These Forty Days

Happy Ash Wednesday! Today is my absolute favorite Catholic holiday, with the Advent season as a close second. Some may find it silly that we make a big deal of going to Mass and then parading around with ashes on our forehead for the rest of the day, which depending on when you go to Mass can be quite long. We get strange looks, the inevitable "You have something on your face" comment, and there are always those times we feel judged. Maybe you think it's showy, maybe it offends you (God forbid that happen in this day and age), but honestly, I take pride in my ashes and I encourage all of my fellow Catholics to do the same. Let me tell you why. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a 40 day fast period before Easter. Before the day we celebrate the Lord being crucified and rising from the grave. FOR US. He did all of that for us. He suffered, he endured, he struggled. He was whipped. He was mocked. He even wore a crown of thorns. All for you and I, His brothers and sisters who are hopeless sinners and can only strive to be as great as Him. So really the least we can do as mere human beings is to parade around once a year bearing the humbling sign of Him in ashes on our foreheads. As you receive your ashes the priest says, "You are dust and to dust you may return." That statement is humbling on so many levels. We come from nothing; we are made of the very ground that we walk and spit on, but we were worth dying for. As mentioned in the readings today, Lent is a time of rebirth; it's a period when you can wipe your slate clean and begin new, so make the most of it.

As I mentioned before, Lent (the 40 day period that Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of) is a period of fasting. The church challenges us to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent while also participating in a fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. These are thought to be a minimum and you are encouraged to "give up" something else during the period. Over the years I've given up dessert, candy, fast food, Twitter, even Netflix (which truly does increase productivity and grades, imagine that). This year I have obtained a sort of candy addiction, so that is what I will be fasting from over the next 40 days. In addition to fasting from some things, you can also set goals for yourself. I try to set religious goals as a way to go the extra mile, so this year I decided to start praying a daily Rosary and I am going to try to make it to Adoration and the Stations of the Cross one Friday.

You may ask why we make all this fuss. In the Catholic Church we celebrate Advent to prepare our hearts for the Christmas holiday and bring our focus on the birth of Jesus Christ. Lent is similar in that we are preparing for Jesus Christ, except this time it is to celebrate his rising. We have a 40 day period because it is symbolic of the 40 days in the Bible that Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by Satan. Our fast during Lent is reciprocal of His sacrifice for us; this time we are the ones making a sacrifice. Your Lenten promises are meant to challenge you, they are not meant to be easy. We are supposed to be tempted by the things we give up. That's the whole point. So this Lent challenge yourself, don't do the same thing you always do or give up something that will not be difficult for you. Go that extra because Jesus sure went above and beyond for you.

Britt's reading corner: Since most of my current reading material involves textbooks my suggestion for you is to read a little of the Bible everyday. (Maybe make this your Lenten promise) It can be very comforting.

Until next time my friends,
B

Answering the Call

As I was saying my prayers tonight I felt one of those rare times when you are completely and totally in tune with God. I felt absolutely certain that He was on the other end of the conversation and was listening loud and clear to the prayers I was sending up. The prayer for a loving, God-fearing husband who loves God so much that I will never doubt his love of me or our family. The prayer of my calling and what I feel my future will involve.

I think often about my future. I'm always planning ahead as far as classes, summers, medical school, there's always something; there is always a next step. There has never been much doubt as to what field I wanted to be in when I grow up. I've always been pulled to the medical field and I feel that God wants and needs me there. I have a special soft spot for kids and God-willing I will dedicate my life to helping sick children get better. That's not all I want though.

I want more.

I want to be a wife. I want to be a mother. I want to make an impact in my community. Society tells me I shouldn't be content with only being a mother or a wife, and that I should want more because I am a 21st century woman and by being content with those things is to undo what women have fought so hard for for the past 50 years. So what. God put woman on Earth to be man's companion. He made it so that a woman can carry a child. This is what we were made for first and foremost and that is what I want to be first and foremost. I want to be the best wife and mother I can be to my future family. Yes, I absolutely want to be a successful pediatrician and surgeon, and I hope that I can have a wonderful career in medicine and make a difference in the world through my work. But at the end of the day I will also be my husband's wife. I will carry his name as will our children, and they will be my greatest accomplishment. It doesn't matter to me what scientific feat I solve or improve if I haven't dedicated it to God because even that cannot compare to the greatness of raising a family in the church and the rewards I will get from teaching them about the Lord and watching them grow in their own faith. I want more than to just be successful in the workplace, I want everything I do to reflect my faith and I want my life's work to be dedicated to God in every way. 

This isn't about gender to me, this is about answering the call that God has instilled in my heart: the calling to be a mother and a wife before anything else, and being a doctor second. To answer the call. 

I can't see a baby without having my heart melt and wonder about my own kids someday. Most nights I pray for my future husband because even if I haven't met him yet I know he's somewhere out there, and I pray for him. God calls us each to different paths; some of us are called to service in the priesthood or monastery, some are called to marriage, and some are called to be single, but to still live in service to God. No matter the call that you feel, it's up to you to follow through with it.

So go forth and prepare your hearts for Lent, and eat your hearts out on Fat Tuesday.

Peace be with you,

B

Here's to College

Well guys, it's Saturday night. I've got the anthem of the night playing in the background already (Friends), a bag of tortilla chips and salsa, and a juice box because let's face it I'm really a child in a 19 year old's body. The semester has hit hard at this point and it's been a long week of studying, so
here's to a night of me.

College is great. It changes your whole life really. There are good days, and there are bad. There are days you feel like you can conquer anything, and days you feel like nothing worse can happen. You meet incredible people. You maybe even get to see new places. That being said I have an announcement!!

I AM GOING TO SPAIN. THIS SUMMER.

I could not be more excited! I will be studying for 6 weeks in Granada, Spain from June-July. This is something I never could have imagined doing, but am so ecstatic about. I may have mentioned before, but if not, I am minoring in Spanish. This will be an amazing experience to improve my language skills.

Back to the post about college though. I'm sure you're wondering why a 19 year old college kid is laying on her couch contently on a Saturday night watching a 90s sitcom. It's because 1) I love Joey, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, and Monica and 2) because sometimes in college you need a break.
I love people, but sometimes I need to be alone for a night to just think and be with me. Since I came to college I realized what it means to be an individual. In college, you don't have anyone telling you what to do or what's cool or how you should act; you just do your own thing. I have made incredible friends that I never could've made in high school. I have so many memories that I have made here and I love it. Even the weeks that I have 3 tests and homework and a writing assignment due, it's not so bad. I power through it and make it to the weekend. College makes you sad and cry and sometimes you kinda wanna hide under your covers all day, but some days it makes you so happy and you wonder how you got here. My favorite thing to do walking across campus is to just look around and take things in (if it's a nice day).

College is a place to discover you. Do what you want. Do what makes you happy. You're the only one who can. The days you think you just can't do it anymore, just keep going. Put one foot in front of the other and keep going. It'll get better eventually, it may be tomorrow or next week or next month, but it will get better. I promise.

Until next time friends,
B