— 1 —   This Week’s Post:   A Sacramental Life In Christ.  This post was long overdue and it felt good to finally capture all the beautiful ways Christ gives us to share in His own divine life.

— 2 —  Tardy Today:  My 7QTs are very tardy today because we were out late last night (9:00pm!) and we had to work today. Since I have committed to not working on blog stuff at work and because the home/family life was crammed this week, I am working on these 7 nuggets after work on Friday.  I will be way down in the 100’s on Jen’s linky-links this week!

 —3 —   Not Alone Series: This week’s topic was Surviving Events/Parties as a Singleton.  As usual, the NAS girls provided great suggestions on this topic.  One suggestion by Nikki was to “Help, be of service.”  Now, your response may be, “Hey, I am a guest at the party.  Just because I am single does not mean I have to always play the servant.”  I understand this response but please stay with me on this.  I would often ask the hostess if she would like me to show up early and help set up. That way, I would avoid the whole walking-in-by-myself-feeling-like-everyone-is-staring-at-single-me thing.  I would have a role at the party instead of feeling out-of-place and awkward.  The beauty of this advice?  It is strategic and kind to be of service.

— 4 —  Spotlight On #1:  This week’s spotlight #1 is on Allie Millette for her guest post over at the Life In The Gap blog.  You remember Allie, right?  She provided a wildly popular guest post for me back in October called “Friending.”  Her latest guest post, It Starts At Home, is especially poignant for those of us who have struggled or are struggling to give ourselves a break.  Tissue time.

“…but at the end of the day, what’s done is done and the only thing left to do is look in the mirror and say I love you, I’m sorry for abandoning you, and I forgive you. After all, how can we honestly expect for others to accept our offers of forgiveness when we can’t even face forgiving ourselves?…”

— 5 —     Spotlight On #2: Spotlight #2 is on Ann from A Holy Experience for her post about public proposals and Redefining Boring.  Personally, I think the public proposal thing is tacky. I know you girls think it is romantic but as an older gal may I please share with you that sometimes the biggest shows of love and commitment end up being the most fake and fragile.  I am not wishing bad on any of the couples who get engaged as a result of a huge public proposal.  I just cringe when I see these outlandish public proposals on Facebook because I feel concerned that an expectation is being placed in your hearts. Please, please read this woman’s blog post and embrace the boring.  I pray it helps you to raise and lower your expectations in the right areas of marriage and romance.

 “…How a man proposes isn’t what makes him romantic. It’s how a man proposes to lay down his life that makes him romantic.”  Ann

— 6 —   Anyone Need to Forgive an Ex-Boyfriend?  Hopefully, you still have the tissues out from Allie’s post because this post from The Evangelista is a tear jerker.  

“…Things were getting intense in that classroom. At this point, I was in tears, but I already felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. God’s grace was working in a powerful way. But then, Fr. James surprised me by going in an unexpected direction: he told me that we were going to do the exercise again, but that instead of imagining my ex-boyfriend in the chair opposite me, he told me I imagine that I was looking into a mirror. 

“Christina, I want you to look at the girl in the mirror. You’re angry at her aren’t you?”

[Tearfully] “Yes.”

“You’re even angrier at her than you are at your ex-boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” 

— 7 —Virgin and Martyr:  St. Cecilia, pray for us! Today is her feast day!    

God love and bless you!

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For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:   Dear Cindy ~ Discouraged and Tempted  This week I kicked off the Dear Cindy series by sharing a Reader’s question and my response to her question.  Next week I plan to explain what I mean when I advise you girls to strive for holiness through a Sacramental Life in Christ. 

— 2 —  Not Alone Series:  This week’s topic was Vulnerability with Friends.  Nikki from Catholic Heart for Home helped me to better relate to my single friends with one simple sentence:

“….she gives gentle and relevant support for the whole of me not just the want to get married part.”

Morgan from Follow and Believe concluded with the following:

“…My married/engaged friends are such great models of holy romances. They help me to know what I’m truly looking for in a relationship, what matters and what doesn’t. And you know what? While they might not be able to relate to my particular situation, they’ve had struggles of their own. Maybe I can learn from something they’ve had to deal with!”

 —3 —   Spotlight On #1:  I had a hard time choosing just one person to spotlight this week.  This week’s first spotlight is once again on Emily Stimpson.  I am getting a deeper understanding of the life-changing teaching of Theology of the Body through her book, These Beautiful Bones . Additionally, Emily continues to amaze me with her posts over at Catholic Vote.  Her latest, What Makes A Body Beautiful, makes me want to drive to Steubenville and give her a hug.   In a nutshell:  We can all be beautiful.  

— 4 —  Spotlight On #2:  I have been so blessed to ‘meet’ amazing girls through the blog world and one of my favorites is Celeste from Sacred Sharings for The Soul.  She is somewhat stealthy but if you only knew the dedication she has to teaching young girls about the virtue of chastity!  She is young and wise and is the perfect role model for young girls.  Have you seen any of her gorgeous posts? This week, she asked this ‘hit you in the gut’ question:

“In moments of spiritual desolation it is important to ask ourselves this very question “Are we in love with all the good things of God, or the God of all good things?”

— 5 —   Spotlight on #3:  This week’s spotlight #3 is on Maura from Made In His Image.  Maura most likely needs no introduction but in the event you do not know her, I featured her on my 7QTs back in March.  This week she shared a post called:  To The Broken and Beautiful Girl.  Don’t click without a Kleenex in hand!

Maura also Tweeted this truth:   “The man God has for you will say, “I’ve seen you at your worst and I’m staying.”

— 6 —   Spotlight On #4:  Mandy from Messy Wife, Blessed Life writes about the revelation she made after her recent miscarriage in her guest post, When Our Good and Holy Plans Fall Through:

“…That large family may be in our future still, but I no longer make assumptions.  Because for the first time, I’ve stopped thinking that I know what God has planned for me.  And I’ve stopped making plans for myself.  And for the first time, I feel much more receptive to God’s will; when I stop telling Him of my plans, I leave room to be able to hear His.”

— 7 — The Troops of St. George:  Gregg is taking our son on a hike tomorrow with the new troop from our parish!  Can I get an ‘Amen!’ on the need to infuse future men with virtue, decisiveness and integrity!?! 

Who are the Troops of Saint George?

“…We are a Catholic apostolate for Catholic men and their sons. We are Catholic first above all else. Our campouts feature the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the sacrament of Confession, and time-honored Catholic devotions.

We are not interested in arts and crafts or meetings for the sake of meetings. Rather, we’re interested in meeting the challenges of being a godly and Christian man for our wives, children, grandchildren, and culture. We want our sons to become true men infused with virtue, decisiveness, and integrity….”

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow“ button. Please check me out and follow me on Twitter too! Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:   Freedom in Self-Control   May you be richly blessed by the words of Dietrich von Hildebrand!

— 2 —  Dear Cindy:  This is a new series that will include your questions and my answers!  Next week, I will answer the most common question I receive from my 30+year-old Readers:  “Is it too late and what advice can you give me on how not to fall into despair?”

 —3 —   Spotlight On:  This week’s spotlight is once again on Emily Stimpson.  As you know, I am reading her book, These Beautiful Bones and I plan to write a review of it soon.  If any of you have ever struggled with body image and your relationship with food (my hand is raised), Emily’s article, What The Pope Taught Me About Food And Sex, is for you.  The article gives you a foretaste (get it?) of her fabulous book!

— 4 —  Lady Alice von Hildebrand: This week’s post had a quote from Dietrich von Hildebrand.  His wife, Alice, is another very strong inspiration for me.  She was recently invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. I just love her.

 — 5 —     Not Alone Series:  This week’s topic was Favorite Single-People Sites and Posts and was hosted by Morgan.  Check out the awesome resources these girls have pulled together!  I felt honored to be listed in Jen’s post, Britt’s post and Nikki’s posts.  Thank you so much! 

— 6 —   The Veil Theory:  Morgan’s post this week led me to Verily Magazine and this article by Monica Gabriel.    As I was reading it, the concept of The Veil just jumped out at me.  A guy can be attracted to you and not pursue you and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  Frustrating, yes. I love what she wrote at the end:

“…Now whenever I begin criticizing Mr. Totally Into Me for missing his cue, I check my pride and give him the benefit of the doubt. I simply ask myself one question: is he pursuing me? If the answer is no, then he is just a man who is attracted to a woman which is, as I understand it, about as unique as a moth drawn to a flame.

So I have stopped worrying about the guys who are attracted to me and have turned my attention solely to the men who pursue me–no more psychoanalysis, no more prideful wound licking.”

— 7 — Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church:  This is a great commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel by this Saint and Doctor of the Church: 

The Three Parables of Mercy

“It is not without purpose Saint Luke has set three parables before us one after the other: the sheep that was lost and was found, the drachma that was mislaid and was found, and the prodigal son who was dead and came back to life, so that, encouraged by this threefold medicine, we might heal our wounds… Who are the father, the shepherd, the woman? Are they not God the Father, Christ and the Church? Christ who took your sins on himself carries you in his body; the Church goes looking for you; the Father welcomes you home. Like a shepherd he brings you back; like a mother it seeks you out; like a Father he clothes you. Mercy first of all, then rescue, and finally reconciliation.

Each of these details is appropriate to each one: the Redeemer comes to our help, the Church rescues, the Father reconciles. The mercy of the divine work is the same but the grace differs according to our worthiness. The wearied sheep is brought back by the shepherd, the missing drachma is found again, the son retraces his steps to his father and returns wholly repentant for the wandering off he rejects…

So let us be glad that this sheep who strayed in Adam has been restored in Christ. Christ’s shoulders are the arms of the cross, it is there I have set my sins, on the noble neck of that gibbet have I found rest.”

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow“ button. Please check me out and follow me on Twitter too! Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —   This Week’s Post:  The 3-Date Rule    I hope the post cleared up some of the confusion!  

— 2 —   Next Week’s Post:  I get so many great questions from you girls.  Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to post my responses to Reader’s questions!  Don’t worry, the details will be changed to protect privacy.  The best one was when a girl asked me what I thought about her dating situation.  I told her I thought she should break up with the guy.  Then….ahh…you have to come back and see what happened!  I am also excited about some guest posts in the future!

 —3 —   Not Alone Series: This week’s NAS topic was Settling.  To settle or not to settle.  That was the question!  Morgan’s post from Follow and Believe was especially good.  It also helped that she gave me a little shout out.  ha ha.  No, I think I am being impartial.  All of the posts were great and none of the girls seemed to considered settling an option.  I have my own post on expectations and how I wondered the same thing when I was single.  Morgan nailed it though when she described the struggle that ensues when one is tempted to settle:

“…We all have moments of weakness where thoughts of “my standards are too high” or “no one will ever meet my expectations” or “all the great guys are taken” creep in…which then lead us to thinking/considering that maybe, just maybe, we should lower our standards and be more “realistic”.”

— 4 —  Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on Hallie from Moxie Wife for her spotlight on her husband’s gorgeous words about marriage:

 “The assignment for this chapter was to provide some hope for married people. One cause for hopelessness may lie in these facts: the supernatural grace given in the Sacrament of Marriage exists in union with everyday life; the latter is visible, the former is invisible; the latter is prosaic, the former is profound; the latter is frustrating and cruel, the former is the life of God breathing peace and charity. These are opposite things. Only God knows how to weave them together so that the latter is taken up into the former and perfected—how can we regular folk, who are year in and year out writhing in pain to bring forth children or toiling with sweaty faces to coax thorn-covered crops from the cursed ground, be expected to worthily live the vocation of marriage that God gives to us?”

— 5 —   The Virgin Mary:  Did you see this?  

— 6 —   Braces:  Our son got braces this week.  He is not quite 9 years old and it is a small but critical correction that should only take 6 months. Neither Gregg nor I had them so we had very little experience to go on.  He looks adorable in them. Although the adjustment has been hard for him, he has been a trooper! 

 — 7 — Shout Out To TVOC:  Sarah Thérèse is a new contributor over at the very popular blog, Catholic Young Women.  Well, imagine my excitement when I realized that in her latest post she referred the girls to The Veil of Chastity blog.  If you haven’t already, check out this fabulous blog.  9 different young, Catholic women contribute to the blog which was started in 2007.  There are 59 posts alone on the topic of Singleness and Waiting!  Great stuff. Thank you for the shout out my sweet friend, Sarah Thérèse!

God love and bless you!

p.s.  Today is the First Friday of the month and I will be praying for those of you on my Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer list during Adoration of our Lord!  If you want to be added to my list, write to me or comment and I will pray for you every week!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

If you have enjoyed my blog, please “like” my Facebook Page, The Veil and sign up to receive my blog posts automatically by clicking the rectangular “Follow“ button. Please check me out and follow me on Twitter too! Thank you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!