Seven Quick Takes VII: Linkses!

So I'm in the middle of another crazy couple of weeks with too many things to do, too little attention to do them with, and that panicky feeling that a deadline is gonna jump out of nowhere and hit me over the head with something.

To maximize my limited attention, I'm going to leave you with a bunch of links to interesting articles and blog posts. You're welcome.

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How to Become an Annoying  Catholic (In Eight Easy Steps)

If you were paying attention last week, you’ll recall from my newsy little post on Friday, that Pope Francis has charged Catholics with asking the Holy Spirit for “the grace to be annoying.” His words. Not mine.

I know what you’re thinking: Easy, peazy lemon squeazy, right? Not right. Admittedly, that was my first reaction too. “Yes!” I thought. “Finally a grace that comes naturally to me. I don’t even have to pray for this one.”

I love easy to read posts like this with plenty of Catholic memes, and enough actual practical food for thought.  (Also, interesting fact: #3 is kind of why I wore a nose ring for the past ten years.)

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The Ramblings of Crazy Face

I love this blog because it is a big slice of the authenticity I keep talking about. This is real life, broken, messy, confusing, hard... and into this mess comes the healing grace of God. If you're not drowning, why do you need a Saviour? Leticia is a far from typical Catholic blogger, and that makes her story that much more interesting.

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The Catholic's response to homosexuality is really confusing. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Treat people who struggle with same sex attraction with 'respect, compassion, and sensitivity'. But we cannot support or approve homosexual relationships as a normal or healthy way of life, because we believe that isn't God's plan for men and women. We also have the same belief about divorce, premarital sex and live-in relationships- that they go against God's plan for us, and do not allow us to be truly happy and fulfilled.

But we don't contest the existence of civil divorce. So why do we oppose 'gay marriage'. which is essentially a civil union? Now that gay marriage is in the news a lot, we have to figure out what we're saying, and why.

Marc Barnes from Bad Catholic writes a thought-provoking post about this:

The Difficulty With Engaging Gay Marriage

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Speaking of homosexuality (which seems unavoidable in this day and age), here's someone who has helped shaped many Catholics' perspective on the gay debate- Steve Gershom, who struggles with same-sex attraction, but is also convinced about the truth of Church's teaching of homosexuality. He writes honestly about his struggles, and he also calls us all to learn how to accept each other's weaknesses and brokenness, and to open our hearts to them.

Hearts of Flesh

That’s our job, as Christians: to live in such a way that our friends will know, as Jesus’ friends must have known, that nothing could make us run away from them. Since my friends are good men and women, there’s always somebody I can go to when things get heavy. There’s always ten somebodies. They help me bear my burdens and I help them bear theirs; and, having shared burdens, we are better able to share joys.

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I love to think and talk about emotional chastity, because it is something so relevant to most women. What always surprises me is that so few Catholic women talk about this danger. It's considered normal to go through one desperate crush after another, (which I regularly did when I was younger) and it's like we had no idea that it was even possible to 'guard our hearts'.

Stephanie Calis shares an honest (you notice how this is a recurring theme on my blog?), funny, and wise take on infatuation, sentimentality and the emotional aspect of chastity.

Chastity is more than physical

At the weekly prayer group we were both part of, each person would state their intentions before we prayed the Rosary together. "I'd like," he said, "to pray for my girlfriend." Slam. There went my heart. Somehow I made it through the next hour, then promptly left in search of a place to empty my dangerously full tear ducts. My college is over 200 years old, founded by a priest and featuring four chapels. All of them were occupied. After half a frustrated hour of trying to find somewhere empty, I settled on the back pew of the main chapel, where a grief group was meeting far away from me, up front (maybe I should've joined them?).

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Warning: Shameless self-promotion ahead

Are you an introvert? Do you have friends and family who just. don't. get. it? Send them some guidelines to get how to relate to you, and avoid all (okay, a lot of) the frustration of the typical introvert-extrovert relationship.

How an Introvert Socializes

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And this is just for laughs... or uncontrollable giggles. Even though the last time I watched The Matrix was probably eight  years ago, this was hilarious.

Okay, I'm done. Back to Real Work. And oh yeah, go to Jen's.