The End!

What stands out to me the most is that other girls, who go to the same school, are raised in the same way about Catholicism as i am (due to mount) can have such different opinions. They can be on opposite sides of the spectrum, but that doesn't mean that i have a right to criticize them. It made me realize that no matter what other people's opinions are, i should not judge them, for it is not in my place. I should love them and be respectful of the, because in the end the ultimate judge is God.

Some things that i have learned about myself, even though they may not seem good, is that i don't necessarily agree with everything that the Catholic Church preaches. It has kind of helped me realize that i want to almost build my own path and believe what i think is right, not to just believe everything the church says because i'm "supposed to." What i can take forward with me as i go on from this class is that i don't always have to agree with people because i am supposed to. I have taken from this class that it doesn't matter if i don't believe what other people believe, but that God will always love me for me as long as i love others like he (she?) does.

I can expand my space of waiting to make more room for Jesus by taking time out of my day to think about the little things that i can do to make him happy, to make God happy, and to make others happy. I can slow down and take time out of my day and reflect upon what i've done, and what i have failed to do as well.

I can take time to soak in this "waiting" by really realizing what i have, and not taking it for granted. I can take this time to pray and work on my weakness instead of just ignoring them and moving on to the next thing.

Religious Freedom

I think that theology attempts to intersect with politics because they are trying to voice their own opinion as well. Especially in the HHS mandate, they are saying that it is a violation of civil rights and their right to practice what they want. Although i do think that some of their ideas or thoughts about birth control and other thinks can be at times very extreme, i think that they are doing the right thing by arguing back with this new mandate because they do not agree with it. I personally haven't learned anything really outside of this class besides a little bit about the HHS mandate at church and because i have asked my parents about it. My reaction is that i think they are doing the right thing by saying that they should not be forced to basically provide birth control or abortions to people. Like i said earlier, although i do think that their ideas are at times radical, they are still given the right, just like every other human being, to practice what they want. I do not think that they should be forced to provide birth control due to this new HHS mandate since it is not what the Catholic Church believes. If someone wants birth control, i am sure that they can easily acquire it from another health insurance or from somewhere else.

Love Being Loving

When i read this article i actually found it really interesting; the concept of not necessarily being here to fall in love or to learning to love, but to loving being loving. I never really thought of it that way, that we shouldn't really be looking to fall in love as much as we do, because we are here to love people the way that God loves us, without any rewards or anything back. We should love people regardless of what is given to us in return, or what isn't given to us in return as well. I also thought it was interesting that they say that love has no beginning, object or end, rather, it was always with us and no matter what we know that God will always love us regardless of our mistakes.

The Domestic Church

Ever since i was little, my family and i always went to church together, every sunday. We were raised that we can give God 1 hour of our time once a week in order to reflect and talk to God, but like the council says, i believe that the parents are to be the first preachers of faith. They are the ones that teach their kids right and wrong, love and respect; something my parents have always taught me. I personally believe that it is important to have a solid family foundation of love and trust more than actually going to church. I believe that kids and people learn by example, not necessarily by going to church every Sunday. Sone of the cons of the changing structure of marriage and family is that now, people find it more acceptable to move in with their partner before their married, and that it is okay to have a child before you are married. Not that it is necessarily wrong, but by getting married you join a commitment greater than yourself, and you show your children that you and your spouse are part of a team and will always be there for each other, no matter what. Some of the pros of marriage and family now are that the spouses more respect each other. I believe that woman are more respected now and i also believe that families are joining together more. Instead of making the kids do certain chores, in modern times, parents will do more things with their kids to spend more time with them. People that are more likely to get married because they have a college degree means to me that by having a college degree, i am ready for more challenges and will not give up when faced with difficulty. To me, it means that i will be more prepared and responsible to have a husband and kids. And yes, i feel compelled to one day establish the "domestic church" in my home.

Dating and Marriage

My intentions in a relationship are to find someone that i can be myself with. My intentions are to find someone that truly care for me and loves me and for me to care for them and love them back as well. I want to find someone that i would do anything for and they would do the same in return. I look for someone who is caring, trusting, loyal, and honest and i hope that this person would unconditionally love me no matter what struggles would come up. .I personally do not think that those bad intentions in a relationship reflect Christian values. As a Christian, we were raised to love our enemies, not get praised for everything that we do. If those are the intentions of some Christians, then they probably shouldn't be getting married none the less be Christian. I do think that these intentions are found in modern society, but not always. The only people that have theses intentions in a relationship are the self centered ones that don't know the meaning of true love. Although, we do see it in the media and on the News all the time of how people marry other rich people just for their money or other materialistic items. Overall, i don't see this happen in relationships unless the person is a bad and non caring person.

Dating: There's a Point!

I think the claim that dating is a "practice for divorce" is completely absurd. I have never met anyone that has not dated and gotten married or engaged. In order to marry someone, don't you normally need to date them and know who they are? Dating is a way to help you find yourself and find who suits you best. Sometimes people date up to ten people before they find their true love and the one that they want to spend the rest of their life with. Also, i agree with Donna Freitas and Jason King’s view of dating. I agree that through dating, we learn a lot about ourselves and about who we see ourselves with., even if there is a lot of heart breaks along the way. On the contrary, i think that this "hook up culture" in colleges is leading to an extremely negative result. It isn't letting the person get to actually know the other person and it does not let them be intimate with the one they love, more over just fulfill their sexual pleasures. Now a days, hooking up in college is leading to more people getting hurt and feeling used and abused then actually feeling loved and happy. Dating is an essential part of life that one needs to undergo if they are searching for "the one" in their lives.

My Season of Lent

To me, ever since i was young i would always give up some materialistic item, like chocolate, soda (for the past 3 years), facebook, or things of those sorts. A couple of days ago i was reading an article about how a man was giving up smoking for the 40 days. He said in his article that he was not doing it for his health, or for himself, but for God. It opened my eyes and made me realize that we're not just "giving something up" but rather, we're doing it for God. To me, Lent means giving up something, or doing something, for God, not for yourself and others and myself have often done by mistake. This Lenten season, i am trying to argue less with my sister, and do one small thing every day to help someone else, whether it's holding a door or helping someone clean up a spilled drink. I realized that when someone does that one kind thing to me in can honestly make my day so i would like to return the favor to others. I want to argue less with my sistre because it makes my parents (as well as myself and God im assuming) happy and less relaxed. This Lenten season, i am trying to do little things to help others out, not just myself.