A Knowing in Not Knowing

A musing on the end of the world, eschatology, and egoism

Yesterday, an acquaintance/friend of mine asked me about how I think the world is going to end.

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I searched for this picture in particular because the friend I was speaking with took it, so it is to prove that we as good friends are able to have somewhat civil discussion about faith.

As a Catholic, I don’t think about this topic much, if at all. This young man is not Catholic, and he was raised in the Lutheran Church. However, now he considers himself non-denominational. He did go to the Catholic Mass on campus pretty much every week, so that was good to see (although he received the Holy Eucharist, even after we discussed why he cannot), and he has asserted that he is not against the Catholic Church, and this fact should be well remembered as you go through this musing. There are many things I can say on that matter, but for today, I want to write about the specific topic of an impending doom that many, like my compatriot, sense.

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Music Mends, Language Loves

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The beautiful basilicas at the candlelit Rosary Procession

3 months. A quarter of a year. And I still hurt. It has been about 90 days without our dog. I can’t say that it has been easy. The house is still full of silence, but occasionally, I will sit and play the piano. Now that the semester has finished, I have time to play the piano without feeling guilty about it. I usually warm up with some hymns from a hymnal my 7th grade religion teacher gave me, and then I’ll play some classical music or Broadway music. It is always a much-needed catharsis, and it always has been in times of trial.

I meant to post this last week, but as the way of writers go, nothing ever works out as planned.  Continue reading

Corpus Christi and the Veil

And also a little about Lourdes…at last.

To put it upfront, it was a difficult decision for me to write this post. Well, at least the second half of that title.

Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi in the Catholic Faith, and it was providence that had me work on a graphic on the Feast of Corpus Christi this week at my internship. This feast day celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and it is the total essence of the Catholic Church. The Eucharist is the physical presence of God in our lives. The moment of consecration is the moment where Heaven and earth come together, and a miracle happens. I started feeling something in my heart when I was sixteen years old. This was around the time when I started going to Adoration on a monthly basis at my high school. At first I only went for the social aspect. But as I kept going and going, it was something I realized I couldn’t live without. I needed to lay at the feet of Jesus for that hour and pray. I continued going until I graduated from high school.

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Round in Circles I Go

Hello everyone!

It has been quite some time since I have last written. Since my last post, I have finished my Junior Year of college on an admittedly low note, but already this summer, I have been reinvigorated. I know that by the time Senior year (ewwww) rolls around, I will be ready to face the semester head on with the same can-do attitude I usually have. I have also gone back to France for a short service trip, which I will write about and link here when I write about it at some point in the near future.

Yesterday, I started an internship in the city on the Upper West side, and it was really amazing. The weather was beautiful and clear at around 68 degrees. The day started off normally, but when I got on the LIRR, I realized I had forgotten to pack a book. I did, however, remember to put on my Rosary ring, so I contented myself with praying the Rosary. It would be good for me anyway, I figured, with my going into the city and all. You never know what is going to happen.

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Faire Healthy Friends

I come to you today reinvigorated in faith. Over the weekend, I went on a retreat with my school, and I had a really great experience. I’m not going to narrate the events to you, but I will share some thoughts and revelations that I found. This post won’t include all of the conclusive thoughts of this retreat, but I was compelled to write at least a little something.

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Silence

Well, friends and family. It has been too long since my last post about a month and a half ago. I admit, it was partially my own lack of organization and time management. However, the bulk of seasonal depression as well as just a general lack of motivation also was beating me with a stick. Repeatedly.

Despite all this, this particular post is not supposed to be just a complaint about these things. It has been about a week now since my family put our dog down. I have honestly taken it much harder than I thought I would. I knew I would be sad, but I did not realize just exactly how much my heart would hurt. And it’s not like when you read a book or watch a movie, and you feel sad about a character death. It is a physical pain that seizes your chest, and it’s almost as if that blood-pumping organ also holds tears because once that pain punches your chest, the tears just flow. I will miss that little dog so much.

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Unreliable Narrators

It was a typical day in the fall semester, and I had just concluded a meeting with a board of an organization of which I am the president. I had checked off the boxes, and I was conversing with two of the board members about literature, naturally, as I am studying English Literature. We were talking about books we liked, and I mentioned how C. S. Lewis’ last novel Till We Have Faces (mentioned in my last blog post) has an unreliable narrator, Orual.

The VP of the board smartly pointed out: Every narrator is an unreliable narrator.

My contrary self moved immediately to deny this claim, but something held me back. Was he right? He is a smart, well-read young man with strong morals and a great sense of humor, I might add. And thus was born this musing.

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