Friday, February 27, 2009

remind me to tell you

the story of the dead bird

"personalities are real"

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I am a Catholic

I think I used to be afraid to say I was Catholic; scared to fully embrace and acknowledge it. It was like if I said it out loud to other people, then it made it true and definite. By taking on the name, I also had to take on everything that it embodied. All the wrongs that the Church has committed and all of the doctrines that I still disagree with. I'm starting to learn that that's not the case. I can be "Catholic" to whatever extent makes me feel comfortable. No person that takes on a term of identity does it in the same way or with the same foci in mind. This also doesn't mean that it's okay to be a nominal Catholic. I should live out what I say I am, why else would I say it. I've lived in fear that other people would judge me by their understanding of what it is to be Catholic. But really, what else can they do? All each of us has is our own understandings of things. Hopefully we are each open enough to allow ourselves to be influenced by those we meet, to let our definitions of "words" be fluid enough to change and evolve, and to not let preconceived notions of distinct collective identities affect how we view each individual person. Therefore, I am Catholic. I'll take on whatever it entails and know that each day is different in how I choose to create myself and my identity.

Welcome to Lent, the time when everyone gets to choose how they want to embrace their Catholicism. I hope that each of you who feel most at peace when you are in a community of Catholic believers, or who just like the idea of this sacrificial season, is able to grow in your faith during the next six weeks. May the Spirit be with you now and always.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Interesting:

"This book, like probably every other typed document you have ever read, was typed with a QWERTY keyboard, named for the left most six letters in its upper row. Unbelievable as it may now sound, that keyboard layout was designed in 1873 as a feat of anti-engineering. It employs a whole series of perverse tricks designed to force typists to type as slowly as possible, such as scattering the commonest letters over all keyboard rows and concentrating them on the left side (where right-handed people have to use their weaker hand). The reason behind all of those seemingly counterproductive features is that the typewriters of 1873 jammed if adjacent keys were struck in quick succession, so that manufacturers had to slow down typists. When improvements in typewriters eliminated the problem of jamming, trials in 1932 with an efficiently laid-out keyboard showed that it would let us double our typing speed and reduce our typing efforts by 95 percent. But QWERTY keyboards were solidly entrenched by then. The vested interests of hundreds of millions of QWERTY typists, typing teachers, typewriter and computer salespeople, and manufacturers have crushed all moves toward keyboard efficiency for over 60 years."

- Jared Diamond, "Necessity's Mother"

Saturday, February 21, 2009

the Reader

go see it
and tell me what you think.

Me, well I wish that I were watching it again right now!
But I'm going on a FIELD TRIP!

To an undisclosed location! Whooooo!
I'm excited!
I'm wearing my overalls for the occasion.

Happy Sunny Saturday!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

because i realized that i never posted these:

FRJTZ!!! (1/10/09)














Thank you Joe!
(Chancho and I have been getting along dandily!)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Seekers reflection 2/17/09

Psalm 4
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
2 Answer when I call, my saving God. In my troubles, you cleared a way; show me favor; hear my prayer.
3 How long will you people mock my honor, love what is worthless, chase after lies?
4 Know that the LORD works wonders for the faithful; the LORD hears when I call out.
5 Tremble and do not sin; upon your beds ponder in silence.
6 Offer fitting sacrifice and trust in the LORD.
7 Many say, "May we see better times! LORD, show us the light of your face!"
8 But you have given my heart more joy than they have when grain and wine abound.
9 In peace I shall both lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me secure.


To me this psalm is about full and utter submission to and trust in God. It is almost as if the speaker has put all of his eggs in God's basket. He has complete stake in the Lord. It is a call to live completely within the grace of God, to try and live fully for God, with His Spirit always in your mind, heart, and soul.

In verse 7, the people, it seems are calling for God to prove his love. They need substantial evidence. They rejoice when the grain and wine are abundant. Yet, they allow their faith to rely solely on how they see God's material presence in their lives. As opposed to the speaker who just feels a divine presence and a oneness with the Lord because of his trust in Him.

This passage reminds me of the passage which involves children being brought to Jesus. When reading that passage, we discussed what it meant to have a childlike faith. I would say that the speaker in this psalm has faith like a child and the people to whom he refers have rational, adult-like faiths. They believe in God when they see, when they have evidence. Conversely, the speaker has full trust and believes just because it makes sense. Because believing brings him to the fullest sense of joy.

It definitely is not easy to understand why certain things happen or to allow ourselves to feel that God is constantly at work in our lives. But I do know that when I put more trust in the Lord, things seems to be more okay.

I know that the things I feel called to do and my decisions typically make more sense when I don't sit down to rationally decipher, categorize, and evaluate all the possible outcomes. If I perpetually question and ask "where is God?", then I will continually be looking for Him. Demanding to see Him makes finding Him too difficult. But if I just accept that I am called to do something, then God feels like He is right with me.

I recently finished an application for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Initially, I couldn't give a concrete answer as to why I wanted to apply for it and dedicate so much of my life to them. The more I thought about it and tried to understand my own motivations, the harder the application became. But when I finally told myself, "you know Juliette, you really want to do this. So just do it!", I was able to put into words my honest desires. I trusted that God knew me better than I know myself and that He would guide my hand. As long as I continue to live in full recognition of His active presence in my life, then I need no explanation or tangible, material signs of His love for me. Where the Spirit calls, there I shall go.

Items I've learned not to take for granted:

  • rainboots
  • public transportation (esp. BART)
  • jackets with hoods
  • flannel sheets
  • delicious tap water
  • tea kettles
  • nice strangers
  • compliments
  • expensive cheese
  • unconditional love
  • chapstick
  • mittens
  • pooky, fergus, and phyllis

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I just re-realized that

1. Barack Obama is actually the president. Wow, it's just so amazing. I voted for him! And he won! And he's holding press conferences and doing all of those presidenty things.

2. I'm graduating from COLLEGE in 3 1/2 months.

3. My thesis is nowhere near complete.

4. My best friend is getting MARRIED soon. Married, as in you live with that person forever.

5. I just applied to live in Nepal. That's in the Himalayas. It's SUPER cold there. I'm going to need a bigger jacket.

6. I'm legally old enough to drink alcohol. How odd.

7. I don't think I ever want to get married.

8. I don't pray often enough.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Thursday, February 5, 2009

trees Trees TREES!

Seekers Leadership Retreat at Muir Woods! (1/31)

my absolute favorite part of the trail! trees for days!








Justin looks like an important philosopher here!
Leadership Spring 2009 :-)

"One has to be alone, under the sky,
before everything falls into place
and one finds his or her own place
in the midst of it all.
We have to have the humility
to realize ourselves as part of nature."
-Thomas Merton



Monday, February 2, 2009

JVC

I just want to thank everyone who
endured,
contributed,
encouraged,
read through,
acted as a reference for,
and in general made me feel good about
my jvc application!

I finished it this evening and I feel really good about what I wrote. I feel like I expressed the sentiment that I had hoped to and that it was an honest articulation of myself. I really loved the process of filling out the application. It never felt tedious or purposeless. Everything had meaning to me. And even if I don't get accepted, I'm actually really happy I got to fill out the application. I think I know myself better now.

Here's a bit of what I wrote about my communal prayer life. This was one of my favorite questions to reflect on and then put into words:

Like many Catholics, I've attended mass every Sunday since I was a baby. When I lived at home, I would go with my family and since coming to college I either go by myself or with friends. I go to daily mass about once a week depending on my schedule or how my life is going. Mass helps me to center myself and feel connected to the entire Catholic community. Being able to sit and reflect, have communion, distribute communion as a Eucharistic minister, and sing hymns, all remind me of the active role God plays in my life everyday. I don't question why my life is the way it is. I just thank God for all of the good things in my life and accept that He knows why there is bad. I trust that bad or unfair things happen for a reason. I don't try to know everything; I merely ask that my faith be strengthened and my heart be widened. Therefore mass is vital in nourishing my relationship with God. I once told a close friend that going to mass with her and two other friends made me feel like I was in true communion with the Spirit. I felt like the bond God had produced within us was fully realized when we were celebrating mass together. Community prayer is such an uplifting and comforting experience. Hearing others offer up prayers of reflection during Seekers bible study or on retreats has strengthened my faith monumentally. To be able to hear what others need and what they are thankful for has served to broaden my understanding of how God works distinctly in each individual’s life. Many of my friends ask me to pray for them when they are going through a difficult situation and I also ask for prayers from them. This strengthens our relationship with one another and brings a positive energy in times when despair usually takes over. Communal prayer is one of the greatest blessings I have become a part of over the past few years.