Our Lady's Lamp

A daughter of the King, that is what I am. By the grace of the Holy Trinity, I am a princess in the court of God. I have been adopted by the merits of Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit. I was taken from my former life as a child of the world and given a heavenly inheritance! But what does it mean to be a daughter (or son) of God, the King of kings? What does it mean to be a princess of the heavenly court? What do our roles and relationships look like? God is Our Father God, the Creator of all, has adopted me. This means that I share in the inheritance of the kingdom of God. No longer and I just little me, human, weak, dirty, unworthy of the courts of Heaven. Heaven is my inheritance – as long as I remain a true daughter (reference the Prodigal Son). When I was a child, I would follow my dad everywhere, look at whatever textbook he was reading, ask endless questions of “why?” “what's that?” and “how?” and any variation therein. I would ask him for anything; I let him kn...

I usually try to stay out of politics, but I cannot help but comment on this latest development in the Health Care Issue. Many of you know that all health care services will be forced to provide contraceptions, sterilizations, and some abortatives. This includes all religious organizations and such who have moral issues with these, though, they are being given a year to get used to it. And to gain that year, they have to apply and be given that year. (For the full release, go here: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html ) This is an abomination! It is a direct contradiction to the very reason our country was founded: Freedom of religion. Our founding fathers came over the ocean to find a place where their religious differences would be allowed. (Granted, they didn't have a stellar history in keeping to that, but still.) We have a separation of church and state not so that the state stays clear of all religious influence but so that our churches are not run ...

While meditating on the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary – Jesus carrying His cross – I was struck with a realization. It's nothing new, but it's something I hadn't really fleshed out in a long while, if ever: Jesus accepted aid when He needed it, but he never accepted pity. Aid and pity are not equal, and we can need – and accept – aid while still eschewing pity. Pity is something we wallow in, and it inhibits us from moving forward. Pity is something we seek from others. There is nothing honorable about pity. We are told to pick up our crosses and carry them. We are called to Imitate the examples of Christ and Paul (1 Cor). Neither of them ever asked for pity. No! They boasted of their crosses, were, in fact, defined by their crosses and the way they carried them. They embraced the sorrows, pains, horrors, and bitterness of the crosses they carried. They did the Father's will. And while Jesus suffered these bitter torments, he refused tow allow in pity. He s...

Have you ever noticed how most of the time, it takes very little to make a cat purr. Put him in your lap, pet her while she's sleeping, look at them the right way, and you can hear them purr from across the room (Well, maybe that's just my mom's cat). It's nice when petting the cat makes it purr, and we cannot help but smile as well. Have you ever pet those cats that never seem to purr? We have one of those too. She is very hard to make purr unless she feels like it. You can give her tuna juice, you can pet her as much as she wants, you can pick her up, put her down, let her lay on your fuzzy blanket or walk in front of your books and computer, but she rarely purrs. It's sometimes annoying to pet those cats because, cute as they are, it's nice to know that your affections are appreciated. Indeed, if my mom's cat looks at me and starts purring, I'm even more likely to pet him just because he's being so sweet and I can tell how happy he is just at t...

The Supreme Court ruled that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life” (“The Casey Decision”). We live in a country that says that the ultimate truth is whatever every individual wants to be truth. I can decide the meaning of my life, of the universe, and even why we exist. You can also decide the meaning of life, of the universe, and why we exist. And guess what? That's the heart of freedom, of liberty! I can't help but be saddened by this idea that has permeated not only secular society but also Christian society as well. Many times in the past couple years I have gotten into conversations with other Christians, and when we invariably disagree, they say “Well, for me, I think this, but you can still think that,” “I think this is true, but I'm not saying you are wrong,” “we each have to decide what is truth for ourselves,” or “we each have a personal truth based...

(I wrote this last night just before I went to bed.) We have 5 cats, and invariably, at least one or two of them will choose my room to sleep in, and often my bed as well. Tonight is no different. I have Ava and Rufus sleeping on my bed.... right where I want to put my feet. I, mildly annoyed, mildly amused, asked a friend why cats always choose the most inconvenient places to sleep and then get annoyed when we try to move them. And then I stopped and wondered if God ever thinks that about us. Do we often curl up to sleep in places that, while they look good, really aren't? I mean, we have the fuzzy blankets, the places we – or someone else – already made warm, we have someone to cuddle with... we have everything we could want. Why on earth would we want to be woken up and moved to a different place that's cold and not as comfortable? Why on earth would we want to move off of the warm laptop to the cold pillow? Well, maybe God wants us to move so that He can put His feet the...

“Now back to the point, one thing is vital to mention: How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums. See, one’s the work of God, and one’s a man-made invention.” First, this isn’t your real beef, but since you want to claim it as your beef, I will simply point you to the first point above. God didn’t come to abolish religion. He started religion. Therefore, it can’t be manmade. If it’s manmade, then give up your Bible. It’s the sacred scripture of the Jewish religion and the Christian religion. That precious Bible of yours is only around because religious men sat down and decided what was God-breathed and what wasn’t. If you think religion is on the opposite spectrum as Jesus, then give up Jesus because he founded the Church, He called for unity, and He sent his Apostle’s out to preach what he taught – which is exactly what a religion (or a cult) does. So, which is it? Do you love the Jesus of religion or the Jesus of a cult? Because if you follow Jesus, you have to be part of one ...

“Like, let’s dress up the outside and make it look nice and neat, but that’s funny because that’s what they used to do to mummies while the corpse rots underneath.” Again, this only applies to those who hide behind the name. Your issue is not religion but the hypocrites in them. “Now I ain’t judgin’, I’m just saying, stop putting on a fake look.” No. Of course you’re not judging. You are simply saying that all who love religion are rotting corpses with pretty wrappings. That’s all. No judgement there at all. “Cuz there’s a problem if people only know you’re a Christian by your facebook. I mean in any other aspect of life, you know that logic’s unworthy. It’s like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought the jersy.” This is very true, and this here, I think is your main point, though you seem to have missed that fact. This is your gripe, not religion. “See this was me too….” Personal story of porn addiction, and such. I’m not going to get into your personal life. I think t...

“Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?” Where have you been looking? The largest charitable organizations are all run by Churches. Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Samaritan’s Purse, Salvation Army, and many many more work endlessly to help feed and clothe the poor. The first orphanages were built by Christians. The first hospitals for the poor were built by Christians. They were built by religious. Their churches were also built large, grandiose, and very colorful because most of the people at the time when the Cathedrals were built were illiterate, so it was through pictures that the salvation story was proclaimed along with the Gospel message. “Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they ever had a divorce.” Never, ever, has anyone – in the true spirit of religion – told anyone that God doesn’t love them regardless of their circumstances. We may not agree or may not love them, but never would anyone truly living the religion they taught (Were it Christianity...

This is a response to the video going around titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” For the full version, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY I copied each of the lines and wish to discuss them, because here, this young man not only uses very poor logic, lots of red-herrings, and lots of contradictory statements, he also borders, or walks directly into, heresy because he directly contradicts, misquotes, and warps the teachings of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is not going to be a “I’m a Catholic trying to best the Protestants” post that some people seem to think the responses are. This is just going to be a Christian sitting down and logically, and biblically, evaluating each of his statements. “What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion” I would say you do not understand religion or Jesus’ teaching about it. Let me show you why I say this. Firstly, God and Jesus are one in the same. Therefore, one cannot contradict the other. That said, since Go...