Halloween

I am so excited it's Halloween! It's not really my favorite holiday, but I look forward to it every year. I love seeing all the really unique costumes! The way I found my costume this year was really weird.. I was watching this movie and the main character had a cape on, and I was like "I love capes!" And somehow I got to thinking about Red Riding Hood with her cape and all. And it was then I decided to be Red Riding Hood.
Just so you know. :)

But it seems like as Halloween gets closer and closer, the costumes get more and more...immodest, I guess you could say. Not necessarily flashy, but short, low, or tight enough to feel kind of uncomfortable. Its hard to look up a costume online or at a store without getting an immodest version of it now a days. It's pretty sad, actually. My sister wanted to be a nun last year and we looked it up and we could really only find short, showy costumes. So we went the old fashion way, and made it ourselves. Everything it better handmade. :)

Then I got to thinking. Halloween is when we dress up as someone we want to be, admire, or someone we find cool, right? (or something actually) So if you are portraying yourself as a flashy, girly maid or something, how are you portraying your actual self? Do you want people do see you this way? Think about that the next time you pick out a Halloween costume.

Ooh, I just realized that Halloween can be a double topic. I love when that happens! :)

So as we have established above, Halloween is a time to dress up with whomever or whatever you want. You could be the Prince of Antarctica (if there was one) but hide behind a ghost costume and no one would know who you are. You might be a rich person, but your costume could suggest you being a poor person. So, now lets get deep.

 Your costume is kind of like your skin, lets say. And how do we first get to know someone? By looking at them. And we make judgments. It's human! I know I really need to work on not being judgmental. I remember something my second grade teacher told me a long time ago. She was talking about one time she was at a diner or something and a group of people that looked "goth" and "depressing" with a bunch of piercings and tattoos walked in. Now pretend you were in that situation. What would you think? Personally, my first thought would be to stop staring and not get in their way.
And from what my teacher said, she thought something like that. But to her surprise, once the 'goth' people got their food they did the sign of the cross and prayed devoutly.

That was just a jaw dropper, I know.

But it just proves how appearances are deceiving. Just like the old idiom says, "Never judge a book by it's cover". Same with people! Even though its hard, we need to get over snapping to conclusions. Some people have very good invisible Halloween costumes daily. Some are harder to strip away the costume than others. But if we take a moment to really get to know people, your best friend might appear. It's amazing how God works, right?

So while your enjoying the pounds of candy (cannot wait for my Kit-Kats) and having fun running in the dark, keep at the back of your mind the so called symbolic thinking of the scariest day. (or what's supposed to be the scariest, anyway.)

And get some sleep! :)

All through Christ,
Maddie

Participation in the Best Party Ever

What's the best, most exciting party you have ever been to? Was it a birthday party full of cake, presents and friends? Or maybe a going away party with memories and happy tears? How about the first summer party of the year? (the pool is calling you...) Or a relaxing hangout with a few of your besties?

How about Mass?

Yep, it actually is a party. If you compare a average "party" to Mass, you can see the similarities.

1. Cake: Calling the Eucharist a cake would be kind of a stretch, but it is still food that fulfills you.

2. Friends: You're celebrating with your fellow Catholics, which should be your friends... :) Also your celebrating with the universal Church, the angels in heaven and God!

3. Music: What's a party without music? Even though pop and gospel have their differences, it's still singing all the same.

So even our opinions of a birthday party and Mass are different, they are really both parties. But it's kind of funny to see our energy when you compare it to a "party" and Mass.

I know, I know. Mass isn't our first priority. But the reason  it's there is so we can enjoy it and want to come back! But I think the reason it's not the hot topic of the day is because of our outlook on it.

Think about the last time you celebrated Mass. Were you participating? When I mean participating I don't mean mumbling the prayers under your breath while thinking about your big project that's due in a few days. I mean fully focused, speaking clearly and singing loudly, no matter what your voice is like.

Imagine if everyone participated. How would your outlook on Mass change? If we all were smiling and singing, I think Mass would be way more enjoyable and less awkward. Sing with confidence! Even if you don't have the best voice ever, God doesn't care. If you sing loud, so will others around you. I think the major reason that peeps aren't singing is because they're afraid they will be the only one. So stand up and give other people a push. You start the chain, and I promise, others will follow.

Like singing proudly, you need to answer the priest with confidence. You know the words, you've been speaking them for a while now. If you are doubting some responses, look it up or ask a priest. Again, people will follow your lead if you start it.

So be a leader to make Mass a louder, prouder party. God's giving you all of the favors, you just have to use them!

So your challenge of this post: next Mass, participate. Live it out!
All through Christ,
Maddie

October: National 'We Better Get Going' Month

It kind of dawned on me one day that October is a really big month for different topics. It's pro-life month, Rosary month, appreciate your priest month, breast cancer awareness month, diabetes month, and even cookie month (that's on my top list) so I pretty much re-named October National Better Get Going month because there are so many things we could do this month! Technically, we could do them all year round but might as well start now, right?

Here's a list of things that you could be doing this month and feel proud of yourself in doing it. (and not as lazy, that's for sure. :))

1. Pro-life Month:
- Go to a pro-life rally
-Adopt a baby "spiritually" and pray for them every day.
- Go to an abortion center and pray for a few minutes on the side walk.

2. Rosary Month:
-Pray the Rosary! (bet you never saw that one coming)
-Learn how to make a Rosary and give them to a younger kid.
-Find different prayers to pray on the Rosary.

3. Appreciate your Priest/Pastor Month:
-Write 'em a card!
-Pray for them every day.
-Greet them after Mass.
-Invite them over for dinner .

4. Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
-Wear pink! (or make a pink ribbon and pin it to your shirt)
-Make cards for someone you know with Breast Cancer (or any cancer)
-Donate money to breast cancer research.

5. Diabetes Awareness Month:
-Go to a diabetes walk
-Donate money to a research center for diabetes

6. Cookie Month:
-Make homemade cookies (I can smell them already...)
-Give some cookies to your neighbors.
-Find some great recipes and put 'em in a fancy notebook.

 These are just some ideas, and don't be afraid to reach out for more! I think the easiest one is to pray. You can pray for all of these people, actions, etc.. So this is my encouragement to you, pick one of these things (praying and one other thing) to do this month. Get off the couch! (I know, it's really hard to do) Trust me. You will feel soooo much better afterward.

I don't know about you, but I better get going on all of this stuff! :)

All through Christ,
Maddie

Science Proving Religion...That's a Fact!

So I was in science class the other day, which I enjoy. I really like the teacher and the content so it's a pretty good class for me. But I learned something the other day that actually proved our religion and you know, having a blog you kind of have to share it. :)

We were learning about cells and the cell theory and how all living things are made up of cells and how there were one celled organisms and multi-celled organisms. (did I lose you there? It sure lost me before but then I re-read the chapter. :))

So after my science teacher went over the stuff with us, he said something along the lines of "Now this is cool because it proves some of our religion."

And so we all kind of nodded and listened like good students.

Then he said, "When does life begin?"

One student said, "Birth."

Another said, "Baptism."

I was kind of surprised at the answers, and so was my teacher apparently. The thing is, I know a lot about life since my whole family is pro-life and my parents so happen to be the pro-life coordinators at our church. So let's just say I get dragged to a lot of pro-life rallies and hear about a lot of stuff that are relevant to life.


So I raised my hand and said, "Conception."

I guess I got that right and my teacher nodded. "Life starts at conception. You know why?"

We all shook our heads. So my teacher drew 1/2 +1/2 =1 on the board and said, "One half cell from mom, one from dad. And 1/2 +1/2 equals?"

"One!" We all yelled. It made total sense! I kind of had a "duh me" moment there.

"So if the cell theory states all living things have cells and one half of a cell plus another half of a  cell equals one cell, is this "thing" alive?"

"Yes!"

If you aren't a fast learner in science (like me, don't worry) all living things are made up of cells. Even if it has one cell, it is living. (like some bacteria, or in this case a new growing baby.)

So as the baby grows, it's cells multiply to form your cousin, brother or friend that you see today.
So cool!

Tell your parents (mine weren't that surprised but I told them anyway. :)) that science proves our religion!

Life starts at conception, and that's  a fact!

All through Christ,
Maddie