My 1st Quick-Takes... I Think?

So I've seen a lot of my blogger friends take part in Conversion Diary's Quick Take Fridays.  I've also been an avid follower of Jennifer Fulwiler's for a while.  I'd considered taking part in the past, but my life is honestly not interesting enough to do a weekly "catch-all."  Maybe a quarterly one.

Anyway, today I lucked upon some great articles that totaled seven in number.  I thought Hey now!  That's just enough to make an actual Quick Take Friday post!  Then I wondered, Is it cheating to use articles for my quick takes as opposed to using items about my actual life?

The answer I arrived at was "Yes.  Yes, it's cheating, but who cares?  Doubtful anyone's gonna come after me with some sort of blogging demerits."

So, my 7 Quick Takes:

From Esquire Magazine comes an open letter to the world from a Christian who aims to correct the negative perceptions of an anti-Christian world.  My favorite quote:

"... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again."

---

---

NBC reports that some yahoo decided to drop raw bacon in the field where Muslims were celebrating the close of Ramadan.  This person (people?) also left a note and police are investigating it as a hate crime. 

I'm all for investigating this as a hate crime because it's obvious this person (or these people)  was attempting to bully others on the grounds of their religion, but I find it interesting that this had no effect on their celebrations and this wasn't even done on sacred grounds / with sacred objects.  It's rightly being investigated as a hate crime, but folks are still indignant that the Russian women - who desecrated the main altar of a Cathedral - were convicted of religious intolerance.  Color me incredulous.

---

---

A high school valedictorian has been denied her diploma by her school because of the use of "Hell" in her speech.  They haven't denied her transcripts (which she needs for college), but the diploma is symbolic of her achievements. 

I think the approach is heavy-handed, but I do believe she owes the school the written apology it asked for in punishment for her misstep.  Her reaction and continued "I'm right, I'm right, I'm right" when she is CLEARLY in the wrong only serves to show how arrogant she is.  She provided them with an approved speech, then she decided to throw unnecessary vulgarity in there.  As punishment, they with-held the diploma and simply asked for an apology. 

I'm sorta bothered by everyone coming to her defense in saying this is an attack of freedom of speech.  It's a SCHOOL SPEECH that everyone knows must be approved first by the board (or whoever is in charge of the ceremony).  It's to both protect the school and the student from embarrassment.  This girl simply thought she was above the rules because of her intelligence and achievements. 

Sorry, honey, but you've still gotta play by the rules.  This has nothing to do with freedom of speech.  It has everything to do with following procedure during a solemn ceremony.  Get over yourself.  If this is how you respond to situations that call you out for trying to place yourself above authority, you're in for a rude awakening when you make it to the real world.

---

---

Fr. Levi over at The Way Out There came across the last words of St. David Lewis, a martyred priest whose story is incredibly touching. 

After reading both his life overview and then his final address, I couldn't help but thank God for granting us so brave and faithful witnesses to His Love.  Bless our priests. 

God certainly knows how to choose them!

---

---

This is for all my fellow educators out there.  In a special way, it's for those who are part of the unique group of people who work with children who have speech delays (my son being one of those children!). 

I have no words to properly express the appreciation I have for your dedication and your love.  Michelle at Liturgical Time does a fabulous job of expressing so well just how much we love the children we're blessed to work with, and I think being an educator myself, knowing that love on a personal level and seeing it doled out to my son just makes me that much more appreciative and awe-struck.  Those who work with children are special, special people.

---

---

By Erika V of CS!

This is almost another cheat, but CatholicSistas has absolutely been on a roll this week.  It's like someone swapped their coffee for Red Bull and they've been hammering out gold on a daily basis.  Two of their articles REALLY touched me this week and I wanted to highlight them for you.

The first is Infant Death and Scared Parenting.  A perinatal loss nurse is interviewed and she gives an inside look into this oft-overlooked area of holistic medicine.  Incredibly inspiring and moving.

The second is titled The Trauma and Pain of Abortion After Rape and is written by a woman who conceived through rape.  Exceedingly well-written, honest and poignant. 

---

---

Finally, and maybe this isn't an article so much as a Book Release, but a mystic I've been following for a while, Maria Divine Mercy, has finally had the messages bundled into a book.

However, you don't need to purchase the book to read the messages.  You can simply go to the website dedicated to collecting them all and download the PDF. 

Again, typical warning goes into effect with mystics.  Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance as these are all considered personal revelations.  Also, try to forgive the horrific formatting of the website.  It's set up very much like a yellow-journalism rag and whoever is in charge of it is definitely trying to capitalize off fear and panic.  I don't approve of that.  Ignore the terrible formatting and focus on the messages and the Crusade Prayers.  I promise you'll thank me later for it.

---

For more Quick Takes, check out Conversion Diary (who hosts this entertaining weekly blogroll!