narcissism. That's what this sick culture is about, and what is the antithesis to the self-sacrifice that Catholicism is about, if anyone, including the so-called "progressive," "liberal" Catholics (i.e., Protestants), who need to get their get heads out of their touchy-feely, oh-so-delicate-and-oh-so-easily-offended asses and learn Church doctrine. No mincing words, and NO apologies.
Wait, I'm confused. These people think that Brianna and her husband adopted four children with the sole intention of making random internet strangers feel bad about abortion? Is that seriously what they're saying?
ReplyDeleteDon't they realize that no adoption agency in their right mind would let a couple adopt if their only and/or primary motivation for adopting was to make others feel bad?
JoAnna and GFNY, it's kind of mind-boggling….
ReplyDeleteOh, I had such a wonderful belly laugh reading the pearls ramble. HILARIOUS!!! You are so annoying I read every post on your blog. Keep up the great work, Leila!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, thanks, Potamiaena!! :)
ReplyDelete"I think people tend to assume that their way of thinking is the norm. If they hate people they disagree with, they assume that's everyone's way of thinking. If they can't keep a secret, they rarely share personal details incase their secret is gossiped about. Etc..."
ReplyDeleteIndeed. And if they think that same-sex marriage (or whatever) is obviously right, then everybody else must think so too, and anybody who professes to disagree is clearly acting out of some kind of sinister ulterior motive.
No, msgrx, there is no sinister ulterior motive. Those not particularly influenced by religion have more of a "live and let live" toward gay marriage. The more extreme one's religious devotion, the more one is obligated to oppose gay marriage and march under the "pro (straight) marriage" banner. The problem is the influence of religion on a person's being able to get along with those who don't see life the same way. Those less influenced by religion only have that problem with those more influenced by it. It is a battle between opposing cultures with some not being willing to compromise.
ReplyDeleteBill, first, the new totalitarians are the ones who insist on punishing those who will not comply (ask Andrew Sullivan, who is on your side, and who is horrified by the tactics of the "tolerant" gay rights movement these days). Second, no one can willingly compromise on ontological truths. So, one cannot say, "Okay, fine, that cat is a dog if the law says so." You and others may want to lie to yourselves and your children about things like that, but some of us cannot. The Church cannot and will not.
ReplyDeleteSecond, no one can willingly compromise on ontological truths. So, one cannot say, "Okay, fine, that cat is a dog if the law says so."
ReplyDeleteThat same sex partners can and do marry is a fact of life that you can't accept. Your ontological truths are not my ontological truths and I am pretty sure that I am right and you and the Catholic Church are wrong.
You don't know the definition of "ontological" if you can make a statement like this:
ReplyDelete"Your ontological truths are not my ontological truths"
It all comes down to what the essential nature of marriage is. I look at my own marriage and see child rearing as a part of it but not all of it. We've had many enjoyable years prior, during and after raising our children. If I were gay, those years would have been with another man. Who are you or anyone else to take those years away just out of deference to an "ontological truth". Who cares about whether it is or it isn't? Why does that matter so much to you? What about the couples right to the pursuit of happiness? You seem willing to minimize its importance. You're way on the wrong side of history. Get with the program.
ReplyDeleteBill, Leila has already said that as long as you make rude statements such as the above ("Get with the program") you are dis-invited from participating on her blog. Please stop.
DeleteYes, Bill, please stop.
ReplyDeleteI don't desire to be on the "right side of history", I desire to be on the right side of Truth.
So, please, stop. Your comments have become non-productive.