Running Shorts and Chapel Veils

As we were leaving the pool the other day, my fiance turned to me and told me that he thought my new swimsuit looked good. When I asked him why, he explained that it's modest and "modest looks good on you." This conversation was not only a reminder of what an incredible man God sent me, but it also got me thinking about the attitude girls have towards modest clothing. Unfortunately, I think most girls would see dressing modestly as a concession to someone else, especially boys or parents. It's time to change that. Dressing modestly doesn't have to start with an exterior motivation; I'll posit that it should start with an interior one. I don't dress the way I do because I'm thinking of how others will look at me; I dress the way I do because I have a level of respect for myself and the body God has given me. With that in mind, an alternate title to this post might be "Dress Yourself to Respect Yourself." One of the first things I hear from f...

Recently, I came across a Christian question forum where someone asked if she needed to confess her sins. Many people offered their advice, but one answer in particular caught my attention. One woman said that there is no need to confess one's sins to anyone else, as long as the person repents in his heart. As someone who tries to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation with some frequency, this answer struck me; I kept coming back to this answer in my mind and reflecting on how incomplete the solution felt. Reconciliation is often a point of division between Protestants and Catholics, and it is a practice that often causes tension and anxiety for many Catholics as well. Many of us want to answer like the woman in the forum did; we want to be satisfied with a silent repentance in our hearts. While an inner conversion is good, and a necessary step in all our lives, I think we are falling short in our spiritual lives if we fail to receive sacramental absolution. When we fail to go to C...

Today, I want to talk about something that can get very emotional for people, and I want to do it here, because I feel like when I try to have this conversation in person, not much listening happens. I want to talk about the Catholic view of gay marriage. The Catholic view of gay marriage is not one based out of hate or exclusion, like many people judge it to be, but it is a very difficult position to defend, because so many people want to start yelling and defending their own views before they listen to the whole story. So, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to make a deal with you. I will give you full disclosure about what I think of gay marriage if you promise to read the whole thing through without getting upset and telling me how wrong I am until you get to the end of this post. Can we do that? Great, Thanks! So, why doesn't the Catholic Church allow for gay marriage? They're all about love aren't they? Well, yes, the Church is all about love, but not just any k...

     I'm going to start off this blog with a disclaimer. I'm a woman, I love women, but I am not a modern feminist. If you're looking for someone to launch a smear campaign against the patriarchy, this is not the place, but if you want to encounter an alternative argument about how we should honor women based on love, then I invite you to read on.      Personally, I think the current wave of feminism approaches the issue all wrong. We don't need to make women equal. We need to elevate them. You see, when we say we want women to be equal to men, we often actually mean identical . When we make women identical to men, men stop treating women with the respect they deserve. Men stop viewing women as their moral standard and goal, and start falling into the trap of using them as objects. When we place women on a moral pedestal, even if we women know that we are anything but perfection, men will always strive to keep up with women. When men strive to k...