Pandora email (who am I?)

To whom it may concern:

I have really been enjoying Pandora for the past few months; but lately I have noticed some advertisements on my page which are deeply disturbing to me. I understand the necessity of advertising on this service, but as you (I assume) tailor it to the customer, I assume that you could also make adjustments if necessary. Since I am a young woman, Pandora is currently running an ad about Plan B on my site. Please remove this advertisement from my page.

It must be, at least to some extent, your responsibility to know about your advertisers. I encourage you to look at the Plan B website. It is incredibly manipulative-- under "how plan B works" it says absolutely nothing about what it does to a woman's body, or a pregnancy-- which is precisely what a woman wants to know if she clicks on that link-- it only ambiguously "assures" women that Plan B is not an "abortion pill".

Having just finished a paper on contraception for a conference, I am precisely the last 26-year-old woman who wants to see this advertisement on a website that serves as a radio station.

Poor Clare Kirsten!

Friends-
I interrupt my normal non-blogging-ness to make this short announcement: I just received a card about Kirsten (Sr. Flower... or something like that). She will receive her habit as a novice in the Poor Clares on November 1st. I'll miss her parlor visit day but I'm definitely making it to the mass in Alexandria. Anyone with me?

Saying Goodbye

My friends know how I feel about saying goodbye: I don't like it, not one bit.

This summer has brought many goodbyes. Matt and Lucy (Sr. Sea) and their son, John-Matthew, are moving back to Houston on Friday. Their departure leaves this achy, sad, empty thing in me even though I know it's for the best and that they must go. I want heaven now.

NFP vs. Contraception

My students are so cool. They gave me the tip about these videos on NFP vs. contraception.

(They just took a test on that-- I love my job.)

More friends!

Above: Fr. Scalia directing bishops

Below: You can see Fr. James Cuddy, OP and Fr. David Sharland

Sisterly Sightings

Sister Joan Marie (center) and Sister Maris Stella (lower right) of the Sisters of Life order celebrate after meeting Pope Benedict XVI following an ecumenical prayer service at the Church of St. Joseph in New York on April 18, 2008. The Pope addressed 250 Protestant and Orthodox leaders and 50 Catholics involved in ecumenical efforts. The parish was founded in 1873 to serve German immigrants in the area.
(Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images)















Look closely at the bottom center and you can see our Rachel who I'm sure is talking to Sr. Mariana as the Sisters of Mary were also present at the Pope's address to youth and seminarians at Dunwoodie Seminary.
(Photo from Ivy Catholic's blog)

Wretched Reunion

March 13-16 was a Come & See weekend for the Sisters of Life and as an added bonus, a mini-reunion for several Wretches in various discernment stages. Pictured clockwise starting from the left is Shamrock, Fire (Rachel, S.V. postulant), Dawn, Light and Sr. Joan Marie (Rain).

Light was gracious enough to play the song she wrote inspired by St. Therese for all of us as it has become a favorite amongst the postulants (my apologies for the bootlegness of this video).

Our dear Rachel passed along an incredible piece of text written by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI on the root of our wretchedness,

"In what does man's wretchedness actually consist? Above all in his insecurity; in the uncertainties with which he is burdened; in the limitations that oppress him; in the lack of freedom that binds him; in the pain that makes his life hateful to him. Ultimately there is, behind all this, the meaninglessness of his existence that offers satisfation neither to himself nor to anyone else for whom it might have been necessary, irreplaceable, consequential. We can say, then, that the root of a man's wretchedness is loneliness, is the absence of love - is the fact that my existence is not embraced by a love that makes it necessary, that is strong enough to justify it despite all the pain and limitations it imposes...What man needs is a communion that goes beyond that of the collective; a unity that reaches deep into the heart of man and endures even in death. The human unity that man requires by nature must know how to answer the problem of death in which it must find its truest confirmation...Man cannot identify himself with God, but God has identified himself with man - that is the content of the communion that is offered us in the Eucharist. A communio that offers less offers too little."

Article worth reading

From the Post Magazine, about marriage amidst suffering: The Vow

Project Clean out Closet: Accomplished

Here you see a picture of my closet. WIth the exceptions of coats/jackets, every piece of clothing I own is in there,

and boy does it feel great.