You know you’re Catholic when…
That awkward moment when your teacher begins the prayer with, “Bless us, O Lord-” realizes his mistake, and the whole class laughs.
Thank you, President Towey (:
Dear Members of the Ave Maria University:
Today I issued a statement regarding the new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that will require Catholic colleges and universities to provide contraceptive services, including sterilization, as part of their health plans. Presently Ave Maria University does not provide such coverage because of our adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Bishop Frank Dewane issued a letter on January 31st that was read at all diocesan Masses and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged action. I have attached my statement to this email, and yesterday I videotaped a brief message on this same subject that you can see on our web site.
Ave Maria University is proud to subsidize our health care plan. Please be assured that I will do everything possible to make sure our employees continue to have access to health care insurance. The Board of Trustees will be meeting to discuss this matter and explore our options for legal remedy. I will be contacting our elected representatives and working with my colleagues in Catholic higher education to protect the University’s interests. The HHS mandate is unjust and must not stand.
I welcome your thoughts on this important matter. You can email me at president@avemaria.edu with any advice or reaction you have.
Please pray that this mandate is immediately rescinded and the University’s religious liberty rights are respected. On behalf of the University, I entrust this matter to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and her intercession.
Kind regards,
Jim Towey
President
I love going to a Catholic college.
We’re sitting in the classroom, Professor Ostermann passes out our music dictation final, and someone loudly says, “I need to pray.”
<3
Department Recitals
So out of 30 or so vocalists that I heard at the recitals a few weeks ago, seven were asked to sing at the departmental recital. And I’m one of them!
Color me excited! Oh my gosh.
Midterms must be really getting the best of me.
Everything is making me want to bawl.
All of these pro-life posts, Jon Scharfenberger’s death, the reunion between Penelope and Odysseus in the Odyssey, Jay’s texting me to ask to share an umbrella while we walk to Mass together in an hour… what’s the deal?
I know I’m sleep deprived, but not any more than normal. Maybe it’s just God’s reminder that as long as I’m learning and able to stay in school, the letter grade I get is just that - a letter.
Am I the only one who thinks there is about as much foreshadowing in real life as there is in the Bible? Father Mark always used to preach that students realize that they are more than their GPA, and that grades, while important, aren’t the most important thing. I’ve always tried my best in school, and my best has always supplied me with straight A’s. Now things are harder and I’m struggling, but I’m trying to remember that my GPA really isn’t the most important. I know that in my heart, but it’s difficult not to stress.
I just need to keep pushing through and doing my best, and you know what? Tears, whether they’re of sadness or of joy (today has been a mix of both), can be a very good thing. I’d rather feel joy with the rain than have a million A’s.
Power outage.
Around 2:00 this morning, I was sitting in one of the Goretti common rooms with Jay and all of the power went out. We didn’t think much of it because the backup generators put some of the safety lights on pretty quickly, but as we were leaving he asked one of the guys if the lights on their floor went out, too.
They told us that all of the lights in the city were out.
It was cool and freaky at the same time. I stopped at my dorm to drop some things off, but then we decided it would be fun to go exploring. The campus itself didn’t feel too different because of the backup generators. The hallway to my room was scary as heck, because the only lights that came on were the exit lights, so it was lit with a very dim red light. All of the stairwells had lights on, and the cafe and most of the student union was lit. It actually kind of bothered me that the lights in front of the oratory went out. I’m just so used to being able to see it all of the time that to look and see a dark space was worrisome. Lucky the key card things still worked so we were able to get in and out of places.
We ended up going to one of the balconies of the student union. The only lights we could see were two big lights from a plant near us and the elementary school. Everything else was dark. The stars from the balcony were beyond fantastic.
We sat up and talked for about an hour and a half before suddenly all of the parking lot lamps and town lights went back on. We stayed up for another hour and half, just being together.
The whole night was so sweet and romantic. I felt like I was in a movie.
The only sad part is that I just got an email saying the water might not be safe to drink and that we should boil our water to sanitize it. Yuck.
I haven’t taken pictures for the guys yet.
So I’m going to go out tonight before it gets too late and do some photography. (:
Successful shopping day on campus.
Divine Mercy Novena booklet, and a Padre Pio Novena booklet for Matt.
A Saint Helena prayer card.
A magnet for my mini-fridge of Jesus.
A small picture to put next to my desk when I’m studying of Mary and Jesus.
Measuring spoons for my hot chocolate! So cute. They say (from teaspoon to tablespoon), “…and a dash of joy,” “…and a dash of hope,” “…and a dash of love,” “…and a dash of faith.”
Lovelovelove.
I have THE best roommate ever.
That’s what it looks like outside my room right now. Pouuuuring rain. So what do Marykate and I do? Get in our swimsuits and run around, since we didn’t feel like walking all ten minutes to get dinner.
That means dinner’s getting pushed off, and I’m currently getting by on water, chocolate ice cream, Gardettos, and pepperoni.
I love college.
Tomorrow I’m officially a college student.
But tonight I saw an awesome band called Wasko and the Whiners and did laundry!
Really though. Getting up in seven and a half hours to get ready for breakfast. Then onto class! I hope tomorrow goes well. I have my audition for which choir I’m in. I know I’m capable of keeping up with the Chamber choir. I just wonder if I’ll get in.
Prayers would be greatly appreciated.
Dear followers,
I feel like I suddenly don’t know what’s going on in anyone’s lives anymore. This is like, the first time I’ve really been on since Wednesday. School has been keeping me so busy, and I haven’t even started classes yet. Orientation was crazy. I’ve BARELY been able to even text my best friends from home.
Today I’ve got mass, a run to Target with a bunch of other students, and going to see a band playing with some friends. It’s the lightest day I’ve had so far. Hopefully classes will be less time consuming than orientation! Seriously.
I miss all of you! Tell me how you’re doing. I mean it!
In Florida.
Disney World on Friday.
I should be more excited, but I’m exhausted and I miss my friends.
Leaving tomorrow.
Today’s been so emotional.
I can’t say that “I don’t want to go,” because it’s not that. I know how it feels when I would do anything to get out of a situation. My mom said I didn’t have to go to Ave if I didn’t feel ready. She gave me the option to get out. When I was debating whether or not I should do the endoscopy earlier this summer, all I needed to hear her say was, “I agree. You shouldn’t do it.” and I jumped at the opportunity.
(Speaking of which, I’ve been eating wheat for over a month now and only felt sick/threw up once, but it was easily the most stressful night of the summer and I had been running on a super lack of sleep. So I’d say I can officially rule wheat out of being my issue.)
I don’t want to back out. I know Ave is where I should go, and where I’ll grow in more ways than just intellect. But I’m scared. I’m so, so scared. I want to be able to bring everything that makes me feel safe with me. Heck, even if my mom and my dog could live in the same town, I’d feel so much better. But I’m going to feel so alone for a while.
I just have a really hard time opening up to people for a while because I’m afraid they won’t like me. I’m so shy. I care enormously much about what people - especially strangers - think about me. I’m afraid of looking like an idiot. I’m afraid of getting lost as I try to find my classes. I’m afraid of being late for one of my classes because I only have ten minutes to get there from the class I have before it. I’m afraid of being overwhelmed by work because they have big expectations of me. I’m afraid that I won’t measure up against the other musicians there.
The two times that I really cried today were both about my dog. I’ve never been away from her for more than two weeks. At least I can call/text/e-mail/Skype my mom. My dog won’t understand why I’m gone. I won’t be able to grab her and hug her like I want to.
Too many emotions. I feel like this is all surreal. I wish I could fast-forward a month to where I’m comfortable with whatever lifestyle I have and I’m not worried about things anymore.
Any prayers for for courage would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. That’s why I’ve been MIA for a while now. I’ve been running errands and packing a whole lot, and any time I had free went to my two best friends. You’ll forgive me.
Oh my.
I’m leaving for college in 17 days. This is unreal.
