7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 20

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

God bless those of you who called the Canadian hospital that was planning to bulldoze and take out Baby Joseph's breathing tube. They released him and Fr. Frank Pavone accompanied him and his father to St. Louis' Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. The Catholic hospital is going to take care of Baby Joseph, no matter how long his life is.

If the bulldozing which the Canadian hospitals almost pulled off is any indication of what we have to look forward to with national healthcare (and after the last year I've spent around hospitals, I think it is), it's time to start praying hard.

*2*

The Bright Maidens are once again humbled by your response to our series! Keep an eye out because next Tuesday's topic is dating... it should get interesting. I will also publish my review for How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul within a week!

Look to the right (in my sidebar) and LIKE us on Facebook! Julie, Trista, and I thank you!

*3*

Consider donating to Caritas Japan. The bishops in Japan have launched an emergency appeal to fund the work needed in the aftermath of the horrible earthquake and tsunami events. I know I don't like donating to organizations when I don't know what kind of work my money is supporting.

*4*

Persuasion. This has been my favorite Jane Austen novels (whoops, just lost all the men reading this. Bye, guys!) for years.

It was the last Austen novel I devoured (because how else do you read an Austen novel? These are the original McDreamys) and I've read it twice since then. I realized why I love it so much:

A) I am Anne, especially her faults. Sure, add the blind stubbornness of Elizabeth Bennett to complete the picture, but I am mostly Anne Eliot.

B) It characterizes the kind of commitment to love that the world tells us doesn't exist. Also, we see men with strong reserve for the women they love.

The Crofts have the most amiable and loving relationship of any married couple in the book. Capt. Benwick speaks about a love that would never die and complains that novels illustrate and prove the fickleness of women.

He's hunky, but hunkier in the book.

Anne is quick to point out that those novels are written by men. It's a point that seems to have flipped in this society. We usually hear about the fickleness of men. Maybe we need to start listening to one another more often.

C) Captain Wentworth is a hunk. I mean that in the most respectful and Christ-like way possible....

*5*

Thanks for sticking around for that long one. Your reward is 80% off at Ignatius Press.

 

*6*

Cloistered nuns fascinate me. I know our vocations are essentially the result of our life experiences and how we digest them. That's how God says, "Hello? This is what you should be doing. See, I prepared you for it!

I don't own the rights -- these are Christ's brides :)

I have no idea what kind of background a woman would have to lead her to the cloistered nun's life, but I certainly respect it. Kevin has filmed and directed "Cloistered: God's Women of Steel" about a cloister that prays for the world 24/7. Learn more about it here.

*7*

This is probably a site built for meditation.... but we can use it for prayer!! When you're at work and you need some time, rather than setting an alarm that is going to mess up your prayer time, try this calming "Do nothing for 2 minutes" site.