-=NYC=-

-=Back=-
I'm very sorry for not blogging over the past week, but I have been in NYC for a little vacation. I absolutely love NYC but I absolutely hate the traffic. We spent an hour trying to get the bloddy Lincoln Tunnel!! and the people drive very crazily. I'm very tired cuz we also stopped in Philadelphia and I have justed finished a very good book called The Fowler don't worry if you haven't heard of it; I found it at an antiques place. It's a very good book, and was written over a hundred years ago. Nite nite everyone. I'll blog tomorrow-- till then!

-=Tired=-
Sorry no blog(s) today.. I had a batting lesson today and I'm very tired from it. I hadn't gone in a long time so I was very out of it and it for an whole hour! just me! .. then I went to the Luxetts Co. Fair hehe and I got to drive all the way there, it took like an hour or so. Sleep well.. and check out my website please!! I've been working there so I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like but I want to get my site going (I have a small quote and proverbs section right now). aight I'm going to watch Shall We Dance, great old movie. so is The Student Prince. i LOVE old movies and the classics

-=Hare Krishna and ISKCON=-

-=Hare Krishna and ISKCON=-

I plan to write a very detailed post about this group and others similar to it in a few days. For now I will write why I'm even mentioning them and just provide a lil bit of information that I know at the present moment.

-=Why?=-

• I was at the mall today w/ my friend, we were going to get our nails done for her birthday. After we finished we were walking around, wasting time, looking at my phone which is soo tight cuz it lights up blue and white when u make a call. I noticed this gu walking around with an Abercrombie bag holding it like it was full and heavy, not by the handles (i mean who carries an AF bad that way?) and that made me notice him. What made me really notice him was that he frequently stopped, asked a small group of girls (~2) a question, hand them a book, and ask for a donation. I didn't mention it to my friend. Then we were stopped--"Are you all high school or college students?" (Do we look old enough?!) "I'm a monk and we're here giving out these books, all we ask for is a small donation." ::us::"Im sorry I dont have any cash. Do u?.. yah, a dollar?" ::him::"Yeah, that's fine. Do you know what yoga is?" ::"Uh, ya." ::"you wouldn't by chance happen to have another dollar?" ::"No sorry" :: "Thats fine. Thanks".... so we were like "okkk that was strange".. She knows that I'm into religions (but mainly WORLD religions that EVERYONE knows about). We looked at the book, both of us were very confused because we didn't know if it was Hindu becuz it had Krishna, but it didnt mention the other deities. Then we started to wonder if it was a scam. So we were like "aight, let's find a flaw-- quick!" Of course we didnt know what to look for, so we just thought we'd ask what religion is was. We found the guy and of course he had got a mom and daughter to donate money and get a book. We asked and he said it wasn't of any religion and you had to be open minded. We were still confused and my dad gave us a little insight and told us it's not the kind of religion that we're in to.

-=What I know=-

• What I know at the moment is this-- The group was started by Abhay Charan De Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977)¹. 1944 he wrote a magazine called Back to Godhead describing the organization. They claim to not be affliated with Hinduism. Prabhupada even goes to far as to say

  "Although posing as great scholars, ascetics, householders and swamis, the so-called followers of the Hindu religion are all useless, dried-up branches of the Vedic religion" in New York lectures during April 1967. "India, they have given up the real religious system, Sanatana Dharma. Fictitiously, they have accepted a hodgepodge thing which is called Hinduism. Therefore there is trouble," he said in an interview In an interview given for Bhavan's Journal on June 28, 1976.

  
  More info see ISKCON Hindu?
  Personally, I love Hinduism ( No I don't follow it. I'm a still devout Catholic. I just love it). Somehow that seems very un-Krishna-like. (Krishna is believed to be an avatar of Vishnu, a very famous Hindu deity. Quick intro to Hinduism Dharma)
  
  ISKCON has a big problem making up its mind on whether it is Hindu or not. As you have just seen, it claims to not be, and openly disowns the religion. Yet Hindus who go to the ISKCON temples in New Delhi and Bangalore claim that the temple is Hindu.¹

  "In other legal cases, including one to the US Supreme Court, ISKCON has attempted to counteract the 'cult' label by claiming to be a traditional Hindu lineage, and asked other Hindus to affirm this in the courts...there are reports of Hindus who joined ISKCON only to be taught to reject their family's religion...at the same time, the organization often appeals to the Hindu community and businessmen for financial support of its social programs and political help to protect ISKCON from detractors.
  " by 'ISKCON Hindu?'
  
  So I guess, ISKCON has a problem with deciding what it is.

-----¹ = See Religious Cults and Sects: ISKCON
-----² = See 'ISKCON Hindu?' for more info.

While I was doing a little research, I came to Catholism on the Religious Cults and Sects page. In my heart and mind I knew I shouldn't visit that entry because most of them make me very angry and filled with a very odd presence, as if "i know that what I believe is right and true, why can't u see and leave it alone?!?!". But I clicked on it. It's interesting, but don't let them make you think that we believe is not true, always remember that when you visit sites or come to times when your faith is questioned. (I'm not saying that Catholism is the only way and that if you aren't Catholic you're going to hell. All I'm saying is that never forget what is it that you believe and do not let what someone else believes change your beliefs unless you find them to be just and correct with Church teachings). Okay it's late/early and I went to bed at 4 last morning working on my webpage home which you all must visit because has taken me soo much time. (Sorry for all the random menus, i can't get java script to work.. any one able to help?? email me!!)

Lots of love-
alicia

-=Rose=-

what's your inner flower?

[c] s u g a r d
e w

-=Matthew 19=-

-=Matthew 19=-
I was looking at my old CCD text book and I thought of a verse that I always liked when I read the Bible. Matthew 19: 24

"Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Something about that image that I liked. There is the supposition that to enter Jerusalem there is a low or narrow gate and if your are bringing in a camel that is carrying lots of possessions it cannot fit through the 'eye of the needle'. In order for the camel full of possessions to fit, it needs to be striped of its possessions. That sounds relatively easy, when talking about the bag on a camel, but when we remember that Jesus is tells this to us it doesn't sound as easy. This I think is for two reasons:

1. For those of us that live "comfortably" we don't think of ourselves as "rich" so we sometime don't include ourselves in the "rich, and needing to be striped of possessions" category
   
2. And for people like me, we find it very hard to let go of our little "riches" (my big fault: Abercrombie)

I myself am not "rich" by our American standards, but I am no doubt, not poor either. Through the examples of the saints and Jesus, we see that in being poor there is less in the way of our relationship with God. Even if we are not "rich", but we are no doubt well off, then we still fit into "..go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matt 19: 21. I could give you the names of numerous saints that have done that very simple, yet hard instruction, but I'm sure you can find them on your own ;).

A lot of us also have the same fault which I so greatly emulate--not wanting to give up our little "riches". For each one of us, it's something different, and for the very great few among us, it is nothing since they have already given everything they own to the poor. Jesus knew that the path he would show us to follow Him would not be as easy "yellow brick road" but a hard one, filled with many crosses to bear, and instructions and rules to follow. For those of us like me, yea though it mite take time, oodles of time, one day we will reach the point when we can say to Jesus "I have sold what was mine, and gave it to the poor; I am ready to follow you." And when that day comes, rejoice for you have done the "impossible".

Rev. Andy Chrich wrote a very nice homily about this, one which I could not even compare to. Check it out here

hay guyz. i'm spending time with my grandma today so i'll blog later today. email me if ur reading this please! jut say 'hay' or something i dont care if i dont kno u, i just wanna see who's reading this.
lots of luv - alicia

-=My Song for Today=-
This is a poem by one of my fav Saints-- St. Thèrése of Lisiuex. It goes to the melody of a French song "Dieu de paiz d'amour" (God of Peace and Love)
My Song for Today
My life is but an instant, a passing hour.
My life is but a day that excapes and flies away.
O my God! You know that to love you on earth
I only have today!...

Oh, I love , Jesus! My soul yearns for you.
For just one day remain my sweet support.
Come reign in my heart, give me your smile
Just for today!

Lord, what does it matter if the future is gloomy?
To pray for tomorrow, oh no, I cannot!...
Keep my heart pure, ocver me with your shadow
Just for today.

If I think about tomorrow, I fear my fickleness.
I feel sadness and worry rising up in my heart
But I'm willing, my God to accept trial and suffering
Just for today.

O Divine pilot! whose hand guides me,
I'm soon to see you on the eternal shore.
Guide my little boat over the stormy waves in peace
Just for today.

Ah! Lord, let me hid in your Face.
There I'll no longer hear the world's vain noise.
Give me your love, keep me in your grace
Just for today.

Near your divine Heart, I forget all passing things.
I no longer dread the fears of night.
Ah! Jesus, give me a place in your Heart.
Just for today

Deign to unite me to you, Holy and scared Vine,
And my weak branch will give you its fruit,
And I'll be able to offer you a cluster of golden grapes
Lord, from today on.

I've just this fleeting day to form
This cluster of love, whose seeds are souls.
Ah! give me, Jesus, the fire of an Apostle
Just for today.

O Immaculate Virgin! Your are my Sweet Star
Giving Jesus to me and uniting me to Him.
O Mother! Let me rest under your veil
Just for today.

My Holy Guardian Angel, cover me with your wing.
With your fire light the road that I'm taking.
Come direct my steps... help me, I call upon you
Just for today.

Lord, I want to see your without veils, without clods,
But still exile, far from you, I languish.
May your lovable face not be hiddent from me.
Just for today.

Soon I'll fly away to speak your praises
When the day without sunset will dawn on my soul.
Then I'll sing on the Angels' lyre
The Eternal Today!...

-=Great Book=-

-=The Ugly American=-
I must agree with Kairos The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick is a very good book-- I know for 11th grade it was on the reading list but if you get a chance--read it! It puts a lot of things into perspective. Being young, American, and naive, I knew that a few countries didn't like the US of A, but I didn't realize really why or that they really did. I want to be an ambassador or an International lawyer (ya, sry *lawyer*) so this book really does make you think. One thought that I like from it is that we pay these people to go and make friends with another country and they're the government people and some do quite well, but then some do quite poor; it seems that the people that make the best impression to a country and the best dimpolmats and ambassadors we have are just our regular John Does who go over seas with the intent to make a difference the love of what they do. Hopefully I won't become a blemish on our foreign policy.

While I'm talking about good books and ones that deal with foreign things, another one is Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. (Sorry guys from school, I know it was long and a lil boring, but it was good). Yes the book is long--517 pages w/o the into and epilouge, and at times just a little slow, but on the over all scale I think it was good. It talks about the last Tsar and Tsarista and their empire, Russia. I didn't know to much about that time period but after reading that I know a little bit more, becuz I think Massie was a historian at heart. For me, I always notice religion in books, and that can draw me closer or push me away, but I must compiment the book because I notice how Orthodox and Catholism are different, but when you get down to it, we are both very alike.

-=Trying to Be Humble=-

-=Trying to Be Humble=-
Trying to be humble is and probably has always been the hardest thing to do.Kairos has a very nice post on it, and so does Don Jim. I'm not going to go into as much detail since both of them explained it very well; I'm just gonna talk about--and correct me when I'm wrong, this has no research except from what Ive read and from what I know.

It's always (and still is) a challenge for me to stike the accord between having pride in what I do, and having excessive pride; and a very good point by Kairos, between when I do something for someone else and lower myself just for the opposite effect. I've found that for me I look at something that I've done-- let's say, a poem that I've written. I look at it and take a little bit of pride in it, I mean I did write it, but I try not to shove it someone's face to read, or make them praise me for it. Rather, I try (i'm still getting in this regimen more strictly) to thank God. And I mean more than just saying that as the expression-- truly meaning it, and truly thanking God. If it wasn't for Him, I wouldnt have been able to write, so the credit really belongs to Him, I was just the Holy Spirit's instrument.

Saint Nick would be the best example for my second thought/point-- When one does something good for someone without he/she asking, is one doing it just for the sake of doing it, or is one doing it to be showered with thanks and praises? While I float between these two categories I'm trying to float more towards the first. Saint Nick is a great model for this. The bst example is the legend of the three girls. (Quick summary, the father lost his money and his 3 daughters needed dowryies and St. nick secretly provided them .. click on the link for a better descp.) When we give of ourselves, we shouldn not think of how we shall gain but of how the one we are giving to will gain. I know personally that I tend to think of how my doing something unasked of will turn to benefit me in this life, instead of how it will benefit me in a latter life. But I'm getting better .. here's a tip I've learned: When you are doing something for someone, concentrate on doing it well and don't think about it too much more, just do it, and think about something else, God maybe?

-=Geek=-

hm.. how geek am i?

You are 4% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

well that's close enough, I'm prolly even more cuz of those classes, but hay no one needs to know.

-=Knowledge=-

-=Knowledge=-
Well, I guess this really isn't so much about knowledge, but it's the only title that fitted. This morning I was cleaning my room and looking at a lot of old papers and books. I looked at my old religion book and was amazed at the stuff that I knew, but then, that was only stuff that I knew, somewhere in 2 years I fergot it all, but now I seem to know it all again. (Actually, that's not my point but a very odd thing.) Anywayz, yeah I knew what all the Fruits of the Holy Spirit were, I knew the virtues by heart, but did my heart know them? What I'm saying is that I knew all the facts, but I didn't know how to live them, something that only recently I'm learning how to do. (But I still know most that Catholic trivia, it just takes me longer). Let's take one of the 9 titles of Mary for instance. Somehow I knew one was Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but that was about it, I didn't have a clue what Mount Carmel was, or what a Carmelite was. (if you would like info about the Carmelites, click here) All I'm trying to say is don't get to wrapped up in learning every fact about the Bible, or learning every story or trivia, (yes though you should learn all that stuff) but just put away the book for a minute and just contemplate God or even, pick a virtue or a fact and see how it brings glory to God and try to emulate it, that way you will be putting that knowledge to work, the way that it was meant to be used.

-=No Need to Convert Them=-
In yesterday's Washington Post, there was an article describing how the U.S. Catholic Bishops have stopped the mission to try and convert Jews. The reason? The convenant between God and the Jews is everlasting and they do not need to convert to have salvation. That gives a little bit of peace to the Jewish community, now all they have to worry about are the Southern Baptists.

It's no wonder that I have such an interest in Judaism, it was the religion of our Lord wasn't it? My best friend calls me Jewishbecause I celebrate Hannukah, I went to a real seder, and I like to learn more about it. It wouldn't do us any harm to get more in touch with the religion that we spawned off of. The more that I read and learn about Judaism and the traditions, the more I realize why we do certain things. The most obvious being Holy Communion. Think-- when we celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist what are we doing? We're celebrating a 'seder' the one Jesus performed on Holy Thursday night. When we (rather, the priest) hold up the Host and say "Blessed are you Lord G-d of the Universe..." we saying "Baruch atah adonai, elohainu melech ha-olam" (very sorry but i fergot to spell it). High Holy Days on the Net has a lot of good information about high Holy Days and other holidays.

-=Late Nite Catechism=-
No, no I'm not talking about real late nite catechism classes, but it's very close. i don't whether to call it a play or a monologue-- whatever it is i don't really care-- its just funny as hell. Late Nite Catechism featuring Lisa Buscani as Sister brings back the memories of Catholic school and just to think how odd it sounds to non-Catholics who prolly don't get the jokes as well, but no less everyone pretty much gets the jokes. You're laughing from beginning to end. But don't forget what Sister Mary Margret taught you and your manners, you are sure to be reminded of your manners. Brush up on your catechism because this is 'interactive'. Sister is the teacher and you the audience are the pupils. There is a question and answer session. but don't expect a detailed answer or an answer even sometimes. When/If this comes to a town near you--go! it's worth the $40.

-=Struggles=-
Everyone knows what I'm talking about, esp teens. Not just like struggles between where to go on Friday nite, what to wear, etc, but more of a inner struggle (jihad in its rightful meaning). We see something on the TV or at the movies and we automatically want it or to be like it. Most good things in themselves are good, but when we covet them and loose everything for them then it turns to a bad problem. But that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm talkin about when we see different lifestyles, some that seem like fun, some that seem different, and some that are just down right immoral; what ever the case it doesn't matter. We sit there and wish that we could live like that and then we realize that we can. But then we (not all, but some) think about our relationship with God (and if you don't have one, then with our conscience and morals) ad then we aren't so sure that we want that lifestyle. That is the struggle that I'm talkin about. Adults-- If you think it's hard for you, think again. It's just as hard and even harder for young people becuz we are so impressionable and most aren't 100% positive of what they will be, and then even when some do know, it changes a lot. There's no one to blame, all we can do is just pray, question, listen and decide for ourselves, hoping that it is truly what God (or morals or conscience) wants for us.