El Camino de Santiago

"Everyone walks The Way in their own way."

Everyone lives their own life, with their own struggles, their own joys, and their own way of dealing with things. "The Way" chronicles how everyone experiences their own life journeys, and it also depicts how beautiful and amazing it can be when different people's life journeys converge on their way to a common goal. I love this concept about the Camino; how everyone can get something out of it. Even if, like Tom, they aren't completely sure why they're doing it, the Camino can change any person's life. 

As Tom set out on the Camino, he is originally just trying to cope with the loss of his son. By scattering his ashes across the Camino, he is trying to honor his memory. However, after he meets Yoast, the fat Dutchman, the Irish writer, and the mean American smoker, Tom's purpose begins to change. He examines his own life, his relationship with his son, and his own spirituality.

In the end, the Camino changes everyone who walked it. This movie inspired me to go out and live my life, like Tom's son. Even though he abandoned his Doctorate degree to go travel the world, he found happiness that he had never known before. I hope that I can embody his spirit, and focus on the things that matter in this world. Someday, I hope to go on the Camino myself. 

On the Morality of In Vitro Fertilization

After viewing the dateline special on IVF and reading the US Catholic article about IVF, what are the pros and cons of IVF?  How does the Church's teaching about IVF inform your opinion?  Does the financial cost of IVF affect your opinion on the morality of the practice? 

Pros: 

• Hopefully, the birth of a happy, healthy baby!
• Bringing new life into the world and into a marriage
• Allows couples to have their own biological children
• High success rate

Cons

• Expensive
• Unpredictable: physical and medical uncertainty
• Considered inherently unnatural and immoral by Catholic and Protestant Church
• Stressful process to go through
• Health of mother and child could be at risk

Reading the US Catholic article on IVF definitely informed my opinion about the procedure. I knew that the Church does not approve of the practice because it believes that children should only be the result of sex within marriage. However, I did not know that the Church approves of several other fertility treatments such as "the use of drugs to increase the number of eggs produced, surgery to eliminate blockages in the husband's or wife's body, and gamete inta-fallopian transfer (GIFT.)" This revelation caused me to wonder why the Church has approved of some of these practices, yet continues to condemn IVF as immoral. Their reasons against IVF include the interference with conception and the sexual act, the potential death of embryos, and the use of masturbation and pornography that is often used to obtain the sperm necessary for the procedure. While the Church's reasons certainly affect my view of IVF, the sheer cost is another factor that must be accounted for. I do approve of the use of IVF to bring a new child of God into the world, but I wonder if the excessive cost makes it a worthwhile procedure. Spending $100,000 dollars to have a child that is biologically yours seems less noble than adopting a child and donating that money to charity. Still, I do not think that IVF is an inherently immoral practice, although it certainly can be used immorally.

Word of the Year

I loved Bethany Welch's reflection. We tend to review our years in terms of what was accomplished: how much weight did we lose, how much money did we earn, where did we go, etc. However, the idea of looking at your year through a lens of love is very profound and moving. When we ask ourselves how much love we gave and how much we received, we are truly looking at how well we have lived during the last year. The quote from Pope Francis she used was especially powerful: " Love now becomes concern and care for the other. No longer is it self-seeking, a sinking in the intoxication of happiness; instead it seeks the good of the beloved." 

The word I would choose to describe my life during 2013 would be growth. I've been blessed to experience so many things this year that have changed me as a person and caused me to mature. I went to Mississippi and Haiti on service trips, I survived the stress of applying to college, I helped my family through my grandfather's illness. During 2014 I look forward to growing even further and becoming a better, wiser, and happier person.

I LOVE THIS WEBSITE SO MUCH

 This piece of art speaks for itself. On one hand, I do believe that God has a plan for all of us, and that He has a path picked out for us. However, I personally just can't leave everything up to God. I have to feel like I'm doing some of the work! That's why I love this comic so much, because it perfectly pins down the battle going on in each of us every day, the battle between goodness and evil. Sure, this battle may be as simple as deciding whether to spend an hour on Facebook or an hour on ZenPencils, but this struggle defines us. I try to read this proverb often, so that I'm reminded to keep fighting against the most important opponent there is: myself.

OK I had a hard time choosing this comic because there are SO MANY GREAT ONES on the site!!
Here are my other faves if you want to look at them :)
http://zenpencils.com/comic/theodore-roosevelt-the-man-in-the-arena/
http://zenpencils.com/comic/17-frank-herbert-litany-against-fear/
http://zenpencils.com/comic/131-c-p-cavafy-ithaka/
http://zenpencils.com/comic/102-timothy-leary-you-arent-like-them/

He's Just Not That Into You

The first couple I want to talk about is Janine and Ben. During our VHS course we talked about how finances and money play a role in relationships. In the case of this married couple, finances obviously play a huge role in their somewhat dysfunctional relationship. Although they have had problems communicating and connecting on an emotional and physical level, they are both reluctant to end the relationship. Even though Ben is cheating on Janine, she initially wants to forgive him and mend the relationship. Perhaps the reason they are both so invested in their dying relationship is that they have invested so much financially in their lives together. They live together, and are redoing their apartment together. Maybe the reasons they are staying together are not solely emotional but also include practical concerns such as the division of their considerable financial assets.

The second character I want to discuss is the character who I think I share the most similarities with. Gigi and I are both awkward, peppy, and super obsessed with boys (I'm only semi-kidding.) In all seriousness, while the way Gigi acts is obviously taken to the extreme, I think that there are many girls who feel the same desperation to be wanted. Our culture sends the subliminal message that we are not good enough as we are, and we have to work really hard to get a guy to like us. That's why Gigi is my favorite character. Sure, she's a little too much sometimes, but her genuine search for true love is eventually what leads her to find the man of her dreams.

Finally, I think Scarlet Johansson's character demonstrates that you have to know yourself before you can have a relationship with others. She tries to have relationships with both Conor and Ben, but her relationships with both men fail because she does not really know herself. She doesn't value herself enough to demand that Ben break up with his wife, and she doesn't know what she wants in a relationship with Conor until he asks her to move in with him. I was happy when she decided to take a break from dating at the end of the movie. She finally realized that her relationship with herself is the most important relationship of all.

Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. SNOW.

As I'm writing this blog, I am sitting on my warm, cozy couch, looking out my arching living room window onto the snow covered meadow behind my house. This morning, I was grateful that we didn't have school. I was so thankful that I got to sleep for a few more hours and that I didn't have to brave the slippery roads at 6:30 in the morning. But more than that, I am grateful for the snow. For the beauty and purity of it. Watching the TED talks video really made me think about reflecting on the beauty of the world around me, especially on this almost magical snow day.
Louie Schwartzberg said in his video that, "Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates beauty and gratitude." This is so true, and nature also makes us appreciate each day we are given. Each and every day we live is a gift, and sometimes it takes 5 inches of snow for us to realize that. I am lucky that I watched this video today, and after I reflect on the beauty of the world around me for a little while, I am going to go play in the snow.

HAPPY SNOW DAY

Pope Francis is Awesome

Like Father James Martin, I am excited by Pope Francis's new vision of the Catholic Church: a vision of faith, love, positivity, openness, and care for the poor. The Pope is exhorting all of us to look at the Church in a new way and be open to positive changes. While he is not supporting the changing of actual Church teachings, he is advocating a new, more modern approach to centuries-old teachings. He also condemns modern society's "idolatry of money" and our "complacency." Frankly, I think that both of these evils do exist in our society, and I am happy that Pope Francis is talking about them and seeking to find solutions for these vices. 

Our society's celebration of "Black Friday" and the materialism of the holiday season in general is completely counter to what the Pope teaches in this latest apostolic exhortation. Not only does he condemn our preoccupation with money and materialistic gains, but he also says that we need to turn our focus from money to the care of the poor and needy. He challenges our priorities: daring us to give up our obsession with the things of this world and return our focus to the love, care, and faith that Jesus Christ himself practiced.