Monday, May 23, 2011

Abroad: Why it Matters

I began this blog when I was leaving for Italy for a year to study, work, and envelope myself in all things Italian. While it didn't work out as I planned, I am beyond grateful for the experience.

Mine was a nontraditional study abroad experience, first in Reggio di Calabria during the summer. For y'all who are understandably unaware of how silly that phrase is, let me break it down for you: you can see the sands of Africa on the horizon in Calabria. We're talking the south of the south. A really, really, really good pitcher's stone's throw to Sicilia [15k]. So my love of heat and humidity was tested and increased as the temperature for the day was set at 100 degrees before 10a everyday. It was fantastic.

This town was authentic Calabrian. Our school was a school for international students who desired to learn Italian---talk about perfect. When you left class and went out into the street, you immediately had to put into practice what you had learnt! There were those folks in Reggio who spoke English, but they were few and far between. Italian was the only semi-guarantee you'd get what you wanted.



[I don't own the rights]


Me: Uhh, vorrei....un gelato, per favore.

Gelato man: Certo! Siamo in una gelateria! Certo vorrebbe un gelato! Dimmi un sappore, un taglia, se desiderebbe una cialda o una coppa o panna. Dimmi dimmi!

Me:........umm, vorrei.... un gelato, per favore. *point to the one with chocolate*



But learn we did. In fact, I am a firm believer of the deep end learning curve, ie throw them in the deep end and watch them swim. That's what Calabria was, in more way than one.

Both of my parents graduated from the same college as I did, so it wasn't foreign when I arrived there. It wasn't uber familiar, but familiar enough that I felt like I was ahead of the curve. In addition to that, my parents visited a bunch---as parents of a student and as alumni--so it felt more like sleep away camp that was only a few miles from home than a capital "c" College.

Italy, on the otherhand, was a different country! With a different lanugage! It was, by definition, foreign. So I had to adjust, feel things out, try new things and react to new situations, because everything was new! Each choice I made mattered immediately. A stunning experience, perhaps the first time I truly felt like an adult.My adult decisions carried me to Rome, the Vatican, Capri, Naples, Scilla, Taormina, Castelmola, Messina, Firenze, Lucca, Sienna and London. Not a bad deal for a first timer.

So go! Find the scholarship, scour student universe for a flight, research the programs and go! Challenge yourself to adulthood. You'll be happy with the results today and for years to come.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Mother Mary Sings to Me

Mary, Our Guide



"Be Apostles of The Divine Mercy under the maternal and loving guidance of Mary …"
— Pope John Paul II, in a Papal Blessing to the Marians on Oct. 5, 2001.

Have you ever stopped and thought about the amazing concept of maternity? See, it seems so natural, I think it's easy to take for granted. Let me break it down for you:

Selfless giving of time, energy and love
Supersonic protective skills
Foresight
Ultimate comfort in discomfort

Just to name a few. It seems like a list on the application for canonization! A woman houses and loves her child for 9 months, then raises her child, fending off evil, be it an ominous crack in the sidewalk or a hostile vigilante. She sacrifices her sleep, her lack of patience, her shyness and her self concern--funneling all of that energy into her child. She puts her child above herself. Period.

Mary, the mother of God, gets extra kudos for this. Can you imagine? You get a text message/tweet/status update:

 AngelGabe
Angel Gabriel
@Mary Don't fear, God loves you and wants you to carry His son. Name him Jesus. He's going to be better than you can imagine and be king.



Talk about pressure. Unsuspecting Mary suddenly has been presented with an awesome and terrifying gift: motherhood. More than that, it is motherhood in partnership with God!


Mary
Mary
@AngelGabe Um, I don't think that is possible -- I have no way to get preggers.



Yet, despite the shock of the situation, she fixates on how it could be possible. Isn't that interesting? She doesn't say, "Whoa whoa whoa, ummmm are you serious? Is this a joke? Whatchu talkin' bout Gabe? You've got the wrong girl!" But rather, "How interesting, but wait, how can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" [Luke 1:34]. Her concern is with its practical possibility, not whether it should be or not.

AngelGabe
Angel Gabriel 
@Mary No worries.God'll send down the Spirit for that.The child'll be the Son of God too.O yeah, your cousin's prego too.Isn't God awesome?



Gulp. Okay, lets not worry. God's going to send down His spirit. I'm going to become pregnant, just like my cousin who is aparently pregnant even though she has been thought to never be able to have children. Wow. Heavy. Well, I guess if God made that happen, what can I worry about? Elizabeth is much older than me and the shock of pregnancy at her old age was probably pretty tough, but she's doing it. God's got this. Worries gone. God has asked me to carry and love His son! Wow! :D


 Mary
 Mary 
@AngelGabe Whatever God wants, I'm His servant. Let's do this.




Check!: Ultimate comfort in discomfort.
Check!: Foresight.
Check!: Selfless giving of time, energy and love.
Check!: Supersonic protective skills.

With that simple fiat Mary took on motherhood. Shabam. Transformation instantaneous. As we all know, thing didn't slow down for her once Jesus was born, hardly, it is almost like it became progressively more challenging. She was Christ's first disciple, following him from his very conception. It is no wonder that we are called to follow Mary's example as our guide.

I'm pretty sure when your child is Love itself, your heart expands and envelopes all whom Love loves; Motherly traits extend to everyone.

Monday, May 16, 2011

On Dating Nice Catholic Girls

My sister, a very accomplished blogger and finely tuned in new media Catholic, sent me this blog/article: On Dating Nice Catholic Girls

I think this article starts out excellently, subtitled with: No hook-ups but no long-term ego-busts; nice Catholic girls teach tenderness and the valuable security of the everyday. A beacon in the darkness of article after post after cosmo magazine after snide comment about the dangers of women withholding sex from their male partners--yahoo! This guy gets it and likes that we have self respect! 

Awesome.

The article pans out that way too, for the most part. His endearing description of his former girlfriend as truly beautiful, inside and out; as someone who doesn't need societal norms to tell her how much she's worth, but rather she knows inherently, and it was obvious. I must say, when I read that I was overjoyed--they do notice! 

Hooray! 

It finished off nicely, "There's a great deal to be said for nice Catholic girls: the up-front quality, all those depths made visible, like the ocean in a color-coded map."
At the tail end, he got distracted and sucker punched the women he was praising before.

Alas, I do not own the rights.
"One thing, though: a lot of these JPII generation girls are starting to look suspiciously like Sexy Puritans. The other day, I saw one wearing a mantilla and the tightest pair of shorts in Tempe, which is saying something.

I'd better write my bishop."

Come on! JP II's legacy has permeated and inspired a generation, returning young men to the cloth, reinvigorating young women in their chaste journeys, no longer giving young men the 'boys will be boys' excuse but vehemently challenging them to a chaste journey as well, and most of all JP II inspired respect, love, mercy and compassion for all

Whether or not someone chooses to wear "the tighest pair of shorts in Tempe" while donning a mantilla speaks nothing to her love of JP II or the Church for that matter. It simply speaks to her choice that day. One of the great things about mantillas is that it is an action to focus your thoughts inward, to the presence of Christ. If it starts with a mantilla and progresses to floor length burlap sacks, shouldn't we praise the mantilla instead of chastise the tight shorts? 

This author has a great voice, and it is inspiring to hear his conviction for chastity and appreciation of the gift that it brings to a pre-martial relationship. I hope that we can focus on that, and leave sweeping assumptions about a whole generation for a totally different discussion. 

Strengthen the argument for chastity by steering clear of Church politics.