The Way

After watching The Way, I have been able to look at my life from a slightly different perspective.  Just as Tom started his journey with the sole purpose of honoring his son, I started my journey at the Mount with the sole purpose of doing well academically so I could go to a good and respectable college.  Like Tom however, I met new people, I opened up in sharing parts of my story and listening to parts of others' stories, and I made some very valuable friends that will stay with me forever.  I learned from Tom's pilgrimage, that a true pilgrimage has an individual and a group component.  Each of them are equally important.  As an individual, I have learned to find my boundaries, test them over and over again, and than create new boundaries.  I have learned to speak up during these past four year, and not be afraid to give my opinion.  As a group at the Mount, I have learned how to be proud to be a woman, how to accept and help other women, and how to refuse to be treated any differently from a man.  Tom's pilgrimage taught him to value life and to live a life that he is going to enjoy.  I am hoping that as I leave this stop (the Mount) on my pilgrimage of life and continue on to the next (Boston College), I will find the life that I enjoy living and am meant to live.

Mixed Messages

While reading Emily Reimer-Barry's interview, I noticed that she made some very valid points of the negative messages that the Church sends to women.  However, the Church does send a multitude of positive messages to women.  One of the Church's most prominent messages sent to women is to respect and honor their bodies, because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  This specific message has been relayed to me through grade school, high school, my church community, and my family.  The Church acknowledges the need for intimacy and intercourse to conceive children, but it also states that each partner should treat the other with dignity and one person is not completely dominant over the other.  I have been taught that women should respect their bodies extra carefully, because they are the reason that the church can continue.  Another positive message to women was allowing them to become alter servers and Eucharistic ministers.  Even though we can't be priests, we can still participate in the mass in a multitude of ways.  The Church's negative messages towards women have decreased because of the fact that they are no longer required and/or expected to be quiet and submissive.  Women are taking a stand and becoming leaders; the Church is finally accepting that.

Abortion

While reading Bryan Cones' article, I noticed that his view on abortion is very different than that of the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church believes in natural family planning and that every time a couple has sex, they should be doing it with the purpose of conceiving a child.  However, most couples don't practice that rule.  Bryan Cones took a very realistic approach on the fact that abortion rates are rising in underdeveloped countries.  One way to reduce those rates would be to increase the availability of contraceptives to women in those countries.  I think that I agree with his view, because I think it's better that a baby is not conceived and therefore escapes the risk of being aborted.  If an unplanned pregnancy occurs, the baby will most likely be aborted and in these underdeveloped countries, the mother could die as well.  I do believe that every form of life has a right to live, but abortion is a very complex subject, and I think that the Catholic Church could probably modernize its stance a bit to coincide with the majority of its members.

IVF

After watching the Dateline special on IVF and reading the US Catholic article, I have learned that there are many pros and cons to IVF.  However, I think the pros have the tendency to outweigh the cons.  One of the most obvious pros to IVF it that it results in a baby.  IVF versus adoption appeals to many couples who are unable to conceive by themselves because they have the chance to have a baby who is biologically theirs.  Meanwhile, some of the cons include in the incredibly high cost without a 100% gaurantee of a baby and the emotional roller coaster of trying and possibly failing to get pregnant multiple times.  Another con of IVF pertains mostly Catholics.  The Catholic Church is against the practice of IVF, because it believes that it is immoral for a couple to have a baby outside of sexual intercourse.  Personally, I think that the Catholic Church should be open to IVF.  If an infertile couple is committed to each other and to having a baby, then what is so bad about getting some professional help to have that baby who will be raised as a Catholic?  The financial cost of IVF is definitely something that many couples have to consider and is probably the reason many of them cannot use IVF.  I think there should be some program designed to financially help couples who are struggling to meet the cost, because IVF offers a couple the chance to start a family, and no loving couple should be denied that opportunity.

He's Just Not That Into You

While watching the movie He's Just Not That Into You, I really enjoyed watching the relationship dynamic between Beth and Neil.  They have been deeply in love for seven and they even live together, but they are not married.  But Beth wants to get married; she wants the ring on her finger and her and Neil's signatures on the marriage certificate.  On the other hand, Neil refuses to get married.  He doesn't believe in marriage, because he thinks it is unnecessary and will add unneeded stress to an already committed and loving relationship.  I think that most women would probably identify very easily with Beth, because we want that firm reassurance that our boyfriend or husband is never going to  leave when things get tough.  However, Beth and Neil are a perfect example of a real relationship.  Their love and support for each other when they most need it shows that marriage is more than a fun party, two rings, and a certificate.  They are an example of the bond and commitment that needs to be present before the rings are bought and the certificate is signed.

Another interesting character from this movie was Gigi.  Gigi wants everything that love is supposed to be.  She is in love with the idea of love.  Gigi is trying so hard to find the signals, to leave the right message, and act the right way that she can't enjoy the little moments that might eventually lead to something bigger.  Gigi doesn't fully understand the true meaning of love, because she hasn't experienced it yet.  However, once Alex's honesty truly reaches Gigi, she learns that romance isn't everything.  She becomes a more confidant woman and focuses on just enjoying each day as it comes.  Before Gigi starts dating Alex, we see that it is completely possible to live a happy and content life as a single person.

The Changing Face of Marriage

I think that my parents have heavily incorporated the idea of the 'domestic church' into our family.  My brother and I have always been told to thank God for what for what we have been blessed with, ask him for help or guidance during stressful or overwhelming times, and to life out the Church's teachings through our ability to do the right thing.  My family goes to church every weekend whether it's on Sunday morning or Saturday night because of a sporting event or special activity.  Watching the clip of "He's Just Not That Into You," has provided me with an insight with the 'changing face of marriage."  I think I agree with Jennifer Aniston's character that marriage is an important step to complete every committed relationship.  I cohabitation is a con to the new concepts of marriage, because as I have learned in VHS and Psychology, cohabitation is not a true commitment, because nothing is forcing those two people to stay and work things out once things get tough.  My parents have had fights, but they always work things out, because they made that commitment over 25 years ago to stay together.  On the other hand, I think one of the pros to the new face of marriage is the acceptance of same-sex marriage that is slowly spreading across the country.  I think the fact that college graduates with degrees are less likely to get a divorce is something that everyone should take notice of.  Having a college degree means that an individual has some level of intelligence and should therefore know when to commit to a relationship if that person is the right person.  When I grow up and get married, I definitely want to form the concept a 'domestic church' in my household.  My parents raised me with Christian values, taught me how to be a genuine person, and what it means to have faith.  I want to do the same with my children.

Dating and 'Hooking Up'

In his book, "Love, Reason, and God's Story," David Coultier describes a class of people labeled as "anti-daters."  These people are completely opposed to dating because they believe that the temporary aspect of dating makes the people in a couple practice for divorce. I strongly disagree with this belief. I think that dating is a crucial part of life. Dating allows an individual to find what characteristics she needs/wants in her future husband and what relationship dynamic is most compatible to her lifestyle.  However, I do believe that a person needs to be aware of and know her identity before entering a long term relationship. I think that serious dating relationships should be built on friendship and not just that one night when "we hooked up." In today's culture, many people enter short term relationships later in life to meet new people and see if he or she could be a possible spouse.  Teenagers, however, tend to enter relationships just for fun and to have a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend."  In these relationships, the hookup usually comes before the friendship.